Chapter 20

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Chapter 20

Lucas seemed to be good at hitting with his bare hands. The man who was about to attack Lucas from behind collapsed sideways with a loud sound.

Lucas tied his hair as if nothing had happened, and I waited for him.

Now it was really time to go back. After experiencing an accident in the crowded square and even in the outskirts of the city, I became very tired.

Seriously, it’s not even something like ‘Selena’s chaotic day’ today…

“Let’s go the fastest way, the fastest way.”

“Then it would be the fastest to pass through the square. To get to the wagon storage from the outskirts, you have to turn around.”

Oh, you mean there? That place where I became the Plaza’s madman? However, physical fatigue took precedence over such thoughts.

After all, the people in the square wouldn’t be related to me anymore, I supposed. Earlier, I did something crazy, so I was just a little… I didn’t usually care about people, anyway.

“Let’s just go there.”

Fortunately, the people in the plaza didn’t pay me that much attention, apparently. I was drenched in exhaustion, and while I was walking, my knees started to hurt. It must have been the aftermath of breaking the cane earlier. I was so out of my mind that I didn’t have the time to focus on the pain, but now that it was time to go back, it seemed that the pain came rushing in. After realizing it, I started to feel more pain.

‘Originally, it doesn’t hurt as long as you’re not aware that you cut yourself.’

I took one more step, thinking about what to do with the pain that was rising to the point that I could no longer walk.

And at the same time… my body sank.

Lucas, who was walking beside me a little further apart, caught me, surprised, but the injured knee had already reached the floor.

“Ah.”

“Did you get hurt?”

Lucas asked me while raising my body. I shared my condition with the person whom I had to walk with.

“Yes. I think I was smashed on the knee.”

I was moved to a plaza bench where there were not many people, with my feet almost off the ground; one might’ve said ‘support’ but it was almost as if I was levitating.

“How are you?”

“I think I was hit.”

“And how do you think it happened?”

I pondered for a moment about what to say. I was silent for a while, thinking about whether there was a good analogy, and then the perfect image popped up in my mind.

“Just like that cane earlier.”

Lucas looked at me as if he was dumbfounded, raised his hand, and lightly tapped my knee.

“Ah.”

‘This person.’

“…It hurts, right?”

“Yes. Almost as if I was hit.”

Lucas looked at me with a suspicious look and then stared at my knee under the outdoor dress.

‘Are you looking through it? That can’t be.’

He seemed hesitant about pulling up my skirt and checking my knees in the street.

‘If a person is injured, why would appearance matter?’

This era strangely showed Hollywood-level frivolity and was uselessly conservative.

To save him from his agony, I rolled up my skirt and looked up at him. Startled, Lucas looked around.

“Now, what are you doing?”

“You want to check my knees.”

“What?”

As I shrugged, Lucas let out a small sigh and took off his cloak, using it as a screen, and examined my legs.

Wow. It looked as if fireworks were on my lap. Dyed blue, red, purple, and a bit of green, Lucas frowned while looking at the condition of my knees.

‘What, why, what?’

I quietly looked away.

“Incredible. You didn’t break the cane, you broke your knee.”

“Yeah, I guess my knee strength is similar to that of a cane. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

When I replied casually, Lucas shook his head. I shrugged as I saw the top of the silver head shaking. I didn’t say anything wrong.

“No, more than that… you didn’t know that your knees were at this point while walking. Didn’t it hurt?”

“Yes. I was too distracted by the wild situation.”

“No matter how wild it may be, Who doesn’t even notice this much?”

‘Here. Right here, you have one.’

While Lucas was still crouching in front of my lap, nagging me, I raised my head and looked away. When facing the same words spat out over and over again, this attitude was the best. It was one of the methods I learned from my previous life’s work-life and my parents’ abusive language. Just before I died, it was like this almost every day.

While I listened to Lucas’s nagging, reflecting on the memories of my past, I saw a man from afar approaching us. I thought he was just passing by… But his eyes were too focused on me for that. At first glance, it seemed that our eyes met. At the appearance of a suspicious person, I tapped Lucas, who was still nagging me, and pointed a finger at the man. He turned his head at my hand gesture and got up slowly. That man looked like a person walking towards me.

‘What is it this time?’

‘Selena’s chaotic day’ must’ve not been over yet. It must’ve been a trilogy… Just like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But unfortunately, my stamina had already ended. Originally, I was a person who only ate two meals a day. I only started eating three meals when I came to this world… Well, that didn’t matter right now.

‘What the hell am I blabbering about?’ I couldn’t even tell what I was thinking. I guessed I was just too tired.

“What’s going on?”

Lucas asked the man who came close enough to hear each other’s voices. The man had dark hair and dark eyes with an overly pale face. The great contrast of color made his presence stronger. In terms of a novel… he was like a villain… like a Demon King?

Looking at that appearance, Lucas’s hand slowly moved toward the sword’s scabbard. The man stood tall at Lucas’ words, glanced at him once and then at me, and finally opened his mouth.

“I am a priest.”

‘I see… People should not be judged by their outward appearance.’

“Are you a priest?”

When Lucas asked with a still wary face, the man who introduced himself as a priest gave a slight nod with a gloomy face.

“Yes. I’m a priest. Although, my divine power is not strong… I was just trying to help you because I think you’re hurt.”

Saying so, he held out his hand. A black pattern was engraved on his wrist, but to be honest, with his appearance and atmosphere, it seemed like a tattoo.

‘And in the first place, I don’t know anything about the priesthood, so I can’t really tell the difference.’

To be honest, I had forgotten that such a profession existed until now. It was inevitable…

According to the book, the power the temple had in this world was insignificant. Their presence was so insignificant that even if there was a mention about it, it was something about ‘the high priest.’ Furthermore, it perished when its leader died.

“What’s this?”

“It is the mark of a priest. I guess it’s true you’re a priest.”

He wasn’t a character in the novel. If such a character appeared, at least one line would have been written about him. This man’s face wasn’t ordinary. It was a shame to waste it on some extra priest. But I couldn’t remember a character like him. I didn’t remember reading about him even by coincidence. Of course, I didn’t trust my memory that much, but…

‘Is he a new character? Or some extra passing by? Or someone I read about but I can’t remember?… Whatever it may be, I’ll be meeting him for a few days only.’

Thinking like that, I quickly lost interest.

It didn’t matter if it was in the novel or not.

“May I help you?”

The dark priest asked dimly. The tone of his voice made him feel like a villain asking if I wanted to make my last confession rather than if I wanted help.

“Yes.”

“Selena.”

In response to my answer, Lucas quietly called me.

‘Should I get permission to answer?’ But my knee hurt too much to wait for permission.

Fireworks should be in the night sky, not on my flesh. I quietly pointed my finger at my knee. Lucas looked down more and shut his mouth.

“Please.”

“Yes.”

The man bent his knees in front of me and carefully placed his hand on my wound and muttered a little. At first glance, it sounded like something important, but I wasn’t interested. My only concern was the knee. As soon as the murmuring ceased, a small light poured out of his hand, and the pain disappeared.

“Wow.”

The knee where the man’s hand was placed just before, came back to its original state as if it had never been injured. No medicine in this world could heal wounds in such a short time… A priest’s abilities were amazing. But why didn’t they hold any influence? That was something I didn’t understand.

Lucas, looking at my knee in my admiration, turned to the man with subtle eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The priest looked at me as if to say something more. I wondered if I should confront those eyes, but the priest put his hand on his chest and bowed his head. After receiving help and greetings, I got up and also bowed. Seeing that, Lucas naturally bowed his head to him.

Bowing at each other, the three of us stood in a corner of the Plaza with a funny shape.

I thought the passing relationship would end at this point… but it didn’t seem like Lucas thought the same. He glanced at me, dragged the priest away, and started talking.

He said something with that sly smirk, and the priest looked at me with a slightly startled face and then put on a troubled expression.

‘What is it?’

I thought the conversation between the two would be longer, so I turned my eyes and watched the people passing by the square. A family with a daughter holding her mother’s hand and a boy riding on his father’s shoulders passed through. Then a couple holding hands walked by. Next, a group of people who appeared to be friends. People with different relationships walked around the square, talking while smiling. They seemed to live in a different world from me, who was all alone on a bench.

‘They look happy. Are they happy? Do they want to be happy? How do those people live day by day?’

Lucas’s voice woke me up from those useless thoughts.

“Selena, let’s go.”

When I turned around, the priest had already disappeared. It seemed that Mister Priest refused to establish a relationship with Lucas.

‘Can a priest use his divine powers to see through people?’

After giving the priest a round of applause for making a not-so-bad choice, I got up from my seat. My legs didn’t hurt at all.

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