༺ The Corpse ༻
“How did you end up possessing that body?”
Caught off guard; that was probably what best described my current sentiment. I involuntarily held my breath, and due to my bewilderment, I was unable to come up with an immediate answer.
However, she didn’t continue to press or dwell on it. She simply waited for my response while smiling kindly.
How did she figure it out?
Even though she couldn’t see my face as her eyes were covered by the bandage, she could precisely figure out who was inside this body. Naturally, it would fluster me.
However, I decided to give her an answer.
Yet, I would obviously deny that.
“I am sorry, but I can not speak about that.”
“Hmm.”
Stella seemed to be disappointed. She tilted her head and replied to me.
“If you are simply an evil spirit, then I have no choice but to exorcize you.”
“Do you have the power to do so?”
“Of course not.”
Her confident tone made me hesitate for a moment. I realized that it felt like I was being dragged along by her pace while conversing with her.
“I apologize if my question seemed impolite. I was merely curious because you seem to be a being that is different from a Demon.”
“…. I did not take control over this body from the owner by force.”
I entered this body after Deus, the previous owner, died. So, I didn’t steal his body. To be precise, one could say I practically picked it up.
“That is exactly why I am all the more curious. I think you most likely have a big secret.”
“Sigh, you will probably forget everything by tomorrow anyway.”
I knew that my words would hurt her, but I needed to put a stop to her persistent questioning.
However, Stella surprisingly nodded and said that I was right.
“So, can you really not tell me?”
“….”
“I know that just carrying a secret around can be painful at times.”
Her words resonated so deeply, that I couldn’t help but feel like my heart was fluttering. Even for someone like me, who lacked emotions, her voice felt warm as it reached me.
“I think it is fortunate that I lose my memory every day due to the curse of the Demon .”
“….”
Stella put down the rosary shaped like the sun and slowly extended her hand. As she groped about with her hand through the air, I gently reached out to her, and she softly wrapped her hand around mine.
“That is why I can be told things I am not supposed to know. Even if you wish to confide in me a secret you desperately want to keep hidden, I can offer comfort and understanding, but I will not remember.”
I couldn’t stop the fluttering in my chest; it endlessly stirred my heart.
Being with the woman in front of me made me feel strangely comfortable, to the extent that it evoked a sense of sadness within me.
“What is your name?”
It was a question she had never asked.
It was a pitiful question whose answer would be forgotten by tomorrow.
“Kim Shinwoo.”
However, I chose to give her an answer.
Stella then gently pulled my hand and placed it on her cheek.
Her icy skin sent shivers down my spine, echoing the storms and tragedies she had endured.
“Kim Shinwoo. Please tell me your story. It is not for my sake, but for yours.”
“….”
“After all, couldn’t that be why we have met here, in this present? For the sake of listening to your story. To bear the burden you carry, even if it is only for a moment…”
She smiled.
“But also, to forget you, so that your secret remains just that— a secret.”
Seeing the smile that emerged amid the cruel tribulations she had experienced was akin to witnessing a small dandelion blooming amidst a pile of corpses.
“Perhaps that is the very reason why fate has bound me with such a curse.”
“……”
“So, what do you think? Will you grant me the honor of keeping you company for the day?”
* * *
We shared a lot of stories.
Starting from our childhoods, we conversed about memorable experiences, family memories, unforgettable wounds, and more.
Through our conversations, we arrived at a realization.
Perhaps it was not just me, but she had also realized it.
We comforted and consoled each other through our conversation.
I spoke about my strange life, explaining my ability to see ghosts and how I ended possessing Deus’ body.
Stella shared the story of her selflessness from childhood, prioritizing her path to becoming a Saintess and ultimately sacrificing herself.
Although we had led completely different lives, we felt a strange sense of kinship and sympathy, supporting each other.
However, I didn’t tell her that this place was a world within a game, and that I knew how the world would end.
I only shared about my past, starting from my life in a different world.
My experiences in Norseweden.
The cases I solved at the academy.
The formidable opponents I faced in the Royal Palace.
And how I became a Soul Whisperer, who comforted the dead in the Kingdom, by employing a ruse with the help of the Holy Grail to wield Holy Power.
Surprisingly, after hearing all these stories, Stella expressed gratitude to me.
“If the Saintess is the sun of the Kingdom, you are like the moon that shines in the night.”
“……”
“Please provide Lucia with your strong support. With you by her side, she won’t meet the same fate as mine.”
I didn’t bother to say, ‘If I had been around, I would have not allowed those Demons to harm you either.’
Offering such a meaningless supposition would only give her false hope.
“You truly are a great lady.”
I told her honestly after our conversation came to a conclusion.
None of the people I met could be as noble and great as she was.
She radiated such virtue that even Hearthia, the goddess of hearth and fire she served, would feel compelled to bow her head in her presence.
Her beautiful appearance will forever remain etched in my heart.
“Thank you for telling me everything. Our conversation has been of great comfort to me as well.”
“……”
“It is a bit regretful that I will forget everything by tomorrow.”
As Stella chuckled playfully, I gave her a calm reply.
“Such things will no longer trouble you.”
“Pardon?”
Puzzled by my cryptic words, Stella tilted her head, but I turned away without explaining.
I didn’t feel tired even though I stood in the chairless room for quite a while.
However, the stiffness in my body became pronounced as I attempted to move.
“Stella, you have my respect.”
“……Huh?”
I faintly smiled at Stella’s confusion. It wasn’t an awkwardly drawn smile but a genuine one from my heart.
“So, follow your heart.”
Creak.
I opened the door and stepped outside. There was no need to lock it again.
I descended the stairs and came outside, where Findenai, Illuania, and the Dark Spiritualist were waiting, all looking bored.
“Wow, you finally came out!”
“You went in before lunch, and it’s already late evening now. We saved some food for you.”
[You spoke for a long time.]
“I will eat later.”
After rejecting the plate Illuania offered me, I gave Findenai a command.
“Go to the convent warehouse and bring a shovel.”
“A shovel? Suddenly?”
I unhesitantly gave Findenai, who found it abrupt, a reply.
“We are going to dig up some graves.”
The three of them were surprised by my sudden declaration. However, Findenai immediately grinned and said.
“It seems like you figured out something, right? I’ll get it right away!”
Findenai stormed into the convent excitedly. After that, I ordered Illuania to go and wait inside the carriage and headed towards the graveyard with the Dark Spiritualist.
It was the place where a tombstone without a name still lay on the ground.
[Did anything come up after talking to the Former Saintess?]
“Yes, there was something I was able to learn from our conversation.”
The Dark Spiritualist seemed curious, but I didn’t bother to reply.
After a while, Findenai brought the shovel easily, but while doing so, she seemed to have gotten caught and brought along all the nuns.
“Sorry, I got caught!”
Findenai grinned cheerfully, claiming she could immediately knock out the nuns with the shovel, but I shook my head.
“Well done.”
She had done a good job by gathering everyone as well.
Findenai shrugged awkwardly as she didn’t expect to receive praise. However, the Abbess shrieked loudly, her voice sharp as an awl.
“What are you doing now? Didn’t I already show you pictures of the girls’ corpses? Why are you digging up their graves again?”
The nuns behind her also nodded. I answered without any hesitation.
“I have figured out who the Demon is.”
“Pardon? You have figured it out?”
“Yes, and to be certain, I must personally examine the corpses myself to confirm it.”
“…B-but!”
“Findenai, start digging.”
At my command, Findenai chuckled and began digging up the soil with the shovel.
“Are we gonna get cursed if we dig up the nuns’ graves? The nastier the curse, the more exciting it gets!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Watching Findenai dig through the soil like an excavator, the Abbess and the nuns subtly distanced themselves from each other.
It was almost time for them to figure out who among them was the Demon.
“P-Please explain. Explain why we need to dig up their graves!”
I nodded in response to the furious Abbess’ words. I could spare some time while Findenai was digging the ground.
“During my brief interview with everyone this morning, all four nuns suspected Mella.”
“What?”
“Mella?!”
Mella and the Abbess were surprised.
Mella glared at the four nuns with an unjust expression and feeling betrayed, and the Abbess replied that it couldn’t be true.
“It is impossible! Out of everyone right now, Mella is the one who is the closest to becoming a Saintess!”
The Abbess began defending Mella vehemently.
“This child has the qualities of becoming a Saintess comparable to Lucia and Stella!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I nodded. I wanted to applaud the Abbess for giving such an answer.
“Because she was the nun closest to becoming a Saintess, the other four nuns probably falsely accused Mella.”
The four nuns either immediately bowed their heads, bit their lips, or let out sullen gasps.
Though their reactions varied, they all meant the same thing.
“Yesterday, you all refused to answer anything, but today, out of nowhere, everyone pointed to Mella. Did you not think I would find that strange?”
The nuns, who had kept me in check and were so fearful of me yesterday, directly singled out Mella today.
Their testimonies already hinted at something suspicious.
“On the contrary, Mella, even though you found a nun among you to be suspicious, you chose to lie to protect her.”
“…!”
This time, all eyes turned to Mella. She looked bewildered, as if struggling to breathe, but eventually confessed under pressure.
“The Reverend Mother… is suspicious.”
“What!?”
The Abbess’ eyes bulged out as if she had been hit on the back of her head, then she jumped.
“A-are you talking about me? Do you suspect me? Do you think that makes sense?!”
Perhaps due to the intense reaction, Mella raised her voice in rebuttal.
“After the incident! The intensity of the punishment has increased! You oppressively confine us even when we resist!”
Mella’s finger was pointed directly at the Abbess.
“I also know that you always lock our doors at midnight!”
“Th-That is!”
The other nuns were surprised.
Flustered, the Abbess tried to make some excuse, but I interrupted.
“Then why did you not tell me that the Abbess seemed suspicious?”
“Because I still… did not find you trustworthy. I planned to tell Sister Stella when I had the chance, but you were inside the entire day!”
Mella shouted with her face flushed, perhaps from the heat.
Feeling unfairly accused, the Abbess started explaining herself to me with her mouth agape.
“N-No! It is not true! Wait a minute. Let me explain. It is true that I recently raised the intensity of the punishments on the girls, but that is…!”
“It must have been because of the pressure that the next Saintess might not emerge from here.”
“…!”
“The convent has become a place that summoned a demon. You must have been driven by the fear that the gods might not choose the next Saintess from here.”
The Abbess nodded dispiritedly at my words.
At that moment…
“Master Bastard! I’ve dug them all!”
Findenai exclaimed loudly. Leaving the nuns, who were suspicious of each other, I headed to the graveyard.
There were three neatly arranged coffins.
Findenai opened them one by one and soon made a disappointed sound.
“It seems like they’re all burnt.”
The condition of the corpses matched those in the pictures, perhaps slightly more decomposed.
[Wh-What is happening here?!]
However, upon seeing one of the corpses, the Dark Spiritualist looked at me in astonishment.
Her face was filled with disbelief, along with a questioning gaze as if asking, ‘Did you know about this too?’
Upon receiving the Dark Spiritualist’s gaze, I pointed to the corpse at the far right.
Now I was certain.
“That one is not the corpse of a nun.”
“Pardon?”
“What are you talking about?”
Those were the questions from the Abbess and Mella.
I answered with a click of my tongue.
“That is a corpse of a demon.”
