After approaching me, Roka regained her confidence.Although it was on the condition of being with me, she kept going to the market. Now, she told me what she wanted to eat and picked out the clothes she wanted to wear.
She was still scared of other people, but if she held onto the hem of my clothes, she wouldn’t run away, even if she couldn’t make eye contact.
“I belong to you, Master.”
It was a bit troublesome when she would come over to claim my lap just by sitting there, but it seemed like it was about time to start educating Roka.
‘It’s a process every human should go through.’Education is useless to someone who thinks of themselves as a beast.That’s why I’ve just been watching until now, but if she wants to live as a human, if she wants to live as a member of this society, there are things she must learn.Reading and writing are the most basic of those.
“Hmm…”There was a time when I thought that way too.
“Roka, you’re really smart, but…”Dori-dori. The girl shook her head desperately.Before even an hour had passed after taking out a book, Roka was already bored. Her face was full of despair. She would do it if I told her to, but if I forced her to do something she disliked, there was no need to burn the slave contract.
“It seems you don’t want to use your brain for this.”“You’re not… disappointed, are you?”“Of course not, but you still need to learn to read. Letters are the key to knowledge. Without knowing letters, you can’t know knowledge, and without knowledge, your thoughts become narrow.”
Fidgeting, she kept glancing at my expression. I reached out to her.When I patted her, she finally relaxed. What a cute creature.
“Master, are you going to abandon me?”“Only if the time comes when you want to leave me.”“Then, you’ll keep me with you forever, right?”
Her tail stood straight up. She seemed to like that idea.
“Then it doesn’t matter. I’ll always be by your side, Master. If there’s a word I don’t know, I’ll just ask you.”“Hmm. I get that you don’t want to learn to read.”
I want her to learn, and she doesn’t want to. I could force her, but Roka has lived without freedom.
Beastkin grow faster than humans, and her childhood won’t last much longer.It’s my duty to let her spend what’s left of her childhood freely and happily.
“Neither you nor I are wrong, but both of us can’t be right.”
So what should I do?What else? Pray.
“Even if I don’t know the answer, the Lord does.”
My Lord. Is this the third time?For the third time in my life, I am asking for a miracle for my own selfish desire.
Not as an ordained priest of the gods,not as a chosen follower of Yours,but simply as a human, Kyle, I offer this prayer.
Even if You do not grant this small wish of mine, I will still be Your servant.I will still be Your follower and a faithful saint.
I know that life is a series of pains, and misfortune exists for everyone.But this child has lived a sorrowful and painful life. May I ask You for a small reward for that life?This foolish servant merely humbly asks.
Feeling the warmth of Roka on my lap, I dozed off.As I finished murmuring my prayer in my heart, my eyes closed comfortably.Ah, yes. The one I serve is calling me.
When I opened my eyes again,many eyes, big and small, were looking at me.
In a place where there is no sky, no ground,a void where I can’t even tell if it’s a dream or reality.A tree stretched out larger than anything I’ve ever seen. Eyes on every branch stared at me in unison. On the massive trunk of the tree, an eye larger than my body existed, its pupil wide open.
“It’s been a while, Angel.”
But there’s no need to fear based on appearances.This being also serves the same one I do.
My god does not require human faith, and naturally, the angel under their command is the same.There’s no reason to appear in a form pleasing to human aesthetics, so they simply appear in their primordial form.
– Apostle. The Lord has heard your prayer. And has commanded me.
The angel spoke. I smiled upon hearing their words.The Lord has answered my prayer once again. All I can do is be grateful, and grateful again.
-To lend you power in the name of a miracle.“May I ask what kind of miracle it is?”-Offer achievements. Dedicate your life.
Then, like a sprout breaking through the soil, new possibilities will bloom.What existed only as potential will grow into a new stem and spread.
The Phylogenetic Seedling will be with you.Those who wish to use the seedling must first receive your permission.
Ah, my parent beyond this world.I can only bow in gratitude for Your grace.As I closed my eyes and prayed, the angel spoke.
-Apostle. The Phylogenetic Seedling is a miracle that ignores causality. Do not overuse this miracle, which brings results without cause.“I didn’t ask for such a dangerous miracle, but…”-The Lord has His reasons for granting you this miracle, so how much and how you use it is up to you, Apostle.
Their warning was clearly not something to be taken lightly.Even when I received miracles like the Observatory of Star’s Dream or the Night the Milky Way Blooms, which I considered among the most powerful, the angel never warned me against overuse.
-But if you use it too often, the consequences may not always work correctly in your world. It is a miracle too powerful to be brought to the earthly realm.“I will keep the Lord’s will in mind.”
As I offered my prayer of thanks to the Lord,the angel disappeared, and I woke from the dream.
Looking at Roka sleeping on my lap, I chuckled.The Lord’s will is something I can’t fully understand. All a person can do is live the present to the best of their ability.
The Phylogenetic Seedling. The Lord’s answer to my prayer.The angel warned against overusing this new miracle, but I think differently. The Lord wouldn’t grant a miracle I wouldn’t use.
Perhaps He granted it because He wanted me to use it?Of course, I should avoid crossing the line from use to abuse.
‘I don’t know why He granted this miracle after I parted ways with Yurinel.’
While analyzing the new miracle within me, Yurinel suddenly came to mind.And Parnell and Lucia too. This miracle seemed more suited to them than Roka.It’s a miracle that gives more to those who have already achieved much.So powerful that even the angel’s concern is understandable, mysteriously so.
‘They must be doing well.’
Yurinel and the others are probably still enjoying their adventures.They’re all outstanding and remarkable individuals, after all.
‘Especially since the Saint is with them.’
Having recruited the Saint, the chosen proxy of the goddess, into the party,those already amazing individuals are probably soaring by now.
‘They probably don’t need my blessings anymore.’
Even without my blessings,they’re the kind of people who will do well on their own.Of course. They’re the heroes leading this world.So I’ll focus on the people in front of me.
“May hope be with you.”
I tapped Roka’s forehead with my finger.Until the day I withdraw my blessing, divine protection will follow this child.Until she grows enough to no longer need such protection, the Lord will watch over her.
“Huh, the candle’s getting weaker.”
Deep in the mountains, Parnell, who had returned to the hideout, looked puzzled.The candle in the sanctuary, which always emitted a soft light, had dimmed significantly.
“It looks like it might go out.”“It’s natural since Kyle left.”“Hmm… Well, it can’t be helped. We were prepared for this.”
Parnell yawned as she replied.
“He was talented and decent-looking, but he still didn’t match our level.”
The Citadel Republic, an independent nation in the southeast of the empire.It hasn’t been long since it became a republic instead of a kingdom.Yurinel, who knows well why Parnell dislikes commoners, didn’t say much. She knows that before receiving her title, even she was ignored by this woman.
“Anyway, the Saint will be here in a few days, so we can handle this level of gap.”
Lucia touched the candle as she replied.Even though her skin touched the flame directly, it didn’t burn, and the wound simply charred and disappeared. Unrealistic, but by now, it’s familiar.
“What’s with the wound?”“I have multiple weapons. I nicked myself while sharpening a dagger.”
It was a dagger coated with deadly poison, but she didn’t need to take an antidote.The sanctuary’s flame subdued even the poison trying to spread through her body. Small but still a miracle.A mystical entity granted by the gods, with the priest merely acting as a proxy. Though just a candle, it holds meaning beyond what’s visible.
Flicker.
The candle, which had been burning quietly, now swayed slightly,a sign that the time of the miracle was ending. The blessing was fading, leaving only its afterglow to light the candle. Once even that last fragment disappeared, the miracle would become a mere illusion and vanish.
“Right, the Saint is coming.”
Yurinel, who hadn’t been paying much attention to the candle, replied.When she was chosen by the Three God Faith, she was still young, and the Saint of the Nemi Faith was being protected in secrecy.Though they’ve never met, just hearing the title “Saint” gives her a sense of trust.
Whether in terms of ability or authority,having the Saint join the party is a good thing. The candle dimming is trivial in comparison.
