That God and A Story

The Saint barged into my tent after dinner.

Unamused, I looked up at her. "Saint, your Coren would get the wrong idea."

She sat on my poor, overused bed made out of feathers from wild game. "No, they won't." But they would, surely. "Would you like to explain what you meant earlier?"

"I said what I said, didn't I? Not to listen to them while we're travelling. It's dangerous." I shook my head and checked our rations, my ingredients—we could make them last a few more days. Hopefully, I'll be able to hunt more once we stop by to pick up her other Coren. Speaking of, I'd have to prepare more food for everyone in the future . . .

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed my head and turned me to face her. I froze at our proximity and stopped breathing, staring wide-eyed at her. This was the first time we'd been this close, and I could see flecks of color in her eyes, gold like sunlight.

From the time I've spent with her, she had mostly been amiable and soft-spoken, vulnerable, sometimes mischievous and indulgent, but when it came to dealing with demons, when it came to our roles, she's really firm and dedicated, brave and resilient.

A true hero, unlike me.

"Saint, let go—"

She squeezed my head, and I stopped at the pressure, gulping. "You know that's not what I'm asking, and I know you meant more. So tell me, or we'll be here all night."

I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose, trying to calm my heart from leaping out of my chest. "Fine, I'll tell you, but let me go first."

"No."

Stubborn woman. I clicked my tongue and opened my eyes again to stare at her. "I know you can communicate with Raede. I told you not to listen to them earlier because I'd rather they talk to us at the same time."

Freeing my head from her grasp, she frowned at me. "But they can only do that through me."

I really didn't want to say this, but I had to. "I have their mark. They're just showing their favoritism by talking to you all the time."

She frowned even more and stars flickered in her eyes. "How? Only Saints have that . . ."

"I was appointed by Raede themself, so I have it." Well, it was true, but I can't possibly tell her how that happened. I'll leave that up to Raede. "Tell them to talk to me too."

Pursing her lips, she stared at my face intently, as if she's thinking about something—perhaps whether to punch me for being disrespectful to Raede or not. I tried my best not to squirm under her gaze, but I ended up looking at the spot above her ear.

"What is it?"

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

"Their mark. Show me."

I raised an eyebrow. "How bold of you, Saint, but it's inappropriate for someone like you. I can tell you where it is, though."

"Then where?"

I tapped my chest. "Right here."

Her face pinked, then twisted, and she closed her eyes. "Okay, fine, if you say so. My Lord wants to talk to you now, so try to concentrate. Meditate."

Even though I was a little skeptical, I still did what I was told, only because the mark on my chest started glowing and tingling, and I closed my eyes. The Saint had more experience with this . . . talking to gods thing, so I decided to trust her on this one, and I concentrated despite not knowing what to concentrate on.

Should I just think about that god, Raede?

The last time I saw them was years ago, after I died. They were humming while tending to a garden with . . . things. I couldn't remember whether they were trimming flowers or something else, because there was nothing noteworthy about it.

I remembered not taking them seriously when they introduced themself to me—they looked as normal as a person would be, with pitch-black hair and smooth skin, and they were shorter than me, but only when they turned around did I stop to reconsider.

Raede, although I'm loathe to admit, was otherworldly. Their aura was unmistakably deific, and everything bent to their touch, but that wasn't the reason why I had finally listened to them.

Their eyes held galaxies I could never comprehend, birthed and dying and swirling in the endless void of their gaze, peering deeply into me and into my core. I knew then that the figure before me was something akin to an omniscient, omnipotent god, and no matter what I did, I could never hide from them.

They were the beginning and the end, and if they wished it, I would cease to exist.

Amusement had flitted across their face when they approached me, before cupping my face with a soft hand, as if I was something precious. My heart fluttered, breath stuttering in anticipation, and their hand dropped to my chest, making me shiver as their smile dazzled me to speechlessness.

"Welcome, Junpei. You're finally here." Gently, they took me by the hand and sat me down on a chair, the table in front of me laden with delicious sweets. Had they always been here? I never noticed.

Then I saw the confused Saint staring at me, and I quickly realized I wasn't reminiscing.

We were already in their domain.

I heard a giggle to my right. "My, Junpei. I didn't know you had thoughts like that."

Willing my face to remain neutral, I tried to focus on the strange images in front of me, wavering like mirages. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course. You've always been a man of . . . well, you're not exactly an oversharer, isn't that right, my dearest Estelle?"

The Saint's face twitched and looked at her patron, beseeching them to shut up. "My Lord."

Another laugh came from Raede. "Oh, you two are no fun." They reached for a teacup, and it shifted multiple times before it settled on a vague, cake-shaped item the god put into their mouth. "Did you finally realize you could talk to me, Junpei? Or," they cut in, before I could talk, "did you want a reassurance for after you've done your end of our deal?"

I poked at the weird mass in front of me. "If you knew, then why ask?"

Raede blinked. "But this is how conversations work, no?"

"You already knew what I wanted to say."

"That's true, but I wanted to hear it from you anyway!"

Sighing, I glanced at the Saint's pinched expression, before turning to the god again, their starry eyes winking at me. "I had to talk to you because it was time to do so. Wasn't that why you decided to distract the Saint while we were travelling?"

Raede pouted. "I wasn't distracting her, and you'd protect her when she's in danger, right? Just like what you did a while ago! The line you said at the end was amazing too. Ah, I wish I could read it again . . . you two make the most spectacular image. Both of you are like the main couple in a love story!"

"Raede."

"Boo, alright," they huffed at me, but soon turned towards the bemused Saint. Giggling, Raede caressed her cheek, and I saw her lean into the touch, to which he sighed fondly. "My dearest Estelle, since my Junpei is such a pooper, why don't I tell you a story?

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy who felt alone in the world. His parents claimed to love him, but they never gave him the care and attention a child needed, and in the end, he was left to a stranger who raised him as her own.

"The little boy grew up alongside his caretaker, but as soon as he had his first taste of freedom, he died so suddenly," Raede continued empathically, patting their Saint's head, whose eyes flickered to me. I crossed my arms as if that could hide myself from her. "While he had everything in the world, he never felt like he had done what he loved the most—to live freely and happily, unburdened by anything."

I thought they would just tell her my story, but when I saw the growing mischief on their face, I stood up from my seat and reached out to stop them—too late, I felt the distance between us widen, like time slowed for me, and I can't catch up to them.

"When he died," Raede cheerfully added, "a god heard his prayers and granted him a second life with a condition. Now, he's tasked with defeating the Demon King with the god's pretty Saint, and when he finally completes his mission, he will get to live happily ever after with the pretty Saint!"

Maras. I had forgotten this god was a pain to deal with.