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Chapter 6
‘Wow, my hand is really tiny.’
Derrick’s shoulder, which I barely managed to reach, just felt stiff.
‘Your lost confidence… your self-esteem? I’ll find it all for you.’
I was a fangirl and gamer who only cared about male protagonists—
But I always thought your story was so sad.
And now that I’m in this world—
‘I won’t let the righteous ones die.’
That’s the only way to reach the ending.
Maybe then… I can go home too.
I pouted my tiny lips and mumbled softly.
…Let’s just do this once.
“Soo… pretty.”
I gave his stiff shoulder the best pat I could manage.
I know how brilliant this man once was,
before the divine power that meant everything to him got corrupted.
“Pretty.”
Your glory won’t fade—not anymore.
That was all I could promise to the “dad” who would help me from now on.
[Your sincerity has been felt!]
[Hidden Skill “Purification” has been activated!]
And just like that—
A bright white light—too pure to look at—shimmered before my eyes,
holy symbols glowing through it.
‘Just like I remembered…’
This was the skill that made Kahn look like a living god.
A protagonist-only, ultimate skill.
‘Using purification… I can actually feel it in my body.’
My fingertips tingled.
For the first time, it truly hit me—
The fate of this world’s destruction now rested on me.
I looked up.
‘Oh boy, this guy’s still stunned.’
As our eyes met, Derrick flinched and looked down at his hands in shock.
‘Feels like taking a bath after a year, huh?’
In the game, it said that when a corrupted holy knight gets purified, it feels like shedding a year’s worth of grime.
That thought made me oddly proud.
I’m still low-level, so the amount purified probably wasn’t much.
But?
What matters is that I got the skill. I just need to level it up now!
‘Hehehe… This just got way easier.’
[Let’s show some affection to your surprised “Dad”!]
Huh? No thanks.
Once was enough.
[Let’s show some affection to your surprised “Dad”!]
[Give a heart!]
I said no!
But the sign didn’t care about my refusal—it just got bigger and more persistent.
Groaning, I turned away.
“Um, hey…”
“You… just now…”
“Shhh.”
I quickly stretched out my hand and pressed a finger to Derrick’s lips.
“Don’th.”
We can’t talk about the purification skill yet. Not now.
‘Luckily, the light from the purification is only visible to me—that’s how it’s supposed to work.’
Fortunately, Derrick got the hint and quietly closed his mouth.
He seemed more concerned about Siara behind us, who had her jaw hanging open.
[Give a heart!]
Ugh, fine already!
Nervously, I waved my tiny hands around. Ugh, they’re too small—I can’t even make a heart shape properly.
Whatever. Here.
A squashed heart!
I awkwardly formed a lopsided heart.
From a distance, it probably just looked like a misshapen circle—but whatever!
The tips of my fingers touched, and again, I felt that same tingle.
Another small, white light—only visible to me.
It was smaller than before, but no doubt: the purification effect had triggered again!
‘Huh? Wait… this is a high-level ability, right? I probably shouldn’t be spamming it…’
Well… I’ll worry about it later.
I gave Derrick a big smile.
“Dahddy.”
At that word, Derrick’s deep blue eyes visibly trembled.
“They said I haf to call you this, right? Issat right?”
“…Yes.”
“Take care of me from now on~”
As I smiled—
I suddenly felt my vision tilting.
Huh? What’s happening…?
But before I could even panic, my eyes had already closed.
The last thing I saw…
Was the floor—and a giant hand reaching out toward me.
* * *
Thud!
The Pope candidate, who had just been acting strangely, collapsed.
Siara muttered,
“…You caught her just in time.”
The moment Nemesia fainted, Derrick caught her with lightning-fast reflexes.
His touch was as gentle as handling a feather.
‘No, actually… more like…’
Like a first-time pet owner awkwardly holding a floppy baby kitten.
It looked very clumsy.
Well, to be fair—
‘The Candidate is really small.’
And Derrick was far too big in comparison.
‘Still… what was that earlier?’
Just now, the Pope candidate had patted Derrick Sacrum’s shoulder,
called him pretty,
and even made some strange shape with her hands.
‘What was she even trying to make? A slime blob?’
…Was it some kind of trend from the outside world?
Siara didn’t recognize the hand heart.
‘…If the candidate’s gone crazy, we’ve got a problem.’
Thinking logically, Siara reached out her hand.
“You can’t hold a child like that.”
Instructors responsible for Pope candidates are trained to handle everything about children.
“She’ll be uncomfortable. Please, allow me to carry her.”
“…”
But before Siara could touch Nemesia, Derrick turned his back to shield her.
“Lord Derrick?”
“…No, it’s fine.”
His voice was flat and gloomy.
“I’ll hold her…”
But in that cold tone was something faint—like a hesitant determination.
Siara opened her mouth to respond—
…Wait, is he really holding her like that?
“With all due respect… you look like you’re holding a very large baguette.”
“…”
“She’s not a loaf of bread, sir.”
Derrick’s expression grew even gloomier.
Siara had plenty more to say, but she swallowed it for now.
He was once a legendary holy knight who cut down fanatics at the frontlines.
Even after being demoted due to corruption, Siara still respected him.
“…Alright then. Understood.”
She stepped back and added:
“Anyway, congratulations. Now that you’ve become the Pope candidate’s ‘Guardian,’ you’re officially back in your rightful place…”
“No.”
His voice was so sharp and cold, it cut through the air.
“I’m still nothing but useless trash.”
“But you are a Guardian now. Or should I say, a ‘Dad’?”
“…”
“She’s the candidate who survived the hardest trial—‘the Maze.’ No one knows what potential she holds.”
Siara shrugged.
“And she chose you, Lord Derrick.”
Derrick looked down at the child in his arms. His eyes darkened, shadowed with unease.
…Purification.
If that power was real—
‘She’ll be executed the moment it’s discovered.’
Fanatics hiding in the Church were like cancer cells.
Even though he’d been forced off the front lines, Derrick knew what those cultists lurking inside were capable of.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
The enemies weren’t just the evil god and his followers.
Spies.
From powerful nations watching the Church, looking for a chance to strike.
Derrick’s gaze darkened even more.
Worry for the Church.
Rage at the fanatics and the evil god who did this to him.
Shame. Despair.
His ever-present depression.
All of it swirled together and dragged his thoughts into negativity.
…Maybe today’s miracle had just been a dream.
Maybe this girl would wake up, learn the truth, and demand a different Guardian.
‘But still…’
Even if he was worthless trash—
If she still wanted to stay with him—
“…Then I have to protect her. So she won’t die.”
Because that was his definition of justice.
“Hyiiieek!”
Uuuaaargh.
I swallowed a weird scream and opened my eyes.
My whole body was buzzing and aching.
‘This is it, right? That status effect you get when you push yourself to the limit? Ow!’
[Oh no! Let’s not use divine power to the limit when you’re still low-level!]
What the heck?!
As soon as the sign popped up, I was dumbfounded.
“You told me to!!”
The first thing I did after waking up—
like an angry kitten fresh out of a bath—
was hiss and point my finger accusingly at the signboard.
