Why are you even asking?

Hraesvelgr’s movements had stopped.

This ridiculous monster that had been floating in the air and spewing biting wind despite having its entire body torn apart, as if just having fragments was enough, suddenly halted.

I stood there, alert for quite some time, worried that something else might happen, but all I could confirm was that the monster had completely died.

Just like that?

Had it finally reached its limit?

Unfortunately, having witnessed Hraesvelgr’s seemingly bottomless reserves of strength, I couldn’t bring myself to think that way.

“……”

My gaze naturally turned toward the area inside Nina’s barrier.

The existence of the squirrel that was with her flashed through my mind.

“No.”

And her words also crossed my thoughts.

-Perhaps. Or it might be about cutting away lingering regrets and stubbornness.

-Vicarious Saint, do you know about spiritual beasts?

-Spirits, when they die, often gravitate toward environments similar to their own nature.

-What we call spiritual beasts are born from these graveyards of dead spirits.

Her answer to my question about whether she had called me here to deal with the trials—that it was about cutting away lingering regrets and stubbornness.

The way she evaded talking about the squirrel.

The birth process of spiritual beasts.

Although I was already piecing together Nina’s conniving actions in my mind, it was still too early to jump to conclusions.

“…Let’s go to Hecate first.”

Whether she deceived us or not would soon be revealed.

*     *      *

The wind had ceased.

Ratatoskr’s revenge plot had come to an unexpectedly hollow end.

The fake spiritual beasts he had nurtured for so long had all returned to dust, and the power he had left was now as insignificant as a strand of fur.

Yes, Ratatoskr had no power left now. No power to take revenge on them. And…

“Nina. I had hoped my prediction was wrong, but it seems I was right.”

No power to protect himself either.

Ratatoskr didn’t react to the gun barrel pointed at him.

He was in a state where he had lost everything, even the energy to vent his anger—truly without any will or purpose to live.

It didn’t matter if he died. Ratatoskr’s heart had died along with Rosaria on the day she passed away.

“My companions nearly died. I even lost an arm.”

While the situation with the other trials might be different, Lost and his group had to cross the line between life and death multiple times.

From the beginning, if their first attempt had been blocked, forget about failure—they would have had to flee for their lives.

And the most dangerous moment was when they put all their strength into cutting off Hraesvelgr’s head.

“We had to fight without knowing the most important fact, and this is the result.”

Is it all fine because everything turned out well in the end?

If Titan hadn’t arrived, they would have all died miserable deaths.

The end doesn’t justify the unfair process.

“Do you know what I heard when I first asked Hecate after the situation calmed down?”

“……”

“That these monsters don’t possess even a shred of soul.”

They were puppets from the beginning.

Just output devices that expelled wind as they were programmed to do.

Hecate said she beat Nidhogg to dust several times over even though it kept getting up.

Pinocchio reportedly vaporized Vedrfolnir’s entire body.

These were opponents that couldn’t be defeated without going to such extremes.

Nina, the Saintess of Earth, knew all of this yet stood by and watched the current situation unfold.

“Do you have any excuses?”

“None. It was all my selfishness, and it was because I deliberately withheld information that the Vicarious Saint and everyone were put in danger. This was all caused by my selfishness.”

“Then you wouldn’t stop me if I were to kill the source of the trial?”

“That’s right. However…”

Nina shook her head. There was nothing wrong with what Lost said.

In the end, it was because of Nina’s selfishness, hoping that Ratatoskr would change.

If she had revealed beforehand that Ratatoskr was the source of the trial, Lost would have tried to eliminate him.

There was no need to take the difficult path; they could have just dealt with Ratatoskr directly.

But Nina didn’t want that. She wanted Ratatoskr to stop. That’s why she forced this situation. To physically make him stop.

She decided to bury the entities of the <Wind’s Tomb>, which were essentially Ratatoskr’s power itself.

Even while being aware of the damage that would follow.

“I want you to know this much. While I may have used you, I never intended for you to face death.”

As Nina finished speaking, greenish patterns appeared above the bodies of Lost and his companions.

A barrier technique inscribed by Nina, the Saintess of Earth, as a precaution.

It was essentially a miniature bunker with defensive capabilities equal to the barrier protecting Alfheim.

“Of course, that means nothing in the current situation. Yes, what I want to say is not about forgiveness or leniency, but…”

Because if she didn’t speak now, she felt she might never get the chance.

Nina faced Lost while cradling Ratatoskr, who was still crying endlessly, in her arms.

As a result, the gun barrel that had been pointing at Ratatoskr was now directed at her, but the elves didn’t stop it.

It meant that those who should be protecting Nina were observing the current state.

They had all been in on it together.

They had all been preparing for this moment.

“If you’re going to punish him, then I deserve punishment as well.”

“Are you trying to threaten me? You must know why I came to find you, and yet you’re doing this?”

“All of this happened because of Ratatoskr’s selfishness, and I, who stood by and watched his rampage, should be judged by the same offense, shouldn’t I?”

“……”

If punishment must be given, then the crimes should be judged equally.

Such selfish and absurd words surprisingly weighed heavily.

What Ratatoskr did deserves punishment.

Likewise, Nina, who knew everything but just watched, deserves the same.

But now, he was hesitating. Just the fact that he was hesitating spoke volumes about his inner thoughts.

‘I don’t want to kill Nina. I need her power.’

The crime is clear, but he also wants to borrow her power for the future.

This, too, is selfishness.

And now, a fundamental question inevitably arose.

‘Who truly has the right to punish a crime?’

The most important aspect of administering justice is fairness.

But does Lost in his current state have the right to judge?

When he’s hesitating even to punish Nina? It’s not fair.

If punishment is to be given, it should be to both Nina and Ratatoskr.

If mercy is to be shown, it should be the same for both.

“……”

And the biggest issue.

Why is Lost trying to deal with this incident only through punishment?

He had already had a similar experience.

He had shouldered Lilia’s sins and created a result that was acceptable to both Rubia and her.

He might be able to do the same this time.

But why didn’t he?

‘Ratatoskr has already crossed the line. He’s killed hundreds of people. Showing him leniency would…’

No. That’s just an excuse.

There’s no need to necessarily impose the extreme punishment when dealing with a crime.

To begin with, death wouldn’t even be a ‘punishment’ for the current Ratatoskr.

What meaning is there in giving death to someone who has already given up on life?

“Lost. I’m okay.”

“…Línea.”

Lost came to his senses at Línea’s sudden words.

Only then did he realize that he had been looking at Línea.

He found the reason.

Línea replied with a tilted head as if wondering what was going on, but Lost could only sigh.

“I’m not hurt at all, so maybe we could give them a chance?”

The reason he hadn’t been fair. He understood now.

He also understood why he hadn’t wanted to show mercy. He had changed.

“Damn it…”

His feelings toward Línea had changed. From a mere companion to something more.

That’s why when she said she was okay, Lost finally felt the heat in his head subsiding.

“Saintess of Earth, Nina. I came here seeking your help. In fact, thanks to you, Titan was able to gain power. I am clearly in your debt.”

It’s not just about the crimes.

Just because there’s harm doesn’t mean the benefits disappear.

If he wants to punish a crime from a personal standpoint, he must make that clear.

“But because of your inaction, hundreds of people died. How many of them do you think were innocent?”

There must have been quite a few humans who died after being deceived by Hraesvelgr.

That’s definitely a crime.

“Nevertheless, punishing that isn’t my role. It’s too big an issue for me, who can no longer make a fair judgment, to handle.”

But Lost isn’t their representative. He’s merely an agent who preaches the will of the gods.

Someone who, at present, cannot make the fairest judgment.

So claiming to punish all of it would be arrogant.

This crime should be judged not by an individual but by a representative of a group.

It should be a formal judge who can deliver a fair verdict.

So all Lost can decide on now is this incident alone.

“Therefore, I’ll only draw a conclusion about this incident. Línea, one of the parties who suffered damage, has asked for leniency.”

“Ah, then I’m fine with it too.”

Claire hastily adds as soon as Lost finishes speaking.

“That makes two now. If both of them have forgiven, I can’t stubbornly insist either.”

She seemed to just want this situation to end as quickly as possible.

“Then the conclusion has been reached. We forgive Ratatoskr. However, his crimes don’t disappear, nor do the resentments of the innocent people who died because of him, so I believe he needs sufficient guidance.”

In the end, Lost lowered his gun.

It was a judgment a cleric could make between individuals.

“We’ll discuss this again later.”

While it might not be expressed as a punishment, Ratatoskr would definitely have to face some kind of outcome.

*     *      *

After the grueling battle and confrontation with Nina.

We gathered again at the cabin.

The matter concerning Nina and Ratatoskr is on hold for now. Although my companions and I have forgiven that monster, we can’t just leave it be.

There must be at least minimal measures to prevent the same thing from happening again.

Of course, the first thing to do is…

“Línea, unnie, my arm is bending in a weird direction. It’s fascinating.”

“Ah…w-wait a minute. First, we need to splint it and treat it…”

Taking care of our wounds.

Usually, Hecate would be bragging about her achievements, but given the severity of the injuries, she seemed to be showing consideration today.

Thanks to that, we could quietly continue our treatment and rest among ourselves.

“But if we’re talking about treating wounds, shouldn’t Lost go first?”

“I tried to say that too… but Lost was insistent on treating Claire first.”

“That kind of concern is a bit irritating. Since when were we so close that you’re pretending to care now?”

I can hear everything, you little brat.

The reason I’m not getting treated first is because it’s more efficient this way.

Looking at the wounds, mine are more severe.

I took Hraesvelgr’s cold wind head-on and even sacrificed an arm trying to block what seemed to be his ultimate attack.

But there’s a crucial difference between Claire and me.

“I can heal myself, and my flesh won’t necrotize in the first place.”

The point is that I’m not human, but an apostle of the gods. The wounds I received from Hraesvelgr were already treated at that time, and reattaching my arm isn’t urgent.

After all, the flesh of an apostle doesn’t decay.

So it’s only natural to prioritize Claire, who’s still in her growing years.

And well, there are other reasons too.

“There, all done.”

“Whew, then I’m going to bed. I’ll see you at dinner… no, Línea-unnie, you should just rest today too.”

“Hmm, I’ll see how it goes.”

Claire trudges off to her room with her exhausted body.

Titan mentioned that he had more to discuss with Nina, so he wouldn’t be returning to the cabin today.

“Now it’s Lost’s turn.”

For scratches or ordinary external injuries, simple treatment would suffice. But for fractures or defects, a doctor’s help is essential.

Recklessly applying holy magic could lead to a disaster.

Like bones reconnecting in the wrong direction.

If that happens, they would need to be broken and reset.

No sane person would want to go through that process.

“Hmm, I think… it should be attached like this. The direction, angle, and position should be right, so now Lost, you can use holy magic to attach it.”

“Really? Thanks.”

The fact that she can do what I can’t is significant. With her around, I can fight without worrying about losing limbs.

“Hmm…”

I use holy magic to connect the bone and flesh. It’s not completely attached yet, so like Claire, I’ll need a splint and rest.

I clenched and unclenched my hand to check the sensation.

Yes, this should be fine.

“Huh?”

With my arm reattached, I embraced Línea, who had been grinning from ear to ear.

I just felt like it.

I was anxious. I wanted to feel her survival, even like this.

If Master’s slash hadn’t come flying in the middle, I would have lost her.

To the cold wind, no less. I would have had to watch her entire body being torn apart.

Just thinking about it made me so anxious that I couldn’t bear it.

“W-wait, have I finally pushed that person out of your heart, Lost?”

Startled by my sudden embrace, she carefully asks.

Her voice was filled with immense expectation.

“No.”

“I see…”

This time, her disappointment was evident. Then she started twitching her ears as if something was strange.

She didn’t say it directly, but I could guess what she was thinking. She was probably wondering why I embraced her if that wasn’t the case.

Her reaction made me smile. Yes, I had to admit it now.

“You’ve found your way in.”

She had become someone special to me.

Just like the Saintess, whom I still can’t forget.

When did it start? Why did it happen?

Because of the pure affection she shows me? No, perhaps it was from the beginning. Maybe I had already experienced my first love before my regression, captivated by her brave figure as she protected us from bandits.

Yes, that’s probably why I visited her empty clinic every day.

That’s why I tried to deceive my feelings by deliberately ignoring her death, which had left me heartbroken.

Is that why? This time, I couldn’t deceive myself. Her potential death flashed before my eyes, making it impossible to control my emotions.

As I once told her before.

I’m a sincere man who drags out his previous love.

It seems I’ve held onto my feelings for her even after more than 10 years.

“Hmm… for now, I’ll be satisfied with that. It means I’ve at least claimed some space.”

Línea seemed to ponder the meaning of my words, then began to embrace me back.

We spent some time holding each other.

Perhaps because we were in an embrace, I could feel her quickened heartbeat.

No, it might be mine. Or perhaps both.

“Lost.”

“Yes?”

“Should we… kiss?”

Línea, who had buried her face in my chest, lifted her head and smiled brightly.

Seeing her flushed expression, I could tell how much courage it took for her to say those words.

So I replied to her somewhat comical yet adorable appearance.

“Why are you even asking?”

I kissed Línea.