Interlude 5: A Secret Between Us

The first time I ever came face to face with that boy was when I was still a child, trailing after my father into the deep woods to hunt.

"Hah! Hyah!"

A human battle cry.

It was the forest, yes, but we were still near the village. People weren't unheard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of out here — yet the shouts ringing through the trees were something else entirely.

My father, just to be safe, went to look.

Following the sound, we found a young boy swinging a crude wooden sword — one he'd clearly carved himself — at empty air.

He looked about my age. What was that little boy seeing back then? What was he looking at, that he could swing a wooden sword with such fierce, burning eyes?

"—Ah, so that's your boy. Training this early in the morning? Admirable. His parents are always telling me how he wants to become a fine knight someday. Said he trained constantly — so this is where he's been doing it."

"A knight…?"

"That's right. Philia, if you want to become a fine hunter, you'll have to work just as hard, won't you?"

That was our first meeting.

Leon and I, watching each other from a distance.

I still don't know why. Why I was drawn to a boy who was nothing at all back then.

From that day on, I started watching Leon often.

We lived in the same village, yet I'd never paid him any mind before. Put simply, he was terribly kind.

"Haha, thank you, Leon. You really saved me."

"It's nothing. It's just… something I can do!"

"Leon, would you help us with our work too?"

"Of course!"

He'd chat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easily with the village adults and pitch in with their chores.

"Leon hyung! Make one for me too!"

"Alright, alright. Hang on — I'll make you a really cool one."

"Wow! I'm a knight too!"

"But you can't go swinging it at people, okay? Knights don't attack people without reason."

He carved wooden swords for the village children and played with them, too.

And even through all that busyness…

"Chaah!!"

…he never stopped swinging that crude wooden sword of his, day after day, training himself without fail.

Once I realized that, I started going to see him more and more.

"Leon! Get up already~!"

"Yaaawn…"

Every early morning, I went to Leon's house before anyone else was awake.

Visiting so often, I grew close with his parents as well. That brought our families together, too — but that wasn't what mattered to me.

Leon would come shuffling out, still half-asleep, yawning and wobbling on his feet.

I wanted to see him. I didn't want anyone else to take him from me. So every morning, I went to find him.

"Come on, let's go hunt some animals~!"

"…I was supposed to do my morning training, though?"

Leon would scratch his head, looking troubled.

Even so, he never refused. He was far too kind for that — always flustered, always coming along to hunt with me anyway.

"Wha—?!"

"Pfft—ahahaha~!"

I'd burst out laughing watching Leon tumble over trying to catch a rabbit.

Maybe I laughed a little too hard. Leon's lips pushed out in a pout.

"Aren't you laughing a bit much?"

"But it's funny! You can't even catch a rabbit — how are you supposed to become a knight?"

"Umm…"

He had nothing to say to that. Just a helpless look as he turned his eyes away.

"I told you! If you want to catch a rabbit, you have to move carefully. Rabbits are skittish animals."

"I just… can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seem to get it right."

"I'll show you. Look — you do it like this."

It was fun.

It was wonderful. Every single moment I spent with Leon was simply good.

Why had I only just come to know him? The thought rose on its own.

Of course, we didn't hunt all day.

Once hunting time was over, it was Leon's training hour.

And all I did during that time was watch him train.

Swish! Thud!

"Hup!"

Chaah! Thud!

"Hah!"

Leon's training wasn't anything special. After basic conditioning, he would simply, stubbornly, swing that wooden sword.

I took in every single detail of it.

"…Hey."

"Hm?"

"Leon, why do you want to become a knight?"

"Well… about that."

Leon eased out of his stance and roughly wiped the sweat with a towel. Then he looked at me, pressed a finger to his lips, and said:

"This is a secret from everyone else, okay?"

"It's that much of a secret?"

"Yeah. So Philia — only you get to know. Not other people… not even my family."

A secret just between the two of us.

How captivating those words were. The fact that I alone shared a secret of Leon's that even his family didn't know — I loved it so much I nodded over and over.

"The truth is, I met the Goddess."

"The Goddess?"

"Yeah. She said there'd come a time when my strength would be needed for sure, so until then I should train my power and wait. That's what she told me."

An utterly absurd story. The kind of thing you could dismiss as a child's lie. But I believed Leon.

Because back then, Leon was shining so brightly.

Time passed. Both Leon and I went through our coming-of-age ceremonies and grew into adults.

Leon was still pouring himself into training, preparing to become a knight… no, a hero.

As for me… I was just a hunter's daughter who'd picked up a little hunting knowledge and a few skills.

What happens when Leon becomes a hero and leaves the village?

Leon would become a hero.

To fulfill a hero's duty, he'd leave the village and travel the world.

And me? What would become of me?

Heroes usually defeat the Demon King, earn recognition for their deeds, and marry a princess of the kingdom.

If Leon did that too… then what about me? What happens to me?

I liked him first… I liked Leon first…!

Those thoughts filled my head completely — and then a special guest arrived in the village.

Knights clad in pure white armor.

Holy Knights of the Holy City.

"A prophecy from the Saintess has been delivered to this place! Is there one among you named Leon?!"

"!!"

It was real.

Leon truly had been chosen as a hero.

No.

No. No.

No. No. No.

No. No. No. No.

We can't… we can't part like this…!

"Leon!!"

"Ph-Philia?"

I grabbed hold of Leon as he prepared to leave with the knights of the Holy City.

In one hand I held the hunting bow I always used; over my shoulder I slung a quiver packed full of arrows.

"I… I want to come too…!"

"Uh… all of a sudden?"

Leon looked at me, flustered.

But he wouldn't refuse. He was far too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind for that.

I'll go with him. I'll… protect Leon.

The Holy City's greatest distinction is the diversity of its people.

Geographically, it sits close to Filgurea's western continent, so demihumans — elves among them — who primarily dwell in the west are a common sight. This is because its people believe and follow the Goddess's First Teaching:

And so the doors stand open to all, demihumans included.

"…"

And Noren — a priestess born of that Holy City, who had received the Goddess's teachings as a cleric — was now kneeling with her face drained white.

She had been summoned to the very heart of the Holy City: the Grand Cathedral of Elone, where the Pope and the Saintess resided, and now stood face to face with the Pope himself.

"Noren."

Holiness. Something untouchable. And, at the same time, a voice carrying a thread of anger — speaking her name. Noren trembled.

"Raise your head."

"Y-Yes… Your Holiness."

The Pope's cold gaze looking down on her made her breath catch in her throat.

She had expected she wouldn't be treated kindly when she came here. But she had never imagined she would stand before His Holiness the Pope himself — and so Noren shook.

"I believed in your sincerity."

The Pope spoke as if admonishing her — or scolding her.

"I would not call you overflowing with talent, yet I never doubted that your diligence would more than serve as a pillar for the Hero."

"…"

She swallowed hard from the tension.

The surroundings were so unnaturally quiet that the sound of her own gulp seemed to echo in every direction.

"And yet, Noren… you have betrayed my expectations."

"!!"

Noren hurriedly bowed her head.

"I-I'm sorry! Your Holiness…!"

"…If the Hero under your charge was not to your liking, you should have spoken of it first. Not… betrayed him in this manner."

"I have… nothing to say…"

"And yet you… betrayed a Hero once more."

Once more…

Meaning she had left Hero Leon for Hero Abel — and then left him as well, to come here.

"I'm sorry… However, Philia — Hero Leon's companion and childhood friend — she…"

"I have no wish to hear excuses."

"Hhk…"

Pure white holy power drifted through the air around them.

Save for the Saintess, this was the being capable of working the greatest miracles in the world. No — if the miracles the Saintess wrought were the Goddess's call made into prophecy, then the Pope alone could be said to wield power truly worthy of the word miracle.

"You wished to know Hero Leon's whereabouts, did you not? Yes — of course, we have ascertained his location."

"!"

"At present, he is in a foreign land, making preparations to destroy a fragment of the Demon King."

At the Pope's words, Noren's eyes went round.

Who… that Leon?

Leon was gentle and kind — that much was certain. If gentleness and kindness could be converted into strength, he would have been immensely powerful. But unfortunately, kindness did not translate directly into power. She knew of Leon's efforts, yet he had no talent.

Chosen as a Hero, he had been granted an unlimited growth ceiling — and yet, for want of talent, he had remained far too weak.

And that Leon… was preparing to destroy a fragment of the Demon King…?

"Noren. For the time being, I ask that you take a period of self-reflection. I am already aware of everything you have done. Even if… you made an improper choice out of a mere craving for pleasure, with no love involved — so long as you claim yourself a child of the Goddess, I will not impose a severe punishment upon you. Therefore, go to the confessional, find your own sins, and atone for them."

"…I under… stand…"

"…You may leave."

The holy power that had been pressing down on her body vanished. The Pope turned and walked away.

Several high priests followed after her.

And the faint contempt in the high priests' eyes as they left was carved deep into Noren's heart for a long time to come.