By Zephyria 
Biban will likely be the last to accompany Mikael on his journey.
While the catastrophe the Ninth God would trigger obviously had to be stopped, what happened after that was not for me to solve. For me, staying away from the capital for a long time was a luxury. I, who must strive for Sierren’s throne, could not afford to waste time in a place where a round trip to send a single Ranunculus took over two weeks.
If Mikael were truly to be used as a pawn to wipe out the black magicians in one fell swoop, I would certainly be a hindrance to him. Furthermore, given the current Mikael, he would surely seek me out even after returning as a Grand Sword Master. I could believe that much now.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t even begun to lay the groundwork for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Among various proposals, constructing regional Academies was the gentlest approach, but that was because both Beneto and Richard were reluctant. From securing the Academy sites to appointing professors, I had to handle everything personally.
So, it was fine. To be apart for a while—just a very short while.
If it was for the preparations for my marriage to Mikael… I could bear it. I struggled to correct my thoughts, which had grown shallow, soaked in the happiness of recent times. First, I had to resolve the matter at hand and return to Sierren. I made a firm decision and steeled my heart.
The Temple of Memories was a space created to preserve and reflect upon memories.
The complete transmission of memories was the method that had allowed the humanity of the continent to flourish into its current form. Now that I knew the sage Gano Paquin, who was deeply involved in all sorts of physical laws and myths, was actually a god pretending to be human, the temple where his records were gathered took on an even deeper meaning.
The slender, simple spires and the large windows spaced at regular intervals served their purpose as ventilation. It was particularly noticeable that thick curtains blocked all light to prevent the books from being damaged by sunlight.
As is often the case, the temple doors were not locked.
The indices attached between the towering bookshelves were all enchanting and seductive. Some were precious volumes that I only possessed as copies, and some had publication dates that stretched far beyond three or four hundred years.
I scanned the books, which were evenly arranged by era, period, and title. It was almost a pity that I didn’t have the time to examine them slowly.
Crossing several bookshelves, I stood before the statue of the God of Memory. The marble, with a soft light like a pale mist, was carved elegantly without a single rough edge. In the statue, Gano Paquin appeared as a gaunt man with slightly sunken cheeks, but contrary to his paranoid appearance, he wore a gentle smile.
The pitch-black chains wrapped over his smooth, wrinkle-free robe were very suspicious. To display a Sealing Artifact so conspicuously? Didn’t it look like an obvious trap? Yet, it was also a trap I couldn’t simply turn away from…
After pondering for a moment, I asked Mikael for help.
“Mika, can you feel contaminated mana from these chains?”
“Yes.”
“Could you purify it?”
It was a mistake.
Mikael’s and the statue’s movements weren’t even properly visible to my eyes. I could barely, barely discern Samantha Andrei and Benjamin Claudian assisting Mikael. Hoping I wouldn’t be a hindrance in this battle, I tried my best to stay as far away from the combat as possible.
However, it is a natural law that the weakest prey is targeted first.
Screeeeeeech—!
An intense tinnitus, the likes of which I had never imagined in my life, scraped through my head in a chilling manner.
Someone laid my body flat. It was Lord Andrei.
I felt a bit cold. My entire body itched. Was I in a state where I couldn’t even perceive pain? I forced my eyes open. I feared that if I closed them now, I might never be able to open them again.
Of course, Lord Andrei was a knight well-trained in dealing with a comrade’s injuries, but it was unthinkable to lose consciousness in such an urgent situation.
Is Mika okay?
I wanted to see ahead. I wanted to say I was fine. The moment Lord Andrei straightened my skewed upper body, a massive surge of agony rushed up from deep within my throat. It hurt so much that I actually started to laugh.
Thanks to Lord Andrei setting my neck in a proper position, all I could see was the ceiling.
Is Mika okay?
A white light flared. I felt as if I could see what state my entire body was glowing in. I saw Lord Andrei take out a second Artifact and activate it in the same manner. My condition must have been quite dire. Still, I no longer had to worry about sudden death.
I couldn’t move a single fingertip. My ears were still muffled by the tinnitus. I couldn’t hear anything. To the point where it was hard to tell if I was screaming or even breathing.
So, Mika…
Ah.
Finally, it hurt. I suppose I was put back together properly. As a gag reflex hit me, I didn’t hold back and spat out whatever was in my mouth. Something—whether saliva or blood—leaked down the corners of my mouth. Since my internal organs might have been crushed, I had to spit out every foreign substance to survive.
I tried moving my fingertips. They moved. Then…
“Lord Ernhardt!”
Samantha Andrei’s shouting voice slammed into my ears, which had been muffled all along.
Mikael is looking this way. I relaxed the strength in my hands. It seemed the battle was over.
Did we win? We must have. The reason Andrei could stay put without moving was because of that. If Mikael had lost, she would have carried me away from this place even if my body ended up attached crookedly.
I broke into a cold sweat. I don’t know why turning my head once was so difficult.
Lord Andrei silently cleared away the objects obstructing my view. Soon, Mikael entered my sight.
Mikael looked at me silently, his face pale for the first time in his life, his eyes bloodshot with burst capillaries, surrounded by a strange radiance. Tears flowed continuously from those eyes, wetting his cheeks and chin.
See, you’re sad too. I was the same.
I suppressed the urge to make a pointless joke. My chest felt so tight that a strange, choking sound leaked out every time I inhaled. It felt as if someone had set my body on fire. Enduring the searing pain that felt like my whole body was burning, I calmly and carefully formed my voice.
“…See, Mika. I’m okay.”
Mikael did not answer. He couldn’t. Are you regretting bringing me here now?
It was a bit funny.
“Your Highness has now become a true knight. Originally, a knight is one who crosses the line between life and death.”
“…Yes… Huu, it feels… like I’ve been born again. It’s a world… worth living in.”
“Yes. Congratulations.”
No, it was very funny. I couldn’t hold back and laughed at Samantha Andrei’s joke this time.
Why am I so joyful? That because I am in pain, because I am struggling, you are suffering… Why does it feel so good?
I wish Mikael would cry because of me forever. I want him to cry because of me, suffer because of me, and be in pain because of me. That’s why I kept laughing.
Mikael approached me one painstaking step at a time. Then, he lifted me up in his arms.
Seeing that Lord Andrei didn’t stop Mikael, it seemed more than 15 minutes had passed since the Artifact’s activation. If the minimum recovery time had been secured, the burning sensation and pain continuing now were because my nerves had not yet properly recognized that the broken body had been reconstructed.
Knowing this well, I obediently hugged Mika back and buried my head in his chest.
I slowly coaxed and comforted the sobbing Mikael. I wondered why I was so joyful, and it was because this was the first time I had seen Mika cry so messily. That explained it.
Tinnitus mixed in between Mika’s sobs. My eyes kept closing. I was sleepy.
Thinking I would soon lose consciousness, I decided to finish the things I needed to do first.
“So… what did that guy say at the end?”
I checked once more so as not to forget the hint I gained,
“Mika. Do you feel even a bit of contaminated mana around us right now?”
Ensured safety,
“Lord Andrei, Lord Claudian. Could you check if there are any pieces among the ruins of the statue that still hold an intact shape? Anything will do. From the nearby bookshelves…”
And alerted the party so they could be conscious of the existence of another hint.
And then.
“Lord Ernhardt.”
“…Yes?”
“Please… let me lean on you a bit more. My body is still throbbing.”
“…Yes.”
I finished comforting Mikael, albeit in a simplified manner.
Mika carried me and sat down on a nearby couch. Knowing Mikael, who could play with boulders weighing hundreds of kilograms as if they were balloons, I relaxed my body instead of clinging to him to support my weight. His heart was still pounding violently, showing how shocked he had been.
Acting so cute. After laughing for a while, I rested my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes. I’ll sleep for just a bit. Did I say that, or did I pass out without being able to speak?
I couldn’t remember well.
…
And then, I regretted it like crazy.
This is the main hall of the Temple of Records.
Originally, it was a place that took the form of a grand library. It was a place where over a hundred bookshelves were stacked high enough to reach the ceiling, and a static wind lingered between them. It was a treasury of knowledge where silent information was piled layer upon layer.
If I had known it would be smashed to pieces like this, I would have endured it with sheer grit. I should have bitten my tongue and stayed awake even if my tongue were cut off.
I wondered how many times in my life I had felt such poignant regret.
The more I looked around, the more I wanted to close my eyes and run away, but my physical state, where it was hard to move a finger, forced me to stay in this place.
Is that pile of firewood stacked in the corner a bookshelf? Then is that crumpled ball over there a chair? Was it actually an object used as a chair?
The sight of individual pages sticking out from between the ripped books was distressing just to look at. I couldn’t believe the reality that my knights had turned another country’s temple into such clean powder.
I wouldn’t have felt this way if they had smashed the temple of the God of Plenty or the Sun God, but how could they… of all the temples, how could they do this to the Temple of Records…
Even if I felt like I was dying, I should have died with my eyes open. I felt a surge of anger and dizziness.
Wondering if I was shedding tears of blood again, I raised my unresponsive hand and brushed my cheek. It was very soft and clean. Mikael must have wiped it for me while I slept. Strangely… I wasn’t grateful at all.
* * *
When I opened my eyes for the second time, I was in a room alone with Mikael.
With a face full of sorrow and worry, Mika wiped my cheeks with a wet towel, helped me sit up, and brought me water. Seeing Mikael hovering around me restlessly, I thought, ‘Well, what can I do,’ and my heart softened quickly.
For a while, I rubbed my cheek against Mikael’s hand, sneakily bit his finger, and played around, waiting for Mikael to smile.
Mika hesitated and then said this.
“…Shall I… give you a massage?”
“…Huh?”
A massage?