The timeline falls somewhere between chapters 110, 123, and beyond.
From the perspective of High Priestess Arianne.
It’s terrible.
All sorts of terrible.
It turns into a talk of love. This is dreadful.
The level of dislike Arianne-san incurs is beyond complaint.
Read with considerable resolve.
“Terrible person.”
“…What?”
When I said that, he let out a surprisingly deflated voice.
“I could tell by the way you looked at the Demon King. You like her, don’t you?”
Surely, my expression was obscured by the backlight from his view.
I fell in love with him.
Probably, the first time we met. When he came to the temple disguised as a mere otherworlder, hiding his status.
It felt as if his gaze pierced through me, and that sensation remains like a smoldering fire in my chest to this day.
Then I found out he was one of the Demon King’s army, bent on destroying this world, and days of repentance followed.
And then, he appeared again.
…What he proposed was a plan to protect the temple and this world.
Maybe then, I understood.
That he wasn’t looking at me.
…A cruel person.
If only he had deceived and used me more thoroughly, I could have come to hate him.
His half-hearted sincerity prevents me from hating him.
I was painfully aware that he just wanted to save the temple and this world.
I must not be truly necessary then. Surely, there are countless others who could take my place.
He didn’t approach me because I am me, but because I am High Priestess Arianne.
The fever of love entraps only me. He, like the moonlight of that night, is merely cold and straightforward.
That’s why I deliberately said such a malicious thing.
…It was hopeless from the start when I asked the Demon King to let me speak with him, and she readily agreed. It must have been written in the stars.
“…Maybe, the kind of love you’re thinking of is different.”
After some thought, he said that.
Truly a cruel person.
“That makes it even worse. Because it’s something that can never be crossed.”
“Yes, it is.”
He easily agreed to my words.
Is it selfish to wish he had shown a little trouble?
“Last night, you didn’t say a single sweet word to me. Despite the situation being so romantic.”
For the first time, I saw him slightly perturbed.
Seeing his long lashes cast a deep shadow over his dark eyes, I thought, unexpectedly, he has long eyelashes.
“I didn’t want to lie.”
Just because the words aren’t lies doesn’t mean it isn’t deceitful.
But at least, he didn’t utter a single lie in words.
He didn’t betray his own heart.
He simply chose a path that didn’t require him to lie to himself, adeptly.
“That’s what I find wonderful about you. That’s why I fell for you.”
Saying it out loud elicited an even bigger reaction than before.
For someone like him, being the object of affection must be common.
“But still, I can never be your number one, can I?”
“…Yes.”
Since he had been silent and his gaze wandered to the floor, I continued my words like adding insult to injury.
With that, it could all be over. The fevered thoughts borne solely from my own fancy, the unrequited feelings, could finally end.
It was a brief affair.
“What a curious person. What exactly is it that binds you and the Demon King?”
My voice didn’t shake, did it?
I had long since come to terms with it.
“Friendship and respect.”
With a clarity unlike his previous hesitations, he answered distinctly.
Perhaps, that was the answer he had been seeking within himself.
“Not love?”
“There is neither love nor romance.”
With the sharpness of his foreign sword, he declared definitively.
“…So, I lost to friendship and respect. That’s somewhat complicated.”
“…Is that so?”
For me, love was something very important.
But I understand it’s not the same for him.
“Maybe I haven’t been clear enough. I feel something’s off even to myself.”
After pushing me away with his words, he slowly started talking again.
“I truly respect you and think of you as a valuable companion. And that, to me now, is the most important thing.”
“It’s not wrong. To claim love and romance are the noblest in this world is nothing but a deceit… but only if that’s truly what one believes.”
He’s probably not lying.
At least, he’s not saying anything he himself would consider a lie.
But I can’t be satisfied with that.
“Do you really feel nothing for the Demon King? Wouldn’t you mind if she was taken by someone else?”
I can’t help feeling that he’s hiding his true feelings for the Demon King, and I just can’t accept it.
“Do you enjoy such stories?”
His gaze was directed at me, making my spine chill.
Cold and sharp eyes.
…Why had I forgotten? That if he wanted, he could kill me in an instant.
“…This is just my selfishness. You don’t have to answer.”
When I averted my gaze from him, the air seemed to relax suddenly.
“I think you would feel like celebrating a friend’s new beginnings.”
As if the previous tension was a lie, he spoke again in a calm tone.
“Is that so?”
I still can’t accept it.
Despite his words being so casual, then why do your eyes look somewhere far away, not here?
…But he probably won’t say more than this.
“…I’ll return the amulet to you. Thank you.”
With that, he offered me the amulet I had entrusted to him that night.
“No, it’s yours.”
“You will need it even more from now on.”
I was about to say it’s needed to oppose the Demon King, then I remembered what stood between the Demon King and him.
…Then, I guess, he doesn’t need this.
“…Right. It’s probably better to have it returned.”
Taking the amulet and placing it around my neck, I felt its coldness and weight.
“I think I’ll be visiting again soon. Until then.”
With those words, he walked towards the terrace.
“Yes. Please convey my regards to the Demon King.”
Whether he heard those words or not, his figure vanished.
The room, now quiet, was only lit by the light shining through the window.
“We need to change, don’t we?”
Regardless of what I think, neither time nor the Demon King will wait.
All I can do is change the temple.
In doing so, perhaps I can change myself too.
A life decided to live and die by the gods. What more, now?
…What more.
That day, I declared myself as the Chief Priestess.
Raising that amulet as the proof of the Chief Priestess.
And thus, the temple was set to change significantly.
I met with various people, made decisions, and in between, continued my research.
I researched the true history of the temple, to protect it from the Demon King’s grasp.
…What I started thinking as research, gradually changed its meaning.
The history of the temple was more ambiguous than I thought, and it was unclear whether the Demon King and the goddess had actually fought.
And even whether the goddess exists now.
At least, the history as it’s passed down seems to be quite twisted.
…What did that Demon King think when he saw this temple?
Thinking about it made me restless, so I reached out to the forbidden books as well.
And thus, I came to know fragments of this world’s history.
The night before the official day I became the Chief Priestess, the Demon King came.
Alone.
“…Today, you’re alone.”
“I left him behind. …Don’t look so disappointed, it hurts.”
I was surprised to hear such a response when I said it.
The Demon King, too, could make such jokes.
…For a moment, I felt the Demon King was closer to me.
Then, I spoke to the Demon King about my progress and frankly discussed various things.
Even mentioning the possibility that the goddess might not exist in this world, she just quietly smiled.
…The existence called the Demon King became even more incomprehensible to me.
“…Excuse me for asking, but… there’s something I want to know.”
So, with that momentum, I ended up asking something terribly rude.
“Do you… like that person?”
“Of course. …Though likely different from what you imagine ‘like’ to mean.”
The Demon King answered clearly while smiling quietly.
It was terribly similar to his response.
“…Then, what do you feel for that person?”
My voice might have trembled a bit.
Thinking this might be the answer.
“Respect and friendship.”
…Ah, I thought so.
It’s incredibly frustrating.
“Friendship between men and women can last?”
I said something really awful.
Because, because, I didn’t know about such things.
Such a strong relationship.
…Despite the unpleasant question, without changing her expression, the Demon King said something profound.
“Eventually, it will end. They are the best. I don’t know about them as lovers, but at least as friends, they’re the best companions and respectable. They are such interesting people, sooner or later, they might find lovers. By then, it’s better if I’m not around.”
Smoothly, the Demon King said such things, and elegantly took a sip from her cup.
…Maybe, this is what he wanted to say at that time.
When he said he would “sincerely celebrate,” perhaps he was envisioning such a future.
“Knowing the end will come, you still stay together?”
“I believe that friendship between men and women is possible.”
…Surely, even if she ends up with someone he doesn’t know, he would truly bless her from his heart.
Now, I can understand.
Their world is straightforward, sharp, and one I cannot touch.
“That person… that person also said, between you and him, there’s friendship and respect.”
After emptying the cup and telling the Demon King, she looked a bit surprised.
“Really, terrible people… Hey, Mr. Demon King, can we become friends?”
…I think I said something impossible.
But, the Demon King took my hand.
“Looking forward to our friendship.”
Thus, I became friends with someone living in a different world.
The temple continued to change significantly after that.
The temple is still evolving. Telling myself this is the crucial moment, I somehow manage every day.
If even someone like me can change the temple, this world, there’s no greater joy than that.
Yeah, love could have fit into this novel, but it’s like they are scared of it and try to believe in something that will disappear. Of course love will too but I guess it’s different.
I wonder what the author was so scared about for this.
Yeah, love could have fit into this novel, but it’s like they are scared of it and try to believe in something that will disappear. Of course love will too but I guess it’s different.