Chapter 85 — The Holy Sword
Chapter 85 — The Holy Sword
Translation: Godtl
"I saw! This kid is a real man!"
"...!"
Lelia was surprised and opened her eyes wide.
At those words, Griffith's eyebrows twitched.
A kid who was a girl until recently, suddenly a man? A real man?
Griffith's gaze, which instantly turned cold, turned toward Lelia. His eyes were full of suspicion and distrust.
Lelia couldn't even make excuses and just stammered in surprise.
Regardless, Kalix excitedly held out his forearm.
Lelia blinked.
What was he trying to say that he was holding out his forearm?
"I saw this kid... this much? Similar to me. A man among men."
At Kalix's words, Griffith frowned as if it was vulgar.
Lelia was dumbfounded.
What Kalix was talking about now was probably that... that... that thing. It was nonsense.
Not only did she not have such a thing, but the size of Kalix's forearm? Wasn't that impossible in the first place?
Had Kalix gone crazy? Lelia blinked, then suddenly recalled something.
That medicine she used on Emperor Perseus!
"By any chance, did you secretly watch when I had an audience with His Majesty?"
"Huh? Yeah. The archway wasn't closed. I was curious what you were talking about so I watched."
"...."
Lelia's vision went dark.
Wait, then surely...
'The illusion shown to Emperor Perseus wasn't the same thing, was it?'
That medicine was one that created illusions to make the other person misunderstand.
If the illusion Kalix saw was also seen by the Emperor...
'That means I openly pulled down my pants to show it when suspected of being a woman. In front of the Emperor...'
Recalling Emperor Perseus's pale expression, her head spun.
Kalix was patting Lelia's back firmly.
"I understand. That can happen. How much did you suffer mentally? But you... did that suddenly appear, or were you originally a man and your mother hid it?"
Kalix probed Lelia while recalling a hypothesis he had imagined alone.
Lelia didn't understand what he meant and was dazed, but soon understood.
'...Should I tell the truth even now?'
But if they knew such medicine existed and that she used it, Romeo or Griffith would immediately find it suspicious.
It was a completely different matter from changing hair and eye color.
She couldn't explain the truth, that it was a game item...
Lelia ultimately chose to nod.
Anyway, after the binding spell is lifted, she could explain while clearing up the misunderstanding.
Let's get through this situation for now.
"...The latter."
The former seemed too... much.
At those words, Kalix uttered a short, rough curse.
"Whoa... really, you kid... amazing. So you lived with that thing, wearing dresses and pretending to be a woman? How uncomfortable must that have been? With that size, it must have been very uncomfortable. Or was it rather comfortable? Since skirts are roomy?"
Kalix rambled on by himself. While doing so, he stroked the back of Lelia's head, saying she had suffered.
His touch was so rough she couldn't tell if he was hitting or stroking...
Unlike such Kalix, Griffith was expressionless.
Lelia watched Griffith's expression and spoke.
"Um... thank you for helping earlier."
"...Not really."
Though a short answer came back, Lelia tried to ask what she was curious about.
How on earth did he know she was at the imperial palace.
However, before Lelia could ask, Romeo brought it up.
"By the way, how did you know that one was there and go find him?"
"...I went the wrong way."
Griffith answered calmly. Romeo snorted as if he knew that would be the answer.
"The attendants?"
"They said they'd guide me, but I refused."
Come to think of it, even as a child, Griffith had a poor sense of direction. Lelia held back a laugh that tried to escape.
"What about the temple business? Did it go well?"
When Romeo asked again, Griffith nodded and stood up.
Lelia glanced at Griffith going to the inner room. And she was appalled.
Griffith's broad back was so full of muscles that it was startling enough to make one catch their breath.
But that wasn't why she was appalled.
A strange tattoo was engraved on Griffith's back.
'He's not some pirate, why such a tattoo...?'
When she looked at Romeo and Kalix in surprise, Kalix went "Ah," and explained.
"That guy got a big wound on his back in battle. He got a tattoo to cover that scar. There was a guy in the subjugation team who knew how to tattoo."
"...Ah."
Lelia tilted her head with a sour expression.
Griffith and a tattoo. And it was a terrifying-looking tattoo that only pirates would get.
It didn't suit him at all, someone with divine power.
In fact, even as a child, Griffith always had a proper and exemplary image.
His brown hair was always neat, and his voice and expression were calm. Perhaps because of his divine power, he had a somewhat sacred feeling.
But Griffith, whom she met again as an adult, was a bit different.
Top-tier fistfighting skills, strong liquor, and even a tattoo.
It felt like witnessing a devout priest become a thug.
Feeling unfamiliar and dazed, Griffith, who had entered the room, walked out carrying something.
'Put on some clothes...'
He was still shirtless. She wanted to nag him, but held back and lowered her gaze.
Anyway, after pretending to be a man with something the size of Kalix's forearm attached, she couldn't even be modest anymore.
Griffith, who approached the table, placed something down with a thunk, then sat back down.
"Gasp!"
Lelia saw what he placed on the table and covered her mouth in surprise.
"Do you know what this is?"
At Lelia's reaction, Kalix asked as if surprised.
"N-no. I was just surprised."
"Ah! You were surprised because it's a sword? Why is a guy so cowardly? Different from Leo."
Kalix playfully slapped Lelia's back.
"...."
It seemed like her back would be bruised by tomorrow.
But that wasn't what was important right now.
What Griffith had placed so casually on the table was definitely...
'The Kreuz Holy Sword, for sure.'
The scabbard, decorated in white and gold, exuded a sacred feeling at a glance.
Even someone who didn't know swords would notice that it was a very old and excellent treasured sword.
When Lelia learned various things from her grandfather, she had also learned about the temple.
That's why she recognized the holy sword she had seen in pictures in books.
'Of course, thanks to the original work, I knew Griffith would become the owner of the holy sword...'
The Kreuz Holy Sword was one of the temple's greatest treasures.
It was the sword held by the first Pope who received the will of the main god Herna, and it was said that only those with divine power surpassing him could draw it.
And among the successive Popes, no one had drawn that holy sword.
Lelia looked at Griffith with sparkling eyes.
She was proud and pleased with her friend who had accomplished an amazing feat.
However, Griffith's expression was indifferent.
"This is fake."
"As expected."
Romeo said as if he knew it would be so.
When Lelia was bewildered and only blinked, Romeo kindly explained.
"The temple wants to make this guy the next Pope. So they openly gave a fake holy sword and started spreading everywhere that the next holy sword master has appeared. To force him to take that position."
At Romeo's words, Griffith picked a quarrel in a slouching posture.
"Do I have to explain even that to that one?"
"...Kalix says he's his own younger brother now."
Lelia's lips twitched. She wanted to probe further right away, but she couldn't.
'It seems Griffith doesn't like me.'
He was openly giving off such vibes, so she couldn't ignore it.
'Then why did he save me earlier? Because he thought I was Leo's younger sister?'
It was fine when he thought she was a younger sister, but now that he thinks she's a younger brother, does he suddenly dislike her?
While Lelia was thinking this way and that, the three began to discuss matters related to the temple.
After the Guanglong subjugation ended, the temple was carrying out various behind-the-scenes work to exert influence over each empire.
Lelia just listened quietly with her mouth firmly shut.
Then the final topic of conversation turned to' Oscar.'
"By the way, when is Oscar coming?"
"Right. No contact."
Romeo said worriedly that strangely, there had been no contact for a while.
At those words, Lelia's face also clouded with worry.
'Oscar not being in contact.'
In Lelia's mind, Oscar was still a pitiful child who feared rainy days.
Of course, when she saw him last time... he was too scary.
She never imagined that the cute and pretty Oscar would change like that.
Of course, he still had a surprisingly beautiful appearance. The problem was he was cold to a frightening degree.
Still, after returning to his home country, he would have been abused by the Emperor, so it was inevitable.
Thinking of Oscar made her heart ache.
'Still, now that even Griffith has come, Oscar will arrive soon too.'
When Oscar arrived, it would be another separation for a while. Already a corner of her heart felt empty.
'I must return to see them again after taking care of the territory's business.'
Lelia made that resolve.
However, the meeting with Oscar came sooner than expected. Though in a completely unexpected way.
It was that night.
Griffith had left the imperial palace in the afternoon.
Saying he had no intention of staying at the imperial palace, he went to the mansion he had asked Kalix and Romeo to secure for him in advance.
Lelia lay in bed, her heart unsettled, unable to fall asleep.
So she had just taken out a rabbit doll and was hugging it tightly when—
Perhaps the wind was blowing hard, for the window rattled.
'What wind is blowing like this? Is it going to rain?'
Thinking something had to be done, she rose to shut the window tight.
*Shing.*
That was when it happened.
Someone who appeared in the blink of an eye placed a blade against Lelia's neck.
"……!"
Lelia held her breath, feeling as if her heart had stopped. Her mind went blank.