Chapter 114
Raphaella’s face was grim and serious, but Gilipus wore an inscrutable smile the entire time. His answer was as relaxed and unhurried as his expression.
“They’re still listed as missing. However, a small trace was found on the opposite continent.”
“The opposite continent… You don’t mean that abandoned land crawling with monsters, do you?”
“That’s right. There were traces of divine authority being used along the coast there.”
Raphaella gauged the distance between the monster-migration portal discovered on the island off the Sester Coast and the place Gilipus had just mentioned.
“So it really was those two.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
Gilipus asked back with a perfectly innocent face, as if he knew nothing.
“Come to think of it… isn’t this near where that woman named Blehel was bound?”
“That’s right. It was a long time ago—impressive that you remember.”
“You beat her to the brink of annihilation and dragged her to court. She was completely bloodied back then.”
“She deserved it.”
“True. Especially using over a thousand newborn babies as sacrifices.”
“If you knew what that bitch gained by offering those young lives, you’d be even more horrified.”
“What was it?”
“A doll.”
Murderous intent flared in Raphaella’s eyes as the memory resurfaced.
“She obtained the method for making puppet dolls. And the materials are humans. Old habits die hard—you know what happened to the humans who went into the Forest of Loss.”
“No wonder you beat her like that.”
“She’s still doing it even while sealed in that land. She won’t stop until she’s dead.”
“Ah, so that’s why you came all this way. Planning to kill her with your own hands? But can you handle her when you don’t even have your full power? What if you end up being the one who gets killed?”
At Gilipus’s worried words, Raphaella raised her hand. A golden haze rose from her entire palm.
Trying—and failing—to hide his shock, Gilipus asked,
“Divine authority? I never heard the chief god returned your power. What happened?”
“I don’t know exactly either. Ever since I drew out divine power from a holy relic, my strength has been slowly returning. I’m at about half now.”
“Half… only half, huh.”
Resting his chin on his hand, Gilipus examined her with a strange gaze. Raphaella suddenly felt an unfamiliar, unsettling sensation.
She couldn’t put it into words, but instinctively, something felt off.
“You’re not as surprised as I expected.”
“Huh? Oh. That’s because I always believed you’d regain your power eventually. With your personality, there’s no way you could endure being powerless forever. I figured you’d find some way.”
Gilipus smiled warmly again, then quickly changed the subject before Raphaella could press further.
“By the way, there’s more important information. About the mirror fragments that fell into the human world—it seems someone is collecting them.”
“I told you before it was suspicious.”
“At the time, I couldn’t believe it. Humans wouldn’t dare touch something like that.”
“So did you find out who it is?”
“We’ve narrowed it down somewhat. Don’t be surprised—it’s not human. Some other being. Possibly a higher existence.”
“Hah… I figured as much too. Any other leads?”
“They’re more cautious than expected. Hard to catch their trail. Still, the divine realm is watching this closely, so they’ll be caught soon. Don’t worry.”
“What is that old chief god even doing? How did things get this poorly managed?”
“Haha. Even a chief god isn’t perfect.”
“What are you talking about? If you sit in a position that demands perfection, you should bear the responsibility that comes with it.”
“When you’re too high up, you can’t see the small things below.”
“Is that old man planning to cook his clairvoyance into soup or something?”
As Raphaella grumbled, Gilipus suddenly leaned in close, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.
“Raphaella. Did you know this? Most of the gods in the divine realm used to be human.”
“No way. I’ve heard only a few exceptional souls became gods. The rest were born gods.”
“Haha. That’s what everyone believes… but it’s not true.”
Gilipus’s red eyes stared intently into Raphaella, as if piercing through her. Just as she frowned and tried to lean back, his whisper continued.
“They were all human. Except for the primordial gods.”
“…What? All of them?”
The next day.
Because she had gone to bed late at dawn, Raphaella didn’t open her eyes until well past eleven. Gilipus’s words kept lingering in her mind, robbing her of proper sleep.
Since no one came to wake her, she rolled around in bed a little longer.
Leo had also overslept and couldn’t wake her, and William, feeling awkward after what happened yesterday, didn’t try to wake her either. As usual, he ate breakfast quietly by himself.
In the end, the three of them didn’t leave the inn until after lunch.
“Please come again! You must!”
The innkeeper walked them to the door, regret evident as he watched them leave.
From the village to the forest boundary was about half a day on foot. Following Raphaella’s suggestion, they rented horses and headed quickly toward the Forest of Loss. Thanks to that, they reached the boundary in less than an hour.
“Wow. When you said ‘forest boundary,’ I expected a wall—or at least some kind of marker.”
“I didn’t imagine it would mean this either.”
The two men spoke in amazement at the sight before them.
The lush green forest ended abruptly, as if cut cleanly away, giving way to a black swamp. The boundary was stark, as though someone had painted along an invisible line.
Though it was called a swamp, it wasn’t just mud. Scattered trees and unknown plants stood here and there, but all of them were pitch black, twisted into grotesque shapes that made the landscape feel even more desolate.
The three tied their horses a few steps away from the boundary.
Rummaging through her purple magic pouch, Raphaella called out to the two men.
“Wait. There’s something we need to do before going in.”
As she opened the pouch wide and tried to pull out a thick envelope, William stepped in to help. He found it odd that it felt light despite its size.
“Where should I put it?”
“Hmm, here.”
Raphaella pointed to a flat spot under a nearby tree. When William set it down, she squatted and began taking things out of the envelope.
“What are all these?”
“Supplies.”
“Are those dolls part of the supplies?”
“Yeah. They’re the most important.”
The first things Raphaella took out were three hand-sized cotton dolls. They were soft and round, like children’s toys.
She also pulled out a small pair of scissors used for trimming nails and a thick red knitting thread.
“Both of you, come here.”
At her call, the two men hurried over and squatted beside her in the same posture.
Her hands then reached toward their heads.
“Ow! That hurts!”
Ignoring Leo rubbing his stinging scalp, Raphaella continued her work, stuffing the plucked hairs deep into each doll.
William’s doll was a brown bear with a round body, while Leo’s was a fox with three tails.
Seeing this, Leo complained.
“You picked these dolls yourself, didn’t you? Why a fox? I like lions.”
“Your eyes curve like crescent moons flipped upside down. It’s a perfect match.”
“…So you chose based on resemblance.”
William stared blankly at the sulky-looking bear doll, wondering if others really saw him as dull and stuffy as that bear.
As always, Raphaella paid no attention to William’s troubled expression and focused on the dolls.
After adding her own hair, she handed the small scissors to the two men.
“Clip one fingernail and one toenail.”
“Gasp. Even a toenail?”
“Yes.”
“Uh… isn’t it a bit early in our relationship to show bare feet?”
“Want me to strip you naked, tie you to a tree, and clip them myself?”
“Sorry! I’ll do it right now!”
At Leo’s silly joke, Raphaella replied with her usual mix of teasing and threat.
Her expression looked normal, but in truth she was slightly tense—and the only one who noticed was William. His gaze was always on her.
“……”
While William worried in silence, Leo kept pestering Raphaella about which finger to cut until he got smacked once and finally behaved.
Raphaella attached the fingernails and toenails to each of the three dolls, then used the red thread to connect each doll to its owner’s wrist. She pulled the knots tight two, three times, securing them firmly.
Then she placed a doll into each man’s hand and began explaining in a serious voice.
“Listen carefully. The hand holding this doll must stay inside your pants pocket at all times.”
