Shall We Be Secret Friends?
A tingling sensation. Evan frowned at the unpleasant feeling of a small bolt of lightning racing from the tips of his toes all the way to the top of his head. He hadn't been attacked. This was his unique "instinct" that reacted whenever a situation was approaching that even his powers couldn't handle.
"...The Devil of Abaddon? Why did he suddenly stop?"
Tingle. Tingle. The unpleasant sensation grew stronger. But Evan couldn't figure it out at all. This was Abaddon. The undead were absolutely loyal to him, and this was a place where he was confident he could hold his own even against a fully powered Hero wielding a Holy Relic he didn't understand.
'...Did the Lich and Kaede team up to start a rebellion or something?'
The hypothesis was so absurd that it only crossed his mind because he had absolutely no clue what was happening.
[My King.]
The voice that felt like it was being hammered directly into his skull made Evan frown. It was the Lich's long-distance communication magic.
[Please be careful. The Holy Kingdom's...]
"Lower your mana. You're going to burst my eardrums."
Evan snapped back irritably, but he was still warily scanning their surroundings just in case. Long-distance communication magic became obnoxiously loud if too much mana was used, and too little meant the message wouldn't reach. It wasn't a spell the Lich favored. The fact that he was using it now meant the situation was too urgent to waste time calculating risks.
'Did the Holy Kingdom send an assassin?'
"E~vaaaan~~!!!"
"...Huh?"
At the voice that absolutely shouldn't have been here, Evan's body jolted. He turned his head toward the sound. Above him.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"EvanEvan~!!"
Iris was falling. No, calling it a simple fall felt wrong given the momentum. A crash? No... "impact" seemed like the more appropriate word for that speed. Her target was the crown of Evan's head.
"Catch me-!!"
"Haah."
Evan let out a sigh and took a large step backward.
"Ehh?"
Boom!
A massive cloud of dust exploded with a roar that made it seem like an earthquake had struck.
. . .
"That's so mean! I told you to catch me!"
Iris rubbed the bump on her head, tears welling in her eyes as she pouted.
"Saintess, what you just did was an assassination attempt."
This wasn't from the second or third floor of a building. She had asked him to catch her while hurtling down from that dizzying height straight at his head.
"But you could have done it!"
"Shut up. First of all, why are you even here? Where's Kaede?"
"Living Jiangshi big sis didn't come?"
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I saw EvanEvan from up there and jumped down!"
"...Up there?"
"Yeah. I was sitting on the roof of the house, so I saw you coming!"
Evan's expression turned incredulous.
'Should I be impressed that she spotted me from that distance, or should I be more impressed by that monstrous durability that only left her with a bump after falling headfirst from that height?'
[Ahem, My King. Is this volume acceptable?]
The voice came through at a reasonable level now that the Lich had successfully adjusted his mana. Evan replied in a curt tone.
"Took you long enough."
[My apologies. It has been a while since I used this spell...]
"The Saintess has already arrived."
[Already? Then you can simply bring her along... Hm? Head Maid, what is it? You say the problem isn't that she ran away? The gift is the problem? What do you mean?]
The Lich must have been talking to Kaede, because every word not directed at Evan was still flowing into his head.
"Tell her I didn't forget the gift and there's no need to worry."
"Really!?"
The one who reacted to Evan's words wasn't the Lich, but Iris. Just as Kaede's voice talking to the Lich didn't reach Evan, Iris's voice talking to Evan wouldn't reach them either. But a rather urgent voice came through.
[My King, the Head Maid says you must absolutely not give her the gift.]
"Hehe, EvanEvan, I've been waiting so nicely..."
Tingle— The danger signal that had vanished after he dodged Iris's impact was stabbing at him again. Evan couldn't understand why he was sensing a similar level of danger from Iris, who was smiling brightly with both hands outstretched in pure innocence.
"Give me the present!"
For some reason, a cold sweat broke out.
"Hm? The present!"
There was nothing wrong with it. He hadn't forgotten the gift, nor had he brought something completely useless and called it a present. It might look plain on the surface, but it was something hard to obtain in Abaddon, so it wouldn't fall short of the "sincerity" Natalia had mentioned beforehand.
But still.
'Why does it feel like I shouldn't give it to her?'
"EvanEvan? No present?"
"I have it. I do, but... I'll give it to you when we get back to the mansion."
"Then show me!"
It was the moment he swallowed dryly while looking at Iris's sky-blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"...Saintess?"
"Hm?"
"It really is you. What are you doing here?"
Locke stared at Iris with eyes full of disbelief, or perhaps betrayal, clutching his empty shoulder.
"The Holy Kingdom clearly said you had suffered a fatal wound and were transported to the rear. So what are you doing here?"
Iris glanced at him, then tilted her head and asked.
"Who are you, mister, acting like you know me?"
"What?"
"I don't remember ugly people."
"...Cough."
Evan had to work hard to hold back the laughter threatening to burst out. Locke's face turned bright red, then pale, before he barely managed to suppress his anger and speak.
"Saintess, do you have any idea how many knights died because you disappeared from the battlefield?"
Though his tone had calmed slightly, his attitude was still like a volcano on the verge of erupting. The emotions he had barely pushed down seemed ready to boil over again at any moment.
"If you're perfectly fine after falling from that height, there's no reason you couldn't have come out to fight. Why...!"
"That's enough. Hero."
"This isn't a matter for you to interfere in! Devil of Abaddon, this is between humans—"
The moment he saw the Holy Spear react, Evan didn't hesitate any longer.
"『Shut it.』"
"Ugh!?"
Caught off guard by the sudden curse, Locke clamped his mouth shut mid-sentence and began dry-heaving repeatedly.
"Ugly mister, you're disgusting."
"Saintess...! Urk!"
"Cool your head and look properly. Hero, does the Saintess look normal to you right now?"
Only after hearing Evan's words did reason return to Locke's eyes.
"EvanEvan? I'm perfectly fine, though?"
She herself wasn't aware of it, but anyone could see it if they looked closely—even without knowing curses. Those sky-blue eyes held preferences, but no distinction between good and evil.
"She took a big hit to the head."
"That's right. I got a bump. Kiss it better. It's because EvanEvan didn't catch me."
"No."
"Kiss it better—!!!"
She refused to do anything she disliked no matter what, and threw tantrums to do anything she liked. 'It's a relief her nature is good, so she doesn't cause any major accidents.'
If an ordinary person had this much power in that state, it usually wouldn't end with just accidents. Compared to that, Iris was actually quite well-behaved.
...Except for the fact that she was a bit annoying.
Evan soothed the tantrum-throwing Iris by stroking her head and asked Locke.
"Has your head cooled off a bit?"
"Because of the war... has she gone mad?"
At Locke's mutter, Iris frowned and said.
"EvanEvan, I hate that ugly mister. Can't we just kick him out?"
"No."
"Is he a guest?"
"Not my guest."
"Then?"
"He's Natalia's guest."
At Evan's words, Iris pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, but soon nodded as if she had no choice. Then, with a sulky face, she asked Locke.
"Ugly mister, what’s your relationship with Natalia?"
"I..."
Locke fumbled with his words, unsure what to say, before finally answering.
"I was... her fiancé."
"Then die!"
And the moment she heard the answer, Iris didn't hesitate to slam her fist into Locke's stomach.
"Guh!?"
"Enemy of women! Trash! Ugly bastard!"
Three consecutive full-powered strikes, each one loaded with emotion. She drove her fist into Locke's bent-forward jaw after the gut punch, then slammed her fist down on his tilting head as he lost balance, driving it into the ground.
It all happened before Evan could stop her.
"Justice Saintess Punch...!"
When she tried to deliver a finishing blow to Locke, who lay motionless with his face buried in the dirt, Evan hurriedly grabbed her wrist.
"Why are you stopping me!"
"...Why are you so angry, Saintess."
"Because that ugly mister made Natalia suffer!"
"...Still, you can't kill him."
"Why? Isn't he a bad guy?"
"He does deserve to die, but you can't be the one to do it."
'Because then there'd be no point in me reviving him and bringing him here.'
If he was going to kill him here, there would have been no need to cast an unnecessary curse. He could have just finished it on the outskirts.
"If anyone's going to do it, it should be Natalia."
"Is that how it is?"
"No matter what, the one who has to put an end to it is the person themselves. Not someone else doing it for them."
That was why Evan had gone through the hassle of cursing the Hero of the Holy Spear, threatening him, and dragging him all the way here.
Iris relaxed her fist, but still voiced her confusion as if she couldn't quite understand.
"In the Holy Kingdom, they say they deliver divine punishment in God's stead. Is it wrong for me to hit him in Natalia's place?"
Evan thought for a moment about how to explain it so Iris would understand before answering.
"It's the difference between me giving you a present and making someone else give it to you."
"I like it more when EvanEvan gives it to me."
"Right. But if I can't deliver it myself no matter what, then having someone else deliver it is still better than not giving it at all."
Iris nodded as if she understood, but that didn't make the thing she had already done disappear.
'...He isn't dead, is he?'
He pulled Locke up from where he lay completely still and checked for breath.
"...Huu."
It was faint and weak, but Evan could clearly hear Locke's breathing.
"He's alive, at least."
But there was one more problem. The Holy Spear, which had lost its master and no longer had anyone to wield it. Perhaps stimulated by the overflowing undead energy in Abaddon, it had been radiating sharp divinity around it since earlier. It looked like a snarling wild dog that would bite anyone who touched it.
'...Should I just leave it?'
It wasn't his, and even if he took it, he couldn't use it. Thinking he might as well cleanly give up on it and just take Locke somehow, he turned around when Iris asked.
"EvanEvan, aren't you taking that?"
"I can't carry it. I can't even touch the thing."
"Then should I help?"
It was the moment Evan turned to Iris to say something. But the moment he actually looked at her, the words he was about to say lost their direction and just swirled around in his mouth.
"You... how are you holding that?"
"I can just do it?"
The Holy Spear, which had been snarling like a mad dog just moments ago, had gone completely quiet in Iris's hand as if it had never happened.
'Is it because the opponent is the Saintess?'
"Here!"
Whether Evan was flustered or not, Iris smiled brightly and held out the Holy Spear.
"No, even if you can, I can't touch it."
"It's fine! Now EvanEvan can hold it too! Because I gave permission!"
Evan didn't know why she could say such baseless things with such confidence, but he figured she wouldn't prank him by shoving the Holy Spear at him, so he carefully reached out his hand.
It was the moment his index finger touched the shaft.
Whoosh—!
The divinity within the Holy Spear surged into Evan's body. But the sensation wasn't the threatening rejection or pushing force it had been before. It felt like sinking into warm water, gently melting away the fatigue accumulated in his body.
"It's okay, right?"
It was different from mana. This must be... divinity. The power Evan had decided to research going forward.
And naturally, one highly probable deduction came to mind.
'The reason the Holy Kingdom has been desperately searching all the way here to treat the Saintess is perhaps...'
Because the right to choose the owner of the Holy Relic belongs solely to the Saintess?
"...Saintess."
"Yeah?"
"Shall we be secret friends?"