Ch.80Daily Life in the Holy Kingdom (2)

I somehow managed to complete all the prayer texts. This should be enough to ensure no one’s faith will be lost.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, the prayer texts seem to be resolved.”

“So now I can ask my questions, right?”

“Yes. You can ask as many as you’d like.”

“Alright, do you happen to know about a saint named Zoe?”

“Yes, but I don’t know much about her. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine.”

After hearing my answer, Rebecca began speaking in a sorrowful voice. I hope I can get some useful clues this time.

“Did you know that Leo used to work with companions?”

“I just found out now.”

“Leo had two companions back then. One was a holy knight and the other was a saint. Zoe was that saint.”

“So what kind of person was she?”

“She was a person of deep faith. She was also kind and good-hearted, truly deserving of the title ‘saint.’ And she was especially close with Leo.”

As she continues speaking, Rebecca’s face grows increasingly darker. I can guess the reason.

“She’s passed away now, hasn’t she?”

“Yes. She sacrificed herself to save Leo.”

She even sacrificed herself—they must have been extremely close. Probably lovers or something like that.

“What exactly was their relationship?”

“They probably had feelings for each other. And that was it.”

“…That was it?”

“It’s actually fortunate that was all. If they had actually gotten together, Leo would have suffered even more.”

It seems they had feelings for each other but never became a couple. Is it fortunate they never got together? Or is it sad that they parted without ever expressing their feelings?

I think it’s unfortunate. Ending without even having a chance is too cruel a story.

“How did Leo act after she died?”

“He became a completely different person.”

“Different how exactly?”

“I don’t know exactly how he was before. But after the previous saint passed away… he fought against the Demon King’s army as if possessed, even to the point of abusing his own body.”

Did he fight for revenge for his companion? Or did he fight to escape reality, like when he was learning magic? Maybe it was both.

“Do you know anything else?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know anything else. Oh, for Leo’s sake, please don’t bring up the previous saint in front of him.”

“I understand. Thank you for telling me. I’ll be going now.”

After obtaining this bitter information, I headed out and was walking to my room when I found Ju-an standing in front of my door.

“Hello. Why are you here?”

“Um… I was wondering if we could take a walk together…”

“Do you have something troubling you?”

“A little bit.”

He’s probably worried about becoming the hero. I haven’t known him for just a day or two, so I can tell that much.

“Alright, let’s walk and see the Holy Kingdom while we’re at it.”

“Thanks.”

So Ju-an and I went outside for a walk.

***

While walking silently outside, I spoke first.

“So what’s troubling you?”

“Just… feeling a bit anxious…”

“About what now?”

“Somehow I’ve become this strong… but can I really defeat the Demon King?”

Ju-an continued speaking in an anxious voice.

“You said the previous hero was strong enough to defeat the Demon King alone. But even that hero appeared in such a state after defeating the Demon King—can I really endure it?”

“Those kinds of worries come only to those who have power. People without any power can’t even worry about such things.”

“I know that much, but I still can’t understand it.”

“Then just accept it and move on.”

“How much do you know about this mark?”

Ju-an showed me some kind of symbol on the back of his left hand.

“They say people with this mark can inflict several times more damage against the Demon King.”

“So what about it?”

“In other words, no one but the hero can inflict significant damage on the Demon King.”

You’ve probably thought about this before. What would happen if someone other than the hero defeated the Demon King?

In this cursed world, to prevent that, only the hero can inflict significant damage. Thanks to that, my chances of being helpful are infinitesimally small.

Perhaps the existence of heroes was created to counter the Demon King.

“So if I fail…”

Ju-an’s voice became much darker than before. But I don’t have any way to comfort him.

Usually, trying to comfort someone with that kind of burden tends to backfire. So what can I do…

“But why go that far?”

I remembered what I wanted to ask before. Maybe I can find a clue here.

“Because I have something I want to protect.”

Ju-an answered as if it were obvious. That he has something he wants to protect…

…Is it too late to stop that damn orange-haired guy?

“Isn’t it hard?”

“It is. I think about giving up completely almost every day. But I just force myself to endure it.”

“…You’ve found someone that precious to you?”

“It’s hard to express in words, but I’ve found someone incredibly precious to me.”

Ah. This is bad—he’s completely fallen for him. What should I do now…

…No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out how to stop that damn guy. If anything, trying to intervene would probably backfire.

But giving Ju-an to that untrustworthy, annoying, irritating, rude, suspicious guy seems like a disaster…

“…Haah.”

I let out a truly deep sigh. If he likes him that much, there’s only one thing I can do.

“I recently found out that Leo has someone he likes. Do you know who that person is?”

“No.”

“It’s the previous saint. Anyway, Leo had feelings for that person… no, I think he still has feelings for her.”

“Then can’t he just confess?”

“How can he confess to someone who’s dead?”

Ju-an stopped in his tracks, seemingly shocked. And I pressed on.

“You said you found something truly precious, right? If you don’t want to lose it, what should you do?”

Someone who wants to protect something is much stronger than others. At least, that was the case for me.

Maybe I’m just adding to his burden. But I absolutely don’t want to see Ju-an regret things as bitterly as Leo does.

“…Thank you. I think that helped me somewhat.”

Ju-an replied with a somewhat brighter voice. I’m glad this actually reduced his burden rather than increasing it. So he really has found something that precious?

“…Is that precious thing actually a person?”

“Yes. A truly precious person.”

“…Then why do you cherish that person so much?”

After hesitating for a while, Ju-an finally spoke in a trembling voice.

“At first, it was just admiration. That person just seemed really cool to me. But as time passed, that admiration gradually turned into romantic feelings.”

“…So you like that person?”

“…Yes. I truly love them.”

My heart sank. So he really does like him…

I continued walking forward without thinking about anything. As we kept walking, Ju-an spoke again.

“Tomorrow they’ll officially announce that I’ve become the hero and give me an emblem as proof. So… could you be the one to pin the emblem on me tomorrow?”

“…Why ask me?”

“Because I was able to come this far thanks to you.”

Ju-an said with a bright smile. And I forced myself to smile back as I replied.

“Alright, when and where should I go tomorrow?”

“I’ll come to your room around 1 PM tomorrow. Just wait for me there.”

“Okay. I should prepare to go out in advance.”

After our conversation ended, I forced another smile and spoke up.

“I’d like to walk alone for a bit, so could we part ways here?”

“Why? Do you have something troubling you?”

“No. I just have some thoughts I need to organize.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

“About that ideal world I saw today.”

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow~”

Ju-an said goodbye to me with a truly bright smile, as if all his worries had disappeared.

“See you~”

After parting with Ju-an, I started walking again without thinking about anything. No, I was trying hard not to think.

I kept walking until I was completely exhausted. When I returned to my lodging, I washed up, took the ring off my finger, and threw myself onto the bed.

After all this, I should normally fall asleep immediately without being able to think about anything. But I just can’t fall asleep.

As soon as I wondered why I couldn’t sleep, my heart began to ache as if it were being torn apart.

Ju-an is definitely my precious friend. Anyone would feel sorry if their precious friend fell for an untrustworthy person.

But this is too much. It’s so painful that I can barely breathe.

“…Hic.”

For some reason, feelings of sadness and loneliness also came crashing in, deep and fierce.

Right now, I’m just in so much pain. But I can’t figure out why I’m suffering.

I just want to cry right now. I just want to wail loudly and fiercely. I don’t need a specific reason.

And so I cried bitterly and sorrowfully until I fell asleep from exhaustion.