Cain grew tense the moment he turned into the alley leading home. The closer he got, the worse it became—until the tension vanished in an instant when he saw the glow of light leaking through the window.
As he passed through the gate, he cast a glance at the vegetable patch. One corner had been cleared out. It had been lush that morning, so Satin must have harvested the fully grown leaves. That nameless leafy vegetable would regrow in about three days, even after being picked like that.
‘How does it grow like that even without getting much water?’
To Cain, who knew absolutely nothing about farming, the vegetable patch was truly a mystery.
‘Can he charm plants too, not just people? Like, “Grow faster”?’
Entertaining such a ridiculous thought, he knocked on the door, and soon Satin appeared. His hands were wet, suggesting he’d been in the kitchen.
“You’re back?”
For some reason, Satin looked brighter than usual today. His eyes and lips curved into a soft smile, and that unnerved Cain.
“Did something happen?”
“Hm?”
Cain followed Satin inside, immediately scanning the area. At least from the entrance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He’d have to look more closely elsewhere to be sure.
As he was about to follow Satin into the kitchen, something hit his shoulder.
“Hey, don’t come in all dusty like that.”
“Tch…”
Cain clicked his tongue softly but didn’t talk back. He quickly washed up, changed clothes, and came back to find the kitchen filled with a delicious aroma. It seemed dinner had been finished while he was gone.
“Need help with anything?”
“Wipe down the table, will you?”
He took the rag Satin handed him and went to the dining room. As he was wiping the table in broad strokes, Satin brought out the food. A large dish filled with an unfamiliar meal—stir-fried chopped vegetables and some grain he’d never seen before.
“What’s this?”
“It’s called rice.”
Cain vaguely recalled hearing about a grain by that name. Figuring Satin wouldn’t serve something inedible, he sat down without protest.
Back when they were at school together, there hadn’t been any need for either of them to cook. So he’d never thought of Satin as someone who’d be good in the kitchen.
But now, perhaps with time, Satin cooked as skillfully as that shaggy beast of at the school. Cain had seen him cooking several times before—he handled ingredients with ease and worked the stove like a pro.
‘Is this also thanks to that old man?’
The thought that he’d gotten good at housework while taking care of that geezer made Cain feel sick. Still, since Satin seemed to genuinely enjoy cooking, Cain didn’t show his displeasure.
‘That old man’s dead anyway.’
Cain ate as Satin suggested. Naturally, it tasted great. As he ate, he asked,
“So, did something happen?”
“Why?”
“You seem like you’re in a good mood.”
“No, it’s not exactly something to be happy about.”
That’s what he said, but the corners of Satin’s lips twitched. Cain guessed he wanted to smile but was holding back. Satin continued speaking, refusing to give in to the urge.
“I heard a strange rumor.”
“Rumor?”
His serious expression piqued Cain’s interest—not in the rumor itself, but in where Satin had heard it. Cain barely knew anyone around here, but somehow Satin had already gotten close enough with someone to be picking up rumors.
As Cain narrowed his eyes at him, Satin, slightly excited, said,
“I heard it when I went out to buy rice earlier. Word is, a divine oracle has descended upon the temple.”
“Oh, an oracle.”
Cain couldn’t help but react with indifference. Half of what came out of the Temple was nonsense, and the other half was pure bravado. Just like how fifty percent of what came out of the Bureau of Order was lies, and the remaining fifty percent was bluster.
The very concept of an oracle was dubious. What the Temple called an oracle was basically just a hunch. If the High Priest suddenly said one day, “God has warned us of impending disaster,” then that would become an oracle. There was no way to verify whether God had actually said anything at all.
‘Ridiculous.’
If something bad actually happened afterward, then the oracle had been correct. If nothing bad happened, then it was thanks to the oracle that disaster was averted. It was the kind of thing that could be twisted any way you wanted—make it an earring if it fits the ear, a nose ring if it fits the nose. Cain couldn’t understand why so many people believed in it.
“So, did you hear what the oracle actually said?”
“They said the Demon God is descending.”
“…Ha.”
Cain let out a reflexive snort, and Satin widened his eyes before chuckling awkwardly.
“Yeah, sounds kind of absurd, right?”
“Do you actually believe that rumor?”
“Not really believe, I just thought it was amusing.”
“So you don’t believe it?”
“I’m not not believing it, either…”
Satin shrugged evasively, like he hadn’t really thought about it that deeply.
After finishing dinner, they cleaned up together and sat in the parlor for a short while. Satin didn’t bring up the outlandish rumor again, just made some small talk about the vegetable patch before heading upstairs to the bedroom.
Cain stayed behind in the parlor instead of following him up.
There were two rooms on the second floor. The couple who used to live here had used them as a bedroom and a study, respectively.
Now, Cain and Satin each used one as their personal bedroom. The doors faced each other—just three steps apart. And yet, Cain had never once entered Satin’s room.
‘Not that there’s any reason to go in.’
But then again, there wasn’t any real reason not to.
Still, whenever he found himself standing in front of Satin’s bedroom door, Cain would turn away. Not long ago, they’d slept in the same room without a second thought.
Lost in his pointless thoughts, Cain stepped out of the house just past midnight, quietly, without going up to his room.
***
The little shop he had once visited with Satin had no sign. Satin seemed to think it was just some casual place that offered housing or job referrals, but that wasn’t it. The old man who ran the place didn’t have a single thing he wouldn’t sell.
‘Suspicious old bastard.’
Even so, Cain always ended up coming back to him. After all, no one in Cloverland could be trusted. At least this old man had some utility.
Cain walked in without knocking. The old man, mid-sip of his now-cold tea, looked up and greeted him with a greasy smile.
“What brings you out at this hour? I thought you were all set, living your happy little life with your ‘brother.’”
“He’s not my brother.”
“Whatever you say.”
Cain plopped down in the seat across from him, stirring up dust. The old man frowned, muttering about the mess. If he hated dust so much, he should’ve cleaned. No point scolding the customer.
“Word is, you’ve been playing the good boy lately—being all decent and hardworking under your ‘brother’s’ watchful eye. Earning an honest wage, too. Folks are talking.”
“Who said that?”
“Does it matter?”
The old man chuckled slyly. Cain didn’t press him. The old man’s informants were all over Cloverland.
‘Creepy old geezer.’
Cain would’ve openly said that before, but now he kept it to himself. The man’s network of informants was the only way he could find out what Satin was doing during the day. Maintaining a good relationship with the old man was the smarter move.
Seeing Cain wasn’t going to argue, the old man grinned wider.
“So what brings you here at this hour?”
“I heard there’s a strange rumor going around.”
“A rumor? Oh, you mean the oracle thing?”
“Yeah. Do you know what the oracle actually said?”
“Of course.”
He lifted his chipped teacup, smirking as if teasing Cain.
‘Stay calm.’
If Satin hadn’t shown up, this old man would’ve died along with the rest of Cloverland’s wretched souls. Cain forced himself to keep cool and asked again.
“What did it say?”
The old man decided to cut him some slack and answered plainly.
“Nothing too specific—just that worse trials are coming, so people should prepare. I’ll tell you that much for free, out of respect for our relationship.”
“Thanks. Then why are people saying the Demon God is descending?”
Tossing off the thanks without much weight, Cain pressed further. The old man gave a little groan.
“You remember the Demon King that showed up not long ago, right? If an even greater trial is coming, wouldn’t that mean the power behind the Demon King is about to appear?”
“Didn’t seem like much of a trial to me.”
“Easy for you to say—you don’t have a family. Homes with kids or old folks were in total chaos, you know.”
Cain simply nodded. He didn’t care whether the old or the young died—but others weren’t like him. Even Satin had paced in distress, worrying over total strangers.
“If that situation had lasted just a few days longer, things would’ve turned catastrophic. Humans aren’t as strong as they think. Go without water for a couple of days, and you die.”
“Ah, right.”
“Anyway, since the Temple is saying the next trial will be worse, they’re in full panic mode. They’re quietly trying to come up with countermeasures…”
By now, Cain had heard everything he needed. He stood from his seat, and the old man looked up at him with wide eyes.
“You’re leaving already?”
“Pretty sure I’ve heard enough.”
Cain’s curt reply made the old man snort with amusement.
Just as Cain gave a half-hearted farewell and turned to leave, he paused. The old man blinked at him, curious.
“What? Something else on your mind?”
“About the letters.”
“Letters? It’s not time to send the next one yet.”
“You can stop sending them now.”
“Why? I was enjoying those, you know.”
“…I just want Cloverland to look peaceful.”
“Pfft, as if stopping one batch of letters is gonna make this hellhole peaceful. You know how messed up this place is.”
The old man had a point. Cain paused, then said,
“Then just take care of the last one we talked about.”
“You’re not doing it yourself?”
“It has to look like it has nothing to do with me.”
“Tch. So, if you keep your hands clean for the final act, suddenly it’s not your fault anymore?”
Cain didn’t respond to the grumbling—he just stared at the old man in silence. Eventually, the old man gave in and nodded.
“Fine. That bastard dying is just divine punishment anyway. If that’s all, get going.”
With that confirmation, Cain left the shop. He made his way back through the dark alleyways toward home.
Satin’s bedroom door was shut. Cain felt a strong urge to check if Satin was really inside—but he resisted and went into his own room.
‘Whether it’s the Demon God or whatever else, it’s none of my concern.’
As long as he could spend peaceful days with Satin, nothing else mattered.
They’re a married couple your honor