Chapter of Bottled Love: A Priest’s Creed

Later, after we had indulged ourselves in the rare fruits, Korwen was about to return to his work.

“Now then… We got everything urgent dealt with so you two are free to do what you want for the remainder of the day.“

“We didn’t even do anything except sitting…”

“That’s important in and of itself already, you know? Just showing you are present can have a lot of meaning. And seeing Will’s reaction, it sure worked.”

“Speaking of which, he said some odd words at the end…”

“Ah, those, huh…”

Korwen smirked as I recalled how Will had said his goodbyes.

“I think he was a little frustrated.”

“Frustrated?”

“Yes. But how about we talk while we move. I wanted to check up on the injured. Care to join?”

“Nn, well… Sis?”

“I don’t mind either way.”

“Then, we’ll join. I am a little worried about them as well.”

“Ha, that might cure them in an instant if you told them that, I’m sure.”

Would it, though? Well, I guess being told by a girl that they were worried would be quite nice.

“Then, let’s go.”

“Nn.”

We followed Korwen out of the tent, back to the fresh air.

“Back to the topic, though… Let’s see, where should I start… From Will’s point of view, the negotiation didn’t go all that well. He was blinded by the sum at first but he quickly realised that a mere hundred thousand is way too little for an entire fortress. Even if it is an abandoned one.”

“Huh… But why would that frustrate him?”

“Because he is forced to consider the offer nonetheless. I don’t know the exact state of their finances but they can’t be rosy. Lafria is prosperous but it’s not outrageously rich. He was already unhappy enough that he had to increase our reward.”

“Nn… So, because they don’t have enough money he has to consider the transaction simply to have any money at all?”

“Correct. In a way, we’re offering to buy something absolutely useless to him at a time where he needs money. Even if our offer isn’t good by any means, the amount of money he would get is nonetheless substantial.”

A bad deal at a bad time, huh…

“That’s why he was actually relieved when he realised that troubles could pop up with Krohmea and Aldreigh. In that case, the deal was over and done with. But Ruben ruined that. And now he has even more problems to deal with.”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but pity the poor guy a little…

“He might have solved this internal crisis for now, but it’s not over for him yet. He has to fix up the mess left behind. And he doesn’t yet know how the Empire will react either. If he keeps us here, we might become a valuable force in case the war breaks out for real.”

“Mr Captain. I have one question.”

“Shoot, Karen.”

“Didn’t the Empire, or the nobles here, intend to blame us for what has happened at the Hollow fort? Wouldn’t us staying only aggravate them further?”

Right, that was also a thing…

“Ha! You noticed the part that Will missed. That’s right, that could happen. But if it does, then we’ll bail. It’s unfortunate but Lafria is not the only country where we could get ourselves a base. This is a golden opportunity, though, so I’d like it if it works out.”

“I see…”

Bail, huh…

“Either way, we don’t know what the future holds. It all depends on how Will decides. Things rarely go as planned, after all.”

“I feel like it always goes how you plan it, though.”

“I just consider plenty of possibilities and prepare accordingly. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it went according to my plan.”

Sure… If he said it like that, there wasn’t really anything I could argue there… Not like it mattered.

“Still, for now, most things should have been resolved for us and the only thing we have to do is wait for the results.”

“Guess it’ll be less busy again.”

“It will. It’s not like it’s always this busy, you know? These are exceptional circumstances.”

That didn’t change that it had been busy.

“Ah. Over there’s the tent with the injured.”

Korwen pointed at a tent in the distance. It was larger than most other tents and also further away from all others. Several mercenaries ran to and fro the tent. And a man wearing colourful clothes stood next to the entrance, talking with a mercenary. His face was covered by an animal mask with antler-like horns protruding from the top. The white surface was painted with red markings, giving it a tribal impression. The man looked completely out of place here.

“Hey, Yumi, isn’t that…”

“Nn… The one from the festival.”

“Oh right, you were at the festival… And here I was looking forward to your reactions when you saw him.”

“Ahhh…”

Well, we had been startled quite a bit as well at the time.

“Oh? Oh? Oh!”

The masked man spotted us and promptly walked in our direction. Actually, he walked straight towards Karen and me.

“What a joyful surprise, to see the bonded couple once more at this place! The Great Spirits must have guided me here for this!”

Yes, he was walking towards us, completely ignoring Korwen.

“I pray you have been in good health and nurtured your love well!”

“Err, I guess so?”

“Wonderful! Magnificent! The Great Spirits couldn’t be more pleased to hear that.”

I threw a glance at Karen, unsure what to do about this man. Alas, she only threw a confused glance back, just as helpless.

“High Priest, please don’t startle them.”

“Ah! I forgot myself. Apologies, bonded couple. That was rude of me.”

He bowed in apology, lowering his head… and nearly hitting us with those antlers.

“It is just rare for me to witness a couple once our festival has passed. I am beyond pleased to see their relationship going well. And so are the Great Spirits, of course!”

“I guess it is rare for the High Priest out and about… May I ask how the injured are?”

“Ah, right, the injured. I am pleased to tell you that they are fine. Now they require rest as even I cannot relieve them of their fatigue.”

“That’s more than enough. We are in your debt.”

Ah, so it was him, who had healed the injured?

“Hahaha, worry not about it. It was my job, a mutual agreement. The Great Spirits would scorn me if I did not honour it.”

“Nonetheless, you have my thanks.”

“Haha! Your thanks are well-received. If you ever encounter trouble, hesitate not to call upon our aid. We can do nought but pray and heal but that, we do well.”

“... We will.”

Korwen smiled bitterly at the High Priest. Such a service was likely not for free so… Well…

“It brings me joy to hear that. Now, Mr Korwen, I have a presumptuous request, I’d be honoured if you would hear me out.”

“If it is something I can do.”

“It is. I simply wish to take a look around. The Great Spirits demand a lot of my attention so I do not often have the opportunity to learn of matters beyond my abode. It would delight me to learn more about your world.”

“If that’s all, please do not hesitate. Do you need someone to guide you?”

“I would like to enjoy a stroll on my own if it does not impose. Being unrestricted and letting curiosity run its way are part of the charm, would you not agree?”

That somehow elicited a chuckle from Korwen and he readily agreed with a nod.

“You are free to take a look around. I just hope you could try not to interfere with the work.”

“Of course, I shall not. However, I would ask the bonded couple to entertain me before I let my curiosity get the better of me.”

He wanted to… talk with us? He was a nice person and he helped Miss Karker out back at the festival but… He was quite… eccentric.

“As long as you don’t make them hate you.”

“The Great Spirits forbid! I just want to hear a little about them. An old man’s meddling, so to speak.”

“In that case, it’s fine… Yumi, Karen, I’ll go on ahead. We’ll continue our discussion some other time, okay? Behave yourselves.”

“Ah, yes, Captain.”

“Understood, Mr Captain.”

‘Behave yourselves,’ he said. He apparently had quite some respect for the High Priest, considering he didn’t even say that when Will visited.

“A fine man, he is, your captain, is he not?”

“Nn, he is.”

“Mr Captain takes care of us a lot.”

“I see. It is wonderful to see that you are in good hands. Seeing a bonded couple like you two doing well even beyond the festival brings delight to me. This pure happiness makes me wish the festival could be celebrated every day, alas, the Great Spirits would tire of it if we did.”

The High Priest nodded several times, the antlers swishing through the air.

“Mr… High Priest… You remember us?”

“Of course I do! It would be hard not to, for you are the two brave girls, who did not let foul traditions and believes deter them from announcing their love. The Great Spirits and I are truly thankful to you.”

“Is, is that so?”

Once again, the High Priest nodded.

“That it is. For a great many years, a bonding couple like yours did not dare to dance on the day of love, fearing the repercussions and disdain of their peers. To the two who broke the unspoken taboo, I hold nothing but gratitude.”

“Err… We just did it because we wanted to…”

It felt like he was overpraising us and it made me a little uncomfortable, to be honest. We weren’t even going to be here for long. In the first place, we didn’t even know it would cause trouble at the time.

“And that’s how it should be! Love should not be deterred by the little things in the world. Simply enjoying yourself with your partner is all you need. Tell me, my children, do you enjoy being with each other?”

“Nn. Without a doubt.”

“Of course.”

“Then there is nought else you would need to worry about. Care for each other and the Great Spirits will watch over you for sure. They were filled with rapture at this year’s festival. The world is a beautiful place as long as you can see its wonders. This time’s festival has reaffirmed this belief deep in my heart.”

He laughed, sounding genuinely happy. An odd man if I ever met one…

“Love is always such a precious thing. Keep it dear, my children.”

“We will.”

“Nn.”

“That’s reassuring!”

If we could look behind the mask, he surely would have a gentle smile right now, that’s the impression I got.

“My children, may I state a presumptuous request of mine?”

“Nn?”

“I would like to hear your story and how you two have met.”

“Our… story?”

“Yes. Of course, I do not ask you to tell me your secrets, of which I am sure you have many. Especially the little lady. I just want to know how you came together. Could you indulge this old man?”

“That’s…”

I glanced towards Karen, unsure of how to react to this request. He seemed to be aware of my circumstances, at least to a certain degree… But if he didn’t intend to pry...

“That’s… a little embarrassing.”

“Nn…”

“...”

“But…”

Karen returned the glance, accompanied by a wry smile.

“If you are fine… with us…”

“Nn…”

“Ohhh! Truly? This has to be the greatest news I have heard this day. Thank the Great Spirits for this fortune!”

The High Priest clasped his hands and raised them towards the sky, profusely thanking the Great Spirits. Was it… really something to get this happy about?”

“Let’s find a place to sit down! Ahh, how brilliant an idea it was to take along my utensils for notes! How blessed I am!”

We watched on as the High Priest begun to rummage through his belongings.

“He’s… quite energetic…”

“That he is, Yumi… But he doesn’t feel like a bad person.”

“He doesn’t. But he is a little…”

“Eccentric?”

“Nn…”

Karen chuckled and I soon joined her. In the meantime, the High Priest had found his utensils and was watching us, probably wondering what was going.

---

“I see, I see. An interesting tale.”

Around a whole hour later, we had finally finished our storytelling session with the High Priest. He had taken several sheets worth of notes—much to our embarrassment—asked dozens of questions and listened to our ramblings. Reciting the past month like this truly made me realise how much had happened in this little time. It was astonishing.

“I truly thank you for your time, my children. It has been a fascinating time for me.”

The High Priest nodded at us, signifying his gratitude.

“It’s nothing you need to thank us for, Mr High Priest...”

“Hahaha! But it is! It is, dear child.”

“Haaa…”

Karen tilted her head, looking a little uncomfortable as the High Priest continued to give us his thanks. He was… overdoing it a little…

“One should give his thanks where thanks are due, no? The Great Spirits would scorn me if I took your goodwill as granted.”

Well, it was nice being thanked, sure. But he was thanking us way too much… Albeit, even if we told him that, I was sure he’d just continue anyway.

”Mh, this is truly a most wonderful day. I will take care of these notes and the story you have entrusted me with, I swear on my faith in the Great Spirits.”

“I… I see?”

The High Priest was clutching the notes he had taken in his hands, looking at them and nodding several times.

“Err, Mr High Priest? It might be a little late to ask, but why did you want to hear about us?”

“Oh, did I not tell you? It is a bit of a pastime of mine to collect stories like yours. Stories about happiness, love and all the wonders of our beautiful world. Many others may record history as they see fit, but history is inevitably linked with tragedy. And it saddens me beyond belief that it is the tragedy that people remember. That’s why I want to collect the little stories so that even the people after us can remember that there was happiness to be found in our times.”

That was… quite a surprise. I had thought that he just collected them out of curiosity but he actually had such a reason for it.

“Even if someone else records your history, your struggles and the path you take… Even then, at this place, there will be a story about your love. That’s what I want to gift our future generation. An encouragement. a look at our past where no matter the time and age, we can be happy. A look at those who braved the troubles of our time for their own small piece of happiness. It might be a rose-coloured view, but I do not believe that is a bad thing. We mortals forget too easily what it means to be happy. Would you not agree with me, Fairy Lady?”

The High Priest turned to the side, addressing someone hidden behind the tents.

“... I suppose it is hard to disagree.”

“... Miss Elder?”

Our resident elf, the Elder, appeared from beyond the tents, coming towards us.

“It fills me with joy that you agree, Fairy Lady.”

Shaking her head, the Elder smiled wryly at the High Priest.

“You haven’t changed at all, old man.”

“... I have changed plenty, Fairy Lady. So much that you are calling me old already while you remain the same, never-changing beauty of the forest.”

“Stop that. Even I change given time, old man.”

“... I suppose so. I have seen the forest.”

“That so…”

The Elder’s expression darkened at the mention of her former home.

“It is a tragedy. I pray the Great Spirits will punish the evildoers and imprison their souls in the eternal void.”

“... So do I.”

With a sigh, she sat down at the table, next to Karen and me.

“But it has also given my kind an opportunity. The loss of our home is… It’s hard. The Great Tree is gone. Yet, now the elves have the chance to see the world. Fate’s irony, is it not? We will find a new home, plant a new Great Tree, and find new happiness. Of that, I am sure. We have lost our home but not our lives.”

“... I pray you will find your happiness, Fairy Lady.”

“Thank you, old man.”

The High Priest clasped his hands in front of him as if he was in prayer, lowering his head ever so slightly. The Elder smiled gently at this gesture.

“If you want to thank me… Fairy Lady, might I request you to show me around this camp? I fear this old man might get lost, yet my curiosity wants to be satisfied.”

“...”

The Elders eyes widened at his request. And it confused Karen and me as well. He told Korwen he didn’t need anyone showing him around, after all.

“... I guess I can indulge the little boy for once.”

“Truly, today is a most wondrous day... “ muttered the High Priest, a hint of surprise in his voice.

“Yumi, Karen. I hope you won’t mind me taking this bothersome old man off your hands.”

“Not at all, Miss Elder.”

“That’s good.”

Having gotten my reply, the Elder stood up from her spot again. The High Priest followed her suit, but not before turning to us once more.

“Apologies that I have been so bothersome, my children. Alas, I hope you can forgive me one last request.”

“A request?”

“Yes… I know that the mercenaries have been involved with the recent matters of our dear kingdom. And among those matters, there are the Witch’s Worshippers.”

He had wanted to request something in regards to those fanatics?

“If, only if, you continue to run into those Worshippers… You might meet a certain young girl… no, she would be a young woman by now… She is someone driven by revenge… She has put aside the path to her own happiness. Should you ever run into this girl, I hope you could treat her well.”

With a deep bow, he stated this rather… odd request.

“Now, I hope that didn’t sour the mood. It’d be a most unpleasant situation! My dear children, I pray the Great Spirits will guide you along your path. They will watch over you. May we see each other again in good health.”

Not even waiting for our reply, the High Priest turned around and walked off with a ‘Let’s explore this most curious camp!’, leaving us behind in wonder. The Elder quickly ran after him, looking a little exasperated.

“What a weird person…”

“But he wasn’t a bad person, right?”

“Nn… It’s hard to hate him.”

Eccentric and over-the-top but grateful and friendly. A weird person if I ever saw one. But you couldn’t help but feel that he truly meant his words.

“Still… He was a little exhausting to be with…”

“Yumi, you shouldn’t say things like that...”

“But it’s true, right?”

“That is… a different matter.”

So she agreed with me. Really, we hadn’t yet recovered from the ordeal at all… Maybe we shouldn’t have accepted to tell him about us and taken a rest instead… Too late now.

“Anyway… What should we do now, Sis? Want to go back to the wagon?”

“Mm… I don’t know. It shouldn’t be long until dinner is ready, I think?”

“Ahh… Now that you say it.”

After we had returned to the camp we had a little break, then the meeting with Will and now our little talk with the High Priest. Quite a bit of the day had already passed by now. It’d still take a bit before dinner but it’d be hard to really relax until then.

“We could look for the others then… Lily and Rina are still busy with guarding, I guess? We could go and take a look, though… Emily, Sele and Maya are probably somewhere as well, but...”

Those three were energetic. Too energetic. I liked all of them, really, I did. But I just didn’t have the energy right now…

“We’ll probably see those three at dinner..”

“Ahh, now that you say it… What to do…”

I’d really like to take a break before meeting up with those girls.

“Sis, let’s just take a break at the wagon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Nn. We’ll see those three girls at dinner. And I guess Wanda as well. Either way, I’m sure they won’t blame us for wanting some rest first.”

Those three were surprisingly understanding, after all. For which I was quite thankful now. They probably already knew we had come back, after all, yet they didn’t come to our wagon. That alone said a lot already.

“Mm… If you say so.”

“I do say so. You’re tired as well, aren’t you?”

“... I am.”

“See?”

Thankfully, we were free to rest now. Unless Korwen called for us again but I doubted that would happen anytime soon again.

“Ah, but, Yumi… We wanted to check up on the injured.”

“Now that you mention it, I completely forgot… Then, let’s go there first and then get back?”

“Okay.”

With that decided, we made our way to the tent where we parted with Korwen earlier. Much to our surprise, he was still there, together with Ria and discussing something with another woman I had never seen before. She wore a mask, just like the High Priest’s.

“... and enough rest and they should recover fine. Lady Mortas should be able to handle everything else.”

“Mhm. On behalf of the Lomerian Dragon Knights, thank you.”

“This is our job, Sir Korwen. If you ever need our services again, do not hesitate to call on us. Well then. I’ll take my leave.”

The woman with a mask bowed before Korwen and Ria, picked up a brown leather bag and then left. The two watched her leave in silence, so we took the chance to walk up to them.

“Captain. Ria.”

“Mh? Oh, are you two done entertaining the High Priest?”

“You could say that…”

Korwen smiled wryly at our reply. Maybe he had expected that we would have to deal with him for a while.

“I know you were exhausted but making a connection with him is not a bad thing. He’s a very powerful and influential man. Albeit a little touched in the head.”

“... Only a little?”

“Only a little. Be careful what you say, he’s infamous for picking up on things people say about him.”

“Captain, you were the one who started it.”

“Did I now?”

Yes, he did.

“Still, we owe him a lot. They’re all on the way to recovery. They’re asleep now, though.”

“Ahhh… Then we can’t see them…”

“You should check up on them later. They’ll be happy about it.”

“Nn.”

But it was good news that they survived that. Those wounds weren’t a joke.

“Healing magic sounds really impressive. To think they can heal such severe wounds.”

“... It’s one of the most coveted, if not the most coveted, of the magic skills.”

“It’s also… one of the… hardest ones… to learn…” added Ria.

That someone could recover from such severe wounds… Little wonder they were coveted…

“Ria, can you use healing magic?”

“I can… use a little… But I wouldn’t… be able to… heal those… wounds…”

“I see…”

If even Ria could only use a little, then it really had to be quite hard…

“And what about Spirit Magic? It usually can do similar things, can’t it?”

“... It’s not… impossible… but…”

“But?”

Ria’s expression darkened for some reason.

“Spirit Magic… requests a… spirit… to cast the… magic… Spirits… have a deeper… understanding… than we… do… But… their magic… in general… is rough… Too rough… for healing...”

“Ohh…”

A surprising revelation. To think that there actually was something Spirit Magic couldn’t do.

“Spirit Magic… is versatile… but not… all-powerful… Healing… is one thing… it cannot do...”

“Huh…”

Though, with all that said, the only Spirit Magic I had ever seen was the one in the orphanage in the slums… I’d like to see an actual Spirit Magician once. Speaking of which, even though healing wasn’t possible, according to what Mrs Karker told us, something like conception magic existed for them… Mhm, I’d like to ask her about that but… Probably not out in the open where everyone can hear us… Yeah...

“Not like we had to fall back on that. Spirit Magicians are a rarity anyway and you are better off not relying on them except for things that nobody else can do.

“I see.”

That was good to know.

“Well, I still got some stuff to do so I’ll take my leave now. Yumi, Karen, don’t do anything stupid while you’re on break. Oh, and before I forget it: Remember that I told you that we’d celebrate a little after the job?”

“Nn, I do.”

“Good. Depending on when Merim and the others come back, it’ll be either tomorrow or the day after. I’ll tell you more when it’s decided, though. Either way, you two should keep the evenings free.”

“Okay.”

If I recalled correctly, he said it’d be a small celebration with only a few people… I was wondering if it was all right for us to intrude on that but it’d be rude to decline, too. Well, we’d see at the time.

“Ah, and one more thing.”

“Nn?”

“I think Wanda was making clothes for both of you, right?”

“Nn…”

That she was… Although, she had encountered some difficulties with procuring materials and having a change in priorities. We still didn’t really have much in the way of clothing.

“Mh… More formal wear was also among the things you requested, right?”

“... Yes?”

“Good, good… You might need that soon. I’ll inform Wanda about it as well.”

“Huh? Why would we need it?”

Was something going to happen?

“I imagine Will is going to call on us when he decides what to do about our deal. He also has to give us our reward, too. And since it’s a good occasion, you two should come with me.”

“...”

Wait, if Will was going to call on him…

“Err, Mr Captain?”

“Yes, Karen?”

“... Where does Mr Will live again?”

“Hahaha! He has a pretty big place. Look forward to it.”

Oh fucking great…

“Anyway, that was the last thing. Now, I really got things left to do. Enjoy your break.”

“... Thank you.”

“Bye, Mr Captain…”

We watched how Korwen left us behind, laughing all the while at our dumbfounded faces. He seriously pulled us into something…

“Mm… Good luck… Yumi… Karen…”

“Thank you, Ria.”

“Nn… Thanks…”

With a strained smile, Ria patted each of our heads and then left as well. Now, only Karen and I were still standing in front of the tent with the injured… We couldn’t visit them right now, though… So...

“Let’s go back?”

“Nn… Let’s do that…”

Feeling even more exhausted than before, Karen and I went back to our wagon...