Chapter 51
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 51
Monica has a sharp tongue, but she's never directed it at me like this before.
"...."
When I glanced sideways, my eyes met her pouting lips first.
Ah, right. I did collapse. I was making a fuss trying to separate the Sea God from Jeremy.
And when I coughed up blood and fell, the voice I heard was unmistakably Victoria's.
"...Did you hear everything?"
"...."
Seeing her lips still pouting, it seemed she had indeed heard it all.
"But I don't regret it."
I coughed up blood as severely as when I died in my past life, and it hurt tremendously, but I don't regret it.
"Ah, I'm sorry for frightening you all. Honestly, I didn't expect it to happen like this either."
I thought blood would only come from my mouth, but who knew it would pour out from my eyes and nose like that?
...Of course, I would have done it anyway even if I'd known, but since Monica doesn't know my true feelings, I'll keep quiet.
"Were you very frightened?"
"Of course I was!"
Monica cried out abruptly. I was taken aback by the tears dangling from the corners of her eyes.
Wow, enough to make her cry?
"You were gone for just one night, and not only was there an assassination attempt, but you coughed up blood trying to save that man! I'm not leaving the Temple of the Sun God even if my parents come. I'm staying by the Holy Maiden's side!"
Monica suddenly burst into tears, burying her face in the bed.
I patted her back earnestly to comfort her.
"Right, right. But did you hear that I crushed the Assassin's head and captured her?"
"That doesn't matter at all!"
Understood, understood.
I continued to comfort Monica until her tears subsided.
"Sniff. And anyway, I thought the Holy Maiden would never regret it."
After her tears stopped, Monica blew her nose loudly and spoke. I was secretly surprised.
"Really?"
"Not just me—everyone else thinks the same way. The Holy Maiden wouldn't do something in the first place if you were going to regret it."
We haven't been close for long, yet everyone understands me so well.
Of course, being human, there are rare moments when I wonder if I should have done things differently.
Like the negotiation with the Sun God, or the deal with the Sun God, or accepting the Sun God's Quest.
"Why does everyone understand me so well?"
"It's because we care about you so much. We understand you well because we care."
Her blunt yet sincere words made my chest feel a little heavy.
"I'm moved."
All the effort I've made since possessing this body wasn't in vain. I've been living well and earnestly.
...If only this assassination incident hadn't happened, I could have properly transformed my image.
I swallowed my tears inwardly, thinking of the people at the Temple of the Sun God who had been avoiding my gaze more than usual.
Those Sea God cultists—I won't let them off easy.
"I'll try my best not to do anything too dangerous. For all of you who care about me."
"You promised."
Monica quickly extended her pinky finger. I readily linked mine with hers.
"Though I don't really expect the Holy Maiden to actually keep her promise."
My surge of emotion crumbled at Monica's follow-up remark.
"...Monica, if you have complaints about me, couldn't you just tell me nicely?"
"You don't listen even when I do tell you nicely."
...
How had I managed to give this child such profound distrust in me?
Of course, she wasn't wrong about anything...
'Did you just realize that? You really do have a talent for driving the people around you up the wall!'
I could even hear Ju Hyun-jin's voice from somewhere, blaming me.
Fine, fine. I get it. From now on, I'll avoid overexerting myself as much as possible.
This body certainly wasn't maintained through rigorous exercise like in my previous life, yet I'd been unconsciously trying to live the same way I used to.
Now that I'd properly learned that doing so in this body would be fatal, I needed to be more careful.
Even if this second life had begun by force, I had no desire to die young again.
"What happened to that Assassin?"
The culprit who'd made me open my eyes in bed.
Had I truly been of help to Jeremy?
Fortunately, despite her obvious displeasure, Monica answered readily enough.
"She's become capable of conversation, apparently."
"Really?"
Now that I thought about it, before I collapsed, our eyes had met—and her gaze had been sharp and focused.
So the Sea God's curse has been completely lifted?
I'll need to see Jeremy myself to make a proper judgment.
"Yes. But it seems she's currently refusing to talk. She keeps saying she'll speak only when the Holy Maiden arrives."
"So she's willing to communicate. That's fortunate. But not today."
I laughed awkwardly, looking down at my immobile body.
"I need to rest in bed for the rest of today."
"That's a wise decision. The High Priest treated everything, so don't worry and just get plenty of rest."
Airic Dert? Considering how dramatically I'd collapsed, I was holding up remarkably well. My body felt heavy, but there was no particular pain otherwise, which struck me as odd.
He must already be stretched thin serving as a healing potion shuttle lately, and I felt somewhat guilty for adding to his burden.
"Then I'll prepare a special soup and bring it to you. My father used to make it for me whenever I was ill, and it's absolutely delicious."
Monica said this as she tidied my disheveled blanket. I'd remarked that her father seemed like a homebody, but he clearly adored his daughter.
"Your father is quite domestic."
"He is, indeed."
At my words, Monica finally managed a small smile. The gloom lifted, and I felt relieved.
Of course, that didn't mean everything had ended well.
I found myself in another round of reflection and apologies before Victoria, who'd arrived alongside Monica carrying the soup.
I could only manage to eat the soup after promising multiple times that I wouldn't do anything dangerous.
Even chicken soup for the soul wouldn't taste as salty with tears as this did.
* * *
After rolling around in bed for a full two days, I finally managed to step outside.
Truthfully, one day would have been enough, but since I hadn't been getting much rest lately, I simply took an extra day to recuperate.
Monica and Victoria had hoped I'd rest for an entire week, but I couldn't bear that. Doing nothing makes me bored and restless.
"...If I'd known it would be like this, I should have rested a few more days."
I stood motionless, my eyes growing sad.
I'd lost count of how many times I'd regretted leaving my room already.
Usually, the moment I appeared, everyone would flee without so much as making eye contact, as if they'd spotted a plague victim.
This time, quite a few people were meeting my gaze.
Yet it brought me no joy whatsoever.
"...Did they just avoid me again?"
To my hollow question, Victoria and Monica chose silence. That was confirmation.
And therein lay the problem.
Whenever I looked at someone out of curiosity because they weren't running away for once, they'd suddenly leap up and bolt as if they'd been waiting for that very moment!
It would have been better if they'd simply avoided eye contact and fled from the start—this was far more wounding.
That attack incident had undoubtedly restored my image to its original ruined state.
Those Sea God Temple bastards—I'll scrape them down to the bone and convert every last bit of their divine power into my own.
"Um, Holy Maiden."
Monica called out carefully, as if trying to comfort me. But I refused.
"No, it's fine. I'm used to it. Everyone can make mistakes."
Yes, the Sea God Temple people are the villains here. The people have done nothing wrong.
So I need to extract as much as possible from them, and to do that, there's one barrier I absolutely must overcome.
I steeled my resolve and headed toward the Underground Prison.
And at the entrance to the cell where Jeremy was confined, I encountered Seth Noel.
"Last time the High Priest was here, but this time it's the Holy Knight Commander?"
"Are you feeling better?"
He'd already asked after my health when I woke up two days ago, and now he was asking again today.
"I'm perfectly fine now. There's no need to worry."
"I suspect the day my worries disappear will never come."
Have I really done so many worrying things? Surely not to that extent...
But if I said that outright, I'd surely face everyone's reproachful glares, so I quickly changed the subject.
"I came to have a conversation with the one inside."
As I turned my gaze toward the prison, a sharp, piercing stare met mine as if waiting for this very moment.
Those pink irises glowing ominously even in the darkness of the cell were completely different from when I'd seen them last time.
They were eyes I found quite pleasing.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org