Chapter 46: Footsteps of the Ancient Sages

“This is….”

How should I take this?

Why, of all people, does Grandeus’s name appear here?

“I see! So it was here!”

Philbar, who had appeared with a large parasol, shook the cloth in both hands as if he had found a reaction.

“Did you see or hear something?”

“Yes.”

Kariel asked, glancing toward Alessia and Baron Baronen’s family, who were standing some distance away.

“You know Grandeus, right?”

“Of course I do. But why do you ask?”

“…He was Saint Kariel’s teacher.”

Philbar looked puzzled for a long while, then suddenly widened his eyes.

“What… did you say? My goodness. This is—wait. Ah, hold on. Do you perhaps know Grandeus’s true identity? This… isn’t information that can be known through ordinary means. Huh?”

His expression shifted chaotically in an instant. He checked his surroundings and then leaned in to whisper into Kariel’s ear.

“If you know, then this conversation becomes much simpler. For now, I think it would be best not to tell anyone about this.”

“…….”

“Exactly. If this were to get out, it could have a massive impact on the perception of chivalry, not just within the Religious Order, but overall. Beyond mere backlash, there would likely be measures to cover it up.”

“Then you’re saying we should… hide the truth?”

“The truth isn’t what’s important. What matters is how the living perceive it. And I’m not saying we should hide it; we’re simply not mentioning it. It’s not as if we’re doing something evil, are we?”

So, this means.

“Wait 500 years. Or perhaps 1,000. It won’t be too late to announce it then.”

“…….”

“Humans and civilized societies are truly fragile. Wise individuals might accept this quietly, but there will be far more who would refuse to tolerate it even if the heavens collapsed. Conversely, there will be those who seek to exploit it.”

Kariel could only nod slowly.

“I… understand.”

“Sigh. I should be happy, yet my heart feels heavy. Another spark of inspiration is welling up. Hmm! Good! Then I shall return to my work. Nothing happened here, alright? Understood? We’ll coordinate our stories later.”

Perhaps it was because he had opened a large parasol in the middle of a city thoroughfare.

By then, a commotion—not quite a riot, but a stir—began to break out.

“It’s the Baron!”

“The Lord?”

Baron Roia quickly handled the situation, so there were no major issues.

“So, you mean this place?”

“Correct. Saint Kariel would have fallen here.”

Philbar cast a brief glance at Kariel.

“Hmm.”

Alessia looked on with a slightly somber expression, silently scanning the street where people were passing by.

“I intend to use magic to manifest the situation at the time as an illusion. Ah, but the street is narrow, so please clear the people away. To avoid unnecessary trouble, let’s also set up a Barrier. Let’s do this after sunset. We came here to confirm the location anyway.”

With that, Philbar hopped back into the carriage, claiming his inspiration was flowing.

“So that’s how it is,” Baron Roia said, lightening the mood.

“Since it’s settled, everyone disperse! We’ll gather here again in the evening.”

The Baron added, “I know you’re preparing for the festival, but that should be quite fun, so you two don’t feel pressured and go sightsee to your heart’s content.”

He was speaking to Alessia and Kariel.

The two nodded obediently.

“Then come with me to the church. If we planned to come here, you were going to stop by anyway, right?”

At Alessia’s suggestion, Kariel followed her without a second thought.

“Still, it’s problematic if you keep dressing like this.”

Amidst her grumbling and the enjoyment of the festival preparations.

Had she said there were only two days left?

Originally, he had planned to visit the church once.

Regardless of the festival.

“…….”

It seems things rarely go according to plan.

A small mountain rose within the city.

The church building standing proudly atop it could only be reached by climbing nearly 200 stone steps.

The problem was that the stairs sometimes spiraled beyond the incline, making the structure not particularly easy to climb by general standards.

The height of each stone step was also inconsistent.

Still, once you managed to reach the top, the scenery of the small city unfolded at a glance, which gave it its own charm.

Even so, a young man and woman nearby were complaining in real-time that the view was only half-complete because part of it was blocked by the mountain.

“Hey, can I try climbing up the church building for a bit?”

“Huh? Up? Why?”

“I just wonder what it looks like from the top.”

“If you can do it, give it a try.”

Alessia spoke with a tone that suggested she didn’t expect much.

However, Kariel casually stepped on the building wall a few times and then began to scale the wall as if jumping vertically.

“Whoa! What is that?”

“Is he an Elf?”

“How is he so agile?”

He distanced himself from the ground in an instant.

Once he reached the top of the church, the scenery changed again, but.

“…….”

The feeling of his heart fluttering with emotion or his vision opening wide.

He didn’t particularly feel it.

He reaffirmed once again that his emotions and sensibilities were not as active as they once were.

Becoming indifferent has many advantages, such as being less shaken by surrounding events.

Perhaps that was why.

The world felt increasingly dry and tasteless.

Boring, fleeting, and empty.

And he found himself accepting everything as if it were natural.

“…….”

How many seconds passed?

Kariel, as if walking on air—since it was air with no stepping stones or place to tread.

His body fell vertically without hesitation.

A few onlookers screamed in surprise or covered their eyes.

Thud!

Just before colliding with the ground, Kariel controlled his speed by kicking off the wall and finished his landing with a nimble roll, unscathed.

“Where did you learn that?”

“…Rather than learning it, it just came naturally?”

It was faint, but at some point, he had become able to do this naturally.

Even this, if you think about it, wasn’t an exercise of Kariel’s own innate power.

After all, since his utilization of mana was poor, there was no way he could exhibit such prowess through his own strength.

On the other hand, he wondered if he had gained this knack instead of being suited for mana and magical power.

He simply thought of it that way.

“How do you do it?”

“A gap in the wind, perhaps. You just have to go against the path correctly… it’s hard to explain.”

“Hmm.”

“Isn’t it easy for you to go up and down here too, Lady Alessia?”

“…I could do it if I wanted to. But it’s more tiring to get caught and lectured, so I’d do it in secret if I did.”

Alessia looked as if she were pondering something that was almost within reach.

“Ah, look at me. Let’s go inside first.”

Kariel sighed softly as he looked at the entrance.

……As expected.

Churches were uncomfortable in many ways.

The solemn atmosphere or the flow of a holy current wasn’t actually the important part.

When coming here.

The more holy, divine, and solemn the place was.

The more he unconsciously thought of his mother, Ermina.

However, unlike the exterior, the internal structure of this church was simpler than expected.

Though it was high, it wasn’t divided into floors or anything of the sort.

The ceiling was high, and thanks to the stained glass, the sunlight took on rainbow hues, creating a beautiful and holy atmosphere.

Even so, it didn’t resonate with him much.

The interior was open in the exact shape of a cross.

And at the very center of the cross, in the middle of the church.

…Those statues were placed.

A man kneeling on one knee, gripping the sword sheath with both hands.

Yet, without ever collapsing, he leaned his forehead and head against the hands holding the sheath.

The image of a man standing with his eyes closed.

A statue that an artist reportedly spent five years completing to commemorate Saint Kariel.

Toward the man sitting and standing, leaning his forehead against the sword planted in the ground.

From behind.

In shabby clothing.

Men, women, young and old, draped in scraps of cloth no different from rags, with sad faces, placed their hands on his hem, back, and shoulders, leaning their heads and arms against him.

They were weeping.

No, a weeping expression would be the correct term.

Since a statue cannot shed tears.

One simply perceives and interprets it as such by looking at the expression.

Near the statues, people who appeared to be believers and swordsmen in plain clothes were seen bowing their heads in mourning with eyes closed, or silently praying.

“I’m going to change my clothes, so take your time looking around.”

Once she left.

The world was once again enveloped in silence.

As it was inside a church, everyone naturally maintained a subdued atmosphere.

Kariel went to the furthest corner, leaned his back against the wall, and asked the air.

“Why did Grandeus teach Kariel?”

-How should I know that?

It seemed that fact was quite surprising to her as well.

-Just because I know a lot doesn’t mean I know everything. If I did, I’d be the Demon King of Omniscience, not the Demon King of Wisdom.

“…….”

-Coming here was your own will, wasn’t it? I don’t think there was a single moment I wished for it. Rather, I want to ask you. With what intention did you come here? Did you expect this would happen?

“There’s no way.”

He was utterly bewildered.

Of all things, he had learned the Swordsmanship of Grandeus.

And of all times, while on a journey to recover Grandeus’s Magic Armor.

…His own name, Kariel, was connected to Grandeus?

All of this is something he would have never known if he hadn’t come here.

-Does it feel too strange to be a coincidence? Then it must be fate, not a coincidence.

“…….”

Then it becomes even stranger.

And if he began to accept that readily.

…Does it mean that the pain and absurdity of his entire life were all… planned and predestined?

Thinking back, he felt a new surge of anger that hadn’t been there before.

As if he had been played with by someone’s malicious prank.

“I don’t care about knights or whatever.”

He didn’t want to be one.

There was no reason to become one.

All that remained for him was a hollow pride, broken and crushed until it lost its shape.

Even admiration had vanished.

Longing had long since had its embers extinguished, turning to ash and scattering in the wind.

He did not wish for it.

He did not expect it, nor did he even dream of it.

Whether it be a knight or a Hero.

If he were born to become such a thing.

If he were born with such an absurd fate.

Even if it meant death, he would firmly refuse.

Under any circumstances.

Even if it were.

Something that someone else desperately craved and desired.

Among the countless people in the world.

He could assert that he would not be one of them.

====

Since I had some time, I asked the Demon King various things.

“Your own people from the past are openly cursing you; how does that make you feel?”

-I told them to curse me. I told them to do it properly. I told them to curse me every time they met a human, and they’re doing it well. I bet they all mean it.

…This was somewhat unexpected.

Does this Demon King truly lack even the minimum desire for recognition, or the need to show off and achieve accomplishments?

-It’s a difference in the values and purposes pursued. Do you think I don’t have those?

The Demon King said.

-The only thing I feared was losing His favor. Other gazes and evaluations? They were of no concern.

This too might be another form of self-righteousness.

“With what thought did you introduce the Golden Rule?”

-To make them respect their opponents.

Only then.

-Could they develop the attitude to converse and negotiate as equals with you, as they do now. It’s a kind of preliminary education.

Because the Demon Race doesn’t have anything like that.

Even if they do, it’s merely a contract.

-By your standards, the original nature of the Demon Race is so violent and ferocious that even barbarians would be considered refined by comparison.

“Are you saying that because of that, they were able to have such an attitude?”

-Not entirely. But that’s inevitable, isn’t it? I can compromise with wolves, sheep, and even bears, but putting birds and fish in the same fence? Do you think that makes sense?

Some things just don’t work, kid.

-The faster you give up, the higher the completion of the goal. Useless lingering and obsession are the enemies of wisdom.

She was as resolute now as she had been then.

So I wonder.

Just when will I be able to crumple this damn Demon King’s impression like a piece of paper?

“Did you wait long?”

Alessia returned.

Her attire was ordinary activewear that men would commonly wear.

Seeing that the brown top was particularly baggy, it seemed she had intentionally increased the size due to her chest.

The red sash she wore over it, reaching down to her waist, looked somewhat stylish.

“No. It was fun looking around.”

“Is there really anything to see here?”

“There are people, buildings, structures. It’s diverse, isn’t it? Just as each one has its own story and circumstances.”

For example.

“How much manpower and effort went into building this church. The sweat, effort, and time of those people are what make this place exist now. The same goes for that statue over there.”

“…Your powers of observation really are outstanding.”

“Pardon?”

“Usually, people only look at the surface and focus on what’s visible; they don’t try to look into the inner depths like that.”

“Uh….”

Kariel had just been rambling whatever came to mind, but it seemed he had been misunderstood in another sense.

“Thank you for seeing it in a positive light.”

“No need to be thankful. You’re just saying something good is good; is that something to be thankful for?”

…Truly.

Alessia is a good person.

“…….”

Saintess Ermina.

Whenever he heard stories about her from others, she was consistently regarded as a noble and divine being, unparalleled in the world.

Also, a being more benevolent than anyone else.

Though she was an infinitely distant existence to him.

Every time he saw and experienced Alessia, he unintentionally realized the contrasting reality.

To avoid showing the resulting sense of dissonance.

Kariel would simply maintain a silence and a quiet smile.

Who was it that said the moment of preparation is also part of the festival?

As they left the church and re-entered the city, laughter never ceased where crowds gathered, as always.

Looking at the children whose eyes sparkled with anticipation, his lips almost loosened into a smile.

Remembering what Luke had introduced only yesterday, he threw a piece of fruit to them with a smile, telling them to taste it.

Perhaps they were setting up a temporary stage, as the rhythmic sound of hammering could be heard from one side.

Children ran and played, and carriages carrying colorful flower baskets moved along.

Some were engrossed in cleaning for the sake of streets cleaner than before.

Others were showing off their singing skills in preparation for the day, only to be scolded by those around them.

‘Everything.’

Is colorful and peaceful.

Calmly inhaling and exhaling.

He followed that scenery until sunset.

With a pleasant heart.