Chapter 8: To the Empire

The next morning.

I heard from the priest that the Hero had left.

When I told Ariana the news…

“Hmph! It’s better if someone like that leaves quickly! To think the so-called Hero tried to hurt someone as kind as Ace!”

Ariana didn’t seem disappointed at all—in fact, she looked happy.

“The future looks bleak…”

For the world to be safe, the Hero has to be redeemed to the point where even Ariana shows affection toward him.

At this rate, it’d be faster for Ariana to fall for me rather than the Hero.

“Not that someone like me, just her personal holy knight, would ever expect that.”

Shaking off the silly thought, I recited the schedule to Ariana.

“Thanks to the Hero returning to the Papal Palace, the business trip won’t be delayed. The trip will take us outside the Holy Kingdom, to the Empire, and it’s expected to last about a month.”

“What? All of a sudden?… When do we leave?”

“They’re hoping we depart two days from now.”

“We’ve never had such a sudden trip scheduled before… That must mean something serious has happened in the Empire, right?”

“That’s correct. From what I’ve heard, demonic beings that used to appear only in the northern regions of the Empire are now appearing in other territories as well.”

“Demonic beings?”

“Yes. It seems to be the work of black mages, so the Empire requested the presence of the Hero, the Saintess, and the Holy Knights, but…”

“But?”

“Apparently, due to some strange negotiations among the higher-ups, only the Saintess, thirty holy knights, and three high priests will be heading to the Empire.”

“What? No way! Each one of those demonic beings can take dozens of lives—how can fewer than forty people handle that…”

“I feel the same way… but since it’s a decision from the Papal Palace, there’s nothing we can do.”

Right.

As I’ve said before, the Papal Palace at this time is rotten.

Just like in other fantasy stories, the high-ranking figures of the Holy Kingdom long abandoned the Seven Virtues and instead aligned themselves with the Seven Deadly Sins.

The true clergy beneath them are the ones who suffer.

Liv, whom I met recently, is one of those victims.

Of course, things do get cleaned up later…

“But unfortunately, to make that happen, we’ll need the strength of both the Saintess and the “Hero.”

In the game, this was a quest.

Ariana and the player would collect evidence, expose the corruption in front of everyone, and that would lead to a proper purge.

But the problem is, once again, the Hero.

“Judging by how he is now, there’s a high chance he’s actually colluding with the Papal Palace officials… It might take a long time to clear this quest.”

“How could they make such a decision…”

“Saintess…”

Seeing her truly worry for the people, I couldn’t help but feel my heart ache as well.

“…Let’s believe that the people will be able to hold on until we can reach them.”

Fortunately, the demonic beings appearing outside the northern region are far weaker than the ones in the north.

“……Phew, Ace. Is there any way we can leave today?”

– Grin.

I’d been waiting for her to say that.

“I actually asked for our bags to be packed a few days ago. We can leave right away without any issue.”

Of course, I had already memorized all the events from playing the game.

Knowing Ariana’s personality well, and holding the authority of a personal holy knight, there’s no way I wouldn’t have prepared in advance.

“Ace…!”

Ariana looked at me with sparkling eyes.

‘Gah, she’s dazzling…!’

With a beauty that could only have been shaped by the Goddess herself, her gaze was so bright it nearly blinded me.

“Ace?”

“It’s nothing! Let’s go immediately!”

Maybe it’s her overwhelming looks, but I clutched my pounding heart and led Ariana as I had prepared.

I had asked for our luggage to be packed, arranged a carriage, and even selected holy knights to be on standby.

That much was well within my authority as her personal holy knight.

Normally, volunteers would be assigned as holy knights for the mission, but since I already knew the future, I handpicked strong ones—those with good combat sense.

“I won’t let the seeds of hope die.”

In the game, their deaths were written in just two lines of text, but I now had the power to prevent even that.

“You demonic bastards, let’s see how well you hold up against this elite of the elite.”

Just as there are bishops assigned to the Seven Virtues in the Holy Kingdom, there are also holy knights who represent them.

I selected two of the seven.

***

“How is this even…”

Seeing the holy knights already assembled and waiting in formation, Ariana couldn’t hide her surprise.

‘I feel proud.’

Each of her adorable reactions like this makes all my effort completely worth it.

Truly, for Ariana’s sake, this world must become a happier place.

With that thought in mind, I looked around to see if the holy knights representing the Seven Virtues were present.

“Hmm. Looks like they’ve already left.”

Fortunately, it seemed the two had already departed for the Empire.

Since they held far more strength and authority than someone like me, who had just been appointed as the Saintess’s personal holy knight, I had been anxious about whether they would listen to me.

“As expected, holy knights of the Virtues are different.”

A smile naturally formed on my lips, filled with satisfaction.

“Everyone… thank you so much for gathering like this…”

Looking at the holy knights gathered before her to save people, Ariana offered her heartfelt gratitude.

And, of course, the holy knights’ response was as expected.

“A sword and shield that cannot be used to save others has no right to exist!”

A verse from the Holy Scriptures—one the holy knights consider most important.

At their answer, Ariana nodded, moved.

“Alright, everyone. We’re heading out to save those threatened by the forces of evil!”

“Wooow Woow!”

With that, Ariana and I boarded the carriage, while the others mounted their horses, and we set out for the Empire.

During the journey, I spoke with Ariana inside the carriage.

“So Ace, I’ve been curious for a while now…”

“Yes, feel free to ask anything.”

“How did you live before being taken in by the church…?”

“Before I was taken in by the church… you mean?”

“Oh! If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay! I just… I was wondering why I couldn’t have found someone like you a little earlier…”

“Hmm…”

Knowing Ariana’s personality, she definitely meant that sincerely.

Well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but a story like this should be fine during a long trip like this.

“It’s an embarrassing past, but…”

I gave a small smile and began to speak.

“I was an orphan.”

“Ah, I see…”

Seeing guilt already appear in Ariana’s eyes was both adorable and oddly made me feel sorry.

This is just one of the perks of being a transmigrator, after all.

It’s not a real memory, so you don’t have to feel too bad. In this world, orphans are common.

“Well, I mean, isn’t that… pretty common?”

Oops, seems like this topic isn’t the right direction to take.

Ahem!

“Anyway, when I first opened my eyes, I had been abandoned in the slums. Near the church I eventually lived in.”

“The slums are slums for a reason. I spent each day getting beaten, fighting back, and stealing to survive. Still, since most of the kids were orphans, I was considered pretty smart compared to the rest, and I managed to win often by using tactics and strategy.”

That’s how I became the ‘Ace’ of the slums.

“Well, a lot of things happened. One day, two guys twice my size came and said my face was pretty, tried to rape me. Another time, a kid I’d beaten before ambushed me and nearly killed me.”

“And once, a noble girl with red hair wandered into the slums cluelessly, and I waved her off saying it was no place for kids—and got punched for it.”

Thinking back, even that’s all a kind of memory now.

“A-are you okay…?”

“Hmm? Haha, yes, I’m fine now. Honestly, when I look back on it, it’s all just memories.”

The two guys who tried to rape me were called ‘neutral witches’ from that day forward and became the butt of everyone’s jokes.

The kid who tried to kill me turned into a decent person after I returned the favor three times.

And the red-haired noble girl… even she apologized to me before leaving.

A lot really did happen, even when I was just a child.

“Then, one day, I was walking around like usual when I saw the neutral witches and another guy cornering a nun with a very unusual appearance against a wall.”

“That person was…”

“Sister Stella.”

“Ah…”

“I couldn’t stand seeing someone so pure and innocent like a nun ending up in a place as filthy as the slums. So I… ahem disciplined the neutral witches and their friend.”

“And that’s how Sister Stella took you in?”

“That’s right.”

“……I’m sorry, Ace. If only I had acted sooner.”

“That’s not it, Saintess.”

“But still…”

There she goes again, trying to blame herself.

“Saintess, you can save many people, but you can’t save everyone. That’s not just true for you—it applies to His Holiness the Pope and even the Hero as well.”

Even Superman can’t save everyone.

So how could this young girl save the entire world?

“It’s because you can’t save everyone… and yet still want to save them all—that makes your heart even more noble, and all the more worthy of respect. So please, don’t blame yourself too much.”

“Ace…”

“I’m sure… the holy knights of the Seven Virtues are working hard to make sure that people like me don’t have to go through the same things again.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I guarantee it.”

If it’s those two, they’re more than capable of doing just that.

Well then…

“Seems like the mood’s gotten a little heavy. Shall we talk about something else?”

“Ah, yes!”