Hero Diana (3)
It was an unfamiliar ceiling. From the look of the beams, I appeared to be inside a wooden cabin.
I turned my head and found a small boy staring down at me from beside the bed.
“Big sis. Who are you? You’re super pretty.”
I was certain I had fallen asleep in the cathedral yesterday after praying with the holy sword for Dad to come back…
Where was I? Hadn’t I been in the cathedral? Why was I lying in a bed inside a wooden cabin?
I could still sense the holy sword resting safely inside my subspace. At least I hadn’t lost it. That was a relief.
“Where are we, kid?”
“This is my house! You were collapsed out front, so I brought you inside!”
His house? I had collapsed in front of it? Why?
More importantly, why did this little boy smell so achingly familiar? It was just like my dad…
No—what was I thinking? Finding a little boy’s scent comforting? Touching a child like that would be a crime.
Besides, I had no desire to grow close to any man in that way. Not that a boy this young would even have such thoughts.
I still had to atone to Dad.
“What’s your name, big sis? I’m Paul!”
Paul?
The same name as my father.
“I’m Diana. Thank you for looking after me, Paul.”
Hearing the boy’s name made my chest tighten with memories of Dad, and I felt an instant wave of affection. I gave him a gentle smile, and his face flushed bright red.
“U-um… big sis, do you have a boyfriend? Or a husband? Or… someone you like?”
“Pfft. No, I don’t have anyone. I’ve never liked anyone before. Though I did love my dad.”
How adorable. The little rascal already knew how pretty I was.
I’m sorry, but this big sis must repent to her father. She cannot fall in love with anyone.
“T-then… big sis, could you stay at our house a little longer?”
“Hm?”
“My parents went to the village chief’s house two days ago and still haven’t come back. I’m all alone and it’s scary… Can’t you stay with me? Please?”
Paul pressed his index fingers together, fidgeting nervously as he asked.
Hmm…
I had planned to leave immediately, but seeing him living alone without his parents reminded me of my own lonely childhood.
I still needed to atone to Dad, but I had nothing urgent to do right now. Maybe I could stay just a little while longer? My revenge was already complete, after all.
“All right. I’ll stay until your parents return.”
“Yay! Big sis!”
Paul bounced around the room with joy.
We cooked stew together for lunch. Was it really all right to use someone else’s ingredients like this?
I decided I would repay them with money once his parents came back. I had plenty stored in my subspace.
“How did you end up collapsed in front of our house, big sis?”
“That’s a good question… I’m not sure myself. I was definitely in the cathedral. How did I get all the way out here?”
“Whoa! The cathedral! I’ve always wanted to go there!”
Was this village so remote that they couldn’t even visit a cathedral?
“It’s not that great. It’s actually pretty boring…”
No matter how earnestly I prayed, my wishes were never granted. Those cruel gods.
They had let my dad die.
“But I want to go and receive God’s blessing! One day I’m going to become a hero and defeat the Demon King!”
Oh.
I had heard many boys say they wanted to become heroes like me, but this was the first time I had seen such pure determination in person. It made me want to show off.
“Hehe. All right, big sis will show you something you’ll never see anywhere else! Ta-da—the hero’s holy sword!”
I pulled the holy sword from my subspace and held it out to him. To complete the image, I wrapped my body in holy power and mana, letting them glow around me.
Hehe. What do you think? Cool, right? This is the hero who slew the Demon King.
“Huh? Big sis…? Wow, that’s amazing.”
That’s right! Be amazed! Behold the hero! Hehehe.
“But I know you’re not really a hero, big sis.”
Eh?
“The hero only gets chosen when the Demon King descends. And the Demon King hasn’t descended in this century yet.”
The Demon King usually appeared once every century, and the decisive battle between hero and Demon King occurred roughly as often.
Still, this little boy knew an awful lot about the cycle of heroes and Demon Kings. Most people had no idea.
Hadn’t he heard that the Demon King had already descended and that I had defeated him?
Even in a remote village, how could they have missed news that important?
“Oh, Paul, you’re behind on current events. The Demon King descended several years ago. And this big sis defeated him recently! That’s right.”
“…Big sis, you shouldn’t lie. It’s only been fifty years since the last Demon King appeared. They always wait at least seventy years. I know it’s not time yet.”
Paul looked at me with the stern expression of a scolding adult.
Eh?
Really? I couldn’t even remember exactly when the previous Demon King had descended. Was he telling the truth?
Maybe the boy was simply mistaken. I had never heard anything like that. Though now that I thought about it, a gap between centuries did make sense.
“No, it’s true! I am the hero. Look at this holy sword! This is the proof! I cut the Demon King’s head off with it!”
I poured power into the blade. The holy sword responded by radiating brilliant, sacred light.
“It does look incredibly holy… But it’s impossible for the holy sword to have appeared already. The last Demon King descended in imperial year 859. The sword shouldn’t manifest until at least year 929.”
“That’s why it appeared. It’s imperial year 943 right now, isn’t it?”
He was surprisingly good with history and numbers for a child. Still, he had the date wrong. How cute.
“…What? What are you talking about, big sis? It’s imperial year 909.”
“……Pardon?”
What was he saying? I had become a hero in imperial year 944.
Was the calendar different in such a remote village? How pitiful. No matter how rural the area, to be this far behind on dates and cut off from all news…
“Sorry. I must have been confused. Actually, big sis is a holy knight. But I’m as strong as any hero, you know?”
He was just a child. There was no need to argue. I couldn’t bully a little boy over something so trivial.
“I knew it! Are all the holy knight ladies as pretty as you?”
“Of course not. There isn’t a woman prettier than me anywhere on the continent. Truly.”
“Eww. You’re really pretty, but you have a serious case of princess syndrome.”
“What did you just say, you little brat? Someone like me is obviously the prettiest. What’s the problem?”
I scooped Paul up, wrapped my arm around his head, and put him in a gentle headlock.
“Kuek! S-save me, big sis! I surrender! Surrender!”
“Hehe. Admit it, brat. That this big sis is the most beautiful woman in the world!”
“…Your personality is ugly too.”
“What was that?”
“I didn’t say anything!”
Wait… why was I getting along with this boy so naturally?
We had only met today. So why did it feel so comfortable, so familiar?
And so I ended up living with Paul for about a month.
We shopped for groceries together, cooked, talked, and shared our days.
But why hadn’t his parents returned? They had only gone to the village chief’s house, right?
A whole month was far too long. Something must have happened.
What kind of trouble could they possibly run into just visiting another house in the same village?
I decided I should go check on the chief’s house myself.
“Paul, can you wait here by yourself for a little while? Big sis needs to step out.”
“By myself? Why can’t I come with you?”
“I just need a bit of time to think alone.”
“…You’re not going to disappear like Mom and Dad, right? You’re coming back, aren’t you?”
It seemed Paul had already suspected the worst about his parents. Clever child. He must have realized the chances of their return were slim.
“I promise I’ll come right back. Just wait a little, okay?”
“…Okay. Pinky promise.”
After sealing the promise with a hooked finger and calming him down, I finally stepped outside alone. I asked the neighbors for directions and soon found the village chief’s house.
What is this…?
The aura of death clinging to the building was overwhelming. Why would an ordinary home reek of such thick killing intent?
Unless…
If my fears were correct, Paul’s parents were already…
It reminded me of my own father. I didn’t want Paul to suffer the same pain I had endured.
Creak.
I quietly opened the door and slipped inside.
The interior was pitch black. Even though the sun was still high, the house was shrouded in darkness. Every window had been boarded up.
What were they trying to hide?
I strengthened my eyes with mana and scanned the interior, but found no one. I checked every corner, yet the house was empty. My footsteps echoed hollowly until I noticed one section of the floor sounded different. A hidden basement.
I located the concealed door, opened it, and descended the stairs. What greeted my eyes was—
Kieeeeeeek!!!
A monster of unspeakable horror.