The Demonic Realm (5)
Once the decision was made, I wasted no time.
After resolving to bring Evan along, I headed straight for his room and asked if he would accompany me somewhere for a little while.
At that, Estel gasped in exaggerated delight, immediately rambling on with nonsense about how spring had finally blossomed for her little Evan and cheering him on to make the most of it. Naturally, I ignored her completely.
She probably assumed I couldn't hear a word, but sorry to break it to you, Holy Sword—I hear everything loud and clear...
Granted, if Estel genuinely resolved to direct her telepathy exclusively into Evan's mind, I wouldn't have been able to pick it up. Right now, however, the situation was rather different. Even though she knew full well that I was blind and deaf, for some inexplicable reason, she kept broadcasting her thought waves so broadly that anyone in the vicinity could listen in...
Well, someone like me was an anomaly, so even if she knew I was deaf, perhaps she simply found it too bothersome to maintain a private mental channel for Evan all day long. Or maybe she was deliberately speaking loud enough for me to overhear. Personally, my money was on the latter.
If she was saying that sort of thing with the explicit intention of letting me hear, then honestly... for a holy sword, she had a staggering lack of tact. Besides, there were plenty of far better girls around him, so why on earth was she trying to hook him up with me? When there were candidates who outclassed me in every conceivable metric, picking me made zero sense.
Not to mention, I was originally a guy, which made the whole premise doubly impossible.
Well... I'll admit he's looked pretty cool lately, though.
Still, looking at him now felt more like watching a son grow into his own... That was where the admiration came from. If someone asked whether I saw him that way as a woman looks at a man, I honestly couldn't say. Of course, Evan had no way of knowing I used to be male, but even setting that aside, Stella or Uriel would still make vastly superior choices. And realistically, he would inevitably choose one of them anyway.
At any rate, whatever her true motive was behind broadcasting those thoughts for all to hear, I couldn't be certain. There was always a chance she had simply forgotten I perceived speech through mental resonance, so there was no need to go out of my way to point out that I could hear her. Which was precisely why, throughout all our time together, I had never once let on that I was listening.
"Uh..."
Evan had appeared somewhat tense at first, but the instant he caught sight of Arhen and Valencia, whatever anxiety he had harbored evaporated into thin air.
To be fair, wandering an unfamiliar territory with just the two of us would have been a gamble, so some nerves were perfectly justified... but our current arrangement was so overwhelmingly secure that fear didn't stand a chance. With the two strongest beings in this entire region accompanying us, it was only natural for his guard to drop completely.
Even so, we're heading straight toward one of the most perilous places in the realm, yet it feels ridiculously peaceful...
And this tranquility was owed entirely to the two monsters walking in front of us. Both stood at the absolute pinnacle of their respective crafts—swordsmanship and magic—ranking among the rare few supreme beings in the world. No matter what demonic beast reared its head, there was zero chance we would end up in genuine danger—barring the freak possibility that the monstrosity slumbering below woke up, that is.
It brings me such peace of mind knowing I can grant him such valuable experience in absolute safety...
Every time I sensed Evan keeping steady pace beside me, a soft smile crept onto my lips. Just witnessing the demonic beasts of this territory with his own eyes would make dealing with future crises in the Demonic Realm incomparably easier. Evan, however, clearly did not share my optimistic assessment.
"Um... where did you say we were going?"
"Below the cliff."
Evan's face drained of color.
Arhen offered no elaborate explanation. Deeming that single phrase sufficient, she cut the conversation right there. Yet that brief remark was all Estel needed to deduce why we were descending into the abyss.
"Ah, so we're heading down to check if the seal is holding up?"
"A seal?" Evan asked, puzzled.
Come to think of it, Evan had never heard about what lurked below. I briefly considered explaining it to him, but since nobody else seemed inclined to elaborate on the demonic beast dwelling at the bottom, I decided to hold my tongue. It would be awkward to suddenly spout detailed knowledge about the creature down there anyway. Outwardly, I was supposed to know very little about it. Though I had listened to the briefing earlier, Estel was more than capable of filling him in on her own.
Regardless, Arhen replied in a tone loud enough for both Evan and Estel to hear.
"Well, yes. After all, it'd be a disaster if it woke up."
"Then why bring Evan along?"
Pausing briefly at Estel's question, Arhen glanced back in my direction.
"Our Saintess over there suggested it would be beneficial to bring the Hero."
"...Oho~"
"Wh-what?!"
Evan, why are you the one freaking out? Is it really that weird that I brought you along?
Meanwhile, Arhen and Estel leaned close together, whispering in hushed tones. The fact that their voices were completely blocked from my telepathic reception proved that until now, Estel had indeed been shouting her thoughts for the entire world to hear. Living for centuries had turned that Holy Sword into an absolute sly minx.
After murmuring between themselves for a brief moment, they suddenly turned their gazes toward me.
"She really is... smiling..."
"Right, right? I'm telling you, there's definitely something there!"
"Haa... Has it been etched in fate since ancient times that the Hero must end up with the Saintess...?"
"Probably not, but you have to admit they look great together."
"I don't know about 'great together'—isn't Aria a bit petite?"
Just what on earth were they gossiping about? I knew they were close friends from their days traveling together in the previous Hero Party, but we hadn't come here on a sightseeing stroll—couldn't they be a little more serious—
Thud!
"Hm?"
Kraaaaargh!
That was the screech of a demonic beast—
Snap!
Boom!
With a mere flick of Arhen's finger, the beast that had just lunged into view exploded on the spot. Sensing the surroundings in a daze and realizing that not even a corpse remained of the creature, I let out an empty chuckle. I hadn't expected her to leave it so utterly obliterated that not a single shred of flesh remained.
"..."
Guess I worried for nothing.
Come to think of it, the two people accompanying us represented humanity's absolute greatest military might. Of course, given the gulf of centuries between them, the Grand Duke would inevitably lose if he fought Arhen, but that hardly diminished the awe-inspiring majesty of a Swordmaster. For the likes of us, an unexpected accident could be lethal, but to Arhen, this treacherous terrain was nothing more than an ordinary walking trail.
Naturally, I wouldn't die either—in fact, getting beaten would only flood me with pure euphoria, making this a genuinely delightful promenade for me as well. Still, for Evan, this place must have seemed like a living nightmare.
Slash!
"There are beasts lying in wait above as well, so stay alert."
A Frozen Bat, cut down in a single blow...
In the game, unless your stats were excessively overleveled, those bats were an absolute nuisance because of their ultrasonic blasts that froze everything solid. Yet he had bisected that very same Frozen Bat cleanly in half with a single stroke of sword aura. Worse yet, I couldn't even detect the motion of his blade. He hadn't appeared to make any distinct movement at all, yet the Frozen Bat had simply split in two and dropped dead out of nowhere...
"Whoa..."
Meanwhile, Evan seemed to have managed to track the Grand Duke's movement, even if just barely, and was staring at him with undisguised reverence.
"Hm? Is something the matter?"
"That was an incredible fast sword...! It's magnificent!"
"..."
Flustered by Evan's pure, unadulterated praise, Valencia sharply turned his head away instead of answering. On the surface, Valencia appeared to be the cold, ruthless Grand Duke of the North, but beneath that exterior, he possessed surprisingly endearing traits. That was precisely why he had been one of my favorite male characters back in the game.
Given Valencia's personality, he would undoubtedly offer to instruct Evan right about now. In the game, unlocking that required grinding his affection to a certain threshold and meeting the requirement of playing a swordsman class with deep martial insights, which had been fairly tricky. The latter requirement didn't matter now, but the former had always been the hurdle. Yet in this reality...
"A perilous journey lies ahead of you... Should time permit, I shall instruct you in the sword, even if only briefly."
Oh!
"R-really?!"
"Your swordsmanship and mine follow somewhat different paths... but I can at least guide your fundamentals."
"Thank you so much!"
As expected, when it came to learning the blade, Evan possessed no hesitation whatsoever. Still, this was a fantastic development. If Evan grew stronger through this opportunity, it couldn't be better. Since Valencia stood at the virtual pinnacle of the sword, even if Evan didn't make astronomical leaps overnight, a solid improvement was practically guaranteed.
Given that he had to subjugate the Demon King in the future, every ounce of strength counted.
As I turned toward Evan with a warm, gratified smile, Estel's voice echoed once again.
"Look at that. She's looking at Evan and smiling again."
"Indeed... at this point, one can hardly doubt it."
"I give them my full endorsement."
"..."
And they're at it again.