Ceres, Ceres Alkamine (1)

‘That definitely looks like ivory…’

Or is it marble? But there’s no way a carriage covered in marble would be running like this.

Before that, does the cost make sense? Are there elephants on this continent? Can ivory be applied like that? Weren’t elephants protected from hunting? Is it marble? If it’s marble, what about the weight when covered that much? Are the horses okay?

These were the kinds of thoughts running through her mind, as the interior of the carriage was overwhelmingly luxurious.

The carriage interior was fully decorated with a material that looked like white stone, and despite being a carriage, it was massive – in Yona’s view, comparable to the length of a train car from her original world.

She remembered there were 8 horses when boarding the carriage, and it was amazing that those horses could pull this carriage that looked so splendid, huge, and heavy.

The seats installed around the carriage were also extraordinarily luxurious.

The seating comfort was soft and fluffy, clearly stuffed with cotton rather than straw or leaves.

“Sister, look at this. This round thing is smooth, it’s like Uncle Alec’s head!”

Rubina looked up at Yona while touching the round ornament at the end of the armrest on each seat.

“Rubina, don’t touch everything.”

Yona quickly stopped Rubina, worried something might break.

Seeing this, Ceres, who was watching from the opposite side, smiled slightly.

“If it breaks, we can just replace it. Feel free to touch and play with anything. I absolutely love children, so please make yourselves comfortable.”

“…Even so…”

“If the carriage was fragile enough to break that easily, wouldn’t there have been a problem the moment Mr. Kairoc or Mr. James got on?”

That’s true.

At the end of Ceres’s pointing finger, Kairoc and James were sitting comfortably leaning back on the seats.

Despite their height of over 2 meters and their unusual weight, they were sitting sprawled out with their bodies relaxed, yet the seats showed no signs of strain, and the carriage didn’t tilt towards their side at all.

Right now, there were 8 people riding in this carriage:

Ceres,

Ludvik,

Bigrin,

Yona,

Alec,

Kairoc,

James,

Rubina.

Even with so many people on board, the carriage was so spacious that it didn’t feel cramped at all.

It hadn’t even been an hour since the carriage departed.

They were heading to the Inpula Church Territory, and Yona’s group had joined as escorts, but Yona wondered if escorts were really necessary for this.

Church knights on horseback were accompanying the carriage, positioned in front, behind, and on both sides.

According to Ceres, this was a normal escort, which felt a bit insufficient for a party with the hero and saint, but Yona wondered what a non-normal escort would be like.

“Now, Miss Rubina.”

At Ceres’s calling voice, Rubina, who had been playing and touching various things while snuggled up to Yona, quickly raised her head.

A plate full of cookies and a small bowl of honey for dipping the cookies.

Ceres showed the plate to Rubina and then unfolded a folding table attached to the side of her seat and placed it on top.

“Now, I’d like to talk with sister Yona for a bit. Would Rubina like to come here and eat some snacks?”

“Yes, yes!”

Before Yona could say anything, Rubina jumped down and scurried over to Ceres.

Ceres gently stroked Rubina’s hair, which was neatly fixed with a butterfly-shaped pin, and smiled warmly as she made room for her.

“There are plenty of cookies, so eat more if you run out. Sit here and eat, okay?”

“Yes~!”

Rubina smiled with an expression full of undisguisable joy.

As Ceres stood up and Rubina sat in her place, Ceres lightly lifted Rubina to help her sit properly on the seat.

“Now, Miss Yona. Shall we have a little chat?”

Every time Ceres approached Yona, her silver hair swayed.

Yona’s white hair was literally like dog fur, sticking out messily no matter how much she combed it, but Ceres’s silver hair lay flat and neat, which Yona found enviable.

“What kind of talk?”

As soon as Ceres sat down in the now empty seat that was originally Rubina’s, Yona asked with a voice full of wariness.

Although they had gotten a bit closer since their first meeting, she still felt uncomfortable with a noble approaching her so casually.

“Nothing special. I just wanted to ask you something… Oh, no.”

Ceres’s gaze moved from Yona’s face to her right arm.

The right arm was wrapped tightly with a wide bandage that Alec had brought, as the holy cloth had been torn to shreds and was completely unusable.

As her gaze moved, Yona’s heart began to pound heavily.

It’s just simple letters, but…

The place they’re heading to is the Inpula Church Territory.

Moreover, Ceres is not only the regent of the Grand Duchy of Capatia but also the chief elder of the Celestial Church’s Capatia branch, so if she were to judge Yona as a heretic or cultist-

Yona might end up sitting in the back right diagonal seat from those cultists currently being interrogated in the basement of the Capatia Grand Cathedral. She might even lose an arm after severe torture.

“Shall we keep this a secret from the others?”

Ceres smiled at Yona’s face and then snapped her fingers with a click sound.

But nothing seemed to happen.

Rubina was still happily smiling while eating cookies dipped in honey, and Ludvik, Kairoc, and James were busy talking among themselves.

Bigrin, sitting in the innermost seat, was still glaring at Ceres and Yona with piercing eyes.

“Now, we can talk comfortably.”

“Um… nothing seems to have changed though…?”

Because that was actually the case.

At least from Yona’s perspective, nothing seemed different.

“It may look that way, but to the others, it will appear as if we’re just having a normal conversation. So don’t worry, okay?”

If Ceres says so, it must be true.

Yona didn’t want to argue about a field she knew nothing about.

It must be some kind of magic or something.

“Yes, well anyway… What, what kind of talk?”

“Well, let’s see. What kind of talk… For example.”

Ceres’s gaze once again turned to Yona’s right shoulder.

And from there, she slowly scanned her entire arm.

“About what’s covering your right arm.”

Yona’s body stiffened.

As if she had anticipated such a reaction, Ceres let out a long laugh.

“About, say, the Celestial Church’s ritual texts-?”

As the sun was setting behind the western mountains and darkness was slowly beginning to settle, the carriage entered a city.

The checkpoint was passed immediately upon presenting Ceres’s nameplate, and the carriage drove down the main street directly towards the city’s administrative official’s residence.

Although the administrative official and civil servants seemed flustered by the sudden visitors, as if struck by unexpected lightning, Yona felt no particular emotion.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she had no time to pay attention to such ‘trivial’ matters.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat?”

Alec carefully pulled Yona’s plate towards him and removed the carrots from it, transferring them to his own plate.

Then he pushed the plate back in front of Yona, but she still showed no reaction.

“I took out all the carrots. Aren’t you going to eat?”

Even though the meal was fairly well-balanced and not bad tasting, Yona had a blank expression as if her mind had wandered off somewhere.

“Hey, Yona.”

“Huh, what?”

“I’m asking if you’re not going to eat.”

It was only after Alec poked Yona’s side that she finally snapped out of it.

“I-I’ll eat. Yeah.”

Only then did she pick up her fork and answer halfheartedly.

She picked up a piece of meat soaked in sauce and put it in her mouth, but she seemed lost in thought as she chewed it absentmindedly.

“Did something happen to you?”

“No, nothing happened.”

“Come on. That’s not the face of someone who had nothing happen.”

“Really, nothing happened. Don’t worry. I just don’t have an appetite, so I’ll go to bed first. Take care of Rubina for me.”

“Oh, okay.”

Alec couldn’t stop Yona as she put down her fork and stood up.

In just those few hours, her face had become pale, and her already fair complexion had turned completely ashen, which was very strange.

“…Were there carrots left on her plate? There weren’t any bell peppers originally…”

Even after pulling Yona’s plate back to check, there were no bell peppers, let alone carrots, on her plate.

That night.

Yona stood in front of the door and took a deep breath.

• • Why is that engraved on your arm, Miss Yona?

 

• • It’s a ritual text from an age without echoes, you know.

 

• • Aren’t you curious?

 

• • Were you planning to enter Inpula with ritual texts from the age of the False Celestial God engraved on you?

 

• • Didn’t you think you might be branded a heretic?

Ceres’s voice, which had whispered in her ear, seemed to remain clear.

• • Come to my room tonight.

 

• • I’ll explain in more detail.

 

• • I’ll be waiting.

‘…Phew.’

After taking another deep breath, Yona finally steeled her resolve and raised her hand to knock.

And at that moment, the door slid open smoothly, and Ceres appeared.

Seeing Yona’s face, who had forgotten to breathe due to shock, Ceres smiled gently.

“I was wondering why you were standing there for so long. It seems you’ve finally decided to come in. Please, come in.”

At her words, Yona bit her lip hard and stepped into Ceres’s room.