Time Healer Ceres

Ceres still had no idea what Sooty really was. Whenever Jubelios, the King of Fire Spirits, saw him, all he did was loudly insist that Sooty was ominous and should be thrown away.

Why is she looking for that glutton?

Thinking of Sooty, who was probably busy stuffing himself with the cake by now, Ceres became even more puzzled.

Was Sooty really worth searching for, to the point that someone would go as far as changing their appearance just to get close to Kainel?

“Hmm.”

The epidemic had spread through the power of demonic energy, and Yuness was clearly behind it.

Since Yuness is looking for the black egg...

Ceres scratched her cheek.

Does that mean Sooty is connected to demonic energy, too?

It wasn’t particularly surprising. After all, Sooty had come from an egg they found in the Black Forest. If anything, it would’ve been stranger if there were no connection. She was just curious why Yuness was looking for the egg.

“Haa...”

More importantly, Ceres needed to figure out what Yuness was really up to. Why did she suddenly start giving blessings over the citizens?

There has to be something going on.

Just in case, Ceres had spent some time watching the people who received Yuness’s blessing, but she couldn’t find anything unusual about them. Maybe she was only seeing things because she’d been so suspicious of Yuness all along.

Rustle.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Lost in thought, Ceres looked up at the familiar voice in front of her. It was her homeroom teacher, Daniel. He must have dropped the books he was carrying, because quite a few of them were scattered across the floor.

“That’s a lot of books.”

Ceres sighed, then got up to help him pick them up.

“Haha, I ran into someone selling old books on my way to the Academy today. I got so caught up looking through them that I completely lost track of time. Before I knew it, I was late, so I came straight to the classroom without even stopping by the faculty office.”

Daniel laughed awkwardly.

“They looked really old. There were so many fascinating things in them.”

“Yes, they certainly look old...”

Ceres answered absently as she picked up the fallen books, but then she suddenly stopped. One of them had fallen open. When she picked it up, something written on the page caught her eye.

“This...”

A familiar bracelet was illustrated on the open page, with a description written beneath it:

「The Life-Devouring Bracelet」

...Devouring life? The explanation beneath it was even more shocking. It said the bracelet could gather people’s life force and transfer it to someone else.

“Oh! Fascinating, isn’t it? I saw this bracelet on my way here, too. Apparently, it’s an ancient artifact.”

When Daniel noticed that Ceres was staring intently at the book, he leaned closer and added,

“Do you think something like this really exists?”

Ceres heard Daniel’s fascinated voice, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the page.

“Hah.”

...Is this it? If so, everything Yuness had been doing made sense. The epidemic, and even the reason she’d suddenly started giving blessings over people.

The corpses that came out of the temple, too.

So that’s what all of this was about.

“.....”

Ceres closed the book and checked its title, but the cover was so worn that she couldn’t make it out.

“Teacher, I’m leaving early.”

“Pardon? Leaving early?”

Daniel looked like he was about to cry.

“Yes, I’m leaving early.”

“You really can’t keep leaving early like this...”

Ceres quickly left the classroom, leaving Daniel’s tearful voice behind.

“Hmm.”

As Daniel watched her leave, a faint smile appeared on his lips, as though he’d never looked distressed in the first place.

“That should be enough, right?”

His smile deepened as he looked at the book Ceres had just been reading.

***

“Oh my, Lady Ceres. What brings you here?”

Ceres headed straight for Yuness as soon as she arrived at the temple. Being the owner of a Tamer Relic certainly came in handy. No one could stop her.

“I thought we could have some tea.”

“...With me?”

Ceres smiled at Yuness’s slightly widened eyes, but then her smile faded as she remembered what the other two had told her.

Maybe her disciple and Kainel were right after all. Maybe she really did smile whenever she saw someone she wanted to beat to a pulp.

“Please, come in.”

Yuness smiled brightly and opened the door for her. Ceres followed her inside and sat down at the table by the window.

“What tea would you like?”

“Anything.”

Ceres answered without taking her eyes off Yuness’s arm. Her long sleeves made it difficult to see, but whenever the fabric shifted, Ceres caught glimpses of the bracelet around her wrist. She had seen it several times back in the Principality of Persia.

“That bracelet...”

“Hmm?”

Yuness paused as she served the tea, then subtly pulled her sleeve down to hide the bracelet.

“It’s pretty.”

“Ah... It was my mother’s. A Saintess isn’t really supposed to wear flashy jewelry, but since it was her keepsake...”

Yuness smiled bitterly, looking every bit like a daughter mourning her mother.

“So it was your mother’s.”

Ceres didn’t press her about the bracelet. She already knew Yuness wouldn’t give her a straight answer.

“I heard you’re looking for a black egg.”

“A... black egg?”

Yuness’s expression changed for the first time at Ceres’s casual remark. The smile that had never left her face disappeared completely.

“Do you know about the black egg?”

“Yes.”

“How...? Did Kainel tell you?”

“Kainel told me you were looking for the egg. I already knew about the black egg itself.”

“—!”

She already knew? About the black egg?

“How?”

“The black egg you’re looking for looks like this, right?”

Ceres described the black egg in detail, even sketching it out for her. The more Ceres spoke, the more Yuness’s expression hardened.

“You really do know.”

It was exactly what Veilks had told her.

As Yuness studied Ceres’s drawing, a bright smile returned to her face. At last, she seemed to have another lead on the black egg.

“Do you know where it is?”

“Yes.”

“...Really?”

The answer came so easily that Yuness couldn’t help but eye her suspiciously.

“I have it.”

“...You?”

Watching Yuness’s expression change, Ceres nodded.

It’s not a lie.

Of course, it wasn’t an egg anymore. But Sooty really was with her.

“Can I see it?”

“Why are you looking for it?”

“As I told Kainel, there’s a memory I want to find.”

“A memory...”

Ceres chuckled in amusement.

“Are you sure there’s really a memory you need to find?”

Yuness’s smile disappeared at once.

What the hell does this b*tch know?

She barely swallowed the curse that rose to her lips. This annoying woman was really getting on her nerves.

“So, where is the egg now?”

“I’d rather not tell you.”

“......”

“But I might, if you tell me the truth about that bracelet.”

“—!”

Yuness’s mouth fell open.

What? Did she come here knowing something about the bracelet?!

She quickly hid her shaken expression.

I definitely can’t let her leave.

“Lady Ceres, does anyone know you came here today?”

“No. I didn’t tell anyone.”

“Good.”

“What’s so goo—”

Sway.

Ceres slowly slumped to the side.

“Perfect for kidnapping.”

Yuness finished the sentence as Ceres crumpled to the floor with a heavy thud.

“It still works.”

Yuness smiled at the untouched cup of tea. The drug was strong enough to knock someone out just from the scent, without them even taking a sip.

Satisfied, Yuness’s smile widened.

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