Necromancer Of The Black Bible (110)

The sigil that appeared on the back of my right hand was vivid.

A burning, eye-shaped design.

Staring at that eye, it felt as if it were watching me.

‘Seems fairly old, doesn’t it?’

Even so, the fact it hasn’t manifested must mean there’s some ulterior motive.

At that moment, Shador spoke.

“Illinas first assigned Murak a mission. To obtain the god-slaying weapon ‘Ksiratis.’”

“Ksiratis, huh….”

I remembered.

I’m sure I saw it from Eliastra….

I immediately summoned her.

[El. Where is Ksiratis right now?]

It was a sudden call, but El answered almost immediately.

-If it’s Ksiratis…. it’s in the subterranean vault beneath the Grand Temple.

[Is it definitely still there?]

-I’ll check… but has something happened?

I relayed Shador’s intelligence a moment ago. El answered with a grave tone.

-In fact, we’ve tightened the guard a few days ago.

[Really? Did you find anything?]

-Not that we’ve found anything, but a first-class Investigator reported that Ksiratis’ guard should be strengthened.

[An investigator? Who said that?]

El searched her memory for a moment, then replied.

-Investigator Sanchez. It was him.

At that moment, Equinox’s voice spoke.

-I have already made arrangements. So do not worry too much. Right now, Master, you should concentrate on obtaining the fifth Mana Ring.

It tried to reassure me.

But I felt a strange unease.

I sensed its intent to divert my gaze.

‘But why?’

Is that really necessary?

Then Shador spoke up.

“Master.”

“Hm?”

“A new mark has appeared.”

He looked at the back of my left hand.

Sure enough, a mark glowed there.

A pattern strangely similar to the one on my right hand.

The mark on the right hand was a blazing eye, but the one on the left was a crying eye.

“Looks like twin siblings are aiming for the same target.”

The unease didn’t vanish, but Equinox’s words made sense.

I’ll leave Murak to Equinox and focus on taking out Perak for now.

The Kallios Theocracy was peaceful.

In truth, there was no particular crisis.

Few knew about the decisive battle with the Lord of Wraiths.

The Theocracy’s citizens heard a routine alarm and assumed it had passed without incident.

The same was true for Sanchez.

A strange barrier activated over the entire Theocracy, but no one experienced anything unusual.

The barrier remained for a week, then was lifted without much ado.

Afterward, Sanchez carried on as before.

What was better was that he was granted about a month off as a reward for his achievements.

During that time, Sanchez made a very important decision.

‘I must confess my feelings to Elin.’

He was already living with Elin.

His fondness for her had already grown into affinity, bond, and love.

The fact that she was an elf was no longer a barrier.

What was clear was that Sanchez’s heart was full of Elin.

‘In three days. I’ll confess.’

Having made that decision, Sanchez left the house.

Outside the door, a carriage from the Black Leaf Merchant Guild awaited.

Night deepened.

The sacred light that had lit the Grand Library had already gone out, and early winter snow was drifting down outside the windows.

With the soft sound of small footsteps, Elin returned home.

Usually Sanchez would appear and greet her as soon as she opened the door, but not today.

It wasn’t that strange.

Sanchez was a capable Investigator of the Bureau, so when busy he’d often come home at dawn.

‘Come to think of it, he said he was going on a trip the day before yesterday, didn’t he?’

Elin took off her librarian’s robe, let her long silver hair loose, and sat before a small stove.

She poured hot tea from the kettle hanging over the stove into a cup.

Clink!

Closing her eyes and inhaling the gentle tea aroma, her fatigue from the day seemed to ease.

Then the door opened quietly behind her.

“…Sanchez?”

Before Elin could turn, Sanchez quietly approached and set a small box before her.

“Open it.”

A low, deep voice.

There was a warmth in it that hadn’t been there before.

And his pupils trembled slightly.

What was happening?

It wasn’t even a special day.

Elin stared at the box for a moment, then looked at the calendar on the wall and thought.

Was it someone’s birthday?

Or an anniversary?

What she’d learned living among humans was that they designated special days in a year to celebrate.

This was different from elf culture.

Elves lived so long they didn’t celebrate on a yearly basis; they usually honored things every ten years and would celebrate like a festival for a full year when it occurred.

‘Is there something today I don’t know about?’

With that thought, Elin opened the box.

Inside was a small wooden ring.

Not so much ornate as made with care—a wooden ring.

There was no gilding or gemstones.

Instead, a familiar piece of carved wood was set like a jewel.

“This is….”

“Do you remember that day? When we first met, you told me about your homeland, right? You mentioned a certain tree….”

“Silvarna….”

Silvarna was the guardian tree of the homeland where Elin was born and raised.

For elves, a guardian tree is like a mother.

When the cycle comes, young elves are born from the fruits that hang on the guardian tree.

They typically grow in a single place, so you can’t see them in other regions.

Thus elves who leave their homeland always long for their guardian tree.

“How did you get this?”

Elin asked with wide eyes, and Sanchez smiled bashfully before speaking.

“I… asked the Black Leaf Merchant Guild. I asked if they could get a piece of Silvarna’s wood.”

“You didn’t chop it off, did you?”

Elin asked with a worried look, but Sanchez shook his head.

“How could I do that? It’s part of your mother.”

“Then….”

“I asked for it and received it. I told Silvarna your story.”

Sanchez recounted how, a few days ago, he rode the Black Leaf Merchant Guild’s carriage to Elin’s homeland.

After a day-long journey he arrived at the unfinished forest. There, after asking directions, Sanchez finally reached Silvarna and could barely speak with the guardian tree.

Sanchez was about to tell more of the events, but Elin reached out and stopped him.

She touched the wooden piece set in the ring, and memories lodged in the wood unfolded before her eyes.

-Ah, hello. I’m Sanchez of the Kallios Theocracy. I’m also a friend of Elin, who works as a librarian at the Grand Library.

-I’m here because I want to give Elin a gift….

-I know it’s presumptuous, but would you give me even a small piece?

-Um… the reason I need it is….

-It’s hard to explain, but… why I came here is….

“Pft-”

Elin couldn’t help but laugh.

Above all, she found Sanchez’s flustered, blushing, stumbling explanation endearing.

Elin watched him with a smile.

And then.

-I like Elin. No, I love… her.

-I know I’m lacking, but I want to… marry Elin.

-Yes. That’s right. I need a part of you as a wedding gift. I came here to obtain that.

Seeing that scene, tears welled in Elin’s eyes.

She didn’t know why.

Because it was a feeling she had experienced for the first time in her life.

After watching the memories for a while, she looked at Sanchez.

Beyond the shimmering tears, she saw his flustered expression.

“Elin? Why are you crying?”

“Am I crying? Am I crying?”

When Elin asked, Sanchez took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears.

Elin looked at the stained handkerchief and continued.

“I don’t really know what this feeling is.”

“What sort of… feeling?”

“This is….”

Elin fumbled as she spoke the elvish words that came to mind.

As she did so for a while, the image of Sanchez in the memory she had just seen surfaced.

Thinking she was fumbling with the same expression as he had made her laugh.

After giggling for a while, she asked Sanchez.

“My chest feels warm. Tears come, but I keep laughing. What is this feeling?”

Sanchez smiled gently at her, then knelt on one knee before her and spoke.

“I can’t define your feelings for you, but I feel something similar.”

“What do you call the feeling you feel?”

Sanchez hesitated for a moment at Elin’s question, then answered.

“Love.”

Sanchez took the ring she held and slipped it onto her ring finger, saying,

“I love you, Elin. Marry me.”

Until now, Elin had not known what love was.

Nor did she understand why humans got married.

But now she understood it all.

What love was.

Why people married.

Elin looked at the ring on her finger.

-Mother. He confessed his love to me.

Then Silvarna’s voice, contained within the ring, whispered in her ear.

[I knew.]

[From the moment his footsteps reached this place.]

[Your name was woven into his nervous breath.]

Elin smiled softly.

That smile was tinged with a faint fear.

Silvarna, sensing this, spoke again.

[You were my branch.]

[And the moment you became a fruit, you separated from me.]

[I was afraid then too. But now that fear has become a reward.]

-But Mother. He is human. He doesn’t have much time allotted to him.

[The time given to us isn’t very long either, child. Time feels long only when it lacks meaning.]

Having finished, Silvarna blessed Elin.

[May you find a moment of meaning rather than a meaningless eternity. May the meaning you find become the light of this world.]

A bright silver radiance poured forth from the ring.

The radiance enveloped Elin and Sanchez.

Understanding her Mother’s will, Elin closed her eyes for a moment to steady her emotions.

Then she opened her eyes, faced Sanchez, and asked.

“Do you really love me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“I won’t regret it.”

“Good.”

Elin nodded and whispered.

“I won’t regret it either.”

They kissed deeply.

Silvarna’s blessing continued to shine upon them long after their kiss ended.