The Hero's Memories
She seemed displeased by my words as well, for her pretty face twisted in an instant. The girl dispelled her weapon and dropped to her knees. Knights rushed forward at once, fastening restraints around her wrists and ankles. It was clearly an attempted murder, and she was now, in every sense, a criminal. Yet for some reason, I hated the way the knights handled her body so roughly. I hated the sight of those restraints being locked onto her even more.
Huu... I forced my irritation down. I am the Hero. I must uphold the virtues expected of one. I cannot let petty emotions sway me.
At that moment, the Pope gave an order to the knights. "Inject her with a mana suppressant and fit her with the highest-grade restraints before locking her in solitary confinement—"
"Would you mind waiting a moment, Your Holiness?"
To hell with virtue. I could not hold back any longer. Solitary confinement? Absolutely not. I could never send her to such a rotten place. That was where filthy criminals belonged. Thinking about it, she had committed no crime at all. She had not killed anyone, so why should she be treated like a criminal? That meant I was simply acting as a Hero should.
"Hero? Do you have a question for me?" the Pope asked with a benevolent expression.
"No. I need something."
I seemed to be getting rather good at wearing a mask. His face had clearly soured, yet he kept up the act.
"We can discuss that later."
I do not want to wait. Who decided that?
"No. I will say it now. I need that girl."
"....."
Huh? What is this? The atmosphere had turned hostile. What I said was nothing special— Ah. It could easily be taken the wrong way. Damn it...
I grew anxious. What if the girl thought strangely of me? All I could think about was explaining myself as quickly as possible.
"..When I say I need her, I mean as a fellow companion of the Hero. Is everyone misunderstanding something?"
"Ah, no, of course not, Hero! I did not suspect anything at all! I simply believed you must have your reasons. Hehe."
Fortunately, Saintess Aria seemed willing to believe me. She was a woman too, so perhaps the girl would think the same way. I desperately wanted to believe that.
"Hero, I am sorry to say this, but no matter how I think about it, it would be best to leave this woman behind. There is a high chance she is a demon spy."
The Pope interjected. The Saintess's Eye of Truth had already said otherwise. More importantly, the Holy Sword had not reacted. Therefore, if it said no, then it was no.
"No. She is not a demon. The Saintess's eye does not lie."
"But it was not white, was it?"
"It was not black, either."
I had no time to stare down the Pope. Stress was steadily building.
"Very well, Hero. Take her with you. However, since her identity is unknown and she poses a potential danger, we will place a holy relic on her for the safety of both you and the Saintess."
"What sort of relic are you referring to?"
If it was something suspicious, I would make the Pope wear it instead.
"It is the Necklace of Harmonia. We shall have her wear that."
"The Necklace of Harmonia..."
It was a necklace that converted mana into holy power. If that was all, there should not be much to worry about. It also had a protective barrier effect. Still, I could not understand why the Pope would offer such a necklace. It would be wise to remain cautious for now.
"Then let us return for today. The necklace will be prepared and fitted tomorrow. Until then, we will continue using the mana suppressant and restraints."
The moment the Pope finished speaking, two unfamiliar knights entered. They fastened shackles around the girl's wrists and ankles.
She is already wearing restraints. How many more are they going to put on those slender limbs? I could not control my emotions.
Calm down, Ian. It seemed the fatigue from being unable to sleep during the baptism ceremony was making it difficult to regulate my feelings. Still, after taking a deep breath, I felt a little calmer.
When the knights rolled up her sleeve and inserted a syringe into her pale skin, she flinched in surprise.
Should I just kill them all?
Thud. Thanks to Saintess Aria placing a hand on my shoulder as if to ask what was wrong, I managed to hide my killing intent. It was fortunate. If I had let it show, the Pope might have died of a heart attack on the spot. It was a relief that I stopped my sudden impulse before a murder occurred.
I told the Saintess it was nothing and looked back at the girl.
Huh? The knights and the Pope were blocking her face.
Move aside. I cannot see her.
I tried to approach her immediately, but Saintess Aria held me back and shook her head.
What now?
The Saintess stepped forward naturally and walked toward the girl.
What is going on?
"Come to think of it, there was a holy relic the previous Hero left behind in Notre Dame for the Saintess."
"...Pardon? From my father?"
"Indeed. The previous Hero told me about it himself, so I can finally deliver it to you, Saintess. He spoke of you with such pride. Hohoho."
The Pope and the Saintess began chatting among themselves. I had no desire to listen to their tedious conversation any longer, so I ignored the Pope and approached the girl. But his next words stopped me in my tracks.
"Do you know the way to return home, Hero?"
My heart pounded. What did I just hear? Home?
It had already been seven years since I was summoned here. The Adelan Empire knew only how to summon me; they did not know how to send me back. Of course, it was possible they simply had not told me. Every previous Hero had ended their life here. That was why I had half given up on returning home.
But there is a way to go home?
I thought of my parents on Earth. Father and Mother must be waiting for me. That was the only thing on my mind. Unable to contain my curiosity, I spoke.
"You know how to return home...?"
The Pope smiled, showing his teeth. "Of course. If there is an entrance, there must also be an exit."
I followed the Pope out of the room as if entranced by his words, without even thinking about the girl trembling in fear behind me. That moment later became one of the greatest regrets of my life.
I followed the Pope down into the cathedral's basement. There, murals six times my height stood covered in writing in an unknown language, not the imperial tongue, so I could not understand what they said. The Pope stared at the murals as if half-entranced, muttering to himself, then told me to wait and disappeared into a storage room at the back. When he returned, he carried an old map and gave me nothing but vague talk about how I could find answers if I went to that place, before sending me back to my room.
I felt annoyed, wondering if he was joking, but the Pope's serious expression suggested otherwise. A vague sense of discomfort lingered. It was unpleasant and inexplicable. Still, returning home took priority, so I did not question him about the location. I hurried back to my room and spread out the map. Dozens of magic formulas were inscribed upon it, their spell structures so complex that even most mages from the Magic Tower would struggle to decipher them.
"Hmm..."
This was a fact known only to the Tower Lord, but I could actually use spells, magic, and swordsmanship all at once. Before receiving the Hero's baptism, during my seven years of training, I spent three years learning the sword in the Adelan Empire, one year studying magic, and the remaining three years working as an adventurer, primarily using magic. The Empire had made a deal with me: while I posed as an adventurer, they spread rumors that I was training with the sword in the Empire to hide my true identity. My magical talent had even been officially recognized by the Tower Lord as monstrous.
The reason I mentioned this was, of course, to emphasize that the map was anything but ordinary. In deciphering spell formulas, I had reached a level comparable to the Tower Lord in less than a year. It spoke to just how monstrous my talent was. Yet even I could not properly interpret this map.
"Who in the world made this?"
In the end, I stayed up all night and managed to decipher only 0.3 percent before collapsing into sleep. A few hours later, I woke up, flung open my door, and sprinted madly toward the confessional chamber.
Please. Please. Please!
A few hours ago, the Pope's behavior had clearly been suspicious. But blinded by the possibility of returning home, I had been so entranced that I failed to look after the girl left alone in the confessional. I swallowed curses.
This idiot! And he calls himself a Hero...
Panting, I threw open the door to the confessional. An odd, unfamiliar smell tickled my nose as I entered.
Ah...
Dried blood of unknown origin stained the floor, and a black undergarment lay discarded for some reason. My heart dropped. Where was she? I felt like I was going mad. My teeth chattered, and my heart pounded as if it would burst. I could not understand why I was reacting this way. The mere fact that she was gone made my chest ache unbearably, and an inexplicable anxiety made my teeth rattle.
She might have just taken off her clothes to wash up. Calm down. But then what about the blood? Even if the blood on the floor was not hers, it was still a problem. It meant someone had attacked.
While I was stamping my feet anxiously at the doorway, a voice called out.
"Hero?"
I turned my head. In the distance, the knight commander was walking down the cathedral corridor.
"Commander Julius?"
"What brings you here at this late hour?"
His tone, now that he had stopped in front of me, felt somewhat aggressive. Whatever displeased him, he looked quite angry.
"Do you know where the girl who was in this room went?"
"You mean Sirmiia? I do not understand why you are looking for her."
Sirmiia? So that was her name. But how did Commander Julius know Sirmiia's name?
"..Is Sirmiia safe?"
Commander Julius's expression grew even more displeased as he answered. "You do not need to know."
Then, Commander Julius, do you need to know? I felt dumbfounded, which only made me angrier.
"Understood. I will find out myself."
"Wait."
The moment I tried to pass him, he grabbed my shoulder. "Sirmiia needs to rest right now. Do not even think about approaching her for the time being. She is not in any condition to speak with anyone."
With that, he released my shoulder and turned away.
"What? Wait a moment. What do you mean by that, Commander Julius? What do you—"
I kept questioning him, but Commander Julius left without answering. In the end, I had no choice but to return to my room without any information.
Is Sirmiia all right..? Why does she need to rest? I was going mad with worry about her. But if Commander Julius was right, going to see Sirmiia now would be a mistake. It would not be too late to visit after waiting for her condition to improve.