81
The constant interruptions suddenly ceased as if by magic from that point on. Whether it was due to giving up or a lack of personnel to carry out the plan, the reason didn’t matter. What was satisfying was that they could now fully enjoy the festival.
Time flew by quickly just enjoying the various foods and sights lined up densely on the festival streets. Before they knew it, darkness had fallen on what was once a bright sky. The decorations that seemed merely ornamental began to emit a soft glow, and colorful lights started to illuminate the streets.
If there was one thing that remained constant every night of the four-day festival, it would be the procession of prayers that continued after sunset.
In the distant past, humans’ victory over the spectres was largely due to the influence of the two gods that existed in this land. It was because the power bestowed by the gods had aided humans.
Perhaps for this reason, whenever the festival began, a small altar was set up in the center of the capital to make offerings to the gods. And as the long years passed, it became a custom to visit the shrine every night, offer white flowers symbolizing peace, and make wishes for the year.
“Let’s go pray too.”
Rohan was visibly excited for some reason. After having dinner at a quite nice restaurant, he bought white flowers in both hands and had an elated expression.
In fact, it wasn’t that they had never experienced this festival before. When they were young, or rather when Rohan was young, they had briefly enjoyed the tail end of the festival during a visit to the capital.
Of course, they had made wishes then too.
“We made wishes before.”
“My wish is different now.”
The voice whispering quickly to his ear seemed shy, but in a way, it was very blatant. The act of blushing, gently lowering his eyes, and speaking slowly made it so.
Arpel couldn’t possibly misunderstand the meaning of that action. His gaze subtly avoided and flickered here and there. As if not to miss even a single change, Rohan’s eyes persistently followed Arpel.
In the end, Arpel had no choice but to accept the flower Rohan handed to him. He felt somewhat bewitched.
“There are so many people…”
Perhaps because there was only one place to make offerings, a long line of people wishing to make wishes had formed. Fearing he might lose Arpel in the crowd, Rohan held his hand a little more firmly. Making sure the robe didn’t come off was an added bonus.
Arpel accepted all these actions without complaint. He felt somewhat cared for. Affection seeped in stubbornly through the tips of their connected fingers, making his insides tingle.
His gaze fell on Rohan anew.
Though he had grown physically, he still cherished, liked, and depended on him. Although the meaning of ‘like’ had changed a bit…
Arpel didn’t know how to respond to the endless affection Rohan was offering. He was aware of his desire not to lose him, but the problem was that he couldn’t be sure if what he was feeling was ‘love’.
He couldn’t bring himself to say those words to Rohan, who seemed to be hoping for love. What if it wasn’t the answer he wanted? Or if it made him sad? Arpel didn’t want to see Rohan’s expression distorted because of him. Just imagining it made him feel choked up.
‘A wish…’
He didn’t want to lose him. He wanted to keep him by his side for life. It shouldn’t happen that someone else becomes Rohan’s priority instead of him.
His grip on the white flower tightened. He had found a wish he wanted to make.
The line was long, but waiting wasn’t boring. Time passed quickly as they watched people walking around in traditional clothes or chatted quietly with Rohan.
Finally, when they could place their flowers, something particularly caught Arpel’s eye. It was small statues of the two gods, crudely carved by people. Although he had never seen the Celestial God, the Demon God at least didn’t resemble the statue. It needed to be a bit more slovenly.
Following Rohan, who carefully placed the white flower down, Arpel placed his flower and clasped his hands together. He silently recited the one wish he had thought of while standing in line.
‘For life…’
May I be the only one by Rohan’s side.
It was when this naked desire was revealed.
A strange wave originating from the statue suddenly enveloped the space. What spread out, rippling, was powerful magic. It was of such high caliber that it couldn’t be resisted, and its pure power was quite familiar to Arpel.
“Arpel!”
Before he could even realize what was happening, Rohan grabbed him. Without giving time to respond, hands moved busily. The hands roaming here and there on his body seemed to be carefully checking for any injuries. Only after Rohan had confirmed with his own eyes that Arpel was safe did he visibly relax.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
But as the last bit of anxiety hadn’t completely disappeared, Rohan’s eyes couldn’t shake off the worry until the very end. Arpel simply patted his cheek briefly and nodded.
The world had turned completely black and white. In this colorless world, only Rohan and Arpel were moving. All the other people had stopped in place, giving the feeling that they had been completely excluded from the space where they stood.
A familiar voice flowed out. Rohan, who had briefly turned his head to find the source of the voice, stared intently at the statue before him. There was no hesitation in the hand that grasped it and shook it roughly.
“I think I just heard a voice coming from here.”
Only after another plea to please stop shaking did Rohan’s hand stop. There was a lot of annoyance in the way he put the statue back in its original place. Arpel just quietly watched this scene and then asked the statue, no, the Demon God:
“This isn’t a temple, how did you come here?”
Naturally, from the moment the pure magic enveloped them, Arpel knew that the Demon God had intervened.
Rohan was the same. Although he hadn’t met the Demon God as often as Arpel, he instinctively realized it the moment the dense magic spread. Yet, shaking the statue was just a small act of mischief.
When he lowered his voice to speak without his usual slovenly appearance, there was some level of intimidation, but even that was limited by the fact that it was just a rough piece of stone rattling as it spoke.
Rohan’s expression, looking down at it, was already crumpled. Thinking that the flowers had summoned the Demon God, his eyes glanced at the flowers ominously. It seemed like he wanted to undo the offering right away.
“So, what’s your business?”
What came back was a scathing evaluation. This time, Arpel grabbed the head of the statue. Before it could say anything, Arpel’s hand started shaking the statue vigorously.
“Look again. Hasn’t he grown well?”
<...Fine. Think whatever you want. Would you let go now?>
After being placed back on the ground stably, a sigh escaped. There might have been a sound of retching in between, but it didn’t become a concern for the two. Rohan seemed slightly elated, perhaps pleased by Arpel’s “Hasn’t he grown well?” statement.
Because it was just a stone statue, there was no way to tell exactly where his eyes were looking, but the Demon God was clearly staring at the two of them. A faint chuckle soon followed.
It was a self-mutter that no one particularly listened to, but the sound of clicking his tongue was clear. It was glaringly obvious that he would be completely eaten up in the near future.
Rohan, with his eyes tinged red and smiling shyly, was putting on a perfect act of coyness that even the Demon God had to acknowledge.
In other words, there was no better expression to show how easily he would be devoured by Arpel, who was surrounding him. It was certain just by looking at how they unnecessarily kept their hands tightly clasped.
This was the reason why he had attempted to descend in the middle of the capital rather than at a temple. He opened his mouth, telling them to remember, but the actual business was delivered haltingly.
It seemed there was someone talking to him from the other side. It was obvious that it would be Dionel. After all, he was the only one who could hear the Demon God’s oracle.
The stone lump that relayed Dionel’s words complained briefly. It was newly apparent that the Demon God had been a deity existing since ancient times, even before people called Fides ‘Fides’, but…
Even that was overshadowed by the unreliable exterior of a worthless stone lump and the grumbling that lowered its credibility. Rohan’s expression even held a hint of contempt.
If he had been conversing in his true form, he would have certainly waved his hand as if bothered. In a way, it was quite an irresponsible attitude, but Rohan decided to be satisfied that the Demon God had taken interest and directly conveyed the business.
The name Fides was familiar. The place they had stayed until just before moving into the imperial palace was the mansion of Marquis Fides in the capital.
What the filthy energy was, what connection it had to the marquis family. Although nothing had been explained clearly, that was the end of the Demon God’s explanation.
As if lying, the voice abruptly cut off.
