Chapter 15: Guid?ance (3)
Lydia quietly observed the boy in front of her.
Theres a saying that those born with pink hair are loved by the Goddess of Love. Of course, it hasnt been officially confirmed by the temple
The rumor had spread because, regardless of age, gender, or race, they all possessed beautiful appearances and strong sexual desires.
If that saying is true, then the boy in front of her must surely be the child most cherished by the Goddess of Love.
His pink hair shone despite the lack of proper care, and he had smooth skin even without applying anything.
Not to mention the neatness of his facial features, and the occasional mischievousness that could pull a womans heart up and down. Usually, he exhibited an unguarded manner that was beyond being easy-going.
Even to Lydia, who had never taken much interest in the opposite sex, Jonah was an incredibly attractive child.
If he aged a bit more and dressed up a bit more, he would be a man fitting the definition of unparalleled beauty.
However, Jonahs greatest peculiarity wasnt his appearance.
Jonah. This is how you eat this.
Yes.
Jonah was dining with Lydia, displaying somewhat clumsy movements.
It is indeed strange.
Jonah might not know the complex etiquette or the order of eating food, but his handling of utensils was oddly proficient.
In truth, Jonah had just been a tonkatsu enthusiast on Earth who couldnt bear going three days without eating tonkatsu but Lydia, unaware of this fact, saw it a bit differently.
He knew the bare minimum of dining etiquette but seemed unfamiliar with expensive food.
This was a characteristic often seen in clergy who considered frugality a virtue.
It was a wild goose chase, but for Lydia, who had already begun to suspect that Jonah was from One Who Devours the Twilight, it was significantly meaningful.
One Who Devours the Twilight.
While all other gods destroyed the world with their folly, they fanatically worshipped the Goddess of Love, who had merely continued to love everything.
They believed without a doubt that only the Goddess of Love was a true god and should be the owner of all miracles in this world.
Thus, they committed any deed they considered necessary, no matter how unethical, without hesitation.
This included dissecting those who had obtained the miracles of a dead god in the labyrinth to steal their power and conducting human experiments to see how far one could still be considered human, as the love of their goddess fell upon all humans
Then there were various studies targeting those with pink hair, who were believed to be favored by the goddess.
They did all of this because they believed it was a way to repay the love given by the Goddess of Love, so they never hesitated or pondered.
Naturally, the orthodox religion that believes in the Goddess of Love strongly opposed this, declaring One Who Devours the Twilight to be a heretical group.
Many nations and adventurer guilds also define them as an extremely dangerous criminal group, hunting them down at every opportunity.
They had practically turned the entire world into an enemy. The reason why One Who Devours the Twilight still managed to survive and spread their infamy was simple.
Its because they have their base not in the overworld, but in a labyrinth.
And Jonah was a child who had been kidnapped during his childhood and raised in a branch of One Who Devours the Twilight or so Lydia thought.
Three years ago, Lydia did not directly experience the incident that led Ellie to retire from adventuring. At the time, she lacked the skills to participate in the subjugation operation.
However, she could infer the general circumstances from what she heard from Ellie and her own investigations.
Ellie, along with other high-ranking adventurers, embarked on a subjugation mission targeting a branch where two main experiments were being conducted.
The first experiment questioned whether it was possible to control monsters, imbued with madness, using fragments from the corpse of the God of Madness.
The second experiment pondered, Does the goddess love even a child who does not know love?
The former was dismissed as mere folly by the madmen, but the nature of the latter experiment was shocking enough to spark widespread discussion at the time.
Initially, they would bring in a child young enough not to remember being loved and subject them to thorough brainwashing.
Yes?
When you defeated the Twin Daggers Clan leader, why did you pretend that you didnt do it?
Cough cough!
He must not have expected to be asked such a question. Jonah hurriedly drank some water to clear his cough, then laughed incredulously.
What? Were you playing with your food because you were curious about something like that?
Answer me.
Well its not that big of a deal, but
Jonah, looking a bit embarrassed, averted her gaze and continued,
I really like salvation stories.
Salvation stories?
Yes. You know them, right? A man kidnapped by a villain. And the hero who makes a cool entrance to save him. A powerful first encounter. The feelings that start from compassion and admiration develop into love as they get to know each other deeply Its a common and clich story, but its romantic, isnt it?
Im not sure. I dont really read that genre of books.
Ill recommend you some good ones next time. Anyway, my first meeting with Miss Lydia was like the beginning of a salvation story, so I just tried saying something that someone who was kidnapped might say.
Salvation.
Lydia pondered Jonahs words. Could it be that Jonah sees Ellie not as an enemy of his faith but as a savior?
If Lydia could see into peoples hearts, she might have noticed that Jonah was seething with anger as he recalled the hate comments from his past life about being a salvation story one-trick pony Unfortunately, Lydia does not possess such a skill.
Come to think of it, Senior Ellie did decide to trust Jonah in the end.
It didnt matter what his true identity was. What did he say, that he wont doubt the continuous kindness shown to him?
Suddenly, Lydia realized that she had been too obsessed with Jonahs past.
What kind of person was the Jonah I saw in person?
He tried to understand Ellie and Lydias feelings, attempted to keep to a moral line even with his revenge, and stared at her chest for some reason, but asked to be petted with a giggling smile.
Of course, he was a bit of a kleptomaniac, and a bit of a psychopath, and liked to play with womens hearts, but
Wait, the problems are too severe.
Even if Jonahs past is what she thought it was, he had become a much better person now. Perhaps, in the distant future, he might become an even better person.
But I cant just leave him be.
Indeed, Jonah needs someone to teach him proper common sense and a way of life.
And that was supposed to be her role, having taken on the task of guiding Jonah.
Jonah. Lets go for dessert after we finish eating.
Hm? Sure, if Miss Lydia wants to.
Lets go shopping too.
That would be perfect for digestion.
Jonah nodded nonchalantly. At the sight, Lydia smiled slyly.
I still have a lot of money left from Senior Ellie. After making a round at the nearby dessert shop, then fitting some weapons at the forge, and then putting it all on his debt Yes. I can extend the period of my guidance.
After all, a few months would not be enough to teach Jonah about a normal life.
Lydia finished making her resolution to take responsibility(?) for Jonahs life.
Unaware of the tragedy born from deep misunderstandings and a strong sense of duty, Jonah secretly switched his and Lydias steak plates while she was still lost in deep thought.
He was a growing boy.
