Chapter 3

“I-I apologize. I’ll make sure to call you El from now on.” Panicking, which was so unlike me, I pulled out a wad of tissues from a box next to me and handed them to him. I must have tugged dozens of them from the box, worried that the highly sensitive El was deeply hurt by my words.

Come to think of it, I've gotten a lot more comfortable around him, I realized as I watched the man nervously. I had clearly started to let my guard down in front of him, seeing as I was so open about my convictions and worried about his feelings.

“What are you doing?”

“You told me to sit, Holy Father.”

“I-I meant on the chair! Why are you kneeling on the floor?”

I recalled our first meeting. It had been a chaotic day in many ways.

***

Upon my first visit to Helene, I was stunned by its grand luxury. I was only there because I had been contacted by a mercenary guild looking to do business.

“Commoners and nobles must never share the same space.”

By then, I was used to such comments and the nobles’ tyranny toward commoner mercenaries. Despite being one of only three Sword Masters in the empire and hailed as a hero, I was nothing more than a lowborn killer to them. Most of them felt an inflated sense of ego watching me crawl at their feet. I thought El had summoned me to Helene to gain a similar satisfaction.

I still remember the bewilderment I’d felt that day.

“Oh, no! Please, don’t...”

El had cried like a child as he watched me kneel. I could still remember the look of dejection on his face.

I was meeting this man for the first time, but upon seeing him burst into tears I hugged him to comfort him. I hadn’t known what else to do. Now that I think about it, that hug probably got our relationship off to a strange start.

“Why are you showing me this side of yourself, Mire? You should be dignified. You’re...”

From the moment we met, I had always found him peculiar. He exuded a strong aroma of lilies, and his teary, silver eyes shimmered with a persistent gleam as if he was taken with some obsession.

Regardless, he was beautiful when he cried. He seemed to possess the shining divinity of a pure crystal and the splendid yet fragile quality of a butterfly’s wings. This is what angels must look like, I thought the first time I saw him.

“Please don’t kneel or lower yourself before me. Stay just as you are.”

He was also incredibly kind and gentle. Something about our meeting gave me a sense of déjà vu, though I had never been able to figure out why.

I try to keep my distance from my clients, but El’s become an exception. I sat stiffly and glanced over at him. He smirked as he dabbed the corner of his eye with a tissue. The edges of his eyes had reddened, contrasting with his silver irises.

“I know these meetings are only between a mercenary and their client, but I’d like us to be closer, Mire. Ever since we met, I’ve wanted us to be friends. That’s why I insist you call me El.”

He always made me think of an angel who had never left heaven. That face seemed to know nothing of evil.

***

“Have some more to eat, Mire.”

“I’m fine.”

After our talk, the waiter brought out our meals. As usual, the food was so fancy that I wondered if eating it would get me in some kind of trouble.

“They’ll pack you some food and leave it on the serving counter. Don’t forget to take it on your way out,” El said in his kind voice. He would always tell me to eat my fill, then order more food for me to take back home. I refused at first, but after several rounds of him insisting that he had a duty to keep me well-fed, I decided to accept his generosity.

I don’t need more, but I do want Aria to have some. My sister didn’t eat much, but she would always enjoy the food from Helene. At this point, I would have been willing to beg for some leftovers if he didn’t offer. I had already compromised my dignity anyway.

“Thank you, as always,” I said.

“I should be the one giving thanks. Thank you, Mire, for helping me execute God’s precious will.”

El’s blinding smile felt like a ray of sunshine. Touched by his kindness, I let out a small chuckle.

After watching the waiter clear the table, I grabbed a dampened towel and thoroughly wiped my hands. “Is it time?”

El nodded.

I dragged my chair over to his side. “Here,” I said, extending my hands toward him.

The man looked down bashfully then gently took my hands. His hands were large enough to completely envelop mine. His grasp radiated a strong heat, as might be expected of a high priest of the Temple of the Sun.

This was the strangest part of our meetings.

“If you really want to do me a favor... Will you hold my hands?”

That was what he said after our third exchange, when I asked if I could do anything else to help him. My conscience had been prickling from the fact that I’d been overpaid. I’d agreed to his odd request since just holding hands hardly seemed like a big deal. Ever since, we’d spend some time like this every meeting.

Maybe temple life gets lonely? I guessed he was a lonely man, judging from the fact that he had resorted to asking a mercenary for such a tender gesture. The priests I met before hadn’t been such gentle people, leading me to believe that El’s innocent nature must have made him an outcast. Maybe he’s the same as that boy...

I bit my lip at the memory. Several years ago, I had saved a boy who was being harassed at the temple. After that day, my thoughts on the Temple of the Sun had soured.

I wonder how that kid’s doing right now. Thinking of the boy only ever made me sad.

I looked to El and noticed he had been staring at me. From the angle I was sitting at, the only part of his face I could see behind the white mask were his eyes. They were so different from that sad child’s eyes, which had been black and simmering with knowledge of the world’s misfortunes.

Why does El reminds me of him? Perhaps that was the reason why I had opened my heart so easily despite my usual caution. El and that boy... they really do seem alike.

“Um, El... Is anyone at the temple giving you trouble?” I asked impulsively.

His face instantly stiffened and his hands tensed up. “No one on earth can torment me anymore, Mire.” His voice was cold as it slipped past his lips.

I looked at him with wide, startled eyes. He flinched at my reaction and then hurriedly smiled. “Oh... It’s nothing. Everything at the temple is fine.” I couldn’t help but notice that his voice had sharpened considerably.

I guess he hates talking about things like this. I nodded nonchalantly and silently fidgeted with my hands, not wanting to dig into something he wasn’t ready to reveal.

El let out a long sigh. “You’ve hurt yourself again.” He was staring at my hands.

Oh, those scrapes haven’t healed yet. When I tripped and fell into memories of my past life, I had scratched up my palms.

A regular Sword Master would have healed from such a minor wound already. Despite being a Sword Master, my defense and resilience were significantly weaker than most others. I’d become one by slaying beasts without any formal training, meaning my strength was only in my offensive abilities.

El sighed. “I heal you time and time again, but you come back to me injured.”

Silver light began to pour from his hands. I squinted against the blinding light as I watched my wounds vanish. Holy power was a marvel, but I felt unsettled every time I saw it in action.

If only it could heal Aria’s illness. I’d tried everything to cure her, including holy power. The temple’s healing was usually reserved for nobility. As a commoner, I’d had to pay quite a high price to pursue treatment there.

“It seems that holy power isn’t effective on this young lady.”

I remembered what the priest had told me after I had barely scraped together enough funds to bring Aria to him. He had explained that some races such as fairies and hybrid beasts, as well as some humans with mutations, were immune to the effects of holy power.

Because the healing power was the temple’s symbol, those immune to it were branded as heretics. I had to fork over more money to keep the priest’s mouth shut, and in the end I had nothing to show for the ordeal.

Still, holy power is incredible when it does work. I gazed at my now spotless and healed hands, then looked out the window. The sun had already begun to set. I’d better go. Aria will get worried if I’m late.

“Thank you for today. May I be on my way now?” I asked El.

He nodded, though he seemed sad to say goodbye. “Of course. You must be tired. Please, head back home.” His voice was still filled with kindness.

I thanked him and gave a short bow. “I’ll see you next week.”

I slowly walked over to the door and opened it, feeling his eyes on the back of my head. Another meeting—more of a peaceful vacation than a business exchange—had come to an end.