Fantasy Novel [Chiaroscuro of Dawn] ep.7 "Chapter 1: The Lonely Artificial God"

Approaching Hearts ②

Late that night, Chiaro stepped out onto the balcony of his room.

The light rain illuminated by the moon looked like silver thread, and he wondered if he would be able to turn this scenery into a beautiful poem if he knew more words.
If he had studied more, would he have known what to say to Scuro, who was lost in sorrow?

The door to the balcony in the next room opened, and he was greeted with a "Hey." It was Michele, revealing a gentle smile.

"I just got back, but I saw a light. Can't you sleep?"

Michele works at the palace during the day, but like Scuro and Chiaro, he lives here at the ancient temple.
Chiaro nodded vaguely and told him that he had made Scuro angry.

Michele came close enough to touch if he reached out and smiled.

"Judging by that look, it seems you haven't been able to have a fight yet."

"A fight? No, it was my fault."

"Are you sure about that? Considering Scuro's selfishness and your meekness, I feel that's unlikely."

Chiaro confessed that he felt ashamed of himself for not even being able to read after Scuro called him an idiot. Of course, he added that Scuro was not to blame.

"Would you like to hear a story from the past? I was born in a small village far to the south of here. I come from a commoner background."

It was no wonder Chiaro let out a surprised sound. Only nobles who attended seminary could become high-ranking clergy.

Michele's eyes, looking up at the night sky, were wet with moonlight and looked somewhat lonely. He looked like a moon dweller left behind on earth.

"My parents were hard workers, but we lived in constant poverty. I was taken in by a low-ranking noble family who had lost their heir to an epidemic.
They were gentle, good people. They taught me how to read and write, and they even sent me to military academy, telling me to make use of my blessed physique. But, you see, I don't really like fighting with people."

Indeed, while he had the physique of someone from a military academy, it was hard to imagine the gentle Michele swinging a sword.

"In the midst of that, a turning point arrived. I learned that my home village had been burned down by the lord's order. Having lost my hometown, I requested a transfer to the seminary. My foster parents gladly accepted such selfishness, but they passed away from an epidemic when I was twelve.
I studied diligently at the seminary, and at sixteen, I was ordained as a priest and simultaneously appointed as Scuro's caregiver. It was a secret mission from everyone, as it couldn't be known that a horned child was being raised at the Papal Office."

His stomach felt heavy at the story of his hometown being burned down.
He had heard from Uncle Theo before that even human villages would face merciless treatment if they were seen as hiding ogres or witches.

It seems Michele, who was entrusted with two-year-old Scuro, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to the unfamiliar childcare while confined to the ancient temple.
Chiaro, who remembered Gigi and Toto at two years old, understood completely.

On the surface, it seems Scuro is treated as a distant relative of Michele.
It seems that until Scuro grew up and was recognized as healthy, not even servants were allowed into the ancient temple.

"That must have been really tough."

"Well, doctors did come and go, of course. But that was really about it."

If that was the case, it was even more understandable why the bond between Michele and Scuro was unusually deep.
At the same time, he was in awe of Michele's competence, as he was currently working hard as the Chief Cardinal despite having spent so long dedicated to Scuro's upbringing and education.
Of course, his future must have been promised from the moment he took on the secret mission of raising the Child of God.

"I've gone on for a long time, but there were two things I wanted to say. The first is that Scuro grew up in a truly special environment. Because he had to suppress his loneliness with the pride of a Child of God, his thorny way of speaking seems to have become a habit.
Besides, the psychics who came before you all flattered Scuro without exception. He probably remembered feeling disgusted by their ulterior motives back then."

Is that so, Chiaro thought, his shoulders slumping.

"I... I really wanted to get along with Scuro."

"I know that. Now, the second thing."

As if to say "look at me," Michele touched Chiaro's cheek. His palm was large, and his fingertips were warmly glowing.

"The difficulty of raising your younger brothers, who are far apart in age, is something I might be able to understand a little bit, too. That's what I wanted to say.
Chiaro, you are doing well. I can tell just by looking at Gigi and Toto. You've worked hard."

Chiaro bit his lip involuntarily. If he relaxed his strength, he felt like he would start crying.

"No, um, Scuro also said it was only Michele..."

"But you'll be there from now on, won't you? I have high expectations for the two of you changing."

Chiaro's heart was full, and he didn't know how to put it into words. In the end, he simply said "Thank you," and then started with, "Um."

"Michele, would you teach me how to read and write? If I become smarter, I might be able to get closer to Scuro, and I might be able to convey my feelings like this to you better, Michele."

Michele smiled and said he would be happy to.

Just as he returned to his room feeling at peace, there was a modest knock. Thinking it might be the sound of the wind, he opened the door just in case.
There stood Scuro with a sullen face.

"What's wrong, so late?"

"What, am I bothering you?"

Saying "That's not it," he tilted his head as he smelled butter.

"Hey, Scuro, by any chance..."

"...What?"

"Are you often told that you smell good?"

Scuro turned bright red and brought his hands, which he had been holding behind his back, to the front. In his palms, he held a large plate with a warm tart on it.

"Stop saying creepy things again! It's a crostata! I baked it for you."

"Eh, you did, Scuro!?"

A crostata is a tart-shaped pastry with various ingredients stuffed into a cookie-like crunchy dough.
It seems it is common to make them with seasonal jam, but since sweets are a luxury in the Ogre village, they were more often made with vegetables as a side dish.

He gladly invited Scuro in, and they talked quietly at the table.

"That's amazing, you can make sweets. I thought you were just a rich boy who could only study... Ah."

"Don't 'ah' me. Are you picking a fight, you i..." Scuro started to say, but cleared his throat and urged him to eat quickly.

He should have been full from eating a lot at dinner, but his mouth naturally watered at the mellow scent of butter.
He thanked him and took a bite, and the sweet and sour taste of apples spread throughout his mouth along with the crunchy texture.

"Oh, it's delicious! I've never eaten anything this good."

"Heh," muttered Scuro, his ears turning red.

"But, I didn't boil the jam down enough, so it might be a bit watery..."

"Not at all! It's fun that the apple shapes are still there, and it's super delicious. Wait, did you make the jam too, Scuro? Is this the apple from Pii-chan's souvenir?"

Scuro nodded, his face flushing even more, and said as if squeezing the words out.

"I heard you like sweet things. So..."

"Yeah! I haven't really eaten many sweet things until now. Sugar is a luxury item, and honey was precious in our village too."

"...Does that mean you can't get it even if you work? Can't you buy it?"

"The Ogre village is short-handed, so we can't manage beekeeping, and peddlers don't come either. But, sometimes the lord sells us sugar! At an outrageously high price, you'd be surprised!"

Chiaro laughed openly, but Scuro fell silent with a solemn expression.

"Hey, about today, that... what I... said..."

Hmm? Chiaro tilted his head.

"Never mind. Also, about Pii-chan... thanks for telling me... your feelings..."

Chiaro waited patiently for him to continue, but Scuro remained frozen with his head down.
Just as he was thinking that the crostata would get cold, Scuro suddenly lifted his head.

"That! It's good fresh out of the oven, but it's also good if you let it sit overnight to get moist!"

"O-oh, really?"

"Yeah, it is! So! Look forward to breakfast tomorrow!"

Scuro collected the rest of the crostata and left like a storm.
Chiaro couldn't quite follow the flow of the conversation, but he chuckled in the room that still held a sweet, happy scent.