Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inner Thoughts Can Be Heard
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I had put off giving Victoria a proper answer to her confession for the time being, and as soon as I could move my body, I began searching for a way to meet the vengeful spirits dwelling within the Dullahan's holy sword.
"Shouldn't you be resting a little more? You still have trouble keeping your balance without my support."
"But... the more time passes, the more I feel like my parents might really disappear."
Victoria was walking shoulder-to-shoulder beside me, constantly supporting my staggering body.
Now, whether our bodies touched or not, she showed no particular reaction, focusing solely on making sure I didn't get hurt.
"...Well, there's no guarantee the souls trapped in that thing—which is embarrassing to even call a holy sword—will last forever."
As Victoria said, the holy sword the Dullahan had used had lost its original light and was now a weapon spewing darkness as if to devour everything.
p>Just getting close to it made it hard to breathe, as if someone were gripping my heart, and I felt a sensation as if all the blood in my body were rushing backward. But...
I couldn't give up here.
The people I'd missed my whole life might be inside.
"...Kyle, you said before that all holy swords operate the same way, right? Because they're weapons personally forged by the god Odin."
I was speaking to my comrades, who were on standby around us in case of any unforeseen incidents.
Among them, Kyle was waiting with his own holy sword drawn. Perhaps because he was the only one among us who could hear the holy sword's voice, he seemed tense.
"Yes. If you twist the hilt, the hidden ability activates. In my case, it creates armor made of flame..."
"We don't know what the Dullahan's ability was. That's the problem."
I swallowed hard as I looked at the pitch-black sword before me.
With each step closer, I could almost feel the agony the people trapped within had suffered.
"The Dullahan might be putting on an act to break free of the Idea, or you, Astal, might get devoured by that corrupted holy sword... Are you really sure about this?"
Kyle's words made sense.
It had already been ten long years since my hometown burned. The probability that anyone inside that object, stained with blood and resentment, still retained their sanity was slim.
Ultimately, it was just my wishful thinking.
But...
"It'll be fine. Because Victoria is by my side now."
Having learned through my time with Victoria that even the slimmest shred of hope could become reality...
I looked at Victoria with gentle eyes and drew a soft curve on my lips. I took her warm hand, interlaced our fingers, and pushed away my anxious thoughts.
"It's embarrassing when you suddenly say things like that..."
"If my parents resent me, or if I get devoured by the vengeful spirits of the villagers, you'll save me, won't you? That's how we've always been."
"...I expect you to repay me later with a kiss on the cheek. I don't like acting without any benefit either."
Even though she said that, Victoria was someone who, if it was for my sake, would move her body without calculating profit or loss.
Had we grown to resemble each other even in this aspect?
We were a pair so well-matched in our willingness to risk our bodies, even our lives, for the one we loved.
"Haha, you'll let me off with just that? I could do that all day long."
I couldn't help but let out a laugh. When I took the initiative, Victoria couldn't properly retaliate, instead blushing or fidgeting with her mouth.
"...That's a mean joke."
"It doesn't matter, since I wouldn't do this with any woman other than you anyway."
Unable to hide her reddened ears and neck, Victoria hastily averted her gaze from me and looked at the floor as she spoke.
Even with a corrupted holy sword right before us, the thought that it would be okay as long as I moved forward with her like this crept into my mind.
Victoria had become my mental sanctuary at some point, and she, too, had come to rely on me.
"Still, there's such a thing as situation and timing..."
"Since when have we cared about that? Back at Bellamora's territory, you gave me a really deep kiss, didn't you?"
"Th-that was for life-saving purposes! That action contained absolutely no personal feelings or desires of mine...!"
I kept teasing Victoria playfully.
If I didn't do this on purpose, she was showing a passive side about expressing her feelings, perhaps because she thought I had rejected her confession.
She cared for me so devotedly, nursing me when I couldn't move properly—it was too affectionate for just an ordinary comrade.
'The real answer to her confession... should be given at a more proper moment. Right now, meeting my parents and the people of my hometown to lessen my guilt is the right thing to do.'
Truthfully, I wanted to confess honestly that I had already fallen for Victoria, and that the only reason I pushed her away was out of fear that she might die.
But...
"We're going to get formal permission from my parents to date now, aren't we? It's okay if there's some personal feeling or desire mixed in."
Because I thought it was more important first to announce to my parents and the villagers that Victoria and I were dating...
I forced a calm smile and told the seemingly nervous Victoria that it was okay.
"Aren't you two scared at all...?"
The spirit mage Anima was trembling from the murderous aura emanating from the Dullahan's holy sword and looked at us with a puzzled expression, wondering why we weren't afraid.
Well, to say I wasn't scared would be a lie.
What if my parents and the villagers resented me? What if the Dullahan was putting on an act to try and kill me?
It was a nightmare that visited me every year on my birthday.
It was an indelible memory I relived hundreds of times, even in Bellamora's territory.
But...
"We're going to meet Sir Astal's parents and the people of his hometown. There's no reason to be afraid of them."
"Victoria... That's not the point. That's a cursed holy sword. Even for you, a saint who serves the Heavenly God..."
"Just by looking at Sir Astal, I can tell what kind of gentle parents he had and what good neighbors he lived with. I believe they wouldn't have been broken by a bad guy like the Dullahan."
As if it were no problem at all, Victoria grabbed the blackened hilt of the holy sword and let out a soft chuckle.
Whoosh—!
As if rejecting Victoria, darkness spread, staining her hand and arm black, but...
"I'm sure you think the same, Sir Astal? The boy they gave their lives to save is now a mage in the hero's party... a hero who has already defeated two of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings."
Victoria showed an unyielding will.
p>As if feeling no pain at all, wearing a noble and faithful smile, she spoke to the corrupted holy sword about my heroic tales.
"This is truly an astonishing result. Defeating Ergothum, called the Undying Demon King, should be possible for us as well."
Right now, Victoria was soothing the vengeful spirits of the people sacrificed by the Dullahan. Even though she might be devoured by the endless darkness herself, she showed no fear at all.
"—With you by my side, I feel I could tread even a path of thorns awaiting us as if walking on a flower path. That is what I believe love to be." I had to respond to her inner thoughts as well.
"...Right. With you and me, and our comrades, it might just be possible. We are the strongest hero party in history."
I placed my hand over Victoria's on the hilt, interlacing our fingers just as we did when we first entered our contract relationship, and grasped the holy sword's hilt together.
The moment my hand touched the hilt, a searing agony washed over me, along with the voices of people.
—Stop, please stop...! Give my sister back!!
—My son's body is on fire...!! Water, please give me water...
The voice of a child crying, grabbing a monster's leg as his sister was taken, and the voice of a mother searching for water to save her burning child alive.
It was as if the tragedy that occurred in my hometown, Mavilos Village, was repeating. I tightly shut my eyes, but...
"—...Sir Astal, do not be swayed by the voices of the vengeful spirits in their agony. They are simply suffering and saddened at having to die alone, and wish to go to the afterlife together with the living." There was one voice that came through clearer than any other.
The inner thoughts of the Saint that I had been able to hear since forming the contract relationship with Victoria.
The Saint's inner thoughts acted like a guide, silencing the other voices.
—Astal, I'm sorry we couldn't properly celebrate your 10th birthday.
—Even if you are left alone, never forget that we will always be by your side.
With Victoria's help, I was able to locate the presence of my parents within the Dullahan's holy sword.
And the moment I twisted the hilt of the corrupted holy sword...
Darkness spread as if enveloping Victoria and me, and our figures vanished in an instant.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Our son has grown so much. Now he's even bringing a pretty girlfriend to meet his mom and dad."
"I'll never accept this, even if dirt gets in my eyes...!"
When I came to my senses, what appeared before my eyes was...
"Sorry, this guy here made a fuss saying he wanted to try saying a line like this at least once. Since we're meeting after so long... Astal, you can let a joke like this slide, right?"
"Wait, honey, why did you say that? I just wanted to test if they really like each other! There's no way such a pretty girl would be with our son for no reason—"
It was my parents, who had been brutally killed by the Dullahan ten years ago, their bodies never found, looking exactly as they did back then, gazing at Victoria and me with playful smiles.