Ch.210Report on the Collapse of Patience (3)

Over the past few days, Maria had been increasingly absent-minded. She wouldn’t respond the first time someone called her, only turning around after being called twice. She sighed without reason, her face tense.

Anyone could see she was a person filled with worry. But Maria herself hadn’t realized this was how she appeared.

“I don’t really see it.”

“It’s not super obvious, but still… the time we’ve spent together… well, it’s not that long, but still! You’re definitely different from usual.”

Maria smiled faintly and gently patted Lily’s back.

“Thank you. For worrying about me.”

“If someone’s bothering you, tell me now. I’ll cut them in half…”

It was just for a moment, but Maria imagined Lily “splitting someone in half” with her halberd. Somehow, she felt Lily was actually capable of it.

“I’ve just been worried about what’s ahead. I’ve been lost in thought without realizing it.”

Lily seemed to understand and hugged Maria even tighter.

“Those people from the Order… they really shouldn’t have done that to you.”

“I’m trying to think positively about it. Maybe they were just trying to protect me.”

Lily thought there must be something wrong. The normal Maria would have been furious, threatening to overturn everything. But now she was “thinking positively”? It seemed strange no matter how she looked at it.

But she couldn’t show her concern. Maria didn’t seem to want that. So she gently changed the subject.

“Protect you?”

“Well, we’ve been touching on sensitive matters. The Heroes are supposed to be the world’s hope, light, and inspiration.

But in reality, they weren’t people worthy of respect, they didn’t defeat the Demon King, and we even discovered they were twisted and distorted.

That alone would make many people uncomfortable, let alone the Pope. If he sees a mere Inquisitor digging into the roots, it’s natural that many people wouldn’t look favorably on it.

But I don’t think everything should be covered up. At least the Magdeburg Inquisition headquarters doesn’t seem to think so. They only suspended my duties.”

“I don’t understand. How is that protection?”

“If they really wanted to stop my work, they would have summoned me to Magdeburg. A formal summons. Telling me to stop meddling and just spend my time in prayer and meditation.”

“Ah.”

“But that’s not what happened. They left me with just the words ‘suspension of duties’ and let me continue my activities. I think their message is something like: ‘It’s good to uncover the truth, but don’t stir things up too publicly since it hurts people.'”

Still, Lily wasn’t happy about it. She pulled the blanket up, looking dejected.

“I thought the Order would be something special. I thought it would be full of good people who follow God’s will.”

“Once you’re inside, you realize it’s just another place where people live. Not much different from anywhere else.”

“When all this is over, you… then…”

Lily spoke with genuine concern, but Maria had no answer. The truth was, she hadn’t even thought that far. It wasn’t just because she didn’t care what “those people” thought.

‘It’s not because of the Order. I don’t know how to think about myself.’

She had grown up determined to eradicate heresy, and because of that, she had hated her half-blood. She even disliked it when her father reminisced, saying, “Your mother Elisabet was a powerful witch.”

But now that hated half had awakened. And not just awakened—it had saved her, and saved Lily and Kain too.

Maria still didn’t know how to accept this.

She had experimented in secret, without Lily and Kain knowing. She wanted to believe it had been a coincidence. But it wasn’t. She could control the black fire freely.

It wasn’t like this with the holy fire. That had required considerable effort to manifest and control.

But with the black fire, there was no such trial and error. When she thought, ‘Maybe it works like this,’ it really did. It felt as natural as moving her arm or stretching her leg.

Was it because of Elisabet’s soul dwelling within her, or was it truly because the blood of a witch—one who deserved to be burned—flowed through her veins? Maria couldn’t tell.

She hated having to worry about such things. What had been Lily’s torment until recently had now become her burden.

– What you really wanted to save wasn’t Lily, but yourself.

Me? Save myself? What nonsense. Salvation? What salvation? Why would she need to be saved? Maria couldn’t accept it.

‘But should I tell Lily about this?’

The girl had just been freed from her suffering. She couldn’t place another worry on this kind, beautiful child.

She couldn’t do that to this good and pure girl who believed that since she was happy, others should naturally be happy too. That would be too cruel.

“Sister…?”

Lily’s concern as she nestled in her arms. Maria gently patted Lily’s bottom. “Eek!” Lily let out a small cry.

“Worry about yourself. What will you do when this is all over?”

“Get married.” Lily answered before Maria could even finish her question. “I’ll get married first.”

“Right. Of course. And then? Just because you’re married doesn’t mean bread appears in your basket. How will you live?”

“I’m going to join the orchard with my brother.”

“Ah. Kain said he was going back to his hometown.”

“Yes. And I’m confident in my physical strength, so I think I’ll do well!”

Maria tried to picture Lily planting apple trees, shoveling compost while sweating, baking pies filled with delicious apple jam.

It seemed a bit awkward to her. Instead, images of Lily chopping up a bear with a shovel or driving away a pack of wolves seemed more fitting.

‘What am I thinking?’

Somehow, it didn’t seem to suit her. It wasn’t a question of whether orchard work was good or bad—it just didn’t seem to match Lily. Perhaps the image of her as a knight was too strong.

“Even if you don’t return to the White Blood Knights, will you also quit your Security Bureau work? You didn’t dislike it.”

“I don’t dislike it. But then I’d have to live apart from my brother. I don’t want that.”

She was like a child who didn’t want to be separated from her parents. Was she throwing tantrums she couldn’t throw in childhood? Or was she expressing something unfulfilled? Maria couldn’t tell.

Lily herself probably knew it was childish. But Maria didn’t mind.

If one only wanted to see dignified appearances, there would be no need for friendship or love. One could simply greet politely from a distance and be done with it.

“It sounds like you’re saying you don’t care where you go as long as you’re with Kain.”

“I don’t care. As long as we’re together, anywhere would be fine. And…”

“And?”

“I’d like it even better if you were with us too, Sister. It’s selfish, but…”

How could she be so happy? Maria envied Lily. She couldn’t even remember when she had last felt such optimism that everything would turn out well.

But Lily deserved it. Having been freed from what had suppressed her all her life, the things buried in her heart were now emerging one by one into the bright sunlight.

Above all, no matter what anyone said, Lily was a knight. A strong knight who straightens what is bent, purifies what is impure, and is even more stubborn than Maria herself.

She was someone who cultivated her own happiness.

Feeling somewhat jealous, Maria lightly smacked Lily’s bottom.

“Eek!” Lily playfully screamed and then hugged Maria tightly to her chest.

Held in the warm, soft embrace of her newfound family, Maria held back tears she couldn’t explain.

* * * * *

Unable to sleep, Kain rose from his bed.

The thought of sleeping with Lily crossed his mind, but he didn’t want to fall off the horse again after staying up all night talking and playing, so he decided against it.

Instead, it was better to check his equipment. If everything was properly prepared, at least his mind would be at ease. In truth, he had already finished preparations, so this was just for self-reassurance.

The armor was fine. The straps were firmly attached. The staff from Francesco’s workshop, despite all it had been through, remained smooth without even bending. It was remarkable what technique had been used.

And the scabbard.

The sword slid out smoothly. Holding the Imperial Sword, Kain looked down at the scabbard. Despite much of their journey having passed, the true nature of the scabbard remained unknown. The only clue was:

‘The sword led me here.’

That was all Laios had said. A strange, somewhat awkward statement. Did the sword speak? A sword that couldn’t even be drawn.

But it wasn’t completely fixed in the scabbard either. When it had been drawn out just slightly, the sword had shone brilliantly. Too bright and piercing to be mere reflected light.

‘Why can’t that sword be drawn?’

Even Leonardo of Charity had tried to draw the sword but couldn’t. He even seemed to struggle just holding it.

The scabbard.

For a hero to appear, there must first be an enemy. And there must also be a weapon that only the hero can wield. The ultimate weapon that can defeat the enemy.

A weapon that only the hero can wield, but for some reason, those who wield it don’t meet good ends. Even the weapon itself meets a similar fate as the hero.

When you think about it, it makes sense. A weapon capable of defeating the Demon King would be a powerful weapon in the hands of evil. Such weapons should rightfully disappear.

But in all the legends and narratives Kain knew, there was no weapon whose power was unknown.

Moreover, a scabbard is meant to protect and guard the sword, not to attack. If that were the purpose, a poker would be better.

The most incomprehensible thing was that no one spoke about the sword and scabbard.

‘Just like Günther.’

Günther the Patient. Born as an illegitimate child of nobility, he wandered the world before becoming a monk. Then he joined the Crusade and became a hero who defeated the Demon King. And he too took part of Ismene’s soul.

In folk narratives, Günther’s role is merely that of a kindly teacher. A dull human figure who silently endures when everyone is struggling and then says a word or two of wisdom. Literally just a stubborn “patient one” without any other distinctive personality.

Yet such a person had settled in Laios and Ismene’s hometown.

Karioth. A quiet, peaceful village. Probably not much different from where they were staying now.

‘Since when had he lived there?’

It was likely after the Fifth Crusade. If Günther had been living in Karioth when Laios and Ismene lived there, Laios, upon returning alive, would have cut Günther’s throat first.

Even if Laios was blind and could only see “the world beyond” that Elisabet had shown Kain, even if he couldn’t move without the guidance of black fire, shadows, and darkness—surely he could have found his way back to his hometown?

There was another puzzling point. Laios and Ismene had shared an Asas fruit.

That means there was fruit in Karioth. But who would have brought the fruit to this rural village?

Above all, Kain was worried about how to approach Günther.

The Mercy Knights and Holy Grail Knights gathering would certainly be guarding Günther. Günther was the only surviving hero, and therefore the only one who knew how to confront the Demon King.

Security would be tight, and contact with outsiders would be taboo. Especially for visitors who weren’t familiar villagers but outsiders…

Kain stopped his thoughts there.

In the end, the answer would only come from visiting the place. From here, there was too little basis for judgment or inference. Rather than losing spirit imagining impossible scenarios, it was better to sleep well and face tomorrow.

What about just visiting Lily’s room? Kain briefly entertained the strange thought. But he soon shook his head.

The places they had stayed all had poor soundproofing.

He had no intention of giving others a good show.

As Kain was organizing his bag, his hand caught something. Lily’s underwear that he hadn’t had a chance to return due to the commotion, and medicines. Pills processed from Asas grass, and salt crystals wrapped in the same white paper.

However Arianne of Humility had processed it, these pills didn’t seem to cause hallucinations or delusions.

Instead, they only had the effect of calming the mind and inducing sleep. He had already used them once before. When Lily was in too much pain, he had forced her to take a small piece.

‘I won’t need to use them again.’

There was no particular reason to take them, but no reason to leave them behind either.

Above all, these could be kept as evidence. If handed over to the Security Bureau, skilled pharmacists might uncover things related to them.

Kain repacked his luggage. He pulled the blanket over himself and fell asleep, thinking that tomorrow’s problems would somehow resolve themselves.

And his wish came true. The next morning, in Karioth where a festival was taking place, they came face to face with Günther, who was officiating a wedding.