The next day, Satin didn’t wake up until quite late. As he rose, he absentmindedly thought, What should I eat for breakfast?—only to realize, upon seeing the unfamiliar ceiling, that there was no need to make any breakfast at all.
His stomach was growling—likely from skipping dinner the night before—so he didn’t linger long and headed down to the lobby. He grabbed a quick breakfast at the restaurant recommended by the staff he’d met yesterday, then set off to find the temple.
The inn he had chosen without much thought last night turned out to be near the market. With no clear idea where to go, his wandering feet naturally led him straight into the heart of it.
Feels like a movie scene.
The scenery he hadn’t noticed when passing through Cloverland’s gates now finally came into view. While others might see the place as just another bustling city, to Satin, everything looked charming and quaint.
Cobblestone roads neatly paved with smooth stones of varying sizes, laundry lines strung between timber-framed buildings, the headscarf of a woman shouting at the top of her lungs to sell her goods, and a mule hauling a mountain of cargo as it yawned and trudged along.
It felt like something out of a Western period film—or maybe even a video game. In any case, it was surprisingly fun just to look around.
Once he passed through the market and reached the plaza, his destination started to come into view. He had thought he might need to ask a patrolling officer for directions if he got lost, but that didn’t seem necessary anymore. Rising above the low buildings, he could clearly see a spire piercing the sky. It was unmistakably a temple—even without being told.
Although he now knew the direction, it still seemed too far to walk. Looking around, he found a carriage to ride. There was a route map posted next to the boarding platform, so finding the right one wasn’t too difficult.
Not bad. I’m adapting pretty well, aren’t I?
Even as he praised himself, he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. Getting to the temple wasn’t the problem—it was whether he’d be able to find his way back afterward that worried him.
Good thing I brought my stuff with me.
It seemed smarter to find a new inn near the temple rather than try to relocate the one he’d stayed at. If he asked the staff there, he could probably figure out where to catch a carriage out of Cloverland, too.
The carriage made occasional stops to pick up and drop off passengers. At each stop, Satin asked a fellow rider if this was the temple stop. Maybe it was obvious he wasn’t from around here, because everyone answered kindly. Even in this new place, the unwritten law of heartwarming slice-of-life settings seemed to apply—people were good-natured.
“Young man, this is your stop.”
“Thank you.”
Thanks to the help of a woman who looked to be about the same age as his grandfather, Satin arrived at the temple without any trouble.
Though it wasn’t even noon yet, a considerable number of people were already heading in. Satin figured this temple must be open to everyone like a cathedral, and he followed the crowd inside. That assumption, however, quickly changed.
“Take a number! Please take a number!”
A boy, who looked like a novice priest, was going around handing out numbered slips of paper. Caught off guard, Satin ended up taking one as well.
…Is this a bank?
Clad in white robes, the priests each sat at their own counter. People who were already familiar with the process clutched their number slips, and when their turn came, approached the counters and prayed.
“Anyone with a number, please line up over here!”
Following the boy priest’s call, Satin joined the line. The person ahead of him was a young woman with a backpack, and when their eyes met, she gave him a bright smile.
“Hello.”
“Uh… hi.”
Satin replied out of reflex and gave an awkward laugh.
“You here to pray?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
The woman was incredibly friendly—and also incredibly beautiful. He found it strange that he hadn’t noticed her until just now.
A stray thought crossed Satin’s mind.
She looks like a protagonist.
The line inched forward slowly. Over thirty minutes had passed by the time the woman in front of him finally sat down at the counter.
His turn was coming soon, so Satin strained to hear when his number would be called. But just as the woman took her seat, the priest at the counter called out, “Next!”
What the…?
The priest seemed to be moving on, but the woman didn’t appear to be done. She banged her hand on the counter’s ledge and raised her voice.
“I’m telling you, it’s real! If you wait until something happens, it’ll be too late!”
“Ma’am, I understand you’re worried, but I’m certain it’s just a misunderstanding.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The Bureau of Order took care of the Black Magician years ago. It caused a huge stir back then—there’s no way another one would show up here.”
“You don’t know that! Do you?!”
“Maybe you just saw some lingering traces from back then.”
“And if I didn’t? What then?”
“Then you’ll need to bring solid proof. We can’t really take action just because someone has a hunch. You might have better luck reporting it to the Bureau of Order instead.”
In the end, the woman huffed and stormed off. Just earlier she’d been all smiles, even greeting strangers—now she looked ready to deck anyone who bumped into her. Satin carefully avoided her path as he approached the counter.
The priest who had been arguing with the woman was a consummate professional. Greeting Satin with a friendly smile, he acted as if none of that had just happened.
“What brings you here today?”
“Ah, a relative passed away…”
“You’ve come to receive a prayer, then. What’s the name of the deceased?”
“…Due to certain circumstances, I don’t actually know their name.”
The priest looked momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered his kind expression.
“I see. Then I shall pray for them.”
Clasping his hands together, the priest began reciting a long prayer. It was so metaphor-laden that Satin couldn’t grasp the meaning, but it certainly sounded solemn. He instinctively folded his own hands in response.
Once the prayer ended, the priest bowed his head and said,
“May the departed have passed their trials well in life.”
“Aren’t you going to say they’ll go to heaven?”
At Satin’s question, the priest chuckled.
“If they are worthy, they will. If they are not, they won’t.”
“Oh… right.”
This world’s religion is kind of ruthless.
Not that Satin had much faith in indulgences anyway, so he quietly accepted it and rose from his seat. The priest raised his hand and called the next person.
That was the last of his business in Cloverland.
***
She’s still here.
Spotting the woman outside the temple, Satin gave her a glance. She was clutching her forehead with both hands, lost in deep thought. Her brown hair, tied high, fluttered gently in the wind.
They weren’t close enough for him to say anything, so he intended to just walk past—but then he heard her muttering and came to a stop.
“…Should I just burn it all down?”
Burn what down? The temple? That’d be a bit extreme just because they turned her away.
She’s probably just venting… right?
Most likely. People say crazy stuff when they’re upset. Satin shrugged it off and resumed walking—only to stop again moments later.
As the woman murmured something under her breath, a soft white light began to gather around her. He didn’t know what kind of phenomenon it was, but it looked… magical. Ethereal. He stood there, entranced, until she noticed his presence and stopped chanting.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“Because it’s beautiful.”
The words slipped out of Satin’s mouth before he could stop them. The woman let out a snort.
“I hear that a lot.”
Maybe she thought he meant her appearance. Satin quickly added,
“Not your face! I mean—I’m not saying you’re not pretty, just… I was talking about the sparkling thing around you…”
“What are you talking about?”
She tilted her head. Satin pointed to the fading remnants of the light.
“That. The glittering stuff.”
“What glittering stuff? There’s nothing there.”
Looking at the same spot, the woman saw nothing. Satin now just looked like a guy spouting nonsense.
There were two possibilities. Either she had bad eyes, or he did. Satin jumped straight to the worst-case scenario.
What kind of eye condition causes people to see lights?
He’d heard of cataracts and glaucoma, but didn’t know the symptoms. And if it was some illness he couldn’t name?
“What exactly did you see?”
Since he’d gone silent, the woman stepped closer and pressed him.
Did she think he was trying to pull something weird? Satin waved his hands defensively.
“I don’t see it anymore. There was something sparkling around you earlier. Might’ve just been my imagination.”
No point insisting—it would only turn into an argument. He let it go with a vague excuse. But the woman didn’t seem inclined to drop it. She stepped even closer.
“Was it really sparkling?”
“…Yeah.”
She rested her hand on her chin and rolled her eyes upward in thought. Then, without warning, she began murmuring again—softly, under her breath.
The same white light began to form once more.
“Wait—right there! Now!”
As Satin hastily pointed it out, the woman chuckled.
“You’ve got an interesting ability, you know that?”
The flickering light slowly faded, but her eyes now sparkled instead. It was as if all her earlier frustration had vanished. Her mood buoyant, she slung an arm casually over Satin’s shoulder.
“Got time?”
“I guess I do.”
He had plenty of time. He wasn’t leaving until early tomorrow morning, and today was wide open. Still, he couldn’t quite gauge her intentions, so he stayed slightly on guard. Surely she wouldn’t propose something shady with such a cheerful face—
Then again, you never know.
Everyone he’d met so far had been nice. But he wasn’t going to naïvely assume she’d be the same. For all he knew, this could be the point where the story’s hardships finally began.
Realistically, it probably wasn’t. But just in case, Satin decided to ask.
“Would you mind telling me what you want first?”
“Hmm, not sure if it’s okay to say this out in the open…”
Contrary to her earlier demeanor, the woman suddenly looked a little bashful. She scratched her head with her index finger and said,
“I might have to save the world or something…”
Unfortunately, Satin couldn’t stop a rather rude thought from popping into his head.
Is something wrong with her? Like, mentally?
Is she the next person I’m supposed to look after—after Grandpa?
She must’ve guessed what he was thinking from his expression, because she cleared her throat and started explaining again.
“I mean, it’s just a possibility. For now, I’m planning to track down traces of a Black Magician. I think you could really help with that. What do you say? I’ll make sure the pay’s worth your time.”
oh gosh is this a role reversal LOL Maybe she can teach him magic, is handy to have skills