#017 Resolve
#017 Resolve
The Holy Sword Village.
Now that it had truly produced a Holy Sword Hero, it ought to be called the Hero Village.
The village was busy preparing for a festival, but there were some who could not easily hide their unease.
"Nngh...."
After issuing instructions to the bustling villagers, the village chief slipped away alone and lit a cigarette.
"What do I do now...?"
It is only natural to envy and resent someone you were once at odds with when they achieve great success.
The village chief disliked Lucius.
Part of it was that Lucius was constantly compared to his son, and part of it was that he disliked the person who had taken Lucius in, so he disliked Lucius as well.
And because he disliked Lucius, he had tried to do something terrible to the witch Lucius had saved.
"Witch...."
The look the witch had given him had been full of irritation and anger, but at the same time, there had been a look of understanding toward the village chief.
Yes, a look of understanding.
A look he had never once received from his own wife—as if to say, "It is only natural for a man to lust after me."
The witch had known everything, yet she had spared the village chief.
The witch had shown mercy to someone who had tried to kill her.
The witch had shown mercy to someone who had tried to harm her in a secluded place.
Was it just the village chief's one-sided misunderstanding?
No.
If it had been a misunderstanding, the witch would have been genuinely outraged by what the village chief had tried to do and would have roasted him alive.
Or when the goblins attacked, she would have thrown him to them as food.
But she had simply proceeded with the hero's awakening.
The witch had not killed the village chief, and the village chief had received her grace.
"She is...a saint!"
The Crimson Mage.
She had not particularly denied being called a witch, but the way she had understood his vile desires and crimes, let them pass, and shown mercy was the very image of a saint.
Unlike those called saints merely because they had received stigmata from the church, she was a true saint who knew how to show mercy to the truly foolish.
"O Crimson Mage. Thank you, and thank you again."
The village chief tapped off his cigarette ash and offered a silent prayer.
"Thank you truly, not only for sparing my life but also my son's."
Although his son was still holed up in the corner of his room, terrified that Lucius and the witch would come to kill him, the village chief understood his son while also coming to defend the witch.
"Hoo...."
Thick smoke rose into the sky.
The village chief watched the cigarette smoke drift upward with a hollow gaze, then turned his head.
"Whoa, what the—?!"
"......."
Right beside the village chief stood a woman with brown hair.
"D-Droniel?"
".......Chief."
Droniel.
The prettiest and most beautiful maiden in the village, whom the village chief had secretly considered as a daughter-in-law.
At the same time, the woman whose affection for Lucius had given his son a reason to hate Lucius.
The woman who had tried to say something to Lucius as he left, but whom Lucius had told not to follow because it was dangerous.
"What is it? Packing your things like that...."
"I have to go see my father."
"......It's dangerous."
The village chief was startled and tried to dissuade Droniel.
"Why do you suddenly want to see Lord Odron?"
"I want to learn the sword from my father."
"...Is it because you want to follow Lucius?"
"Yes."
Droniel's eyes were serious.
"Stay in the village because I'm too weak? I can't do that. Lucius needs a woman by his side to look after him. Not someone for Lucius to wait on, but a woman who can hold him when he's struggling."
"......."
Goosebumps rose on the village chief's back.
Though she was clearly an ordinary village maiden, he could almost see behind Droniel the silhouette of the kingdom's strongest knight and swordsman.
"...Blood will tell, I suppose. But Droniel, the outside world is dangerous."
"It's the neighboring territory anyway. It's only a day's walk."
"...Well, that's true."
"And they said a Holy Sword Hero appeared. Knights will come from the territory soon, and some of them will know me, since this is the village where the lord's hidden daughter lives—and it was just attacked by goblins."
"......."
Droniel's words were perfectly reasonable.
"I came to this village to avoid a political marriage as some old noble's concubine, but I won't hide anymore. I'm an adult now."
The village chief had plenty to worry about, but he could not break Droniel's resolve.
"...If you intend to live as a noble, it could be very hard."
"I'm not trying to live as a noble. I'm trying to become someone strong enough to stand beside Lucius. So I came to say goodbye."
Droniel bowed her head politely.
"Farewell, Chief."
The village chief could not stop Droniel from leaving.
Because the contract he had made with the Count of Odron was that "Droniel could live freely."
"...If the Count finds out his daughter is on good terms with the Holy Sword Hero, he'll surely try to use it."
The village chief let out a deep sigh.
"......Can she win against the Saintess?"
"Ha."
Droniel twisted the corner of her lips.
"I'm Lucius's childhood friend."
* * *
"Thank you, Saintess. We will be on our way now."
"Mm...."
We had come out of the cave, but the Saintess showed no sign of leaving.
As far as I was concerned, having the Saintess join our party seemed more advantageous, but losing control of the group's direction was a problem.
'The journey must center on Lucius.'
Lucius had to be the key figure who set the direction.
There might be several people offering Lucius guidance, but the one who decided was Lucius.
"May the goddess's blessings be abundant."
"Wait a moment."
The Saintess blocked our path just as we were about to leave.
"Where did you say you were going?"
"We're heading to a village."
"Yes, but which village?"
Persistent.
"I understand there is a Holy Sword Village nearby. How about going there? We will safely escort you."
I wanted to ask whether that was an escort or a kidnapping, but the other party was the Saintess.
"It's fine, Saintess."
"I'm uneasy about sending just the two of you."
"That is also fine."
"You don't need to refuse...."
'Ugh, for crying out loud.'
Saintess or not, I wanted to slap her across the face and tell her to get lost, but I had to hold back.
The moment I struck her cheek with ill intent, my hand would burn away from Divine Power.
"We are...."
"I apologize, Saintess."
Lucius stepped in front of me and bowed toward the Saintess.
"My master has agreed to register me as an adventurer. We are heading to Normance, where there is an Adventurers' Guild."
"......."
The Saintess raised her head toward Lucius without a word.
Suddenly the two of them began staring at each other in silence, and I sent a glance toward the female knight behind the Saintess—probably the commander of the Holy Knight Order.
-Can't we just part ways?
The blonde female knight caught my gaze and blinked once, wide-eyed.
She seemed to have grasped how desperately I wanted to part ways.
But then.
STEP, STEP.
The holy knight walked toward me.
The woman, a full head taller than me, took something from her bosom and....
"There will be inspections when you enter Normance. Present this as a token and you will pass through immediately."
"This is...?"
A blue crescent moon brooch.
The woman pressed the brooch firmly into my hand, then clasped my hand tightly.
"What is your name?"
"Bel."
"Bel...."
The female knight gazed at me for a long while, then smiled faintly.
It was the kind of smile that seemed as if it might devour me like a snake, and for no good reason, chills ran down my spine.
"It was a pleasure meeting you. Saintess, let us be on our way."
"Yes...."
The Saintess seemed regretful in her own way, but time could not be delayed any longer.
"Goodbye, Lucius. Let's meet again next time."
"I will see you again someday, Yan."
'Oh?'
Not only had they exchanged names in that short time, but they were already on a first-name basis.
Either Lucius had done well, or the Saintess had fallen that hard for him.
"Bel, let us have a deep conversation later as well."
"And your name?"
"Pardon?"
"I feel like I was the only one who introduced myself."
The female knight blinked with a blank expression for a moment, then smiled softly.
"I am Liliez Caesar Cross."
* * *
"Master."
Lucius asked cautiously from behind, his voice full of worry.
"If we go to the village, won't our identities be exposed?"
"Mm. Probably."
They were bound to be exposed.
Without a doubt.
"But it doesn't really matter if they are. A hero doesn't have to work with the church."
"Master, do you follow the Red Moon Church...?"
"Red moon or blue moon, it doesn't matter. Church and religion are outside my interest. I just need to kill Demon Kings."
The Church of the Red Moon Goddess or the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess—they were all the same to me.
"Or did you fall for Saintess Yan?"
"No."
"Sharp answer. Almost cut me. Why? You two looked good together, like a perfect match."
"......I have no interest in women like that."
"Then do you like men? Are you gay? Ugh."
"Master...."
Lucius scowled deeply and cursed me with his eyes.
"I like women."
"That childhood friend of yours?"
"Haah...."
The way he fiddled with his ring made it seem like he wanted to draw his Holy Sword and hit me with it.
"It's a joke. Still, think about it. If the Saintess joins the party, she'll be helpful."
"Wouldn't it be dangerous if it affected you, Master?"
"There are ways around that. It can't be solved right away, but I just need to gather materials and make a special item. I can get everything while we're out buying clothes. Heh heh."
I pointed toward the village.
"Let's go. To Normance."
After registering as adventurers, we would search for traces of the Demon King there.
For my revenge.