In the dim dawn, Salvanel, who had awakened first, carefully observed Egru sleeping beside him. Until daybreak and sunrise, he maintained the same position without blinking once.

It would have been a chilling sight to anyone watching, but for Salvanel, it was an indescribably fantastic time.

Salvanel glanced at the wall clock and moved his face a little closer to Egru’s. He could hear soft, steady breathing.

Those amber eyes were hidden beneath tightly closed eyelids and thick, long lashes. His brown hair had become disheveled, likely from tossing and turning all night, half-covering his round forehead.

400 years…

He had longed to be in the same bed as the hero every moment. He had dreamed of touching each other’s skin and sharing warmth.

At last, the end of his endless waiting had arrived.

Intoxicated with ecstasy, Salvanel unconsciously tilted his head. He kissed Egru’s eyelids several times.

“Mmm…”

A faint moan escaped through Egru’s lips. His brown eyelashes, which had been quivering repeatedly, very slowly lifted.

“Are you awake?”

Salvanel asked while rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up himself.

“Mmm… Ah!”

Egru, who had been mumbling as he opened his mouth, suddenly startled and shifted his hips backward. Salvanel smiled slightly. It seemed Egru was embarrassed by his natural morning arousal.

“Th-that’s…!”

Egru covered his private parts with both hands and looked around. He seemed to be urgently searching for the clothes he had taken off the night before.

“I-I’ll go for a morning walk!”

“Wait, little believer. It’s dangerous to go outside the cabin right now.”

“What?”

Salvanel feigned a troubled expression. While Egru wasn’t looking, his purple eyes emitted a sinister light.

“The blizzard worsened overnight. Let’s wait until the weather calms down. We have enough food, so there won’t be any major problems.”

Egru stretched his neck out from under the blanket to look outside the window. Just as Salvanel had said, a fierce blizzard was raging outside, making it impossible to see even a step ahead.

“I was thinking of bringing some warm coffee…”

Salvanel asked as he got out of bed first and dressed himself.

“What would you like, little believer?”

“C-coffee?”

Egru fumbled with his lips for a moment before asking.

“Well, I’ve n-never tried it before. What does it taste like?”

“Hmm, it’s usually bitter, but I’ll add sugar and milk to yours. It will be rich and sweet.”

“Th-thank you for your consideration, Your Holiness.”

“……”

The Pope stood in place for a moment, staring at Egru without saying anything. The silence ticked by. Initially perplexed, Egru gradually began to tear up and sweat as the silence lengthened.

“D-did I make some mistake…?”

“We agreed to call me Salvanel since last night.”

Salvanel muttered with a pouty face. Egru replied with a start:

“Ah! Yes! I’m sorry, Lord Salvanel!”

“Salvanel.”

“Salvanel…”

“That’s better.”

Salvanel smiled playfully as he pulled the door handle.

“I’ll be right back, so please wait here for a bit.”

***

Salvanel lightly descended the stairs to the first floor of the cabin. Just before entering the kitchen past the hallway, he heard some irritating words.

“Damn elf bastard. Just a pointy-eared nobody getting all high and mighty because His Holiness favors him…”

“Hey, they might hear us upstairs.”

Salvanel stood at the corner of the wall, listening intently to the hostile conversation. The Holy Knights sitting around the kitchen table hadn’t seemed to hear his footsteps.

“Let them hear. Coming all the way to this northern dump just to look after some demon trash. If we want to find out the Commander’s whereabouts, we should just throw him in the dungeon and torture him. I don’t know why we’re making this so complicated.”

“I know, right? What on earth is the Pope thinking…”

“Good morning to both of you.”

Startled by the Pope’s greeting, the Holy Knights shot up like lightning, banging their knees on the table.

“Your Holiness! Did you rest well?”

“Was your sleep comfortable last night?”

Salvanel looked at the two knights in turn and smiled gently.

“Yes, thanks to your vigilant guard duty, I had a peaceful night. Thank you very much.”

As the Holy Knights were about to kiss his hand, Salvanel casually withdrew it.

“We can simplify such cumbersome formalities. This isn’t the Papal Curia, after all.”

Having said that, Salvanel slowly walked to the kitchen window. His purple eyes leisurely gazed out through the glass.

“The weather is really nice today. It’s clear enough for the sun to shine, even here in the north.”

“Ah, yes! All the snowfall stopped during the night. A herring merchant who came at dawn said there won’t be clouds for a month.”

“…Then may I ask you a favor?”

Salvanel turned around, lightly touching the tips of his white hair.

“If you go east from here, you’ll come across a village known for Lumel herbs. If you could bring me twenty roots, I think I can make some good medicine. I’d like to prepare enough to share with those who have been kind to me.”

While mentioning ‘those who have been kind,’ Salvanel politely gestured toward the Holy Knights before him. He cleared his throat with a small cough and then took out a plump money pouch.

“Could you depart right away? I caught a chill from yesterday’s outing, so I’d like to urgently request this. You may keep any remaining money for your trouble.”

“We shall obey your command.”

The Holy Knights promptly accepted the heavy money pouch.

“It would be our honor if Your Holiness would bestow your excellent medicine upon us.”

“The eastern village might take some time. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course. Just be careful on your journey.”

The Holy Knights gave a precise salute and left the cabin with broad smiles. As the door closed, Salvanel’s smiling face instantly turned expressionless. His purple eyes, which had been staring intently at the closed door, soon shifted their gaze.

Salvanel headed back to the second-floor bedroom with two cups of warm coffee.

“Could you open the door for me, little believer? My hands are full.”

“……”

“Little believer?”

There was an unnervingly absent response. Salvanel quickly set the coffee down on the side table and entered the room.

“Come back quickly! It’s d-dangerous! The blizzard…!”

Egru was waving his arms frantically with his body half-hanging out the window. Having raised his voice until his face turned red, he seemed not to have heard Salvanel’s call. Without hesitation, Salvanel pulled Egru back by the waist.

“Little believer, what on earth are you doing?”

“Ah! Y-Your Holiness! I mean, Salvanel! You came just in time! The Holy Knights, they went outside…!”

Salvanel glanced outside the window.

The Holy Knights crossing the calm snow field turned to look at each other with exasperated expressions. Their faces showed they found Egru’s shouting absurd.

They exchanged more jokes and cackled. Only Salvanel, with his sensitive hearing, could hear their vulgar insults directed at demons.

Unaware of this, Egru continued to stamp his feet in concern for them.

Even if the hero had been insulted to his face…

Salvanel thought that he would never have stopped caring for others.

Salvanel loved the hero’s boundless chivalry. But no matter how virtuous one was, one needed to learn to weed out useless sprouts early.

So all he could do was stay by his side and help him learn one thing at a time.

The thought of their eternal future together spontaneously brought a smile to his face. Salvanel promptly lowered the corners of his mouth before it could be noticed.

“W-what should we do? They can’t seem to hear me. I’ll g-go out and get them.”

Egru had been seeing the hallucination Salvanel had created since morning. In his vision, he would see the Holy Knights struggling through a blizzard.

“Calm down, little believer.”

Salvanel tightly embraced Egru from behind as he was about to put on his outer clothes.

“They’ve gone down to a nearby village to seek help for us.”

“B-but the heavy snow will make it hard for them to see ahead…!”

“Let’s trust them and wait.”

Salvanel caught Egru’s cheek, who kept looking back outside, and made him face him.

“We can’t let their sincere efforts be in vain.”

“Ah…”

“Let’s drink the coffee before it gets cold.”

Salvanel seated Egru on the sofa in front of the fireplace and handed him the coffee. Even so, his anxious feet couldn’t stay still and kept moving. Salvanel sat across from him and observed this intently.

“Little believer, shall we make a bet?”

Salvanel asked while sipping his coffee, which had cooled to a drinkable temperature.

“A b-bet?”

“Yes, do you remember our conversation last night? The person who fulfills their dream first becomes the winner.”

To redirect Egru’s attention, Salvanel casually offered a self-interested proposal. He was confident he would achieve his first. Having secured the hero, the great cleansing would begin soon.

“What should we stake as the prize?”

Salvanel set down his coffee cup and tapped his chin with his index finger.

“How about the winner gets one wish, anything they want?”

“A w-wish…”

Fortunately, Egru showed interest in the bet. But soon he blushed and lowered his head.

“I-I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything to offer…”

“I never thought you had a mischievous side.”

Salvanel, who had opened his eyes wide, soon gave a kind smile.

“Do I look like someone who would demand financial compensation?”

His purple eyes, rippling with deep desire, slowly moved down Egru’s cream-colored body.