The Expedition (2)
Hans's daydreams stretched on without end.
When the sun rises, I'll have a simple breakfast, putter around with odd jobs, then spend the afternoon leisurely reading a book—
"Hans?"
And when the sun sets, gathered warmly around the fireplace—
"Hans?!"
"Wha—! Ah, Lady Hero…"
"Hans, what on earth are you thinking about? I've called you several times and you didn't even answer."
"N-no, it's nothing. I was just thinking of my father for a moment…"
Hans scratched his head awkwardly as he fumbled out the excuse. Kenis tilted her head and studied him.
"Were you close with your father?"
"Well, so-so? We weren't particularly close or affectionate, but we had a decent enough parent-child relationship, I suppose."
The image of his father drifted through Hans's mind. A face deeply carved with wrinkles and the marks of time, shriveled under the sun. Thick calluses and skin burned black…
A man who, in the dead of winter, would strip to the waist and wade bare-chested through snowfields to wash in the valley stream. A man who would wrestle a wild boar that was eating his crops and somehow manage to bring it down.
…He's probably doing just fine on his own.
Hans's father was a man born strong as a human being itself.
As Hans sat blankly lost in thoughts of his father, Kenis spoke up, hesitating.
"Um… Hans, I said I had something I wanted to talk about, right?"
"Oh—oh? Yes! You did!"
"Well, the thing is…"
Kenis twisted her body as if she were too embarrassed to get the words out. Watching her, Hans plunged into extreme confusion.
Wait—today already?! Th-this is a bit too fast, isn't it, Lady Hero! It's not that I don't want to, but I think we need time to get to know each other first!
"Could I take a look at your sword, Hans?"
"…Pardon?"
"The sword with the divine characters engraved on it! Could I please just see it once? Ever since I heard the rumors, I've been dying to see it! That's why I've been looking for you this whole time!"
"Ah—my… sword?"
At Hans's dazed reply, Kenis shrank back for a moment.
"Of course, if you don't want to, that's fine…"
"No, well. Showing it to you isn't particularly difficult."
Somehow slightly deflated, Hans drew his sword and carefully held it out to Kenis. At the very base of the blade, mysterious characters glowed with a crimson light.
Kenis's eyes sparkled like stars as she looked at them.
"So this is what God Himself created…"
Murmuring in a voice as if entranced, she traced the characters with her finger. There was something dreamy about her manner that left Hans staring, spellbound.
After gazing at the characters for a long while, Kenis returned the sword to him. Her expression was one of quiet regret—she clearly wanted to look longer, but simply couldn't bring herself to ask.
"Here you go. Thank you, Hans. Thanks to you, I got to see something precious. The Rune of Courage, was it? It suits you well."
"Oh, not at all. I'm just a lucky guy, that's all. Courage? I'd be lucky just not to run away."
"That's not true, Hans. I saw you fighting bravely against the Lich last time, too."
"That was… I was just pretending to fight. Sir Cale, the Holy Knight, did all the actual fighting."
Hans thought of the blonde Holy Knight he had convalesced with—Cale.
A senior Holy Knight who had been frozen together with him by the Lich's attack and later freed. She had returned to her unit not long ago.
Looking at the ground with a gloomy expression, Hans spoke.
"I'm terrified of fighting. Killing something is scary, and dying is scary too… Why would God give a coward like me a character that means courage?"
Kenis looked at him for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"I'm scared of fighting too. Getting hurt is so painful, and the enemies are strong and terrifying. But I still find the courage."
"…"
"When I say that, people ask me. They say, 'Is it because you're the Hero that you're so brave?' Heh—no, that's not it. When people hear 'Hero,' they misunderstand me."
Kenis rose abruptly from her seat and began slowly circling around Hans. Her red hair streaming behind her looked like a fairy that had appeared in the dark of night to bewitch him.
"People assume I'm a Hero all day long. That I eat like a Hero, dress like a Hero, train like a Hero, even sleep like a Hero. But that's not how it is at all."
She stopped and looked at him.
"Hans, after being the Hero myself, I've come to understand. 'Hero' is just a name. Anyone can be a Hero. You, Hans. A little child. Even the elderly. There's only one thing that matters."
Kenis came right up to him. Her red eyes sparkled like burning stars.
"The courage to take one step forward."
She whispered it to him.
"There are times when everything is so terrifying and hopeless. Moments when you want to turn around and run. If, in that moment, you can take one step forward—anyone can become a Hero. What matters is the shortest courage. The shortest courage in the world is what makes you a Hero, Hans."
"One step forward…"
"Hans. Courage isn't not knowing fear. That's just recklessness. It's being scared to death, but overcoming it and moving forward. Taking that one step—that's courage. It's right here."
Kenis poked Hans's solar plexus with one finger.
"Being scared means you can overcome it."
"…"
Hans wordlessly gazed into Kenis's eyes. Her eyes reflecting his face seemed to bewitch him like a brightly burning flame.
"Kenis—!! Where are you—!! Come eat—!!"
Friga's shout calling for Kenis rang out from far away. Hearing the cry, Kenis stepped back.
"I should get going now. I hope I didn't say anything unnecessary. Have a good night, Hans!"
Kenis ran off, her red hair streaming behind her.
"Ah! Thanks for showing me the sword!"
Her words came faintly from far away, where she had already run. Hans blankly touched his chest and murmured.
"…Don't mention it."
For some reason, his chest felt hot and tight. It was as if Kenis had left a small ember behind when she poked his solar plexus.
From now on, whenever he saw a flame, he would think of her.
Those eyes of hers, as brilliant and warm as a burning fire.
After the night when a small ember was planted in Hans's heart had passed, the days of walking, eating, and sleeping repeated once more. At first, Hans had hovered on the outskirts, unable to fit in among the others—but now he had a few people he could call something like friends.
"Just be honest with me already. What's going on between you and the Lady Hero?"
"No, seriously, there's nothing going on. All she did was ask to look at my sword."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
The muscular, hairy man clinging annoyingly to Hans's side was Rohan.
Rohan was someone Hans had gotten close to during this expedition. A full head and a half taller than Hans and covered in thick fur all over, Rohan kept pressing him.
"Hey, just be honest. Even if the Lady Hero doesn't feel anything for you, you like her, don't you?"
"Wh—! Wh-what nonsense is this now! No!"
Hans's face flushed red as he jumped up and denied it. But a strong denial often means a strong affirmation. Rohan shook his head.
"Give it up. I'm telling you this as a fellow member of the Holy Apostle unit—the Lady Hero is a tree you'll never climb."
"…I said I don't even like her in the first place. Stop talking nonsense."
Hans, thoroughly sulky, walked ahead at a quick pace, and Rohan caught up beside him.
"Hey, hey hey. You sulking? You sulking?"
"I'm not sulking. Go away."
"You're sulking. Sulking over something like that—not very manly. Tsk tsk, just drop it."
"You—get over here right now. Come here for a second."
Unable to take it anymore, Hans grabbed his sword hilt and called Rohan over—and Rohan fled in a hurry, looking comically undignified for his size.
Hans glared at Rohan running far away, then let out a deep sigh.
Ever since that day, there were eyes he thought of whenever he saw a burning flame.
Get a grip, Hans. You and the Lady Hero are people from different worlds.
You shouldn't even look at a tree you can't climb in the first place. A Hero chosen by God and a mere farmer like himself. Anyone could see they didn't match.
Hans walked on, repeating this to himself. As he walked blankly, someone shouted from the head of the column.
"Everyone, attention—!"
Hans snapped his head up at the booming cry. The bald man who had fitted Hans with armor and a helmet on the first day was shouting.
"We'll arrive at the operation site shortly! As you can see, it's a small village in the mountains, so don't go messing around with the residents! If I catch you, I'll send you to God's side myself!!"
Hans secretly covered his ears at the booming voice. The man's lungs were so powerful it felt like his whole body was vibrating.
"And forces from the Holy Romanian Empire are coming too! We'll be sharing a pot of rice for a short while, so if I catch you picking fights!! I'll send you to God's side for that too!!"
Then someone raised a hand and asked.
"What if they pick a fight with us first!"
"Then ignore them! The weaker and smaller the beast, the louder it barks!"
"What if they blaspheme against God?"
"Then beat them to a pulp! If you lose to someone who blasphemes against God!! I'll beat you to a pulp one more time myself!!"
After the passionate briefing ended, the column entered the small village. Crude wooden fences surrounded it, and small houses clustered together.
A place where the mother of the plague rats that had fled the Empire was presumed to have settled nearby—a tiny village that didn't even have a name on the map.
As Hans stepped into the small village, he felt an inexplicable bad premonition.
A feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.