The Darkness Was Comfortable for Me

The flower Hikaru gave me had shown immediate effect.

The chaotic magic disease is a disease that can get worse, but doesn’t get better. Since the time my little sister Flora was afflicted by this 2 years ago, it has slowly eaten onto her body, she had already lost the ability to stand after 1 year.

And yet, after only 2 days of her drinking the medicine…

She had recovered enough to stand up on her own in just 2 days.

Of course, it is also thanks to her having listened to what the doctor said, and having continued to do her best everyday to circulate her Spirit Energy.

Even so, 2 days.

Aside from the days for the medical examinations and the treatments, they said that they have been going around here and there searching everywhere for that flower, but with that much effect showing, that might be natural.

I might be going back and forth here, but the next day Flora drank the medicine…

I had stepped into the Light Great Church in order to fulfill my promise with Hikaru.

The Great Light Spirit-sama hasn’t changed since 1 year ago…is what I say, but the Great Light Spirit-sama is the embodiment of light, so I can’t see her directly, so it ended up with me having an audience with her through a black cloth.

In order to be officially accepted as a light templar, you have to be able to use the 4th Light Spirit Ability, Photon Ray.

By the way, there’s the need for the person to be able to battle with a weapon, but I passed that test more than 1 year ago, so the only thing remaining was the ability part.

“It has been a while, Rifreya Ashbird. You must have done your studies. It seems like you have become a lot stronger than 1 year ago.”

The Great Spirit-sama of Siltion is different from the Great Spirit-samas from Meltia, she was here from the beginning.

Maybe that’s why -it may be rude to put it this way but- she is really calm.

The Great Spirit-samas are originally like this, but the Great Spirit-samas in the dungeon city were forcefully brought there in order to make a city, and on top of that, maybe because they are in a situation where they are close to other Great Spirit-samas, how to say it…they are always irritated, and it surprised me at first.

“It has been a while. I have returned today to do the templar exam.” (Rifreya)

“Hooh, then, let’s see.”

“Please do.” (Rifreya)

The Great Spirit-sama placed a hand on my head.

With just that, the Great Spirit-samas can see through almost all of the powers of the person.

The Great Spirit-samas don’t lie; they don’t make conjectures either; they only state facts.

The Head Priest-sama was by my side. They heard the words of the Great Spirit-sama together with me, and were judging whether I am worthy of being a templar or not.

So I say, but it is certain that I have already reached the passing line, and even if it doesn’t work, I already have no desire to become a templar. If I were to tell Hikaru I failed the exam, there’s even the chance that he would console me.

That’s why, despite this being a situation where the judgment was going to be given, I was calm.

“Tier 26. Abilities: until the 5th. No shortcomings to become a templar. There aren’t that many templars who have increased their Tier this much.”

“Thank you very much.” (Rifreya)

The Great Spirit-sama’s words were just as I expected. My Tier has also increased a bit. It must have been big that I dealt the finishing blow to the Demon Lord.

I just listened to what I needed to, then the Head Priest-sama and I thanked the Great Spirit-sama, and excused ourselves from the audience room.

When I went out, the familiar official templars welcomed me with a round of applause.

I have lived trying to become a templar this whole time, so these holy premises were like my garden now. My mother is a templar too, so I have a lot of acquaintances here. Or more like, I know everyone.

Everyone was congratulating me.

With this, I am within the ranks of the templars.

As someone who went off to the dungeon city as if I were to run from the abyss of disappointment, this sight feels like a lie.

(All of this…is thanks to my meeting with Hikaru…) (Rifreya)

If I hadn’t met Hikaru, I would have even lost my life.

My family would have fallen completely too after losing their income source that was me, and they wouldn’t be able to pay for the treatment of Flora, and they would have had to wander the streets.

(Anyways, with this, I have fulfilled my promise.) (Rifreya)

1 year ago, becoming a templar was like a dream.

That I see it as stale now is because I have learned of the light that is Hikaru.

There was already no choice inside of me about staying in Siltion to be a templar.

I will return as soon as tomorrow without waiting for Flora to recover.

To my…below my one and exclusive light.

◇◆◆◆◇

…There was a time when I thought that.

“W-Who…is that armored woman…?” (Rifreya)

“Is that a girl you don’t know either?”

“Yeah. Not only women, Hikaru didn’t even have any friends around him… So why…?” (Rifreya)

“Looks like there’s a need to investigate…”

Mother said that she needed to thank him for the matter of Flora too, so she has come with me to Meltia.

And then, something unexpected happened there.

By keeping watch of the dungeon’s entrance, I managed to find Hikaru faster than I thought, but to think he would have a woman with him…

A cute woman with a slender and femenine body.

A lovely girl that has big round cute eyes with slightly springy strawberry blonde hair. She is in boorish armor, but you could easily tell from her gestures and slight exposed areas that she is a slender and femenine girl.

For a second there, I felt as if my vision had grown pitch black for a second there.

I…as a woman, am on the slightly tall side.

I am not…as cute as her.

And so, I couldn’t jump out.

I am scared.

That maybe Hikaru actually liked women like that.

That maybe Hikaru simply kept me company because I stuck to him for being my life savior, and that he actually didn’t like it. Even the reason for separating, it might have actually just been a lie in order to leave me.

Those bad assumptions were swirling in my head for a moment.

Looks like she is diving the dungeon together with Hikaru.

When I asked the guild receptionist I am familiar with, she told me, but she left the details vague.

Her face grew pale when she saw me, so there might be a terrible secret here.

(Hikaru…you said you wouldn’t party with anyone…) (Rifreya)

There’s no way I wouldn’t feel angered by the fact that he couldn’t even keep that for 10 days.

Hikaru was a man with a shadow on his face, and yet, now he showed a bright smile on his face as if a weight had fallen off from him while chatting with the armored girl.

—Even though that smile should have been mine only.

And then, Hikaru guided the girl into the gorget plate store I had introduced to him. Moreover, it seems as if he gifted her something expensive.

“I-Impossible…” (Rifreya)

“Fumu, looks like two-timing… But they do say that cheating men are resourceful, and it is true that we have a debt of gratitude towards that man. No matter what his lifestyle is at present, it doesn’t change the fact that you must repay the debt.”

“I understand that… I was simply…a bit surprised.” (Rifreya)

I said that to Mother, but I was actually so surprised it felt as if heaven and earth had flipped over.

After leaving the store, to my shock, he even put the gorget plate respectfully on her.

In a busy location like this! That Hikaru?! No way!

Maybe because of the strong emotions that swelled up in me, the armored girl moved as if she had noticed me.

I barely managed to hide, but I normally should have shown myself at this point.

“H-Hikaru, you cheater!” (Rifreya)

After that, in the end, I couldn’t endure it in the food cart street, and I jumped out while shouting.

That sight of them feeding each other all intimately couldn’t be seen as anything other than a couple, and I myself couldn’t understand what was going on here anymore.

Seeing the flustered state of Hikaru felt like definite proof of his cheating, but I was more interested in his partner.

Even though she is her cheating partner, she was strangely imposing here.

How to say it, it is like the presence of the legal wife. With this, doesn’t it look like I am the cheating partner?

The reality is that, even when I was losing my temper here, she confidently claimed the ownership of Hikaru.

Hikaru was all lovey-dovey here…that’s not how it felt, but it seemed like he couldn’t come out too strongly against her.

(Could it be that she is blackmailing him?) (Rifreya)

At that moment, it came to me.

That must be it. Hikaru is a good person to the root. There’s no doubt he is being deceived by that sly-looking woman.

If not, there’s no way Hikaru would disband the Love-Love Twin Birds.

But before that, I have to tear that woman away from him, but this woman is asserting her ownership of Hikaru in her own way, and she is truly a thieving cat.

I have no choice but to strike down this evil thieving cat.

“I challenge you to a duel!” (Rifreya)

I thought that the thieving cat would withdraw immediately if I were to say this, but she seemed to be happy accepting this.

From the glance I got of her explorer tag, she is bronze. She must have become an explorer just recently.

There’s no way there’s someone as strong as Hikaru in the bronze rank.

But she was provoking me as if she didn’t see any chance of losing. That irritated me even more.

I have been exploring this dungeon city for 1 year and have lived a lifestyle by the side of death. My rank is also higher than hers.

I won’t lose.

There’s no way I will lose.

The armored woman said: ‘The one who loses will listen to anything the winner says’.

A ridiculous thing like that.

She will most likely be telling me to disappear if she wins.

She is underestimating me.

Those words…I will give them right back at her word for word after I win!