Chapter 233: What He’s Been Carrying
Inside the Buena village's small church-library, Lys was leaning back in the wooden chair, the old frame creaking under his weight like it was protesting the heavy words about to come out from his mouth. The library itself smelled of dust and aged ink, the kind that stuck to the back of your throat if you breathed in too deeply. A single lantern flickered on the table between them now, throwing warm yellow light across Selene’s face and making the shadows dance along the tall shelves.
Outside, the village was holding its breath, but in here it felt like the whole world had narrowed down to just this table and the thick book that was resting between them.
He rubbed his palms on his thighs, with a little nervousness, as Selene sat across from him, straight-backed as always, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her dark hair caught the light, strands of it glowing like embers. She watched him with those sharp eyes that missed nothing, patient but expectant.
She already knew something big was coming, but was still not too eager to make him talk forcefully. Knowing that whatever Lys was about to say to her might just be more important than she is giving it credit for. So, for Lys’s sake, she was holding it in.
Lys took a slow breath, the air cool against the back of his tongue. “So, you remember about the system I told you about before, right? The one that showed up when I woke up in this body?”
Selene’s eyebrows lifted just a fraction. She nodded once, slowly. “Uhhh, yeah, I guess. The one you said a goddess gave you, right?”
“Yeah.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table now, keeping his voice low even though they were alone. The words started spilling out, steady at first, then picking up speed like he’d been holding them back for too long.
“Well, that same system told me about the bow. The one Tresta had. It called it cursed. Said it was bonded to her in a bad way, keeping her weak for years. And then it also told me I was the only one who could do anything about it. The only person who could bond with it properly now.”
He watched her face as he spoke. Selene didn’t flinch. She didn’t gasp or pull away. But her fingers tightened slightly in her lap, knuckles going pale for a second before relaxing again. That quiet way she had, going still like the calm before a storm, hit him harder than yelling ever would.
Lys still kept going, laying it all out plain. Even he didn’t want to stop now for some reason.
So, he started to tell her. About how the first time he’d touched the bow and felt that strange pull. The system message flashing in his vision, talking about needing him to reach thresholds of understanding and how the weapon would only accept someone who could handle its weight. How Tresta had looked at him that day in the settlement, exhausted and guarded, and how he’d opened his mouth and promised her he could lift the curse, all in front of Maya and her.
“I told her I’d fix her, Selene,” he said, voice dropping. “I brought her into the village for shelter, yeah. But that wasn’t the only reason. The system basically gave me instructions for curing her, so how can I just ignore it? I’ve been carrying it while everything else piled up: the guild, the dungeon, all of it. That’s why I am this late to tell you about all of this. Sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all about this sooner.”
The lantern flame popped softly. Somewhere on the shelves, a book shifted, settling deeper into its spot. Lys waited, heart thumping steadily against his ribs. He expected questions. Maybe anger. After all, they shared a bed every night, for fuck’s sake. He’d held her close, felt her breath on his neck, and still kept this locked away all this while.
But shocking him, Selene stayed quiet for a long stretch. Her gaze dropped to the table, tracing the grain of the wood like it held answers. When she finally spoke, her voice was even, practical.
“The system… What exactly is it? And don’t you dare tell me that it’s just some voice in your head. Because I know it isn’t. From the way you’ve been till now, blanking in space, mind off to somewhere from time to time, I can tell that it is something you use on a daily basis. I’m not wrong, right?”
“No, you’re not wrong,” Lys said simply.
“So, you’ve used it before. And I will assume that sword of yours,” She pointed to his sword on his waist. “Your CorpseSlayer. This sword was also just like this bow, given by your system?”
Lys just nodded to this question.
“Hfff……” Understanding all of that now, Selene released a big sigh this time.
After a long pause, she finally picked up, “So? How does this work? Does it have some kind of… test or something?”
Hearing Selene not in an angry tone, Lys looked up and stared at her for a couple of seconds. Then he nodded, relieved she wasn’t shutting the whole conversation down. “Yeah. With the sword, it was about fighting smartly, I guess, not just swinging hard. When I finally understood how the sword functions, it finally bonded with me. The system called it crossing a threshold.”
“Hmm…” Selene made that sound, thinking and absorbing what Lys was saying.
“For the bow, I think it’s similar but different. Maybe I have to learn something about this Creation magic, like you said, it is how an enchanted bow works. Generating arrows from nothing. Maybe it’s gonna need me to understand the bow-making process, or even how it actually works. Or maybe I just have to learn its function in mid-battle, who knows! I don’t have all the details yet, after all. But all I can be sure of is that the system made it clear: no one else gets to touch it without getting wrecked. Only I can pick it up without any backlash. So, it has to be me who can bond with this bow. Only then Tresta’s curse will be broken, it says.”
The silence in the library that came after this was a little bigger than before. Lys’s stomach twisted. He watched her stand up slowly, chair scraping against the stone floor. For a heartbeat, he thought she was pissed, that she’d walk out, tell him he should’ve trusted her sooner. His mouth went dry. “Selene, I….”
But before he could say anything, Selene stood up and exhaled, long and steady, shoulders dropping like she’d set down something heavy. Then she sat back down, pulled the thick book closer, and flipped it open. Dust motes swirled up in the lantern light. “So,” she said, voice calm but with a new edge of determination, “what are we waiting for? Let’s look inside it and see what that bow really is. Shall we!”
Lys blinked. Surprise hit him like a splash of cold water. He’d been ready for more questions, maybe even an argument. After all, what he said just now surely generated more questions than answers in her mind; he knew it.
But instead of asking him anything else, she was already turning pages, her finger tracing lines of text, brow furrowed in concentration. There was no pressure or demands from her. Just space, and that quiet faith she’d shown him since the beginning.
A weight he hadn’t fully realized was crushing his shoulders lifted almost instantly. The air in the library felt a little lighter to him, too, as if he finally could breathe now.
He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, the tension uncoiling in his chest. ‘So, it was the right choice to tell her everything,’ he thought. A small smile tugged at his lips. “Yeah, let’s open it,” he said, scooting his chair closer so their shoulders almost brushed.