There was no grand meaning behind telling Theo I wanted to go to the temple. I didn't know if I was related to any god, and there was no guarantee that going to the Vita Temple would reveal anything.
Even if I found the god who owned this body, I was just a possessor, so what did it matter? So, even if nothing would change, I just thought of it as a picnic and went out with a light heart. If there was a harvest, I considered it good luck.
Normally, I wouldn't have been able to touch anything carelessly, but the priests, on the contrary, said it was an honor and encouraged me to touch this and that.
So, while looking around the prayer room, I touched the decorations and the paintings. This alone was fun enough, so I was thinking it was a worthwhile outing when I heard a voice I couldn't identify.
No, at first, it seemed more like a mechanical sound than a voice. It crackled like static when the radio frequency wasn't right, or like the vibration of a machine. What was clear was that the source of the sound was a shapeless statue.
Thinking it was a mistake, I listened carefully and focused, and the crackling sound became clear in an instant and became a distinct human voice.
"...Child, not yet...."
Judging by Theo's lack of reaction, it was clear that only I could hear it. With a strange certainty, I rushed closer to the statue, but the voice was no longer heard.
But I definitely heard it. It said not yet. Then that clearly meant there would be another chance later. It meant it was 'not yet' time.
"Not yet? Not yet...."
It even called me child. It called me so affectionately, so it must be family, right? Mother? Father? Ah, do gods have genders too? It seems like the Divine Beasts all do, judging by me.
All sorts of thoughts scrambled in my head, making it impossible to organize them. Perhaps if Theo hadn't grabbed my arm, I would have been lost in thought all day.
"Theo, let's go back. It doesn't seem to be time yet."
I didn't know what it was referring to, but I'd get another chance later. I didn't know if it was related to my Divine Power being torn, but there was no need to rush. I tried hard to calm my excited and impatient heart.
I'm not alone like before. I have Theo. When Theo becomes emperor... no, even if he just becomes the crown prince, he might marry a pretty, kind, and smart partner and have children.
But even then, I wouldn't be alone again. I might also have a family to return to. I felt a little relieved now.
There's plenty of time left, so there's no need to be impatient. At least I can be by Theo's side until he gets a wife.
Disappointment, resentment, and expectation were mixed together, making my heart very confused, but I decided to bury it for a while.
After returning from the temple, Theo seemed dazed even after eating dinner together, working in the office, and returning to bed.
He would even stop suddenly before going to wash up and think deeply about something. Could something serious have happened...?
"Theo, is something wrong? Or should I wash up first?"
Theo, who had just been staring at me in response to my question, gave a very unexpected answer.
"Should we wash together?"
I shuddered at the sudden memory of the past. We had washed together once before, but to be exact, it wasn't that we were trying to wash together from the beginning, but because he was trying to wash me and got completely soaked while playing around.
But that was when he thought I was an eagle! I'm in human form now, though... Even if he just thinks of me as a pet eagle, isn't that too much!
"S-suddenly? Why?"
"Just kidding. Go wash up first, Shuian."
Is it really a joke? I suspiciously examined Theo's face, but I was afraid that the sound of my pounding heart would get louder, and I quickly ran into the bathroom in case he said something else.
When I came out after washing, Theo, who was about to go into the bathroom, suddenly stared at me. He's going to play a trick again! I pushed his back towards the bathroom.
"Don't think about playing tricks again and go wash up quickly!"
Only after Theo went into the bathroom and I heard the sound of water did I feel relieved and lie down on the bed. What was strange was that as soon as he came out of the shower, Theo also looked for me with his eyes and then looked relieved.
He used to hug me like a body pillow, but today it felt like he was hugging me especially tightly. I wondered if something was really wrong with Theo, but I quietly closed my eyes.
He had been acting strangely all day, so I wondered if it was an extension of his pranks, but I was actually too tired to care and just wanted to sleep.
My body, which could stay up all night for a week and be fine, would sometimes get tired from very trivial things, and today was one of those days.
Above all, I was especially tired after going to the temple. I blinked slowly and then closed my eyes tightly. Ah, even blinking is hard. I need to sleep quickly. Maybe Theo is hugging me too tight and I'm not getting enough oxygen....
As soon as I closed my eyes, a tidal wave of sleepiness washed over me. I briefly regained consciousness when I heard a voice in the midst of my fading mind, but it was only for a fleeting moment.
"What can I do to keep you from leaving me...."
I heard it in my sleep, so I couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality, but I thought it must be a dream. There was no way the real Theo would say such a foolish thing. I decided to tell the Theo in my dream sternly.
"Dream Theo is a dummy."
My pronunciation was slurred because I was sleepy, but well, it's a dream.
"...Why?"
"Why would I leave Theo? It would be… more convincing to say… I’m a sparrow… rather than an eagle….”
And then it was blackout. Even if it's a dream, the ending is so insincere. You should let me finish my sentence!
***
Ricardo waited for the right moment, receiving reports from the knights guarding the prison.
The assistant of the black magician, who was imprisoned in a solitary cell and ate the meals that were delivered through the hole on time, began to refuse food at some point, and soon he was throwing up even if he only drank water.
From yesterday, he was begging at the door, asking anyone to say anything to him, so it was clear that he was not in a normal state.
The Captain of the Imperial Guard, who had experience interrogating various criminals, added that if he was left alone any longer, it could interfere with the investigation.
Ricardo also thought it was the right time, so the assistant was able to face a person for the first time in two weeks. It wasn't fortunate that the person was Ricardo, the first prince of the empire, but it didn't matter much to him who the person in front of him was.
"T-thank you! I'll say anything. I'll say anything, so please don't leave me alone...."
Judging by his rambling appearance, his attitude was so docile that the interrogation didn't seem difficult. The captain of the Imperial Guard, who was standing next to Ricardo as if guarding him, said threateningly.
"His Highness the First Prince has a few questions to ask, so confess without lying. That will be good for you."
"Of course! I will tell you without a single lie!"
Ricardo, who had been scanning his face for a moment as if exploring it, nodded and asked.
"Why were you wandering around the lab?"
The man introduced himself as Ben, who had recently become an assistant to the black magician. Black magicians were recruiting a large number of assistants to carry out large-scale human experiments, and he was one of them, he explained.
Even as an assistant, he didn't help with the experiments, but was in charge of odd jobs such as the black magician's minor chores and cleaning up the corpses of monsters or the remains of failed experiments.
"Black magicians move their labs not only to avoid being tracked, but also because they usually move to another place when the research fails. In many cases, they can't use the experimental tools or the lab. In addition, there are cases where they fail to subdue the rampaging monsters, or the demonic power increases explosively and a crack suddenly appears."
The cause of the cracks has not yet been accurately identified. There are only speculations that there are several factors, but they often occur in areas with high magic power.
Could the black magician's research be one of those factors? The research process would be accompanied by very strong magic power, so it wasn't an unrealistic story.
"I was cleaning up the corpses of monsters that day and came back after getting the necessary materials. It took some time to get them, so I stayed in the village for a few days and returned to the lab...."
Looking at Ben hesitatingly trailing off, Ricardo easily guessed what he was going to say next.
"When you came back, there was nothing left."
The Captain of the Imperial Guards deliberately added to Ricardo so that he could hear it, in order to pressure Ben.
"He could be a spy."
"Ah, no! You may suspect me like that, but I really don't know anything! Even if I'm called an assistant to the black magician, I'm actually no different from a slave. I'm not going to become a black magician later, and most of them usually buy slaves or take them around with unfair contracts. I'm the same!"
He protested quite unfairly, and it didn't seem like he was lying, but Ricardo didn't react much because he couldn't judge by his attitude alone.
Besides, if Ben's words were true, there would be no information to be gained from interrogating him, which meant it would be a waste of time.
Ben looked at Ricardo's expression and fidgeted, then said as if something had suddenly occurred to him.
"I, I overheard the rules for determining the location of the lab. I don't know much, but I'll tell you what I heard!"
The Captain of the Imperial Guards, judging that it was quite useful information, took out a notebook to record Ben's story. Ricardo also leaned towards Ben.
"As you know, black magicians generate a lot of demonic power when conducting experiments, so they usually set up their bases in places where there is little life reaction. If the plants or animals around them suddenly die because of the experiments, wouldn't anyone be suspicious?"
That was obvious. Anyone would report it to the Imperial Guards.
"In addition, if there are monsters or cracks that are not naturally occurring but artificially created by experiments, the demonic power dissipates more quickly the less life reaction there is. It seemed like it was because there was no host. Anyway, that's why they mainly set up in territories where there has been a crop failure or drought, or in areas that have been devastated by the resentment of other races, spirits, Divine Beasts, or gods. Labs are usually set up in several places, not just for human experiments."
Ricardo frowned. The information that artificially generated demonic power dissipates faster if there is no host was the first time he had heard it, but it was quite detailed information for someone who had never participated in experiments properly and had recently become an assistant.
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