When Satin and Cain visited the Grand Temple, everyone recognized their faces. However, none of the clerics at the Cloverland Temple’s prayer counter recognized the two.
While passing by, a cleric briefly glanced at Cain’s face, but it didn’t seem like they recognized him.
‘Cain is quite handsome,’ Satin thought.
As they made their way from the prayer counter to the Sacred Relics rental office, the clerics they encountered seemed more preoccupied with other matters than with unfamiliar visitors. Everyone seemed busy preparing for the festival that would begin later that night.
The Sacred Relics rental office came into view at the end of the corridor. Cain, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke up.
“Are you really going to return it?” Cain asked.
“Hmm?” Satin was taken aback. Cain hadn’t said a word about it until they left the house to go to the temple. When Satin mentioned returning the Sacred Relics, Cain had only responded with a vague, “Hmm.”
Satin looked at Cain, puzzled. Cain furrowed his brow slightly and continued, “When I went to the inn to find you, I heard something strange.”
“Strange, ah.” Satin remembered the incident when the Sacred Relics had called out to Cain in his voice. He had hoped Cain had forgotten about it since he hadn’t mentioned it again.
Cain went on, “It was a familiar voice, but since there was no one else around, I thought I must have been mistaken.”
“Um…” Satin avoided the question, his eyes darting around. However, Cain didn’t seem interested in pressing the matter further. He already seemed convinced.
“That thing is possessed by him, isn’t it? The one from back then,” Cain stated.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Satin replied, trying to feign ignorance.
“I’m talking about the Demon. There’s no way I could forget that voice,” Cain insisted.
Satin knew he couldn’t keep denying it. He sighed, realizing he had to come clean. “Alright, this is hard to explain…”
How could he tell Cain that the Demon hunt had been staged? Unlike Rita or Edward, who might understand it as the will of God, Cain wouldn’t accept it so easily. Even after visiting the Chamber of Whispers, Cain hadn’t become a devout believer.
Satin hesitated, and Cain stepped in front of him, his expression serious. Usually, Cain would back off if he noticed Satin feeling intimidated, but this time he stood his ground.
“Is it true? Is that thing possessed?” Cain demanded.
“…Yes,” Satin admitted, his voice barely a whisper. He wanted to close his eyes but was too afraid of not seeing anything. He looked down at Cain’s shoes, hearing a disapproving click of the tongue.
“Have you been carrying it around all this time?” Cain asked.
“At first, I didn’t know. I found out later…” Satin trailed off. Cain didn’t ask when he found out, which was fortunate. Satin didn’t want to admit that he had discovered the truth after leaving Cain behind.
Silence hung in the air. Satin clenched and unclenched his fists, his palms sweating despite his usually dry skin.
“So, you’ve been…” Cain started but didn’t finish his sentence. Satin glanced up at Cain’s face and immediately regretted it.
‘I’m going to die here,’ Satin thought, seeing the fierce expression on Cain’s face. He wished he had confessed earlier.
‘Lying is truly terrifying,’ Satin realized, feeling the weight of his deception.
Satin thought he would finally have a truly peaceful life now that everything was over. Before leaving the house, he had planted green onions in the garden, planning to make green onion pancakes for the neighbors once they grew. But now, those plans were ruined.
Satin’s mind wandered to trivial thoughts, perhaps as a way to escape reality. He quickly regained his composure, reassuring himself that Cain wouldn’t be so heartless as to reject him completely, considering Satin had once saved his life.
Finally, Cain spoke, and Satin listened attentively, pushing aside his distracting thoughts.
“You’ve been carrying that thing all this time…” Cain said.
“No, that sounds weird when you put it that way,” Satin replied.
“But it’s true. You’ve been keeping that Sacred Relic close to your chest,” Cain insisted.
“Well, I didn’t want to lose it…” Satin explained.
“You’ve been keeping it close to your heart…” Cain repeated.
“No, really, it sounds weird,” Satin protested.
Cain abruptly turned and walked away. Satin, taken aback, quickly followed. Cain urged him, “Hurry up. Let’s get rid of it.”
Satin felt relieved that Cain didn’t seem angry. However, in the end, they did not return the Sacred Relic. They couldn’t.
The cleric in charge of lending and returning the Sacred Relics trembled with emotion, not fear. “It is an honor to meet you in person,” he said, his voice filled with reverence.
Satin felt awkward and out of place, just as he had with the Temple Knights. Meanwhile, the voice from the Sacred Relic continued to speak.
—You should be honored to meet me, the one who accompanies the hero.
“Of course. It is the will of God,” the cleric replied.
—Cloverland, the land that bore the hero, will prosper for a long time. And, ah!
Satin couldn’t bear to listen any longer and quickly tucked the Sacred Relic back into his shirt. He hurriedly said goodbye to the wide-eyed cleric.
“I must be going now.”
“But don’t you have something to leave with me?” the cleric asked, confused.
Satin had only come to return the Sacred Relic, but as soon as he took it out, the Demon started talking, creating this mess. He couldn’t explain the situation to the cleric, who wouldn’t understand why the voice of God’s messenger was speaking through the Sacred Relic.
Satin simply shook his head and left the office without further explanation. Outside, he glanced at Cain, unsure of what to do.
“What do we do now? This is awkward,” Satin said cautiously.
Before Cain could respond, the Demon interrupted.
—I am but a vessel of will. Therefore, what your friend fears will never happen. In fact, I believe your friend and I can have a good relationship. I even tried to convince the hero not to leave you. So, please don’t leave me behind.
Satin was astonished by the Demon’s shameless plea. After portraying itself as the will of God, it was now trying to win Cain’s favor.
‘Even if Cain agrees, I might not,’ Satin thought, frustrated that he had no way to silence the Demon.
—I will surely be of help. I wholeheartedly support the eternal friendship between the hero and his friend, even if the world does not see it as mere friendship. Although, if that were the case, one might argue that all parents procreate through friendship, but I digress.
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Satin stammered, flustered by the Demon’s absurd remarks.
“Well, it has been helpful before,” Cain admitted, seemingly convinced.
Cain rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on Satin’s chest—or rather, the Sacred Relic hidden there. Satin shifted uncomfortably, trying to block Cain’s view.
‘He’s not looking at my chest,’ Satin reminded himself, trying to stay calm.
“Listen, I know it’s offering to help, but it’s still a Demon. Remember how much trouble it caused for you, Edward, and Rita? We need to find a way to deal with it,” Satin warned.
“True, but it didn’t cause any real harm. And now it seems willing to help…” Cain reasoned.
“You’re going to trust a Demon?” Satin asked incredulously.
Cain chuckled. “Why are you so anxious?”
“I’m not anxious, I just…” Satin trailed off, hanging his head.
Cain stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Is this about the whole thing being a setup?” he asked gently.
Satin looked up, surprised. Cain smiled reassuringly, with no hint of blame in his eyes.
“I’ve known for a while now,” Cain admitted.
“H-how…?” Satin stammered, shocked that Cain had figured it out.
As Satin stumbled over his words, Cain furrowed his brow slightly. It wasn’t an expression of displeasure, but rather a playful one.
“Well, I heard it. The Demon told you to use magic,” Cain said.
“Ah…” Satin realized that when he and the Demon had been acting out their roles, Cain hadn’t been far away. He was only a few steps away, and the area was quiet, so it wasn’t surprising that Cain had overheard their whispered conversation.
Satin’s face flushed with embarrassment. He instinctively tried to fan himself with his hand, but Cain grabbed his arm. Without thinking, Satin apologized.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I don’t care about that,” Cain replied.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Satin muttered.
“What bothers me is that I don’t know everything about you,” Cain said.
Satin, still keeping secrets, didn’t know how to respond. Instead of pressing for answers right then, Cain added,
“And I don’t like that thing being stuck to your chest.”
With that, Cain’s hand swiftly reached into Satin’s shirt and plucked out the Sacred Relic.
—Ah! the Demon exclaimed.
