#095 Name
#095 Name
Going north is taboo.
But what use is a taboo against a Hero's path?
Especially when the journey is to obtain the 'power' that could be called the most important thing for a Hero—power that might truly prove decisive in the final battle against the Demon King.
And.
-Master. If I get my hands on a Spirit Machine, I'll be able to ride it together with you, right?
-Yeah.
-Then let's go right away!
The Hero Lucius is hoping for exactly that right now, so who would dare block the Hero's path?
No one can block the path the Hero walks.
The path the Hero wishes to walk is itself the road, and no one can block the Hero's advance.
Especially if the Hero says, "I'm going to obtain the power to fight the Demon King!"—anyone who tries to stop him is one of two things.
Either a being that fears the Spirit Machine, the Wind Spirit Machine, the power the Hero seeks, being brought into the open.
Or a spy of the Demon King Army.
Therefore, we must go north to obtain the Spirit Machine.
Even if the road there is bitterly cold, a place where the skin freezes under a chill of needle-thin ice.
Was what I thought.
It wasn't.
"...Is this right?"
I had no choice but to seriously contemplate the sight of our Hero Party pushing forward through the blowing snow.
Rosemas, still dressed in the typical Guardians of the Forest uniform.
The female knight Droniel, now openly showing her face.
And Yan Diere, the very embodiment of a Saintess of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess, wore an embarrassingly revealing Saintess's habit that exposed her armpits, back, the sides of her breasts, and even her pubic bone and legs—an outfit that made anyone take her for a Saintess at a glance.
All of them had become "bodies that suffer no harm from the cold" thanks to the Azure Moon Goddess's blessing.
"May the Azure Moon Goddess's protection be with you."
The moment Yan Diere bestowed her blessing upon herself and the other two, the blue moonlight coiled around them like a barrier.
Naturally, the chill could not pierce their skin, and the moonlight protected the three like a thick coat, keeping their body heat from dropping.
Lucius, backed by the Holy Sword, went without saying.
In other words.
"...Ugh, it's cold."
"You feel the cold even though you're undead?"
"Seems so."
"Shall I bestow a blessing...?"
"Are you trying to kill me?"
At present, the only one shivering in the cold and wrapped in a thick coat was me.
"Master. Since there's no one around, I'll raise a barrier with the Holy Sword's wind. I'll make the path you walk warm."
"Are you stupid? Using the Holy Sword's power in a place like this. The Holy Sword is for important moments, ack—!!"
Kgh.
I barely held back a cough.
This body may be dead, but it annoyingly retains all sorts of pointless human traits.
Food is unnecessary, but it reacts so sensitively to things like muscle aches and temperature changes that I had no choice but to wrap myself in layer after layer of clothing to protect this frail human flesh.
"Droniel. I'll have to tell your father once again how sincerely grateful I am."
"Father will also be sincerely delighted to have been of help to the Sage."
"Yes. This... mustang long coat, was it? I truly like it."
Maintaining body heat was nice, but the fur tickling my neck and the fact that it could cover my whole body were simply wonderful.
'Maybe I should cut this around the hips and wear it around later?'
Women's clothing had grown much more in the style of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess over the past five hundred years, while men's clothing had changed for the better.
There were some outfits with a masculine appeal that I did feel like wearing, but I had no choice but to settle for vicarious satisfaction by having Lucius wear them instead.
"What? Lucius, do you want to wear this too?"
"No."
"Then why are you looking at me with such regretful eyes? Want me to explain again?"
"It's fine. I mean that you don't seem uncomfortable at all even dressed that thickly, Master."
"Right? Heh."
Lucius had a somewhat bitter look, but as for me, I quite liked that the only exposed part of my skin was my eyes.
-You'll certainly need it when traveling the northern continent. Sage, this is a 'Veil of Purity' passed down through our family for generations.
-You mean I should wear a bridal veil?
-No. Use it as a muffler. Keep your hat on and cover your mouth with the veil; it will help greatly.
-Thank you, Count Odron.
Before teleporting from the County of Odron, I had also received a muffler as a gift.
-I'll help your daughter build a good relationship with Lucius.
-Ooh...! As expected of the Sage. Is there anything you need?
-Do you have any Mana Stones?
-I'll support you generously. Both now and later, of course.
-You're someone I can do business with.
"Heh heh heh."
Count Odron and I had made a backroom deal, and the muffler—the Veil of Purity—was his goodwill and gift.
The color was a white silk like a snowfield, and the feel of it around my neck was quite pleasant.
Thanks to that, I could advance into the northern continent in reasonable warmth without much chance to feel the cold, but....
Shhhwing.
Needle-thin ice pierced past my skin.
Was this because of the cold air of the northern continent, or was it the death-screams of the countless Demon King Army collaborators who had drowned in this land?
No.
"Hey, Lucius. Did I do something wrong...?"
"You did nothing wrong, Droniel."
"Then why does your expression get so bad every time I call you?"
"It's not like that."
It was the cold wind blowing from behind.
"Hmm, so you call him Lucius...."
"Wh-what's wrong with calling him Lucius? I've called him Lucius my whole life!"
"Didn't you call him Arthur?"
"No, Lucius. Wait...."
"If my memory isn't mistaken, didn't you call me Arthur? Droniel."
"Ah, no. I mean, whether it's Arthur or Lucius...."
"Heh. So you call him Lucius...."
It was so cold it felt like my back would be cut.
"Hero Lucius. Does how one addresses you matter to you?"
"No, it's not so much that how I'm addressed matters...."
"Then please call me Yan. I will call you by whatever name you wish, Hero Lucius."
"Th-that's, no, wait...."
"It is a little curious that both are names, yet it also seems uncomfortable. Hero Lucius. Hero Arthur. Heh heh, either way, the fact that you are a Hero does not change. Ah, but in places where you must hide that you are a Hero...."
"Heh. So you call him Hero Lucius...."
"......."
Ah, my skull aches.
Behind me, it was as if they were fighting a duel of words, and the shards of those blades flew at me and grazed my neck, stinging.
Arthur.
Lucius.
Hero Arthur.
"......Hey, everyone gather up for a moment."
In the end, I couldn't take it anymore.
"See that cave over there? The day is already fading, so let's rest there today and continue moving tomorrow. And...."
I pointed at each of the four in turn, and at the end, I extended my finger toward Lucius once more.
"You, what's your name?!"
"Huh? I-I am Lucius."
"Then it's Lucius!"
In the name of the Sage.
"Why are you all fighting like children over a name?! Just all of you call him Lucius like I do!!"
I standardized it.
* * *
"Lucius. Are you Demonfolk?"
"For now, no, but why suddenly Demonfolk?"
"Because you seem to place importance on names."
At my words, Lucius hung his head deeply, as if I'd hit the mark.
"Names, you know, I really do think they're important. A name has the power to reveal who you are."
"Power...."
"Right. Ah, I'm not talking about Demonfolk. A name reveals a person's identity."
Every name in the world has meaning.
"I know the story about your name. Arthur, Lucius. Both are precious names to you."
Arthur Lucius.
Family name unknown.
You couldn't even call it a family name—one was the name his original parents left him, and the other was the name given by the old hunter who raised him.
"I told you before, didn't I? Someday you'll gain a family name too, and when that happens, a time may come when you have to choose one name. Whether Arthur or Lucius."
"Yes. You said that."
Therefore, if he ever marries, there's a high probability he'll take a family name based on the place-name of the territory granted to him, or follow his wife's family name.
"I'm not telling you to decide right now. Whether you're Arthur or Lucius. What I want to say is, if you have to choose one of the two, you can decide later. You can even change the name you choose now later! So!"
I'd considered saying it indirectly, but I decided to just say what I thought.
"Whether it's Arthur or Lucius, clearly pick one of the two!"
"That's...."
"I've seen a lot of parties, but this is the first time I've seen a party fight over what to call the Hero!"
It was absurd.
"You, there's meaning in distinguishing between Arthur and Lucius, isn't there? There must be. That's why you feel resistance when the others call you Lucius."
"......."
"You don't say anything when I call you that, so why do you dislike it when the others call you Lucius?"
"That's...."
Lucius couldn't say anything.
Even he must think it's absurd.
The very idea that some people are allowed and others aren't is a failure of a Hero's character.
"A Hero must not give anyone special treatment. Must not discriminate within the party. That's what a Hero is. You can like someone specially and end up in that kind of relationship with one person, but specially disliking someone—that's not allowed."
"It's not like that."
"Then there's no particular problem with everyone calling you Lucius, right?"
"......."
"See. You're really sensitive about this right now."
This is the first time Lucius has gotten this emotional, but I can't just watch the Hero Party fall apart from the start.
"Was it uncomfortable that I've called you Lucius all this time?"
"Ah, no! It's not that. It's just...."
"Just?"
"...Well, you see. Inside me, there's a conflict between the person called Arthur and the person called Lucius...."
"You know that sounds really strange even as you say it, right?"
"......."
Lucius scratched his head, and I patted his back.
"I'm not taking anyone's side in particular, but if this keeps up, only Rosemas ends up in a weird position. Right?"
"I understand what you're trying to say."
Lucius nodded heavily.
"...So I become everyone's Lucius."
"Heh heh. Hey. Lucius."
I walked over to Lucius and patted his shoulder.
"Your current name doesn't matter. What really matters is the full name you'll earn after you defeat the Demon King."
"My full name?"
"Right. Names aren't important. I changed my own name too."
"...You changed your name?"
"Yes. I had a different original name."
The name I received from the parents who brought me into this world, from the moment I was born.
"What was it?"
"I'm not telling you."
Would I be crazy enough to teach someone my True Name?
But.
There's a reason.
"My name—you already know it."
I've never told him separately, but Lucius already knows my name.