We're Already Getting to Know Each Other
Not becoming a Holy Knight had been my goal from the very beginning.
Even after regressing five years, the reason I refused to grow any stronger myself and instead went out of my way to raise Laward; the reason I kept separating the protagonist from the heroines so each of them could cultivate their own power—all of it existed so I could renounce the strength of a Holy Knight.
More than anyone else, I wanted to cast away that purity.
Once I witnessed an ending in which the world did not fall to ruin, I planned to discard my holy power. I would fling it away as quickly as if I had been clutching something filthy, abandoning every last shred of that purity. That had always been my purpose.
So when they asked again, my answer remained exactly the same.
"I refuse."
"Please reconsider just once more. This is not something to reject so outright. As one who possesses holy power, nothing could be more glorious than becoming the Goddess's sword…"
"Even if I think about it a hundred times, even if I ponder it for a hundred days, my answer will not change. I will not become one."
You lot go ahead and do it as much as you like.
Purity.
After I refused several times with absolute firmness, the two Holy Knights wore expressions of clear dismay. This was not how things were supposed to go, their faces said.
Chris took another step forward.
"Just what is your reason? Because you're a heretic after all, is that it…?"
"Quiet, Chris."
Chris had meant to press harder, but Blash sank him with a single word.
"Did you lose to a heretic? Or do you think I would invite a mere heretic to join us?"
"That… is not the case."
Watching my closest subordinate from the previous life get thoroughly shredded left me with a complicated feeling—amused, yet somehow wishing the scolding had been directed at me alone.
"Still, Lord Daywin, I share the same curiosity. To wield holy power means that one's body and mind are pure, and that every other condition pleasing to the Goddess has been met. Someone like you should have no reason to keep the Order at a distance."
Blash's tone grew more serious.
I had no intention of honestly saying, "I simply want to stop being pure," here. There was no need to lose the respect of the two Holy Knights in front of me—or of the boy standing beside me, Laward.
"I am a man who cultivates talent. I am confident I possess an eye for children who can achieve far greater things than I ever could."
Half-true. The best kind of lie.
"I wish to focus on raising them."
At those words the corner of Laward's mouth stretched into a broad grin. I hadn't said it for his benefit.
"…Is that so."
Blash, who had been passionately trying to persuade me, finally lowered his gaze.
Finally over…
"But do you know this?"
Not over after all?
"Even in this very moment while we speak, our Holy Knights—our brothers—are carrying out their duties. Tragically, some of those brothers go to the Goddess's side during those missions."
Sudden emotional appeal. Don't tell me this is…
"If someone with holy power as strong as yours were to lend a hand, a few more might survive. Right now we are so short-handed that even dangerous missions are undertaken by only a handful of men. If just one more person were there…"
Ah. The kind of thing I used to see on TV all the time. Those charity campaigns that go, "Even as we speak, the poor somewhere on Earth are starving."
Blash had given up on logical persuasion and was now trying to tug at my heartstrings.
But then—
"How strange, Commander. In that case, wouldn't it be enough simply to try a little harder?"
Laward tilted his head as he spoke. The words of a true former slum rat.
"…In any case, Lord Daywin, you could be of tremendous help!"
Wow. He cleanly ignored everything Laward had said.
"Honestly, isn't it a waste to possess such power and simply leave it idle?"
That one stung a little. Leave it idle? As if he had any idea how many schemes I was already running behind the scenes.
Bzzzt—
Just then the matchbox in my inner pocket vibrated. I quickly clamped a hand over the pocket so they wouldn't notice the tremor. The Houndry boys had struck a match.
Damn it. Of all times for a call to come through. They wouldn't use a magic tool for something trivial. It had to be an important report; I needed to check it at once.
A quick glance showed the Holy Knights and Laward staring at me as if something were wrong.
I had no choice but to ignore the communication for now—
No.
Was there any real reason to hide it here? Did I truly have to keep secret the fact that I was hunting the Death God Cult?
The Death God Cult. The Goddess Church's greatest enemy. The Holy Knights would only confront the cult's true nature after the apocalypse had already begun. Enemies they had long believed were acting independently would turn out to all belong to the same faction. Even defeating the Five Lanterns one by one had been nearly impossible; when those five finally moved as a single body, we had despaired.
But if I shared the information here?
The Holy Knight Order and I could become true allies with the same goal. We could prepare for the Death God Cult in advance. Then perhaps Blash would not have to die. Perhaps the Holy Knights out on missions right now would not have to die either.
Yes. If I alone chose to help, I could save countless lives—just like those campaign slogans I had once seen somewhere, sometime.
Bzzzt—
I decided.
Step by step, I turned and walked away. As I went I drew the matchbox from my inner pocket.
"I have no intention of joining the Holy Knight Order. That does not mean I am simply idling my time away."
Fwoosh—
I struck the match and looked back; my eyes met Blash's.
"I tried just playing around once. The ending wasn't very good."
A short walk brought me to a street stall selling skewers.
"Mind if I borrow a bit of fire?"
I tossed the lit match into the brazier full of charcoal.
Fwoooosh—!
The tiny flame swelled, revealing the image of a completely different place.
— Reporting in.
— We followed the men who had infiltrated the mansion and discovered them making contact with members of the Death God Cult.
— We switched targets to the Death God Cult party and tailed them again.
— That is how we arrived here. Can you see it?
Yes. I could see it clearly.
An altar. An altar that looked as though people had been burned upon it as sacrifices wavered inside the flames.
"Commander, this is…"
"Yes, Chris. The very rite we have only ever seen in books."
Both Holy Knights stared into the fire with deadly serious faces.
"Something that must never be allowed to rise again."
Blash put heavy emphasis on the word "again."
"Lord Daywin, what exactly is this?"
His voice was hard, as though he were angry.
"While chasing those who targeted House Hasgard during the Subjugation Festival, we ended up here. As expected, this is…"
"Yes. The methods of the Death God Cult. Not merely burning them—performing it upside-down like this."
Conscious of the busy street around them, Blash lowered his voice and did not describe the details further.
"The problem is that we wiped them out a hundred years ago."
The man who usually spoke so loudly possessed a formidable presence the moment he dropped his voice. Unlike me, who had been pushed into the commander's seat, this was a man whose reason for standing in that position was plain to see.
"How horrible… But Commander, couldn't these simply be people imitating the Death God Cult?"
"That would be a problem in its own right, yet I almost hope you are right. Still, we must investigate. Lord Daywin, can you tell us the location?"
"Of course."
Professional manpower would now handle the work Houndry had been doing. Nothing could be better.
"Thank you. If you truly have discovered an omen of the Death God Cult, Lord Daywin, you have done us a tremendous service."
Yes, yes. Finally someone who recognized my efforts. Even without joining the Holy Knight Order I had been diligently doing what needed to be done.
"Though I pray it is not so. I truly hope it is not…"
Blash frowned as though the thought itself pained him. Behind him Chris was already moving.
"Commander, I will find a 'Courier' and contact the Order. That will be the fastest way. The moment they read the letter they will move to the location."
"Chris, no. To use a Courier…"
"I will cover the cost. This is an emergency, is it not?"
"No, Lord Daywin… No—thank you. I will set aside my pride and accept your kindness."
Blash started to refuse, then finally bowed deeply in gratitude. The second deep bow of the day. For a Knight Commander he was surprisingly light on formality—completely at odds with his massive frame.
"Lord Daywin, Chris and I will go ahead. We will see you tomorrow at the Academy."
The Academy? They had claimed they came looking for me rather than Laward, so what business could they still have there?
"Ah—and just in case, it would be best if you told those who reported to you to pull back for now. If this truly is the Death God Cult, it is dangerous."
I opened my mouth to ask something more, but Blash finished what he needed to say and turned away.
"…They're gone."
"Yeah. Appeared out of nowhere and left just as suddenly."
I was the one who had suddenly sent them off, though.
"By the way, Laward—you said Commander Blash did not come looking for you."
"Right? Still, he came looking for Master, so at least he has a good eye!"
"Then why did I buy you a sword…?"
"Huh?"
My gaze slid to his back—to the sword strapped there.
"You haven't used it yet, have you?"
"No… I haven't used it yet… W-why do you ask?"
"Hand it over."
The instant the words left my mouth—snap. Laward clutched the sword to his chest. He had never moved so fast.
"N-no!"
"If you haven't used it, I can still get a refund. I have the receipt, so there's no need for either of us to get red-faced arguing about it."
"You can't. I'm in the middle of getting to know Holiday right now."
Who?
"Holiday and I are already… getting to know each other."
Laward gazed down at the sword in his arms with an almost tender look. It was a relief he was no longer trying to form bonds with the heroines that way, yet the sheer reverence in his eyes made me worry he had simply awakened an even more dangerous taste.
"That's exactly why you should hand it over before you get to know it any better. Holiday or whatever it is."
The fact that the name even overlapped with part of mine made it worse.
"Even if you are my Master, I cannot allow that!"
"Remember who bought it for you."
Ah. What a waste of money.
Watching Laward already so attached to the first gift I had ever given him, another person suddenly came to mind. One of the heroines— a mage who loved swordsmanship and swords more than anything, whose goal was even to become a Swordmaster.
A total sword otaku.
"Aaaah—!"
In front of the weapon shop near the Academy, a girl dropped to her knees before the display window. Short golden hair. Hairpins, a necklace, earrings—nearly every part of her body except her hands was adorned. It was Rebecca.
"Someone bought it!"
Clatter!
Rebecca burst into the shop in a panic.
"That sword that was there—someone really bought it?"
"Which sword? Ah, right, someone bought it. Paid full price, clean and simple."
The same clerk who had served Daywin answered lazily.
"Ahh, seriously—! You promised you would sell it to me!"
"Then you should have brought the money sooner."
"Where is a student supposed to get that kind of money? I told you I was saving up. I even got a scholarship, so I could have managed it soon! This is too much, really—"
"Rebecca, it's not my place to say, but I wish you wouldn't spend your scholarship on a sword…"
"Then what else am I supposed to spend it on?"
"Or lower your sights. There are still plenty of cheaper swords."
"I was taught that a sword chooses its swordsman, and that you treat a sword like a lover. How could I look at anyone else while I already have a lover?"
"…There are plenty of people who do just that."
"What?"
"Never mind. It's still too early for you to hear that."
That day ended with Rebecca looking thoroughly dejected, but the real problem came the next day.
The following day at the Academy, Rebecca was walking with her roommate Ester when they spotted Daywin and Laward sitting on a bench, waiting for the Holy Knights' visit.
"There he is!"
Rebecca thrust out a finger.
"Huh? Who?"
"The person who stole my lover!"
"…What? Senior, our sponsor would never do something like that! Stealing someone else's lover, or someone who might become a lover… He would absolutely never do something so shameless…!"
"No. I don't know why your delusions are so detailed, but I'm not talking about him—"
Thrust!
Rebecca's long finger pointed straight at the sword hanging at Laward's side.
Ester's eyes followed the tip of that finger.
"I'm talking about this one."
Without Daywin ever knowing, the Laward–Rebecca scenario had begun to unfold in a completely distorted direction.
A special connection different from the game.
It was a fateful bad encounter.
