“This way is the herb bed, so the path is rough. If you're looking for the exit, shall I guide you?”
Aiden's offer was pure goodwill itself. Normally, when a stranger appears out of nowhere, it's normal to be wary or suspicious. But this young man hadn't a speck of such a thing. It was a hopeless harmlessness, as if he believed every person in the world was his friend.
Luan gazed for a moment at those sparkling eyes and thought.
Kind. So kind it's almost worrying.
Live long enough and you develop an eye for distinguishing people who act kind from people who are truly kind. Aiden was the latter. He was the type with consideration for others ingrained by nature. He thought he understood why the god had loved Aiden so much in the original.
The god plays favorites with Aiden. That much is certain.
Then again, that was surely why, even while begging him to save Luanisiel Requies, the god couldn't stop Aiden's involvement. Is there such a thing as a degree of favoritism—or was it that, favoring both similarly, the god couldn't lay a hand on it at all?
The god said he couldn't intervene in the system directly. Did things get tangled when he tried to touch it?
If so, it made sense. The House's abuse, the fate gone awry, the broken scenario.
In that case, the reason the god had contracted with him was clear. No matter how all-knowing, all-powerful the head office was, it would be hard to directly handle even the detailed problems on the ground. So if they'd scouted an outside expert to clean up the wrecked project—
“…Ha.”
The corner of Luan's mouth tilted up slightly. The reason the god had dispatched him became clear. It seemed he wasn't a simple contract worker but an emergency task-force leader. In that case, his mission was to safely grow Aiden, the key figure within this other world, and protect Luanisiel too.
If so, then Aiden isn't my enemy but a VIP client I have to manage and protect.
Once his perspective shifted, his fear vanished. In its place, the will to complete the project blazed up. Complete it and it's the lottery!
“I'd be grateful if you would. Brother.”
Luan nodded with a business smile. There was no reason to refuse. Building rapport was a gain, if only for the sake of client management.
The two of them walked side by side down the narrow path. Each time the wind blew, Aiden's sunset-colored hair fluttered warmly. That hue tinged with vermilion was as mysterious and beautiful as if the evening sky had been cut out whole.
Aiden walked ahead, and lest Luan get caught on a branch, he cleared the bushes by hand and warned him to watch for the roots jutting up underfoot.
“There's mud here, so it's slippery. Be careful.”
“There's a spiderweb. One moment, I'll clear it.”
It was utterly devoted. Watching the sight, Luan grew certain. This kid is a blue-chip stock I absolutely have to keep alive. If I care for him well and raise him up, later he'll become a solid shield that even blocks the Emperor for me.
“Brother? Is something the matter?”
When Luan went quiet, Aiden looked back with a worried face.
“No. I was moved because you're so kind, Brother Aiden.”
“Ahaha, don't mention it. It's only natural for a child of the god.”
Aiden scratched the back of his head bashfully. The sight of him blushing under the sunlight was the very picture of a scene from a coming-of-age comic.
Good. At this rate, the difficulty of winning him over is "easy." A hundred times simpler to handle than that twisted-up Emperor.
“Um, but…”
Aiden spoke up carefully.
“If it's not rude, you can be casual with me. I look younger, after all.”
“Casual?”
“Yes! Calling me 'brother' is nice too, but you can just speak to me casually, like you would to a younger sibling. I never had an older brother, so I always wished I had someone like one.”
Aiden's gaze was sincere. To ask someone he was meeting for the first time to treat him like a younger brother—it was a purity without a shred of wariness. At this rate he'll offer to co-sign a loan for me. If someone asked for a kidney he'd hand it over with a smile.
Luan pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Then I'll drop the formality. Aiden.”
“Yes, hyung!”
Aiden's face bloomed wide open. Luan cheered inwardly. "Hyung" title acquired. With this, I've taken the upper hand in the relationship.
“This way. That over there is the annex prayer room.”
Before he knew it, they'd arrived at the destination. An outsider naturally comes to pray, so Aiden had read the situation and led him all the way to the prayer room. He escorted Luan right up to the prayer room's entrance.
“Thanks for guiding me. I got here comfortably thanks to you.”
“I'm glad I could help. Um… by any chance.”
Aiden hesitated a moment, then asked, his clear eyes sparkling.
“May I ask your name? I forgot to ask earlier.”
Should I give my name? If I reveal "Empress Luanisiel," this kid will surely prostrate himself or grow stiff with awkwardness. Then natural "management" becomes hard. For now, it's better to keep my status somewhat hidden and maintain a comfortable relationship.
“It's Luan.”
“Luan hyung… that's a really pretty name.”
“You too. Your name's as pretty as your hair color.”
Luan offered a brief handshake. Aiden looked at his own dirt-covered hand, flustered, hurriedly rubbed it clean against the hem of his clothes, then carefully took Luan's hand.
“Nice to meet you, Luan hyung. I hope I'll see you again when you come to pray.”
“You will. I think I'll be coming often.”
Luan let go of his hand, leaving a peculiar lingering note. From now on, every time he came under the pretext of the weekly purification rite, he planned to monitor this prospective holy knight's condition.
“Then, have a peaceful prayer!”
Aiden smiled brightly and bowed at the waist. It was the moment he turned to head back to the herb bed.
As Aiden waved and turned, the loose sleeve of his priest's robe slid down below his elbow. Luan's gaze idly settled on that exposed wrist.
“…?”
Over the white wrist, dark and bluish marks were clearly visible. By anyone's measure they were bruises. And a mix at that—bruises faded with age and red ones that looked freshly made.
Bruises?
Luan's eyes narrowed. But Aiden hurriedly tugged the sleeve down to hide his arm. Then, as if nothing had happened, he gave one more bright wave and disappeared at a quick trot.
Luan watched Aiden's receding back and sank into thought for a moment. Did someone hit him? Or… did he bump into something somewhere, scatterbrained as he is?
Doing rough work in the herb bed, that could happen, I suppose.
Luan decided to let it slide as no big deal for now. In his past life too, when he'd worked part-time at a logistics warehouse, his legs were never free of bruises. A novice priest without divine power yet would be saddled with all the dirty work, so he'd be carrying around contusions as a matter of course.
“It's probably nothing.”
Luan shrugged and opened the prayer room door. A plush sofa and a hushed silence greeted him.
“First, let's sleep. I'll start my networking in earnest from next week.”
Luan flung his body onto the plush sofa. Of course, he did have to perform the purification rite… but this place's sofa was too soft. Right now, catching up on overdue naps was the top-priority task.
