“Ah…… here, suddenly?”

The head priest, who had a troubled expression for a moment, soon began to speak gently.

“It’s nothing much. I met her about 10 years ago during a southern pilgrimage, and she helped me a lot mentally when I was having a hard time.”

“She must have been a kind person.”

“I think so. I remember she was younger than me, and had very white and warm hands.”

A faint smile appeared on the head priest’s lips. He seemed happy just thinking about that first love he said he couldn’t even remember properly.

I wanted to support his love as much as possible, but since I had to raise his favorability, I asked with some anxiety.

“Do you still have her in your heart?”

That’s not why the favorability isn’t rising well, is it? Please.

“I’m not sure. I do have a desire to meet her again someday……”

Trailing off, he lowered his eyes. His eyelashes, which seemed longer than mine, cast shadows around his eyes.

After a moment, the head priest, raising his gaze as if nothing had happened, looked around and suggested.

“How about we start looking around here?”

“Ah, good idea.”

We had been walking through narrow paths with muddy soil here and there when finally an open space appeared before our eyes.

The interior made of stone walls seemed to have been used as a prayer room before, with old stone statues and an altar placed there.

Stone tables and chairs were also scattered around.

We placed the candlestick on the altar and began our search.

“Come to think of it, what exactly are we looking for?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know the identity of the keepsake either…… I think we just have to look for now.”

Wouldn’t the system window tell me if it’s right?

How much time had passed since we started looking for the keepsake blindly like that?

Whoosh.

I thought it was a place blocked on all sides, but wind blew from somewhere and extinguished the candlestick.

“Ah, the fire……”

As my vision was colored with darkness in an instant, I, having been examining behind the stone statue, came out fumbling toward the altar in panic.

“Raviel, do you have matches left?”

“……”

“Raviel, where are you? Can’t you hear my voice?”

I called for him a little louder, but there was no answer in return.

What, did he go somewhere else without telling me?

While I felt frustrated, my eyes adapted to the darkness and vaguely caught the outlines of objects.

Fortunately, the head priest was not far away. His characteristic platinum hair was dimly visible.

As I carefully approached him, I eventually heard rough breathing echoing softly.

“Huff—”

“Raviel……?”

I suddenly realized that his head was positioned too low.

Just like someone who had collapsed on the floor and was crouching.

“Huk, huff, huff……”

“What’s wrong, are you okay?!”

Feeling an ominous atmosphere, I ran toward where he was without caring that my toes bumped against stones.

I waved my hand in the air and grabbed his shoulder. As soon as I did, strong hands gripped my wrist.

Like grabbing a lifeline.

“Huff, huk, Sha, ilyn……”

“Yes, it’s me. What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“Huu, fire, ugh right now, huk, please light, a fire……!”

“Ah, I understand!”

It seemed like the head priest’s breath would stop at any moment, so I took the liberty of searching through his clothes and took out matches.

I soothed him who wouldn’t let me go while asking me to light a fire quickly, and fumbled along the floor toward the altar.

Click, hiss.

As the candle lit, warm light like sunset spread gently.

I supported the head priest and brought him over, seating him so he could lean against the altar. His breathing slowly became calm.

“Are you a bit calmer now?”

“……Yes, I showed you an unseemly sight.”

Whether he had broken out in cold sweat in that short time, his face reflected in the candlelight was slightly wet.

Smiling as if embarrassed, he spoke in a low voice.

“I hate dark places a bit. I have some bad memories.”

“Ah…… I’m sorry, I dragged you underground for no reason……”

Although it was something I did without knowing anything because of the mission, I felt very sorry seeing him struggling so much he couldn’t even breathe properly.

The head priest, having stared at me quietly, reached out and touched my hair that had fallen down while smiling.

“Don’t blame yourself. If I really hated it, I would have refused too.”

“Raviel……”

It was the moment when I was moved by his kind comfort and unconsciously pressed my hand against the floor.

Click.

“Huh?”

Rumble.

The area under the altar split in a circle, and I rolled down into it without a chance to refuse.

“Aaaaah!”

Thud!

Falling with a scream, I hit my head hard and lost consciousness.

***

10 years ago, young Shailyn accidentally discovered a box of her mother’s keepsakes that Gwen Sharofe had put out to throw away.

The things inside were items that weren’t worth money. So it seemed she had organized them to dispose of them belatedly.

She took the box and ran to the temple secretly without anyone knowing.

There, an apprentice priest boy was waiting for her.

‘Why are you so late today?’

‘Sorry, brother. I had something to bring…… Is there anywhere in the temple where I can hide this?’

‘What is it?’

‘It’s my mom’s things. It seems like my stepmother is going to throw them away, so I stole them. But if I keep them, they’ll definitely be taken away again.’

Not only that, but it was obvious she would scold young Shailyn severely and then burn the keepsakes to nothing.

‘I need to hide them somewhere people can’t easily find……’

‘Then follow me. There’s a secret place in the temple’s basement that only I know.’

The boy, having quietly looked at the box in Shailyn’s hands, said.

The young Shailyn followed the boy underground. The boy took her to another space hidden under the altar.

‘It’ll be safe if you hide it here. Even high-ranking priests don’t know this place well.’

‘Wow! But how did you know about it, brother?’

‘Well, if you don’t come, I’m practically buried in the basement.’

The two dug the ground and buried the box. They giggled saying it was like hiding treasure. Then they brushed off their dirty hands and came up to the surface.

They moved to the deserted temple backyard to play, then sat side by side on a bench looking up at the blue sky.

Young Shailyn liked the boy.

From when he helped her up and comforted her when she fell, her heart fluttered whenever she saw the boy.

‘I wish I could stay with you forever, brother……’

When she slightly revealed her small wish, the boy, flinching, opened his mouth with a calm voice.

‘I, I’m leaving for the next pilgrimage area tomorrow.’

‘What? Really?’

Shailyn, flustered and disappointed by the sudden news, grabbed the boy’s arm and whined.

‘Can’t you not go? Stay with me.’

‘Not right now. I don’t have any power.’

‘Waaah……’

‘But I’ll definitely come to get you later. When that time comes, let’s leave this place and run away to a distant place to live together.’

‘Okay, you have to keep your promise, okay?’

Young Shailyn, with tears welling up in her eyes, pouted her lips and extended her pinky finger. The boy smiled faintly and hooked his finger with hers.

The hazy fog covering the boy’s face gradually lifted.

Platinum hair that sparkled softly in the sunlight, eyes as clean and transparent as amethyst, handsome features despite being in his early teens.

‘Shailyn, don’t forget and wait for me. My name is—’

***

I remembered.

‘My name is Raviel.’

It was the head priest. My first love who I fell for at first sight when I met him at the temple as a child.

The day he left, I went out to say my last goodbye and got into a carriage accident.

Because of that, I lost most of my memories, but my feelings for the head priest and our first meeting remained in my heart or in my head.

‘That’s why I kept going in and out of the temple. To keep a promise I couldn’t even remember……’

I held my throbbing head as the puzzle pieces finally fit together.

Not only the place where mom’s keepsake was buried, but even the method to conquer the head priest’s route was actually in my head.

‘Wait, where is the head priest now?’

I bolted upright.

I could see the head priest collapsed weakly a little distance away.

Oh, my first love! Could you perhaps be my true male lead?!

Of course, too much time has passed, and since I’m not really Shailyn, I don’t have deep feelings for him now.

I felt somewhat overwhelmed as I laid the head priest’s head on my lap.

Before long, he slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes.

“Mmm……”

“Are you conscious?”

I looked down at the head priest happily and smiled brightly.

Hello?

“It’s me, your first love.”