I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

51

Though he tried to sleep, he didn’t dream again. Nevertheless, complicated thoughts still floated around in his head.

The two woke up in the early dawn. Since they had packed in advance, it didn’t take long to tidy up their beds and prepare to leave. Their presence was so faint as they left the room that only silence seemed to linger in the hallway, as if no one existed.

“Arpel. Are you feeling unwell?”

Rohan broke the mysterious silence. Observing Arpel keenly, he asked with a worried expression. Even if his face hadn’t clearly shown concern, the resonating feeling inside his body would have quickly revealed his emotions.

Arpel belatedly realized he had caused worry. Though it was his first time experiencing this, seeing the young Rohan after so long wasn’t bad. It was more like he no longer felt the need to worry.

“Just had a dream.”

“…A dream?”

Rohan’s expression became peculiar as Arpel answered, slowly shaking his head. Although they had spent many years together, Arpel had never once mentioned dreams.

“What kind of dream?”

“A dream where you appeared as a child.”

Their eyes met. Various emotions that seemed like they would never become familiar poured out again. While enduring them with a faint sigh, suddenly a fragment of embarrassment seemed to seep in.

Rohan’s face had turned red. Unsure how to interpret the intent behind the staring gaze, he moved his lips slightly.

“…You thought of me even in your dreams?”

For a moment, Arpel was at a loss for words. He didn’t understand why Rohan’s thoughts had jumped there, or why there was a strange satisfaction in his expression. Nevertheless, the way he asked with a reddened face and lowered eyes seemed pretty, so Arpel nodded obediently.

Their steps out of the temple were quick. Meanwhile, Rohan’s smiling face seemed to match perfectly with the boundary between morning and dawn.

A fresh feeling arose. Although they had set the temple as their destination, Arpel had already wandered from village to village with Rohan before. The daily life they would experience soon would be very similar.

However, unlike then, the child’s body that could be easily held in his arms had grown considerably. It had even completely surpassed Arpel’s own height. The more past memories overlapped, the more everything felt new.

“Arpel! I’m telling you, he’s just putting on airs right now!”

Suddenly, his reverie was broken by someone’s sharp cry. Only after turning his gaze did he see Leriana fuming.

Leriana, who was the same age as Rohan, had long since shed her youthful appearance, just like him. Having become a proper adult, she now gave off the impression of a young lady rather than the tomboy she once was.

Having contracted with the Holy Sword at the age of 18, she appeared slightly younger than Rohan, but anyone seeing them together would describe them as a handsome couple. This made Arpel feel subtly uncomfortable.

“Why are you here?”

“Because I’m going too, of course.”

“I never gave permission.”

“Since when did I need your permission?”

Sparks seemed to fly between their meeting gazes. Soon, the corners of Leriana’s mouth twisted up crookedly. It looked like a sneer, or perhaps an expression purely meant to tease the other.

“How could you think of leaving without saying a word to me? If I hadn’t heard from Sia, I wouldn’t have known at all!”

Soon, her pink eyes filled with sadness. Having lived in the temple since childhood, with only peers around, Arpel could somewhat understand her feelings. Rohan’s eyes showed a mix of annoyance and bewilderment.

Meanwhile, Arpel glanced at Casia standing next to Leriana. His gaze contained several implied questions.

What did she mean by telling Leriana, and had this already been discussed with the temple? Sensing these questions, Casia answered, though her gaze was slightly averted.

“I happened to overhear the High Priest’s words as I was passing by. I thought Lady Leriana would be upset if she found out about this later, so I informed her.”

The lack of additional explanation suggested it was her own decision. However, there was no reproach in the gaze that stared at her plainly.

Casia had spent a long time with Leriana. It wouldn’t have taken much thought to predict that upon hearing Rohan was planning to leave the temple without a word, she would insist on following him out of spite.

Yet she chose to inform her anyway…

It seemed that having them all leave the temple together was the outcome she desired. The reason wasn’t hard to guess. Arpel recalled Casia’s words from a few years ago, saying that Leriana lacked a proper goal or belief.

“I already know what you’re going to do. If I come along, I can be helpful, right? I won’t be a burden.”

“…”

“This is official business. Surely you, of all people, wouldn’t prioritize your personal feelings of wanting to travel alone with Arpel over that! Or is there another reason you don’t want me to come along?”

“…Fine, I get it. That’s enough.”

Leriana claimed victory in the battle of nerves. Looking pleased with herself, she even flashed a victory sign to Casia standing beside her.

Watching this, Rohan sighed, emanating slight irritation. However, perhaps because Leriana’s genuinely upset expression from earlier stuck with him, he didn’t protest against her forceful assertion.

Arpel, who had roughly guessed the situation, felt the same. Regardless of Casia’s goal of ‘wanting Leriana to find her own beliefs,’ it was clear that having Leriana, who had contracted with the Holy Sword, along would be helpful.

However, that was just a superficial reason. There was also a small hope that if Leriana came along, he would be less swept up in the emotions Rohan displayed.

The carriage they were to ride was parked at the front of a forest path, a little distance from the temple. The coachman, who seemed to have been waiting for the group, immediately stood beside the carriage. Dionel had personally chosen him, saying he was tight-lipped.

Rohan, who gave a light nod of greeting, was the first to board the carriage. As Arpel was about to follow, a hand suddenly reached out in front of him.

“Huh?”

“Shh.”

While blankly staring at it, some incomprehensible gestures were exchanged beside him. The reliable-looking coachman made a dull sound upon seeing Leriana and Casia. Leriana, who flinched, put her index finger to her lips.

…Did they intend to hide? Their actions were too blatant.

However, Rohan, who had already boarded the carriage, couldn’t properly see from his position. Arpel chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Aren’t you going to take my hand?”

Rohan’s sorrowful expression as he lowered his eyebrows was more concerning. Quickly grasping the offered hand, this time Rohan even interlocked their fingers. The action was so clearly filled with affection that Arpel’s fingertips twitched.

“Ugh.”

Leriana, who had climbed up after them, shuddered at the sight of Rohan smiling shyly. It was close to disgust.

Having seemingly successfully concluded her deal with the coachman, Leriana sat diagonally across from Arpel, grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, a question arose. It didn’t seem like there had been any prior agreement with the coachman, so how had she persuaded him in such a short time?

As Arpel narrowed his eyes and stared at her, he soon noticed that one of the bracelets on Leriana’s wrist had disappeared.

‘I wonder if he’s really tight-lipped.’

It was a very reasonable doubt. Someone who could be tempted by material things was unlikely to keep secrets. Perhaps sensing the obvious gaze, Leriana’s eyes suddenly met his.

‘Ar.ti.fact.’

She seemed to have noticed the question in his gaze. She mouthed each syllable clearly, making it easy to understand what she was trying to say. Leriana lightly shook her wrist and smiled mischievously.

…If it’s an artifact, that might be possible. He decided to set aside his distrust of the man for now. It wouldn’t be too late to talk to him when they briefly got off the carriage.

“Arpel.”

“…Yes?”

“Why do you keep looking at her…?”

Rohan, who had been quiet all along, suddenly leaned in. They were already holding hands and sitting close enough, but this action brought their bodies even closer. Unlike his expression that openly showed his upset feelings, the emotion felt was closer to jealousy than disappointment.

Arpel obediently shifted his gaze away from Leriana. The intense affection that kept pouring out sometimes gave the impression that he might be buried in it, but this jealousy now felt a little… just a little, cute.

“What a fuss…”

“Lady Leriana.”

The harsh words that suddenly slipped out were naturally ignored.

***

The destination of the group, which had grown from two to four people, was a village they had pinpointed through correspondence with Lexia.

Since they were all capable of enhancing their bodies, there was no real need to ride in a carriage. They chose a rather shabby carriage as their mode of transportation to avoid drawing attention until they were far from the temple. Because of this, it was impossible to arrive in just one day.

Despite starting early in the morning and pushing through with two meals of dry food in the carriage, they stopped at a village about half a day’s journey away.

The sun hadn’t completely set, but they hadn’t had a proper meal. The desire to have at least one proper meal at the end of the day was strong, so the three eagerly agreed to stay in this village. Arpel, who didn’t particularly feel hunger or the need for sleep, simply nodded quietly.

“Ah, I feel alive again…”

Leriana, who had filled her mouth with warm soup, smiled broadly and melted into her seat. Although there was no muscle pain thanks to being able to strengthen her body with holy power, she was full of mental fatigue.

Even though she had to eat with her robe on due to her striking appearance, she was satisfied with just that.

Casia, who had also taken off her armor and wore the same robe, quickly relaxed her expression. A rosy flush spread across her pale face.

“Do you want more of this?”

“It’s okay. You eat a lot.”

Rather than relieving his accumulated fatigue, Rohan was anxious about not being able to be closer to Arpel. Whenever Arpel opened his mouth to accept the plump fish meat Rohan held near his lips, a happy smile would fill Rohan’s face.

Although the other two cast disgruntled glances, Rohan remained steadfast.

Finally deciding to ignore it, Leriana focused on her meal. The bowl of soup, which had been quite full, emptied in the blink of an eye. As the meal seemed to be coming to an end, Leriana, who had been glancing at Casia, asked Rohan with sparkling eyes.

“Do you know about the night market around here?”

“Night market?”

“Yeah. It seems like a small festival the villagers hold. They say there are lots of things for sale.”

“Lady Leriana. We need to leave early tomorrow morning, so you should go to bed early.”

Leriana pouted, but Casia’s gaze was firm. Although she called it a night market, Rohan didn’t seem very interested.

“Sia, think about it. We’ll have to work constantly from now on. We might not get to rest properly. Today might be our last chance to relax.”

Her grumbling voice didn’t waver Casia at all. When her plan to use Rohan as an ally failed miserably, her face, visible through the robe, was full of frustration. Her voice, muttering about the delicious things, various accessories, and fun things that would be sold at the night market, was overflowing with lingering desire.

And then, an unexpected person was swayed by those words.

“…Accessories?”

Leriana’s eyes sparkled, having finally found an ally.