It was a refreshing Sunday.
Especially refreshing since Tia had fallen asleep.
I removed the hand that had been holding on to her until she woke up and left the villa.
By the time she woke up, there would be no way for her to know where I had gone in the meantime.
“You came early.”
“Indeed. I got excited thinking about learning how to perform miracles today.”
I met Alexander as I headed directly to the church.
He was a man who always seemed to appear only in dark shadows, exuding a gloomy aura.
In the past, I would have been reluctant just to look at him, but now that wasn’t the case.
Perhaps it’s because I had caught a glimpse of his human side.
“Shall we head straight to the second floor?”
“Julia… let’s take it slow…”
“Why?”
“Nothing…”
In my eagerness to learn miracles quickly, I lightly linked arms with Alexander and pulled him along.
He seemed flustered, fumbling as if he were caught off guard.
I thought that linking arms at this point seemed reasonable.
I knew he was introverted, but he seemed even more withdrawn than I expected.
When a nun passed by and glanced at us, Alexander couldn’t hold back and pushed my arm away.
I felt a little disappointed.
“By the way, it seems you have become quite close with the hero.”
“Huh? Ah… about that…”
Alexander awkwardly cleared his throat and changed the subject.
Realizing what he meant, an awkward smile appeared at the corner of my mouth.
It was when I was having fun dressing up Leopard and ran into Alexander at the café…
I never imagined I would see such a dark man in a luxurious and flashy café where junior high school girls might frequent.
Anyway, it was the first time in nearly 50 years that I had faced the hero who had dressed up and, Alexander’s reaction was—
“Was it shocking?”
“Yes, very much.”
It was “running away.”
Without giving Leopard a chance to explain, Alexander had turned and fled.
I understood to some extent.
It must have been like a cold and stoic boss suddenly showing up in flashy clothes and makeup.
It was remarkable that I hadn’t vomited right there.
Leopard’s face turned bright red, and he too urgently left, citing a pressing matter.
Since then, there had been no contact, and I couldn’t help but worry if he hadn’t jumped off a building.
Of course, even if he did fall from a high-rise, he wouldn’t necessarily die…
“I remembered that the nuns wanted to try the drinks from that café, and I went to see, but… I never expected to see the hero like that.”
“You didn’t feel disgusted, did you?”
“Of course not. No matter what hobbies the hero has, I have no intention of criticizing. Even if it’s a hobby like cross-dressing that might be considered offbeat in society, it’s not a problem.”
“…?”
What does that mean?
I was momentarily perplexed and found myself at a loss for words.
Cross-dressing.
Could it be that Alexander didn’t even know the gender of the person he was serving?
At first, I thought of him as a slender, feminine-looking young man, but to think that a priest involved in the church still believed the hero was male?
It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Um, that is to say…”
“Yes.”
The moment I saw Alexander’s serious expression.
I tried to start with, “Actually, it’s not cross-dressing…” but that thought crawled right back down my throat.
This won’t do.
I can’t hold back any longer.
I decided to play a very, very minor prank on Leopard.
“Um. That’s a fair point. It’s a bit of an unusual preference, but let’s understand that with a broad-minded approach.”
“It really should be that way. The hero must have been under a lot of stress for a long time, so if it’s to relieve that with such a hobby, then it’s actually welcome. The Papal Office has been worrying whether the hero might release stress in a more violent way every day. This is a good thing. As long as it’s a harmless hobby like cross-dressing…”
“….”
I had a hard time holding back my laughter.
Watching Alexander let out deep sighs like the ground was giving way made me want to burst out laughing.
By now, inside Alexander, the hero Leopard must be becoming our distorted hero.
The hero who saved the human world from destruction was suddenly enjoying cross-dressing and having fun…
Thinking about how awkward it would be when Alexander and Leopard met again made me want to laugh all over again.
If Leopard noticed, he would probably get furious, but I decided to think about that later.
“Come in. Today we’ll finish quickly.”
“Weren’t we starting the proper lessons today?”
“That’s right, but the difficult part is pretty much over, and from now on, it will be easy. Once you know how to handle divine power, creating miracles will be quick.”
Indeed…
Back when the dragon fell from the sky, I didn’t even know how to create miracles, but I inadvertently healed it.
Ah, thinking back on that made me angry again.
I shouldn’t have healed that thing…
“Were you angry?”
“Ah, no! Not at all. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”
“Is your daughter healthy?”
“Of course. She’s so healthy that it’s a problem. Oh, by the way! Thank you so much for last time. You were the teacher in charge of Tia’s guidance, weren’t you?”
“Hahaha. That happened… It was a bit exhausting…”
Alexander forced a smile.
It seemed that it really had been quite difficult.
After all, he had to capture that scattered Tia and make her control her mysterious abilities…
I began to admire Alexander, who accomplished that in just one day.
Perhaps he was used to dealing with children.
“Now, please sit down. If we keep chatting like this, we’ll never finish.”
“You’re right… I’ll focus!”
As Alexander said, if we continued like this, it would never end, so I decided to keep my mouth shut and focus on the class.
Have I been feeling lonely lately? I can feel myself talking a lot more even after just a little familiarity.
I thought it best to restrain myself a bit, as Alexander, being an introvert, might dislike it.
“First, let’s start by sensing and refining the divine power within you. You’re used to this now, right?”
“Of course. It’s like a piece of cake.”
“That doesn’t mean you can be careless. The essence of breathing is posture. Shoulders back.”
“Ugh…”
Alexander grabbed my shoulders and straightened them.
I tried to act composed, but I ended up getting scolded.
I decided to reflect on that.
“While keeping your focus on the flow of divine power, listen. The core of miracles is sincerity. How sincere you are dictates the effectiveness of the miracle. People often say a strong faith in God is essential, but that’s merely church propaganda. Looking at how pagans can also create miracles, it’s certainly true.”
“Is it okay for a priest to say that?”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? Still, I’d appreciate you not informing outsiders that I said this.”
“Hehehe. Just off the record?”
“Stop joking and focus.”
“Ugh, yes…”
Thud.
I got hit on the head.
It seemed Alexander believed I wouldn’t talk since he knew I was reserved.
“If you know how to refine divine power and have sincerity, then the prerequisites for miracles are complete. Unlike magic, there’s no need to follow a specific formula or design logically. Just wish for something earnestly, and the divine power will make it happen.”
“Is it really that simple…?”
“That’s why it’s a miracle. You can’t explain how it works. If you desperately wish to heal someone, divine power will flow in and heal the wound. If you desperately want to forget something, the divine power will flow into your head and completely erase the memory.”
“Does that mean miracles can grant anything you wish for? With no conditions or limits?”
“We can’t know. If you have enough divine power, I believe anything could be realized. But since not many people have that much divine power, there’s no way to confirm it.”
The thought that you could erase memories with miracles…
I was a little, no, quite tempted.
If I could erase the memories of my past life with this miracle, perhaps I could become much happier.
Without longing for a time when I had no chance of returning to my original world, I could live in harmony with Tia…
‘That won’t do.’
I was thinking foolishly.
I immediately shook my head.
“Now, it’s time to cast a miracle. I’ll give you an assignment. If you achieve it by today, you’ll be rewarded.”
“Hehe. What should I wish for so earnestly?”
“Let’s start by rolling this dice.”
“Eek…”
I was a bit disappointed.
Given the name ‘miracle,’ starting with rolling a dice seemed rather trivial.
Is this really the assignment given to me right now?
This should be easy enough.
I earnestly wished in my head.
To flip that dice over.
“Ugh…!”
But no matter how much divine power I poured into it, the dice merely wobbled slightly in place, never tipping over.
“This is indeed a heavy dice, isn’t it?!”
“….”
I blurted out in frustration after picking it up, quickly becoming embarrassed.
It was a light dice, like the ones used in typical games.
Why couldn’t it roll?
“It’s tough, isn’t it? The simpler a miracle is, the harder it is to cast. It’s not easy to become desperate about rolling a dice.”
“Uuhhh…”
I’m so desperate.
I want to roll this so badly.
Yet the dice wouldn’t budge.
‘How did I do it last time…’
When I healed that giant dragon, I wonder how it was accomplished.
I didn’t particularly have a pressing desire to save it.
It truly puzzled me.
Just as I was about to lose my motivation, I saw Alexander, who had been watching me, let out a sigh and rummage through his sleeve.
“Still, I promised I would help you use miracles today, so I must keep that promise. I’ll change the assignment.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“New assignment. Heal my injury.”
“…?!”
Suddenly pulling out a dagger from his sleeve, Alexander unexpectedly cut into the inside of his elbow.
I was taken aback and pushed my chair back, jumping to my feet.
Blood spurted from the cut on Alexander’s arm, splattering onto the floor in an instant.
Panicking and unsure of what to do, I ran toward the door to call for help.
“No external help. You need to solve the assignment on your own.”
“No…!”
But Alexander merely grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
This man must have gone mad.
Seeing him standing there calmly, even while blood flowed from his arm, was the only thought that came to mind.
“Calm down and focus on your breathing first. We’ll start again by refining the divine power.”
“Hey! Are you serious right now?!”
“In three minutes, I will lose consciousness, and in five minutes, I will die. We need to hurry.”
“This is…!”
I was scared, tears welling up in my eyes.
But there was no other way.
I had to steady my breathing, refine my divine power, and cast the miracle, just as Alexander said.
Straightening my shoulders and taking a deep breath, I felt the divine power within me.
I could see Alexander’s complexion growing paler in real-time, which terrified me.
‘Please save this madman. Please, please…!’
I poured all the remaining divine power into Alexander and prayed.
Please do something for this crazy guy.
Please help me not to witness him die in front of me.
Then, the gaping wound slowly began to close, healing completely without leaving a scar.
“Oh. Congratulations. You succeeded.”
“….”
Alexander said flatly as he inspected the inside of his elbow.
At that moment, my legs gave way, and I collapsed to the floor.
I might have been misunderstanding this man all along.
Perhaps I had arrogantly thought I could understand him just because we had become a bit closer.
‘Monster…’
No, I probably won’t ever understand this man.
Alexander is a twisted human, more so than a duke or Leopard.
He is a man whose ethics are completely askew.
As I watched the monster casually picking out a reward for me from a cluttered box with a blood-soaked arm, I could only feel a shiver run up my spine.
