episode_0027

000

Long ago. When a crisis came to the world, there would be those who would borrow the power of the Holy Sword to defeat evil.

Call him a hero and make him an example for the people.

This is the doctrine of the most widespread religion on the continent, called the `Order of the Saint` or the `Order of the Saint’s Blessing`.

They believed that only the guardians of the world, composed of the trinity of `Holy Sword`, `Hero`, and `Saintess`, could remove the darkness of the world.

Their job is to identify the location of the new Holy Sword.

Support the Hero.

Nurture the Saintess.

Just recently, a hero in a frontier city was ruined by someone.

This was not a welcome situation for the `Order of the Saint`.

Of course, it was not that there had never been a hero corrupted by evil in history.

That was the great hero of 30 years ago.

So was the Hero Slayer `Resia`.

However, something was strange about this `Albein`.

Why did Albein go berserk?

Where did his party disappear to?

Where did the corpse and magic sword of the magic swordsman Cleon, who was considered his adversary, go?

When the Order urgently requested it from the academy, they realized that even they were in trouble.

And `Kuon`, a Saintess candidate and Albein’s companion, who had lost contact.

A situation where puzzle pieces that could never be separated seemed to be forcibly detached.

If you notice the discomfort, you can see the thin link between them.

Then, just investigate thoroughly.

What exactly happened in the city.

The people of the Order began to move.

001

“~♪”

The kitchen of the Count’s mansion, now being used completely as their own.

It had been unused for a long time, gathering dust and being worn out in various places.

Now it was neatly repaired, and they were free to use facilities that were no less than those of a high-class restaurant’s kitchen.

Of course, she didn’t know how to use everything in it.

But for Kuon, who had spent three years repeating lodging and camping, life in the mansion reminded her of her days back home.

A country girl who lived with her mother and helped with various household chores.

Perhaps that was her true nature.

She hums while preparing breakfast for many people.

“Hoo~. Butter-baked bread, fried eggs, and salad. This is quite something. Home-like. Is there no meat?”

A voice suddenly heard from behind.

When Kuon turns around, there stands a giant who appears to be about 210cm tall.

Casually sampling the food that had been prepared before being moved from the kitchen to the dining room.

He picks up the fried egg with his bare hands and pops it into his mouth.

“… …”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Kuon’s expression hardens as she looks at the giant.

And-

“Kyaaaaaaak! A thief!”

Kuon screams-

“Uwaaaaaaak! Who are you calling a thief!”

The man shouts back, not to be outdone.

Within 2 seconds of that sound, Laila and Cleon appear in the kitchen.

Laila uses binding magic without her staff, despite being in her pajamas.

And Cleon quickly wields his sword to attack the man.

Both of their attacks were blocked almost simultaneously.

Laila’s spell was removed by a magic barrier created by a silver-haired woman who intervened.

And Cleon’s sword was blocked by the man using a dining knife that had been placed on a plate.

“Tch…! Who are you guys!”

Laila makes a venomous sound.

The woman who blocked her spell stares at Laila for a moment before turning her head to the giant next to her.

The giant smiles, showing his teeth, and uses his other hand to grab a napkin and wipe the grease from his beard.

And looking at Cleon, who is visibly flustered, he says this:

“Yo, kid. Glad to see you’re doing well.”

“…Talcheck?”

As Cleon looks at the giant’s face, the strength in his hand weakens slightly.

The man then deflects Cleon’s sword with the dining knife and stabs it towards Cleon’s neck.

But-

-Crack

With that sound, the knife breaks in two.

Eventually, the knife, now only half remaining, stops right in front of Cleon’s neck.

“I guess using a knife like this to block a magic sword was too much.”

The man chuckles, expressing his disappointment, and places the knife back on the table.

Meanwhile, Kuon is hiding behind Laila, staring at the unexpected guests.

001

Inside the drawing room, where sunlight pours in.

A refreshing morning has dawned, but the faces of the mansion’s residents are not very bright.

Cleon sits across from the giant and the woman.

Looking at the two with a displeased face.

Especially towards the giant.

“What’s with that look towards my master?”

“… …”

Then, Kuon covers her mouth.

Laila also seemed a little surprised.

Cleon turns his head away from the man’s words for a moment, but soon mutters as if he doesn’t like it.

“Can you call someone who teaches you where to hit with a sword so you die without much pain a master?”

“That’s the most important thing for a swordsman, what are you talking about!”

The man laughs as if his ears are about to fall off, making a joke that is impossible to laugh at.

Laila and Kuon, while feeling a great sense of wariness about this man’s presence, are also watching Cleon’s reaction.

“How long are you going to make those young ladies look at me like I’m a weird guy?”

Talcheck speaks as if he doesn’t like the looks from the women.

“No. Father is weird enough. Breaking into the entrance door and even eating without paying in the kitchen. You’re clearly a criminal.”

The woman, who must be with him, is critical of the man.

Cleon seemed surprised to learn that the relationship between these two people, who seem as different as water and oil, is a `father-daughter relationship`.

“Talcheck… you were married?”

“Don’t say stupid things. This is someone I’m taking care of.”

The man, no, Talcheck, waves his hand with a bored expression at Cleon’s words.

The silver-haired woman next to him also nods as if Talcheck’s words are true.

“… Ta, Ta…”

Then, next to Kuon, Laila opens her mouth wide, pointing at the man while repeating `Ta, Ta` as if firewood is burning.

“La, Laila? What’s wrong?”

“Talcheck!?!?”

Eventually, Laila jumps up from her seat and shouts.

Seeing that, the silver-haired woman sighs, and the man nods, saying `Um!`

“Wait, Cleon! Is this gorilla-like man who claims to be your master really Talcheck!?”

Cleon also sighs at Laila’s question and hesitates for a moment. Then he nods.

“…A famous person?”

When Kuon tilts her head, Laila gets angry and says to Kuon.

“Famous!? It’s not just famous! A living legend! 30 years ago, he worked with the hero `Resia` and the kingdom to… destroy the `Empire`! One of the four heroes! `Sword Saint` Talcheck!”

“Those are nostalgic stories. It feels like just yesterday. What was it? The young lady is good at studying history.”

Looking at Talcheck, who is stroking his chin and nodding as if impressed. Laila gets angry again.

“Studying history isn’t the problem! This is common sense! It’s just Kuon who’s weird!”

Kuon smiles shyly as if she’s embarrassed and scratches her head a little.

Then, the silver-haired woman takes something out of her bag and hands it to Kuon.

“This is a book about the four heroes. It’s a work that hasn’t been in the top 100 of the kingdom’s recommended books for 20 years, so I recommend you read it.”

“Ah… yes, thank you…?”

Then, she takes out two more of the same book and puts them on top.

“Please use them for storage and evangelism.”

“Uh, uhm…?”

Just as she was wondering how to react to that.

Cleon opened his mouth to settle this farce-like situation.

“… Why did you look for me? You haven’t come back here once since she died.”

“I was going to, but something came up.”

Talcheck says that and strokes his beard. Then he puts his hand on the shoulder of the woman next to him.

“First. Let me introduce this one. Her name is Chevalier. She’s a knight affiliated with the Royal Knights.”

“I am Iona Chevalier. Please call me Iona. I think you are more dignified than the gorilla who doesn’t listen to this person.”

Iona, who calls her father a gorilla even though they are not related by blood.

And Talcheck, who is patting Iona’s shoulder and laughing.

Cleon’s head started to hurt. This is definitely going to be troublesome.

“What’s the reason you came here? You know, Cleon. The upper echelons of the kingdom are in an uproar right now. The hero they trusted and supported for two years caused that mess. But the guy who stopped the hero isn’t even visible.”

“…Are you talking about Albein?”

Hearing that story, Cleon leans forward and quietly recalls what happened recently.

The story was directly related to Kuon and Laila, who are next to him now.

“30 years ago. Thanks to `that guy’s` great work, the kingdom is already full of followers of the `hero`. In that situation, if someone defeated and suppressed the hero. It’s true that the kingdom is concerned.”

“…So?”

At Cleon’s reluctant reaction, the man smiles and continues the story.

“So that’s why I came. Talcheck, `Special Investigator Affiliated with the Royal Direct Intelligence Agency`. I said, `I think I know who the guy who defeated our precious and cute hero is, so I’ll go check it out for a moment.` So they sent me right away, even giving me a bonus.”

“Wait! So… you’re here to catch Cleon?”

Laila raises her guard, and her hair burns red. Kuon also clenches her fist tightly. Preparing to fight.

“Kuhaha! Scary older sisters. I just said that I’m just going to check.”

Talcheck said, looking at the two of them, not feeling scared at all.

…A moment of silence flowed in the tense situation in the drawing room.

Neither Laila nor Kuon completely let down their guard. If anything happened, it could lead to a fight right away.

The only one who was relaxed in that situation was Talcheck. Frankly speaking, Cleon didn’t want to imagine starting a fight here with everyone.

At that moment when the tension was tightly maintained.

Bang- the door to the drawing room opened.

“Cleon! Listen! There’s a secret warehouse in the basement! It’s full of wine…”

A woman with disheveled pink hair, smiling broadly, holding a bottle of wine in one hand, in her pajamas. Luti Shions.

It is a completely opposite appearance of laziness and depravity from the usual neatness and image she showed to people.

As soon as she sees Talcheck’s face, she closes the door with a smiling face like a plaster statue.

“Ugyaaaaaak! A gorilla came to catch me! Run away!!”

Luti runs away, stomping and running outside.

Talcheck, who was watching the scene for a while, smacked his lips as if he was more concerned about her alcohol than her.

Cleon’s headache intensifies.

Then, Talcheck says to Cleon.

“You have quite a few women with you. Was that Luti Shions just now?”

“…Yeah. You know her well too.”

“No. I think I remember the other side of her more.”

Talcheck removes the smile from his face for a moment, as if longing for something.

Seeing that, Cleon sighs deeply and says.

“The story isn’t progressing. Tell me the real purpose of coming here soon.”

“The original purpose… okay. If you want, I have to do that.”

Talcheck shrugs his shoulders once and says.

“Cleon… there’s something I want to ask you to do.”

“…To me. You?”

Even if you think about the pure force or status he has, Talcheck had more things he could do than himself.

How much can an adventurer like himself, who has to live hiding that he is alive, do?

“Of course. I have a reward prepared as well. We’ll use all of our information to get you something you want so, so much.”

“It’s creepy. That tone of voice that seems to see through everything.”

“Kuhaha. You’re similar to me, so you can tell to some extent.”

At those words, Kuon gets angry.

“Cleon isn’t someone who lacks sensitivity like you!”

“… … Kuon. Thanks, but this isn’t the time for that.”

“Well, isn’t it good? I don’t hate women with good momentum.”

Talcheck says that and takes out a cube from his pocket.

There was something that looked like a magic stone in the center. And what looked like ancient rune letters were densely carved on the 6 sides.

“A, a Memoria Cube!”

Laila, who recognized it first, gets up from her seat.

“That’s right. The ultimate recording magic tool that remembers all events, phenomena, and ideas that occurred in that place for 100 years when recording starts. Even in ancient technology, it’s not as much as a magic sword or a holy sword, but it’s a secret item.”

When Iona explains about it, Laila also adds to the explanation.

“There are many, but reproduction is impossible and reuse is impossible. But every time you find one, it’s a huge discovery that shakes the foundation of history and magic. That’s because it records 100 years of time.”

Clearly, it would be something Laila wants so, so much from her point of view.

But it wasn’t a very attractive thing for Cleon, who wasn’t a scholar.

“`That guy` is recorded here. It’s only a very short time in the entire record, though.”

Cleon’s eyes widen at those words.

Then he clenches his fist tightly and answers.

“… … What do I have to do?”

“Chevalier. Explain it.”

Iona nods and opens her mouth.

“With Luti Shions stepping down from the position of Guild Master, the royal capital will dispatch a new Guild Master. According to the schedule, he will arrive tomorrow.”

“Hughes Woodnock. His title is Marquis. He is from a family that has recently been favored by the royal family even in the royal capital. He has a trading company, so he has a lot of money. But he’s not a good human being. He’s a typical incompetent pig noble.”

Cleon rubs his chin and thinks for a moment.

It seems that the nobleman who sent a large amount of adventurer funds while saying that he would sponsor Albein had that name…

“Recently. An investigation by the intelligence agency revealed that he has a large number of illegal distribution routes. And evidence has been captured that he is working with `Returners`.”

“…Returners are terrorists.”

Laila muttered as if she didn’t like Iona’s words.

Returners are a group that worships ancient civilization.

Their main activities are excavating ruins and researching artifacts, and their purpose is to restore the world to its ancient form.

According to their standards, that era seems to be the way the world should be.

If you listen to them, they seem like slightly radical scholars, but in reality, they don’t hesitate to rob tombs for research.

Most of the artifacts they deem unnecessary are sold at high prices.

The number of times they attacked the academy’s students staying and researching in the ruins was so many that you couldn’t count them on both hands.

“If only the kingdom would deal with it a little more…”

“There’s not enough manpower, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Laila gets angry at those words. Then, Iona stops her.

“I’m sorry. Our gorilla…”

“Hey. Stop calling me a gorilla.”

“To get back to the story, we came here to investigate Marquis Hughes as well… but embarrassingly, there seems to be an informant within the agency.”

Iona said that and took out an invitation decorated with a splendid seal from her bag.

The sender was Marquis Hughes. It was an invitation that he had carefully sent to the people who were coming to investigate him.

“Damn it. I was going to investigate secretly, but it’s impossible now.”

“I think it’s because you’re too noticeable.”

Talcheck snorts at Iona’s words.

Cleon listens to the two people’s stories and ponders for a moment.

“So. You’re telling me to investigate Marquis Hughes and catch the Returners.”

“That’s right. You’ve always had a quick mind since you were young. You sly guy.”

“… …”

Then, Cleon hesitates for a moment and nods his head.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“Cleon, are you sure?”

“…It’s okay. The reward is too big to refuse.”

Laila also agrees with Cleon’s words.

“That’s right. That’s right. I can’t resist the Memoria Cube.”

“Why are you thinking that you’re the one who’s going to receive it already.”

“Well, Cleon won’t be able to interpret it alone.”

Laila smiles while humming. It seemed like she was already looking forward to interpreting the Memoria Cube.

“If so. Come to the city tomorrow. Iona will help you.”

Talcheck says that and gets up from his seat, Iona also follows behind him.

Then, he bowed at the spot and greeted Cleon.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Cleon-nim.”

“…Cleon is fine.”

At Cleon’s words, Iona smiles slightly and follows Talcheck out of the room.

“This house is so big! Where’s the exit!”

“It’s this way. Gorilla.”

Cleon closes his eyes for a moment.

`That girl` that Talcheck talked about.

The reason why he became an adventurer.

But because it was such a vague story, he couldn’t even get a clue, so he had given up at some point.

Hero Slayer `Resia`.

He recalled the name of the hero who saved him once again in his head.

002

Talcheck and Iona return the way they came through the path of the living forest.

Once they got some distance away from the mansion, Iona opened her mouth first.

“Wasn’t it okay not to tell him?”

“About what?”

Talcheck answers Iona as if he is indifferent.

He also seemed to be in a good mood.

“…About the `Isolated Expulsion Zone`.”

“It’s up to him to reach that point too.”

The Sword Saint chuckled and fiddled with the Memoria Cube in his bag.

“But. To you…”

“Don’t say any more than that. I’ll want to cut you down, no matter who you are.”

A different face than just before.

Iona’s knees shake at the sensation of being crushed all over.

It wasn’t pressure created by magic power.

His eyes. The eyes of a butcher who is thinking about which part of the meat in front of him should be cut in which direction so that it can be separated without resistance. The eyes of a murderer.

What was crushing Iona was murderous intent.

Soon, just before Iona completely kneels down, unable to withstand the pressure.

The man turns his head and releases Iona.

“Don’t worry about unnecessary things and follow me properly. You have your work to do.”

“…Yes. Father.”

Iona quietly follows behind Talcheck.

Her face seemed full of worry.