Episode 2
I was surprised and startled when I saw what looked like a game dialogue window, so I reached out to touch it. However, as if it was only visible to me, my hand passed right through the window. At that moment, new characters appeared.
[The bored beings of the beginning take an interest in your exceptional adaptability.]
“The beings of the beginning…?”
Although it wasn’t in Korean, I was able to read the text as if it was the effect of a buff.
[The bored beings of the beginning take an interest in your exceptional adaptability.]
Even after reading it again, I still couldn’t understand what it meant.
“What in the world is going on?”
After a moment, the translucent window gradually turned transparent and the text disappeared. I blinked my eyes, wondering if I had just dreamt it.
Knock, knock.
I heard knocking from outside, then the sound of the doorknob turning as the door opened. I turned my head to face the open door from in front of the window.
“….!”
There was a silver tray shining under the sunlight, and for a moment, I thought it was an anime character. But the person who appeared with the meal was a man I had never seen before.
Wearing a white uniform, he was very tall with broad shoulders. His eyebrows were a bit cold, but his golden eyes contained a warm light.
His hair was a bright, shiny golden color, almost like it was extracted from a golden nugget, whereas mine was more like golden sand on the beach.
“Aerial.”
I was staring at him absentmindedly, and he called out to me as he placed the tray on the table. Only then did I instantly recognize who he was.
“I brought your meal.”
It was the person who always called Camilla by her name even after she became a saint in the original story.
He was the man who created the fake saint, someone with as much influence in the empire as the royal family—the highest administrator of the temple.
“Reyhas de El.”
The man who brought Aerial to the temple, the man who created the fake saint.
As if whispering, his name slipped out of my lips.
De El was a special title given to someone serving as the temple administrator.
His golden eyes sparkled, and a faint blush appeared on his red lips.
“Are you going to address me by my name from now on?”
“Ah…”
I finally remembered that Aerial, the fake saint, used to call him ‘Deus-consul.’ So, I quickly corrected myself.
“I’m sorry, Deus-consul. I was spacing out…”
“It sounds nice, though.”
But he interrupted my words with a gentle voice.
Seeing my slightly surprised expression, he smiled mischievously and said jokingly,
“To be honest, I had forgotten that I even had a name.”
A refreshing breeze blew in through the open window.
His shiny golden hair swayed ever so slightly.
“I would like it if you continue to call me by my name.”
I stared at him with blank eyes, and only after a while did I regain my senses. I realized that I was reflected in his bright golden eyes.
After a brief moment of thinking, I opened my mouth.
“What I did just now was a mistake.”
If it was the original Aerial, she would have been delighted, her eyes sparkling. But I didn’t want to break the boundary between us.
“How dare I call you by your esteemed title.”
There was silence for a while as I anxiously waited for his response.
Then, after a moment of silence, he spoke.
“I’ve said this before…”
“…”
“This place is now Aerial’s home. Aerial can have or do anything she wants.”
Reyhas was a man like the one described in the novel—a colorful and gentle man.
“As long as you understand that freedom comes with responsibility.”
But that was only for Camilla. And I was stupid enough to say, “Can’t I just drop ‘consul’ and call you Reyhas?”
Aerial, who was not the clueless Aerial, didn’t say that.
“Of course.”
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
