Chapter 62: North (2)

The weather in the north was absolutely insane.

It wasn’t just cold.

The rain would start and stop every few hours, making it feel like my body would freeze over in no time.

‘This is the perfect weather to catch a cold.’

On top of that, it could get surprisingly hot during the day, driving me to the brink of madness.

“I think we should rest here for today.”

“…Alright. Is there anything I can help with?”

“No, it’s fine. Ian and I will handle the preparations.”

Setting up camp was Ian’s and my responsibility.

It wasn’t right to ask the noblewoman, revered as a saint, to do such menial tasks.

‘Well, to be honest, Ian does most of the work anyway.’

I just help with pitching the tent and setting up the rain cover—basically the heavy lifting.

He takes care of all the details.

After all, I’m just an ordinary modern person who’s never been camping before.

‘Even though I have Theoar’s memories, he spent most of his life holed up in an orphanage, so there’s not much useful knowledge there.’

Our destination was a small village about three to four days away from Verta.

But given the unpredictable weather, it seemed like it would take an extra day.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, nothing. The scenery is just beautiful.”

Throughout the journey, Vanice had been taking in the northern landscape with sparkling eyes.

As if she would never return to this place again.

Seeing her like that, we adjusted the pace of our horses accordingly.

‘It is beautiful.’

Though barren, it was a place where the traces of nature were most evident.

There were few cities and almost no villages, which meant it was untouched by human hands.

If it weren’t for the crazy weather, I might have enjoyed it too.

‘Is this really the purpose? Just to see the scenery?’

Honestly, I was skeptical until we started riding.

Vanice, of all people, smiling at nature?

‘It’s a far cry from the image of her smashing demon heads with a mace.’

Well, I only knew about the hardships and pain she endured, or how she overcame them.

I didn’t know much about her personality or true feelings.

The same went for the others.

Just because I read the original work doesn’t mean I know everything about their lives, down to their smallest habits.

I only caught glimpses of their lives.

In the end, all I had were a few short scenes.

‘For them, months or years could pass in a single sentence.’

Once the tent was set up and the rain cover securely in place, Ian emerged from the bushes with a few dry logs and some fallen fruit.

“This should do.”

“Good job. But what’s this?”

“It’s called Odium. A fruit known for its tangy, popping flavor.”

“Oh, I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s only found in the north, so this is my first time seeing it too.”

Ian was well-versed in northern geography.

He knew the area well.

‘Though I don’t know what his life was like before joining Arcane.’

Fragments of his past, and the kind of person he was—that’s all I knew.

I knew his future well, but that could always change.

The past, however, was set in stone.

Knowing it would be useful in understanding him.

“Are you from the north? Your accent sounds a bit different.”

“Not exactly, but I did live here for a while.”

“Interesting. You look like a noble, even though you’re a commoner.”

I tried to probe further, but Ian skillfully dodged my questions with vague answers.

Pushing further would only backfire, and he didn’t seem willing to share more, so I decided to drop it for now.

I’d left the background check to Gray, so I’d probably get some information on his whereabouts eventually.

“By the way, the weather should be better tomorrow…”

***

Fortunately, the weather didn’t change much from the next day onward.

It was still hot during the day and cold at night, but we were prepared, so it wasn’t a big issue.

On the fifth day, a bit later than originally planned, we finally arrived at our destination—a small mountain village.

This was the end of the time I had promised to spend with Vanice, so I could have contacted the church or met the priests who had arrived earlier.

But since it was late at night and I wasn’t feeling well, we decided to unpack and set out early the next morning.

“Thank you for humoring me.”

“It wasn’t a difficult request.”

“No, really. But, Theoar, could you stay for a moment? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Sure, I guess…”

I really wanted to lie down in the rented room, but since Vanice had something to say, I had no choice.

“Here.”

“Ah, thank you.”

The innkeeper handed us some warm tea.

Its fragrant aroma filled the entire building, steeped to perfection.

“So, what did you want to talk about…?”

“It’s more of a question I wanted to ask you.”

“A question?”

“Yes… What do you think about the church?”

Vanice’s sudden question caught me off guard.

I didn’t know her intentions, but I tried to give a neutral answer.

“Hmm… Well, I don’t really have strong feelings about it. I don’t believe in gods, but I don’t deny them either.”

“Right… I thought so…”

“If I may ask, why are you asking me this?”

“I’m just feeling a bit troubled.”

At first glance, Vanice’s expression seemed bright, but a shadow of gloom passed through her eyes.

“The title of Saint is always about believing in divine revelations and striving to fulfill them.”

“You’re the proxy of the god who watches over this world, right?”

“That’s what they say, at least in a positive light.”

“Saintess, anything beyond that…”

“I know. It must look bad, right? A saint doubting the god. But the titles of saint or god’s proxy are all just words made up by people. I’m just someone who picks up a few words that descend upon this blessed land and tries to make sense of them.”

“…..”

“You don’t understand, do you? Haha, I’m just a puppet. A doll that repeats incomprehensible words and strings them together.”

Vanice’s bombshell declaration left me stunned.

‘What’s going on with her?’

I knew she had doubts about her position as a saint.

Even as the world was falling apart, the god she served offered no help, which made her question everything.

I thought her doubts were influenced by the demon lord, but it seemed she had harbored these thoughts for a long time.

“Don’t worry. The god isn’t paying enough attention to take away my divine power for having such impure thoughts.”

“The god… you mean?”

“I’m not even sure if the god truly exists. But what I’m more curious about is whether it’s a ‘living being’ capable of rational thought like us.”

“A living being? You mean…”

“Yes. You’re guessing right. I think the god might just be a machine that repeats predetermined words.”

I was dizzy.

Not just because I didn’t expect her to say such things, but because I didn’t understand why she was confiding in me.

‘Sylvia was like this too… No, wait, let’s not jump to conclusions.’

Vanice had helped me before without asking for anything in return.

At the time, I dismissed it as nothing, but now I couldn’t just brush it off.

‘Ugh, I’m not the type to indulge in narcissistic thoughts like this.’

This was a serious problem.

Vanice’s words weren’t something I could just ignore.

If there were church people nearby…

‘Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.’

They were devout believers at best, but at worst, they were fanatics.

‘They might have accused me of blasphemy and executed me for pulling Vanice into this.’

The conversation had taken a dangerous turn, so I quickly wrapped it up and returned to my room.

“What were you talking about?”

“Oh, just this and that. Nothing important, so don’t worry about it. Let’s just get some sleep.”

“…Alright.”

Sharing a room with a grown man wasn’t ideal, but with only two rooms available, I had no choice.

‘When I get back, maybe I’ll ask Sylvia about Vanice.’

High-ranking nobles like her would have connections with groups like the church.

With a bit of luck, I might be able to gather some useful information.

‘Black Crow is probably too busy. Maybe I’ll look into Vanice myself.’

I’d left Ian and the world’s affairs to them.

Digging into the underworld was already stretching our resources thin.

Adding this on top would be too much.