To the Katus Empire (4)

“Why are you guys following us to Katus? I thought Lukasia was your destination.”

Yona’s sharp voice rang out.

“Yes, Sekti. It’s regrettable, but it’s too much for you to come any further. Since Sister Serad’s hometown is here, I think it would be best if you stayed here and helped Sister Serad settle in.”

Alec’s voice was gentle and persuasive.

“I… I think I owe her my life… So, I need to repay that debt…”

Sekti’s voice was trembling, but she still managed to say what she wanted to say.

“Saint-nim was originally a healer, right? But now you can act like a priest too. So I want to follow Saint-nim too. I’ll even convert if necessary. If I have to apostatize, I might need to think about it a bit, but I think that would be fine too. It’s not like the Celestial God particularly likes me anyway, and I want to become like a priest too.”

Serad, who was openly stating her intention to use Yona, was at least a bit better.

“Eh— so… The ship can accommodate all of you—”

Amira’s voice, still sounding carefree, chimed in as well.

“Ah— really, this is so annoying, aaaah—!”

Finally, Yona’s frustration exploded.

This is all because of that bastard. If that bastard hadn’t brought that damn midget, or if we had never met him at all, this wouldn’t be happening— Yona was about to go crazy with the frustration welling up inside her.

Anger is supposed to subside naturally, and her anger and hatred towards Sekti had been fading as time passed.

However, her basic feelings towards Sekti couldn’t be good, so even allowing her to come this far from Evian was already being generous.

But following them to Katus was a bit much, wasn’t it?

Yona and Alec, Kaiyak, James. And Rubina.

These five were the ones Yona truly trusted and relied on.

Of course, she didn’t rely on Rubina, but in any case, they were truly precious to Yona.

It was absurd for those impurities like Sekti and Serad to try to join such a group.

For Yona, it was an idea that was extremely difficult to accept.

“Why are you doing this to me, why! Ah, I’m really going crazy!”

Yona’s face was rapidly changing colors, flushing red.

Seeing this, Rubina quickly hid behind Alebiang.

“Hey, pretty one.”

“And you! What! What is it, why!”

As soon as Alebiang called out to Yona, Yona whirled around to face her.

Alebiang flinched when she saw Yona’s bloodshot eyes, with veins popping out.

“Wait, shall we talk for a bit?”

“What about? Say it here, right here!”

“It’s not really appropriate here. It’ll just take a moment, okay? Let’s talk.”

“Hoo…”

Yona put her hands on her hips and let out a long sigh.

Trying to somehow cool down the frustration that had risen to the top of her head, Yona gestured to Alebiang.

“Fine, alright. Alright, let’s go.”

“You said Sekti and Serad, right?”

“Yeah.”

After taking ice from the ice box in the room where she had stayed with Amira as if it were her own, dropping it into fruit juice, and downing it in one go, Yona seemed to cool down a bit.

Alebiang observed Yona’s behavior closely.

It seemed that Yona’s flash point had lowered considerably.

Originally, she had been hot-tempered and quick to anger, easily getting irritated and upset, but she had never exploded like this before.

But now, perhaps because she was carrying the power of two archdukes in her body— she was becoming increasingly violent and less patient.

‘…I’ll have to take care of her somehow.’

Unaware that Alebiang was thinking this, Yona slammed the empty juice glass on the table and growled at Alebiang.

“Alright, we’re here now, so speak up. What’s this about Sekti and Serad?”

“It would be good to take them along.”

“You too?”

“Listen to the end, pretty one. You know what my role is among the demon realm’s priests, right?”

“…The Observer or something like that, right?”

“Yes.”

Alebiang nodded slowly.

The Observer, Alebiang.

Unlike Ceres, who was the Leader, she didn’t have a direct active role, but there was one reason why Ceres couldn’t let go of Alebiang.

Alebiang could see things that were invisible to Ceres’s sight.

And she had the ability to combine fragmentary information obtained from that vision and process it into useful information.

That was Alebiang’s power and also her weapon.

And in a way, it was close to the power of future prediction.

It would be more accurate to call it sharp future analysis based on given information, rather than actual omniscient future prediction.

“I will cooperate with you. You can trust me on that.”

“—Alright.”

Yona didn’t deny that part.

Thinking back on Alebiang’s actions so far, and during their stay in Evian, Alebiang hadn’t really done anything particularly bad. She had been criticized so much just for being on Ceres’s side that perhaps Alebiang deserved some leniency.

Above all, just as Yona, who was about to collapse helplessly when fighting Damian, gained courage from seeing Alec, the fact that it was Alebiang who had brought Alec there had a greater influence on this perception.

“So I think it would be good to take those two along. You’ve placed a big debt on Sekti, and from what that nun Serad is saying, I think she’ll do her part. Besides, when you hunt archdukes in Katus, Yona, you’ll only pay attention to Alec and not care about the others, right?”

That’s not true— Yona thought at first.

But thinking about it carefully, Alebiang’s words weren’t without reason.

If that nun Serad, that healer, does her part, then even in archduke hunting—

“…Archduke hunting?”

“Yes, archduke hunting. You’re going to either make all the demon archdukes your allies, or kill them and absorb their power like you did with Damian. Isn’t ‘hunting’ the most fitting word?”

“I suppose it is.”

Yona nodded, thinking it was indeed a very fitting word.

Anyway, if Serad could take care of the rest of the group except for Alec, it would be a great help.

Moreover, if worst comes to worst, they could just abandon them somewhere after arriving in Katus, and they would suffer all kinds of hardships, which might even help alleviate Yona’s anger.

Thinking about it coolly, it’s certainly better to take them along than to leave them here.

“…Alright, for now.”

“Good, you’ve thought it through well, pretty one.”

“Hmph.”

“This is just for this time. I’ll allow you to come along to Katus. But there won’t be a next time. Understood?”

“…Fi-finally with senior…”

“What!?”

Yona raised her eyebrows at Sekti’s muttering.

Although she had agreed to Alebiang’s suggestion, hearing Sekti’s mumbling made her wonder if she had made a mistake.

“No, it’s nothing… Nothing at all.”

Sekti shook her head.

Although her true feelings were obvious, Yona wasn’t worried about that.

She couldn’t bring herself to wear it out of preciousness, but in Yona’s backpack, the holy armband that Alec had won for her was safely tucked away.

Wasn’t that holy armband undeniable proof that Alec was on Yona’s side?

She had lost the clothes she had received as a gift somewhere in the church territory before, but she would never lose this holy armband and hunting knife.

“And Serad, you.”

Serad, who had been talking back without backing down a single word.

Yona still couldn’t forget how she had stood up to her, saying they should save Sekti, and that if they didn’t, Yona would be the one to regret it.

A tough and bold girl.

“Yes! Saint-nim!”

“The same goes for you. I’m only allowing you to come to Katus. There won’t be a next time. Got it?”

“Yes! Saint-nim!”

Whether she understood or not.

Yona grumbled inwardly and turned to Amira.

“Amira, we’re done. Can we move the luggage now?”

“Oh my— Saint-nim, moving luggage…”

Amira, with a grinning expression, tilted her head and spoke to Yona.

With her hands neatly folded, Amira looked back at where the luggage had been, and Yona also followed her gaze to look at where the luggage had been piled.

“…Where did it go?”

“It’s already all loaded—”

Yona inwardly marveled at Amira, whose actions were faster than her speech.

The deep blue of the sea soon turns into white foam.

The foam that hits the ship’s side scatters and disappears fleetingly, and soon, as if to fill its place, another foam crashes against the ship’s side.

Foam that vanishes ephemerally.

Yet, foam that endlessly throws itself at the ship.

Yona leaned over the railing at the bow of the ship, looking down at the sea below.

Not with the peaceful contemplation of wondering if she might see fish in the sea—

“Ugh, uweeeeek—!”

Yona, who hadn’t eaten much, was throwing up only stomach acid as there was nothing in her stomach.

And Alec was standing beside her, constantly patting her back.

“Ah, ugh… Gently, pat gently… My head is ringing… Uweeeeek!”

“How can your seasickness be this severe?”

“Uweeeeek!”

While it’s fortunate that the voyage across the Bitia Strait isn’t too long, Alec thought that if they ever had to make a longer voyage, they should pack some medicine good for motion sickness.

The sky is truly high and blue.

At the end of winter, just as spring is about to arrive.

Seagulls gather around the ship’s side for an untimely feast,

And every time Yona throws up, fish in the water below and seagulls on the surface rush in.

“Uweeeeeeeek—!”