Ch.28Devotion Offered by the Sword (3)

“Who’s there?”

Kain lowered his voice. But the men just laughed.

“Who else would it be? We live here.”

From behind the trees, five women emerged this time. They varied from a plump housewife to an elderly grandmother. All of them carried baskets filled with mushrooms and berries.

‘These people, how much did they hear?’

It was an awkward situation. Kain’s mind went blank. He had thought the forest was well-maintained, but he hadn’t considered that villagers might be nearby.

“Where are you folks from? Wearing such a nice sword too. And those heavy packs. Traveling merchants?”

The plump woman approached. The smell of soil from her apron and mushrooms from her basket wafted strongly.

“Well. That’s…”

“Sob…”

Suddenly, Lily buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders trembled as she sobbed. The women put down their baskets and rushed to Lily all at once.

“Oh my, child. What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Did something happen?”

Lily answered something, but it seemed even the grandmother closest to her couldn’t hear well.

“What are you saying? Speak up a bit. Oh dear, the poor girl seems quite upset.”

Lily spoke again, relatively more clearly this time, but still with a tearful voice.

“…My husband…”

Kain heard a ringing in his ears. He thought a thousand mosquitoes buzzing wouldn’t be as noisy as this.

Since they were on a secret mission, he couldn’t reveal they were Imperial Security Bureau agents. He also couldn’t say they came down from the mountain. The Otranto Monastery was a cloistered abbey where outsiders were forbidden, so there couldn’t be visitors or merchants.

So Lily improvised on the spot, creating a fake identity that she and Kain were a married couple, traveling merchants who had gotten lost and ended up here.

Excellent improvisation. According to protocol, at least.

But husband and wife?

“He called me stupid… said I couldn’t even find one simple path… even though he got lost too… even though he doesn’t know the way either… he only calls me the fool…”

The women’s eyes immediately turned fierce. The plump woman approached right up to Kain’s face.

“Hey. Is that true?”

“Uh… well… uh…”

Lily crouched down with a sob.

“He says he’ll abandon me and leave…”

“Hey. Why can’t you speak?”

Even the grandmother approached Kain with glaring eyes. Kain had no idea what to say. The woodcutters leaned on their axes like walking sticks and looked at Kain as if he were the most pitiful man in the world.

“Oh my, you worthless son of a… you rotten son of a… what could you possibly have against such a pretty child to make her cry like this!”

“Ah! Ow, that hurts!”

It really did hurt. It hurt almost as much as being hit by his parents. In fact, these women were old enough to have children Kain’s age. Add to that muscles trained from farming and gathering, plus anger toward the villain who made the “pretty new bride” cry.

“Hey. From what I hear, you’re completely in the wrong. Apologize to her.”

A woodcutter with an unkempt beard offered his advice calmly. Kain felt like the sky was spinning. He regretted taking off his chain mail.

“Oh, child. Child. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“He must really hate me… what should I do?”

Lily wailed loudly, and the women placed their hands on her head and shoulders as she sat on the ground. The elderly grandmother even gave her a tight hug.

“Child. Living with another person is always like this. There are more days of tears than good days, and more days of anger than tears. But as time passes and years go by, all those things become small, colorful beads. Looking back, why I got angry, why I was happy… you forget all that.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Just that you were angry, sad, happy… that’s all that remains. Just wait a day. You won’t even remember why you were angry yesterday. It’s nothing. Everything is nothing. Once it passes, everything flows away. Hold onto only what you want to keep, and let the rest go. How grandly can one live life? Just laugh a little, cry a little, and all those things intertwine like roots and vines. That’s all there is to it.”

“But the girl clearly loves her husband very much.”

“What are you saying? Her husband loves her too. Didn’t you see earlier? He was sneaking glances and feeling sorry.”

“…Really?”

“Oh my, you’re just a baby despite your grown body. A baby. Tall, pretty face, slender limbs, it’s all good. Oh my. With two big ones like these… oh my goodness. In this area too… oh my, heavens. My… that lucky bastard just…”

It was quite a while later when Lily and Kain stood facing each other again. Lily’s eyes were still swollen, but she was grinning, while Kain was too dazed from the beating to think straight. It didn’t help that the women were still looking at him like he deserved to be chewed out and killed.

“Well, from what I heard, you did nothing right and still lost your temper. Apologize.”

Having become the husband who blamed his wife despite not knowing the way himself, Kain apologized politely.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

“Did you eat ‘I love you, honey’ because you were hungry? Can’t you apologize properly?”

Kain looked at Lily, silently begging for help. Lily did help.

“That’s right. Apologize properly. Were you wrong or not?”

While thinking ‘I’ll deal with you later,’ Kain suppressed his anger.

“I’m sorry, honey. I was really wrong. But you know it wasn’t what I really meant, right?”

Lily was completely nonchalant. She averted her gaze, pretending not to know.

“I’m not sure. Do you really love me?”

“…Of course I love you.”

“Then do what you said you wanted to do before. Promise. Right here. Say you will.”

Sparring. Kain remembered immediately. In Anna’s carriage. She had been disappointed that they had never sparred together. It was such an unusual request that it was easy to remember.

“…Alright. Let’s do it. Anything else?”

He meant to say “please stop,” and Lily understood. So she decided to stop.

“You didn’t say you love me. Say it.”

Kain thought of the apple trees in his hometown orchard. When this job was over, he would really go plant apple trees. If there were no apple trees to plant, he would at least catch some bugs.

“I love you.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lily kissed him. Thoughts of apple trees completely vanished. This is work. This is just work. Work between agents disguised as a married couple. Kain repeated this to himself several times. It wasn’t easy with the women crying and even the woodcutters getting teary-eyed.

* * * * *

Justice was served, and the wives and husbands were satisfied. They even readily offered a hay transport cart when told the couple was heading to Marburg.

“There are some folks from our village living in Marburg too. There’s an inn with stables that has a great reputation. They were just saying they needed more hay, so we were going to deliver some. But look at you! The poor girl is so shocked she has no strength left in her body.”

Apart from Kain getting hit a few times, there were no real problems. Before they left, the women whispered something to Lily.

“…Does that really work?”

“Just try it tonight. He won’t be able to move a muscle. It’ll completely uproot him.”

The women patted Lily’s bottom as her face turned red.

“Live well! Have lots of children as many as you can and live happily!”

People with nothing better to do came out and waved goodbye.

Kain was exhausted. He just wanted to sleep deeply. Seeing a familiar shadow flickering in the shaded part of the forest, he wanted to turn away.

It was the shadow of someone he had loved, who had died horribly. And a shadow that still lived and breathed, speaking to him.

Poke.

“Ouch.”

Lily jabbed Kain in the side. Her eyes were too swollen to open wide, but her glare was still quite frightening.

“Are you not going to answer?”

Kain didn’t ask “what question.”

“Sparring? Let’s do it when the blisters on my feet go down and the swelling in your eyes subsides.”

“Are you perhaps afraid?”

“Afraid? No. I just don’t want to make you cry again. I don’t want any more misunderstandings.”

“If you hadn’t gotten angry at me, none of this would have happened.”

“How could I not get angry when you’re so stubborn?”

He wondered if his words were too harsh, but Lily didn’t seem particularly affected. Judging by how she tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips.

“…Are you upset? Surely not?”

“That’s slander.”

“So you are upset.”

Kain pressed his finger to his forehead. His shoulders and arms still hurt from the beating by the country women.

“…Next time, let’s just say we’re cousins. We really don’t seem like a married couple.”

“I think being married is better.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I do.”

“Fine. Do as you please. I’ll say we’re cousins. Sister.”

Kain buried himself in the pile of straw.

“Then I’ll say we’re cousins who got married because we loved each other too much. Honey.”

That’s what she meant until she choked.

“…I don’t want you to get hurt.”

After his coughing subsided, Kain murmured while looking at the sky.

“Regardless of protocol. Whether physically or emotionally, I don’t want you to get hurt. Getting hurt is the same no matter where you go, not just in the Security Bureau, but our job is… a bit worse.

Sometimes, we have to deliberately deceive people. And sometimes we have to use them. If your heart gets hurt every time, it becomes too painful.

Then you get so tired of the pain that it just wears away. So you see it and think, ‘Oh, so that’s how it is. That can happen too,’ and you just… let everything go. Where there are no sad things, but no fun things either… well. That’s how it goes.”

There was no answer. She seemed to have fallen asleep. Kain didn’t bother to check.

Before falling deeply asleep, Kain suddenly wondered. He had seen a dark shadow from that black knight. Then, had Lily seen something similar?

The answer to his question came five days later, in Magdeburg.

* * * * *

Magdeburg is a massive city.

Not just in size, but also in symbolic meaning. Before the Empire was established, it was the capital of a nation, and now it could be called the Empire’s second capital without exaggeration.

Moreover, Magdeburg is the holy land of the Two-headed Eagle. When the Pope, based in the southern kingdom, has business in the Empire, this is the first place he visits. At one time, when relations with the Pope were at their worst, an antipope selected by the Emperor was even installed here.

Being the holy land of the Two-headed Eagle means that believers of the Two-headed Eagle Order from around the world gather here. For pilgrimage purposes, for religious inspiration, or because merchants expect good trade where many people travel.

So Magdeburg is always bustling.

Among the impressive places in Magdeburg, the “Veneration of the Sword Park” stands out. Veneration of the Sword means the highest praise one can give with a sword. To respect someone with your sword means giving them your blade.

That’s why there are many swords from the Fifth Crusade stuck in front of the statues of the Seven Heroes who defeated the Demon King. Not just Empire standard swords, but rapiers often used in the east, staffs, curved blades and scimitars from northern and western pagans – all kinds of blades fill the area.

The place where the Demon King was defeated was in the northeastern wasteland, and therefore the Veneration of the Sword was originally there, but the Pope insisted it be moved to Magdeburg.

While the ownership of the northeastern wasteland was uncertain, Magdeburg was clear. Of course, the Veneration of the Sword Park itself is ruled by the Empire, but the endless tourism plans utilizing it were established under the Pope’s leadership.

So it was natural that the Inquisition headquarters was established in Magdeburg. It’s the place where news from various religious orders can be accessed most easily and diversely.

Kain and Lily entered through the main gate of the Inquisition.