Chapter 39: Nothing Has Ended

“Now, now, let’s move it! We have to be back before the sun sets! Or what? Do you want to just head out on an empty stomach?”

It was early morning, just as the sun was rising.

Amidst the pale white morning mist, a man in black polished full-plate armor brushed his deep blue short hair with his hand, his iron boots stamping across the sodden earth like a seal.

Bustling through the small campsite, he made eye contact with each soldier, checking the headcount with a greeting.

Whenever they saw him, the soldiers groaned as if they were dying, but the man dismissed their whining with a smirk.

“Over there, Lady Alessia? What on earth are you doing right now?”

“What? Why?”

A few dozen steps away from the camp.

The man asked abruptly, addressing a figure who was sitting leaned against a tree, hugging someone.

In response, a woman of heavy build glared with red eyes as if asking what his problem was, gesturing with her chin.

Her long red hair swayed faintly like a mane following her movement.

The man asked again.

“Why are you hugging an innocent child? Don’t tell me… you couldn’t resist again?”

“Luke? Are you still half-asleep? What nonsense is this? I felt like our Luel was having a nightmare, so as his older sister, I was just stabilizing him. Can’t you see I’m performing the inherent role of a cleric?”

“Why can’t you just be honest and say it’s to satisfy your own desires? And you call yourself a Saintess?”

“Ah, do you think I wanted to play Saintess? People around me went ballistic insisting I do it, so I was pushed into it. And isn’t it rather your eyes and that rich imagination of yours that are tainted by demons for seeing this as impure?”

“Haa… when you put it that way, I’m left speechless even with a mouth to speak. Could you spare just half of that shamelessness for me?”

Then, the man asked the boy who was struggling in her embrace.

“Luel. How was it? Did you sleep well last night?”

“…Yes. Thanks to your consideration.”

The black-haired boy, barely crawling out from the woman’s embrace, replied calmly while catching his breath.

Seeing that he still seemed half-asleep, the black-eyed man gave a light smile toward the amber eyes he met.

“This blasphemous Saintess didn’t do anything suspicious, did she? Like touching you here and there, or groping. Just wondering…”

“Suspicious?! You blasphemous brat, the likes of which the world has never seen!”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, so please be quiet.”

Though they grumbled incessantly, there wasn’t a hint of genuine hostility between the two.

To put it plainly, they looked like friends of ten years.

Eventually, the man left after giving a warning that wasn’t quite a warning.

She, too, stood up abruptly.

“Tell your sister if it’s hard. I’ll hug you anytime.”

“I… thank you for the offer.”

“I told you I’m sincere, not just talking, and yet you say that. Are you going to keep denying it after tasting my Happiness Pouch?”

“Pardon? Happiness Pouch?”

As the boy, Kariel, asked back with wide eyes.

“This. This right here.”

As she crossed her arms beneath her chest, her heavy bosom formed an explicit mound between her clothes.

“Since it makes men happy, it’s a Happiness Pouch. Looking at it, touching it. As long as you endure my shoulders suffering a bit, it’s an ending where everyone becomes happy. See? Doesn’t that sound right?”

“…….”

How should he handle this?

For Kariel, this was a type of person he had never encountered, making it utterly perplexing.

To begin with, to think there was a human—and a woman at that—who approached someone so familiarly and intimately without any conditions.

“But, if you are the Saintess, shouldn’t you avoid behaving so… promiscuously?”

“Who says so?”

“Uh…”

“If I did something wrong, Heaven would send a punishment. But they haven’t, have they? Do you know why?”

“I… don’t know?”

When Kariel replied hesitantly, she spoke with a bright smile.

“It’s because the virtues I’ve accumulated outweigh the sins I’ve committed.”

“…….”

“Otherwise, I would’ve been struck by lightning in my sleep, right? But since I haven’t been, it means I’m doing very well. See? You can’t refute that, can you? That’s reality. Otherwise, why would I be crazy enough to do this? I’m in a mood where I want to find a husband and throw away being a Saintess or whatever. There are plenty of people my age with four or five kids! What am I doing!”

“…….”

“In that sense, how about it? Living with me? Your face is just exactly! My type.”

“Ha… haha.”

“I’m serious, so why are you taking it as a joke? Is it because of the atmosphere? Huh?!”

…Kariel was confused as to whether this was a joke or an explicit flirtation.

Furthermore, in the face of fierce goodwill and powerful positivity, Kariel’s gloominess melted away quite futilely.

“Anyway, we should eat before we head out, right? Let’s go.”

Following her lead, he arrived at the campsite which was just being packed up.

Though the contents of the large pot were just a mix of whatever had been thrown into the water, it served well enough to fill the stomach and warm the insides.

“Eat up! You’re at the age where you’re growing, aren’t you? If you eat that little, you won’t be popular with the girls. You have to eat a lot for luck and strength to follow. There was a prince of some country who almost lost his succession rights despite being the eldest because he couldn’t eat much and was deemed unfit to be king. Haven’t you heard that story?”

“…….”

It was a story he had heard in the Capital, but spoken in a mocking tone. Yet, hearing it from her, it instead made his heart feel warm.

Goodwill and malice.

To think that with just this difference, the same words could feel like a sarcastic mockery in one instance and a caring consideration in another.

By the time they finished their meal, the camp was packed.

One of the soldiers took care of the horse’s feed.

“He’s a cute fellow. Very affectionate.”

“Is that so?”

The soldier spoke as if he had plenty of experience.

“He seems more suited as a riding horse than a warhorse. Seeing how he has strong patience and listens well to people, he seems well-trained. His coat is well-managed, too.”

You’re a noble, aren’t you?

“…….”

Kariel only nodded silently.

“Still, he’ll need time to adjust to pulling a carriage or a wagon. It’s fine to carry one person and some luggage, but… the horse will struggle if it’s not used to it.”

“Usually, people don’t think that far, do they?”

“Those who aren’t interested do. If they think of a horse as a tool like a wagon or carriage rather than a friend.”

“…….”

For some reason, it was a comment that gave him a lot to think about.

“Then, move out! Don’t think about arriving home after the sun sets! Let’s try to arrive before it drops!”

“Let’s take it easy, Young Master!”

“The night scenery is actually quite nice, you know?”

“Wouldn’t it be great to combine it with a night patrol?”

“Stop talking nonsense! Move out!”

As Luke mounted his horse and put on his helmet, he looked every bit the proper knight.

Perhaps because the horse was also black, they made a quite fitting pair.

As the baggage wagons also departed, the woman called the Saintess put on chainmail over her clothes, and then covered that with a garment featuring a golden cross on a white background.

Adding iron armor to cover her limbs, she was now fully armed.

With a mace and shield hanging from her back, and an Arming Sword—a one-handed sword—at her waist.

Except for her unexpectedly delicate features and her enormously swollen chest, she was a proper warrior herself.

“…….”

To make the most of the time during the journey, Kariel held his lute.

Beyond practicing, his purpose was to alleviate the boredom of those traveling.

Other than that…

“Did you see my dream?”

-Which dream?

Kariel asked about the dream he had previously.

-Ah, that was you? Some whitish thing was staring at me, and it was annoying, so I threw a word at it.

“…Then what was that thing fighting with you?”

-The thing clinging to you.

“……What?”

-It started causing a real ruckus as soon as you left the Capital. I was actually thinking of telling you soon.

“…Could you explain in detail?”

-Should I? Or should I not?

The Golden Girl giggled.

Looking at her now, she seemed like nothing more than a mischievous girl, but…

-Think back to every problem that arose right after you left the Capital.

“…….”

Kariel fell into deep thought, plucking the lute strings atop the swaying horse.

First…

Pain similar to seizure symptoms.

Unknown things constantly popping into his head.

‘I heard sounds, too.’

Other than that…

“Did you say earlier that something was clinging to me?”

-Indeed, indeed.

“…Then is this something different from a curse?”

He had learned at the Academy that while there are various types of curses, they are generally composed of those that target a single individual and those that spread from one to the surroundings, like a contagion.

-If that’s the case, you’re wondering why there was no abnormality while you were inside the Capital, but it reached that state once you left, right?

“…Pretty much.”

Because of this, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly lately.

Though his mind had become relatively peaceful after escaping, every time he fell asleep, he had dreams of Lueld grabbing him, or dreams of Patina, Elhermina, Seras, and others following him.

Even when Eras was waiting for him at his destination, it made his blood boil.

To top it off, when he dreamed of Alessius leading an army to hunt and kill him…

No, that was actually somewhat welcoming.

Since it provided the conditions to retaliate justly of its own accord, he felt truly glad.

Then, just before plunging the sword into the fellow’s heart at the end.

He momentarily wondered if this was right.

And then he woke up.

The emotions he felt then were two-fold.

One was himself, deeply regretting that he couldn’t finish the job.

…And the other was a sense of self-loathing for being able to slaughter Alessius and everyone around him without any guilt or remorse, laughing joyfully.

However.

Above all else, the most serious thing was, of course, that.

…Mother.

When she appeared in his dreams, his vision would turn stark white, then pitch black.

It was simply despair itself.

Whenever he woke up, it was common for his entire body to be drenched in sweat.

The one who held onto him first and most often in his dreams.

Naturally, it was his mother.

-Do you think someone did this to drive you away?

“…That’s a possible assumption, but I don’t think that’s it.”

-Then?

“What if it’s not to drive me away, but to call me?”

-The basis?

“…It’s faint, but I can hear it.”

A voice asking to be saved.

-So, the conclusion?

“…I don’t know yet.”

-Could it be that you’ve come up with some astounding idea that the curse or whatever made the world hate you?

“…But is such a thing possible?”

-Nothing is impossible, but it would be a ridiculous waste of resources.

In other words, if there were someone with a reason to do so, it might be possible.

-How many such miracle-like spells or curses exist?

“Do you not know either?”

-I do.

“…….”

-But it’s meaningless.

So, shift your perspective.

-If it’s just creating a reason to hate a child who already has a reason to be hated, wouldn’t that be far more likely than what you just guessed?

“…That’s a difficult conversation.”

-Why? You want to believe that you were hated and treated that way because of some pleasant curse? That even your dark and gloomy emotions are a kind of hypnotic or brainwashing effect? Is that how you want to think of it?

“…….”

-Your delusions are out of hand.

The Demon King snorted as if disgusted.

-You’re still struggling to find a reason to forgive. Do you resent them bitterly, yet feel pity for them on the other hand?

“…….”

Even while he was breaking and falling apart.

What kind of mindset is it to prioritize empathy for others?

Now that he has a bit of breathing room, he starts defending others in such an absurd manner.

A brat who is so pathetic at self-rationalization and self-excuse, why is he so soft toward others?

‘It’s not as if the kid is simply lacking.’

It was just yesterday.

The one who sliced and slit the throats of Magic Beasts without a moment’s hesitation was this very fellow.

Despite being afraid of swords and blades.

He was instead calm toward things that everyone naturally should fear.

To say it was because he was trained brutally to face death, his adaptation was faster than expected.

No matter how realistic a dream is, a dream is ultimately a dream.

Right now, the balance and harmony between his consciousness and his physical body in reality are a mess, yet he still manages to do that.

-I’ll give you a definitive answer. Such a curse as you expected was not common even in ancient times, and if someone were to use such a thing now, it shouldn’t be seen as a curse, but as Divine Punishment.

“Divine Punishment?”

-It’s more convincing to say that a God simply had malice and wanted you to be unhappy, so they twisted your Cause and Effect.

Therefore.

-Wake up. The trigger was likely the Residual Grudge dwelling within you, but that isn’t the fundamental reason why they treated you so poorly.

In short, the point is this.

-You were just in a situation where you were likely to be mistreated, so you were. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been as bad as it was without the influence of the Residual Grudge. But my conclusion is that it wouldn’t have been significantly better either.

Suddenly.

Ping!

A string of the lute snapped.

“I… see.”

-Homesick already? I told you to wake up. Where did that resolve from before go? Is it because you’re young? I’m so envious of your rich sensibility! If I could miss something, it would have been quite enjoyable.

“…….”

In the end.

The malice they showed me.

Was not the product of some transcendental will or magical manifestation of malice.

It was simply their own sincere…

No, wait.

“…You didn’t lie to me, did you?”

-Want to make a contract? Then what will you give me?

“…….”

Kariel began to replace the broken string.

Of course.

It was true that the Demon King had mixed some lies into the truth.

However, she hadn’t told a completely wrong story.

-As I told you before, I am experiencing this world using only a tiny fraction of your sight and hearing. Therefore, most of what I know is at the stage of conjecture. There could be plenty of errors.

Once she laid the groundwork like that, how could he possibly argue?

After all, her greatest weapon was “I don’t know either!”

“Haa…”

-Stop with the useless thoughts and focus on one thing.

Retrieve Elbat, the Relic of Grandeus, and then optimize the consciousness and body.

-If you plan to return within 100 days, time will be incredibly tight.

“…Or, I’ll just hold out for another year or so.”

When he wrote the letter, it wasn’t like this.

However.

Elhermina had awakened him.

He didn’t have the confidence to face them again.

Therefore, when the time comes to properly face them.

In one way or another, whether it be his father or his mother.

He would have to bring it to a conclusion.