We walked down the main street of Medis, and soon, at the end of it, a large pure white building appeared at the end of the street.

　It's a beautiful building with a triangular roof that has a shimmering, mysterious sheen to it.
　And many travelers walking down the street enter the building.

'This is the Church of St. Julian,'

　Illtimina tells me.

'As I recall it's in the centre of ... the Medis?
Yes. You remembered it well, didn't you?

　Good girl, good girl, and he pats my head. Haha, I'm a little embarrassed.

　Looking at it, it seems that the main street splits off from here to the left and right, leading to the other great gates in the city walls, and then to the city road. From there, too, many travelers come and enter this church of St. Julian.

(Perhaps they are pilgrims?)

　I thought so.
　As I showed my interest, Illtimina-san smiled and asked me.

'Would you like to come inside?'
Yeah!

　I nodded broadly and walked into St. Julian's Church with the other pilgrims.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Crossing a large bridge over a pond in the vestibule, we found the entrance to the church. It was a very large door, and now it was wide open.

　With the others, we went under the door.

'Wow....'

　I winced.

　It was a large chapel there.

　But it was much larger, cleaner, and more gleaming than the tower chapel in the Great Forest of Aldoria. Only the air of the place has been transformed into something sacred.

　At the back of the chapel was a statue of a goddess.

　On her back, she had eight wings and four arms.
　In each of her four hands she held a sword, a shield, a staff and a Bible.
　It was majestic, beautiful, neat, dainty, and dainty, and its compassionate face made my heart tremble just to look at it.

'Marl.'

　knocking

　Ms. Illtimina pokes me on the shoulder. Hmm?

　When I turned around, she was laughing and pointing her white fingers upward. Up?
　He turns his head upwards, grabbing me.

(----)

　I lost my voice.

　A beautiful painting was painted all over the ceiling of the chapel.

　It was a picture of beautiful male and female gods and goddesses leading people dressed in white to fight heroically and valiantly against a horrible black monster and its attendants.

　God and Demon War - that name comes to mind.

　The photorealistic ceiling painting was so beautiful and overwhelmingly powerful that it enveloped us. It's as if we are actually there, and the illusion of being there fills me.　

(........why is that?)

　Suddenly I had a flashback to a dream where I saw six glowing children dead.

　They are my friends.
　Like the picture on the ceiling, we fought together.

　And then they were gone, and now I was all alone.

　The devil is still.........

"..........

　Feelings and thoughts that I don't understand come and go for no reason.

(This isn't me, it's "Marl's body" reacting...?)

　That's what I thought.

"...Marl?

　Suddenly, Illtimina-san called out to me in a strange voice.

(Hmm?)

　When I looked at her, she looked surprised for some reason.
　Then, she laughed gently and stroked my cheek with her white fingers.

(Eh....?)

　Before I knew it, I was crying.
　I had a single tear spilling out of my eye. Why is that?

　I don't know why, but there was something nostalgic, sad and strange about it.
　The pilgrims near me were also looking at me with a kind expression on their faces.

　Still, somehow I'm not ashamed, and I continue to stare at the beautiful statue and the ceiling painting, crying.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.　


　As I left the church, I came to myself and felt so embarrassed....

(Yea, I don't know what it means to cry all of a sudden.)

　Oh, if there was a hole, I'd go in it.
　I covered my face as I walked, and Illtimina-san laughed as if she was troubled, but she kept holding my hand as we walked.

　Many travelers, even now, are entering the church, interchanging with us who are leaving.

''........So popular, St. Shulian's Church.
''That's right. Because the goddess of war, Shrien, who is enshrined, is one of the three pillar gods who were the center of the armies of gods and men in the Divine and Demonic War.
Oh, yeah?

　What is she, a goddess of war?

So what do the other two gods say?
Arzeus, god of justice, and Moa, god of love. Here in the Kingdom of Shumuria, the goddess Shrean is the most popular, but in the neighboring Kingdom of Arun, your two gods are more popular.
Really?

　I guess people have different preferences for God, depending on the land they live in.

　Don't.

"Oh?

　Maybe it was because I was thinking about it, but I bumped into one girl who was trying to pass me.

'Oh, I'm sorry,'

　The girl apologizes as if in a hurry.　　
　Her age is about the same as mine. But the clothes she was wearing were not very fine and were noticeably dirty. Her skin was pale and her brown hair looked a little sore.

　I laughed and shook my head.

'Nope. I'm sorry for bumping into you too.
'Oh....'

　The girl let out a breath of relief.
　And from in front of her - to me, from her back, I heard the voices of children who seemed to be the girl's friends.

'Hey! What are you doing?'
Father, I'm waiting for you.
Come on, come on, come on.
Are we running out of rice?

　My friends beckoned me to join them, and the girl bowed her head to me, and then she ran at a trot towards them.

　Somehow, I see the girls off.

'They're orphans, aren't they?'

　Illtimina-san muttered, looking in that direction.

　I look up at her white profile.

'All over the country, St. Shulian's Church takes care of children who have no parents or other relatives.
Really?
''Yes. ........Perhaps some of those children had their families killed by the Red Fang Dragon Gad.
..........

　The wind was a little cold, blowing.

　I stared at the beautiful, pure white Church of St. Shrien, touching the body part that the girl had bumped into. In my mind, I prayed for the blessing of the Goddess Shrien.

'Come on, let's go, Marl?'
Yes.

　We held hands, walked through the pilgrims and left the place - and left.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　After we left the church, we decided it was time to head back to Uncle Dwarf's armor shop.

'Oh, you're back, aren't you?　I've got it fixed.

　With a hammer in one hand, the uncle smiles with a toothy grin.
　The armor that was returned to him had a hole in it. No, maybe they only replaced the metal parts that had holes in them.

The best way to do that is to use the same kind of equipment in the same way. It's an impressive arm.
Right?

　Illtimina-san nodded with satisfaction after checking every detail.
　Uncle Dwarf seems to be very proud of himself.

　And so Iltimina-san wears the repaired armor, the armor that was repaired.



　A bit disappointing.
　But the figure in white armor is the one I've seen Illtimina-san in all my life, so I felt a sense of relief.
　Yes, Iltimina-san should be like this after all.

　She moves her body lightly and confirms that there is no problem.

　Uncle Dwarf who was looking at Iltimina-san like that.

Hey?　I'm going to ask you a trivial question, but are you a 'demon blood people'?

　He said that while stroking his beard.

("Demon Blood People"?)

　Illtimina-san's movements stopped.

''........... What is it?

　After a not-so-short pause, she listened back quietly.

　Her voice felt strangely cold.
　But I can only see her back from me, so I can't make out the expression on her face.

　Uncle Dwarf waves his hand lightly.

'Don't look so scared. I don't have a fearful look on my face. In a business like this, you have a lot to deal with.
..........
It's just, it's a bit of an intervention.

　I catch a glimpse of my uncle's eyes as he looks at me.

"You know that?
It's none of your business.

　The voice that answers is so hard and scary.

　There's a strange tension in the store.

I know. But from my experience, I'm going to let you know as soon as possible.
..........
I don't care if you're an older man or a different race, as long as you're in love with her. But I can't keep a secret from you forever. Well, why don't you just trust them and tell them?
No, we're not in love.
Yeah, I get it. I'm a stranger. I don't need your help. --But you know what? I want you people to do the right thing.

　There was not a speck in his uncle's voice.

　At his gaze, Mr. Illtimina was silent, and eventually, she exhaled heavily.

'I'll take your advice.
Oh. Why don't you just put that in the back of your mind?

　Uncle Dwarf smiled carefree.

　Slowly turning around, Illtimina-san looks at me. There's a gentle, gentle smile on her face.

''Excuse me. I'm sorry for making you wait so long for a strange story.
Nope.

　I shook my head.

　I had a lot on my mind.
　There were things I wanted to ask.　

　But I'd have to wait, I thought - until the day that Ms. Illtimina told me herself.

(I probably don't deserve it right now, to have her tell me her secrets...)

　I have to work harder.
　Until I can convince Illtimina to trust me.

...Merle?

　Illtimina-san's hand, looking somewhat anxious, is held out to me.

　Without hesitation, I took it in my hand.

　She let out a breath, as if she was somewhat relieved. Then she smiles happily.

I think that boy will be fine, don't you?

　I could hear Uncle Dwarf's chuckling voice as we held hands and watched our backs as we walked away from the store - and I could hear him laughing.