“I think there’s a high chance the Demon God will appear too.”
“I didn’t expect to hear that from you, Satin.”
Edward looked at Satin the way a father might look at the troublemaker friend his equally troublesome daughter dragged home. Satin quickly waved his hands in defense.
“No, hear me out. If the Great Temple started spreading those rumors just to prepare for a natural disaster, there were easier ways to go about it. They could’ve just told people to start stockpiling food. Folks would’ve picked up on it.”
“That’s true.”
“So why use vague language like ‘a trial’ or ‘a greater ordeal’? There must be a reason. They wanted people to be on edge without causing full-blown panic.”
It sounded more like a convenient interpretation than fact, but Edward bought it. His expression turned far more serious than when he scolded Rita.
“When you put it that way… something does come to mind.”
“Something comes to mind?”
“Someone came to see me before I met the person Rita sent.”
If this had happened when Edward was still at the temple in Cloverland, a visitor wouldn’t have been anything unusual. But that wasn’t the case now. Who would go out of their way to seek out a priest on pilgrimage? If it were just a citizen in need of help, Edward wouldn’t be bringing it up so vaguely.
“They said they were from the temple, but I never told anyone I was heading to Daisyland. I found that odd.”
“So? What did they say?”
Rita pressed him. Edward rubbed his chin before replying.
“They didn’t say much. Just gave me a blessing for my journey. You might not know this, but priests can’t bless themselves.”
‘You can’t bless yourself, but you can still heal, right? It makes no sense if a healer can’t self-heal.’
Satin found his thoughts drifting to that random idea and cleared his throat awkwardly. Thankfully, Edward didn’t find it strange. He continued, tone still earnest.
“Maybe they foresaw a situation where I’d need a blessing. Or perhaps it wasn’t just me—they might’ve expected something dangerous to happen to any priest on pilgrimage.”
Right now, it was impossible to know. The three of them—Edward, Rita, and Satin—fell silent, each lost in thought. Cain was the only one who remained indifferent. After a pause, Rita popped a piece of well-cooked carrot into her mouth and spoke.
“Let’s just head to the capital. We need to hear what the Great Temple has to say for themselves.”
“Are you sure? I assume you had somewhere else in mind.”
“Oh, we were planning to go to the capital anyway.”
Satin hadn’t heard anything like that before, but he’d half-expected it, so he wasn’t surprised. Since Satin stayed quiet, Cain did too. Only Edward voiced his doubts.
“Weren’t you planning to visit every city, Rita?”
“I can’t be leisurely sightseeing when the Demon God might show up.”
“There’s no guarantee the Demon God will appear in the capital, though.”
“No, but if he’s worse than the Demon King, wouldn’t he go where there are more people?”
“…If mass slaughter is his goal, that would be the logical move.”
“How could you say something so horrifying?!”
Rita stared at Edward in shock, eyes wide in disbelief. Edward immediately frowned.
“I’m just repeating what you said.”
***
Now that Edward had joined the group, there was no reason to delay. The party set out the next morning.
“Good thing you bought Sacred Relics in advance. I was going to suggest picking some up if we passed another temple.”
“Oh, so there’s no temple in Daisyland?”
Everyone except Edward was visiting Daisyland for the first time. It was supposedly a city about the same size as Cloverland, so Satin was a bit surprised to hear it lacked a temple. Edward explained why.
“Most people assume temples are built only in big cities, but it’s actually the opposite.”
“Really? But I’ve only ever seen temples in large cities.”
Rita, who had visited many towns, tilted her head. Edward smiled faintly.
“In many cases, the city grew because a temple was built there first. When the first temple was constructed in Cloverland, the town was probably far more underdeveloped than Daisyland is now.”
“Oh, I see.”
“The only real exception is the Great Temple in the capital. You probably know that its construction coincided with the founding of this kingdom’s current dynasty.”
Satin didn’t know, but he kept that to himself. At this point, he couldn’t use amnesia as an excuse—the time he’d spent in this world was too long. It was better to play the quiet type than to be seen as someone ignorant of basic facts.
“Historically, the royal family and the temple have always maintained a close relationship. Maybe the reason the temples in each city have been losing influence lately is because the royal family’s power has waned.”
Satin instinctively glanced at Rita’s expression. She wasn’t ruffled—just calmly nodded in agreement.
‘So it’s true, then.’
Rita had once said that most administrative affairs were handled by bureaucrats, and the king only served to stamp documents. It felt more like a modern government than the backdrop of a fantasy novel. He hadn’t thought that way while reading Dark Age, but now…
There was a subtle sense of dissonance, but Satin didn’t dwell on it. It wasn’t uncommon for an author’s full intent to go unexpressed in their writing. Maybe his sister had intended this world to be a constitutional monarchy, but simply never had the chance to depict it.
“Maybe the royal family is somehow involved in all this.”
“What?!”
This time, Rita couldn’t keep a straight face. Edward, unaware that Rita was a princess, looked puzzled by her reaction.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“No, it’s just… I hadn’t considered that possibility.”
Rita fumbled through an awkward excuse.
Just then, the carriage they’d been waiting for arrived, ending the conversation. Before boarding, Rita checked the destination with the coachman.
“This is the one going to Midland, right, sir?”
“Yes, should take about three days. If there’s anything you forgot, speak up now. The next town is tiny.”
After quickly checking their luggage, everyone boarded. The carriage wouldn’t depart until at least six passengers were on board. There were four in their party, so the coachman waited for two more to join before setting off.
Cain, who had been unusually quiet since leaving Cloverland, finally spoke up.
“This feels weird.”
His voice was low—meant only for Satin, who sat beside him. Satin had been thinking of taking a short nap during the long journey, but he straightened up and asked,
“Why? Are you not feeling well?”
“No, it’s not that. I’ve never been this far from home before.”
Cain looked so serious that Satin almost burst out laughing.
“First-time travel nerves, huh?”
“Is that what it is?”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“You seem totally unfazed.”
That hit a nerve, but Satin kept a calm smile.
“Do I? Guess I’ve got a thick skin.”
Saying he was going to get some rest, Satin closed his eyes. Since there were strangers in the carriage, he didn’t go so far as to lie on Cain’s lap, but just leaning against his shoulder was comfortable enough.
Cain gently lowered his shoulder to make it easier for Satin and whispered,
“Tell me if it gets uncomfortable.”
“…Okay.”
This kind of tenderness sometimes made Satin feel a bit squirmy. Honestly though, he didn’t hate it.
Cain stayed completely still until Satin fell into a deep sleep.
***
Horses love to run, but they can’t go all day. Satin had learned by now that they needed periodic rest breaks to avoid exhaustion.
‘Well, it’s not like this is my first time riding in a carriage.’
While the horses rested, Satin got out to stretch his legs. So did the rest of the group—and the other passengers as well.
Somehow, while Satin had been asleep, Rita had managed to strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger. Edward, who wasn’t nearly as outgoing, stood off to the side near Satin and Cain, rotating his waist in broad circles to loosen up.
“What are you staring at?”
Cain’s sudden grumble made Satin lift his head, but the comment wasn’t aimed at him. Cain had been talking to Edward.
It seemed like he was just picking a fight, but Edward didn’t flinch. He responded calmly.
“I was just curious about something.”
“Like what.”
“Who taught you magic, Cain?”
Satin tensed slightly, worried Cain might lose his temper. But surprisingly, Cain simply gave a small, calm smile.
“What if I said it was someone?”
His tone wasn’t exactly gentle, despite the smile.
“Then that’s that. I’m just curious, that’s all.”
Edward gave a small shrug before continuing.
“I’ve heard the name Satin before. But when I met Mr. Satin here, I didn’t think much of it. Figured it was just a coincidence.”
Satin, who’d been leaning far back to stretch his spine, nearly cramped his abdomen at the sudden mention of his name. He hurriedly straightened up and looked at Edward.
Edward looked completely unfazed—like someone tossing a pebble into a still pond without a care. And that’s when Satin realized it.
‘This wasn’t something he brought up on a whim.’
Satin tensed up immediately.
‘Don’t tell me he’s going to drag me off now, claiming I’m the Black Magician’s disciple or something…?’
The chances of that were slim. Even after hearing that Cain had tried to summon the Demon King, Edward hadn’t reported it. He looked like the straight-laced type, but his personality was more flexible than his appearance suggested.
Edward didn’t look at Satin—his gaze was on Cain as he began to speak.
“They say the boy named Satin, disciple of the Black Magician, died in the fire because he couldn’t escape. That’s how the story goes. But was that boy truly the Black Magician’s disciple?”
“Who knows.”
Cain’s expression was still relaxed, carrying a faint, easy smile. He showed none of the tension Satin was feeling.
“What if the one presumed dead back then was innocent, and the real disciple survived among the others?”
“And you’re wondering if that someone is me.”
