Roberta came out of the tent. She sighed deeply, and her breath stretched out long before dissipating. The alcohol made her face red and her body hot, but the night breeze made her shiver. It was hard to believe it was summer; the weather felt like early winter.
'Am I going to live here from now on?'
She sighed again and lowered her head.
"Ah, I don't like it."
She unconsciously voiced her thoughts.
There was a lord she couldn't understand at all. If that was all, it would be fine. The parish priest appointed by His Holiness the Pope had disappeared, and no matter how she looked at it, it was a problem related to the lord.
On top of that, he had lived for hundreds of years but looked her age, and he wasn't even a priest but performed infant baptisms as he pleased, and even succeeded.
Her head was so complicated it felt like it would explode.
The most terrible fact was that it was only the first day.
'How many years was Alonso here?'
The term of office for a parish priest is usually 10 years. Sometimes, they stay for life. Of course, it's not common because their term can be extended and they can become corrupt like secular lords.
'I really don't like it.'
She kicked a stone embedded in the ground with her right foot.
'Everyone just says what they want, what am I supposed to do?'
She put strength into her kick. The deeply embedded stone popped out with a thud and flew far away before landing on the ground. Or, it probably landed. It was late at night, so she couldn't see the stone, and the sound was lost in the wind.
She closed her coat and looked at the night scenery.
There was nothing to call it a scenery. The sky was cloudy, covering even the moon, so what could she see? The darkness, no different whether she closed or opened her eyes, was the scenery before her.
And this sight made her think deeply. Because her eyes were resting, her mind was working unnecessarily, and she remembered the conversation with Elder Brasse, which she had forgotten for a while.
He had knocked down a giant bigger than three grown men with a whip, helped a snow fairy bring summer, and entered the lair of a sleeping dragon. Each story was absurd, but interesting. The conclusion always ended with praising Lord Ulrich.
'Alonso used to tell me similar stories.'
Roberta recalled her conversation with the elder.
She listened intently, sipping her wine. When the wine ran out and he started drinking cheap distilled liquor, the elder's voice gradually lost strength. His eyes were strong, but his body couldn't keep up with his will, and his voice began to crack.
- Look.
At that time, the elder concluded by saying this to her.
- I will return to the earth after living only half a century, but my master will live longer than our clan has served. And he will take care of my grandson, who had his [Infant Baptism] today, with the same hand that taught my ancestor how to use a bow. As long as we serve him, forever.
Roberta understood the elder's words.
'I don't particularly sympathize, but I understand.'
Such claims were not uncommon. Even though the age of humans had continued for three generations, other races had not become extinct. Dwarves and fairies had only lost their former vigor. Each was continuing their history.
That's why half-bloods are sometimes born, or pure-blooded dwarves and fairies stand above humans. The elder's ancestor may have been a person from three hundred years ago, but the ancestor of a clan that serves fairies would be someone from over a thousand years ago.
History can be a tedious shackle for humans, but sometimes it can also be a driving force. Just like the Cormilius family, which has the unique right to elect the Pope based on its history, with the first emperor as its ancestor.
If history is not about a country or a family, but about the life of a single person, wouldn't the feelings towards him become so heavy as to be close to faith?
Roberta laughed.
'Forever? How great would that be if it were possible.'
Gods aside, humans grow old and eventually die. Even fairies, who have such long lifespans, only don't age, but the end comes. Where is eternity?
'It would be one thing if they just wished for it. But they completely believe it, like a god.'
Roberta didn't like that.
If there was even a slight logical flaw, she would obsessively dig into it, to the point where others would point out that it was excessive. She was the type to suffer until she solved a problem if she became curious.
It was because of this that she doubted and pushed Ulrich, even with the Pope and the bishop's guarantee. She thought that if it were another priest, it would have been simpler; they wouldn't have tried to figure out the truth.
The reason why she, a priest, didn't have outstanding faith was probably there. It was natural that there were rumors that she wouldn't have become a priest if Alonso, who was like a foster father to her, hadn't intervened.
'I don't know what Alonso's intention was in sending me here.'
She shook her head, sighing for what felt like the hundredth time.
#
And a little over a week passed.
The morning after completing the [Infant Baptism], Roberta returned to the city of Freiche and began her work as a parish priest. She laid the foundation for restoring the parish, which had collapsed since the disappearance of the previous priest, by restoring the temple, selecting practitioners, and performing sacraments.
At the same time, she didn't forget to investigate the lord.
'In any parish, the affairs of the parish are intertwined with the lord.'
She couldn't honestly say that she had no personal interest, but it was also something she had to do as a parish priest. Secular lords and temples shared the same territory. They could be in conflict or cooperate.
So, she thought of it as a major task and proceeded.
The problem was that her goal was blocked from the start.
"The lord? Um... It's hard for me to say anything."
In this way, everyone she asked avoided answering. She missed the elder who would pour out all sorts of stories when drunk, and she was seriously considering going to find the elder and ask him.
'What? Why are they avoiding talking about it?'
They could at least say whether he was good or bad, right?
It was on one of these days, when she was racking her brains in frustration,
that guests came to the city. An old man and a boy. Roberta, who was wiping the sacred objects with a sullen face, narrowed her eyes. She had heard that Freiche was in a remote area called Ditmarshen, so outside guests were very, very rare.
"Hmm?"
At least she hadn't seen anyone since she took office, let alone an old man and a boy. Why would two people who were unlikely to make it through the year come to a place like this? Roberta became curious and followed their tracks.
As expected, they were heading straight to the lord's residence.
Intuition whispered in her mind.
'Suspicious.'
Coincidentally, she was staying at the lord's residence. Because the temple was in a more miserable state than Alonso had mentioned, Ulrich had suggested that she stay at the lord's residence.
It was a creepy suggestion, so she refused and hoped that he would build a new temple or provide other accommodations, but there was no other option given the circumstances of the territory. So, she had been uncomfortably cohabitating in the suspicious lord's house for a while, with the condition that it would be temporary.
It was almost sunset. She closed the main hall and hurried to the lord's residence. No one paid attention to her amidst the dinner preparations.
Roberta looked for the place where Ulrich would greet the two guests.
It was his office.
"Greetings, Lord."
When she arrived in front of the office, she heard the old man's greeting just in time.
She peeked inside through the slightly open door. It wasn't a very large space. The lord's residence was converted from a fortress, so it was quite inadequate as a living space.
'If he's lived for hundreds of years, shouldn't he decorate it a little?'
While she was grumbling inwardly, Ulrich said,
"Yes, what is the reason for seeking me out?"
He sat at his desk with the small window behind him.
"I heard about you and came to see you, Lord. I heard you have lived for a very long time. I heard you have lived for three hundred years, or even longer."
"That's true."
"But you look young."
The old man paused and examined Ulrich.
"How is that possible?"
"Is that why you came? For immortality?"
When there was no immediate answer, he continued.
"Even if you knew the reason, it's not something you can do."
"Is that so."
"It may be hard to believe, but I'm sorry."
"No, there is another reason why I sought you out, Lord."
The old man held the hand of the boy next to him tightly. He squeezed it so hard that his shoulders trembled for a moment, but the boy looked at Ulrich without moving.
"My name is Rashid. I came from the Araric Kingdom."
"The Araric Kingdom."
Ulrich murmured as if recalling his memories.
"I remember it as a country in the East. You've come from quite a distance."
"I didn't expect it to be such a long journey."
"And I didn't expect it to be so cold."
Rashid smiled awkwardly.
"Who is that child? Your grandson?"
"No. He is my son."
Ulrich narrowed his eyes and asked again.
"A late child?"
"I had him when I was twenty-one."
At the mention of twenty-one, Ulrich leaned forward. Roberta, who was eavesdropping, also narrowed her eyes.
The reason was that the two looked so different that they could be mistaken for a grandfather and grandson. Rashid looked much older than the clan elder she had met before, and his son looked no older than ten at most.
"How old are you?"
Rashid said that he was sixty-seven years old.
"Indeed, that's right."
Ulrich leaned back and took a long breath.
"This is the problem."
He pointed to the boy.
"Isn't it?"
"Yes. As you can see, my son's growth has stopped. He should be old enough to have several grown children, but his body has stopped growing, and his mind has become like a baby's. Before I die, I want to lift the curse on this child."
"His mind too?"
"He doesn't remember anything other than that I am his father. His words are as simple as a child who is just learning to speak, and his actions are the same."
Ulrich made a hmm sound and stroked his chin before standing up.
"Let me take a look."
The boy stepped back and waved his hands in the air. When Ulrich approached, he seemed to try to scratch him, so Rashid put his hand on his son's back and told him to be still.
"I don't like it!"
He gnashed his teeth at Rashid as well.
"You little rascal!"
Rashid raised his palm.
"That's enough. I'll take care of it, so don't worry."
Ulrich picked up a fruit bowl and handed it to the boy. The boy, seeing the bowl full of dried fruit, widened his eyes, hid his teeth, snatched the bowl, and stuffed the fruit into his mouth.
In the meantime, Ulrich examined the boy's neck, chest, and wrists. The boy growled like an animal while eating the fruit, but Ulrich didn't care.
"I see."
After a while, Ulrich stood up.
"How is he?"
"What do you think is the cause?"
"I don't know. I suspect it's some kind of curse..."
"Do you really not know?"
His voice was low. The old man lowered his head and avoided his gaze. Ulrich looked down at him with a tall stature, calmly, without laughter or anger.
"My son desecrated a temple when he was eight years old. Maybe that's why. He angered the gods—"
"Stop lying. Who did this?"
The old man immediately stood in front of the boy.
"Judging by your reaction, you know what you did."
He hesitated and answered that he did.
"And you've sought out many others before me."
Ulrich stepped back and sat back in his chair.
"What did they say? Did they say it couldn't be fixed?"
"······."
"Let me guess. They asked you what you did."
Rashid lowered his head further and bit his dry, wrinkled lips.
"The diseases and curses that exist in this world can be solved by priests. Even if they can't solve them, you can find a magician or alchemist and solve most of them. The same goes for stopped growth and mental regression. Humans who crave immortality have experienced these problems so much that there are many solutions."
But, he added.
"That's only when we're talking about diseases and curses. If it were such a common and easy problem, why would you bother to find me? You came all the way here from the distant East? Has the rumor about me spread to the East? That's unlikely. There are only a handful of people who know me outside of Osnover. You just wandered around and finally came to me. Isn't that right?"
Silence was affirmation.
"Tell me. What did you do?"
Ulrich leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands.
"Or do you want me to say it all?"
After a moment of hesitation, Rashid raised his face.
"This child has come back to life, from death."