Declaration of Intent
Hammer, hammer, hammer.
"Done!"
"Then come give us a hand over here!"
"All right, all right — just hold on a second!"
Three days had passed since the night raid.
Thanks to the timely efforts of Sprout's spirits, the village had managed to recover from nearly all the fire damage in that short span of time.
"Somebody get me some wooden planks over here!"
"Right here."
At a villager's shout, Jun pulled a board from his subspace and handed it over.
Contrary to their original plan of leaving the village the day after the coming-of-age ceremony, he was still here — fulfilling the promise he had made to Fortuna when he had decided, by order of priority, to save the church people first.
Honestly, with Sprout's performance having already lightened the weight of his debt, there had been no real need to keep the promise. He had only made it in the first place to ease that sense of obligation.
But with everyone else pitching in on the reconstruction, simply standing around and watching had felt wrong. So he had decided to help out while he waited for the news he was expecting.
"Thank y— no, Lord Jun. You're still at it? We're almost finished, so please stop and rest."
"...Just take it already."
When he shot the man a look with eyes gone cold, the villager accepted the plank with both hands, looking thoroughly overwhelmed.
Jun knew full well that telling them to cut it out would only waste his breath, so he said nothing and hurried away from the spot.
"Ohhh!"
"It's the angel!"
Drawn by the villager's voice, people along the road recognized him and reacted the same way. He had been slipping into the work under cover of the busy atmosphere, but that no longer seemed possible.
Jun tugged his hood lower for no particular reason, let out a sigh, and turned his steps toward the church.
"My, my. Back already, Angel? You're home earlier than usual today."
Kate, sweeping in front of the church, spotted him and threw him a mischievous look as she teased.
The irritation and anger he had been carefully holding down surged up all at once.
"Is this fun for you? I'm dying over here because of some old maid's explanation."
"Hey! I am not an old maid!"
"Liar. You're exactly the kind of old maid who's never even held a man's hand once in the thirty years it took her to get here."
"I am not! I'm not even thirty yet!"
Under Fortuna's ruthless fact-check, Kate protested with tears welling in her eyes.
But why is she only arguing about the age part? Don't tell me she's really never held a man's hand even once...
"Wh-what is that look? Don't look at me like you feel sorry for me!"
"Okay, okay. I get it. Just calm down."
"That's right. Hang in there, Kate. It happens."
"Hic! Shut up, you frauds."
Kate finally burst into tears. Jun soothed her as best he could and pressed on.
"So how are we supposed to fix this? It's really serious. People think I'm an actual angel."
Because the fire had been put out so quickly, the villagers had inevitably spotted both the assassins attacking the church and Jun wreathed in radiant light. That had forced Jun and the others to explain what had happened.
Speaking in place of the injured Leonard, Kate had told them that the assassins were kidnappers sent by a heretical cult that had marked Leon as a sacrifice, and that Jun's appearance was a blessing from God, granted in answer to his desperate prayer to save everyone.
It was meant to keep the blame from falling on Leon and to conceal Harry's true identity.
Originally, the two of them had planned to reveal who they were after the coming-of-age ceremony. But when the black mana the lead assassin had unleashed turned out to be otherworldly mana — mana not of this world — they had put that plan on hold. Revealing themselves, they reasoned, would only make incidents like this more frequent.
In any case, after hearing Kate's explanation, the villagers' anger at the cultists had lasted only a moment before they began sincerely praising Jun. How desperately must he have prayed for God to bestow a blessing? Not only his looks, they said, but his heart was angelic too.
As that talk continued, the villagers came to believe that Jun was an angel who had descended to the earth for some hidden reason. The fact that a fortune fairy who wielded holy power stuck to him wherever he went, and the fact that Leonard had one day bolted out of the village in a panic only to return looking dazed with Jun cradled in his arms, only lent that absurd speculation an air of credibility.
"Sniff. So what? It's not like it's hurting you."
"It's a burden."
"Just live with it. But... are you sure you're not actually an angel?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake. Sister Kate. You actually believe that nonsense?"
Jun looked at her with pure disbelief. Kate waved the broom in her hands, looking thoroughly wronged.
"B-but! Even if Harry somehow worked a miracle without proper training as a saint, there's no way he could summon an angel down into someone. Which means..."
She eyed him with open suspicion. Unlike the villagers, Kate was working from actual logic, not wild guesses. If it had only been speculation, he could have argued it down. Now things had gotten annoying.
"N-no! Our Juni is not an a— mmph!"
Sensing his predicament, Fortuna tried to deny the suspicion on his behalf. But her voice trembled — she seemed to think this whole mess was her fault — which only made her sound more suspicious.
Jun hastily clamped a hand over Fortuna's mouth.
"You heard Fortuna. I'm not an angel. More importantly — is the being that descended into me even an angel for sure? Something else suited to Harry's level could have possessed me instead."
"No. It's definitely an angel. I saw it clearly the moment you landed the final blow. A tiny halo floating above your head."
Kate's eyes did not waver in the slightest. She clearly had not a shred of doubt about what she had seen.
It was only a split second, and she still caught it?
A halo was the unmistakable symbol of an angel. With solid logic and clear evidence both stacked against him, Jun judged that further persuasion was hopeless.
So he played dumb.
"Is that so? I had no idea."
"What?! Does that even make sense?!"
"Then what am I supposed to do? I really don't know!"
He dug in his heels. When Kate still showed no sign of backing down, he raised his voice.
"I swear it before God!"
"Huh? Wh-what?"
"I am not an angel. Satisfied?!"
Breaking an oath sworn on God risked drawing divine wrath, so most people kept such vows — but not everyone. Kate knew that well enough. What she would never imagine was an angel breaking an oath sworn on God.
"I-I mean... so then what on earth..."
Just as expected, the certainty in Kate's eyes began to crack. Her reaction was a little extreme, though. She must have been completely convinced he was an angel.
Wait. This look... I've seen it before. Don't tell me—
"Did the Order put you up to this? Telling you I might be an angel?"
"Hic!"
Kate flinched hard. The question had hit the mark.
"Oh, come on. What is it with you people? Last time you treated me like some organization's living weapon, and now I'm an angel? Unbelievable."
He almost asked if the whole Order was nothing but delusional patients, then decided that was a bit much and held his tongue.
"B-but—"
"Another 'but.' No more buts. This conversation is over. Just answer what I asked you. Three days is long enough — a decision should have been made by now."
The real reason he had stayed in the village for three days: a tug-of-war with the Order over how to dispose of the corpse of the three-headed beast, Cerberus, left behind after the otherworldly mana had dissipated.
"First — do you acknowledge that ownership of Cerberus's corpse rests entirely with me?"
"Well... the Saint's share..."
"He himself said he renounces any claim. Don't even try arguing that a minor's decision is invalid. I confirmed it again this morning — three days after he became an adult."
"Ugh... I acknowledge it."
"Hm?"
He had expected more wrangling, but Kate simply nodded. Jun found it odd, but pressed on.
"Then do you also agree to the purchase of roughly half of Cerberus's remains that I proposed?"
"That 'roughly half' includes the split magic stone, I assume?"
"Of course."
"Then we agree. As for the price..."
Kate glanced around, then gestured for him to lean in close. How much could it possibly be that she needed to whisper it?
No. Don't get your hopes up.
Remembering how the Order had dragged its feet over factional infighting, Jun forced his racing heart to settle.
But then—
Whisper, whisper.
"...?!"
A few words from Kate set his heart pounding all over again, and his distrust of the Order melted away like snow in spring.
"Thank you, valued customer! As a token of our gratitude, we will deliver your goods swiftly and safely!"
"Tch. That much is obvious. More importantly — why are you clinging so hard to the other half? If you're just going to put it on display, sell us the rest too. We'll pay just as generously."
"I'm sorry, but I have to refuse."
"Come on. Do you know what we're going to do with that corpse? Present it as proof that the Labyrinth has begun a full-scale invasion, and use it to pressure the First Prince by claiming the ones he hired called this thing here. We'll put it to meaningful use in all kinds of ways — and for maximum effect, we need the body intact."
Hearing the reasons, selling the whole thing for the greater good actually seemed better. The church had already offered a generous price, so it wouldn't even be a losing deal.
He was about to seriously consider it when—
—Whimper~ whimper-whimper!
Sorrow and desperate pleading came flooding down the soul-bond.
In the end, Jun shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I have a use for it."
"For what, exactly? Ah — come to think of it, the Order's classical records mention an angel who offered the blood and flesh of a demon as sacrifice to grow their holy power. Don't tell me..."
"No, an angel wouldn't do something like th—"
Twitch!
"...Well, I suppose they might. Anyway, I'm not the one using it. Someone else seems to need me, so I'll be going."
Jun stuffed Fortuna — who was about to hiccup — into his clothes and hastily fled the scene. He could feel suspicious eyes on his back, but he absolutely did not turn around.
"Was I interrupting?"
"No. Your timing was perfect."
At Jun's answer, Leon nodded as if pleased, then led him wordlessly around behind the church.
As they headed for the rear courtyard, Jun looked up at the sky.
From the leaden heavens, pure white snow was drifting gently down.
He followed one flake that had caught his eye, slowly lowering his gaze — and there, across from him, stood Leon, sword already drawn, watching him.
Leon's face was as cold as the snow. His blade was as chill as the weather.
Jun gave a bitter smile, drew his own sword, and looked up at the sky once more.
A gloomy sky. Scattering snow.
The perfect weather for facing the regrets he had been carrying inside.