I Became the Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel - Chapter 8

Why didn’t I think of that?!

There were two religions in this world.

The solar doctrine which worshiped the Sun God, and the lunar doctrine that worshiped the Moon God.

Most of the empire’s nobles were believers of the solar doctrine. It was an unavoidable circumstance that occurred when the Emperor himself pursued the solar doctrine.

However, the Emperor didn’t condemn or ban any other religions.

Even the abandoned temple I was going to visit was not a temple of the Sun God, but one of the Moon God.

“On the contrary, they wouldn’t welcome them, who are hostile to the Temple of the Sun God, right?”

Solarists and Lunarists never got along well in the first place. They fought over every trivial matter, starting from the fact that ‘my god is greater, your god is fake,’ to the fact that the Solarists divine power was only flashy but without substance, to the fact that the Lunarists temple was completely dark and gloomy, making one feel at unease immediately.

Therefore, since the day had come where we were shunned by the Solarists, there was a strong possibility that on the contrary, the Lunarists would like it if we asked for their help, and would think it was a way to fight back against the Solarists.

“Anyhow, even if it that’s the case, the lunar doctrine is still a bit…”

“Hey, don’t think so badly about them. I’m sure they’re good people too, they just simply believe in another god.”

Linden seemed to be averse to them since he was a Solarist. But now wasn’t the time to argue about that! As an atheist, I honestly didn’t care which temple it was.

“But how do we call for them?”

There were many sun temples around us. You’d probably be able to find a solar temple just by riding a horse for a quarter of a day.

On the contrary, the number of lunar temples was extremely small.

“Would asking a guild get the job done?”

Most guilds were in charge of delivering requests for the Sun God’s Temple, so I wondered whether it would be the same case for the Moon God’s Temple. However, the village that we were in was so small that there may not even be a guild or anything like that.

As I was pondering this matter, I heard a word from behind me that ended all my worries.

“That won’t do.”

“Which part? Calling for the priests of the Moon God? Or contacting them through a guild?”

“The Lunar religion doesn’t use the same communication network as the Solar one.”

“Oh…”

So they avoided using guilds since the Solar religion used it. Weren’t they only putting themselves at a disadvantage just because they didn’t want to overlap a little though…?

“Then?”

At my question, Lecht snapped his fingers at Tanma.

Tanma, who had been standing behind him, approached him and placed a small stick in Lecht’s hand.

Lecht handed it to me right away.

“Is this… a whistle?”

It was about the size of my finger and made out of silver. Although it didn’t seem to be made into a structure that could sound out many notes, the engraving on the side of it was still very elegant nonetheless.

“Blow it.”

Seeing that I showed an interest in it, Lecht gave me permission, so I put the whistle in my mouth and blew into it.

Phweeee—

The bright sound filled the night sky. It was a pretty sound that was rather high-pitched, yet didn’t pierce the ears, clear, yet not sharp.

A loud whistle could shock or discomfort even the blower, yet it automatically put a smile on my face.

“How nice…”

A small remark of admiration came from my side.

When I turned my head, it turned out to be Linden.

He looked at both the whistle and I with dazed eyes, as if he were possessed by something.

“Right? Isn’t it nice?”

“It’s unique.”

Lecht muttered in reply to me, who was excited and repeated myself.

“What’s so unique about it?”

“Aren’t you a Solarist?”

With his chin raised high, Lecht asked Linden.

“The sound waves of the Moon God sound unpleasant to those who are filled with the divine power of the Sun God.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is…”

How fascinating. It sounds different depending on which god you’ve been blessed by. Although I didn’t particularly believe in any god, it was still a little fascinating.

“Then why is Linden…?”

Could it be that Linden isn’t actually a Solarist…?

Well, to be fair, he seemed to be an atheist, even from my point of view. Despite the fact that Linden was a prince, didn’t mean that he was obligated to be a Solarist.

“Huh? Then I guess you aren’t a Solarist either, Lecht.”

This whistle showed that it was possible to contact the temple of the Moon God without having to visit there in person first. Then, through this ‘means of contact’, wouldn’t that imply that Lecht was a Lunarist?

“How unique. Most of the Empire’s nobles were Solarists though.”

As he was one of the Emperor’s people, I too naturally thought that he was a Solarist.

“So what happens now?”

I blew the whistle according to his words.

But nothing happened.

The priests of the Moon God didn’t suddenly appear in front of me like magic, nor were there any traces that remained of having successfully contacted them like a communication device. All I had done was blow into a pipe.

Instead of answering my question, Lecht raised his head and looked up at the sky behind me.

“It’s coming from over there.”

With his eyes on the dark horizon as he spoke, I turned my head toward the direction he was looking in.

As soon as I did so, a frightening shadow quickly flitted across the night sky which was full of moonlight. The black object cut across the wind so fiercely it made a schwing sound, and then skyrocketed into the space where Lecht and I were.

“?”

The thing that had ascended into the sky then began to descent at a much more leisurely pace.

Lecht raised his arm toward it. He raised his wrist and elbow to his eye level and made it parallel to the sky.

That was the moment.

Flap!

A cool breeze brushed past me.

“Wow!”

What spread its large wings and glided gracefully toward Lecht was none other than a hawk.

Screech! Squawk—!

The hawk, which a harmonious mixture of gray and yellow, landed gently on Lecht’s arm.

Flap—

It latched onto Lecht’s arm and flapped its wings once, just like it did when it shook off the wind in the sky while it was flying.

Lecht’s hair fluttered arbitrarily in the wind. His silver hair that swayed in the moonlight, those golden eyes of his which were exceptionally bright, as well as the hawk that was with him, brought together a completed sight that would remain forever engraved in my eyes.

i would engrave that in my eyes too

 

***

“So the priests will be able to receive it straight away if we send a telegram through this guy?”

I stroked the head of the hawk that was settled on Lecht’s arm.

“That’s right.”

“That’s very convenient.”

It made a squawk squawk sound and scratched its neck and torso against my hand, perhaps because it was in a good mood. A smile flowed out of me naturally, putting me in a better mood once I felt its warmth through my hands. 

“Coming all the way here, it’s been hard on you.”

“Squawk!”

As if replying to my words, the child made a sound before moving its body up and down.

“The messenger bird is so cute, I want to call for it just to meet it.”

To think that I’d be able to see a hawk that I’d normally only be able to see in a zoo or on TV up so close! This couldn’t have been a more pleasant night for me.

“Then I’ll go and bring you a pen and paper for you to write a letter…! Huh?”

As I was about to move towards the lodging, I felt a tug at my clothes.

I looked down to see a child pulling on my clothes.

“Noona1, what was that just now?”

A smile came to my lips as I took in the sight of the bright-eyed child.

I knelt down on one knee and showed the child the whistle.

“This is a whistle.”

“Oh, I know what this is. You blow on it when you’re in danger.”

“That’s right.”

Although the child seemed to be talking about a self-defense whistle, despite this whistle being one that was used to contact the Moon God’s Temple, the ‘dangerous time’ he referred to could still be used on the current situation too.

It was the moment I was about to reach out my hand to stroke the head of the child who was curiously looking at the whistle.

“Urk…”

The child suddenly grabbed at his chest tightly and fell forward.

I, who was sitting right in front of the child, automatically reached out to catch the child.

“What’s wrong…”

“Cough!”

The child started to cough before I could finish my question. Although he tried to cover his mouth with his hand quickly, he still couldn’t hide the blood that was on it.

“Oh.”

It didn’t take me too long to figure out what it was.

“Miss!”

“Meliara, get away from that child!”

“No one come any closer!”

I heard the voices of Tanma and Linden, one after the other, but I shouted out before they could reach me.

“Get away from me.”

“Woof! Woof!”

The obedient Kelber, who could understand my words, barked anxiously, but didn’t come any closer.

There was nothing I could do.

What I saw in that child was undoubtedly a symptom of the plague. I had let down my guard since that child hadn’t been wearing a bracelet that marked him as someone who was infected.

“Haa… The priests will be here soon anyway, so…”

Although I couldn’t say that I caught it right away since I only just made contact with the child, I still had to be careful not to spread it to anyone else anyway.

“I’ll stay in my room by myself until they come…”

I sighed while grabbing onto the child’s shoulder, but then suddenly felt a warm hand covering my hand which was still holding onto the child’s shoulder.

Shocked, I realized the hand that came into my vision and covered my own one was Lecht’s large one. He was sitting next to me, kneeling on one knee.

“Lecht, just what are you doing right now?!”

Startled, I tried to pull my hand out of his, but Lecht wrapped his hand around my own, which was holding on tightly to the child’s shoulder.

Even though it wasn’t a strong force, I couldn’t pull my hand out, no matter how hard I tried.

“Lecht!!!”

I grabbed him with my other hand and pushed him away urgently.

But he didn’t budge at all.

Instead, he moved to roll up the child’s sleeve.

The symptoms on his skin that weren’t able to be seen under his sleeve were now revealed.

Realizing that it was definitely a symptom of the disease, I became even more urgent.

“Lecht, let go of me! What are you going to do if you get infected, Lecht…!”

“It’s okay.”

“What do you mean, it’s okay…!”

A mixture of frustration and distress suffocated my heart.

My head was filled with my own safety, of course, as well as the wellbeing of the child, and the safety of Lecht as well. Having imagined the terrible situation of Lecht vomiting blood, I grabbed his wrist even tighter and shouted.

“Please let go of me!”

Even if I got it, I’d have it by myself, and even if I got sick, I was better being sick by myself.

“I hate it when it’s Lecht that’s sick…!”

That was the moment.

I felt a burst of gentle wind from my solar plexus and flow out from my fingertips. 

At the same time, a light flashed from my hand which was enveloped in Lecht’s. It was a short and intense light, to the point that I had to squint my eyes.

Surprised by the flash, I looked at the back of Lecht’s hand which was covering my own in a daze.

“What was that just now…?”

While I muttered under my breath with a dazed look on my face, Lecht pulled up the child’s sleeve that he had checked earlier.

“Huh…?”

The spots had disappeared seamlessly. Although the wound itself that had ruptured remained, the skin disease had definitely been healed.

“Huh?”

I wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

The child lifted up his clothes and checked his own body with a puzzled expression.

“Noona, I feel more comfortable breathing now.”

He took a few deep breaths and then spoke, as if he were amazed. Then he raised his head and looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“Noona was the one that healed me, right? Right?”

“Huh? Oh, that’s…”

“Wow! I’m correct, right? That flash back then was you, right?”

I… don’t know either.

I don’t know, but for some reason, I think it was me.

Although it was groundless confidence, the light seemed to have come from my hand just then. Because I had felt an unknown energy burst from my solar plexus.

I looked down at my hand that Lecht had released at some point.

I could vaguely tell. That the power that had burst from my body had healed the child.

“That’s why I said it was okay.”

Although I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, despite it having been me who had done it, on the contrary, Lecht spoke leisurely about it, as if he knew everything already.

“What is this…”

“Woah!”

Gasp!

Crackle!

It was when I was going to ask what was going on.

I heard a loud noise sound out from beside me.

“?”

When I turned my head in surprise, I could see three people in black robes scrambling out of a portal and tripping over each other’s legs.

Although I knew that space travel portal was a special privilege given to high priests, why did they suddenly come over here…

As I was looking at them in confusion, one of the people who was scanning his surroundings while falling over his own feet caught sight of me and shouted.

“That person…! It’s that person! There’s no mistaking it!”

Then, he rushed toward me.

Surprised, I staggered back, but fell instead.

They, who rushed toward me, surround me, who had nowhere to escape to.

“You… no, I mean, you2…!”

“Pardon?”

“Am I correct?”

“What…”

“It’s this person! Can’t you feel this vast energy?”

“…?”

They knelt down in front of me and repeatedly said ‘ohhhhh’, and ‘wowww’, as well as things I couldn’t understand.

“Hey, just what’s going on right now…”

“Everyone, quiet. They’re speaking.”

“To think your voice could be so bright!”

“Hnggg, my eardrums are melting…”

“Wait, no, please calm down…”

“Even if I die, I’ll have no regrets… Hic, to think I could see you in person here before I die…!”

“I hope you get reincarnated in paradise. Meanwhile, I’ll be going to hell for wanting to covet their beauty for a little longer.”

“So, excuse me…”

“Hnggg, if only there was a way to capture such a beautiful voice…!”

“How dare you think of trapping such a noble thing in a single place!”

“Hey!!!”

I finally raised my voice at the appearance of them, who didn’t seem to even have any thoughts of listening to me.

Only then did they shut their mouths and look at me.

I glimpsed the faces underneath the black hoods. All of them were looking at me with surprise in their eyes.

“Huu… So.”

It was when I finally began to talk since I thought I could finally squeeze a word in now.

“I can’t believe even your voice, which is full of anger, could sound so elegant…”

“Just a sigh from this noble one will surely be able to purify the whole world!”

“Are you guys crazy?”

In the end, I still eventually spit out a slew of harsh words.

[1] 누나 is what a younger guy calls an older girl, so we can infer that the kid is a boy.

[2] he uses the normal particle 가, then switches to the more formal particle which is 께서 to show respect