“Really, is the distinction between real and fake that important?”
Id’s words had pierced deeply into Yurph’s heart, and for days afterward, she couldn’t stop pondering them. She kept thinking and revisiting those words over and over again.
It was a kind of thought that she had never entertained before. She wanted, even just a little, to take inspiration from the answer Id had given in a similar situation to her own.
“It doesn’t matter at all whether you’re real or fake.”
Was that really true?
Was distinguishing between real and fake truly a meaningless endeavor? And yet, she was nothing but an artificial being created to replace a simple village girl.
“What matters is who you are.”
She had never once thought about who she was.
After realizing her true identity, Yurph had continually felt remorse toward Lan. Even after becoming a priestess through the help of an encountered cleric, that guilt had never dissipated.
Would the Goddess forgive her of her sins?
This single thought had continued to linger in her mind. Even after being chosen as one of the candidates for the Holy Maiden, that thought persisted.
Although it certainly wasn’t her intention, Yurph had still felt the weight of her sin deeply in her heart.
She was fundamentally different from those who sought to understand the meaning of their existence in this world. Her purpose in existence had always been so clear—to live in the place of the girl named ‘Yurph.’
That’s why she might’ve been so fixated on the distinction between real and fake. She had been blinded by illusions, endlessly raking over her wounds.
“Who are you?”
It was a difficult question to answer, and so she decided to reflect on it alone. But no matter how much she thought about it for days, it wasn’t easy to come up with an answer.
Up until now, she had only thought about the girl named ‘Yurph’ and had never once examined herself.
So, she asked her comrades who had been by her side all along. “What do you think of me?”
Though caught off guard by her random question, they all eventually answered.
“You’re a diligent child. Since you joined the Church of the Goddess, you’ve never missed a single worship.”
“An image that suits the title ‘Holy Maiden’! That’s why I like you, Yurph!”
“Why ask me such a thing… Honestly, very few people would object to the fact that you’re a Holy Maiden candidate.”
“Though the higher-ups might have their own thoughts, I believe no one is better suited than you.”
Diligent child, one fitting the title of Holy Maiden, and the best candidate for the role—they were all things the others thought about her, but these were vastly different from what she had thought of herself.
It was only after hearing these words that she truly understood the meaning behind what Id had said.
“Haha… what was I so afraid of?”
The wind played with her black hair, and though her arms were still thin even after gaining some weight, her fingers remained delicate.
Yurph, lying on the grassland, could finally face herself truly for the first time. She looked up once more at the starlit sky.
Even now, in the night sky, the constellation that supposedly indicated her fate remained invisible. But it no longer filled her with fear as it once had.
Instead, she felt a kind of liberation, as though she’d escaped her destiny, like a free person untethered by any chains.
“…Id sister, I still don’t quite understand who I am.”
So, she decided to find out now.
What it meant for her to exist in this world was no longer her concern. This was something given to her by the Emperor, not something that was originally hers.
Umm…
The mark on the back of her neck flared up, crimson-hot. In the past, this pain would’ve forced her to bow to the Emperor’s commands, but now it was different.
Because now she was no longer the infant elephant resigned to its chains but an elephant breaking its bonds to find freedom.
Soon, a few words summarizing the Emperor’s command began to form in her mind.
[b Tomorrow, Forgotten Whale, Id, Attack, Stay far away.]
It was a simple order.
Well, more accurately, it was closer to a warning. Had he noticed that she had grown closer to Id? At this point, that wasn’t really important anymore.
No matter what the Emperor desired, it no longer pertained to her.
No, perhaps she could even use this command to her advantage.
“Tomorrow, you’re planning to attack Id sister.”
The Forgotten Whale.
A long-time nemesis of the Castle State Numen and the target of countless priests’ revenge. A monstrous creature living in the Forest of Oblivion, it had stolen the lives and memories of many.
Given such an opponent, the decision she had to make was simple.
This was the first decision she made not as the girl named ‘Yurph,’ but as a false Holy Maiden.
A rift in the third dimension had been discovered—a massive crack open in the mid-slope of a mountain close to a cliff.
They said the deeper you went inside, the bigger the rift would grow and the stronger the monsters would become.
By now, it was nearly as large as the walls of any decent-sized fortress, more than twice the size of the previous rift. The people began to murmur more anxiously with each passing moment.
“Isn’t it bigger than last year?”
“Well, it wasn’t this big back then…”
“Huh… Damn. What’s going to happen next?”
“Will it be even larger next year?”
Most of the voices stemmed from rising unease.
With the rift getting bigger every few years and the monsters becoming stronger over time, there was, indeed, plenty of room for worry.
Just as both our knight’s guild and the Holy Knights’ order began to falter, Abel slowly stepped forward.
Even the Holy Knights and the knights blocking his way stepped aside for him.
Once at the very front, Abel turned around and surveyed everyone with a sweeping glance.
“Guys, are you scared?”
“No, sir!”
One knight stumbled for a moment but answered proudly. His boldness in answering alone to Abel’s noble interrogation was met with a chilling smile.
“If that’s the case, why is your voice trembling?”
“No, sir!”
This time, several knights answered in unison. Their relatively loud voices echoed out, but still, he crossed his arms, dissatisfied.
“Why is the voice so weak?”
“No, sir!”
Now, most knights in the squad were shouting back in a much louder tone. They sounded as if they’d rehearsed their answers, but Abel’s expression remained unchanged.
A few knights were still hesitant to speak up, and with a furrowed brow, he said,
“Are you telling me that those who don’t answer are scared of this insignificant thing?”
“No, sir!!!”
Everyone, without exception, yelled in unison as a response. Satisfied for the first time, Abel smiled contentedly.
“The Black Raven Knights aren’t frightened by such trifles, are you?”
“Yes, sir!!!”
Due to Abel’s questioning, morale had risen enough to boost their collective confidence. As the underlying fear and anxiety melted away from their eyes, Abel grinned.
The knights were rarely privy to his rare smile, and their spirits soared higher.
Indeed, becoming a viscount wasn’t a fluke.
[Impressive.]
“Yeah?”
[Why is the contractor so arrogantly pleased?]
Sibley shook his head as if the expression on my face was too absurd. Chuckling softly, I glanced at Abel again.
He caught my gaze and gave me a sideways glance, muttering something with his lips only. His voiceless lips moved in a way that made me frown unconsciously.
Had he finished speaking? Abel flashed a smirk one last time. But I couldn’t make out exactly what he had said.
Was my thought read correctly? Sibley obligingly translated Abel’s silent words.
“He said, ‘I’ll deal with those who didn’t answer later.'”
“Seriously? He can’t be…”
Upon reflection, I was technically still part of the Black Raven Knights, too. Was he serious about punishing those who didn’t answer later?
My admiration that had swelled up inside quickly faded.
[It’s the contractor’s fault.]
“What did you say?”
Through the teasing with Sibley, the last bit of my lingering anxiety completely vanished.
By the time I had relaxed, Pope had approached Abel.
“Ho ho. To be young is good, isn’t it? What do you think, Holy Knights?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Wow, loud enough! This old man still has his hearing intact.”
The Holy Knights laughed at the Pope’s good-natured joke. Watching them, the Pope smirked slyly.
“You laughing fellows will see me later in the Castle State.”
“Uh…”
The ones who had laughed among the Holy Knights scratched their heads and quickly averted their gaze from the Pope.
“Anyway, you lot don’t plan to lose to these guys, do you?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then show them! Show the strength of our Holy Knights.”
“Yes, sir!”
Our knights might not compare, but the Holy Knights, with booming voices, responded. Whether it was a collaboration between the Pope and Abel or not, the morale had undoubtedly been lifted.
The earlier anxiety-ridden demeanor had completely vanished. All that was left was the resolute gaze of warriors ready for what lay ahead.
It was then, while smiling among all of this, that someone tugged gently on my sleeve.
When I turned, there was Yurph, smiling brightly. It wasn’t the awkward smile she’d had a few days ago; somehow, this felt refreshingly pleasant.
“Id sister.”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“I understand what you told me that time.”
Her statement was accompanied by a big stretch, as if feeling the great relief of a weight lifted off her shoulders. After a large breath, she continued.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“My pleasure. It’s a relief if it helped.”
Still, why did I get an ominous feeling from her expression? As if to confirm something, she decisively nodded and slapped her cheek.
“I’ll try hard from now on.”
“Good. I’ll be rooting for you.”
“Hehe.”
Seeing her smile like that, I somehow felt… beautiful.
