Chapter 3. Were they such a high-ranking person? (12)
Chapter 3. Were they such a high-ranking person? (12)
"Your Excellency?"
"Ah."
I was lost in thought for a while, only coming to my senses when someone called out to me.
The person who called me was Erna. She was a mess. When she first set out, her armor had just been a bit worn, but now she was drenched in sweat.
My eyes went to the sword at Erna's waist.
It didn't look like anything special while in its scabbard. The light of the Holy Sword wasn't leaking out of it.
But the sword Erna had already shown me had definitely glowed. Not just me and Erna, but Frida, who had been waiting quietly beside me, also saw that sword.
Was the person who handed over such an important sword powerful enough to do so? Or was the sword that received my mana just that important?
"......Aren't you both exhausted-sawayo?"
I asked.
"No matter how strong a knight you are, if you've ridden that distance with all your might, you must be on the verge of collapsing-sawayo."
In fact, Erna looked like she was barely holding on.
"How about you stay the night and rest-sawayo?"
"That is......"
The knight rolled her eyes around, looking flustered.
"There's nothing to worry about-sawayo."
I said, putting on a smile. A smile that looked as harmless as possible. I couldn't have the other party harboring hostility for no reason.
"The Parish Deputy-nim seems to be taking the matter too seriously; it was only a one-time incident. The Principality isn't going to collapse right away-sawayo. And isn't the Saintess-nim busy, too-sawayo? Instead of rushing over to persuade and bring her here, wouldn't it be better to take your time and meet her looking presentable-sawayo?"
I'm not sure if this knight is the Hero or not.
But either way, as a knight belonging to the Church, her faith must be much higher than an ordinary person's.
"Please, won't you rest comfortably here before you go-sawayo? As someone who hopes for the Goddess's grace, it weighs heavily on my heart to send a guest away without hosting them-sawayo."
"......"
She looked bewildered at my words. The knight probably isn't of noble birth. At least, she didn't seem to read any political meaning into what I said.
Then, I have no choice but to approach the other party as favorably as possible.
And couldn't I just buy myself a day to clear my head?
"Understood, Your Excellency."
The knight finally bowed her head, as if she had made up her mind.
"In that case, I will gratefully stay."
I let out a light sigh.
"That's good-sawayo. Frida, I would be grateful if you could guide the Knight-nim to the guest room-sawayo."
"Yes, Rosalyn-nim. I will also prepare warm water and a meal."
I nodded.
Waiting for Frida to take the knight out, I looked at Erna again.
"Good. Before you go to rest, Erna...... could you draw your sword one more time-sawayo?"
"Understood, Your Excellency."
Erna drew the sword.
I hadn't seen it wrong.
Light was flowing from the sword Erna had drawn.
It wasn't the only sword like that in this world. But as far as I knew, there were fewer than ten such swords. And each and every one of them was treated with great importance.
Why did the Parish Deputy-nim go out of his way to send this sword here? Did he really see something in the sword Erna took with her?
"For now, could you leave that sword in this room-sawayo? There's something I want to check. Of course, after I check it, you can take it back."
"Understood."
Without any suspicion, Erna unfastened the scabbard from her waist and placed it on the table. When she tried to hand the sword to me, I instructed her to put it back in the scabbard, leave it on the table, and then leave.
Once Erna left the room, it became quiet for the first time in a while. Usually, Frida was always nearby.
"Phew."
Alright.
I composed myself and cautiously approached the Holy Sword.
I approached slowly, as if there were a cockroach in front of me, and grabbed the belt attached to the scabbard with my fingertips. It was damper than I expected. Was it Erna's sweat?
Goosebumps rose on my arms when I realized that, but now wasn't the time to worry about such things.
After lifting the scabbard with only the tips of my left hand's fingers, I reached out with the tips of my right hand's fingers and touched the sword's hilt.
My fingertips didn't tingle...... or anything like that. At least, the sensation I felt on my fingertips right then was just the feeling of touching an ordinary sword.
"......"
Slowly, I gripped the sword's hilt and drew it.
With a shing sound, the sword was drawn far too easily.
"Hiek!?"
And I almost went blind.
I'm not joking. I genuinely felt like my eyeballs were burning.
Actually, when Erna just drew the sword while I was a bit further away, I thought it was a bit too dazzling. Frida was only slightly surprised, and Erna, who held the sword, looked like she didn't care at all.
So, it means I was the only one who was overly surprised.
Since the sword is so precious, I guess they just moved on, thinking I was surprised, so there wasn't a big problem for the moment.
"W-what is this-sawayo, this......"
I said, turning my head to the side and barely managing to shove the sword back into the scabbard.
I hurriedly put it back on the table and moved as far away as possible.
The afterimage in front of my eyes wouldn't easily disappear. My face also tingled a little. This isn't going to make me look like I've got a tan or something, right?
"What on earth has become of me-sawayo?"
A terrified voice.
For the first time in a long while, this tone came out because I was terrified.
Does this mean Rosalyn in the original work didn't fall to corruption separately?
That she was just twisted somewhere from the moment she was born. It wasn't just a matter of her personality being twisted, but that somewhere in her very existence—she was a being that was deeply contrary to the Goddess's will.
Was that why she was a villainess?
"......"
The first emotion I felt was fear. It was the fear that there might be nothing I could do in this situation. Isn't that obvious? In this worldview, the protagonist is ultimately the Hero, the one who follows the path of light. I could select and play characters in Free Mode, but that was just an additional feature, after all.
Then, why did I regain the memories of my past life?
Simply because I was shocked that Abeonim passed away? Memories of a past life resurfacing due to mental shock? That might be plausible as a literary device.
But this world is reality, not just a novel. If so, wouldn't it be more correct to think that a 'divine being' was involved?
For example, a Goddess.
I turned my body and looked at the sky.
The Principality's weather is clear again today. A place where mountain ranges stretch high above and below. Although there is a rainy season in summer and snow in winter, the flowing rivers have never dried up, and there is abundant groundwater. It has fertile granaries, and even mining areas rich in gold, silver, and furthermore, magic stones and sulfur.
A place that can truly be called blessed. A place sufficient to be used as an early base after the Hero in the game occupies it first.
"......Do you wish for something from me-sawayo?"
I asked, looking up at the sky.
"Do you want me to stop something-sawayo?"
My voice is trembling.
But it's not because of fear.
Yes. The first thing I felt was fear. But what I felt after that was—anger.
That anger toward the Goddess was truly 'Rosalyn'-like.
No, it must be 'me'-like. I, too, lived my past life resenting God time and time again.
"You must really love the Saintess-nim-sawayo. To return these memories to me and make it so I can't even kill her recklessly."
I looked back again.
The Holy Sword was lying quietly on the table, as if it were an ordinary sword, pretending nothing had happened.
So that's how it is.
That's what you want.
Then, fine. I'll do exactly that. I don't know if you're reading my thoughts or not, and I don't know if you're really looking down on me, or if the Goddess even gave me these memories.
Then I will thoroughly exploit that 'opportunity'.
So I will survive, no matter what, and get revenge for Abeonim.
I'll have to think a bit about whether or not to ruin this world again after that. Well, if I can really burn the world down and still survive in one piece at that time, I might gladly do so.
"......"
Thinking that far was fine, but that was it.
I feel gloomy for no reason. It feels like I've been pushed around by something ever since I regained my memories of my past life.
Should I just sleep?
Yes. Let's just sleep. If I stay awake for no reason, I might end up having a meal with the guest who happened to stay over.
If she were a truly ordinary knight, I'd feel like crap. Because it would mean I poured all my attention into someone who was nothing special.
Conversely, if she is the Hero, that's uncomfortable in its own way.
I'll just say I'm not feeling well and go to sleep. Let's think while sleeping, in my dreams. About what I should do from now on.
......Should I just go with the original plot and live a short and intense life~, I thought, and with that absurd thought, I dove into bed.