Kephri, who had been locked in a staring contest with me for quite some time, finally uttered words of acceptance.

 

“Then let’s end the conversation regarding the main topic here. For the remaining one question, may I ask something I’m personally curious about?”

 

“What?”

 

“Lord Kephri clearly said earlier that I could ask two things.”

 

“That should already be finished?”

 

“No. What I asked was only about Lord Nanna’s purpose.”

 

“…”

 

“The method to sever Lord Nanna’s blessing was something Lord Kephri simply told me of his own accord, wasn’t it?”

 

“…Fine. Try it.”

 

It was an atmosphere that anyone could see was meant to watch just how far this human would go, yet because I had absolute certainty of my safety, I paid no mind to his aura and asked the question.

 

“Could you tell me what kind of debt Lord Kephri owes me?”

 

“You’re asking that now?”

 

He, who seemed to have almost no emotional ups and downs, rarely let out a hollow laugh and countered.

 

Apparently he found it absurd that I, having used him as much as I could, was only now curious about what debt he owed me.

 

“But I’m curious.”

 

When I blinked and stared at him in a burdensome manner, he began the preamble slowly with a reluctant air.

 

“In Dilbat, you…”

 

No matter how I thought about it, the only contact I had with him in Dilbat was interfering with him, so I waited for the rest with high expectations, wondering what sort of debt it could be.

 

“You saved the children of my companion.”

 

“Lord Kephri is married? No. More than that, even though Lord Kephri’s children were in Dilbat, you poured that much magic on it?”

 

The fact that he had a wife and children was surprising enough, but even more shocking was that he had attacked a place where his own children were.

 

When I pressed him in astonishment, he avoided my gaze for the first time.

 

“At the time I didn’t know either.”

 

“Even so…”

 

There were many things I wanted to say, yet I held my tongue.

 

I could not grab hold of someone who claimed not to have known his children were there and scold him, and moreover, even if I did not deliberately put it into sentences, I judged that all my thoughts would have been conveyed anyway.

 

“Ahem, so that… Does Lord Kephri’s wife live here together with you?”

 

I had already been slightly puzzled seeing that the furniture and objects inside came in pairs, and it seemed this cabin was their nest.

 

‘But wouldn’t it be a bit cramped to live with the children as well?’

 

While I was lost in the thought that perhaps the children had grown and left home…

 

“She is dead.”

 

Kephri spoke of the heavy matter in an extremely calm voice.

 

“…”

 

In an instant the air froze.

 

Of course, Kephri’s expression showed not even the slightest change, so it was probably just my imagination.

 

Rolling my eyes and gauging his mood, I falteringly opened my mouth.

 

“Uh, um… I’m sorry.”

 

“There is no need to be sorry. It is a familiar matter to me.”

 

His oddly vague reply only made my mind more confused.

 

‘Is it that because his wife died long ago he can accept even death calmly, or is it that he has remarried repeatedly so a wife dying is familiar?’

 

I could not deduce the exact meaning, yet I did not even dare to ask, so I simply kept my mouth tightly shut and stayed still.

 

Then he, who had faintly furrowed his brows, answered with an incredulous air the question I had been too afraid to ask.

 

“You’re making a ridiculous misunderstanding. My companion is only one. And you would not know her. The one connected to you was the companion’s daughter.”

 

I had been tense inside, wondering if he might be some serial-killer type from a horror film, but fortunately it seemed the genre would not change.

 

‘Whew, what a relief.’

 

Letting out a sigh of relief inwardly, I recalled whether there had been anyone among those I met in Dilbat who resembled Kephri.

 

‘But it seems all the people who originally stayed in Dilbat were there. I just don’t know which of them is Lord Kephri’s child.’

 

Judging by the nuance that they would have been hit by Kephri’s magic if I had not saved them, it was certain they were not people from the temple used as a shelter.

 

Because that place had originally been outside the range of Kephri’s attack. While I was continuing the chain of thoughts and guessing who Kephri’s child was…

 

“It was the girl who came with you from the Holy Kingdom.”

 

He revealed the identity of the daughter connected to me calmly, as if he had no particular intention of hiding it.

 

Even though the person he pointed to was someone completely unexpected.

 

“What? Siris? She was Lord Kephri’s child?”

 

“No. The companion’s child.”

 

“What kind of nonsense…”

 

The word “nonsense” rose to the tip of my tongue, yet there seemed to be a difference between having thoughts read unintentionally and speaking them out loud, so I deliberately swallowed the rest.

 

“By any chance, does the word ‘companion’ in this world have a different meaning?”

 

I carefully threw out the question as a way to gloss over the previous words.

 

“My talk ends here.”

 

Kephri abruptly wrapped up the conversation itself.

 

“What?”

 

While I was bewildered at the strange timing of the cut-off, he lightly flicked his fingers.

 

Right after, with a crisp tak sound, light began to rise from the floor.

 

“What on earth is this…”

 

“An ordinary teleportation magic circle.”

 

“There’s still remaining talk…”

 

He thoroughly ignored me as if my voice could not be heard and only said what he needed to say.

 

“I’ll send the three outside along with you, so don’t worry.”

 

I was about to ask him to cancel the magic for a moment and explain a little more when I paused at an unexpected part.

 

“Please stop the magic for a moment… What? Three?”

 

While pondering why three, I recalled Enheduane’s existence.

 

“Ah, and the fact that I am a vessel of a god is a secret.”

 

He finally activated the magic.

 

“The divine beast who came with you seems to have sensed it instinctively, but just tell the others that I’m simply a dragon.”

 

“Wait…!”

 

Before long the light of the magic circle that had been shining brightly grew intense enough to block my vision, and soon the surrounding scenery had changed.

 

‘Why do gods all seem to say only what they want and then end it?’

 

I could not yet fully understand Kephri’s story, yet I could not continue the questions circling in my head for long.

 

Because even though he had said he would send us to the Holy Kingdom, the place we actually arrived at was somewhere completely different.

 

If there was a silver lining, it was that it was a familiar temple I had visited once before.

 

💫

 

Having returned from the Zagros Mountains, I immediately summoned Selene, whose innocence had been confirmed and who now had freedom of movement, to my room.

 

It seemed the Saintess Appointment Ceremony would proceed once Enheduane finished reporting the situation to His Holiness the Pope, so I intended to finish everything before then.

 

“Laura, do you really think this method will work?”

 

I had briefly summarized and conveyed the conversation I had with Kephri to Selene as well, yet the moment I finished speaking, she asked back with a face full of concern.

 

“I think there’s more than enough possibility.”

 

“But last time there wasn’t any particular change.”

 

Perhaps recalling the Huluppu incident, her complexion darkened at once.

 

“Even if it fails it won’t become a big problem, so isn’t it worth trying?”

 

“…That’s true.”

 

When I patted Selene’s shoulder and persuaded her, she agreed in a voice that seemed much calmer.

 

“Besides, Lord Fenrir is here in case of emergency! Nothing will go wrong.”

 

I pointed to Fenrir, who was sprawled out on the bed, and reassured her, and he, who had only glanced over upon hearing himself mentioned, chimed in with a reluctant tone.

 

[I only came to observe because Laura begged and begged so much I had no choice, but if anything happens I’ll help as well, so there’s no need to worry that much.]

 

“But Lord Endymion isn’t here.”

 

“…”

 

The face that had just relaxed hardened in an instant.

 

‘Huh, have they not reconciled yet?’

 

Only then did I realize that going to and returning from the Zagros Mountains had taken only two days.

 

‘Well, even this is already later than the original schedule.’

 

Thanks to going with Fenrir we could originally have returned in a single day, yet for some reason Kephri, who had said he would send us to the Holy Kingdom, had sent us to the temple in Dilbat.

 

It would have been good if we had teleported again right away from there, but unfortunately the priest in charge discovered us and insisted he could not send benefactors off without treating them, so we spent one night and thus were delayed.

 

“I…”

 

While I was recalling the tangled schedule, Selene’s small voice brushed past my ear and I came to my senses.

 

“I was distracted for a moment and didn’t hear properly. Could you say it again?”

 

“…I have no face to meet Lord Endymion.”