That night.
Painter was arranged to stay in a guest room on the first floor. Using the pretext of "guarding against the Temple", Enbillick added quite a few powerful protective magics to his room, making it look quite convincing.
In truth, everyone knew that Enbillick was just worried about Painter suddenly dying.
The guest room and living room of the Golden Sword household were equally cozy. The beds were soft and clean, emitting a fresh scent. The vase on the bedside was stuffed with unknown fresh wildflowers, blooming vigorously with perfectly matched colors.
A small dining cabinet was also placed by the window, containing a few bottles of inexpensive but decent wine, along with home-baked snacks, ham, and nuts. All arrangements were made carefully and meticulously, yet without losing a sense of relaxation in life.
Painter's visit was sudden, so these preparations must have been managed by Miss Avra.
Mr. Former Pope sighed inwardly. He poured a small dish of nuts and placed it beside the bed to feed the gods—two furballs jumped to the edge of the dish, nibbling on the same nut together.
[After thinking it over, besides Avra, Star Stealer Sol probably doesn't have any other "spares".]
Telepathy wasn't limited to the mouth. Nol slowly munched on the nut as he spoke. [As long as people are alive, they inevitably interact with others. Even those who seem inconsequential can sometimes have an enormous impact.]
With the financial resources of Golden Sword, it indeed would be possible to purchase a large number of these "dust" individuals, keeping them hidden from the sun their entire lives. But that would require setting up extra organizations to monitor these people.
Once exposed, its revival backup plan would be discovered by those with intentions. Moreover, such an organization would only involve more and more people, and who knows when it would get caught up in the tides of fate.
Even if it were somehow successful, reviving the will in a slave's body would make the subsequent disguised life extremely difficult.
Rather than casting a wide net haphazardly, it was better to fully protect a single "spare" human. Keeping an eye only on Avra Alva and ensuring her survival would be a piece of cake for Star Stealer Sol.
[I think so too.]
Teest quickly nibbled on the nut—this was their first time using avatars, and the design still had flaws. If they didn't eat in time, their bodies would quickly become soft and weak.
[The problem is how to deal with that woman,] he muttered as he added.
There was a very simple way to handle it—leave an avatar beside Avra Alva, and just before eliminating Star Stealer Sol, straightforwardly kill Avra.
This solution would be something the Mad Monk would suggest, but Teest believed that Nol would definitely not like it.
But what else could they do? Acting on Avra in advance would likely be detected by Star Stealer Sol. The white furball turned around, peeking at Nol through the gaps in the fur.
[We need to find a way to persuade Avra.] Sure enough, the black furball chewed bulgingly.
'Too many variables,' Teest thought. 'This is even harder than acting directly on Avra. Hmm, still thinking about how to act…'
Painter: [I also agree with "persuading Avra".]
Teest: [...]
He almost forgot. There was a real "Saint" sitting here.
[She's living a very "happy" life now.]
Teest unceremoniously finished the nut, then bit off the crumbs stuck to the black furball. [Let's not even talk about how to bypass Star Stealer Sol to contact her.]
[Even if we could contact her, the illusion of "happiness", once pierced, would cause many people to become enraged, turning against the informer.]
[Indeed, that's why we need to think carefully about the strategy.] Painter also picked a nut, and even though it was chosen at random, it looked particularly plump and fresh.
[I can only say, Miss Avra is a very attentive person. If we do something behind her back, if she finds something odd, she will notify her beloved husband immediately.]
["Persuading" her will be easy? She's been with Star Stealer Sol for over a decade. It's impossible to easily sway her. Star Stealer Sol chose this woman, so he definitely considered the issue of "betrayal".]
Teest immediately retorted, [Moreover, persuading her isn't very meaningful—she's dust among dust, and fate's decree won't be wrong. Let alone her, even if ordinary people knew the true face of Star Stealer Sol, who would dare to confront a god directly?]
Painter and the white furball looked at each other seriously. A few seconds later, the Former Pope laughed softly at those bean-sized golden eyes, while the soft white furball bristled, emitting a faint murderous intent.
Nol looked at the scene before him with mixed feelings, his thoughts continuously fluctuating.
…Both had valid points.
Avra's life was like a perfect fairy tale. The ending would read, "And from then on, they lived happily ever after." Such a perfect conclusion, who would want to face the terrifying reality beneath the ice?
Even fairy tales knew how to let the flower remain at its most beautiful moment of bloom.
To quietly solve the problem of Avra, to find a way to deal with Star Stealer Sol's avatar's save ability, to bring down Star Stealer Sol's true body from afar.
In this divine war, the problems they needed to solve were growing.
Wait, speaking of fairy tales…
[I have an idea,] Nol said.
...
Once upon a time, there was a poor slave orphan.
She didn't know where she was born, nor did she know who her parents were. She only remembered the dirty wooden cage, the rancid air inside it, and the sour food.
The cage was filled with children of similar ages to her. Some died of illness, some went mad, and others disappeared silently into the darkness as the cage door opened and closed.
Every week, one or two would disappear or die, so there were fewer names than people in the cage. In the narrow, damp cage, "names" were like tags. When a person with a "name" was gone, someone without a name would inherit that "name".
And so, the girl became "Avra".
She was above average in appearance—not ugly, but not so beautiful as to stand out at first glance. Usually, she would shrink into a corner of the cage like a rat, silent. She didn't thrash or scream day and night like the other children, didn't create meaningless wounds on herself, or disdain the foul-smelling food.
And so, she lived like moss, blandly watching the world outside the cage.
From the moment she was conscious, pain and fear were as omnipresent as air. Now, she had grown accustomed to them. Slave traders would sometimes forget her existence. Sometimes, even Avra herself would forget she was a person, not just an object in the corner.
Soon, the scrawny child turned into a scrawny girl. As a slave, she reached the most suitable age for sale. The slave trader finally loaded her onto a cart, transporting her to another corner of the world.
Avra curled up motionlessly in a corner of the cage, as she had always done. To be honest, she didn't care about her fate and was ready to face death.
Until one day.
A young man stopped the cart, grabbed the slave trader, and rescued the slaves, including Avra. He took her hand, declaring love at first sight.
He gave her clothes without fleas, unprecedented, delicious food, and a bed without the smell of excrement. He smiled at her perfectly, with a gentle and sweet expression.
Avra wouldn't resist the insults and whippings of slavery, naturally, she also wouldn't resist this smile.
What followed was a well-known story. Enbillick Alva fell in love with a lowly slave, defied the pressure from the Alva Merchant Group for her, and even had the famous Pope Painter officiate their wedding.
In fact, whether it was a "romantic hero" or a "sweet love", Avra had no concept of them. He just pulled her forward, and she silently followed behind.
Just as she had always done, this was the only way of living she knew.
...
"Today is the story of mommy and daddy."
With those words, Avra kissed her son's forehead. Moore yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Then who told you bedtime stories when you were little, mommy?" Colette asked sleepily.
"Nobody told me stories. Back then, mommy didn't understand anything."
Avra tried to make her pronunciation of the common language more standard. "Sweeties, let me tell you a secret. Whether it's fairy tales or learning to read, mommy, like you, was experiencing it for the first time."
"Then I will learn better than mommy." Moore yawned again.
Avra smiled and touched her son's forehead. This was Colette's bedroom, and once Moore fell asleep, she would carry him back to his room.
"Why did daddy like mommy?" Colette lay in bed, grabbing Avra's robe. "Mommy must have been very special back then, right?"
"You'll understand when you're older." Avra tucked in her daughter, her tone as gentle as ever.
To this day, Avra still couldn't answer that question. She had always been slow to understand. Maybe by the time these two children grew up, she would have figured it out.
After the children fell asleep, Avra returned to the bedroom. Enbillick was already asleep on one side of the bed, and she climbed into bed quietly, suddenly frowning because of the texture on her hand.
Before lulling the children, she had washed her hands. The children's rooms were very clean. Where did this clay come from?
She sniffed the clay on her hands, and a faint scent of blood entered her nostrils.
Strange. I'll check it out tomorrow.
With that, she fell asleep.
Her dream was as perfect as ever. She sat under the blue sky, watching the children chase and play in the sunlight. Two cats, one black and one white, frolicked at the children's feet. They held their tails high, emitting sweet meows.
Avra was knitting a scarf with golden yarn with a peaceful smile on her face.
Perhaps the cats were tired from playing. They came to Avra's feet, looking up at her.
"Do you want some water?"
Avra put down the yarn and touched the soft cats.
Then, before her eyes, the tips of the cats' tails fell off, turning into a black and a white furball. The furballs bounced up to her chair and settled on her shoulders.
The kittens at her feet, as if they had completed their mission, scurried back to the children.
Avra: "..."
Avra: "?"
She glanced at the two little furballs from the corner of her eye, uncertain whether this development was cute or creepy.
"We were brought by the kittens… cough cough, guardian spirits." The black furball made a thin cry, sounding oddly embarrassed. "Miss, your children are in danger."
Even in the dream, Avra's shoulders jolted. She hurriedly cradled the furballs in her hands. They were soft and warm to the touch, feeling eerily real.
One black and one white furball, one green and one gold pair of eyes. The colors matched. They really did look like little spirits brought by the cats.
"You must have touched the clay. Your children have been cursed by a bad person."
Unlike the more reserved black furball, the white furball was overly dramatic. "We alone can't lift the curse. We need your help."
"A curse?" Cold sweat broke out on Avra's back.
If it's a curse… Mr. Painter was visiting. Whether it was a dream or not, she could ask him to take a look after waking up. He was a Saint, the strongest in all of Tahe.
Yes, that's what she would do.
"Please don't tell anyone!" As if it read her thoughts, the black furball chirped anxiously, "We only trust you. If you tell others about this, we won't appear again."
"Let me at least tell the children's dad." Avra pleaded. "His love for the children is no less than mine!"
The furballs fell silent.
"Wait until midnight tomorrow. We will take you to a place. After that, if you want, you can tell your husband." The black furball rubbed her palm. "Kind Miss, can you keep a secret for us for one day?"
As dawn's light began to show, Avra suddenly opened her eyes, her nightgown slightly damp with sweat.
Usually, memories of dreams would fade upon waking. But this dream was branded in her mind, with every detail vivid.
Avra looked at her palm, still bearing traces of clay.
Hesitating for a moment, she nudged her husband beside her.
"Dear." She said vaguely, "Should we get the children checked?"
"Mm, the family doctor has seen them." Enbillick, with his back to her, didn't turn around. "Are the kids feeling unwell?"
Avra opened her mouth but ultimately swallowed her words. "I just… feel uneasy. The kids have been playing in the mud lately. I'm afraid they might catch something."
"..."
Enbillick was silent for a few seconds. "It's just a bit of mud. It'll be fine. I promise."
His tone was unusually certain.
Why is he so sure?
Avra gazed at her husband's back, keeping her questions to herself.
Just one day, she told herself. This is for the children, not to disappoint the spirits' goodwill.
Just one day.
She was hoping everything would pass without incident, and once the storm had subsided, she could turn it into a new fairy tale for the children.
The author has something to say:
Nol: Star Stealer Sol can't write a HE. I'll do it (×
Today the black and white furballs are chirping again.
He's becoming less and less dignified, Mad Monk…