“Weed, Hana needs painkillers. She doesn’t have any. She might be in pain by now. Do humans have such painkillers? And the humans we’ve encountered so far have been quite violent. We need to hurry.”

“Ah… right. Humans are violent. That’s true.”

His expression brightened a bit, and he hastily went outside. Rutis didn’t immediately follow Weed but stood still, observing. Then she clasped her face with both hands.

‘What are you going to do from now on, Weed…’

This might be the third mistake.

She thought enduring for about 100 years would be enough. She believed that even if Hana lived out her life here and he passed away, it wouldn’t matter. It might be a fleeting moment for humans, but for the priests or Weed, it was just a brief period.

And after the delayed sacrifice ceremony, everything would be over. This world would no longer suffer from voids or divine disease, and Weed, now healthy, would no longer be tormented by unnecessary guilt and sadness.

Would that really happen?

The priests had wished for Weed to be at peace all this time. They hoped he could rest and smile comfortably without suppressing his emotions. Would that be possible in about 100 years? It seemed somewhat doubtful.

Watching Weed struggle with her temporary absence, the priests had to deeply ponder what the future held.

* * *

The blade pressed firmly beneath her throat. Such threats were unbearably unsettling. Any movement might result in being pierced by the sharp edge.

“…Divine disease?”

Though the voice trembled slightly, strangely, it wasn’t particularly frightening.

Calden nodded, his eyes gracefully narrowed.

“Yes. A divine disease.”

Hana wasn’t fazed in this situation.

Experiencing such things multiple times made it somewhat amusing. This wasn’t her first time being threatened with a knife. Though she hadn’t done it directly with her own hands, the stalker who threatened her like this ended up losing his head. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

After going through it once, she could understand. This was a threat to gain an advantage in negotiations to come.

She narrowed her eyes and stared at Calden.

If blood were needed, especially if this person firmly believed blood was necessary to treat the disease, she wouldn’t be killed immediately. At most, Calden might tear some flesh to draw blood. Enduring such pain was no problem for her.

“I heard the divine disease disappeared.”

“That’s right. They vanished. However, only the newly infected disappeared. Those who were already suffering are still here.”

“If you get sick, you should go to get treatment. Following superstitions, threatening someone powerless, and all that. It seems your kingdom has nothing special, too.”

Of course, Hana knew that divine diseases were incurable. She heard it was a disease that had already disappeared, so she didn’t bother asking the priests what exactly it was. Nevertheless, Hana knew quite well the procedures people with incurable diseases went through.

After all, she had tried everything she could for her unknown illness.

Certainly, this person must have been in the same situation. They would have tried everything they could.

Naturally, they would have experimented with various medicines, perhaps even dabbled in magic in a world like this, and, despite not believing in gods, might have prayed to them in a desperate moment. But when nothing worked, they ended up clinging to superstitions.

No, perhaps the existence of the sanctuary in this world wasn’t simply superstition. Moreover, the fact that a noble person had personally come here in such a dangerous place indicated the urgency of the matter.

Despite knowing all this, she couldn’t help but speak sharply.

This guy was really unfortunate.

As if surprised by Hana’s unexpected reaction, Calden raised an eyebrow.

“…It might be worth testing.”

“I told you I’m a guest here. Are you trying to do something you’ll regret?”

“Ligna only deals with matters within the sanctuary. They have no interest outside the sanctuary. They won’t even retaliate if you kill them outside.”

‘Ligna don’t die anyway.’

With their main body separate, they can create incarnations resembling other races as much as they want. When the incarnation dies, they either return to the sanctuary after playing for a while or drinking, or they create another incarnation outside. It was just that simple.

“They don’t harbor a grudge against bugs asking questions. However, if you keep bothering them, you might end up dead. They don’t have that much interest in humans. So…”

Like a burning ember, the bright red eyes stared piercingly at Hana.

“If I drag you out like this, it’ll be over for you.”

‘Will you behave yourself now?’

The arrogant gaze seemed to be asking that.

Hana bit her lip.

A strange feeling overcame her. The creature with golden eyes she had encountered in the sanctuary claimed to have the answer to healing divine diseases. Calden said he brought her here because of that.

Nevertheless, she didn’t feel kike she was being treated with the consideration one might give to someone who can heal the divine disease’s conditions. It felt more like dealing with a swindler claiming to have a cure. Yet, the desperation she could sense confused her.

Just as Hana was about to ask, an unexpected interruption came from another person. Someone stopped Hana from speaking.

“Big Brother, what are you doing right now?”

The sound of someone breathing heavily came from right in front. Calden swiftly put away the dagger he had been holding to Hana’s throat all along.

“Who’s this person?”

“That…”

Rather than the voice that came from where the sound was heard, it was Calden’s reaction that stood out. He looked visibly flustered. The dagger that had just threatened her had disappeared without a trace.

As he glanced back and forth between the source of the voice and her, he seemed awkward.

Hana, while feeling the chill of her touched neck, turned her gaze toward the direction of the voice. Although it was a female voice, it felt a bit strange. It gave her a sense of discomfort rather than aversion.

And when she met the eyes of the entity, she couldn’t help but stiffen.

“It’s a pretty Sister.”

Upon hearing those words, Hana swallowed hard. Logically, the person in front of her shouldn’t be saying that.

The figure before her was a white-haired old woman. She had seen priests with silver hair since coming here, so Hana blinked a few times, wondering if she had made a mistake. She confirmed that she hadn’t.

There, standing on the carpet, was an old woman with deeply etched wrinkles, wearing a bright pink dress that defied her age. She had a sky-blue ribbon, frills, jewel decorations on her shoes, and accessories around her neck and ears that would fit a young lady.

If Hana had seen only her back without hearing her voice, she might have thought she was a beautiful noblewoman or perhaps even close to royalty.

The old woman held the voluminous skirt, bent her knees slightly, and made a courteous gesture. It was a polite mannerism. Hana, with an uneasy expression, nodded her head slightly in response, somewhat rudely.

Amidst this, her head continued to be in turmoil.

She had called her a pretty sister.

‘…What on earth is going on here?’

Glancing at Calden, he was looking at her with a noticeably tense face. It was the first time she realized he could make such a face.

No one spoke for a while. The old woman’s voice, with a hint of laughter, broke the silence.

“Big Brother, I’ve seen everything. Don’t play pranks with that toy of yours.”

“Toy?”

Hana opened her mouth in confusion.

Calden turned his head and rubbed his forehead with his hand. As she opened her mouth with a puzzled voice, he turned his head and touched his forehead with one hand.

“Yes, I don’t age.”

She let out a forced laugh, glared at Kalden, who couldn’t meet her eyes, and then turned her head, offering a smile to the old woman.

“Aha. Doesn’t age. Beautiful princess, would you mind stepping aside for a moment? Big Brother and I have something to discuss.”

“Ah, yes.”

__