Nothing Unusual, You Clumsy Hero♡
I froze in place, stunned by Celine’s words. It wasn’t just me— the old man who had handed me the diary looked equally taken aback by the contents he hadn’t expected.
The Saint fanned herself with her hand fan, cheeks flushed from the heat, while Celine gently closed the diary and took a deep breath to calm her own reddened face.
…It’s nothing that shocking. Honestly, it’s a pretty hard-to-believe story.
“Is Celine’s interpretation correct?”
“…Yes.”
I asked the Saint again just to be sure, but she confirmed that Celine was right.
Then the conditions for the Holy Sword’s opening are sex—
The Holy Sword of Order?! Why is the condition like this?
“…There’s no further text?”
I wondered if that might not be the whole thing. I asked anyway.
“Wait a moment. The back part is still unfinished. It was too surprising…”
The Saint took the diary from Celine and began re-reading it. She flipped through several pages, checking the contents, then closed it carefully.
“After that, it’s just random stories. The only hint about the Holy Sword is the one we heard earlier.”
“…Hmm.”
Haha… So to unlock the Holy Sword, I have to have relations with the person I like?
“How does something as ordinary as a man and woman having a relationship have anything to do with the Holy Sword of Order?”
“I can’t say for sure, but… perhaps seeing it as the proper order that comes between loving people.”
…That makes sense.
“For now, I suppose we can’t do anything about it. Let’s be satisfied with what information we’ve gained.”
The Saint and Celine nodded. But the old man who had been silently watching suddenly tossed out a casual comment.
“Then it’s simple—you two just do it.”
He was pointing straight at me and the Saint.
“…Eh?!”
“What…?”
“Huh? You two aren’t like that?”
Like what!?
“…The Saint and I are not the kind of people you’re thinking of, old man.”
“Oh? Is that so? My apologies—I misunderstood.”
…Yeah, a healthy man and woman together could lead to that kind of misunderstanding. But the real question was why Celine was also there and why she kept singling me and the Saint out for the conversation.
The Saint handed the old man every bit of diary content she had decoded. Most of it was just the old hero’s everyday life. It was far too modest for a diary of someone who had actually performed as a hero.
“My grandfather originally valued everyday life. He always said that being able to live a normal life was one of the greatest blessings. When he first told me, I didn’t quite understand, but now I do.”
“…That’s a very wise remark.”
Because he cherished everyday life, his diary was full of passages about ordinary days. The old man read the decoded entries with a gentle smile.
He turned to the Saint who had helped him.
“Thank you. I was able to see, at least a little, how my grandfather lived.”
“I merely did my best to be useful.”
I had gathered all the information I could, so it was time to head back.
I gave the old man a polite bow.
“Thank you for showing me the precious diary, old man.”
“Precious? Actually, I had no idea what it contained in the first place… but thanks to you two, it became that.”
Still, if he hadn’t let us in when we suddenly appeared, it would have taken far longer. I could only be grateful for that.
“I’ll be going now, old man. I’m sorry for disturbing your rest.”
“Go on, then. I’ll look forward to hearing about you later.”
He wanted me to make a name for myself. I didn’t particularly care about that… but if I kept working hard, someday my name would reach even this old man.
I bid him farewell and stepped outside. When we had arrived, it was still around lunchtime, but now the sky was painted in sunset hues.
The sky is beautiful.
#
The sun had already set. We had arrived here in the middle of the day, yet it was already this late.
Still, it was a blessing—the ruddy glow from the sunset hid Estelle’s slightly flushed cheeks. Because of the contents I had just decoded earlier, her mind was in turmoil.
‘Having relations with the person you love… is the condition? …’
Of course, by “the person you love,” she meant the person Abel loved. Even if Estelle loved Abel, it would mean nothing if he didn’t feel the same way about her.
“…Does the hero even have someone he likes?”
Someone tapped Estelle’s shoulder while she was lost in such thoughts. It was a beautiful woman with brown hair and cherry-like eyes—completely different from herself.
She was Celine, whom Estelle had been helplessly dealing with lately. She still wore a meaningful smile.
Feeling an inexplicable unease from Celine’s smile, Estelle shifted her body sideways. But Celine caught her arm firmly and said,
“Saint-nim, is this not the perfect opportunity?”
“Eh?”
What opportunity? When Estelle looked at her with suspicion, Celine gave her a look as if she didn’t understand.
“We have to help the hero open the Holy Sword, don’t we?”
“…Yes?”
“Judging from the diary contents we read earlier, the condition is to have relations with the person you love. And only you can fill that role, Saint-nim.”
“C-Celine, what nonsense are you speaking?!”
Estelle was shocked, and Abel turned to her. “Why are you doing that?”
Estelle coughed awkwardly. “N-nothing at all.”
“It’s nothing, Scrubby Hero~♡”
Abel chuckled and continued with his future plans.
“Saint-nim, let’s head to the next city first. The opening can… wait until later.”
“Y-yes…”
Abel nodded at her answer and took out the paper Elfride had written on.
“This… Where is the next location?”
“Next is… Bourbon City. It’s northeast of the cafe city.”
“I see.”
Abel gestured to hurry, and Estelle nodded and followed behind him. Celine whispered to her again.
“Saint-nim, it’s not a joke. Think carefully. The hero’s Holy Sword definitely needs to be opened, and if you do this, it’s definitely good for you and for the hero.”
“…S-stop saying such strange things, Celine.”
Even as she said it, Estelle’s heart was tugged by Celine’s tempting proposal.
But she couldn’t accept it. She had no confidence that Abel would accept her.
Realizing Estelle’s worry, Celine gave her a hint.
“Saint-nim, have you noticed that the hero’s gaze toward you has changed since last time?”
“…Eh?”
Startled, Estelle let out a strange sound. Celine told her,
“I’ll quietly slip away later. So try it once. If you pass up this chance too, I really will steal him.”
“…No way.”
Estelle’s cheeks flushed red as she stared straight at Celine. She looked exactly like a girl who had fallen in love. Seeing that, Celine smiled.
“Then you’ll have to make an effort, won’t you?”
#
…What on earth?
On the road to Bourbons, Celine and the Saint whispered to each other, leaving me completely out of the conversation. Whether walking or resting for camp, it was the same.
I tried to eavesdrop, but it was no use—the conversation was too quiet.
Last time I could hear the water sounds in the mountains, but I couldn’t catch their words. What kind of secret were they talking about?
“…Anyway, how do we open it?”
I turned the Holy Sword over in my hands, lost in thought.
It was about having relations… no, sleeping with the person you love. The premise itself was already vague.
“…It’s far too ambiguous.”
What exactly counted as “loving” someone? Love was interpreted differently by each person. In context, it seemed to mean love between men and women, but that only made things worse.
“Cloe was the only one who said she liked me.”
To open the Holy Sword I had to sleep with her, but I couldn’t go find Cl oe, who was still studying at the magic academy.
And the bigger problem was—if I asked whether I liked Cl oe, I would only get the answer that I didn’t know.
Of course she was pretty, and her open affection was nice, but love was more complex than just liking someone.
“Sigh.”
“Is something troubling you, Hero?”
“…Celine.”
Celine had apparently finished talking to the Saint and was now standing in front of me. Why were the two of them whispering like that only between them?
“…I was thinking about the Holy Sword.”
“Hmm… Are you worried because of the opening conditions?”
“Yes. Honestly, the condition itself is too abstract, and I wonder if there even is such a person.”
“…You don’t have to worry, Hero.”
“Eh?”
What was that?
Celine gave me a small smile.
“It will be solved~.”
“…What?”
Would she explain it clearly?
“How can you be so sure, Celine?”
“I can’t tell you more. Just know that it will be fine.”
“Eh?!”
She’s been keeping secrets from me ever since last time.
“Anyway, Celine, what were you two talking about so secretly? You didn’t even tell me.”
“Girl talk.”
“…Eh?”
It sounds like something only girls talk about.
“…It makes me feel left out.”
That was a bit of a sore spot, but I still couldn’t tell her.
“……”
Damn, if you keep leaving me out like this, I’ll get jealous too?
“Anyway, don’t worry about opening the Holy Sword. Go ahead and sleep soundly. I’ll keep watch.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“I’m used to it. I did it a lot when I was with Hero Levius.”
Used to it… It was too obvious, so I almost let it pass.
“That’s not something you get used to, is it?”
“Eh?”
“It’s not fair. You start noticing first. I’ll wake you up when it’s time.”
Celine seemed a little startled. How much had Levius tormented her for her to be moved by such a simple line?
Celine stayed silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
“…If you keep saying things like that, it will be troublesome.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
Troublesome?
When I asked back, Celine laughed lightly.
“Nothing. Then I’ll wake you up when the time comes.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Celine gave a short greeting and lay down next to the Saint.
…It seemed Celine had grown so used to spending so much time with Levius that she thought it was natural for her to do the work herself.
“…I should do it better.”