Ch.153Alice (4)

*

No matter how extraordinary something is, if it happens enough times, you get used to it.

I had become accustomed to clearing up Sylvia’s misunderstandings, and Sylvia had become accustomed to realizing her misunderstandings through my explanations, so we were able to have a fairly calm conversation.

After I earnestly explained that it was merely a misunderstanding due to the angle and that I had definitely not done anything inappropriate that Sylvia shouldn’t see, her murderous intent subsided quickly, considering the eerie look in her eyes earlier.

“…So it really was nothing?”

“I was just looking at Ash’s leg. No, what on earth made you imagine something so crude?”

“Anyone would misunderstand in that situation…”

“…The old you wouldn’t have misunderstood like that. Actually, the old you wouldn’t have even thought such things. That wasn’t your character at all.”

“…Ugh.”

Sylvia blushed and pressed her lips tightly together.

Observing the nuances in their conversation, it seemed that the Sylvia of the past had no interest whatsoever in lewd talk.

She was quite different from the Sylvia I knew.

At least the Sylvia I knew could make risqué jokes to some extent and was incredibly good at creating a sensual atmosphere.

By this point, I was genuinely curious about what the old Sylvia had been like.

Sylvia glanced at me sideways and started to get angry.

“Ash, you’re the problem. Why do you keep making me anxious?”

“Ah, I really didn’t do anything! Look, my knee is definitely better than before.”

I demonstrated by repeatedly squatting and standing up in front of Sylvia.

After Sylvia’s treatment, I had become able to walk and miraculously even run, but due to the complete destruction my leg had suffered, it still creaked. However, after Alice used her holy power to heal it to some extent, the improvement was noticeable.

The oddly twisted angle of my body had straightened so much that it actually felt a bit strange.

Sylvia looked at my leg and glanced sideways at Alice before speaking.

“I knew there was something wrong with Ash’s leg. I had done everything I could, but there wasn’t much else I could do. I didn’t expect it to heal since it was an old injury, but I guess a high priestess is different.”

“It’s not completely healed even now. I’ve realigned the slightly rotated joints and twisted parts, but the bones that healed at an angle have already fused, so they’re still the same. Actually, it’s still a miracle that Ash can run at all. It could easily break again.”

“Is it impossible to heal it completely?”

In response to Sylvia’s question, Alice crossed her arms and looked at my leg.

“Hmm… For the misaligned bones, we might be able to fix them if we completely crush Ash’s leg and then heal it with holy power.”

“Oh… that method.”

Sylvia and Alice turned to look at me simultaneously.

I felt goosebumps rising all over my body and shook my head.

“No.”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. I absolutely refuse.”

“Ash, don’t worry. I’ll break it cleanly, and Alice will heal it cleanly…”

“Isn’t that terrifying? Don’t even dream of it.”

“The pain would only be momentary. You probably wouldn’t even feel it. Alice would heal it right after I break it.”

“Ughhhh.”

I fled with a low scream.

Sylvia and Alice just smiled at my reaction without chasing after me.

But somehow, I had the feeling that those two might break and heal my leg while I was sleeping.

*

Only after running, dodging, and various other physical tests did Alice’s evaluation finally end.

I mentioned that I could demonstrate spirit magic with Pia if she wanted, but Alice shook her head.

The reason was that she knew nothing about spirits and wouldn’t know how to evaluate it.

For now, she said she would just note it as a role typical of an adventurer-level mage. With that, Alice took a piece of parchment the size of her palm and a thin, charred piece of kindling from the campfire and began scribbling.

Pia stood beside her, puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, but unfortunately, Alice couldn’t see her.

“Hmm… there are many variables, but for now…”

Peeking at Alice’s parchment, I could see she was writing down numerous numbers and calculating.

Squinting as she wrote down the numbers, she nodded after a while, seemingly finished with her calculations, and began to mutter.

“Without any interference, about two weeks. Assuming daily combat, maybe a month.”

“What are you calculating?”

“The time it will take us to reach the Demon King’s castle.”

Alice answered briefly as she folded the piece of parchment.

I was surprised and asked again.

“It only takes that short a time?”

“Assuming we don’t encounter any annoying obstacles and your pace doesn’t slow down, Ash.”

Although I knew that the Lying Tree Forest where Sylvia and I lived was near the Demon King’s castle, I had never once thought about exactly where it was located.

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say I didn’t want to think about it.

For me, a mere ordinary human who wasn’t even a warrior, let alone a hero, the existence of the Demon King was a disaster so immense and overwhelming that I instinctively wanted to avoid even thinking about it.

It was a moment when I newly realized what I was heading toward and why Alice and Sylvia were so reluctant.

“…Huh? Wait a minute.”

At the same time, another question came to mind.

Sylvia had said that after defeating the Demon King, she had dragged her injured body to Milwood Village where the cabin was.

Did that mean Sylvia had walked for two weeks with an injured body?

No, given how badly she was injured, it might have taken even longer.

She praised my mental strength for walking with a broken leg, but wasn’t she the same?

“Two weeks… it seems both close and surprisingly far.”

“No, it’s close. The path is just a bit rough.”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

Ah, could it be…

“Alice, how long would it take to reach the Demon King’s castle if I weren’t here?”

“Just Sylvia and me?”

“Yeah.”

“Well… if we didn’t face any interference, probably less than five days?”

So two weeks was based on my pace.

“That’s three times the difference.”

“Well, yes. The amount of training we’ve had is different to begin with.”

Alice shrugged as she spoke.

Come to think of it, no matter how badly injured Sylvia was, she might still be several times faster than me at full health.

That was the difference between Sylvia and me.

I was weak even among ordinary people, while Sylvia was the best among the heroes of reversal.

“…Hah.”

The final expedition of three to end the Demon King.

Sylvia, handling attacks with overwhelming force.

Alice, sustaining the journey with her overflowing holy power for recovery.

And I was serving as the sandbag in this party.

“At this rate, aren’t I just a hindrance?”

“What’s this? You insisted on coming, and now you’re thinking like that?”

Alice glared at me incredulously.

“Ash.”

“…Yes?”

“If the Demon King’s castle is as close as I said, why hasn’t anyone gone there until now?”

“…Well, I don’t know?”

Alice slowly put down the parchment and wooden piece, looking at me.

“Even if Sylvia didn’t know the Demon King wasn’t dead, why didn’t I head straight for the Demon King’s castle last time?”

“…Hmm.”

“The world is falling apart day by day, and my body is also… Anyway, why did I spend a month training you and gathering supplies?”

Alice stared at me intently, waiting for my answer.

Her golden eyes smoldered quietly, threatening to incinerate me with contempt if I gave a half-hearted answer, so I carefully selected my words.

“…Because preparations were necessary?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…”

“More precisely, because we couldn’t possibly win without preparation. And you are part of that preparation we need.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, at first I thought your request to take you to the Demon King’s castle was just crazy nonsense, but it seems that’s not entirely the case.”

After saying that, Alice began rummaging through the small leather pouch at her waist.

Then she slowly took out something small and held it out to me.

“What is this?”

It was a bracelet made of thin, fragile-looking silver chains.

In contrast to the thin thread, it had a thick ornament attached, with a large blue gemstone embedded in the center—a distinctive design that caught the eye.

Jewelry with excessively large gemstones was typically favored by elderly noblewomen, but I doubted any noblewoman would wear such a bizarre piece.

At that moment, a memory of this bracelet flowed into a corner of my mind.

I had definitely seen this bracelet in a book long ago.

It was a strange feeling.

I wasn’t particularly gifted, so I couldn’t remember every book I had ever read, and this wasn’t a book I had particularly enjoyed reading either.

It was literally just a memory that had flashed before my eyes.

A memory so vivid it felt somehow strange.

“It’s my memory. I saw it when Ash was studying. There was a book about this bracelet. It was in the front pages of that Introduction to Magic or whatever.”

Although I knew Malice was a spirit artist, most people in this world knew him as a mage, so it wasn’t strange that there would be records about Malice at the beginning of a magic textbook.

Since I had only studied the material that would be on the exam, I had skipped over it, but it seemed Pia had read it carefully.

“Pia? You read books?”

“Back then, Ash couldn’t see or feel me. I read along with you sometimes when I was bored. Of course, Ash usually read terribly boring books, so I usually gave up quickly, but I remember this one.”

Pia spoke while looking at the bracelet in Alice’s hand.

“It’s Malice’s bracelet.”

“Malice’s bracelet?”

As I murmured, repeating Pia’s words, Alice nodded and said:

“You recognized it, as expected. That’s right.”

Alice handed me the bracelet and continued speaking.

“You asked me to investigate Malice.”

“Ah… right, but is this… the real thing?”

“Of course it’s real.”

“I asked you to investigate, not steal it.”

“Don’t be like that. Your brother went through a lot of trouble to get it.”

“Brother?”

“Yes.”

Alice nodded.

Suddenly realizing something, I widened my eyes and exclaimed:

“Brother Eric?”

“That’s right.”

“…Goodness, is he doing well?”

“He’s doing fine. He’s in a pretty important position in the thieves’ guild.”

“Ah… that’s so like Brother Eric.”

After saying that, I slowly closed my mouth.

Of course, I had never imagined I would hear news about Brother Eric, so it was certainly very welcome.

The news that he was doing well in a criminal guild was surprising, but somehow I felt that was just like Brother Eric.

While I felt a sweet nostalgia for the distant memories of my childhood, thinking about Eric’s father, Uncle Hardy, who had lost his life helping Layla and me, left a bitter taste in my mouth, and the corners of my lips drooped.

I didn’t feel right accepting the bracelet.

However, as if noticing my feelings, Alice slowly fastened the bracelet around my wrist and said:

“This bracelet is said to have the power to revive the dead.”

“…What?”

“But so far, no mage has been able to prove that fact. So most people think it’s just a legend, but if Malice is a spirit artist as you said, this might operate on spirit power rather than magic.”

“…”

“If, as the legend says, this has the power to revive the dead, then we have a chance even if Sylvia and I are defeated by the Demon King.”

Unlike Alice’s words, I felt no power from the bracelet that was coldly wrapped around my wrist.

“Don’t get your hopes up… I don’t feel anything.”

“You never know when it might be useful.”

“And you won’t die anyway, Alice. Because of your tremendous holy power.”

“Ash.”

Alice gently held my wrist with the bracelet and said:

“I will die.”

“…What?”

“I will die, soon, inevitably. Perhaps during our journey to defeat the Demon King… perhaps even tomorrow… I’m in a state where I don’t know when I’ll die.”

Her golden eyes sent me a firm gaze, as resolute as her tone.

I silently looked at her wavering eyes.

In that gaze was determination and resolve as solid as her armor.

And within it, I could see a faint flicker of desperate hope.

“But… maybe Ash can save me.”

“Alice…?”