Ch.944I Don’t Tell Lies

“…I suppose there’s no choice.”

After having all her proposals rejected, Lacy sighed deeply and made the sign of the cross with a solemn face.

Her expression suggested she had made a major decision. Just as I was startled and subtly trying to draw upon my Karma power, fearing she might unleash some holy fire—

“Then allow me to make one final proposal.”

Instead of holy fire, Lacy delivered an ultimatum. Though she softened the aggressive connotation of “ultimatum” by calling it a “final proposal.”

“A final proposal? Let’s hear it.”

“The honorary Paladin position and title of Radiance that you once rejected, Astika. I propose we bestow these upon Lord Demian. Would that be acceptable?”

Radiance. The highest honorary position the Church of Elpinel could grant to outsiders. It was a title with authority equivalent to the commander of the Paladin Order.

I received that title around the time I defeated Isabella, or perhaps a bit before that.

I suddenly miss it. I wore it continuously until just before receiving the Stigmata of Astraea.

“Even those who don’t understand Gram’s true nature recognize it as no ordinary sacred object. They would accept this without any resistance.”

Lacy added further explanation.

She understood that I wanted to keep Gram’s identity strictly hidden, so she proposed granting the highest possible honorary position without publicly declaring Gram to be a sacred sword.

“What do you think? If even this is unacceptable, I have no means to persuade the bishops of the church.”

Lacy declared that no further compromise would be possible.

If she retreated any further, the high-ranking priests at bishop level or above would never agree, even if she herself might.

Indeed, the position of saint isn’t like an emperor; a saint’s authority alone cannot forcibly suppress subordinates’ opposition.

If this were some matter of vested interests, it might be different, but the bishops were opposing out of religious conviction. Lacy had no justification to silence them.

And she probably had no desire to do so either.

“Hmm… alright, that much is acceptable.”

Therefore, I too decided to compromise on the matter of the sacred sword and its owner to this extent.

Wouldn’t it be much better than trying to completely silence the priests and watching them cross the line? All things considered, this was a fairly good resolution.

“But there’s one thing I need to address.”

However.

There was just one thing that bothered me.

“Bestowing the Radiance title is fine… but won’t the church officially granting Demian a title only strengthen suspicions about the connection between the sacred sword and Gram? How do you plan to deal with that?”

So far it’s just suspicion, but the moment the Church of Elpinel makes an official move, those harboring doubts will raise their voices as if they’ve gained confirmation.

They’d shout things like, ‘See! The sacred object must be the sacred sword for the church to give such treatment!’ and go around loudly proclaiming that their predictions were correct.

“Well… human history before Carlos the Great is difficult to trace in records. If Gram is indeed a sacred object from that time, it would be challenging for the church to determine its origins. If we announce it that way, things should quiet down, at least for a while.”

Lacy answered with a slight smile, as if this wasn’t particularly troublesome.

A typical Lacy response, I should say.

Ambiguous wordplay. A way of speaking that leads others to misunderstand without telling a single lie. She was truly the epitome of an agitator.

“But no secret can last forever. Such an announcement might buy us time, but eventually the truth will come out.”

“I know that well enough.”

I shrugged while tapping ash from my cigarette.

Her statement that such measures would ultimately just buy time was so obvious it hardly needed pointing out.

And there was no need to point it out.

Why?

Because my goal from the beginning was precisely that “buying time.”

Right now, the reincarnated dragons are being quickly eliminated as they mindlessly ram into each country’s core facilities, so we have the luxury to discuss matters like the sacred sword’s status.

By the time the dragon lords start acting more strategically with reason and tact, the status of the sacred sword will become a truly “trivial” matter.

By then, no one in the world would be able to put me in an awkward position over such an issue.

When dragons are breathing fire over our heads, who would care about Demian’s affiliation? Everyone would be too busy killing, dying, and evacuating to have the capacity to discuss such matters.

So, all I needed to do was use ambiguous expressions like Lacy to buy time until that situation arrived.

…No, that sounds strange.

Saying it like this makes it seem like I’m hoping for a world where dragons indiscriminately kill people. That’s an expression prone to misunderstanding.

What I just thought of was merely a prediction with the nuance of “that’s how it will be~”, not something I desire.

On the contrary, I’m someone who hopes such a situation never comes. Who would look forward to a world where people die like kindling?

I’m not hoping for such a future; I’m simply convinced that such a future will come whether I want it or not.

That’s why I’ve been training my companions so harshly to prepare.

If it’s a future we can’t stop anyway, we should at least try to minimize the damage it causes.

—-

After concluding our simple negotiation, Lacy asked if she could meet Demian.

She said that while she would like to serve by his side, she regretfully couldn’t do so because she had many responsibilities of her own.

It was a somewhat dangerous wish.

While Lacy merely expressed her desire as the Saint of Elpinel to assist the owner of the sacred sword, others might misinterpret her statement.

For me, it wasn’t an issue since I spent all day with Demian fighting like enemies rather than creating “that kind of atmosphere”… but Lacy was different.

The church’s most beautiful saint, who was also his senior from school days, sticking close to someone’s lover and offering to take care of his every need, even feeding him fruit?

With Millia’s personality, there was no way she would quietly watch such a scene.

While Millia had the most genuinely kind personality among my companions, she was quite possessive when it came to romantic matters.

Second only to Ophelia in terms of obsession.

If Lacy were to fulfill her wish of attending to Demian and staying close to him, the enraged Millia might treat Lacy not as a comrade but as an albino kobold.

No, it wasn’t a matter of “might” but something that would “definitely happen.”

“I’m embarrassed to admit this… but when I was young, just after receiving the stigmata, in my childish heart I used to dream. Of serving a hero like Carlos the Great or one of the Great’s Twelve Knights, becoming their partner, and forming a happy family.”

Lacy’s meaning of “serving” seemed to go beyond simply volunteering as a maid or attendant.

“It was an immature dream from my inexperienced days. I’m quite embarrassed to confess it now. I was very young and naive then.”

Lacy’s face slightly reddened as she spoke of her past immaturity.

From what she was saying, regardless of how she felt now, she had definitely felt that way in the past.

Well, it was the same in the original work.

In the original, Lacy’s affection for Demian skyrocketed the moment he was recognized as the owner of the sacred sword, immediately becoming an available heroine.

Of course, while that might be true for the Lacy in the game, surely the real Lacy wouldn’t fall for Demian now…

That would be a disaster.

The Saint of the Church of Elpinel and Archbishop of the Central Diocese having an affair with a younger man who already has a partner? That would be a scandal that would turn the church upside down.

Not just the church, but Millia would be turned upside down too. To the point of wanting to turn Lacy inside out.

It was chilling just to imagine such a future.

Therefore, I shook my head with a stunned expression and gave her sincere advice.

“…Don’t say such things in front of Millia. You’ll die.”

Advice that if she said such things in Millia’s presence, she might end up with arrows all over her body.

And I wasn’t joking. Really.

—-

“Anyway, given the hour, it would be difficult to meet him now. I’ll provide you with a guest room, so rest well tonight, and you can meet Demian tomorrow morning. How’s that?”

“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”

After earnestly requesting that she refrain from saying things that might become her last words if Millia heard them, I called a maid waiting outside to guide Lacy to the guest room.

Since she had come here secretly, it would be inconvenient for her to go to the cathedral and stay there overnight.

After Lacy left, bowing her head in gratitude.

“Unnie, was that sword Demian oppa was carrying really Joyeuse?”

Lena, who had been sitting at a distance watching Lacy and me, ran over and clung to my arm excitedly.

Well, it’s natural to be surprised when a legendary sacred sword appears in the hands of someone you know.

Perhaps because she was a priest of Saulite rather than Elpinel, she didn’t seem as moved as Lacy to the point of immediately praying.

“Yes, it is… but don’t tell anyone about it, okay? It would put me in a difficult position.”

“Yes, I won’t! My goodness, Joyeuse. I can’t believe it!”

Lena nodded vigorously in response, then hugged my arm even tighter as she expressed her admiration.

“As expected of our unnie. You’re amazing!”

“Huh…? Isn’t it Demian who’s amazing, not me?”

I tilted my head slightly as I questioned her.

If obtaining the sacred sword was considered a great achievement, shouldn’t Demian be the one receiving that praise?

“What are you saying, unnie? You’re Demian oppa’s lord! The lord of the sacred sword’s owner! Aren’t you much more amazing than the owner of the sacred sword?”

“Is that so…?”

Now that I think about it, it does seem that way…?

I couldn’t come up with any logic to refute her statement.

—-

The next day, I gathered Demian, Millia, and Lacy together and showed her the sacred sword Gram.

Having taken my advice to heart, Lacy didn’t spout the nonsense I was worried about, but she did greatly embarrass Demian by kneeling in prayer with a face on the verge of tears, moved by encountering the actual sacred sword.

Moreover, while she didn’t say she would serve him, she began following Demian around afterward.

“Kobold…? No, it’s Lady Elmaine…”

“Is that a kobold…? Ah, it’s Lacy…”

“A white-furred kobold…? Kobold… Ugh, no, she’s human, human…”

…It was truly frightening to see Millia’s face growing darker with each passing day as she looked at Lacy.

I was worried she might actually transform into a kobold, so I subtly asked if she shouldn’t be heading back soon, but—

“There’s no need to worry. I’ve already taken care of everything.”

She replied that she had delegated her routine duties to the archbishops and declared a vacation, so there would be no problem staying here for at least a week.

“Ah, I see…”

What do you mean you’ve taken care of everything? You’re about to be taken care of yourself.

I let out a deep, deep sigh and earnestly asked Lacy to be mindful of Millia’s gaze when acting.

Fortunately, Lacy seemed to have at least a minimum of conscience, as after that day she would tactfully avoid being present when Demian was with Millia.

Thanks to that, the tragedy of an albino kobold being shot dead that I had worried about didn’t materialize.

“Ugghhh…”

Though Demian did emerge from his room in the morning looking twice as haggard as before.

Um… hang in there, Demian.

Not that I’ll reduce the intensity of your training because of it.

—-

Five days later.

“…What did the pointy-ears do?”

It was when the urgent news that Alvheim had invaded the Holy State reached me.