༺ School Tuition is More Expensive Than I Thought! (11) ༻
It was a moonlit night.
The once tumultuous shower of falling meteorites had ceased, leaving behind a tranquil and unblemished expanse.
With the grace of an arrow released from its bow, I moved forward.
My agility stat of 20, allowed me to reach a speed that seemed to suspend time around me.
But it still felt like I was too slow.
“…Ugh.”
The woman clinging to me frowned.
Blood spilled from her mouth, a clear sign of a grave injury.
Salome bore visible wounds on her shoulder and abdomen, inflicted by a piercing blade.
I tore my clothes and wrapped them around the wounds, but it was not enough to stop the bleeding.
Jack’s dagger must have penetrated deep, causing significant damage.
Despite Jack’s high level, Salome’s wasn’t weak enough to sustain such severe injuries easily, right?
No, now is not the moment to ponder over that.
Even without that, Salome’s pale face, already leaning towards white, had turned almost blue due to excessive bleeding.
She could only let out faint groans, unable to say anything.
“Hey, stay with me. If you lose consciousness, you’ll really die. Just hold on a little longer. I’ll take you to the healer.”
I urged Salome, doing my best to keep her mentally connected to her body.
How long has it been?
And while I was running up a hill, Salome opened her eyes again.
“…Put me down.”
“You want me to put you down?”
“Quickly.”
Thump—
Without me needing to let her down, Salome pushed me away from her, as if bouncing off.
She seemed to try to regain her posture, but she couldn’t find her balance and stumbled like a newborn deer, then collapsed to the ground.
“Hey.”
“Don’t touch me.”
When I tried to touch her, Salome reacted irritably.
She was acting uncharacteristically reckless.
“Salome, are you going to die like this?”
“….”
“You said you would regain your father’s name from me. If you die like this, you won’t be able to do it, right? Are you okay with that?”
“It’s over now. My father…”
“What?”
“I heard it. What that man, Herod, was planning…”
Is that why?
I had a rough idea of why Salome was giving up on life.
Seems like she heard some things from that guy, Jack.
After handing over the children to the weak Ilgast, I had a foreboding feeling and quickly ran toward where my steps led me.
I soon found Salome fighting with Jack, but when I saw her, Salome was already succumbing to a stab wound.
Salome spoke.
“Judas, tell me the truth. That night. What happened between my father and you? I’m going to die anyway. On my way out… I hope you tell me the truth.”
Whoosh—
Salome leaned against a nearby rock.
Moonlight illuminated her face, but there was no vitality in her body.
I could feel her life slipping away.
How many minutes did she have left to live?
“The affection, the kindness I believed to be from the man I thought was my father, it was all lies. That’s what Jack said. My father killed his children and planned to gain power through those wicked acts.”
“That’s a lie. Can a person really do that, no matter what? Jack, that guy, lied to shake your mind. To think the skeptical Salome would believe such a thing.”
I briefly edited the story.
Then, Salome spat out a mixture of blood and saliva on the floor, wrinkling her face.
“You’re the one lying. I’ve told you countless times that your lies are amateurish, Judas. Have you learned nothing from our lessons?”
“……”
“Still, your act that day was really amazing. I was completely fooled. I really….”
Salome was about to say something but held her tongue.
Then, after being deep in thought for a while, she struggled to speak again.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth? That my father tried to strangle me on the night of my 19th birthday. If you had told me the truth… I wouldn’t have hated you.”
“Then you would have hated your father.”
“……”
I realized that Herod was trying to kill his own daughter.
I realized that he had been killing his own children to further his evil deeds.
Salome was destined to go through the same.
To die as the girl who was loved by her father on the day she was born.
The deep betrayal felt by a daughter and the heavy guilt carried by a father would be a perfect feast for the twisted God, Nocturne.
But such a thing did not happen.
Instead, a new Judas was born.
Of course.
I didn’t tell the whole truth about all of this.
Because I didn’t want to steal Salome’s memories of her happy time with her father.
If I kept the secret to myself, Herod would still remain a good father in her eyes.
Even though he was called a villain by the world, he would still remain a kind and warm father to his only daughter…
Family.
That is truly a good thing.
Especially in this merciless world where you could trust no one.
I believe that family should stand by each other in any situation.
I, too, would stand by my family in any situation.
However.
Salome was almost betrayed by the family she trusted the most.
In that case, she might as well have been an “orphan.”
An orphan left alone in this heartless ashen world.
I knew better than anyone the loneliness and solitude of being left alone in this world without family or friends, so I couldn’t bear to let Salome suffer that pain.
“So you killed everyone in the Kowloon Mountains. To get rid of those who knew the truth about Herod. Turning the world into an enemy for me… Why did you go to such lengths for me?”
Salome asked quietly.
I answered truthfully.
“Well, because I liked you. There were many reasons, but you were the first to show me kindness in this world, Tamar.”
At that time, I may have looked fine, but I was slowly dying on the inside.
Whatever her reasons were for approaching me.
Salome, the Tamar of that time, was the one who saved me from my desperate mistrust and loneliness.
“…Maybe I should have left with you that day, escaping those mountains.”
Salome chuckled softly.
Somehow, it was a self-deprecating laugh.
I spoke lightly.
“It’s never too late to go anywhere now. There’s no more Kowloon Mountains, which used to be your prison. No more Father. Go wherever you want and live the life you have always wanted.”
“A place I want to go… Now that I think about it… I think we had this conversation back then. The night you confessed to me. I said I wanted to go to school.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, you said you would take me to school. I should have just left with you that day. But now, it might be too late….”
“No, it’s not too late.”
“Not late…?”
Salome seemed to have little time left.
Her breath turning fainter and fainter.
“I see… If it’s not too late… Would you like to leave with me now? To a place where no one can find us. To a secluded island or mountain where no one knows our faces…”
Salome said to me.
Two years had passed.
Words from the past had re-emerged again.
It was truly a tempting proposition.
They were words I truly wanted to hear.
If I had heard this story two years ago, my heart would have swelled as if I had become the king of the world, and I would have felt good for days without eating.
But I had only one answer.
“I-.”
“Please, even if it’s a blatant lie, just say you understand.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
Salome’s pale face began to shed tears.
Her memories with her father were covered in darkness, and all that was left for Salome, whose feelings of revenge against me had burned away, seemed to be only sadness.
But…
I couldn’t nod my head falsely at Salome’s proposition.
If it had been a few months ago, or at least back then, I would have willingly nodded my head.
But I found out.
That I had a daughter.
“I have Naru and Cecily. I have my wives. So, Salome, I can’t leave with you. It’s not because I hate or dislike you. It’s just, just…”
It was an indescribable emotion.
Even for someone like me who had experienced countless things, this was a first.
Simply put, as long as those little eyes called me dad, I couldn’t escape from the daily routine of asking what dreams she had in the morning and what happened at school after class.
“Not only Naru… But Cecily too?”
Salome frowned as if she couldn’t understand.
Under the moonlight.
Confession and rejection.
Those shaken emotions made my heart truly ache.
“Naru and Cecily are my daughters. Cecily’s mother is probably Cariote, and I still don’t know who Naru’s mother is. It’s hard to explain in detail, but my daughters came from the future, at least six years from now.”
“Liar.”
“I thought the same too.”
“You couldn’t come up with anything better? Being rejected this way is so much worse. What nonsense are you saying? I’d rather you just say you don’t like me.”
Salome started crying uncontrollably.
No matter how much she wiped her tears with her palm, her face remained soaked with tears.
“That day, we should’ve left together. That day…”
I had always felt it, but a woman’s tears were sharper than any dagger.
Just looking at them made my chest ache.
I felt like a terrible sinner.
But…
Even if it was a lie, I couldn’t accept Salome’s confession to run away somewhere.
I guess I’m more of a father than I thought I’d ever be.
Even though…
Even though I was called a villain more than anyone else.
But it still didn’t sit well with me to watch Salome die on the cold stone pavement.
She was once my first love.
And the first teacher who made me a respectable thief in this world.
I had a debt to repay to her.
“Salome, let me ask you one thing. What’s your real name?”
“…Salome. Salome, daughter of Herodias….” (Written differently here for some reason)
“Is that the truth?”
So Salome was her real name.
It felt strange in many ways.
A thief operating under her real name.
I naturally thought it was a pseudonym.
But that’s not important right now.
“From now on, keep everything I do a secret. There’s a lot of prying eyes around me.”
I drew my dagger.
After deeply cutting my palm with it, I let the blood flow.
Drop—
The blood fell onto Salome’s head.
As she was hit by the crimson droplets, Salome asked.
“What are you doing right now….”
“The false gods, the Demiurges, can choose people and turn them into Champions or Priestesses. Their choices sometimes grant them supernatural or surreal powers.”
“…Champions?”
“Even though I may not be able to resurrect the dead, I can heal those who are dying. Luckily, Salome, the blood of Judas flows through your veins, naturally attracting the darkness of the night.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“In other words, I will anoint you with blood and oil, Salome, daughter of Herodias. Live on… as a Champion. This will be your shackles and your crown.”
“Wait, hold on… what…”
“Walk through the night and chant corrupt prayers. Your days will darken, and your springs will be charred like winter’s coal. This is your blessing and your curse.”
I could feel the sin within me boiling.
Were my experience points rising again?
Damn it.
As I cursed inwardly, Salome, covered in my red blood, slowly rose.
Her complexion was returning and the wounds on her stomach and shoulder were healing.
Salome, surprised, touched her stomach.
Then she asked me.
“…Who are you, really…?”
“I can’t say for sure either. But, with this, we owe each other nothing.”
Her tuition fees were rather expensive, weren’t they?
With that thought in mind, I looked at my palm.
The wound on it had already healed.
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