#087

I gave the reliquary a light shake, but there was no rattling sound.

‘It feels like it has some weight to it, so I don’t think it’s empty…’

Opening it to check inside would be the surest way, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

‘If I’d known, I would have asked what was in it.’

In the dim light of a winter dawn, already cold and sleepy, Athanas had repeatedly urged me, almost badgering me, that I must carry this at all times, so I couldn’t think straight. I just wanted to take whatever it was and get inside before it got too late.

‘…Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it at all.’

Carrying an object engraved with the name of the Heretic Butcher to meet a Vassal of the Othergod was no different from putting a Mentos in your mouth and drinking Coke.

I glared at the reliquary for a long while, then quickly shoved it back into my coat pocket upon hearing the sound of the door opening.

“Bishop!”

“…What was that object you just put in your pocket?”

‘Eagle eyes.’

After a moment’s hesitation, I pulled out the reliquary.

Since I had to wear it anyway, it was bound to be noticed.

‘…He said he’d wait in front of the door today if I didn’t wear this.’

Between the worst and the second-worst option, I had to choose the latter.

Showing an object engraved with Athanas’s name would be less dangerous than Athanas showing up in person.

“…Did you have a lover?”

I felt a surge of tension. I couldn’t gauge how the servant of the Distorted One would react upon discovering a trace of Athanas.

“May I see it for a moment?”

Before I could even answer, Andrea took the reliquary from my hand. He narrowed his eyes, examining it closely, and read the engraved name aloud.

“Athanas….”

His voice held a sigh-like lament.

Bishop Andrea frowned slightly and returned the reliquary to my hand.

“A very cheap reliquary. It seems to have been prepared in haste.”

‘…Does he not know who Athanas is? Did the player not tell him anything? No memories of “Die Heretic!” either?’

My thoughts raced, but I remained faithful to my role as ‘naive Fabio, who was told he received a cheap gift from his lover.’

“…Still, what’s inside is what matters.”

“But all others can see is the exterior. No matter what is inside, to the world, it is a crude, hastily made reliquary. What is truly offensive is that he gave this as a gift. It means he thought this would be enough for my lover.”

The sound of him clicking his tongue was loud.

“There is no need to see anything else. He is a man who makes my lover look cheap. Meeting him would be a waste of time.”

“…If you put it that way, I couldn’t even prepare a cheap gift like this. And the fact that it was prepared in haste means he wanted to give it to me as soon as possible.”

As I spoke, clutching the reliquary as if it were precious, Andrea’s face contorted.

“…He is a man not worth receiving such feelings,” Andrea said in a firm voice.

“Fabio, it would be better for you to break up with him.”

I gasped, pretending to be shocked.

‘…What should I say here?’

I expected him to tell me to break up if he found out I was dating, but I never imagined the reason would be because ‘the gift was cheap.’ I thought he’d say something like “this is no time for such things”….

‘But wouldn’t it be out of character to break up just because a gift was insincere?’

Fabio is a naive country youth who is so bad at looking after his own interests that it’s frustrating to watch.

“I know you’re saying this for my sake. But….”

I intentionally trailed off.

‘I need to have at least one frustrating or lacking quality.’

There is one thing to keep in mind when dealing with a “kkondae” (condescending superior). You must never rob them of the opportunity to interfere.

Even if a kkondae habitually complains, “Does nothing get done without me? Would it kill you to do it perfectly the first time?”, you shouldn’t take those words literally. What a kkondae actually wants is a situation where their input is added, making the project perfect “thanks to them.”

Therefore, one must leave a slight gap of incompetence, allow the kkondae to point it out, and then go through the process of correcting it. Of course, one must not forget to make a fuss about how things would have been disastrous without the kkondae’s brilliant insight.

“…As for the advice to break up, that is difficult for me to accept.”

Andrea’s expression turned cold.

If there were an Affinity window, it would have dropped by about -20 just now.

‘But this is one step back for two steps forward.’

Kkondaes absolutely loathe those who don’t listen to them, but they adore those who fail because they didn’t listen and then come crawling back. It’s the moment their correctness is proven.

Since I hadn’t ruined an important task or caused actual damage—just acting frustratingly by ignoring dating advice—he wouldn’t cast me out immediately. Then, one day, if I sobbed that I broke up with Athanas and vowed to live exactly as Andrea wished from then on, my Affinity would instantly jump by +60. At that level, it would be almost….

‘Wait. Do I really need to conquer him to that extent?’

It’s not like I have a lovely daughter and am trying to marry into the family….

‘I shouldn’t leave the “Kkondae Auto-Reaction” on too often.’

I almost seriously tried to conquer a kkondae bastard.

Even if I hit MAX Affinity with Andrea, he’d probably just try to convert me to believe in the Distorted One.

“…You will certainly regret this.”

“Perhaps. But if I am to break up, I want to do it after I’ve regretted it. If I choose a breakup based on someone else’s words without being convinced, I will be left with lingering regrets.”

“Must you put your hand in the fire to learn that it is hot?”

After hesitating, I bowed my head and answered.

“…Yes.”

I heard a long sigh.

“I am sorry. If teaching someone who cannot follow a single piece of advice feels like a waste of time, then I….”

I paused, pretending my voice was choking up.

“…I shall take my leave.”

“Where do you think you’re going? Prepare for your studies.”

Startled, I looked up to see Bishop Andrea wearing an expression that said he didn’t like it, but he’d let it slide.

“Bishop…!”

‘Wow, he actually let it slide.’

If he hadn’t stopped me, I planned to go straight back to my room and finish my nap. Feeling a bit disappointed inwardly, I finished taking off my coat. It was then, as I was about to hang the reliquary around my neck.

“…Give that reliquary to me.”

“Huh? Why this….”

“I will keep it for you. You might lose it while playing with the children later.”

‘After clicking his tongue and calling it cheap?’

“I will return it when you leave, so there is no need to worry.”

Seeing Andrea insist again, I felt a slight sense of incongruity.

“…Thank you for the offer. But I promised I would always carry it.”

‘Did he actually recognize Athanas?’

A sudden suspicion crossed my mind: was the abrupt demand to break up just a ploy to naturally take this reliquary?

“Then it cannot be helped.”

However, Andrea immediately conceded and stepped back. His attitude was truly that of someone who had simply made a suggestion.

‘…Was I overreacting?’

Throughout the lesson, I deliberately fiddled with the reliquary, but Andrea showed no particular reaction.

‘Stay calm.’

Being vigilant is good. But I must not make baseless assumptions. When one’s vision narrows, they make absurd mistakes.

‘If anything happens, I can just call the Saintess…’

“Fabio.”

“Yes, Bishop.”

It was after the lesson, while I was organizing the notes I’d written on the wax tablet by transferring them to parchment. Yesterday, Andrea had left the room as soon as the lesson ended, but today he remained and waited for me.

“If you have no important appointments afterward, I would like you to help me.”

“…I’m free for about three hours. Is it a task that takes a long time?”

“That should be enough. It is simple document organization.”

‘Document organization…’

An opportunity to look into Adelaide came this quickly?

‘…No, let’s not do anything today.’

When doing a task for the first time, the person in charge often checks in to see if it’s being done correctly. If I were caught digging through documents I wasn’t assigned, it would be suspicious.

‘It could even be a test.’

If his intention was to probe whether I came to volunteer at the orphanage with some other motive, the moment I touched other documents, it would be a “Gotcha!” moment.

‘I’ll just remember how the documents are arranged… and I must never be curious about things I wasn’t told to do.’

I made that vow to myself as I followed Andrea down to the underground archive.

But that vow became useless immediately.

“…This is?”

“These are the documents recorded when the children first arrive.”

What Andrea handed me was a list of children.

‘Of all things?’

“Please go through them and transfer the current status of the children here. Children remaining at the orphanage go here, adopted children here, and children moved to other dioceses here.”

“…There are portraits in the documents.”

“Since they may be children who lost their parents, we must record their appearance immediately upon entering the orphanage so they can be found by looking at the portrait.”

I was stunned.

Could it be this coincidental?

The coincidence was so favorable that it actually made me anxious.

‘This might be a trap he set, guessing that I came to find Adelaide.’

He’s probably trying to confirm my purpose by watching my reaction.

‘Stay calm. Fabio knows nothing. Fabio just wants to help Andrea with a pure heart. Fabio is happy to help Bishop Andrea…’

I transferred the children’s names as Andrea instructed.

As I repeated the simple task, my anxiety subsided slightly.

‘Anton, Arianna, Amanda…’

Then, I came across the document for a child named ‘Alicia.’

‘…Ah.’

I recognized her the moment I saw the portrait. Black hair, black eyes, a face smiling so wide that dimples formed….

‘It’s Adelaide.’

I paused for a moment and tried to continue the work as naturally as possible, but I couldn’t.

Except for the name and the portrait, every other part of Alicia’s document had been scraped away and erased.

‘…Why?’

“She is a very pretty child, isn’t she?”

‘Fuck!’

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest because Andrea suddenly spoke from behind me.

‘No, it’s okay. It’s natural to pause when seeing a strange document.’

“Bishop Andrea. This, this document is….”

The moment I turned around to ask why it was damaged.

“Are you curious why the contents are erased?”

The string connecting the reliquary was pulled taut. For a split second, thinking he was trying to strangle me with the necklace, I reflexively put my hand under the string.

“Stay still. You’ll hurt your hand.”

With a snapping sound, the necklace broke, and the reliquary rolled across the floor.

“The reason is simple. I was afraid someone would come looking for her.”

Andrea picked up the reliquary.

“…Afraid they would find her and force another sacrifice upon her.”

Chapter 88