Ch.489Towards Arvil

After finishing her story, Lacy said she needed to rest for about half a day and fell asleep.

She mentioned needing to soothe her tired body for the long journey ahead.

Agnes bestowed Menes’s blessing on Lacy to help her sleep peacefully, but having personally experienced Menes’s mischievous nature, I found the blessing rather suspicious. I worried she might have strange dreams, if not nightmares.

“Mmm… inferior species… if you don’t meet your quota, you’ll be sent to the meat processing plant… hehehe…”

…She seems to be having a dream a hundred times stranger than I expected.

Watching Lacy mumble in her sleep with a satisfied smile, I was reminded of someone with a toothbrush-shaped mustache, which left me feeling rather unsettled.

Well, Lacy did have a toothbrush-shaped mustache too.

Not black but white, and not on her nose but somewhere else.

Anyway, Agnes and I left Lacy sleeping peacefully while dreaming of a happier future for humanity, and headed downstairs where the others were waiting.

I needed to inform them about our upcoming schedule.

Arvil… That was Lena’s hometown, wasn’t it?

I wonder if it’s okay to take her there. She might be shocked to learn that her hometown has become a den of heretics and a place of debauchery.

—-

“So, you’re saying you have ‘no such feelings’ at all?”

“Of course not, Sister Lena. How could I dare harbor such improper thoughts toward someone who bears the Stigmata of Order? Please rest assured.”

“The girls who used to cling to Demian behind my back said the same things…”

Downstairs, an unexpected interrogation was in full swing.

Lena and Millia were grilling Seyilon like they were welcoming some blonde scoundrel claiming to be their precious family member’s lover, while Seyilon was sweating profusely, insisting on his innocence.

You’re having a tough time, Seyilon. If you had remained a judge, you would have lived a respected life. I feel somewhat sorry for you.

“Were there such girls…?”

As Demian tilted his head and muttered, Millia looked at him and smiled sweetly.

“Don’t worry about it, Demian. They’re gone now.”

…Wait, why are they gone?

Millia, what exactly did you do in your childhood?

Anyway, the four of them were gathered and chatting like this, while Hush, seemingly uncomfortable with the presence of a judge, was hiding alone at a corner table looking miserable.

The already gloomy kid was barely visible, hiding in such a dark spot.

“Lena, don’t torment Seyilon too much. He gave up his honor and position to follow me.”

I approached Lena, defending Seyilon moderately.

It’s nice that she’s concerned about me, but it’s a bit pitiful for Seyilon. He’s a man who remained celibate for thirty years, devoted only to the goddess.

“Sister! Are you done with your conversation?”

Lena quickly turned her head to look at me, smiled, and ran over to hug me.

Seyilon let out a small laugh at her complete change in attitude compared to how she had treated him. I nodded slightly toward Seyilon, signaling that Lena was still young and he should be understanding, then gently pinched Lena’s cheek.

Oh, this is really soft.

Lena’s cheeks were almost as soft as my chest. Is this what baby fat feels like?

“Ouch…!”

“Lena. Is that how you treat your sister’s knight? Especially someone much older than you. This sister doesn’t want Lena to grow up to be such a rude child.”

Seyilon flinched slightly at the mention of age. What’s that about? Is he sensitive about being in his thirties?

Being around thirty-one should be the prime age for a knight.

“I’m sowwy…”

Lena apologized in a mumbling voice, her cheeks stretched like rice cakes.

“That’s better.”

I released Lena’s cheek and smiled, stroking her pink hair.

—-

Afterward, I explained our upcoming schedule to the group.

The plan was to head to Arvil ahead of others, eradicate the cultists hiding there, and return to the Holy City in triumph.

Lena, who had been excited about visiting Arvil, was shocked as I expected when she learned it had become a nest of cultists. She made the sign of the cross and called upon Saulite.

Come to think of it, this operation essentially involves humiliating the Church of Saulite… I wonder if she has any thoughts about that?

“It’s fine! We’re rooting out the seeds of evil that have infiltrated our church, so Saulite will be pleased!”

That was her answer when I asked. Well, I suppose one could think of it that way.

The church’s influence and reputation might be severely damaged, but after removing the corrupt elements, only the truly devout would remain.

Probably.

—-

While Lacy was resting and regaining her strength, the rest of us went out to the market to purchase travel supplies.

We bought food for the journey, camping equipment like sleeping bags and pots, and spare clothing in case of emergencies. Perfect preparation.

The market merchants refused to accept payment from those who had defeated the Church of Grimnir, but Seyilon insisted that paying for goods was the right thing to do, so they reluctantly accepted our money.

By the time we returned to the inn after completing all preparations, Lacy had also woken up.

“Did you have a good dream, Lady Elmaine?”

“Yes. It was a really… really good dream. Thank you, Miss Menesilia.”

Whatever dream she had must have been excellent, as Lacy’s complexion had returned to almost normal from her previously sickly appearance.

…Let’s not ask about the content of the dream.

Afterward, we bathed, enjoyed a late lunch, and completed the final tasks before leaving Nasiriya.

These tasks merely involved asking the Special Crusaders who would remain to manage the city and sending a letter to the Holy City.

The letter informed them of the situation here and our future plans.

It instructed Rishar, the designated next Cardinal, to negotiate with the Church of Ceres, and ordered Nigel and Leonore to leave the Holy City and join us.

Since they were both Master-level knights, they could move quickly enough to meet us before we reached Arvil.

The core forces of the heretics would all be gathered in Arvil, so we needed to gather as much strength as possible.

“Is that really okay? Didn’t you leave them behind because you were worried that Drexler Cardinal’s loyalists might cause trouble while you were away?”

“There’s no need to worry about that anymore. Thanks to Sir Rishar’s active involvement, control of the church has already been secured.”

“Really…?”

According to Lacy, even if the recovered Drexler returned, there wouldn’t be a single person left in the Holy City who would follow him.

Of course, it wasn’t that Rishar had killed all of Drexler’s loyalists… He had either persuaded them to become allies or exiled them to provincial areas.

It might not be the most admirable method, but it had eliminated all potential threats.

—-

“Then we’ll depart immediately. Please rest well, Lord Haschal.”

“Thank you.”

After entrusting the letter to a swift Crusader to be sent to the Holy City, we finally left Nasiriya and headed toward Arvil.

Seyilon volunteered to be the coachman, and Demian, after glancing at both Seyilon and us, naturally moved toward the driver’s seat.

He looked like a private rising at the command “stand up if it’s you,” but given the composition of our group, this was the natural outcome.

With six women inside the carriage, sitting among us would only make him uncomfortable.

For Demian, it was probably more comfortable on the driver’s seat than sitting like a sack of barley thrown in among us. Or maybe not.

Anyway, thanks to those two handling the driving, the rest of us could rest comfortably inside the cozy carriage.

For six days, we traveled through the snow using holy light, stopping the carriage in the evening to set up simple sleeping arrangements for camping.

Hush was in charge of meals, and everyone except Lena took turns standing watch at night.

Millia always chose the shift after Demian’s, waking up about twenty minutes before the change to whisper loving conversations.

I knew well that the relationship between Demian and Millia was one-sided love on Millia’s part, but I didn’t want to tell her the cruel truth when she had found her happiness, so I kept quiet.

Perhaps some truths don’t need to be known.

Even if Demian’s emotions were just an act, if he never stopped acting throughout his life, it would be no different from the truth.

…Perhaps someday Demian might also come to understand the emotion called love.

Even if it’s impossible now, maybe someday.

I let my worries drift away with the cigarette smoke as I blankly passed the time in front of the campfire.

—-

On the morning of the sixth day.

We arrived at the predetermined meeting point—a small village on the way to Arvil—and stayed at the local inn for about half a day.

We washed our bodies, which hadn’t been properly cleaned for six days, and replenished our diminished food supplies.

Nigel and Leonore arrived around two in the afternoon.

Having apparently rushed without rest after receiving the letter, the two arrived in the village looking no better than beggars. White steam rose from their sweat-soaked bodies, and their cloaks were so covered in dust and snow that it was hard to tell their original color.

I greeted the two warmly after our long separation, and Leonore, upon seeing me, immediately grinned and spoke as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Is that man your girlfriend’s famous lover? Hmm, he looks quite decent. A bit old though.”

“It’s not like that…!”

It was a joke clearly intended to turn my insides upside down.

Leonore teased me with a grin, clearly aware that Seyilon and I weren’t in that kind of relationship, while Nigel demanded an explanation with an expression more serious than when he faced the Ka’har army.

I told them I would explain after they had rested and led them into the inn.

Then, while they were bathing, I explained what had happened in Arad and showed them the stigmata engraved on my chest.

Nigel was amazed, and Leonore burst into laughter, saying Astraea must have gone mad.

It was blasphemous, but since I shared the same thought, I didn’t rebuke her. I did advise her not to say such things in front of Seyilon, though.