24 Hearts

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Calypso’s Nightmare

He woke up in the morning, feeling absolute comfort. There was the sunlight seeping through the window, the clear sound of birds chirping, the fluffy bed, and a warm feeling on his back. Everything was perfect. He thought to sleep a little more, but when he saw the chair in front of his eyes, his feeling of bliss was washed away as he came to consciousness.

‘I’m on the bed…?’

His last memory was of him sitting at that chair with his arms crossed, watching Jeanne. Why was he lying on the bed? And what was that warmth coming from behind him… ? He looked at his back and saw Jeanne right beside him.

‘Huh?’

Did he crawl onto the bed because he was uncomfortable while sleeping? He sat up carefully.

“Is it okay if you don’t sleep more?”

Jeanne turned as soon as she felt the movement. Judah jumped after hearing her voice out of nowhere. He stood up and sat back to the chair by the bed.

“You weren’t sleeping?”

“While you were sleeping, I put you on the bed and slept again. Why did you sleep uncomfortably on that chair?”

“I didn’t know I was going to fall asleep. That aside, are you feeling fine? You hit your head on a wall.”

At Judah’s question, Jeanne tilted her head and touched it.

Her hair was messy after sleeping, but that was it. She had no idea why, but she felt not a hint of pain. Why did she hit the wall? She felt fine when she woke up at dawn. She found Judah sleeping on the chair and thought to lay him down on the bed, and then she went back to sleep. Everything was a blur to her. Suddenly there she was, resting on the bed after such an injury.

“…I was scared when the altar lit up. And I remember walking up to you and then… I don’t remember anything else after that. What the hell happened?”

“Ah- That.”

Judah couldn’t say anything about the monarch, so Judah thought of what else to say.

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

“Literally nothing appeared. The random surge also frightened me, but the light disappeared after a while, like something about it failed. That’s it really, nothing else happened.”

Jeanne nodded slowly.

“Is that so? I’m really fortunate then. Had that ritual succeeded, we wouldn’t be able to lay in bed like this to see the sun.”

“Shall we head out now?”

“In a while.”

“?”

“I want to check something. Is Count Jinmu really dead?”

“Yes, why?”

“Did you take any evidence? If you submit this to the Adventurers Guild, you may be upgraded to a silver plaque right away.”

“…No.”

“Then we should head back.”

After a while, they headed back to the basement. She took his robe and ring that Judah didn’t take because of the curses tangled with it and a black magic book in the study. She was very meticulous, and after looking through all the books in the library, she said they could head back to town.

She said, “We spend the last couple of days going through the rain. Strolling with the sunlight like this is a wonderful feeling.”

Both of them chatted a lot, unlike usual. Thanks to her, Judah didn’t grow bored with heading back to town.

When they returned to the village, the people were still anxious, staying in the town hall. When he entered the hall, each gaze fell on them. The mayor stood up and approached, welcoming him.

“Oh, you made it back safely. Did you find that young man?”

“I found him, but he was already dead by the hands of a ghost. I only brought memento.”

“Is that so…? How unfortunate.”

“And we’ve gotten rid of the ghosts and their nest. There’s no more need to fear. You can go home and rest.”

The village chief’s eyes widened.

“Is that real? What was it?”

The village chief did not immediately believe him. Judah pulled out a robe trifled with a ghost’s curse. As soon he pulled the cold fabric, the village chief and the rest gasped.

“There was a mansion inside the forest. The man named Count Jinmu, who lived in that mansion, was its host. If you can’t believe me, you can go and see it for yourself.”

Upon the challenge, the man laughed awkwardly and waved his hand.

“Oh, no. It’s okay. I’m relieved to hear you’ve dealt with the same source. I was thinking of waiting for the priest to get up. Do you think of staying for a while?”

“Well, I have matters to discuss with the priest, so perhaps I will. Go home, and if you feel like there is a ghost left, please come to me. I will guard you.”

The village chief hurried to rush the people gathered in the hall. The people who came out of the hall gazed at the clear skies above and was eager to return to their homes.

A few people were afraid to return, so Judah and Jeanne checked for them and found nothing as expected. They had to accommodate them several times until there was no one left in the hall.

Judah felt very hungry and asked the village chief if he could use the hall’s kitchen, and he gladly allowed him to use it freely.

He took out the ramen from -Bag-, cooked it with green onions, and boiled it with Jeanne. Adventurers who were hiding somewhere came to the kitchen, attracted by the delicious smell.

“Oh, you were cooking.”

They hesitated to come forward. They sat there gulping like they wished to ask for a bite, but it wasn’t for free. Judah handed them a meal in exchange for washing dishes like a price on the market. They seemed dissatisfied with the exchange, but he didn’t care. Judah had no plans of gaining their favorability and reliability. However, when his ramen started to boil, their retorts quickly subsided.

“The priest hasn’t got up yet?”

“Yes. She hadn’t slept for ten days, so if I were her, I’d be sleeping all the way through as well. The villagers are taking care of her, so if you’re curious, you can go visit her.”

“Hmm.”

He thought of the residents who hadn’t eaten. Judah took out one of his pots, boiled one more of the ramen, transferred it into a bowl, and went to her room. Jeanne politely knocked on the door instead, while Judah held the ramen. They heard a rustling sound coming from the room, and then a woman came out.

“What happened? Oh my god.”

“You hadn’t eaten yet, we presume? Please have some.”

“Thank you. Did you come to see the priest? Please, come in.”

She took her bowl and greeted Judah and Jeanne brightly. The room was quite spacious. She took her bowl of ramen and sat down on a chair in one corner, chowing down the meal in no time. Hearing a whirring sound, he gazed at the priest lying down in slumber.

“Do I have to keep on watching her sleep?”

“…Well… If you want, you can try shaking her to wake her up.”

He felt embarrassed, but he didn’t intend to look after the woman. Judah looked down at her and brought up her status window. Luckily, the name Arhil, which the village chief told him, was correct, and her information appeared in front of him.

──────────────────────

「Status Window」

[Name: Arhil]

[Title: Savior]

[True name: The Faithful]

[Level: 30]

[Occupation: Intermediate Priest (B)]

[Race: Human]

[Strength: 25(D) / Potential C]

[Health: 24(D) / Potential B]

[Agility: 20(D) / Potential C]

[Magic Power: 62(B) / Potential S]

[Magic Resistance: 50(C) / Potential S]

[Charisma: 64(B) / Potential S]◀ Special

[Knowledge: 40(C) / Potential A] ◀ Special

[Luck: 59(C) / Potential C] ◀ Special

[Favorability: 50 (interesting)]

[Reliability: 30 (faithful)]

「Talent 5/6」

[Quality of the Saint]-Rank: A

[Savior]-Rank: A

[Holy Amplification]-Rank: B

[Uncontrollable Temptation]-Rank: B(A)

[For You]-Rank: S

「Skill 4/5」

[Sacred Magic-Blessing]-Rank: B

[Holy Magic-Defense]-Rank: B

[Holy Martial Arts] -Rank: C

[Self-defense]-Rank: C

──────────────────────

‘Huh.’

Her information provided different kinds of things. Looking through her name, skills, stats, and traits, Judah realized that he was right. She was supposed to be an apostle of Asmodeus, the subordinate of Artemia, the seventh monarch.

‘She hasn’t turned into an apostle yet, so if I take her as a companion, there’s no way I can bump into Asmodeus, right?’

Despite never connecting to her deeply, Judah contemplated. There was anxiety in the offer, but if he ever came across Asmodeus, there was Bel-Therja’s Advent that could aid him.

He felt more reassured with that insurance. Judah read through her stats again.

Her abilities were low in strength and agility, but it was natural because she was a priest. However, she had a higher potential than ordinary priests.

Her characteristics that had the best potential were her magic power, defense, and recovery abilities. The only things that took him a while to understand were -For You- and -Uncontrollable Temptation-. What the hell were these characteristics that she had such a high rank on them?

[Uncontrollable Temptation]-Rank: B(A) / Workmanship: 3/10

Her natural body, appearance, and voice, and free-spirited nature are good for seduction. This decreases a rank for her occupation while increasing stamina and agility by 5 and increasing movement and reflexes by 15%.

[For You]-Rank: D(S) / Workmanship: Master

She is ready to love, and to love allows her to grow. Although she is free-spirited, no man had yet to come into her life that stayed in her kind. If you meet despite her tricky conditions and she falls in love with you, her rank will increase every certain stage. If she becomes an S rank, she will be a dedicated, foolish woman who looks only at you and lives only for you. Each time her rank increases by one level, her stamina and faith stats increase by 2. When she ends up with someone she loves, all her stats will increase by an additional 1.

Judah bit her mouth, at a loss for words. Before he could examine her skills again, Jeanne nudged his thigh.

She whispered, “She’s waking up.”

As Jeanne warned him, Arhil squeezed her eyes and slowly fluttered her eyelids. Then she turned her gaze, looked at Judah, all the while speaking with intent.

“I’m hungry.”