Chapter 67
“Ah, Lady?”
Sophia suddenly covered her ears and frowned, so Rune bent slightly forward, examining her face with a worried expression.
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Although the headache or earache had subsided because Leon had wisely kept silent, a new problem had arisen.
“Really?”
Since Rune’s face was very close, and he had never seen her grown-up, he wasn’t immune to the awkwardness. He couldn’t help but notice how his heart reacted to her now-mature appearance, although she hadn’t completely shed her youthful innocence.
“…Yeah.”
Sophia awkwardly turned her head to avoid eye contact and changed the subject.
“More importantly, how did you end up here, Rune? Do you even know where this place is?”
“You were put under a spell and fell asleep, and then Mr. Lucion came to find me and told me to enter the dream you were having,” Rune explained.
“Lucion…?”
Sophia was taken aback by the unexpected name, but Rune continued speaking.
“Oh, there’s one more person; their name is Jay. They also asked me to tell you they’re sorry for lying to you.”
Jay, a lie.
Sophia recalled Jay, the person who had introduced herself as a ghost before they reached Mesios Island.
So, it was a lie! She had believed it wholeheartedly!
But how did she know I was regressing? If she had been a ghost, it would make sense that she knew about my regression since her existence itself would be unreal. But if she wasn’t a ghost, then that didn’t make sense.
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said she’d answer all your questions when you meet her later.”
Sophia could think of a thousand questions, but the person who could answer them wasn’t there right now.
Lucion’s magic had made Jay seem like a ghost, contributing to the illusion of her being one.
“They helped me get here.”
“But it was this easy to enter? It seems like it has to do with magic,” Sophia said.
Rune was puzzled. If it were related to magic, someone like Payton, who was the quickest to assess situations, would have come in first. If Jay or Lucion had gone through the trouble to find Rune, they wouldn’t have needed to.
“Hmm…”
Rune pondered briefly before looking Sophia straight in the eyes, as if deciding something.
“There’s something I’ve been hiding, but I don’t want to deceive you, so I’ll tell you.”
“…?”
“I’m the only one who has the ability and the right to meet you now.”
Sophia was shocked by Rune’s unexpected statement.
“I can’t say much more, but I didn’t want to lie and say that I don’t know anything. It wouldn’t be right.”
With earnest eyes, Rune pleaded, and Sophia nodded lightly. Everyone has things they want to hide. She too had kept her regression secret.
But there was no need to demand what Rune was hiding. If it were something that couldn’t be said, there must be reasons.
“But I’m surprised you knew it was me, though. I don’t look anything like I used to.”
Rune had recognized her despite her body being completely different, bearing no resemblance to her former self.
“Is it related to your power?”
“That’s not it…”
Rune trailed off, then smiled brightly.
“There was no way I wouldn’t recognize you.”
“…?”
“How could I not… want to see you, Lady?”
Sophia’s ears turned red, but Rune didn’t shy away, even though he could feel the warmth in his own face. Normally, he would have avoided her gaze.
Something… about growing up…
“I’m glad I found you so quickly.”
Rune seemed to have become more open, and his bashfulness had lessened.
“You recognized me right away too.”
“Well… it’s not like I changed much.”
“Still, when you called my name, I was really happy.”
Looking at Rune’s childlike smile, Sophia realized that he hadn’t changed at all.
She smiled faintly, brushing a stray lock of Rune’s hair behind his ear.
“I’m happy too.”
Suddenly waking up in someone else’s body, Sophia had quickly adapted to the situation. Regressing had made her accustomed to such sudden changes, though mentally, she was still worn out.
She had to do everything on her own again.
“I’m really glad you’re here. Thank you.”
“…Yeah.”
Rune nodded, then gently brushed his ear where Sophia had touched it, before finally covering his face with his hand.
“Rune?”
Sophia was startled by his sudden movement and called his name, but Rune hastily kept his face covered as he answered.
“It’s nothing. Just… five seconds, please.”
After a few deep breaths, Rune lowered his hand and showed his face with an indifferent expression.
“It’s fine now. I’m okay.”
It seemed like he hadn’t adapted as quickly as she had to the sudden change in environment. Sophia decided to keep an eye on Rune, worried about his condition.
Just as she was thinking this, Leon’s voice rang out.
‘They’re really making a fuss over there…’
A short while later, Giselle came to see Sophia again.
“…Please, bring a magician.”
“…Is it really necessary to say it from this distance?”
Giselle shouted from a considerable distance.
“If I stay too close, I might lose my temper and hit you again.”
That was a rather chilling reason.
‘Don’t tell Payton. That bastard deserves to die.’
Leon’s sharpness was understandable since they were the ones who drove his mother to death.
Sophia also agreed with Leon’s stance.
…What should I do?
“Is it okay to ask about the situation?”
Rune’s question broke her thoughts.
Now that she realized, he had been in the middle of things with both Giselle and herself, and didn’t know who the magician they were talking about was. Leon had told her information that only she knew.
Sophia calmly explained everything she knew: that the magician Giselle wanted was Payton, why she was hesitating, and all the relevant details.
“…What are you whispering about? Are you forgetting that I’m part of the conversation?”
Giselle’s voice came, annoyed by the delay, but Sophia didn’t care about that.
After thinking for a while, Rune whispered something important.
“If there’s an evil god, doesn’t that mean there’s a good god too? Someone who fits perfectly as that god?”
“…Grandfather.”
“Yes!”
A great idea flashed across her mind.
“Thank you, Rune.”
“I’m glad my idea helped you, Lady.”
Rune smiled, relieved that his idea had been useful to Sophia.
Sophia, now that everything was sorted out, turned to Giselle and said loudly,
“I’ll bring the magician.”
Giselle was startled by her response and seemed uneasy but eventually bowed deeply.
“Really… thank you.”
Sophia, with Leon by her side, headed to where Payton was.
“Grandfather is going to be a god now. A good god. Let’s call him a ‘Good God’!”
‘The name of the god is really bad.’
It was absurd to hear someone who believed in a god named after an evil god talk about it, but Sophia ignored it and kept talking.
“After curing the patient, he’ll say, ‘This curse will continue as long as sacrifices are made to the evil god to strengthen his power. Therefore, cease the act of offering sacrifices.’”
“This curse… yeah, yeah. I understand.”
She quickly had Payton memorize the lines as they approached Giselle’s house.
Since she had explained everything about the evil god and sacrifices, Payton joined in without resistance.
“Make sure to emphasize that the evil god’s power must weaken for grandfather to use his power. Got it?”
“Yeah!”
Despite his simplicity, Sophia decided to trust Payton, who answered with confidence.
As they joined up with Giselle, they made their way to his house.
“You can’t go. You wouldn’t want to enter the house of the people who think your child collapsed at their house.”
Giselle blocked their way as they tried to enter Payton’s house. Sophia decided to step back without arguing.
“Then I’ll…”
“No, Rune is going with Grandfather.”
“Still…”
“Take good care of Grandfather for me.”
After giving Rune his instructions, he turned away.
As they left, Sophia was left alone, and Leon spoke.
‘Is this really going to be okay?’
“It will be.”
‘Ah, you answered as expected, didn’t you?’
Sophia nodded slightly, not sure if Leon noticed, but he probably did.
‘If this really works out, it’ll be quite peaceful.’
With that thought, a memory surfaced.
The night before a sacrifice was to be made, a mother, who knew what was coming, engraved the last words she wanted to leave behind on a wooden fragment as she relied on candlelight.
“Don’t cry.”
‘I won’t cry.’
But the sobs could clearly be heard.
