Ch.4013. Nothing Has Ended Yet. (3)

The sound of the string breaking made the soldiers’ shoulders flinch in unison.

“……”

Kariel moved his lips as if talking to himself while replacing the string.

Luke, a knight in black armor at the front row, turned his head slightly to observe, then asked Alesia, the Holy Maiden who had just come to his side.

“It’s more than half a day’s journey. Do you plan to walk the whole way?”

“I’m doing it partly for training, and besides, we don’t have horses available right now.”

“Can’t you see the supply wagons?”

“But that would make the horses suffer, wouldn’t it?”

“…I can’t tell if you’re thoughtful or unnecessarily sentimental.”

Luke turned around again to survey the rear.

Including the personnel operating the supply wagons, there were about twenty people.

A small village within the domain had requested help with monster appearances, and since they happened to have the resources available, Luke personally brought some of his troops.

The village did have a vigilante group, but while they could chase away wild beasts, they were clearly no match for monsters.

Occasionally, extraordinary talents emerged from remote villages, but those were rare exceptions.

“Thanks to that fellow, we were fortunate to end this without any casualties.”

“What about me?”

The Holy Maiden pointed to herself as she asked.

“…Of course, Lady Alesia was helpful too.”

“I don’t appreciate being treated as an afterthought.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

In truth.

Having the resources available was also… thanks to—or perhaps because of—this woman.

In the past, there was only one Holy Maiden.

She was the symbol of the Order, an apostle of God, the one who carried out His voice and will—literally God’s messenger and a child watched over by God’s loving gaze.

However, the Order once went through a crisis over this matter.

At that time, reversing the situation and ousting the Pope who had been colluding with the Demon King of that era.

Breaking down the symbolic nature of the Holy Maiden and making it more approachable.

…This was one of the achievements of Ermina, who was called not just a Holy Maiden but a Holy Mother in her time.

As a result, the title of Holy Maiden no longer referred to a single, unique individual.

Currently, there were six Holy Maidens recognized by the Order.

Alesia ranked fourth among them.

“Don’t you feel sorry for me, being dragged around under the pretext of supervising these leeches?”

“But isn’t it true that all of this is for the sake of the Order?”

“…I’m just being lazy.”

Alesia tilted her head to one side with languid eyes.

“Isn’t diligence a virtue for clergy?”

“Give that nonsense to the pigs.”

She was resolute.

“When it’s time to work, you can’t slack off even if you want to, right? Better to be diligent then, but doing it all the time is unsustainable.”

“Is that so?”

“What do you mean ‘is that so~’! Listen, there’s a reason why those self-righteous clerics who try too hard end up becoming perverts or apostates later on. Isn’t it better to be flexible from the start than to be rigidly imperfect? When imperfect humans try to act perfect, they all develop mental issues. What do you think? Am I wrong?”

“……”

She was quite blunt.

Different from hostility or antagonism, but still.

“In that sense, that child is also a product of such sacrifice.”

Look at his expression and eyes.

“…Does he look like a child of that age should?”

On that point, Luke deeply agreed.

While he was first amazed by the boy’s ghostly skill in fending off monsters alongside the village vigilantes…

…Separate from that, the boy seemed too gloomy in his demeanor and presence.

He also appeared quite uncomfortable with the gratitude expressed by the villagers.

Multiple, sporadic monster appearances.

This wasn’t the aftermath of the current Demon King’s invasion, but rather scars from an invasion further in the past.

Spontaneous magical energy protrusions form across the continent, and when they accumulate, they burst forth to create monsters.

Normally, these would be monitored and dealt with periodically, but sometimes the cycle gets disrupted.

Just like this time.

If he hadn’t fortunately been passing near the village, the villagers would have had to flee without even being able to request help, eventually encountering Luke’s group coming to their rescue.

Or they might have fled in another direction, reaching the Holy Maiden and connecting to a different form of salvation.

“His movements were not those of a human.”

“Really?”

The Holy Maiden joined late and didn’t witness it, but everyone was full of praise.

Her healing abilities were indeed impressive during the treatment of the injured, but most of the severely wounded had been treated before Luke or Ruel arrived.

Fortunately, no one died.

Therefore, it must have been heaven’s protection.

…Otherwise, such perfect alignment of circumstances wouldn’t make sense.

They joined the journey together after the cleanup because they shared the same destination.

“The Feast of Saint Kariel is coming up too. Many people will gather.”

The patron saint of Baroness.

One of the eleven guardian knights of the Berk Empire.

In an era before chivalry was established, when demon remnants and barbarians freely crossed borders and boundaries.

A time of distrust when loyalty, faith, and even religion had fallen to the ground.

During that period, to save people suffering from plague, to protect the sick and naked commoners abandoned even by their lord.

A being who single-handedly faced hundreds of barbarian forces.

And a hero who drove them away even as he was dying.

He was the one who called himself a knight rather than a warrior, and is said to have expounded on the mindset of knighthood.

Though it was about 300 years ago.

He was a contemporary of Iland, known as the empire’s strongest and first knight.

Saint Kariel, though far from being the strongest, his compassion for the weak, dedication and courage for them, and spirit of sacrifice became the standard for the age of knights.

The fact that the hero Rueld and Holy Maiden Ermina named their first child Kariel…

Wasn’t it all because they highly valued that aspect?

“It’s not uncommon for a wanderer to find their path through ancient saints and sages. Even our following of Lady Irenis’s teachings is, in a way, because we don’t know the way and want to believe we’re on the right path by following in her footsteps. Don’t you think?”

“When you speak like that, you truly sound like a Holy Maiden.”

“Look at this disrespectful fellow!”

As the two’s bickering quieted down.

Ding!

Kariel, having finished replacing the string, began to pluck the lute again.

Sometimes playing softly, other times performing heart-pounding, dynamic pieces.

“Where did you learn that?”

Alesia now stood beside Kariel.

Naturally, since she was on horseback, Kariel had to look up at her.

“By myself.”

“Not from gypsies or minstrels? Or demon folk?”

“No. I’ve seen them a few times, but never directly conversed with them or learned their methods.”

There was no time for that either.

Swallowing his words, Kariel absently plucked the lute.

In the Demon King’s words, his mental state was too compromised for further combat training, as it would only have negative effects.

…Thanks to that, he now plays the lute even in his dreams.

No wonder his performance skills have improved.

The Demon King has also been teaching him guitar techniques, but the structure differs from the lute, offering a different kind of enjoyment.

Especially that magical guitar.

It felt like a truly demonic creation.

“But you never ask. How disappointing.”

“Pardon?”

As Kariel looked puzzled, Alesia grinned.

“Why I’m following you all. Aren’t you curious?”

“…Should I be curious about that?”

“……”

Suddenly leaving her speechless.

This isn’t indifference, it’s… how should I put it.

“Then I’ll just talk to myself.”

Alesia snorted, pretending to be offended.

“During the Demon King’s invasion, there were those who quickly broke with the Demon King and sided with humanity. You know about them, right?”

“…Yes, roughly.”

Kariel glanced briefly at the air, but then turned his gaze back to Alesia.

“Among them are many with strange techniques or abilities. And some of them… can glimpse remnants of the past left in the earth. Ah, that might be confusing. I mean, they can see fragments of memories.”

“Is that so?”

“And as you know, the history of the Age of Distrust still has many unclear elements for us, right?”

So.

“It wasn’t what the Papal Office wanted, but apparently they approached first, saying they wanted to help with that.”

“…Why?”

So, the demon remnants want to know about the past of the saints of the Irenis Order, but they don’t know the details, so they want to use their abilities to uncover it. Is that what this means?

“It’s good for the Order because they can accelerate research on the saints, and for them… they say it helps with their creative activities?”

“Creative… activities?”

Kariel glanced toward the empty air again.

“After the Great War, their activities have been strictly limited to artistic, technical, and commercial pursuits.”

“……”

This was something briefly covered in Academy classes, so he was aware of it.

“But you never know, right? That’s why I was dispatched to supervise.”

Being in this area was just my misfortune.

Alesia sighed with a gloomy face.

“But since it’s a festival day, I might be able to catch a good man if I’m lucky.”

“……”

“Take a hint! I’m talking about you! I even proposed earlier! Have you already forgotten?!”

“What? Me? To me?”

Wait, was that serious? Not a joke?

Kariel could only listen to her scolding in bewilderment.

But somehow.

…It didn’t feel bad.

He had to desperately prevent the corners of his mouth from rising.

It felt quite good, actually.