58. What is love?
At that moment, Diarin realized.
Although she was inevitably dragged into the path of a priest, she was satisfied with her life as a priest.
Even if there are things to be dissatisfied with, isn't it true that not everyone in the world is satisfied with their lives?
She was satisfied with this, and it was comfortable to live in.
No matter where you go, you won't be ignored.
Rather, people's gaze was warmer and more respectful than that directed at the nobles.
With divine powers on top of that, what could be a more perfect combination?
"Reason."
"Reason?"
Diarin was confident in the answer she had found.
"Yeah. I have no reason to quit being a priest. I enjoy being a priest. So there has to be a reason why I can't quit."
“...”
Ceres couldn't even confidently say that he would give Diarin a reason to quit being a priest.
It was something that had to be created, not found.
Diarin, who had closed her mouth, smiled to herself.
Anyway, I won.
It felt good to win the fight for dominance with the dog.
“But why were the people on that road playing instruments?”
“Oh, that’s because they’re street musicians... When you listen to music, you feel good and excited.”
“?”
“...Usually, it’s exciting. Like when Ceres danced to the beat earlier. People feel good when they do that.”
"Hmm..."
When he danced with the people who gave him money, he didn't think about anything.
But when he held hands with Diarin and spun around.
When Diarin looked at him, their heartbeat matched.
When both legs move at the same time, even if you don't say one, two, three.
There was a thrill that surged through his chest.
“I feel good...”
That was what felt good.
Ceres looked at Diarin.
But he felt good even without dancing.
“I feel good when I’m with Diarin.”
He just wanted to be with Diarin.
That was it.
“...”
No, was the book selection wrong?
Or maybe she showed him the world wrong.
All sorts of regrets swirled through Diarin's head.
What the hell am I growing right now?
She was trying to make a young master, but why does it seem like he's turning into a troublemaker?
Now, you're not satisfied with the enemy, so you're going to sweep away all the women in the world?
Diarin shook her head and quickened her pace.
Now they have come out of the streets, soaked in the festive atmosphere.
She decided to walk straight to the mansion.
Neither of them had anything urgent to do, so they could just walk leisurely.
It was actually nice that, along the way, Ceres was able to experience many things he had never seen before.
“What is that?”
“Water stored for use in case a streetlight catches fire.”
“That’s.”
“...What is that?”
The world was wide, and sometimes there were things that Diarin didn't know.
Diarin approached what Ceres had pointed to and examined it closely.
There was something like a map drawn on a piece of cloth attached to the wall.
Diarin, who was touching it here and there and turning it over, wondering if there was something written on it, suddenly realized something.
“...? Ah! Ah! That’s it!”
She had no idea because there was nothing to see in the temple.
“?”
“It's an advertisement. If you like the cloth hanging here, come find the house with this design drawn on it.”
At that moment, Diarin realized.
Although she was inevitably dragged into the path of a priest, she was satisfied with her life as a priest.
Even if there are things to be dissatisfied with, isn't it true that not everyone in the world is satisfied with their lives?
She was satisfied with this, and it was comfortable to live in.
No matter where you go, you won't be ignored.
Rather, people's gaze was warmer and more respectful than that directed at the nobles.
With divine powers on top of that, what could be a more perfect combination?
"Reason."
"Reason?"
Diarin was confident in the answer she had found.
"Yeah. I have no reason to quit being a priest. I enjoy being a priest. So there has to be a reason why I can't quit."
“...”
Ceres couldn't even confidently say that he would give Diarin a reason to quit being a priest.
It was something that had to be created, not found.
Diarin, who had closed her mouth, smiled to herself.
Anyway, I won.
It felt good to win the fight for dominance with the dog.
***
“But why were the people on that road playing instruments?”
“Oh, that’s because they’re street musicians... When you listen to music, you feel good and excited.”
“?”
“...Usually, it’s exciting. Like when Ceres danced to the beat earlier. People feel good when they do that.”
"Hmm..."
When he danced with the people who gave him money, he didn't think about anything.
But when he held hands with Diarin and spun around.
When Diarin looked at him, their heartbeat matched.
When both legs move at the same time, even if you don't say one, two, three.
There was a thrill that surged through his chest.
“I feel good...”
That was what felt good.
Ceres looked at Diarin.
But he felt good even without dancing.
“I feel good when I’m with Diarin.”
He just wanted to be with Diarin.
That was it.
“...”
But Diarin wasn't just that.
‘Did I teach him to talk for nothing?’
Maybe she should let him read fewer books.
Or maybe she showed him the world wrong.
All sorts of regrets swirled through Diarin's head.
What the hell am I growing right now?
She was trying to make a young master, but why does it seem like he's turning into a troublemaker?
Now, you're not satisfied with the enemy, so you're going to sweep away all the women in the world?
Diarin shook her head and quickened her pace.
Now they have come out of the streets, soaked in the festive atmosphere.
She decided to walk straight to the mansion.
Neither of them had anything urgent to do, so they could just walk leisurely.
It was actually nice that, along the way, Ceres was able to experience many things he had never seen before.
“What is that?”
“Water stored for use in case a streetlight catches fire.”
“That’s.”
“...What is that?”
The world was wide, and sometimes there were things that Diarin didn't know.
Diarin approached what Ceres had pointed to and examined it closely.
There was something like a map drawn on a piece of cloth attached to the wall.
Diarin, who was touching it here and there and turning it over, wondering if there was something written on it, suddenly realized something.
“...? Ah! Ah! That’s it!”
She had no idea because there was nothing to see in the temple.
“Oh, I see. It's a weaver marking their house.”
“It's an advertisement. If you like the cloth hanging here, come find the house with this design drawn on it.”
"Ah..."
Not everyone in the world can read and write.
Among commoners, many die without even being able to use their own names.
Diarin was born a nobleman and lived as a priest who had to learn to read and write.
They were born into a completely different world and live there.
There must be such an invisible difference in the world between Ceres and Diarin.
He is a person from another world.
No matter how much Ceres wishes, the two worlds cannot mix.
“If we don’t let people know like this, they won’t know who’s weaving the cloth, and then we won’t be able to entrust them with work.”
Diarin took her hands off the cloth and continued her explanation.
“Advertising. Making other people aware.”
"Right. Oh, right. Just because someone advertises something doesn't mean you have to do it. It's just like you shouldn't blindly accept something if someone offers it to you. Just because something's advertised doesn't mean you have to buy it. Got it?"
"I get it."
Ceres is good at answering questions.
Diarin walked towards the increasingly dark street, feeling relieved.
The mansion was located so far away that it could be considered a suburb of the city.
There are residential areas nearby, but they are quite far from each other.
Of course, it is sparsely populated, dark, and quiet.
It was a path that Diarin would never have dared walk alone, but with Ceres by her side, she had nothing to fear.
Even if they happen to encounter a thief while passing by, the thief will have to worry about his own safety.
'Oh, but there's still a chance an assassin might show up. I should have been more careful.'
No, that's too much to worry about.
How could the assassin have known that two people had sneaked out like this?
And there weren't that many assassination attempts.
"However."
Ceres, who had been quietly following Diarin, continued to ask endless questions.
When he didn't know what he didn't know, he was quiet, but once he started to learn, his curiosity kept growing.
But Diarin was a priest.
Preaching and educating the poor were all done through words.
She was able to handle Ceres' cute questions quite well.
“Yeah. What else are you curious about?”
“What is love?”
“Cough cough!”
...was not proficient.
If you try to be even a little arrogant, he will immediately strike you with a sledgehammer and make you understand the situation.
Diarin groaned, clutching her dizzy head.
“No... that’s...”
...I told you so.
What is love?
Her head hurts trying to explain something she doesn't even know.
Ceres was looking at Diarin with sparkling eyes like a child in kindergarten who only looks at the teacher's mouth.
She couldn't say to those eyes, 'I don't know either!'
It was a matter of pride.
“Love is a word.”
Diarin cleared her throat, buying herself some time.
Let's think about it as if the person who asked that question was not Ceres, but the children in the preschool theology school.
Not Ceres, who is always clinging to you and obsessed with you.
He is a child who is purely curious about what love is.
“Love is God's compassion for you. It is warm, gentle, and soft.”
Oh... that was great.
Diarin was amazed at her own plausible answer, even after she had said it herself.
Isn't this perfect?
No one can deny that it is not love.
"...Hmm..."
But it was still an abstract concept that was far from Ceres' understanding.
Ceres, who is particularly weak to abstract words, was at a loss this time as well.
Diarin's explanation was as if every word was an abstract word.
‘Caring’, ‘warm’, ‘gentle’, ‘soft’, ‘hearted’.
To understand one word, you have to understand five more. How absurd is that?
“The man said he ‘made love’ to the woman. So, is that an act?”
“Uh... perhaps, an act of the heart...?”
“Then how do you love?”
"...I don't know."
At this point, she started to have a strong wish.
Please, I beg you not to ask questions like, "How do you make a baby?"
Diarin looked like she was going to cry.
“Why don’t you know?”
Ceres seemed to have difficulty accepting that there were things in the world that Diarin did not know.
But he can't help but be disappointed by that.
“I haven’t done it either!”
“Why haven’t you tried it?”
“Can I do that?”
“You can do anything.”
This damn military discipline...
Why don't you try some military-style love for once?
Diarin felt her stomach twist, and she wanted to shout, “I love you right now, do it!”
“Love, you know. It’s not something you do, it’s something you discover without even knowing it.”
“...?”
“So, in some cases, I don’t try to make my heart beat as hard as I can, but my heart just naturally starts beating.”
"Yes."
“Like that, without even realizing it, at some point you realize, ‘Oh, I’m in love,’ that’s love.”
"Ah."
Ceres nodded vigorously at this explanation.
“...Do you get a feeling? Do you understand?”
"I get it."
"...Yes?"
“It’s like an awareness beyond the state.”
“Uh... Uh....”
If you really think about it, that's true, but...
The abnormal state that Ceres was talking about was probably something like being excited, being addicted, or discovering an injury that she didn't know existed...
Love is also a state of abnormality.
...Is that right?
It was not visible, so as she spoke, it became more and more complicated.
“Then how can we recognize and discern love?”
Diarin rolled her eyes.
“Love is... um...”
Since she had never experienced it before, she had to gather as much information as she could from the expressions she heard from those around her.
"It's different for everyone, but when you see that person, your heart races, your face turns red, you feel happy just looking at them, you want to be with them forever... That person seems like the most beautiful person in the world. That's what it feels like."
She gathered all the expressions that she thought she had heard somewhere, and it turned out to be quite plausible.
Yeah, isn't that what love is?
As he was imagining it, a shape took shape in his head.
Fuzzy, warm, and sparkly.
"I get it."
Ceres nodded confidently.
Now it's a little clearer.
The man who had proposed earlier also shouted similar words.
"You! From the moment I first met you! My world! Was all you! Now! Forever! I want to be with you!"
If it was love, Ceres could tell with certainty.
“Do I love Diarin?”
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I love this novel, thank you for your translation
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