Call me “older sister.”

It didn’t seem like she was drunk.

When I reviewed Yura’s memories, I clearly couldn’t find any signs of drunken behavior. Yet what Yura was doing to me right now was unmistakably drunken antics.

Yura, who had been completely unconscious until entering the dormitory, immediately sat bolt upright the moment she was laid on the bed, then started demanding I call her “older sister” while throwing a drunken tantrum.

As Sikar stared at her with an exasperated expression, Yura grabbed both his cheeks with her hands and shook them, saying,

“Be good, okay?”

“Let go of this.”

“Nope.”

Realizing words wouldn’t work, Sikar seized both of Yura’s hands and gently laid her back down on the bed.

Normally, Yura would have startled awake from such an action, but now, completely oblivious, she pinched Sikar’s cheek.

“I’m letting you off easy since you’ve been listening well lately.”

After tossing out that single line, she instantly fell asleep as if fainting.

Sikar touched his own cheek, pinched by Yura, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

What baffled him wasn’t Yura’s drunken behavior—it was himself, finding her unbearably cute even while she was acting this way.

“Cheeky little thing.”

Contrary to his grumbling words, Sikar smiled contentedly as he pulled the blanket over the sleeping Yura.

Tonight again, he would hold her hand tightly as they slept, ensuring she wouldn’t have nightmares.

The next day, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the temple that Roen had shared her first kiss with a mage.

Jeremi, eating in the dining hall, couldn’t properly eat his meal due to the stream of priests coming to see Roen’s lover.

Unexpectedly, Roen had become extremely famous within the Grand Temple as the singing healer.

Because of the priests flocking to see the two of them, Jeremi reached the point where he couldn’t tell whether his food was going into his nose or his mouth.

But more than anything else, what truly made it hard to swallow his meal were the casual, teasing remarks they kept tossing out as they passed by.

“Poor fellow, got his nose pierced by the demoness named Roen.”

“May Leper’s blessing protect Jeremi from Roen henceforth.”

“Roen, didn’t you ruin some man’s life yesterday?”

And so on—they passed by saying such things, leaving Jeremi eating with his face nearly buried in his plate, visibly embarrassed.

Just as he’d resolved to eat quietly and leave as soon as possible, a few priests who seemed close to Roen approached with their trays and greeted him.

“Hello, Jeremi! You’re as handsome as we’ve heard!”

Jeremi prided himself on being bold and unflappable, but even he was no match for the priests’ shameless audacity.

Though he hadn’t introduced himself, Roen’s colleagues already knew Jeremi’s name. They knew about the kiss, so naturally, knowing his name too wasn’t surprising.

“Ah, hello.”

After finishing that awkward, uncomfortable greeting, Jeremi set his spoon back down as overhearing their embarrassing chatter made him too flustered.

“Roen, to celebrate your first successful kiss, you owe us a treat.”

As her colleague chuckled, Roen grinned and replied,

“Sure. Fine.”

“Really?”

Roen handed over a single piece of bread from her tray, saying,

“Here, you eat my bread.”

Jeremi wondered if one piece of bread could possibly satisfy the expectation of “treating” someone, but the priest who’d suggested the treat looked surprised and asked,

“You’re seriously giving this to me?”

“If you don’t want it, don’t take it.”

Only then did her colleague swiftly snatch up Roen’s bread.

“Oh no! I’ll gladly eat it. Thank you, Roen!”

Since these people normally never shared anything of their own, offering even a single piece of bread was a grand gesture.

The priests stared at Roen with suspicious expressions, as if wondering whether she was unwell.

“Roen giving away her bread…”

“Roen, are you okay? Did getting the lover you’ve dreamed of shock you this badly?”

Perhaps because they’d never gone on pilgrimage and had lived only within the temple, the priests resembled mischievous children.

As they finished their meals, the priests offered blessings for Roen and Jeremi’s future—though Jeremi couldn’t quite tell whether those were truly blessings.

“May you survive Roen’s demonic clutches from now on.”

“Blessings upon Jeremi’s thorny path of love.”

Jeremi worried Roen might be offended, but seeing her laugh it off as a joke, he felt relieved.

“By the way, Roen, didn’t you say you’d go on pilgrimage together?”

“Right. I think I said I’d set out on pilgrimage by next Thanksgiving?”

“Now that you have a lover, aren’t you skipping the pilgrimage?”

“Then give it to me. I’ll go in your place.”

Roen’s previously cheerful smile vanished instantly. She set her fist lightly on the table and said,

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this pilgrimage? How can you say that?”

“What about Jeremi, then?”

The priest beside her nodded vigorously in agreement, chiming in,

“Exactly. Leaving on pilgrimage right after starting to date is like saying goodbye the moment you meet.”

The priests were curious how Roen would respond, but the answer came not from Roen—it came from Jeremi.

“I’m planning to join the pilgrimage as well, so it’s fine.”

Everyone, including the priests, was surprised—but the most shocked of all was none other than Roen.

“Y-you’re serious?”

“Yes. Actually, I was just thinking about traveling the world myself, so this works out perfectly. I’ve heard the pilgrimage route can be dangerous—wouldn’t it be better to go together?”

Roen, who had been worrying how to broach the topic before her colleagues even spoke, couldn’t help but be stunned.

She even wondered if he was speaking impulsively.

“Jeremi… are you serious? If this is just a spur-of-the-moment remark…”

“Were your words to me yesterday not sincere, but impulsive instead?”

For the first time, Roen was flustered. Of course, her words hadn’t come from impulse.

“Of course not. I was absolutely not acting on impulse.”

Jeremi smiled, satisfied.

“Neither was I.”

Only then did Roen feel Jeremi’s sincerity.

It wasn’t just idle talk—he genuinely wanted to be with her.

Roen’s priest colleagues beside her momentarily gaped, until someone nudged the person next to them; that person snapped back to attention and said mischievously,

“The moment you travel on pilgrimage with Roen, your freedom ends. Are you still really going?”

Jeremi’s single uttered reply promptly silenced the priests, who had been staring at him as if wondering how he could possibly agree.

“It’s fine. I intend to live tightly held by Roen. I like being bound.”

Outwardly, the priests said nothing—but inwardly, they thought Roen had found herself a good man.

It was precisely at this moment that Roen fell for Jeremi. She felt she’d truly met someone wonderful.

“How’s your stomach?”

Of course, my stomach was fine. It was just that I couldn’t bear to face Sikar.

Because yesterday’s memories were vividly intact, I couldn’t meet Sikar’s eyes.

“You’re lucky. Stew happened to be served today. You must’ve been exhausted acting drunk yesterday—eat up and recover.”

I’d have preferred if he’d just said something, anything—but Sikar’s complete silence made me even more restless.

Still, even amid that discomfort, eating the piping hot stew seemed to settle my stomach a little.

After finishing the meal, Sikar wordlessly picked up the dishes and left.

He’d never been this silent before—was he really that angry?

While waiting for Sikar to return the dishes, I quickly washed up and changed my clothes.

Come to think of it, today was our last day here. At first, sharing a room daily with Sikar had felt uncomfortable, but now, having grown accustomed to it, leaving felt unexpectedly regretful.

The bell that rang unfailingly at every worship hour, watching priests scurry about to avoid being late for services—these things would surely be deeply missed once we returned to Blake.

As I repacked my belongings one by one, Sikar entered carrying milk tea. Even on this final day, he’d diligently remembered to bring me my favorite.

“Kian’s already finished preparing to depart. We should probably get up after finishing this tea.”

“Oh right, we should say goodbye to Roen and Jeremi.”

“We’ll see them again someday—better to reintroduce ourselves then under our true identities. Let’s just leave quietly this time.”

That made sense too. It’d be better later to reveal our identities and formally greet them then.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

“Don’t feel too regretful—you can always come back when you have time.”

When we stepped out with all our luggage packed, Grandmother and Kian were waiting together for us.

The moment Kian saw me, he started to run over shouting “Mother!” but hesitated, then walked over politely and bowed deeply.

“Mother. Did you have a good outing yesterday?”

I held out both hands to Kian, as if asking for a hug.

“Well now, I only remember wanting to see our Kian.”

“Me too, Mother!”

Kian burst into laughter and leapt into my arms. Sikar grumbled from behind that Kian pretended to be an adult around him but turned back into a child around me—but to my ears, it sounded like he was sulking, feeling left out.

Perhaps because I hadn’t personally put Kian to bed during our recent stay here, he seemed to have grown a bit taller.

“Hmm? Kian, did you grow a little more since last time?”

“I’ll grow even faster so I can protect you, Mother.”

Moved by Kian’s earnest reply, my heart swelled with emotion.

After sharing a deep hug with Kian, I turned to greet Grandmother.

“Grandmother, I’m sorry we happened to come during our volunteer period and couldn’t spend more time with you.”

“What nonsense. We’ve already spent plenty of time together. And this time, getting to be with Kian every night was such a joy.”

Kian wrapped his arms around Grandmother’s legs and closed his eyes tightly.

“Me too, Great Grandmother. Even when I go to Blake, I’ll never forget your scent.”

Grandmother insisted she was fine, but her slightly reddened eyes betrayed how deeply she felt the parting.

“Oh dear, you speak as if this is a final farewell.”

I felt the same pang in my nose at parting—I wanted to go with Grandmother, but I couldn’t.

How wonderful it would be if that wretched illness healed quickly, so we could live together in Blake.

We each took turns hugging Grandmother goodbye. She whispered something into Sikar’s ear, but I couldn’t hear what it was.

Judging by Grandmother’s character, I guessed she was probably repeating her叮嘱 to treat us well.

Only after watching Grandmother go inside first did we turn toward the carriage. Even as I walked away, I kept glancing back, filled with regret.

Quietly, I prayed that if I ever returned here, it would be with Grandmother—fully recovered from dementia—by my side.