episode_0008

“…It’s been 8 years, so I thought everyone would have forgotten about me, but it seems not.”

Lian scratched his head as if he were annoyed, letting out a deep sigh.

He had tried to hide his face and disguise his identity, but a moment of carelessness had exposed everything.

However, Lian couldn’t help but feel unjust.

Who would have expected someone from the Holy Empire to show up when he infiltrated the mansion to gather information?

Lian began to suspect that there was some misfortune among the curses Rich had placed on him.

“Sorry, but I have things to do. I can’t afford to be caught by the Holy Empire.”

As Lian slightly drew his sword, Alaina trembled, her body shivering.

Seeing her like this, Lian thought she was scared for her life.

But in reality…

“Lian, why? You used to be a traitor, so why are you carrying around that rusty sword?”

He wanted to ask.

But he was too afraid to speak up.

If he were to hear that Alaina preferred the iron sword over the holy sword, his heart would shatter.

In appearance and performance, he was far superior.

Yet, if the reason Alaina chose the iron sword was because of his past behavior, would he be at fault?

Alaina came to seek forgiveness, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask for it.

“Ugh…! Ugh…!”

A black aura emanated from the holy sword, forbidding Alaina from leaving.

Her sacred stone was gradually losing its color.

It might have been a hasty decision, but Alaina couldn’t shake off her anxiety.

“Am I just a useless sword to Lian?”

She felt like her heart was being torn apart.

After seeking forgiveness, she wanted to start over.

She thought that if she sincerely apologized for her mistakes, he might forgive her.

But the iron sword in Lian’s hand was destroying all her hopes.

“If I can’t be forgiven, at least this sword…!”

Clang!

Suddenly, Alaina bit her lip with a vengeful jealousy towards the worn-out iron sword.

She vowed to break it, to not let the sword that tainted her memories go unpunished.

Alaina made a drastic decision, her eyes filled with determination.

“Hey, can you hear me over there?”

Meanwhile, after seeing that neither Rich nor the woman in front of him were listening to him, Lian began to take the situation seriously.

He slowly climbed the stairs, suspecting that it might be the influence of the curse Rich had placed.

Then, he leaned in close to Alaina, who was muttering incomprehensible words.

“Hi-ya!”

Alaina was startled by Lian’s sudden appearance and unintentionally let out a cute sound.

Her pale cheeks quickly turned red, and her lips began to quiver.

“I thought you couldn’t see me since you didn’t react.”

Forget the curse. Lian laughed, thinking he had worried for nothing.

Alaina blushed from ear to ear at his smile, which she hadn’t easily seen 8 years ago.

“Wait, was Lian’s smile always this dazzling?”

Alaina continued to gaze at Lian with a dumbfounded expression.

As she did, his features that she hadn’t noticed 8 years ago began to enter her sight one by one.

His gentle eyes, his prominent Adam’s apple, the scar that ran from his cheek to his jaw.

Everything seemed peculiar to Alaina’s eyes.

In a moment of impulse, she was about to reach out and embrace him.

“Um, I don’t mind any answer, so could you please respond?”

“Ah! Yes, yes!”

“Oh, you finally spoke.”

Confirming that the other party understood, Lian repeated his previous words.

“I have a goal that I must achieve, so I can’t afford to be caught by the Holy Kingdom right now. But it’s too cruel to silence you by killing you, right? So, I’m asking if you could keep our meeting a secret from others if I let you go quietly?”

“Y-yes…!”

“Good, you agree too?”

Lian grabbed Alaina’s hand tightly and shook it up and down.

It was a gesture of promising to get along well with each other in the future.

However, Alaina interpreted it differently.

“L-Lian is grabbing and shaking me! It was only possible in my imagination, but it’s happening in reality…!”

Since realizing Lian’s importance, Alaina had imagined countless times of a future where Lian would protect and guide her.

But the reality that such a thing would never happen tore her heart apart.

“But this is not a dream or imagination! The rough touch of Lian’s firm grip… It’s clear reality!”

With their hands overlapping, Alaina felt like she could turn into a lump of ore at that moment.

“Will you keep your promise and let me go now?”

“Y-yes!”

Finally, Lian patted Alaina’s shoulder and left the spot.

After Lian left, Alaina couldn’t bear it anymore and slumped down as if she couldn’t hold herself up.

Due to the peak of ecstasy, Alaina almost leaked her essence between her legs.

“I was not only grabbed and shaken by Lian, but he even touched my soul…!”

As someone who ruled the Holy Kingdom, Alaina always had to maintain her dignity.

But at that moment, she couldn’t control her expression.

She laughed softly, reminiscing about what had just happened.

“So this is what people call ‘bliss’?”

The memories that were briefly tainted by the cunning sword were long forgotten.

She added new precious memories while boldly discarding the old ones.

Most of Alaina’s past was a dark history.

To her, realizing her mistakes in the present and planning for the future were more important.

“…But in the end, I couldn’t ask for forgiveness from Lian. It seems he didn’t realize that I am the Holy Sword.”

Mixed with unparalleled happiness, there was a hint of regret.

Alaina calmed her excited heart and thought back to the conversation she had with Lian.

“A goal that must be achieved… He must have come out into the world after hiding for the sake of a significant issue, right?”

She didn’t hear what Lian’s goal was, but just knowing that he had a purpose was a big gain.

“If I help Lian achieve his goal, maybe I can earn his forgiveness.”

Although she had gained some satisfaction by dealing with Lian, Alaina wasn’t content with just that.

The only thing that could satisfy her was to become Lian’s first sword and help him achieve his ultimate goal.

“Alaina, are you okay?”

“You came so quickly, Sir Roland.”

“I-I’m sorry. I was delayed by clearing out the remaining undead.”

“The sin of abandoning me should have been punished with exile, but this time, let’s overlook it and move on.”

“I am truly grateful for your mercy, just like the sea.”

The foolish appearance that Alaina had shown in front of Lian had completely disappeared and was nowhere to be found.

She exuded an aura of dignity and grace, with sharp eyes, like an empress, fitting for the ruler of the kingdom.

“Alaina, there is something I need to report to you.”

“What is it?”

“It seems that someone other than us was fighting the undead until just now.”

“Yes, even after having a few words with me, they left this place.”

“I didn’t think you would meet them in person. Would it be okay to ask who they were?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It may be hard to believe, but no sacred energy was detected in the remains of the undead, despite the fact that they defeated all the undead in the mansion.”

Naturally.

The Lian that Alaina knew did not possess any faith.

Faith was an important mindset that ultimately led to sacred energy.

“Certain undead cannot be harmed without sacred energy, right? Yet, judging by the fact that they defeated all the undead in the mansion, it seems that person is a skilled individual beyond our reach.”

“Is that so?”

Alaina’s eyes slightly lifted at Roland’s detailed analysis.

Lian was being recognized.

Even after 8 years, his skills remained intact and had become even sharper.

He was strong enough now, but he was striving to become even stronger day by day.

As these circumstances became apparent, Alaina once again realized that Lian was truly a hero, and that she couldn’t do without him.

“Even if we have to set certain conditions, we must bring that person to our kingdom.”

“A wise decision, Sir Roland. However, that person has certain circumstances and cannot afford to align with any faction.”

“I see…”

“But don’t give up yet, Sir Roland. If we consider their circumstances and offer our help in various ways, they might consider the kingdom’s proposal.”

“You make a valid point. However, shouldn’t we first go and find the hero?”

“There are several oddities about that rumor. Firstly, the credibility is low due to the rumors spread by the fallen Thongs Trading Company’s Maxwell. Moreover, someone who claimed not to know anything suddenly starts spreading information? Can we trust such a person?”

“…I would find it hard to believe as well.”

“In the end, we have been wasting time on false leads. Let’s not waste any more time and turn back. We will announce that the rumor was false after it has spread.”

“Understood.”

Alaina could see through Lian’s discreet intentions.

She concealed the story of meeting Lian from her escort knights and tried to bury the rumor about Maxwell being false.

She was determined to reset the information about Lian to a state of oblivion.

“It may disappoint the public, but it can’t be helped. The opportunity to monopolize news about Lian has come, and I can’t simply give up.”

This all happened in a moment as Lian passed by Alaina.

Quickly, Alaina performed a certain operation on the iron sword at Lian’s waist.

Using some of the sacred stone, she connected the iron sword to the sacred stone attached to her chest.

This way, Alaina could always know where Lian was and even eavesdrop on him.

“Hu hu! Now all I have to do is patiently wait to find out what Lian’s goal is!”

After reaping numerous benefits from just one meeting, Alaina flashed a victorious smile.

“I apologize to the others, but it seems I will be the first to return to Lian’s embrace as the Black Blade!”

***

Drops of dew formed on the stalactites in the cave, falling steadily.

Suddenly, a giant pupil opened in the depths of the dark cave.

A vertically elongated pupil.

The oppressive gaze emanating from it induced instinctual fear in those who met it.

“Ska-ha.”

“Yeah, I felt it just now too.”

Where the fierce pupil was directed, a black blade lay.

A shining black sword in the dark cave.

Suddenly swallowed by shadows, it transformed into a figure instead of a sword in the darkness.

A fierce woman with rough horns reminiscent of a black volcano and pointed ears like an elf.

Her eyes, like the large pupil staring at her, had vertically slit pupils.

Thin membranes and thick scales wrapped around wings folded on her back.

A long reptilian tail hung beneath her legs from her back, the trembling tip indicating her mood.

“This familiar aura I haven’t felt in 8 years… My master has finally returned.”

The woman slowly walked out of the cave, gazing wistfully at the world spread out to the north.

Following her was a creature of life.

A dragon with iridescent scales reflecting moonlight shone brightly.

“Are you going to meet him right away?”

“Yes, I’ve been waiting for this moment to atone…”

With a powerful push off the ground, the woman soared high into the sky.

Her majestic black wings darkened the world as they blocked the moonlight.

Eventually, she turned towards the north and became a gust of wind, flying towards her destination.