Adam and Eve (1)

When I opened the door of the small church, I saw the chapel.

Chairs were lined up in rows, and with not a single candle lit in the candlesticks, the whole place looked dark, but the stained glass visible in the distance gave it an air of holiness.

And the woman standing in front of it.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

Is she someone I know?

A person immediately came to mind, but the atmosphere was quite different from the person I knew.

“Hmm, everyone kept saying that many things would change when I came here, but it seems less eventful than I expected.”

The chapel was more ordinary and peaceful than I had imagined.

Since my eyes were drawn to the person there rather than the surroundings, what else could I do? Should I just ask directly?

Are you the Saintess?

“Is that so?”

“I think you might have the answer to that, don’t you?”

“Well, I’m not sure what you mean. I’m just someone who offers prayers in a chapel where no one visits.”

“But couldn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Son of Man.”

“Hmm……”

I didn’t expect her to refuse so openly.

“Saintess.”

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

“I only said one word, and you say that?”

“I’m merely a devotee offering prayers, too inadequate to bear such an excessive title.”

“I see.”

A tone cold as ice.

A voice devoid of emotion.

She’s different in every way from the woman I knew. She was like sunshine illuminating the blue sky.

There’s a stark difference from the static figure of the woman before me now.

However……

“If that’s what the Saintess says, I’ll abide by it.”

“……”

“If you wish for me not to remember, I’ll simply leave.”

I could be certain she was the Saintess. It’s just a difference in tone and attitude, isn’t it?

I know her.

Even with her face veiled, I couldn’t help but recognize her.

How could I not know her?

Even if I’d forgotten her face, her voice, even if I’d forgotten her hair color.

I would have been able to find her. After all, I had engraved her not in my eyes, but in my heart.

“But well… it would be a shame to leave just like this.”

She is my benefactor.

Whatever background might lie behind that, it won’t change.

So if she doesn’t want it, I won’t pursue it.

“Then I’ll tell you a bit about what’s happened since. You’re curious, aren’t you?”

“……”

At my suggestion, she held her breath for a moment. It would be awkward to say yes, but equally awkward to say no.

It’s that kind of question from the start.

One where either answer would carry meaning.

“I’ll take that as permission.”

I immediately sat down on one of the chapel chairs. I didn’t approach her, who was still kneeling alone in front of the chapel with her hands clasped.

If she didn’t want to reveal herself, I would understand.

“So where should I begin? I suppose after Rubia would be appropriate?”

“……I don’t know what you mean.”

“I see.”

I thought I’d try to test her, but it seems to have failed.

She had always advised me after my regression.

Through dreams.

I could have thought they were just daydreams, but I don’t think so. She was definitely by my side. She worried with me.

But that ended at Rubia.

The day I became the Vicarious Saint, the day she returned the power that should have originally been mine.

After that, the Saintess no longer appeared in my dreams. Or even if she did, conversation was no longer possible like before.

It was just a fragment of memories, she had left my side.

“Fortunately, I was able to reconcile with that brat. Now we’re like brother and sister.”

After that, I tried not to make her worry anymore.

Since I had decided to act on her behalf. Since she said she believed in me. That’s why I could move forward despite any trials before me. I had that courage.

“After that, I went around apologizing to hunters who pretended to be strong and merchants who only calculated with their abacus. The hunters forgave me after I stroked their egos a bit, and the merchants quieted down when I slipped them some gold coins.”

I glanced at her slightly.

Through the veil, though faint, I thought I could see a smile.

I’m glad she seems interested.

Normally, she wouldn’t have understood such a disorganized story.

In this narrative, I didn’t explain who the brat was, who my companions were, or even what Rubia was.

“After that, I headed to Arcanum with the brat. You know, right? How the place where that brat lived and where we needed to go were too far apart.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. But… yes, I understand. You sought a magician to escort a young girl home, who lived far away.”

“Haha, I never said the brat was a girl.”

“……”

“Well, never mind.”

When I pointed it out subtly, she immediately fell silent. It’s definitely the person I know.

She seems to look somewhat pouty, but I can’t be sure.

Yes, how much can one confirm through a veil?

But I was certain.

She is the Saintess. She just doesn’t want to reveal it.

“Do you know what happened at the entrance when I went to Arcanum? Some golems and homunculi……”

I unfold my story.

How I’ve lived. How I’ve overcome difficulties.

I wanted her evaluation, to know if I had lived up to her expectations.

“So I ended up heading to the arena, and would you believe it, there was Princess Ilina……”

“Ilina Crowley?”

“Oh, are you interested?”

“No.”

It doesn’t seem like she’s not interested?

Well, she was quite a capable individual on our side before my regression.

Unfortunately, she also appears connected to Phoenix, so the Saintess must have mixed feelings in various ways.

That’s probably why her voice sounds somewhat curt.

“Surprisingly, gambling seemed to be her hobby. She was shouting at the top of her lungs and wielding her authority……”

“That sounds about right. That’s her true nature, I suppose.”

A somewhat thorny tone.

Perhaps she didn’t like Ilina Crowley?

She wasn’t like that before my regression. The certainty I had wavers slightly due to her attitude.

Could she not be the Saintess?

But judging by her reactions earlier, it’s almost certainly her……

Whatever the case, I’ll find out as I continue the story. Even if she isn’t, I’m merely revealing my journey to someone, which isn’t a big deal.

“After sending the brat home, I headed to the imperial capital. There I met Pope Cotinus, who had been waiting for me……”

The story continued.

I spoke alone, and she merely listened, but the atmosphere itself was gentle.

Perhaps it was because I could observe her reactions from time to time.

Sometimes she would laugh, and other times she would get angry as if it were her own affair.

Though she didn’t show any of it directly, whether it was flinching or nodding her head, she couldn’t hide such subtle reactions.

As the story was nearing its end.

“And that’s how I came to love Línea.”

I cast my final bait.

“What the fuck? Ah……”

The response was stronger than I expected.

A moment of silence followed her sudden and unmistakable reaction.

She, too, seemed to realize what she had done, as she lowered her head again.

“Haha, well, well.”

I rose from the chapel chair and approached her as she knelt.

She remained the same.

Head bowed low, pretending not to know. Should I commend her effort when everything has already been exposed?

But despite this certainty, my desire is too great to just play along.

“It’s been a while, Saintess.”

I lifted her stiff veil and confirmed her face.

“No……”

A woman with blue eyes that suited her well.

She was lowering her reddened face, not knowing what to do.

The moment I confirmed her face, the empty memories begin to fill in.

The pieces of my lingering attachment that she had erased finally find their place.

“Eve.”

Yes, now finally.

I can call her name that I had lost.

*     *      *

Son of Man (Ben Adam).

The ideal form of “human” as envisioned by the gods.

A being both divine and semi-divine born from that ideal. He was a purely white existence who could become neither good nor evil, nor any form of human.

Yes, at first it was admiration.

She wanted to meet the Son of Man her grandmother had told her about.

Eve lived in a small city located at the crossroads between heaven and earth.

A place created solely to care for the Son of Man.

The gods, knowing that earthly people could not withstand the aftermath of their power, sealed their divinity.

As a result, the earth became a world where neither gods nor demons were born anymore, leaving only their traces.

Of course, there were those who opposed.

Gods who wanted to care for their children until the end remained on earth and continued their lives, knowing their divinity itself would be chipped away.

Most of them lost their divinity and died, or became monsters like Morpheus.

Or perhaps they were demons who had accepted malice instead of faith from the beginning.

But in the end, most died.

Gods ceased to exist in this world, and demons were erased by the hands of inquisitors.

However, there was one divine power that remained unaffected.

That was the Son of Man.

A god conceived by gods. God and human. A pure white being who could become either.

Their role was to worship and care for the only god remaining on earth.

Eve met the Son of Man after hearing about him from Lute and confirming with her own eyes.

It was amazing. Though he appeared emotionless and blunt at first glance, he was so very human.

‘That’s his essence.’

Human.

The feelings that started with admiration eventually reached intimacy.

They sprouted into friendship.

Eve tended to the Son of Man from the closest position.

She didn’t think it was glorious.

Nor did she find it troublesome.

She simply enjoyed being with him.

‘Ah, surely this is why everyone loves this person.’

She could understand why he was cared for by people.

A person who never wielded his immense power, and who responded to kindness with kindness.

Eve felt comfort and joy by his side.

And eventually.

-God!

-What’s that?

-Because you’re such a high person, you’re God! It’s too cumbersome to call you Son of Man each time! Besides, that’s not even your name.

-……So others call me Adam.

-But Adam is still just a human! So since it’s a special occasion, I’ll give you a fitting name!

She came to think of him as special.

Not faith, but love.

Because she harbored such feelings, she wanted to give him a name, not just a title.

So that even if she died and disappeared someday, he would not forget her existence. She wanted to leave a trace of herself with him.

-The word God is too much. They say there was a deity by that name in the beginning. And isn’t that more of a title than a name?

-Hmm….. Then….. How about Cielo? It means sky!

-If you like it, call me that.

The Son of Man, given the name Cielo by Eve, smiled.

The man who had been just blunt when they first met now showed emotion.

Eve liked that.

She liked that she could become someone special to him.

Even if it was merely interest stemming from unfamiliarity.

Yes, she had fallen in love.

“It’s been a while, Saintess.”

That’s why she overreacted.

“No……”

She had hoped he would continue living without recalling the past.

She couldn’t. She finally couldn’t control her overflowing emotions.

“Eve.”

Yes, perhaps it was impossible from the start.

Though she wished for him to forget everything and live as just an ordinary person.

From the beginning, she had left this possibility open.

“I’ve been wanting to ask, who are you praying for?”

“……For you.”

“Then who am I?”

After all.

The title she had given herself.

The Saintess of the Sky (Cielo).

“My Cielo.”

It was a passive plea for him to know that she belonged to him.