Interlude: The Nun's Trail
A single nun walked across the desolated land.
Even in something as simple as walking, a quiet dignity clung to her — a nun whose face was veiled from sight.
She moved slowly across the ground, then shook her head.
"Just as I expected. The place is saturated with miasma. With that many undead reported, I suppose it was inevitable…"
Until only a few weeks ago, this very ground had been the gathering place of a vast undead army.
The undead themselves had been successfully purged, but the miasma left behind by their prolonged presence had seeped into the earth, transforming it into a land of death.
Left alone, the surrounding monsters would begin to absorb that miasma — and there was no telling what effect it might have. The region would become unlivable for ordinary people.
It needed to be purified as soon as possible, the deathly energy scrubbed clean.
But that was not why the nun had come.
The traces of combat point to two people at most… one who led the fighting, and one who supported them.
The method used to dispose of the undead had been nothing short of brutal.
No clerical purification magic. Judging by the residual miasma, someone had forced the undead legion apart with an object of overwhelming holy power.
And there are Eastern techniques mixed in as well.
The nun picked up a half-burned scrap of yellow paper.
A talisman — the Eastern method of inscribing characters onto paper with mana to call forth power.
So the claim from the Prynn Kingdom — that an Eastern swordsman had come to their aid — appeared to be true.
"It seems certain that the Prynn Kingdom is hiding something."
Through the communication orb, the nun reported the results of her investigation.
Ordered to stand by for a moment, she let out a quiet sigh and stretched a hand toward the surrounding earth.
"I may as well purify while I wait."
Holy power gathered in her palm — pure white, like snow free of any impurity.
When the light had swelled to roughly the size of a child's fist, she cast the sphere high into the sky.
The floating orb of light scattered in every direction, sinking into the ground, and began to draw something black up from the soil.
Crack-crack-CRACK!!
The black substance leapt free like lightning and vanished.
It continued for roughly three minutes. Then nothing more rose from the earth.
A voice came through the orb.
"It's nothing. I simply purified the miasma in the ground."
Another exchange crackled across the connection.
"Field judgment…? Hmm. Yes. In my opinion, just as the Saintess said — something significant has clearly changed in Hero Leon."
Her words set off a flurry of discussion on the other end of the line. Once the voices settled, a decision came through.
"Well… for now, the presence of an Eastern swordsman at Hero Leon's side appears to be fact. However, even the Prynn Kingdom doesn't seem to know the hero's next destination… so I think I'll head toward Jo."
A note of concern answered her.
"Don't worry. No matter how rough the flow of mana is in the eastern continent, it's still within the communication orb's range. So long as I don't cross the eastern sea all the way to Tayogu, we won't lose contact."
With that, the nun cut the connection and set off.
Her destination was the inn where the hero she was accompanying — Abel — was currently staying.
The inn was empty of guests. She spared a brief glance at the innkeeper trembling with unease, then climbed the stairs.
As she ascended, a woman's moans grated against her ears, tangled with the rough, excited voice of a man.
Stepping into Abel's room, the first thing that hit her was the damp, cloying stench that stabbed at the nose.
Next came the sight of women collapsed in exhaustion, unable to withstand Abel's stamina.
"Ugh-ghh-ahh♥♥♥♥"
"…"
A woman who was a priestess like herself — yet who had surrendered to lust, wearing the lewd expression of a fallen harlot no cleric should ever show.
And another: a pitiful woman from the same hometown as Hero Leon, who had made the wrong choice under the pretext of protecting him, and who still either failed to recognize that mistake or simply looked away from it.
The nun glanced at them, then turned toward Abel, who was still thrusting away with abandon.
"Abel."
"Huh? What. Can't you see I'm busy—"
"Look into my eyes."
She lifted the heavy veil covering her face just slightly. Beneath it lay pale skin and striking, beautiful features — and a pair of red eyes that gleamed with a sinister light.
"Wh-wha…"
In that instant, everyone in the room went slack, staring at the nun as if entranced.
"Release suggestion."
Having spoken the words, the nun quietly stepped back outside.
"Well then… shall I go meet our new hero~?"
"Will you be all right?"
"Even if I weren't, what would you have me do?"
The audience chamber of the Prynn Kingdom's royal castle.
Three people were gathered there now: Adomos Prynn, king of the Prynn Kingdom; Alass Kendel; and Marang Adel, head of the Adel family.
"More to the point… I'd rather ask you. Are you all right?"
Adomos shifted his gaze to Alass as he asked.
Alass lowered his head slightly and answered.
"I am fine."
"…Even so. A child who was once your daughter…"
"That child is not my daughter. She is merely someone who disgraced the family's honor and destroyed the trust between people."
"Is that so… If that is how you see it, then I understand."
For a moment, Adomos thought of a certain woman in a corner of the castle's underground dungeon.
A being who could no longer be called human.
A woman who had betrayed Hero Leon, incurred his wrath, been stripped of her qualifications as a person, and left with no choice but to live as a beast.
"If anything, if that is enough to settle his anger, we got off cheaply."
"Mm…"
What Hero Leon — the man who had saved the kingdom from annihilation — had demanded of them was as follows:
1) That they not reveal he was the one responsible for this incident.
2) That full authority over the treatment of Tiris Kendel — who had betrayed and deceived him — be given to him.
Only those two things. He had drawn a clear line, as if he wanted nothing more.
"Hero Leon's power is overwhelming. Your Majesty saw it yourself… I have never heard of anyone capable of displaying such divine might. Even the other heroes of this age likely do not possess strength of that caliber."
"Mm… I know."
"From a human perspective, a hero's power like that is something to celebrate. But from the standpoint of a nation, it is an extremely dangerous force. Until we have some means of controlling it, we must at least avoid any unnecessary friction with Hero Leon for the time being."
The overwhelming divine might that had cut down countless undead in a single stroke.
Turned against an enemy, nothing could be more reassuring. But if that same power were ever turned against them…
It was too dreadful even to contemplate.
…Still, the king believed that power would not be directed at the Prynn Kingdom anytime soon.
"You need not worry about that for now."
"Is there a reason you think so?"
"Before he left, I spoke with him one-on-one for a short while."
It had not been a long conversation, but Adomos had found it quite interesting.
"I'll be frank. Your power… is far too vast for any human to bear. Even if one tried not to be wary of it, wariness would be inevitable. If you wished it, you could destroy this kingdom and found your own nation whenever you pleased. That is what I fear."
"…You're remarkably honest."
Hero Leon had considered that for a moment, then nodded.
"My sword was passed down to me by the Sword King."
"…The Sword King? You mean that legendary figure from three hundred years ago?"
"Yes. He's still alive. Well, that isn't particularly important… The Sword King said something similar. That I would grow too strong for him to take me as a disciple. That if I ever swung that power freely and threw the world into chaos, even he would no longer be able to handle me — so he would not accept me as his student."
Hearing that, Adomos thought the Sword King must possess considerable powers of observation.
Or rather — after living three hundred years, that level of insight would come naturally.
And the words Hero Leon spoke next struck a chord in Adomos's heart.
"I told him this. I am a hero. I am the Goddess's sword, the one who severs the Demon King's head. What matters is not power itself, but the power to cut off the Demon King's head. I have no interest in anything else. That remains true even now. I am a hero. The Goddess's blade that will take the Demon King's head. And so I will continue training without end until I can do exactly that. Therefore… I have neither the ability nor the desire to be a king."
"…Is that so."
Of course, it could have been a lie.
People were the sort who smiled while driving a knife into your back.
But Adomos had felt sincerity in Hero Leon's eyes.
A pure will, free of falsehood.
"Besides, if I were going to become king, wouldn't it have been simpler to let the undead trample the castle, wait for the king and a few others to die, then charge in, clean them up, win the people's hearts, and take the throne that way?"
"…Haha. Remarkably candid."
"Without candor, I'd just be a corpse."
"…You had that sort of exchange?"
"I did. So for the time being, you need not concern yourselves with Hero Leon."
"In that case… understood. Then, have you heard anything regarding Hero Leon's next destination?"
That was all well and good — but failing to track even the hero's location was a problem in its own right.
So Marang Adel asked Adomos, but the king shook his head.
"He said he was going to obtain something he absolutely needed… but I never heard exactly where he was headed."
"Something he absolutely needed… That would be something required for the Demon King's defeat, I assume."
"Most likely."
It was nothing of the sort — but they misunderstood it that way.