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A little resentment, doubt, confusion… It was a single word imbued with intertwined emotions, hiding nothing. Arpel, who didn’t expect his name to come up, hesitated and turned to look at Rohan.
Meanwhile, Dionel showed a somewhat strange reaction. His eyes trembled slightly as if caught off guard, and the breath he eventually exhaled was heavy, as if what he had expected had come.
“Did you meet any clergy on your way here?”
“Yes. I did… meet them.”
Dionel asked Rohan after a brief pause. Rohan’s eyes became unfocused, thinking it was a question answered with another question, but also finding it difficult to see the relevance of the subject. It was because he recalled the clergy standing guard outside.
At this bewildered reaction, the corners of Dionel’s mouth curved slightly, but his words didn’t stray elsewhere. He had to finish what he hadn’t said.
“Then you must have noticed. Some of them are not our clergy.”
The power bestowed by God, holy power and magic. Since it was an inherent power within the body, it was possible to recognize each other if one paid attention.
However, Rohan tended to sense others’ power much more sensitively compared to ordinary clergy.
There were two reasons. One was that the power he received was a higher concept called ‘blessing’, and the second…
Rohan quietly took in Arpel standing beside him. The existence of ‘Arpel’ itself was no different from the second reason. It was natural for Rohan to react sharply, given that Arpel was vulnerable to holy power and had actually been injured by it before.
I definitely felt holy power from that unnamed clergyman who asked if I knew him. As Rohan nodded, Dionel continued.
“Originally, we wouldn’t have such large-scale exchanges, but this time it was unavoidable. We needed a way to correct the unstable political situation.”
…Unstable? Rohan, who had been listening silently, furrowed his brow at the unexpected expression. As if understanding his reaction, Dionel said with a bitter smile.
“The Celestial God has fallen asleep.”
“What do you mean…”
The god has fallen asleep. It was truly an ominous, literally bolt-from-the-blue news. Even Arpel, who had been listening with a calm face, momentarily doubted his ears and frowned.
“This is also the answer I have for you, Lord Rohan.”
Answer. Rohan repeated that word in his mind several times. Dionel’s intention was clear. This was the reason why the Demon God didn’t – no, couldn’t – save Arpel.
Rohan, who had been moving his lips for a moment, barely managed to squeeze out his voice. An ambiguous question that hadn’t quite finished left his mouth.
“…What do you mean by fallen asleep?”
“It’s exactly as it sounds. He has fallen into a deep sleep and has no capacity to watch over the human world. The following story… is only what I heard from the Demon God.”
Dionel lightly caught his breath. After a moment, the beginning of a somewhat heavy and vague story started.
“They say there’s a great yoke in this world. The laws of nature, absolute rules that must not be violated, things like that… The Demon God said that such constraints apply to gods as well. He said the Celestial God fell asleep because he violated this.”
Constraints, rules, principles.
These were words that didn’t suit well with what people commonly think of as an ‘absolute being’. But Rohan didn’t feel confused by Dionel’s words. Perhaps it was due to the various pieces of information he had heard during his conversation with the Demon God.
For instance, the ‘will of nothingness’… Recalling that significant phrase, Rohan quickly understood. The same was true for Arpel.
“Originally, the gods have a sort of baseline, and they can only directly intervene in the world if it meets that standard,” he said.
It must not be from an existence permitted by the world, that seems to be the rule the Celestial God violated.
His additional voice was bitter.
“It sounds very grand, but… in fact, ‘existence permitted by the world’ is not that extraordinary. It refers to the beings living in this world, whether various animals and plants or humans.”
“…So unless it’s a significant matter, gods can’t intervene in the world.”
“That’s right. If there’s a part they can directly involve themselves in… it would be ‘evil gods’. That’s the only thing. If they forcibly interfere, they have to pay a price accordingly. Yes, that’s what he told me.”
Although when he heard this, several complaints came along, such as how narrow-minded and petty the world was, Dionel quietly closed his mouth. He had long known that his god was quite peculiar in these aspects.
“The standard is… quite poor,” Rohan muttered, in place of Dionel who no longer continued speaking. His tone conveyed more helplessness than resentment.
Now he seemed to understand. The Celestial God falling into a deep sleep was the price for violating the ‘rules’. And, the violation of those ‘rules’ was…
A scene swept through Rohan’s mind. The mantra that dug clearly into his mind as if not allowing refusal. The enormous lightning that fell from the suddenly opened sky right after. The holy power that swirled like a storm around that center.
He remembered that overwhelming power that curiously avoided only Arpel amidst all this. It must have been then.
The incident that day was caused by humans. Not only did he interfere arbitrarily, but he even killed humans.
“The Demon God said it was for the same reason that he couldn’t intervene in that past incident. ‘Those blessed by God’ are crucial keys to turning the tide in the never-ending war against specters. If he falls asleep without discovering such beings, probably…”
Although his words gradually faded and ended ambiguously, Rohan could understand the omitted content. A small resentment that hadn’t completely disappeared stirred in a corner of his heart, but intellectually, he understood the Demon God’s choice.
Although it would never happen, he felt that even if he were a ‘god’, he would make a similar choice. His eyes, rippling with complex emotions, briefly turned towards Arpel.
“Haha… Since I’m not the one directly involved, the ending is rough. Still, if you have a direct conversation, you should be able to get a more detailed explanation. That’s what the god wants too.”
“…I see.”
The long conversation finally came to an end. Arpel, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, realized that those last words were directed at him.
The black eyes were looking at him without the slightest error. As if responding to that obvious gaze, he gave a slow answer.
Originally, he was going to answer that he didn’t particularly care. He had listened attentively up to the ‘rules that gods must not violate’, but Arpel lost interest from the moment the focus of the story shifted to him.
Yet, the reason he couldn’t express his own thoughts was because of Rohan standing beside him. Perceiving Rohan’s subdued mood, Arpel deliberately suppressed the words that were about to come out.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Yes. I’ll visit again.”
Fortunately, the choice seemed to be the right one. Although not completely resolved, Rohan no longer looked as upset as before, and Arpel silently felt relieved. His thoughts were completely detached from their conversation.
***
“It’s been a really long time since we’ve been here too.”
“Indeed.”
Arpel slowly responded to the voice tinged with subtle excitement. The nodding head was an added bonus.
Having successfully completed their plan, Rohan and Arpel had entered the room where they would be staying. Unless something unusual happened, they wouldn’t be sleeping anywhere else but this room during their stay at the temple.
“…It hasn’t changed at all.”
In fact, there was nothing new to feel. As Rohan had expressed it as ‘long time’, the room given to them was incredibly familiar.
It was the place they had always used together before leaving the temple. Rarely, a short appreciation flowed from Arpel’s mouth as well. His touch, lightly brushing the neatly arranged bedding, was gentle.
Rohan quietly gazed at this sight, his lips twitching. He quietly raised his hand to cover his mouth. The corners of his hidden lips rose uncontrollably. Arpel showing such reactions was still novel and cute.
A few minutes ago, Dionel, who had greeted them again with a smiling face, had said this:
‘You’ll continue to share the room, right?’
Although it was disguised as a question, what was inside was certainty. What was in his gently curved eyes was not just affection. It was mixed with a strange sense of pride, as if looking at grown-up children, which was quite bothersome.
It was only for a moment that he answered glumly that it was so. Soon after, Rohan was more than satisfied with the room Dionel had given them. He saw that nothing had changed, as if it had been kept as their room all along.
‘I thought so.’
Although Dionel showed a strange reaction that seemed like a monologue or an exclamation, Rohan decided not to mind it. After all, Dionel was one of the few people he thought he could trust.
“We’re going to sleep early today, right?”
“…Hmm.”
Arpel, who had been quietly stroking the bed, suddenly spoke up. It was a firm voice that believed without doubt that they would. Although his eyes started to waver as if hit by a storm in less than a few seconds.
Before parting, Dionel had told Rohan and Arpel, who were about to turn their backs, that a ‘guest’ would come early tomorrow morning. Judging from their not-so-pleased attitude, he thought it would be better to sleep early, and he was sure Rohan would think so too.
Arpel was taken aback when he saw Rohan’s drooping eyebrows. It was a natural reaction, as it seemed like he was subtly feeling hurt.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
