episode_0057

Eleven years old, the man in front of me said that was his age.

“Lie?”

‘Where are you looking?’

Latera glanced at the man in front of her.

The man’s height is two heads taller than himself. The voice was deep and did not sound like a child’s voice at all. Even if you look at him kindly, he is not a boy, but a young man who looks well past his 20s.

It’s natural to look at it with suspicion. That’s because the man was clearly a healthy adult male.

Latera spoke to the man with a fresh look on her face.

“How can you say you’re eleven years old like that? Would you like me to give you the mirror again?”

“You said this is a place where souls exist.”

The man answered bluntly.

“I guess this is what my soul looks like.”

“The image that the soul remembers can never take on an image that it has never experienced. It’s not like the hero was reincarnated with his memories intact…”

Latera, unable to finish her sentence, looked at the man with suspicious eyes. Then I opened my eyes wide.

‘transmigration…’

I was touched by the words I said myself.

Latera opened her mouth towards the man with a very excited face.

“Surely, the hero is a reincarnation?”

“…well.”

What do you mean? The answer that came back was not clear.

The man had a serious expression on his face and turned his head to Latera. It was an expression that was hiding something, but even if Latera looked into his mind, there was no information to be found.

I guess I haven’t gained his trust yet.

Latera looked at the translucent message window floating in front of her. The senior called the board, visible only to the guardian angel, the message window.

The ability to peek into the minds of those entering this place gave Latera an overwhelming advantage.

[Reincarnated person… Is that a universal concept?]

Likewise,

The man’s thoughts were immediately displayed in the message window.

[ ]

But even this soon became empty.

It’s because the man stopped thinking.

A little while ago, the man reduced his thinking to a minimum.

Even so, he is also a human being with a human heart. Just as an ordinary person screams when stabbed with a knife, we naturally have no choice but to react to stimulation delivered to our eyes and ears.

Latera’s eyes frowned.

Then, new words were written in the message window.

[The kid frowned. [As if looking at me…]

[Because I still couldn’t completely trust this guy, I turned my head and pretended not to notice as much as I could.]

[The element of uncertainty required me to adopt a new way of responding. I think it will take some time to embody unfamiliar behavior patterns.]

[Suddenly he became speechless. Also… are you reading my thoughts?]

‘I’m reading.’

Latera said yes to herself. But now, I didn’t bother to say that I was reading.

Whenever she acted as if she was reading thoughts, the phrases that came to mind at every moment indicated that the man was thinking negatively about her.

I want to build a good relationship with the person I’ve been waiting for for a long time, but instead, it made me wary.

‘Am I hated? It shouldn’t be like this…’

Although it only lasted a few minutes, Latera learned. And we come to the conclusion that the message window is not helpful in the current situation.

She decided to put the distraction aside for a moment.

Judging by the fact that the man thought she was shameless, it seemed that if he did not do something like this, he would constantly make the other person wary.

A great decision is made within Latera.

“Just… I will completely believe what the hero says. Unlike the age depicted by the soul, the body in this world is young.”

Latera took a step back and smiled at the man.

“What… didn’t your attitude change too easily?”

The man looked at Latera with suspicious eyes, but she smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“For some reason, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to move forward if I continued like this. Besides, I don’t know anything, so I have to accept new information. Even if the hero deceives me, the lie will be revealed someday, and I will live long.”

“…”

“And, to put it bluntly, who isn’t an old person who doesn’t have much time left to live? I know how to think positively.”

Latera decided to change the way he treated the man a little. This is the meeting with the warrior I have been looking forward to so much. I expected that if things continued like they did just now, the man might completely turn against her.

“…Positive thinking isn’t bad.”

Latera took a step back, and the man smoothed his chin for a moment.

—–!

Then the message window next to me shook. Latera closed her eyes tightly and ignored it.

“Let’s continue the story.”

“…I like it!”

Latera answered, clenching her fists.

She answered with the will to do anything to become friends with the man in front of her.

*

I tried to make Latera understand what I was facing.

“If I go out with you, the risk increases.”

“Is there a bigger problem other than being too young?”

“Very big.”

I nodded with a serious expression on my face. I feel like I should say this, but I can’t think of anything better.

I took a deep breath and forced my heavy mouth to open.

“I can’t handle mana.”

“…That’s a really big deal.”

“If it’s just mana, you’re lucky. I have no swordsmanship talent, no magic talent, or any holy power. Making a pact with the devil has nothing to do with it either. Like this, I am not in a position to hide things.”

When the girl found out about my situation, she began to close her eyes tightly. My hand, clenched into a fist, was holding the hem of my clothes and shaking. Did you at least predict what I would say next?

But I didn’t have enough time to consider her situation, so I ended up saying what I wanted to say.

“What will happen if I take you out when you can’t do anything properly yet? People will definitely think of me as the next great hero, and the devil’s agents who are hostile to me will try to kill me.”

“…”

Latera was silent. I probably won’t be able to answer. The life and freedom of a warrior who appeared for the first time in 500 years.

It’s up to her to decide which one to choose after weighing the two, but judging by her reactions so far… I don’t think she will take my life so lightly.

I estimated my worth.

It was clear from Latera’s reaction how valuable it was to be the only suitable person to come here.

“I don’t think so at all, but… let’s say I have a heart of free devotion and extreme altruism.”

“…Yes.”

“But you can’t do anything with those fake qualifications.”

“…I’m not unaware of that either.”

Latera said, chewing her lip. It seemed to me that he was going through a significant internal conflict.

“Then, can I accept that you understand my situation?”

“Of course.”

Latera nodded her head once. And then he wiggled his eyebrows as if he had decided on something.

“It’s not just that. I also understood what the warrior wanted from me.”

Latera came to me sloppily.

Then he put his hand on my chest.

The hand that caresses me gives me goosebumps.

I flinched at the sudden skinship.

“…What are you doing now?”

I raised my hand and grabbed her shoulder to pull her away, but for some reason, I felt like my heart would be ripped out if I pushed her away like this, so I stopped.

Latera raised her eyes and glared at me.

“Stay still.”

“…Tell me what you are going to do and then sexually harass me.”

“You said the demons made a contract on the condition that they follow the hero, right? I am better than the devils. I’ll prove it to the hero now.”

Latera was doing something to me. That was all I knew clearly.

The ring above my head, which had been floating just a moment ago, began to shake.

The height difference between Latera and I was significant, so I was able to observe very closely how the ring in front of me bent, rotated, and twisted this way and that.

My heart started to heat up. However, it is not a pain that feels like being set on fire.

For a moment, the ring that had been emitting a beautiful and brilliant light became quiet.

Latera removed her hand from my chest and took a step back. I traced where her hand was.

I had a gut feeling that something had been done to me, but it wasn’t a warning that danger was imminent.

“I granted protection to the warrior’s soul.”

“Blessing?”

“It is said to be a blessing that a guardian angel can bestow on a warrior. There are three bets now. Protection of vitality, protection of anger, protection of concentration. And… I also gave you divine power as a bonus.”

“…”

I looked at Latera with a confused expression.

Latera continued speaking without paying attention to my reaction.

“The protection of vitality grants the warrior an untiring heart. The protection of anger will give you greater strength as you become more angry. The blessing of concentration is… If you make up your mind to take the action you want, your will will not waver no matter how much of an obstacle it may be.”

Latera, with one eye closed, crossed her arms and smiled proudly. He returned to his confident attitude again.

“You know the sacred power.”

“…Okay, I know.”

“First of all, I have granted all the blessings that can be granted in the current situation.”

“More could have been granted?”

“Of course. But it was still too much. I will be so overflowing with blessings that my soul will explode.”

“…”

“Even if you take that away, what do you think? I’m much more useful, right?”

“…Because they say it is useful. It feels like I’m treating you like a tool. Let me say it a little differently.”

In response, I did not hide the smile on my face.

“You are someone who is helpful to me.”

“Right?”

Latera suddenly came up to me and took my hand.

“As expected, we have good compatibility, right?”

“Okay…”

When I laughed, Latera smiled brightly.

“And what about me? I have a lot of patience. I can wait until the warrior is ready to meet me. I waited 500 years… at least 60 years until I became a grandfather. It’s not that difficult.”

“You’re sure I’ll come get you.”

“Of course. And I just learned it while talking to the warrior.”

What?

As I was about to say that, Latera pushed my chest hard.

“Do you know what? What I just gave you is just a taste.”

I started to step back further and further. Latera pushed my chest again.

“I believe you will come to receive the rest of your blessings.”

After saying those words, Latera stopped pushing my body. As I was taking a step back, I felt the ground beneath my feet suddenly giving way.