Let There Be Punishment for the Sinner (2)

To feel that a campfire is charming, one has already tasted too much of reality’s bitterness.

— Or so she had thought.

Yet now, Yona found the campfire before her eyes strangely familiar and charming.

As if it were like those times when nothing had happened, just like when they used to camp out while going on expeditions and solving requests day by day.

Then and now.

The campfire was the same, but only they had changed.

It was deep into the night.

They had decided to camp outdoors for a night first, as entering the port of Capatia was too risky,

and Ceres had gone alone to the port of Capatia to wrap up this business trip and bring funds for Yona’s group.

Where they were staying was a clearing somewhere on the middle slopes of a nearby hill, a few hours away from the port of Capatia.

Surrounded by forests, with a large rock providing cover from behind, it was quite a good spot for camping.

In fact, everyone here now was at a level where they didn’t need to worry much about attacks from ordinary demon beasts,

but habits die hard.

Across the flickering campfire light, Kaiyak stared at Yona’s figure.

The nun’s habit she was wearing was shabby at best, and ragged at worst.

Although Ceres had it mended in a village along the way, it was really just patching similar colored cloth and washing it,

and even that was poorly done, so it didn’t look good after wearing it for a bit longer.

Yona herself didn’t seem to mind, though.

She laid Rubina, who had been resting her head on Yona’s thigh, into a sleeping bag, covering her thoroughly with just a breathing hole to block the wind.

Her touch was exceptionally meticulous.

“Yona, you seem like you’d be a good mother.”

“…You said that before too.”

“You don’t get upset about it anymore, huh.”

Yona just glared at Kaiyak once, without giving any particular response to that.

“Don’t you have something like saint’s robes?”

“…Even if I do, I won’t wear something like that.”

Saint’s robes— she did have them.

Even from Berbaria, she had received a suggestion to wear saint’s robes now that she had formally become a saint.

But she didn’t feel like wearing them.

The first reason was that what she had been wearing until now was a nun’s habit.

The second reason was that she was just used to it.

The third reason was that she didn’t want to wear something called saint’s robes.

“You don’t like the appearance, I suppose.”

“…Well, it’s not exactly that… Ah, why are you asking about such things.”

“I can ask, can’t I? But you know.”

“Hm?”

Yona looked up at Kaiyak, who paused for a moment.

Stopping mid-sentence, Kaiyak was staring intently at Yona.

“Are you alright?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you have any regrets.”

“Regrets… I don’t see what meaning there is in regretting. By the time you regret, it’s already too late anyway. If you know it’s too late, you shouldn’t even regret.”

She doesn’t regret.

At least, she doesn’t regret that much.

Even if she could go back to that time, Yona would undoubtedly make the same choice.

There was no other way to save Alec, and the option of giving up on Alec didn’t exist in the first place.

“I see. If you’re fine with it, that’s what matters.”

“Yeah. That’s how it is. By the way, that guy really sleeps well.”

Yona’s gaze turned to a sleeping bag in the corner.

It was the sleeping bag Alec had crawled into to sleep.

Alec, who had crawled into the sleeping bag saying he would sleep first as soon as dinner was over, had fallen asleep and remained like this until now.

“…Are you going to do as that woman planned?”

“……”

Yona fell silent at that question.

Ceres’s plan— and the plan Yona had agreed to follow.

None other than the resurrection of the False Celestial God—

“I know you’re angry at the Celestine Church, Yona. But that plan is too reckless. I’m worried about whether you can really handle it, even to that extent.”

A plan that makes even the cautious and serious Kaiyak say this.

Yona herself couldn’t not know how reckless this plan was.

Traveling around the continent absorbing demons.

Of course, those demons wouldn’t be absorbed easily, so there would be many cases where she’d have to fight,

and even if she did absorb them, tattoos would continue to increase on Yona’s body like now.

The more those tattoos increased, the more they would become Yona’s power— or so Ceres had explained.

When Yona asked how she knew this, Ceres answered that she had studied meticulously for the collapse of the Celestine Church,

but there were some points that felt unconvincing.

“I wonder if there’s any need to follow what that woman says, Yona. Rather, I think it might be better to run away with Alec, flee across that great desert to the southern continent, have children and live well.”

Yona kept her mouth shut at Kaiyak’s words.

Such a life wouldn’t be bad either.

Far, far away, if there was even a small island, they could escape there and live together, just Alec and her.

Just thinking about it, well, it makes a part of her heart feel warm and… cozy, such a good feeling.

But she couldn’t do that.

Things had already happened this way, and to clean it up, she had to see it through to the end somehow.

It was Yona’s personality that if someone picked a fight first, she had to see it through to the end.

Moreover, after taking such a big hit, she hated the idea of not being able to return it even more.

And she couldn’t think that the Celestine Church wouldn’t be able to find her even if she lived like that.

“Thanks for worrying, Kaiyak. And thank you even more for being with me.”

A subtle rejection hidden in her words.

Realizing this, Kaiyak grinned and picked up a fire poker to stir the campfire.

Sparks flew up into the sky with crackling sounds.

Sparks that played aimlessly before soon disappearing.

“…If it’s your decision, I’ll follow quietly. There’s no need to thank me. Go to sleep, Yona. It’s late.”

“Alright. I understand.”

Yona yawned widely and slowly opened her sleeping bag, crawling in clumsily.

Hugging Rubina, who was sleeping obliviously, she felt like she could feel the child’s characteristically high body temperature directly.

She closed her eyes.

Yona thought it would be nice to have a good dream tonight.

It was around noon the next day when Ceres finally showed up.

She hadn’t brought the carriage, having left it somewhere, and Ceres, who appeared riding a brown horse, first handed a thick sling bag and a large backpack to Kaiyak.

“The sling bag has gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins. I mixed them well, and this should be enough no matter where you go. Well, as long as you don’t gamble or anything.”

“I don’t do that.”

“As you’re the Saint, well, I’m sure you won’t do such things. You’re going straight to Evian, right?”

The port of Capatia is right in front of them.

If they took a ship from there, they could easily go to Evian, but right now, Yona’s group absolutely couldn’t afford to be seen by anyone else’s eyes.

“Yeah. We’re going to Evian.”

“Then I’ll go to Evian by ship too. I’ll need to hide my identity a bit there as well… Well, I’ll take care of that myself. Then, see you in Evian.”

“Alright.”

Ceres bowed her head slightly to Yona and then turned her horse’s reins to head back to the port of Capatia.

After watching Ceres’s retreating figure grow smaller, Yona turned around and smiled gently at Alec, Kaiyak, and Rubina.

“Well, let’s go. It’s been a while since it’s just us, so let’s have a pleasant journey.”

“You should have asked Ceres to buy a new nun’s habit when she came.”

Ah. She forgot about that.

Since they couldn’t stop by any villages on the way, they had to keep taking mountain paths.

Yona was wearing the sling bag with money around her waist, and Kaiyak was carrying the backpack which was well-stocked with daily necessities.

“Come to think of it, how about stopping by James’s village on the way?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Alec turned to look at Kaiyak with a dumbfounded expression.

No matter what, every church in the entire empire must have received wanted notices by now, so the suggestion to stop by James’s village was bound to be surprising.

“James’s village doesn’t have a church, and I don’t think news would have reached such a mountain village yet. Since we’ll be passing by that area anyway, I thought we might as well stop by once.”

It wasn’t without reason.

James’s village didn’t have a church, and even the nearest church would be quite far.

Besides, honestly, he wanted to see James after a long time.

“…Will it be okay?”

Will it be okay, even though I want to meet him.

Worries like whether meeting him might cause trouble for James—

Nevertheless, Yona couldn’t overcome her desire to see James after a long time.

It should be fine if they don’t enter the village, right?

It should be fine if they just call James out quietly and meet him outside the village where people can’t see, right?

The deliberation wasn’t long,

and it was the moment their next destination was decided.