The Divine Weapon (4)
The expedition headed straight for the Temple of the Five Gods within Yustella. Waiting at the entrance were those who had come to receive them.
"May the grace of the Five Gods be with you. Welcome, everyone."
"May Their grace be with you. Thank you for the warm welcome."
Rooms and meals had been prepared in advance for every member of the party. For the first time in a long while, the expedition washed away the dust of the road with warm water and a proper meal. When evening fell, Paladin Demonic summoned them all together.
"I will now summarize the expedition's schedule and objectives going forward."
Kenis focused on his words, roughly scrubbing at her still-damp reddish hair with one hand.
"Our ultimate goal is to find and secure evidence of the God's traces."
Kenis's senior holy knight, Cale, leaned in and whispered beside her.
"If that turns out to be the rumored divine weapon, that would be the best-case scenario."
"But will we be able to find that divine weapon so easily?"
"Well, the easiest way would be to buy one off the adventurers who already have them… though those money-mad types probably won't sell without a fight."
The two kept whispering even as they listened to Demonic continue.
"Therefore, we set our primary objective as the most concrete evidence currently available: the Divine Weapon. After that, if time permits, we will also investigate the rumored 'Inn.'"
"Next, the precautions. These concern your lives, so listen carefully. Reports have come in of Silver Twilight Order activity near the city. That means the very rumors of the divine weapon and the inn may well be schemes of the Silver Twilight Order."
"The Silver Twilight Order?"
Hearing Kenis mutter, Cale answered.
"Heretics. Lunatics who believe that if they summon the demon they worship to the surface and freeze the entire world, a paradise on earth will arrive."
At Cale's words, laced with open disgust, Kenis murmured,
"So heretics really have appeared…"
Demonic pressed on.
"Therefore, even inside the city, move in groups of at least two, stay alert, and always keep your weapons on you. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Any questions?"
Kenis thrust her hand high into the air.
"What is it, Probationary Holy Knight Kenis?"
"Paladin Demonic, I don't know much about the 'Inn'!"
"Ah—right. Probationary Holy Knight Kenis wouldn't have received the briefing yet."
"Paladin Demonic! I'll brief Probationary Holy Knight Kenis separately!"
Kenis's senior, Cale, spoke up at once.
"No need. Since we have to verify it anyway, I'll explain."
Demonic turned his head, briefly meeting Kenis's eyes, then swept his gaze over the gathered party as he spoke.
"The 'Inn' I mentioned earlier is the name of the place where adventurers claim to have received the divine weapon. Apparently it looks like an actual inn."
"They say they heard the voice of God at this 'Inn,' so if God has descended to the surface, that place would be a Holy Land."
At the mention of a Holy Land, the expedition grew restless. A Holy Land where God had descended to the earth! Nowhere on this continent, in all of recorded history, had God ever set foot.
They themselves might become the first discovery party of that Holy Land! Demonic calmed the overly excited atmosphere.
"Everyone settle down. This is only if it isn't a heretical scheme."
The party gradually quieted at his words. The very existence of the divine weapon and the Holy Land could still be a rumor fabricated by the Silver Twilight Order.
Demonic looked over the people assembled before him.
"This investigation was, from the start, a mission with a high likelihood of being a heretical plot. So never let your guard down, and always keep the worst-case scenario in mind."
After delivering a few more precautions and the schedule, Demonic declared the meeting adjourned, and the gathered people drifted off one by one to their rooms.
Kenis was climbing the stairs to return to her own room when someone called her from behind.
"Probationary Holy Knight Kenis? A word, if you would."
Demonic had called her aside.
Paladin Demonic wants to speak with me directly? What could it be about?
"Let us go somewhere quiet."
He led Kenis to a secluded garden in the rear courtyard.
Whoosh—
A cold wind sweeping down from the night sky rustled the nameless flowers blooming in the garden as it passed. Demonic gazed at the moonlit garden in silence.
Kenis stood awkwardly behind him, not understanding why she was there. After standing like that for a long while, Demonic spoke.
"A truly beautiful sight, is it not?"
"Y-yes? Ah—yes, it is."
"The moonlight illuminating the dark night, the wind blowing beneath it, even the dancing flowers. Even these beautiful scenes will one day fail to overcome time and vanish. A pity…"
"Y-yes, that's true…"
"Time ruthlessly takes everything away. This scenery, those great mountains, and people as well… All of it melts away like sugar dropped in water. Like an inescapable fate."
Not quite sure what Demonic was trying to say, Kenis awkwardly played along. He opened his mouth again.
"Probationary Holy Knight Kenis. I read the report summarizing your achievements at the Northern Fortress. Quite impressive."
"Ah, no. I was merely lucky."
"Luck? Who would throw themselves into a pack of monsters just to save a straggling child? And what of cutting down eight beasts single-handedly? Compared to your peers, you have shown noble character and outstanding results. You may take pride in that."
"…Thank you for the high evaluation!"
Kenis's eyes sparkled, her chest swelling at praise from the paladin she had long dreamed of becoming.
"However…"
The moment Demonic's silver eyes locked straight onto hers, Kenis felt an inexplicable chill run down her spine.
"Your personal records don't list any parents. Might I ask your parents' names?"
She could read no emotion whatsoever in those eyes. They simply gleamed like a doll's glass eyes, reflecting her without feeling.
"I was raised as an orphan, so I don't know my parents. The priest who took me in said they died in the war."
"Ah, how careless of me. My apologies, Probationary Holy Knight Kenis."
"No, it's fine."
Demonic's cold silver eyes and Kenis's golden ones tangled in the empty air. He stared hard into hers, then turned his head away.
"I've kept you out far too late on a night when you must be tired. Go rest, Probationary Holy Knight Kenis. It was a pleasant conversation."
"…Yes, sir. Paladin Demonic, I'll take my leave first."
Kenis had read a strange obsession and madness in the eyes that had bored into her, but she said nothing, bowed her head, and left.
And Demonic watched the red hair of Kenis as she entered the building for a long, long time.
Leaving the unsettling interview with Demonic behind, Kenis packed her things as soon as the morning sun rose and left the temple.
Of course, her senior holy knight Cale came along as well.
"Kenis, where should we start?"
"Hmm, where do you think would be good?"
"Well…?"
They had left the temple with great energy, but without any plan the two stopped in the middle of the street to think.
"Maybe we should start with the Adventurers' Guild? They said the first people to find the divine weapons were adventurers."
"Ah! That sounds good!"
Following Cale's suggestion, the two walked the main avenue toward the Adventurers' Guild.
"This is such a lively city."
The sounds of merchants selling goods from dawn, people haggling, and adventurers heading somewhere with armor and weapons were unfamiliar to Kenis.
In the North, brawling with beasts was daily life, so a peaceful dawn atmosphere like this was something she hadn't experienced in a long time.
In the North, from the freezing dawn I'd fight beasts, then clean blood off my armor—that was everyday life.
Inhale—
—Exhale.
The peaceful yet lively air of Yustella seemed to refresh her deep into her lungs.
Humming along, Kenis naturally began to sing under her breath, and Cale walking beside her chuckled.
"You look happy."
"Yes! After two years in the cold, dark North, coming to a place that smells like people feels so good."
"Heh, the North is pretty rough, yeah."
"It's not just 'pretty rough'—it was really hard."
"You think I never went to the North? Anyway, what's that song you're humming? I've never heard it."
"Ah, I don't know the title either. I've just known the melody since I was little."
"Is that so?"
With idle conversation for company, the two arrived at the door of the Adventurers' Guild in the warm dawn air.
Ding-a-ling—
With a small bell chime the door opened, and just as Kenis and Cale were about to step inside—
Crash!
"Whoa!"
"Kyaa!"
They collided with a shaggy-haired man tumbling out of the doorway and rolled across the floor.
"Ow ow ow, that hurts…"
"Ouch, what on earth…"
"Ugh. Kenis, you okay?"
Kenis and Cale, suddenly ambushed.
Could this be a heretic attack?
Cale brought one hand to the sword hanging at her waist, quickly collected herself, and rose to her feet.
Then she saw the man who had tumbled out of the door still lying on the floor.
"Aigo, my back…"
If that pathetic display was a deception, it had worked perfectly. Deflated, Cale took her hand off her sword and held it out to the man.
"Get up already. I don't know who you are, but are you planning to just lie there?"
"Agh, ugh. Thank you."
Patting his lower back, the shaggy-haired man took her hand and stood. The hand she clasped was covered in the calluses that form on those who often grip a sword.
Cale whispered to Kenis, who had already gotten up.
"Kenis, look at that. The sword at that man's waist. That's a divine weapon."
"What?!"
Kenis's eyes widened as she quickly scanned the man's sword. Indeed, even under the sun, the blade clearly flaunted a golden radiance. It matched every feature of the divine sword they had heard about.
Cale and Kenis silently met each other's eyes and nodded. Whatever the circumstances, that sword was the expedition's primary objective. They had to secure it.
The two approached the man with bright smiles.
"Are you all right? Are you badly hurt?"
"Oh my, look at this scrape. That must hurt~"
At their concern, the man waved his hands with an apologetic look.
"Aigo, no. I must have startled you both. Are you okay?"
"Ah, we're fine. Just a little startled."
"I'm fine too."
At Kenis and Cale's words, the man sighed in relief.
"Whew, good to hear. Well, I have somewhere to be, so I should get going. Sorry about that, ladies!"
The shaggy-haired man shoved open the Adventurers' Guild door he had tumbled out of and went back inside.
Seeing that, Kenis and Cale quietly followed behind him, opening the door and stepping inside.