Ch.143Origin (7)

One morning, when Blood Knight Lorian awoke from an uneasy dream.

She realized she had transformed into a giant, insignificant creature in her bed.

An insignificant being who pledged loyalty yet accomplished nothing.

In the end, victory was trivial and personal—just garbage who lost consciousness due to the changes that followed immediately after.

Llewellyn would say that Lorian had been tremendously helpful, but at least Llewellyn wasn’t here right now.

Lorian groaned in the flood of shame and self-loathing.

Where she had ended up was beside the point. It was shortly after she had been calling herself garbage and wallowing in self-reproach.

She belatedly noticed something pressing down on her feet, preventing her from pulling up the blanket, and raised her head.

Peeking out, she saw a large dog curled up there.

The dog only rolled its eyes, trying to gauge Lorian’s mood.

“…Where am I?”

Though she asked, she actually knew quite well.

She was in the Pantheon’s nest. Specifically, in the space that could be called her own room.

A desolate place, rather empty, with just some equipment for maintaining her sword.

There was a bed too, but even that had been built by the Mourner who was concerned about her constantly sleeping on the bare floor; before that, there hadn’t even been a bed.

But then the Inquisitor’s wives, thinking it too barren, brought flowers, placed vases.

Hung pictures and such.

And so, little by little, it had become somewhat like a place where people lived.

It was all thanks to Lorian’s personality.

If she had kept her mouth shut and stood quietly at attention, she might have seemed like a cold young lady, making others uncomfortable, but Lorian wasn’t like that.

Lorian actively conversed with people, took action, and helped them.

She was both a Blood Clan member and a knight. She believed it was natural to look after the weak.

Because of this, people saw her not as someone uncomfortable to be around, but as someone approachable and trustworthy, and after going hunting with Isla a few times, she was also seen as helpful.

It was the same now. Lorian noticed one more vase that hadn’t been in her memory and slowly sat up.

She had returned. The realization was hazy.

After sitting up, Lorian stared blankly at the dog crushing her feet.

It was the dog the golems had been raising.

She could guess what had happened.

They had lost the battle but somehow managed, and the golems… were they dead?

Since they were golems, saying they “died” might be inappropriate, but there was no doubt, given that the dog they had raised was here now.

She didn’t consider ‘the possibility that Llewellyn killed them all.’

Hadn’t she already sworn eternal loyalty to Llewellyn?

Though she hadn’t said it aloud, the “Corridor of Blood and Glory”—the unique technique of all Blood Clan members, including herself—was a skill that could only be used on one person.

Once used, it couldn’t be used on anyone else.

How many “heretics” had taken their own lives for using it on the wrong target? Lorian smiled slightly.

Her hand moved gently to stroke the dog.

Soft, the sensation of fur crumbling under her fingers was new.

Perhaps because no one in her clan kept dogs, and she herself wasn’t particularly close with shapeshifters.

The sensation was both special and unfamiliar.

The warmth beneath, the flow of blood.

Despite looking so different, it’s still a living being. Sensing the gentleness in Lorian’s touch, the dog, which had been just watching cautiously, slowly moved to rest its head on Lorian’s leg.

The dog, Huey, leaning against her, sniffed at Lorian’s hand and then extended its tongue from where it lay to lick her hand with a slurping sound.

As Lorian shrank back, unfamiliar even with the sensation of being licked, Huey, perhaps feeling playful, slightly opened its mouth, pretending to bite her.

Lorian grabbed the dog’s head and rubbed it vigorously, and the sound of laughter filled the room along with the dog’s breathing.

“Are you awake?”

Lorian, who had been petting the dog for a while, flinched and trembled.

There was no presence. And in the Pantheon, a being with such absence of presence could only be…

“…Eshatherna.”

“Esha is fine. Some people call me Et too.”

“I want to call you Eshatherna.”

“I prefer to be called Esha.”

It wasn’t a lack of tact. It was that neither would back down. One with madness, one with stubbornness.

And since stubbornness was the weaker of the two, Lorian groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Fine, Esha. I’m awake.”

“Then I’ll go call the little lord and the lord.”

Eshatherna rarely glared at the dog with a dissatisfied look, then left the room and didn’t return.

Instead, two figures with powerful presences took her place.

Llewellyn and Lucilla.

The two closest to the Father in this land.

Lorian swallowed nervously.

*

What’s with this atmosphere?

The tension was palpable as soon as I entered the room.

Huey, who seemed to have been playing with Lorian just moments ago, was now tense and rolling his eyes, while Lorian had her hand on the dog’s fur, keeping her mouth shut.

As I turned my head slightly, I saw my sister standing with her arms crossed.

And a strangely profound silence.

It was difficult for me to understand what was happening, but judging by my sister’s attitude, it was clear that I needed to take the initiative.

“Did you sleep well?”

“…Thanks to you. What happened?”

“Well. How should I put it.”

It was difficult to explain.

That the golems actually possessed divinity, that they were connected to the golem we had fought.

That they sacrificed themselves to stop the giant golem.

I could somehow explain up to the point where they entrusted their dog to us.

The problem was what came after. The words that made even my sister cross her arms with a serious expression.

The Empress.

And what the Empress said and did to me.

The explanation was tedious and long. Even I had to stop and scratch my neck in embarrassment several times while speaking.

Nevertheless, Lorian listened calmly and attentively.

It was understandable.

“…The Empress.”

Lorian’s expression was complicated. Perhaps because, despite not being the leader of the Blood Clan, she was one of the three heads of the three clans.

Lorian looked down at her prosthetic hand with a complex expression. The emotion in that gaze was something I couldn’t fathom.

“What do you think?”

Lorian asked in return. I glanced at my sister.

“I think she’s a dangerous woman. Not good for emotional education either.”

My sister’s answer seemed incomplete, but only after hearing it could I give my own response.

“She’s crazy. And… like Eshatherna, she’s a woman who knows she’s crazy and uses it to her advantage.”

“…There are such stories within the clan.”

Her clenched fist made a metallic sound.

“They say the Empress is constantly changing her entire body. What we see is merely a shell, and the Empress herself has virtually no fixed form.”

“Like a slime?”

“Different from such monsters. The important thing is… while she has no form, her form doesn’t collapse. But because of this, her brain and mind are said to be constantly changing infinitely.”

I wonder if it’s really just a “story.” I met Lorian’s gaze. There was a probing quality in her red eyes.

“So they say she’s capricious and infinite.”

Capricious and infinite. I heard those words a bit differently.

It sounded like she was as unpredictable as boiling porridge, a crazy woman impossible to pin down. Lorian met my eyes and smiled slightly, as if confirming my interpretation was correct.

“But it’s rare for the Empress to take special interest in something. Most of what the Empress does is spontaneous. And yet… she has taken an interest in you.”

Something was definitely off. When I remained silent, my sister picked up the conversation.

“Are you saying it’s her true intention?”

“That would be the case. The Empress truly wants to raise Llewellyn.”

I recalled the Empress’s words.

Her statement that there were still many sleeping gods in this continent, and some that had been prepared.

Her instruction to eat a lot and grow a lot. At least that seemed sincere enough not to doubt.

“A god.”

As Lorian’s thoughts reached the same point as mine, she sat on the bed and stared blankly at the sky.

Like Isla’s room, Lorian’s room also had a glass ceiling. The morning sky was spread out clear and blue.

“Father, the Empress… perhaps even the Prophet and the Court Count are gods. Llewellyn is also a god… God, gods.”

She was a being from Grim Darker. When I explained all this to my sister, she might have thought of the setting from Grim Darker and just accepted it.

But it would be different for Lorian. For her, the concept of gods itself was something unfamiliar.

“…Will you do as the Empress said?”

After a long silence, she asked that, and I honestly hesitated.

The Empress.

A woman I don’t like. But there was something in her proposal that I couldn’t refuse.

I am weak.

At least for exploring the New Continent, which is based on level 20, my level is too low, and I probably lack the divinity that needs to be obtained by exploring this continent.

I lack skills, equipment too.

I have nothing. In that case, aiming for growth was the right choice.

Fortunately, I still had room for growth. This was much better than having no room for growth or improvement.

I should look on the bright side. My sister is here too. I nodded.

“I suppose I should. The proposal itself isn’t bad.”

“Is this your will?”

“Yes, definitely my will.”

Only then did Lorian’s lips curl up slightly. She sighed.

“The source I used then is something that, in this immortal life, can only be used for one person. From now on… my source can only be used for you.”

Oh, shit. Really?

This was thunderous news to me, as I had been planning to use it on Melody to complement her physical abilities, but it seemed to have a different meaning for Lorian.

Her red eyes turned to me.

“That signifies my loyalty.”

Something that can only be used for one person in an immortal life.

Indeed, that could signify loyalty. But that didn’t seem to be what she wanted to say.

Lorian stroked Huey, who was nestled in her arms.

“You told me that your factor had seduced me. I could tell that was true. Ha, to see those who had been fighting so fiercely just moments before softening their eyes and smiling gently. It was a rare disgrace to witness.”

“Lorian.”

“Recalling that I had done the same was painful. As one who is a knight, I behaved not like a knight but like a harlot. It was so painful that I wanted to cut off my own neck, but… I didn’t.”

My sister was already by my side. Her expression seemed to have removed the usual kindness and replaced it with something else.

An expression with even a hint of killing intent. She looked worried, as if concerned I might be ambushed in this situation.

I took her hand and shook my head.

“So I’ve been thinking ever since. Who I am, who you are, what kind of relationship you and I… should have.”

Blood Knight Lorian.

My first pursuer and assassin, a Blood Clan member who had once taken my head.

She once showed me infinite affection. Considering that it was caused by my father’s factor… there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again.

She wore a refreshed expression.

“I thought about it, and I decided it was fine.”

“…Huh?”

“I am a knight. Nothing else matters as much. And you are my lord. The one who should rightfully receive my source, the one I must protect.”

There was goodwill in her eyes, but it felt different from what I usually sensed.

A calm goodwill. Something I didn’t know. Different from what I’d been seeing recently.

Lorian said:

“But I was greedy. Reviving the Blood Clan, and whatnot… Ridiculous. I am merely a Blood Clan member.”

She looked like she had let go of a lot. I sensed a slight sadness there, but Lorian didn’t give me time to point it out.

“I am of the Blood Clan, but I am also a knight. And I… had forgotten what I needed to do all this time.”

Her gaze, which had been blankly looking at the sky, turned to me, and I met those red eyes.

“My lord, what do you want to do?”

A question I couldn’t answer hastily. Lorian smiled. A smile that made even me lose myself in it.

“Whatever you wish to do, I, Blood Knight Lorian, will follow that path.”

I was dazed and at a loss for words.

In the end, I couldn’t give an answer.