A Hero's Warmth
“No, Hero-nim?!”
“Why is the Hero…?”
“What is that sword?”
Hah, as expected, it’s noisy.
“W-Wait, everyone! Calm down for a moment…”
“Arrest him!”
What is this?
“From this moment onward, I arrest you for damaging public property and insulting the head of state.”
“Wait, what is insulting the head of state?”
“All those present with the King have been ordered to treat him with the same reverence! Therefore, by disobeying the King’s words, you have insulted the head of state! Now that I think about it, rebellion is added too!”
Unbelievable. If the King’s words become law?
Thinking it over again, the King’s words are indeed law.
“Alright, then arrest me.”
“As I wished.”
“But senior, this person is the Hero, right?”
Finally, they recognize me!
“Yes! I am the Hero Kyle! I risked my life to come and save you all! Who will judge me!”
“Hmm, calling him a Hero is difficult. Is the King’s holy law first? Or is thanking the Hero first?”
“Hey, senior, we need to decide quickly.”
“Hmm, alright. As a soldier of this country, I have the duty to arrest you. But out of respect for the Hero, I promise to escort you respectfully to the King.”
“Alright, do that.”
“Thank you. Could you return the weapon? If the suspicion is cleared, I will return it to you.”
“Yes. Here it is.”
He hands the sword to the junior-looking soldier, but the moment he receives it, he stumbles.
“Ugh, Hero-nim, this is too heavy!”
“Only I can lift this sword.”
“Senior, what do we do?”
“Hmm, then keep it. But the sword must always be in the sheath.”
“I will do so.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
With that, I began to be escorted by the soldiers.
“Oppa! I’ll wait for you on the day you come out!”
“Your Highness, we have secured the vicious criminal who destroyed the statue of the late Knight Commander with a hammer!”
“Excellent. Let them bring in that ugly face.”
“Yes.”
“Wait, why are you…?”
“It was part of the quest.”
“Destroying the statue of our country’s worthy person was part of the quest?”
“It was part of the quest. The full quest was to find… this sword.”
He pulls out the Holy Sword from the sheath and shows it.
“What a wondrous sword. Is this for you?”
“It is for me alone.”
“So, where did you find this?”
“It was inside the statue.”
“Inside the statue?”
“Yes. My guess is that it is the sword of the late Knight Commander. Perhaps his will to protect the country is imbued in the sword, becoming this Holy Sword?”
“If you think so… I am grateful. The statue part is fine. You may go. There is much to do.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah, there is something I should tell you… No, I won’t send someone else for that.”
“Yes. I will wait.”
“Oppa, I brought protein for the release celebration. Eat it.”
No one eats protein for a release celebration.
“Huh? Since it’s made of beans, it’s similar to tofu?”
“So, the quest is over. What are we doing today? Shall we have a celebration party?”
“Party sounds good. But before that… I need to play with this friend a bit?”
While sending a sticky gaze to the Holy Sword, I said.
“Ah, Oppa, what is that look in your eyes. Really dirty.”
“I have no choice but to send such a look to my precious Holy Sword. Look at this figure! Look at this figure!”
“Wow, really annoying. I can’t look at it because it’s dirty. I’m leaving. Play nicely with the Holy Sword or whatever~”
And she really leaves. Wow, she’s sulking again.
Then, shall I really play with this Holy Sword?
“Hup!”
“Whoosh!”
“Hap!”
Sharp thrust.
Fast slash.
Heavy stab.
Perfect.
The worry that my swordsmanship had atrophied was an overthinking. With the Holy Sword, all movements flowed smoothly.
But this is something that can be done with just a sword.
But I need to see the true power of the Holy Sword.
“Status Window!”
“Detecting dedicated weapon ‘Holy Sword’ within 3m. Connect?”
Ah, the performance that makes the chest swell no matter how many times I’ve seen it.
There’s a slight Bluetooth feel.
“Do you want to see the functions of the Holy Sword?”
Um, serious confirmation starts.
“Option: Enhancement. Increases all of the owner’s abilities by 5.”
Simple but powerful option. It boosts strength, endurance, agility, and intellect evenly.
Next.
“Option: Superhuman. Increases the owner’s ability limits by 10.”
This is quite useful too. Since Growth can only go up to 100, adding 10 is significant.
Next.
“Option: Weight Control. You can adjust the sword’s weight as you wish.”
This one needs to be experienced directly.
“Hup!”
Doing a normal vertical slash with the sword and adding weight to it at the end. This alone completes a powerful strike.
“Ah, this is the feel of a sword. Always fresh! Thrilling! The Holy Sword is the best!”
Last!
“Option: Retrieval. If the sword is connected, you can pull it towards the owner.”
This is quite an interesting option. Convenient too. Even though it’s within 3m, being able to retrieve the sword is advantageous, and for convenience, it’s good.
“But there are no time-related options?”
Was the one that sent me to the past not the Holy Sword? I thought there was nothing else.
Well, since it’s already back, it doesn’t matter much. From now on, I can live well.
Alright, the reunion with my old friend is enough for now, and shall I go relieve Lily’s anger?
“Lily, are you inside?”
No answer. It’s my room, so just go in.
Lily was lying on the bed. Sleeping?
“Sleeping?”
Still no movement. Hmm...
“Ah, I brought something to eat together… What should I do with this…”
“What?”
She’s fast. I swallow the words “You weren’t sleeping. You quick-witted girl” inside.
Today, I shouldn’t say such things. Somehow the atmosphere is like that. The atmosphere.
“Ah, cake. There’s something to celebrate today, right? So I bought it.”
“I can’t refuse cake. Eh? You bought candles too?”
“If the candle is missing in the celebration party, it’s useless.”
“Okay. Wait, look at this.”
Lily places a candle on the cake, then from her hand flames rise, lighting the candle with it.
“You really learned magic?”
“Oppa told me to practice. I’m the kind of girl who does it if Oppa says.”
“Alright. Then, you sing too.”
“Eh? Today Oppa is the main character? Oppa is the Hero, and today Oppa broke the quest?”
“First, sing.”
“Actually, I wanted to sing, but I couldn’t because of the atmosphere. Thanks.”
Hoo. The candle stuck on the cake goes out.
“I really lit it. Hehe.”
“Whether I sing or you sing, it’s the same.”
“Aish~ No emotion.”
“It’s not that. We… are a team. So, whether you sing or I sing, ‘we’ are singing together.”
“Not like Oppa today, it’s emotional.”
“And today isn’t the first candle. There will be many, many. Instead, the next one I will sing.”
“Ugh… If it wasn’t the last one, it would have been perfect.”
“Enough, let’s eat quickly.”
Lily cutting the cake large.
“Hey, if you stab it that much, you’ll choke.”
“Hii, I can eat this much! (I can eat this much!)”
“Hahaha. More than that, cream is on your cheek.”
“Where? Here? Here?”
“Here.” I wipe the cream on Lily’s cheek with a swipe and eat it.
“No, today the quick-witted one is me, not Oppa.”
“Kuk. We’re becoming similar.”
“That is very romantic. You know?”
“I know, I know. Don’t look at the cake while talking and eat quickly.”
“Yes~!”
Knock knock.
While enjoying dessert time, someone knocks on the door.
“I will get it.”
Opening the door, an older-looking person appears.
“I apologize for disturbing you late at night. Hero-nim.”
“Ah, no. But what is it?”
“Ah, the King sent this envelope. I don’t know what’s inside. Just, it’s important, so only the Hero is to open it…”
“Ah, I heard that too. Thank you.”
“Yes. Then, have a peaceful night.”
The door closes, and I return to Lily.
“What was it?”
“Ah, some person said the King sent this envelope to me. I don’t know what’s inside.”
“So, don’t open it?”
“Yeah. I also want to rest today, and I want to spend time with Lily completely.”
“Good point, ‘I also want to rest’ is a bit off. Next time, just say the latter part.”
I look at Lily wiping her mouth with a handkerchief after eating the cake.
“Lily, shall we sleep together today?”
“Eh? Finally you’re looking at me with those eyes?”
“No no, not that kind of thing, just, really sleep.”
“There’s no way. Let’s get in right now.”
“I will turn off the light.”
Turning off the light, I get into the blanket with Lily. Because the blanket is cold inside, I hug Lily more.
Since we’re together… it’s warm.
When I was with Floris, was my bed really warm?
Or did I just think it was warm alone.
Somehow I wanted to hug Lily more, but I held back because Lily seemed to be falling asleep.
Instead, carefully, very gently, I kissed Lily’s forehead.
After feeling my heart throb a little, I also fell asleep.
That day, I slept soundly for the first time in a long time.