Chapter 105 – Chapter 101 – The Saint and the Realm of Wishes (2)

The party who reached the end of the stairs looked a little tired.
It was a short but quite challenging journey.

The road itself was not difficult.
Like the way downstairs, the stairs going up were very flat and safe.

If anything else, the number of people increased.

Climbing while controlling many children, everyone had to wipe the sweat from their foreheads before checking the new opening.

“Is this the entrance?”

Hernán looked at the door in front of him while holding a Sharpie and Poti’s first hand in each arm.
The sharpie who came next to him nodded and opened his mouth.

“It’s big. It’s a much bigger door than the one downstairs.”

A massive stone door twice the height of a grown man.
It seems a bit difficult for kids to open.

The splendid reliefs decorating the door are also the first to see.
If there is anything similar, the ancient ruins you saw during your adventure?

Hernán put down the children in his arms and grabbed his doorknob.
The handle was also made of marble, but unexpectedly it was not cold.
Rather, it gave off a slightly warm feeling.

In addition, a strange energy was transmitted through his hands.
It felt familiar, yet unfamiliar.

“Hernan.”

The saintess who had been watching quietly called him.
Holding onto the doorknob, Hernán looked back at him.

She called him and Marina opened her mouth, looking at the huge door.

“No. Let’s go in.”

She took her eyes off her door and glanced at the other women.
Perhaps it was a burdensome thing to hear from others.

Hernan was silent and turned his gaze back to the door.
He gave strength, anticipating the heavy weight.

However, the door was pushed easier than expected.
The large marble slab opened quickly, as if someone was helping.

“Ah… !”

A bright light that suddenly pours down.
Not only Hernan, but all the other women and children hastily blindfolded.

Hernan, who was standing at the very front, felt that the light was more familiar than he thought.
And he felt nostalgic warmth too.

“Isn’t this sunlight?”

Silnia’s startled cry was heard.
Hernan also quickly adjusted his eyes to the intense light with a thought.

As his vision gradually recovered, he hurried to his feet.

Sunlight entering this enclosed space may mean that it is a space connected to the outside.
If so, there is a possibility of finding a way to escape without having to achieve the unreasonable condition of matching 25 people.

Feeling as hopeful as the intense sunlight, he saw where the light poured.

“Sky!”

Blue sky and white clouds.
Floating very high

Really high.

“You are too tall.”

Potty came in after him and looked up, covering the light with his hand.
As she said, the place where the sun was pouring was really far away.

The ceiling was so high that it could almost be said to be the tip of the spire.
It was covered with a huge screen that seemed to be made of glass.

“It must be difficult to go out on our own at this rate.”

Sharpie clicked her tongue briefly.
A slight disappointment passed among the people at the realistic yet cold evaluation.

But Hernán found other things to temper his disappointment.

“Everyone, don’t just look at the sky, look down.”

The women who had been staring at the sky turned their gazes downward.
There was a large and beautiful garden spread out there.

Severe tension and anxiety.
Unlike the lower floors stained with memories of conspiracies and schemes, this is still a space where you can rest innocently.

It’s a good place to spend time with children who are new to sunlight.

“Shall we take a break? Or you can each look around the place you want to see.”

As if it was strange, Hernán recommended it again, covering the eyes of his children who kept looking at the sun.

The women followed him into the middle of the garden in the warm sunlight.

* * *

The women who were initially gathered soon dispersed to wherever their children wanted to go.
All the babies were still dazed, with only little Karine sitting on a long chair in the garden clearing.

When Hernán saw her 100-day-old babies basking in her sunlight, he approached her side.

“I’m covering the kids’ faces with this.”

She handed over the robe he was wearing, and Carine looked away helplessly.

“Huh…”

She graciously took the clothes and placed them over her twin’s heads.
Hernan glanced at the ceiling and said something simple.

“Does it look like the southern region?”

“South… ?”

The hero with a puzzled expression looked at Hernán when he pointed to the ceiling.
She looked at it blankly and said as if she didn’t understand.

“What are you talking about?”

“Looking at where the sun rises, it looks like the southern region.”

The sun was falling towards the horizon on a slightly off track from the top of the sky.
It wasn’t until after hearing Hernan’s explanation that Karine remembered what she had learned from the tutor.

“… There must be some distance from the kingdom.”

The kingdom is relatively north.
At least, the southernmost point is the southern elven forest, Silnia’s hometown.

It is also an evergreen forest that does not change its foliage, but it does not receive the hot sunlight like here.

“Okay. It seems to be closer to the realm of rhubarb or demons.”

“I see…”

Carine lowered her head slightly.
She spoke in a faint voice as she adjusted her position as she held her baby.

“L… No, Hernan.”

Hernan hesitated for a moment.
It had been a very long time since the name Hernan came out of Karine’s mouth as a title for him.

Even when her brainwashing magic was revealed, she was the one who didn’t give up even when Ernan told her not to call her by her nickname.
However, when the official name was suddenly called, Hernan couldn’t help but be a little embarrassed.

“Why?”

She answered briefly to hide her surprise as much as possible.
Carine said grimly, still with her head down.

“With me… Do you want to walk here?”

“Let’s go for a walk?”

“Huh. You can’t do it if you don’t like it.”

After thinking for a moment, Hernán looked around.
Sharpie and Potty were laughing and talking with the children in the flower garden together.

Silnia was dozing with her child in the afternoon sunlight, and the saintess was staring at something on the wall opposite her entrance.

No one seemed to care about this.

“Let’s walk.”

Hernán stretched out his hand.
Carine briefly brought life back to her eyes and tried to reach out her hand holding her baby.

But soon, her blue eyes turned cloudy again, and instead of her arms, she handed her the baby.
Hernan felt awkward and accepted his brother and sister.

After a while, the two men and women walked out of sight of other women as much as possible.
Of course, there was no conversation between the two.

I was just basking in the sunlight that I hadn’t seen in two years, and I was just trying to recall the memories of the rain and wind, which I had no memory of.

“Hernan.”

Hernán winced inward once again and turned her head to Karine.
She has well-paved paths and well-kept gardens.
And she said slowly, looking at the huge stone wall.

“The appearance is very different, but…”

He blurts out his words in a grave tone.
Hernán waited for her words against the background of her twin sister’s chirping.

Carine continued her broken words, not seeing Hernán.

“Isn’t it similar to the capital city? Where we grew up.”

Capital?
Hearing the sudden name, Hernán looked at the side of the promenade.

“The flowers are different, the landscaping is different, but the atmosphere is the same.”

Karine added as she moved her weak steps.

Hearing that far, Hernán definitely felt familiar.
He and Karine often took walks around the capital as they do now.

Both were natives of the area, and were not in a position to enjoy noble hobbies like other aristocrats.
That’s why we often went for walks that didn’t cost a penny, and we often shared our thoughts.

Until Karine is declared a princess.

“It’s a pretty old memory.”

Hernán recalled the streets of the capital that the two of them had walked on, and he hugged the children who came out between him and Carine.

Children similar to Karine but with a different smell.
Hernán continued to walk the trail, smelling the scent with each breath.

Carine said nothing more and she continued to move her feet.

Every time she walks with her in her stride, memories of the two of them seep through.
A time when I was young that I thought I had forgotten.

Hernán felt a bit embarrassed and tried to push the memory away.
However, once a thought came to his mind, he did not want to leave it easily, and continued to stimulate his brain.

“In the capital, there are many gloomy days, so there are few sunny days like this, right?”

Karine also seemed to recall her memories.
However, there was a longing in that voice, but it was also mixed with a heavy depression.

“So, when the weather clears, make sure to sneak out of the house…”

“Hernan!”

Carine’s words were cut off by a sudden shout.
Hernán turned his face away from the old memories still lingering in his mind.

“How about this?”

A sharpie smiled broadly and approached with her daughter.
Beside her, Potty was following her hesitantly.

“Dad! My hair, flowers!”

Ella, Hernán’s firstborn, came running with a wreath on her head.

Potty next to the demon king also patted the child with a flower decoration on her ear and made her run to her father.

Poti’s son, who was embarrassed for a while, ran to Hernán, and he hurriedly bent his knees to meet his eye level.

“Did your mother make it?”

“Flower!”

Ella showed off her flowers with her sister Una.

“It’s pretty! Una is pretty too.”

Hernán sincerely praised the child.
While Hernan was focusing on the children, Sharpie and Potty approached.

“Is it good for a walk?”

“It is a surprisingly large space. It was well managed.”

Hernán met her eyes with Sharpie.
The demon king smiled and flipped the hair caught in the horn.

“Do you like it because you can get sunlight? The Demon God is so considerate!”

Hernán laughed bitterly at Shapi’s joke-like remark.
Before he knew it, he was fully focused on the children and women who were in front of him.

“L! You are walking, would you like to walk with us?”

Meanwhile, Potty suggested that when his son returned, he would walk cautiously with him.
At those words, Hernán glanced at Carine.

“… I’ll just go in.”

She gave the sharpie in front of Hernán a few anxious glances before stepping back.

Hernan felt regret for not knowing her reason and contemplated whether to call her up.
However, at the cry of the sharpie’s daughter, he finally averted his eyes.

“Dad! Walking!”

The child stretched out her hand and grabbed Hernán’s clothes, laughing briskly.

“Good!”

Hernán finally spoke with Carine, who went down the stairs alone.

“Okay. Let’s go round with Daddy.”

“And!”

Sharpie followed him, laughing.

* * *

The sun disappeared quickly.
As much as the light only enters through the glass on the ceiling, it created the effect of the sun setting quickly.

As mealtime approached, Hernando took the women and children and tried to descend quickly.

“Holy Lady! Come down.”

Hernán sent all the other women and children down and approached the last remaining Marina.

“Saint?”

But Marina was silent as she looked at the wall she had been looking at since daytime.

“What are you doing? Lenny seems tired too, so let’s go down.”

Hernán urged, seeing her daughter sleeping on Marina’s back.

“Hernan.”

The saintess turned her face, which was shaded by the sunset light.

“Would you like to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner with me?”

“Suddenly? The food is almost ready, so all you have to do is heat it up…”

“Because I kind of know what I’m doing here.”

Hernan shut his mouth.
On the other hand, the saintess opened her mouth after seeing that everyone had gone down.

“This is a temple.”

As she slowly looked around her garden, she looked a bit nervous.
Hernán felt that she was also nervous and listened to her saintess’ words.

“Temple… It is also a temple for the old gods.”