"Jenrick? Are you okay?"
When I asked him quietly, Jenrick slowly got up from his seat.
"…No, I'm not okay. I think I need to go right now. I feel like I've found a solution to my problem."
Divine power—yes, it was divine power. If I use that...
He muttered something to himself, then suddenly stood up without even saying goodbye and started running. He was headed toward the potion lab.
"…Looks like I gave him a big clue to solve his problem, huh?"
"Looks like rest really was the answer."
Instead of pointing out his rudeness, we chose to support him in solving his dilemma.
Now, the only thing left is my own problem...
Wait a second. What did Jenrick say earlier?
A flower imbued with divine power… And he said he would use it?
"That's right. Why didn't I think of that?"
If I helped Jenrick solve his problem, then he just solved mine.
Yes, that method exists!
A way to imbue a potion with a blessing—and a way to keep Eirik from discovering my ability!
The Duke of Sieri's Office.
Lute Sieri was alone, having sent his adjutant, Yuri Fulton, away.
Yuri had made a fuss, wailing that there was still so much to do, but Lute had something more urgent on his plate, so he literally kicked him out.
"I wonder how this will turn out."
Lute fiddled with the holy relic he hadn't taken off once in the past month.
Today marked exactly one month since he had received the relic from Saintess Ordel—the day the blessing would wear off.
He knew he needed to get re-blessed, but he hadn't gone to the temple.
There was something he needed to confirm first.
Has the time come?
Lute waited, leaving the relic on.
Then, a few minutes later—right at the time he had anticipated.
"…Hah!"
A short laugh escaped him. From his clenched fist and gritted teeth seeped an emotion that could've been either rage or ecstasy.
A dry, scraping pain in his heart, and every breath felt like needles stabbing into his lungs—this terrible pain!
The familiar torment that had plagued him for twenty years began to grip him once again.
"…Damn it."
Since he was still wearing the relic, the pain was bearable compared to before, even though the blessing had faded.
But now, he knew better.
He knew what it was like to have a body free of pain. He knew what a peaceful, ordinary life felt like.
After tasting that sweetness, how could he ever go back?
"At least she didn't lie to me."
The pain, which started from his heart, seemed to strike all the way up to the back of his head.
Lute leaned back in his chair, letting out a low groan.
"…Ah."
And then he felt it.
The warm sunlight streaming in through the window beside him.
Maybe it was because he was wearing the relic of the Sun God, but just basking in the sun made the pain feel slightly more bearable.
Ordel, who didn't seem to fit the image of a saintess of the Sun God at all.
Her words—that the saintess's blessing would be more effective than the relic—had been true.
And now, it was proven: everything Ordel had said was true.
…Then maybe, just maybe, the cure for this damn illness can be found someday too?
He used to be grateful just to have the pain go away.
But now, for the first time, he felt greedy—he had hope that the illness could be cured completely.
It was something he had never imagined before…
And for the first time in his life, he felt like believing in someone other than himself.
"She's really got me now."
Not only did he need a blessing every month, but now the key to curing his disease was in someone else's hands.
Calling it a weakness would be an understatement—it was like she had his heart in her grasp.
And yet, strangely…
Normally, being completely at someone else's mercy would've annoyed and frustrated him.
But now? This moment didn't feel so bad.
In fact, he might even say he was enjoying it.
He found himself curious about what Ordel would do next—so unpredictable, so unreadable.
So yes, he had to go now.
And conveniently, he even had a reason to.
"Yuri!"
Having made up his mind, Lute sprang to his feet and raised his voice.
Apparently, Yuri hadn't heard—or had completely ignored—his earlier order to stay far away, because the moment he spoke, she opened the door and entered as if she had been waiting.
Just as expected.
"Get ready. We're going to the Temple of the Sun God."
"Huh? Again?"
Yuri, who had entered proudly carrying a stack of documents, widened her eyes at Lute's command.
"But the saintess didn't send a letter saying she wanted to see you this time. Why all of a sudden?"
"Why do you think? Because I want to see her. When you're the one who wants something, you go to them, don't you?"
Flap—
Yuri, shocked by Lute's words, dropped the entire stack of documents she was holding.
The office floor was now covered in white paper, but Lute didn't pay it any mind as he threw on his coat.
"Y-you're not seriously going right now, are you?!"
"If you don't want to come, I'll leave you behind. You're not all that useful anyway, so feel free to stay and finish my work."
Lute stepped on the scattered papers as if they were nothing, pushed the stunned Yuri aside, and walked out of the office.
Yuri snapped out of it and scrambled after him.
"W-wait! What do you mean I'm not useful?! I'll come too!"
Lute didn't care one way or the other. He told a passing servant to prepare the carriage immediately as he was going out.
Though it was a sudden order, the servant—well-accustomed to his master's eccentricities—carried it out without so much as a raised eyebrow.
Thanks to that, preparations were finished in no time.
Lute sat back comfortably in a specially modified carriage seat—far softer than a regular one due to his illness—and hummed a cheerful tune.
Yuri, sitting across from him, was giving him an increasingly bewildered look, but he ignored her completely.
Strange, isn't it?
Just a little while ago, when the blessing wore off, the pain that returned had been almost unbearable.
Yet somehow, now it didn't feel so bad.
No—more precisely, the excitement and joy were enough to cancel out the pain.
Smiling pleasantly, Lute closed his eyes.
The warm sunlight pouring over his face felt truly delightful.
In my second life, I thought time wouldn't pass so quickly.
But somehow, it feels like this life is passing even faster than my previous one.
Especially now, seeing this man sitting in front of me again after another month has gone by.
"You're a bit late."
Lute Sieri.
As he appeared, I mentally counted the days.
It was exactly one month since he had received the relic, but it was a bit later in the day than last time.
Unlike before, when he came in the morning, the sun was already setting now—it was late afternoon.
"You must've waited on purpose to see how the blessing wears off."
It was obvious even without asking.
"Yes, exactly."
As expected, Lute admitted it without hesitation.
"These things should be verified properly, don't you think? More than anything, I needed to know exactly what happens when the blessing ends."
He had a point—but still, something felt off.
Why has he been smiling so much since earlier…?
He did smile a lot in the original story too, but only when mocking others, belittling them, or treating them with disdain…
There was no reason for that now, yet he was smiling so easily.
It was honestly creepy.
"Is it… because you're upset about having to receive blessings every month?"
I couldn't believe he was smiling out of happiness, so I carefully explained.
"As I said before, the blessing duration will increase as my abilities grow. I can't do it right away, but I will extend it soon, so don't worry."
I'd delayed making an offering to invest in the potion business, but once the business got going, my divine power would grow rapidly.
So in about three months, I'd be able to fix that issue for sure…
But strangely, Lute's mood didn't improve—his smile completely vanished.
His smiling face wasn't pleasant, but this serious expression wasn't any better.
"I really wanted to see you, Saintess… but it seems you didn't feel the same."
"…"
What kind of nonsense is this?
The absurdity of the statement almost made me blurt something out loud.
"Oh, right. The saintess only wants to see my money."
"…"
"You're not denying it… So really, the only valuable thing about me is that I'm rich?"
Ahem. Busted?
Since Lute was one of our best customers, I quickly shook my head before his mood got any worse.
"Of course not. That's absolutely not true."
Then Lute smiled brightly and said…
"Oh, right, our dear saintess also loves my face."
—He said.
I'm losing it. His mood swings are absolutely unmanageable.