A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 11, Chapter 271: Flickering Dream

There was only white. It was a white space where light shined brightly in the snow. The white color almost spoke for itself on the spot.

「Oh, scary, how scary it is. How far will he go? It feels rather scary and unbearable.」

The words that made a sound did not seem to have any emotions. The weight of those words made it seem as if the atmosphere itself was missing something.

That voice said it was scary, but its tone implied something else. It was not feeling scared at all. It felt as if the sounds were lined up forcibly.

The white mist made a sound again while grabbing the air with its fingertips.

「But in the end nothing changes. The performance is about to begin. Everything will be decided when it comes to dead snow.」

The white mist sounded as if it were laughing. It was a sound that made the listener terribly confused and uncomfortable. If you were a weak person, you would be distracted just by hearing that sound.

The shadow spoke as if to chew that sound.

「Theater is something that always falls out of the hands of the screenwriter. Have you forgotten, Altius?」

The shadow’s cheeks rose in a distorted manner. Was the shadow amused or had other feelings? The expression didn’t seem to be readable. It was the same for the white one.

With a rolling sound, the white replied.

「I remember. I can’t forget that you broke my story and threw it away, so there is no way that I’d forget it. Ah, I‘m sad, Offal.」

The white said such words but it was not sad at all.

Nobody would know what kind of scene it was when looking at it. Was a person speaking or was a being speaking in a completely different language? It was almost incomprehensible.

The only thing that could be understood was that the white and the shadow were somehow exchanging words.

Altius, the so-called white, inherited the sound. The shadow received it and said, whispering, as if to confess something.

「…There’s no need to say such things. You didn’t give him choices, so I gave him. That’s all.」

The shadow spoke with a gesture. The appearance was really like an actor on stage. Then, this scene would soon come to an end. The shadow swayed as if it were pushed back by the surrounding light.

The shadow swayed like a dream sequence, and continued with a slightly disturbed voice.

「I just picked up what you spilled, you who claims to be the supreme of the spirits.」

When he heard the words of the shadow, white was pleasantly surprised. No, were those emotions truly real? Nobody could tell. And yet, it was making a sound as if it were laughing. It felt as if it were looking at something really humorous.

White said in response.

「I said I would give him salvation, and you said you wanted to bring him freedom. It is impossible to break it yourself, even if you break the sky. There are no exceptions.」

The shadow was hazy and it was about to disappear. However, one could see that its eyes were slightly narrowed, eyes that seemed to have some intention.

「…Dependency is not a privilege. Yes, the same thing you gave to the human being, Lugis. I too just fulfilled his wishes.」

At the end of that sound, the shadow disappeared from the bright space. The white didn’t care much about it and closed its eyelids as if nothing had happened.

Of course, what happened in there was just a dream. It was not meant to be, because it was originally impossible.

It felt like a whim that happened in the blink of an eye when the world switched forms. So, whether such conversation really happened or not, no one would ever know.

—

When Ariene opened her eyelids, she noticed a ceiling right in front of her eyes. For a moment, her brain wondered why it was in her sight. Her golden eyes blinked once and again, as if she was drowsy. Only then, did she notice.

“…I see. I am in the Cathedral.”

Called as both the Saint and Songstress, Ariene had been on a pilgrimage for more than a few months. During that time, she was lucky enough to be invited to an aristocratic mansion, but sometimes she had no choice but to sleep in an inn and in the carriage, but more often the latter.

Ariene didn’t encounter bandits because of God’s blessing, but she could not say that she slept well.

Perhaps, because of that experience, being able to sleep in her own room in the Cathedral was like a sweet honey for Ariene. Even if it was her room, it was completely different from the time when she was a nun.

The bed, which was too stiff and even inflicted pain in the back, had been transformed into a soft bed, and the blanket, which looked like a thin cloth, was replaced with a much thicker one.

Ariene unintentionally shook her long eyelashes and let out a sigh. Even though she was inside the room, her exhaled breath showed a white appearance.

The cold water that was prepared to cleanse the body was like ice. If she was to be treated well, then they should also bring hot water. She adjusted herself and shook her golden hair. Drowsiness had disappeared from the back of her skull long ago.

Ariene came to the Cathedral not because she had finished her pilgrimage. Rather, the revelation still pointed to a more distant land. She was still a candidate for Saint. Still, people said that she was closer to a Saint than anyone else.

Meanwhile, the fact that her legs were carried to the Cathedral was because of the breakthrough of the Heraldic religion. Of course, she had to cleanse her body at the Cathedral and heal the fatigue of the pilgrimage first and foremost, but there was something else to do.

The Great Holy Church retreated in the Sanyo Plains and was frankly defeated. In the midst of that outcome, they were now entering an era of severe dead snow. The screams of the people would not be hidden anymore.

Therefore, the real intention for her return, as the Saint and Songstress, was to comfort the hearts of the people as much as possible.

Ariene thought about it and smiled a little while remembering something warm in her chest. She showcased a small smile that only one person could understand.

The breakthrough of the Heraldic religion was followed by two names. One was the witch Matia. The other one was Lugis, who was Ariene’s childhood friend.

He was the great evil, the great sinner and the Lord of Vice. Rumors of her childhood friend who changed his title each time she heard his name were not always pleasing to Ariene. It was proof that he devoted himself to the distorted salvation of the Heraldic religion. He was now showing his fangs against the Great Holy Church. Ariene was not obediently pleased. Normally, there shouldn’t be any other emotions.

At the same time, Ariene understood well that black, muddy and sticky emotions were crawling on the bottom of her viscera. Those emotions were not meant for someone like her, who was supposed to bear the title of Saint.

Ariene never told her feelings to others. But, every time she heard Lugis’ activities, she couldn’t hide the emotions that were licking her chest. To be active as a Heraldic was to repeat sins. He was falling to a deeper place.

Every time it was harder for him to be saved. No one would take his hand. Ariene knew that God would abandon him in the end.

“Yes, that’s when I’ll save him. I’ll cut off everything that is around him and he’ll lose everything. Only then, I’ll take the hand he stretched out. Then, he’ll slowly atone for his sins and I’ll give him salvation. Only I can give it to him.”

Such an indescribable urge and conviction appeared in Ariene’s heart. Feelings that made her swell all over her body. Unknowingly, Ariene forgot about the freezing cold as she walked down the hallway in a buoyant mood after leaving her room.

Touring the cities as a tribute to the people had almost been completed by yesterday. Ariene remembered saying that she was going to select a Cathedral knight to be her escort.

That said, there was nothing that Ariene actually did. In the end, everything was decided, as God’s revelation pointed out. Ariene believed there was a wish ahead of her path.

“…I wish and hope for the same thing that happened in the past to happen in the future.”

Ariene’s golden eyes glittered under the cold sky. It seemed that the light of faith and the light of obsession were floating in them.