“Wait, old man, is this the Demon God’s messenger you were talking about?”
Vivian untied the Zaphira statue from her waist and handed it to Derek.
“Hmm? Let me see…”
The priest, Derek, paused mid-sentence, his gaze gradually becoming solemn. He took the statue with both hands in a dignified manner. He glanced at the statue of Zaphira with her crying face, then took out his holy emblem and pressed it against the figure.
A golden light flashed.
Derek raised his head in silence, looking at Vivian with a complex expression. It took a long while before he finally spoke. “Where did you get this statue?”
“I picked it up in the desert,” Vivian replied.
“Tell me where you picked it up. I’ll go pick one up myself another day,” Derek said crossly as he handed the statue back to her.
“Fine, actually, there was a demon calling herself a divine messenger who was rude to me, so I taught her a lesson. After I was done, she turned into this statue,” Vivian explained.
“This might be a demon stone statue. It’s said they only form after a demon possessing divinity dies. As for what it’s actually used for, I don’t know either. I only know about this because I heard the Pope mention it once. He has a similar statue himself.”
Upon hearing that the Pope had a similar statue, a sense of competitiveness immediately rose in Vivian’s heart.
“Does the Pope’s statue talk? Mine can talk, you know~”
Like a child showing off a new toy to their friends, she picked up the Zaphira statue and gave it a hard squeeze.
*Ugh!*
The face of the crying Zaphira instantly distorted, and she let out a scream of pain.
Derek: “…”
“Alright, now I’m even more certain. The Pope’s statue definitely talks as well,” Derek said with a nod. “And that statue of his has a particularly foul mouth. It loves to curse at people. Even a passing stray cat or dog—or even a fly—will get a few choice words from it. And the insults are quite nasty…”
At this point, Derek couldn’t help but look up at the starry sky to keep his composure from slipping. It seemed he had recalled some unpleasant memories.
“Vivian, you must keep this thing safe. The Pope said the Demon God’s messenger inside could revive at any time and cause disaster once again. If it were anyone else, I would advise them to hand such a dangerous object over to the Church for safekeeping.”
Derek turned his head, his gaze focusing on Vivian again. “But since it’s you, Vivian… I imagine it’ll be quite safe here.”
Having said that, Derek didn’t wait for Vivian’s response before walking ahead.
***
After a day of tireless trekking, their team finally returned to Ma’en City on the evening of the second day.
Gazing at the low earth and stone walls before her, Vivian felt like bursting into tears. Incidentally, on the way back, Vivian had also brought back the coffin she had been sleeping in back in the forest. In other words, she now had two beds!
“Well then, this is where we part ways. Farewell, you two.”
Derek led a squad of knights, dragging a long rope behind them. The other end of the rope was tied to the hands of the people from the caravan. He waved to Vivian and then disappeared down the street of Ma’en City with the large group.
“Goodbye!” Vivian and Blake both waved back.
“I should get going too. I’m going to the Lord’s Mansion to collect the bounty. You can just come to my shop tomorrow to get your share, and we can settle the medical fees I owe you while we’re at it.”
With that, Blake waved and departed.
In the blink of an eye, Vivian was the only one left on the street. Oh, right—there was also a coffin. For the sake of convenience, Vivian had simply thrown the unconscious Nolan into the coffin.
“Alright, let’s go home.”
She patted the lid of the coffin, then bent down to hoist the heavy thing onto her back. She began walking toward Black Rat Street.
The pedestrians on the street were seeing such an absurd and bizarre sight for the first time. There was a little girl carrying a coffin on her back in the middle of Ma’en City!
‘Am I seeing things…?’
The passersby all widened their eyes, frequently turning back to stare.
Resident of 302, Black Rat Street.
That familiar, crooked little wooden house appeared before her once again. It still had the same thatched roof that a strong gust of wind could blow away. It still had the same rough oak door—expecting it to fend off thieves and robbers was less reliable than counting on a bandit’s nonexistent mercy.
But Vivian didn’t feel the slightest bit of disdain for this drafty, dilapidated house. To her, as long as it was something she cared for, it was home.
Vivian took a cheerful step forward and pushed the door open.
Woohoo~ Finally home!
The familiar scent of the house wafted over her. She kicked off her shoes and scurried like a rabbit toward the coffin in the middle of the living room.
A short while later…
A soft and cute Vivian in bear pajamas was fresh out of the oven!
Then, she moved the coffin containing Nolan into the house, lining it up right next to the one in the center.
“Hey! Nolan, we’re home. How can you sleep without washing your face and feet?”
Vivian flipped open the coffin and shouted at Nolan.
Nolan gave no response.
Looking at Nolan’s peaceful sleeping face, a tidal wave of drowsiness suddenly flooded her mind.
‘Fine, if he’s sleeping, I’m sleeping too.’
The adventures in the wilderness over the past few days, the battle with the demon, and the full day of traveling back had only made things worse. All of these things had left Vivian physically and mentally exhausted. She was too lazy to wash up.
‘I’ll just get a good night’s sleep first…’
Vivian muttered to herself and climbed into her own coffin. She closed her eyes, pulled up the blanket, and prepared for a long slumber.
***
After a while…
A rustling sound could be heard.
Vivian sat up in bed, two tufts of hair sticking up from her head and dark circles under her eyes. Her gaze was full of daze and fatigue, but… she actually couldn’t sleep!
‘Why? I’m clearly so tired I can barely keep my eyes open…’
Vivian tilted her head, a question mark practically popping up above her. Her peripheral vision suddenly caught Nolan lying in the coffin next to her.
‘I think I know why… It’s all your fault for tempting me, Nolan!’
Vivian unreasonably shifted the blame onto Nolan. Then, she stealthily crawled out of her coffin.
She came to the front of the sleeping Nolan. Staring at his handsome face, a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on the corners of her mouth.
‘Hehehe, in that case, I won’t be polite.’
Vivian reached out toward Nolan and stripped off his armor, exposing the thin inner lining underneath. Then, she hoisted him over her shoulder.
*Thump!*
She tossed him into the coffin where she slept.
Vivian looked at Nolan lying on her bed with satisfaction, her heart racing slightly. She felt a sense of conquest, like a goblin bringing a captured knight back to its nest.
“Hah~”
Vivian’s eyelids were fighting to stay open as she couldn’t help but yawn.
“I’m coming in~” she whispered softly, then lay down.
It felt a bit cramped with two people in the coffin. Vivian wiggled her hips dissatisfiedly, pushing Nolan to one side. Then, she gently lifted his arm, slowly guiding it to wrap around her waist. Finally, she rested her head on his shoulder.
Just like that, Vivian curled up completely in Nolan’s arms.
‘It’s warm here… very comfortable.’
The gentle breathing of the two gradually intertwined, and the coffin was filled with warmth.
‘I can finally get a good night’s sleep…’
Vivian’s consciousness quickly sank into the darkness. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep.
“I can’t… eat anymore…”
A few muddled, indistinct words of a dream occasionally escaped her lips.