The Lamb That Found the Way (1)
The next afternoon.
- Clop clop, clop clop…
- Clop clop, clop clop…
After somehow wrapping up the events in the demon village,
we'd taken some time to regroup and were now back on the road to the Holy Haven Papal State.
It had gone more smoothly than expected, so we hadn't lost much time.
But unexpected variables always strike when you're letting your guard down.
Just because everything had gone smoothly didn't mean we could fully relax.
"Lady Vivian, the border of the Holy Haven Papal State is just ahead."
"Whoa, wow… We're finally almost there…"
The majestic sound of horse hooves echoed endlessly in my ears.
Riding that rhythmic vibration, the massive walls of the Holy Haven Papal State finally loomed large on the horizon.
"…Why the long face? Is something bothering you?"
Lumina's concerned question came cautiously.
Only then did I turn to her, awkwardly lifting one corner of my mouth.
"Not sure if it's discomfort or just… overwhelming…"
"Was it the carriage after all? Your first time in one?"
The plush velvet seats and faint scent of incense.
Right now, I was demurely seated inside the carriage Joachim had ridden in.
Normally, he'd be lounging inside like he owned the place,
but fierce backlash from the priests had him riding quietly outside, covered in dust.
"No, the carriage is fine. It's the escorts… there are too many."
"Ah, that."
"What else could make me feel this burdened?"
Not only that, but among the Dawn Knights tightly surrounding the carriage,
the priests who'd gotten their holy power back from me yesterday were sticking close like full-time bodyguards.
More escorts were definitely good,
but the sheer numbers were overkill. It looked less like protection and more like a state parade for visiting royalty.
I was almost scared to stick my head out the window.
"It's unavoidable. Protecting you safely is the top priority for both the knights and the Church."
Lumina, seated across from me, replied firmly yet reverently.
"I don't want to roll in announcing it to the whole neighborhood…"
"Don't worry. Rumors about you have already spread across the entire Holy Haven Papal State."
The moment I let out a heavy sigh from the mounting pressure,
Lumina dropped a bombshell that made me doubt my ears.
"What?"
"If my guess is right, one of the priests already sent a messenger spell to the Papal State."
Her matter-of-fact explanation sent a chill down my spine.
Messenger spell? What kind of nightmare was that?
"By now, it's probably reached the high priests—and even His Holiness."
"Wow, that's huge. I had no idea our ordinary trip would blow up like this."
"No priest who witnessed that miracle would keep quiet. To them, it's a once-in-a-lifetime scoop and proof of their faith."
True enough.
If it were a normal village or country, maybe,
but these were people of the Holy Haven Papal State, with faith in the goddess deeply rooted.
In the end, this was all on me.
No reason to whine about the massive procession feeling burdensome.
"…Speaking of which, since it came up."
"Yes, ask away. I'll answer anything."
"Lumina, why haven't you ever asked for your holy power back?"
Her face stiffened at my cautious question.
But only for a moment—
"I am a grave sinner who dared point my sword at you, Lady Vivian. I feel no injustice about it."
"But the others got theirs back."
"They repented. I haven't forgiven myself yet."
She lowered her head slowly as she spoke softly.
"Your noble holy power mustn't be sullied by a sinner's shameless greed."
Watching her bow her head resolutely, I couldn't help but sigh.
Was she just stubborn, or completely selfless…?
Either way, leaving her like this felt off.
"I'll give it back."
"…Pardon?"
"You need holy power to stay in the Holy Knights, right?"
"Th-that's true, but…"
"I gave it back to everyone else. Leaving you out feels like discrimination, and I don't like that."
I sounded reasonable enough, but honestly, I'd just forgotten.
Sinner or not, that incident was long gone from my mind.
I should've done it ages ago, but things got busy, and it slipped my mind completely.
"No! I can't accept it!"
"Eek!"
The instant I reached out to return her holy power,
Lumina snapped her head up and cried out desperately.
"I haven't forgiven myself yet! With such impure thoughts, how could I…!"
Her stubbornness was way fiercer than I'd thought.
I never expected her to get so dead serious and refuse like that…
I flinched hard in shock,
nearly tumbling sideways off the seat.
"Why refuse if I'm offering…?"
"Even without holy power, I can fulfill my role. No need to worry about me."
"But without it, you can't stay in the Holy Knights."
"There are plenty of places to swing a sword outside the Holy Knights."
With that resolute line, she swallowed hard.
Why couldn't she just accept it nicely? Her pigheadedness was baffling.
"…Are you worried it'll bounce off like with Joachim?"
She flinched at my offhand guess.
Looked like I'd hit the nail on the head.
"Well, if that's the reason, I get why you're refusing."
"High Priest Joachim's holy power rebounded because he was disloyal to you…"
"Is that so?"
"I'm no different from him. If I tried to take that sacred power back and it rejected me…"
Her voice trembled faintly.
Like Joachim, she didn't see holy power as mere strength.
"Then, as a test, how about infusing it into that sword you're carrying?"
"…Into my sword?"
At my out-of-left-field suggestion, she glanced dazedly at the worn sword at her waist.
"Yeah. I've been wondering what to do with this anyway."
I boldly pulled out Joachim's holy power orb right in front of her.
The moment I did, her face filled with shock.
"Wh-what? Why is that still in your hands…?"
"It's so unique, I kept it. Felt like a waste to just shove it back into a body."
Holy power rejecting a person and turning into a rolling orb?
How could you casually reabsorb something like that?
"It looks just like a consumable. With some luck, we could enchant your sword with holy power, right?"
"E-enchanting a weapon with holy power…? I've never heard of such a thing…"
I tilted my head curiously at her flustered reaction.
"Huh? Why not?"
"Why? Holy power is the crystallization of faith, a manifestation of the soul—not some gem for magic enchantment."
She waved her hands in panic,
but my curiosity was already sky-high.
"Extracting holy power from the body is impossible to begin with…"
"Then we have to try it."
If this worked, I'd be the first to enchant a weapon with holy power… no, the first demon to do it.
"Let's do it, Lumina. Worst case, nothing happens."
I couldn't pass up this chance.
Eyes sparkling, I grabbed the hilt of her sheathed sword.
"I-I suppose, but… isn't this idea way too risky…?"
"If it works, great. If not, oh well. We can at least try."
"Please calm down first, clear your head, and think it through slowly…"
Before she could finish,
I pressed the holy power orb firmly against her sword's hilt without hesitation.
And then—
- Zzzzt, zzzt!!
The instant the orb touched the sword,
the cramped carriage filled with dazzling light, a fierce wave surging through.
Lumina yelped and whipped her head away,
while I watched wide-eyed to the end.
"L-Lady Vivian…!!"
"Ooooh…"
After a bit of time passed—
the storm-like light waves gradually subsided,
and the immense pressure filling the carriage began to fade…
Finally, through the parting glow, Lumina's worn sword came into view.
"…"
"Oh?"
The shabby old blade was nowhere to be seen.
In its place gleamed a transformed sword, softly emanating brilliant white radiance.
Its sacred, resplendent form left me—and even its owner, Lumina—speechless.
"H-how did this…?"
"Whoa, I half-expected it, but… it actually worked?"
I'd just touched the orb to the hilt,
and it'd infused so easily.
I was stunned, but thrilled.
The world's first holy power-infused sword—this was huge…
(Incomplete)
Grade: Mythic
Attribute: Light
Wielder: Lumina Evangeline