~Chapter 115~
That was it—this was Siraka’s holy relic, the very thing the evil god Berbes hated most!
Then the Berbes inside Ethan should react somehow, shouldn’t it?
If touching the relic made Berbes rage and cause Ethan pain, she was ready to run to him, hug him tight, and calm him down.
“Hmm?”
Please, show me something!
But, against her expectations, Ethan looked perfectly calm.
“I don’t feel anything.”
He studied the relic with doubtful eyes, then simply set it back on the desk.
Strange. Riden tilted her head.
“Wait a moment.”
She jumped up, poked her head outside the tent.
Up in the sky, the bright full moon shone—the same moon Ethan had always looked at in pain before he met her.
She gave a quick nod to the guard on duty and slipped back inside.
Yes, tonight was the night she had been waiting for—the full moon.
It was the night when Berbes’s power was at its peak, and also when the chance of communicating with it was highest.
Recently, Riden had been holding on to Ethan, trying again and again to reach Berbes.
Thanks to that, Ethan’s condition had gradually improved.
The fact that he could sit calmly under a full moon proved her efforts weren’t in vain.
But each time, she failed at the final step. That’s why she had waited for tonight—
a full moon and Siraka’s relic.
She sat beside Ethan and held the brass paperweight tightly in her hand.
Berbes must know the relic from the Silver Hunting Grounds. With this, I’ll force it to speak, no matter what.
She stared at it.
The first time she held it in the sealed library, she had felt sick, almost nauseous.
That was how she knew it was real.
Tonight, I have to hear Berbes’s voice.
Ethan, watching her furrowed brow, spoke lightly.
“Feels like you got scammed.”
“Huh?”
“The temple’s been looking for Siraka’s relic for ages and never found it. So if you believe this old paperweight is the relic, maybe you were tricked.”
So that’s why he had looked so calm when she presented it!
Riden frowned back at his worried gaze.
“Ha…”
Of course the heroine finds what others can’t. But I can’t just say I know because I read the novel.
She muttered, “You’ll see. It’s real.”
“Give me your hand.”
“Sure.”
Then—
“Sure.”
Ethan repeated her words exactly.
“What?” She blinked at him.
“Oh, not me—that.”
He stood and handed her a large object covered in black cloth.
“Open it.”
She pulled the cloth away.
A cage.
Inside was a small bird, looking like a sparrow, tilting its head at her.
“A pet beast I caught earlier. Harmless, pretty—noble ladies want them. And—”
Riden cut in with a knowing smile.
“They repeat human speech, right? But only what they’ve heard that day.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“You knew that?”
“You knew that?”
The little bird copied him word for word.
Riden laughed.
It was a beast she had seen in another of the author’s novels. She’d guessed right.
Cute.
The bird glared at her with round eyes, beak clamped shut in anger.
“Usually I don’t know much, but if it’s a beast I like, I remember things.”
She smiled at Ethan.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
The bird mimicked her voice.
Riden tilted her head.
“Not sure you should be saying thanks when you’re the one locked in a cage.”
“Squaaawk!!”
The bird let out a terrifying beast-cry that echoed in the tent.
Riden quickly set the cage down on the desk, startled.
Ethan glanced sideways at her.
“They say it’s popular among young ladies, hard to get. Did I give you the right gift?”
“Of course. Makes me want to only say good things from now on. Now then—give me your hand.”
She clasped his hand naturally.
Then she breathed.
Ethan still sweated a little, sometimes grimacing—but he no longer suffered as before.
Her steady practice was paying off.
Riden peeked at his calm face and continued.
She pushed deeper—there it was again.
‘That thing.’
The dark presence, always coiled up in displeasure.
Crackle!
The moment her breath touched it, it shrieked and crawled deeper.
Every time, her attempts failed here.
But tonight—she held the relic in her other hand.
This time will be different.
As she wished, the relic began to tremble, heating up as if on fire.
Her breath grew hotter, faster.
Crackle!
Huh?
Something strange—
Instead of screaming louder and fleeing, the presence turned toward her.
“Ah!”
At the same moment, Ethan gasped, trembling against her shoulder.
“My lord, wait! I think it’s working this time! Please, hold on!”
The presence wasn’t running—it was staying still. This was her chance.
She sent in her last breath.
And then—
“I miss you. I want to see you.”
What?
And just like that, it vanished.
She had almost caught it—again, it slipped away!
Riden bit her lip, stroking Ethan’s trembling back.
She felt guilty for making him suffer with no result.
“Are you okay? You’ve been fine lately—why now…?”
His voice came soft, heavy with exhaustion.
“I’m fine. Just surprised—it felt hot inside.”
“Hot?”
“Yes. Different from usual.”
Riden hesitated, then asked:
“But then… why did you say that? If it felt hot, why say you missed someone?”
“Missed someone? Me?”
She nodded hard.
She’d heard it clearly: I miss you. I want to see you.
Ethan rested his chin on her shoulder and shook his head.
“No. Must have imagined it.”
But she was sure she’d heard. Unless…
She glanced at the bird in the cage.
Did Ethan mutter that he missed me?
Even when he was right here?
She looked at him again. The big man resting his face on her shoulder seemed… adorable.
Her hand gently stroked his back.
“The time has come.”
The Shadow Boar, worth 1,000 points, was nocturnal. By day, it turned translucent under sunlight. That’s why the real hunt would begin after midnight.
“I should get up.”
“Won’t it be hard?”
“Yes. Very.”
Then suddenly, Ethan wrapped both arms tightly around her.
Riden froze, barely breathing.
“Uh…”
“I’m fine now.”
And just like that, he stood and strode out.
Riden sat frozen in place, then sighed softly.
She rubbed her burning cheeks.
Haah… another failure. It’ll take forever to find the second relic.
And after that? How would she even find the rest?
Maybe I really have to wait until Mari awakens her powers.
Nothing was going smoothly.
With a sullen face, Riden got up to follow Ethan to the Shadow Boar hunt.
