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“Wasn’t this a strategy game?”

Having said something horrifying, Hagen’ti stared at Eden for a moment, as if she had just ruined a holy and noble opportunity. But still, there was no resentment in his calm, unwavering eyes.

Eden, at a loss for words, looked at Hagen’ti. He soon shifted his gaze from her to the moon outside the window.

The bright moonlight cast a glow on his pale face, which was still astonishingly beautiful, yet in his eyes looking at the moon, there was nothing at all. It was as if he were a person truly waiting for death.

A sharp pang hit Eden’s chest at the sight of his desolate face.

It was strange. Why did that hollow face feel the most human among all she had encountered in this world?

She couldn’t understand why this quiet corridor, with only a sliver of moonlight sneaking in, evoked such a vivid illusion of reality more than ever before.

Finally, Eden noticed how unendurable the chilly corridor with the large window was and involuntarily shrank back.

She turned her head to look outside.

It was dark and desolate outside. Even without looking, she knew there was nowhere near here where people could live except for this castle.

In truth, even this castle wouldn’t have lasted a week if it were in the hands of an ordinary person.

In this lonely landscape, the only thing visible was the moon, large and plump, glowing more than half full.

Eden gazed at the moon for a moment before turning her head again.

“So you’re here for this?”

At her unexpected question, Hagen’ti’s eyes, which had been glaring at the moon, returned to Eden. She stepped closer to him.

“What are you going to do if I’m not?”

She stared intensely into his emotionless eyes, which were starting to get on her nerves.

“If it could end without dying.”

Hagen’ti remained silent.

“Then on that day…”

Eden shot him a fierce glare like she was angry but then broke into a smile.

“You won’t regret surviving that day.”

Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Hagen’ti’s hand again. His pupils widened at her unexpected action.

Unaware that he had stiffened, Eden held tightly onto his large hand with both of hers.

It was cold, yet she could still feel warmth. This warmth was proof that he was still alive. At that moment, Eden realized how to stop Hagen’ti’s rampage.

By maintaining this warmth.

So he would no longer wish for death.

“I’ll take responsibility.”

Eden looked up to meet Hagen’ti’s gaze.

“Since I saved you, I’ll try to be responsible.”

Hagen’ti stared intensely at her, holding her hand as if both were meaningful promises made that could not be kept.

“But… how about visiting a healer? You never know.”

As Eden subtly suggested this, Hagen’ti immediately withdrew his hand and turned away.

Damn it, she tried to follow Hagen’ti, who seemed to be leaving without a second thought, but a notification window popped up in front of her, blocking her path.

Ding!

The blinking red text made Eden’s eyes widen.

A warning window? This was something she had never seen in previous plays.

But there was no time to be surprised by the new notification. She had to leave the Chancellor’s Office before Sereman arrived.

Eden turned in a panic, then looked back again. She could see Hagen’ti drifting further away.

“I’ll be back! I won’t be late next time! Really!”

Eden shouted, but Hagen’ti didn’t look back.

She immediately turned around and started to run, completely unaware that Hagen’ti had stopped in his tracks when her footsteps receded.

“Priest!”

When Sereman’s voice came from behind, Eden feigned surprise as she looked up from watering a flower pot. Fortunately, she had arrived at the Chancellor’s Office before Sereman.

“Chancellor!”

Sereman appeared as if he had just returned from the Temple. The man with fine lavender-colored hair looked a bit more tired than the last time she saw him.

It seems there had been quite a disturbance from monsters, keeping the Chancellor busy without a moment’s rest.

Was this also part of the game’s setting?

Not knowing the intent behind linking her office and Hagen’ti’s castle, Eden suspected that he was trying to stop Hagen’ti’s rampage. Still, doubts about Sereman lingered in her heart.

No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t speculate any other reason besides that he was trying to stop Hagen’ti.

The fact that Hagen’ti’s rampage was something only she knew outside the game, meant that a character within this world who knew it had to be someone like Chancellor.

Of course, she also considered the possibility that he might have the exact opposite purpose to hers, but so far she had found no signs of such an inclination.

“You’re still cleaning, huh?”

Eden thought she barely avoided a disaster for being just a little late, and smiled.

“I was just about to finish.”

Sereman smiled gently, then seemed to recall something and added, “I heard you haven’t been back in the capital for long, my apologies for not being more considerate. You must be tired from travel…”

When Sereman looked apologetic, Eden shook her head with a bright face.

“Not at all! If anything, cleaning helps me clear my mind and find peace. It’s part of my training too!”

“I’m glad to hear that. Even if I said you don’t have to clean the Chancellor’s Office, the regulations of the Great Temple don’t allow it.”

Eden understood what Sereman meant.

Cleaning was essential training for priests, especially for apprentice priests, and cleaning the place imbued with the Chancellor’s aura held special significance for them.

This was an old tradition of the Great Temple, so there was no way for Sereman to avoid it.

“I’ve heard of the contributions you made in the recent expedition.”

Sereman’s words snapped Eden out of her thoughts, and she looked at him.

“You did a wonderful job. Hamun will surely commend your noble intentions.”

Sereman looked at Eden with affectionate eyes. Feeling like she was being praised by Hamun, Eden simply smiled.

In any case, it seemed her efforts to build goodwill with the Chancellor were progressing smoothly.

“Oh, if I recall correctly, today is the last day for cleaning. Isn’t that right?”

At that question, Eden’s face stiffened as if cold water had been poured on her.

“No, Hernah is busy with her training, so I decided to take on a bit more.”

Eden lied smoothly, despite the cold sweat running down her back.

To find Hagen’ti again, she desperately needed access to this office, and the only way to do that was to continue offering to clean.

“You’ll have plenty of tasks ahead…”

“Don’t worry. As I said, I enjoy cleaning.”

“But…”

“If it becomes hard, I’ll definitely tell you, Chancellor.”

With her assertive claim, Sereman looked at her, appearing a bit at a loss, before finally nodding with a smile.

“Then, you must tell me whenever it becomes difficult.”

His mysterious purple eyes were filled with warmth.

The next day, Eden had to visit the Imperial Palace again. Having returned from the expedition, she needed to report to Ibthan.

She headed to Ibthan’s office and relayed all the information about Chupi and Seruka.

“Oh, mixing Chupi’s saliva with oak leaves makes a good remedy for the skin. They say it can clean up wounds caused by Chupi’s poison too.”

Ibthan, who had been quietly writing down the information Eden provided, lifted his gaze at those words.

His attention briefly lingered on the right cheek, which had fully healed, and then shifted to her left cheek, marred by Chupi’s poison.

“Did you experiment with it yourself?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, Eden stared at him with a blank face before remembering what her right cheek had looked like and stiffening up.

She never expected Ibthan would catch on before Asmun.

“This… I applied medicine to it.”

“I see you left the left side as a souvenir from the slaughter.”

With a tone clearly meant to provoke, Eden realized that Ibthan was mocking her.

“…What’s the problem?”

This time, Eden couldn’t hold back.

“I went and returned safely as promised, and I dealt with the monsters reported near the western border. Seruka was taken care of before the rumors reached the capital.”

Ibthan remained silent.

“I’m not asking for praise, but there’s no need to mock me like that, is there?”

At her words, Ibthan chuckled in disbelief.

“Were you hoping for praise, perhaps?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“The Emperor has praised you too. Are you really opposing the Emperor’s intention?”

Eden provocatively mentioned the Emperor, causing Ibthan’s face to stiffen.

He set down the quill he was holding and looked directly at her.

“Did you do such foolish things to gain His Majesty’s praise?”

“Hey, Chancellor. You’re way out of line.”

“According to His Majesty, he was moved by your noble actions, thus he intends to grant you a position.”

Eden widened her eyes in surprise at that statement.

“A position…?”

“Yes.”

“I’m fine. I didn’t do this to receive anything like that.”

“I expected you to say that, so I went ahead and refused on your behalf.”

His tone was calm, almost condescending, making Eden’s eyes narrow.

What is he trying to do, this jerk?

“But you can’t refuse this.”

As he spoke, Ibthan pulled something from his pocket and presented it to her.

“What is this?”

“This is a token granted by His Majesty to you.”

 

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