Holy Knight (2)
Holy Knight (2)
He welcomed me warmly.
"Welcome. This is the first time I've seen you since we went to the Pisen Marquisate together."
As I sat down, he spoke with a cheerful expression.
"Lately, I've been plagued by all sorts of unwelcome visitors. If only all my guests were like you, Young Lord."
He was speaking to me in his capacity as the Auction House Owner.
"At this rate, a civil war might break out even before the King passes away. Everyone is on edge."
At the same time, he was subtly feeding me information.
Whichever face he wore, he seemed genuinely glad to see me.
"Do you have something to sell today? Or perhaps there's something you're looking for?"
Or perhaps he was simply glad to see the relics I had brought with me.
But I hadn't come here today to deal with the Auction House Owner.
I got straight to the point and asked him.
"Can you tell me why you're searching for the Divine Sword?"
His cheerful expression stiffened instantly.
"Pardon? What do you mean, all of a sudden..."
He quickly switched to a bewildered expression, but even that seemed awkward.
"Because I've found another sword. I was debating whether I should show it to you."
At my words, his feigned expression crumbled once more.
He glared at me, his face now that of the 'Divine Sword Tracker'.
He looked as if he were trying to pry information straight from my face.
But there was no way he could learn anything just by looking at me.
"Sigh... It seems everything turns into a mess whenever you visit, Young Lord."
He sighed and tapped his desk.
Knock.
It looked as though he was tapping the desk to organize his thoughts, but he was actually sending a signal outside.
Through my senses, I could feel people moving.
They were taking up guard posts and drawing their weapons—fortunately, they weren't trying to surround me.
They were moving to protect the two of us as we talked.
Pretending not to notice, I waited for him to speak.
"Are you saying you've found the location of the sword?"
"No. I've found the sword itself."
I raised my hand and patted my chest.
The Divine Sword Tracker knew that I had a relic pouch.
He let out another deep sigh.
"I understand why you'd say that... but I had my reasons for beating around the bush, too."
I'd come here precisely because I wanted to hear those reasons.
"Verifying the sword is important, but explaining the truth to you is even more difficult."
He went on making various excuses, but I simply waited for him to reach a conclusion.
Eventually, the Divine Sword Tracker, Lesty, threw up his hands in defeat.
"I'll tell you. But in exchange, could you show me the sword first? I'll speak after I verify it."
I could have insisted on hearing his explanation first, but I chose not to.
It would only drag things out anyway.
I reached into my chest and pulled the sword from my pouch.
It resembled 'the sword of the Pisen Marquisate'.
But the sword that emerged had an entirely different ability.
"My goodness. It was true."
Lesty's eyes widened at the sight of the sword.
I placed it on the table.
He gently stroked the blade.
"It is indeed the Sword of Healing. There weren't even any rumors about this one..."
The sword I'd pulled out was the one with healing abilities that I'd found in the temple's underground ruins.
There was no way I was going to show him the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword' right from the start.
Whether I showed him the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword' depended entirely on what this man had to say.
Lesty examined the sword for a long time before sighing.
"I can't seem to unlock the sword's secret. Even this sword won't work..."
From Lesty's actions, it seemed he was also looking for a way to awaken the Mana Thread.
He seemed to know that this was the key to finding the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword'.
But he was an artifact appraiser, someone who appraised relics.
Since he couldn't perceive mana, it was difficult for him to unlock the sword's secrets.
He set the sword down, looking regretful.
He looked at me and opened his mouth. Fortunately, he didn't go back on his word.
Instead, he attached a condition.
"Before you hear it, please swear to keep this a secret. I trust that you're a knight who will keep his oath."
The Divine Sword Tracker demanded an oath from me.
A divine contract at a temple would have been more secure, but he preferred a knight's oath.
If my predictions were correct, it was only natural that he would want a knight's oath.
An oath was easy enough for me to give.
And because of the memories of my past lives, I didn't view a knight's oath as something I absolutely had to keep.
I stood up, picked up the sword resting on the table, and made my oath.
"I swear in the name of the sword that I will keep the secrets heard from the Divine Sword Tracker, Lestiado, unless he permits otherwise."
I used no tricks and made an honest oath.
Since it was a nonbinding oath, it made no difference whether I swore it properly.
But as soon as I finished my oath, something strange happened.
The sword began to vibrate.
Hum.
The sword emitted a soft glow and let out a low hum.
"My goodness. This... looks like a Holy Knight's oath..."
Lesty couldn't even finish his sentence.
As if his words might defile the sacredness of the moment, he covered his mouth and stared at the sword.
Fortunately, the sword didn't hum for long.
It subsided so quickly that Lesty stared at the sword doubtfully, but I continued to grumble inwardly for a long time.
That was because I could feel the mana that had flowed out of the sword circulating inside my body.
And this mana was similar to the mana I'd felt when making a contract at the temple.
'Surely a contract hasn't actually been established, right? I thought only the Order had contracts.'
While I was still bewildered by this absurd turn of events, Lesty spoke up.
Fortunately, he seemed to have decided not to dwell too much on what had just happened.
"The reason I pursue the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword' is because it's a sacred relic of our religion."
Fortunately, it was just as I'd thought.
There was no way an artifact appraiser would search for the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword' without a reason.
At first, I thought it might have something to do with his parents' dying wishes, or a story he'd heard as a child.
But after tracking down the Divine Sword and encountering the Purge Squad, it had become difficult to imagine any other reason.
Until now, I hadn't realized how hard the Order had worked to erase other religions.
So I hadn't known just how dangerous it was to use the name 'Divine Sword Tracker'.
Thinking about it now, no one would wander around searching for the 'divine sword' like that if not for their faith.
I felt relieved that my prediction was correct. At least I hadn't shown him the sword for nothing.
But wait.
'Our' religion? Wasn't he alone?
Setting my doubts aside, I listened as he continued.
"This might be the first time you're hearing this, but before the Great War, there was no Order. Instead, various religions worshipping different gods had been established. After the Great War, the Order appeared and..."
It wasn't the first time I'd heard what he was saying.
I hadn't known any of this until recently, of course, but now I knew all about it.
But as his story went on, unfamiliar details kept cropping up.
"...Those of us who remained... became mercenaries... and that's how I came to step forward."
When his long story ended, I felt the need to sum it up.
"So, some of the people who believed in the Holy Knight's religion survived the Great War, and you and the people at the auction house are their descendants? And you, with your ability as an artifact appraiser, are searching for the Divine Sword on their behalf."
"Yes, that's correct."
From what he'd said, it seemed the surviving believers weren't just the people at the auction house.
Just how many believers had survived?
At this rate, trying to satisfy my curiosity might end up saddling me with a heavy burden.
"But why did you tell me every single detail? You didn't need to go this far..."
I'd only wanted to know whether the Divine Sword Tracker shared the Holy Knights' faith.
I hadn't expected such deep roots to come to light along with it.
"Since you've found out anyway, I wanted to tell you everything and get your help finding the Divine Sword. I believed that, as someone who understands honor, you wouldn't turn a blind eye."
His tone changed once more.
It was polite, the way a noble spoke.
Given his abilities, this was likely his true self.
Yet his way of thinking was still that of the Auction House Owner—a merchant's.
Did he mean to drag me into the same boat now that I knew?
In truth, it was highly likely that he simply wanted my help.
I put the sword back into my pouch and fell into thought.
It wasn't just one surviving believer, but an entire group.
If he was a believer, I'd planned to show him the Divine Sword to gather more information, but...
Things had grown much larger than I'd anticipated.
At any other time, I might have pretended not to know and turned back.
But the current situation was one in which a civil war was right around the corner.
As I closed my eyes, the image of the Princess accepting the academy knights surfaced in my mind.
I also recalled Senior Benjamin's words.
I made up my mind once more.
I pulled the Divine Sword from my chest.
Not the Sword of Healing, but the Holy Knight's sword.
Holding it, I made my declaration.
"I am the new master of the Divine Sword, a Holy Knight."
Hum.
As if pleased by my declaration, the Divine Sword radiated light.
Though its light filled only a small room, its elegance was in no way inferior to that of a temple altar.
A brilliantly shining sword.
Lestiado stared blankly at the sword.
How much time had passed?
Eventually, tears began streaming down his face.
Without a word, he fell to his knees on the floor.
Then he spoke a single sentence.
"Priest Lestiado pays his respects to the Holy Knight."
It was the first greeting the last priest had offered to the Holy Knight who had returned.
That day, the Auction House Owner's building closed its doors.
Seeing the building—which had never closed for even a single day—shut down made people wonder, but that was all.
The building reopened the next day, and the shopping street carried on as usual.
Some time passed after my meeting with the Auction House Owner.
The report card I received at the end of the first semester was surprisingly not bad.
My practical grades in the Knight Faculty were, as always, at the top of the class, and my other subjects were also in the upper ranks.
I didn't know whether the professors had been walking on eggshells around the Princess and the Grand Archduchess, but thanks to my unexpectedly fair grades, I could head out for my dispatch class with a light heart.
The destination of the dispatch class remained unchanged.
Soroka Fortress.
The day before, I headed to the mansion in the capital to prepare for departure.
When I arrived at the mansion, I found an unexpected person waiting for me.
"It has been a long time since we last met."
An old man who was always immaculately dressed.
He was the chief butler of the Gracia Dukedom.
Though he should have been back in the territory, he was here in the capital.
When I asked why he'd come, the chief butler readily answered.
"There is the matter of the second Young Lord's marriage prospects..."
The timing was about right.
Although it was earlier than Simon's, in a situation like this, it seemed better to at least get engaged in advance.
Perhaps because of that, Manuel had already left for his dispatch class with his friends to enjoy the last of his youth.
He claimed he would travel around various territories to help them, just like last year.
For my part, I only hoped he wouldn't cause unnecessary trouble and ruin the marriage preparations.
I thought I had my answer, but the chief butler wasn't finished speaking.
"I also have business with the royal family."
The royal family?
"I plan to pay a visit to the Queen. It is the Duke's command."
For some reason, the chief butler stared straight at me as he spoke.