I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

54

As soon as Casia made a troubled expression, tears began to fall from Leriana’s eyes. Her voice, repeatedly mumbling apologies, was so small it seemed as if she wanted to crawl into a hole.

Casia, who had been keeping her mouth shut, raised her hand and gently patted Leriana’s head. Normally, she wouldn’t have done this, saying there was a difference in status. Forgetting that she had been crying, Leriana looked up at Casia with a blank expression.

Looking down at Leriana with warm eyes, Casia shook her head.

“No. If it weren’t for Lady Leriana, I wouldn’t have been able to hold out against that man for long. He was a skilled opponent.”

“…Casia.”

“So there’s no need to blame yourself. You healed me, and I’m perfectly fine now. As for getting injured… it’s just because I’ve been neglecting my training. So please don’t cry.”

After a slight hesitation, Leriana slowly nodded. She tried to force a smile, but it was closer to a bitter one, and with her eyes still red, she didn’t look fine at all… but everyone tacitly avoided mentioning this fact.

While Casia stood beside her, unsure of what to say, Leriana turned her gaze to Rohan. It was clear to anyone that she was intentionally trying to change the subject.

“What are you looking at?”

Rohan, who had been silently observing the situation, responded gruffly on purpose. Leriana pouted at this, but her eyes wavered, as if she felt grateful for Rohan’s casual response.

At the same time, she scrutinized his appearance. There were more than just a few drops of blood splattered on his face, evidence of how many people he had cut down.

“…You look fine.”

No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem to be his own blood. Convinced of this, Leriana was able to dismiss the slight worry she had felt for Rohan without hesitation.

“Where did Arpel go?!”

After a brief moment of looking disgruntled, Leriana’s expression turned worried again. Even though she had seen Arpel transform into a sword right before her eyes, whether due to the burst of light at that time or because it was such an unrealistic story that she didn’t even doubt it, her eyes held only pure concern.

“He’s right here.”

“Where!”

“In front of your eyes.”

Rohan remained calm as he looked at Leriana. He slightly raised the sword to show her and then immediately lowered his eyes and murmured.

“I tried to deflect most of the blood splatter with magic, but I’m still not used to it… I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time.”

“…What are you saying?”

Is he crazy? Has he gone mad? Talking to a sword like that.

Leriana knew that her sword had some level of intelligence and could express likes and dislikes. But it wasn’t to the extent of having a conversation. Not once had she ever tried to talk to her sword like Rohan was doing… except maybe when she was very young. She could swear to that.

She ended up making quite a strange expression, but the person receiving that look didn’t seem to care at all. Just as she was thinking that she couldn’t understand what he had been saying, a light flickered before her eyes.

“…Huh?”

“What is this…?”

Both Leriana, who had been grumbling, and Casia, who seemed to be in a similar state of mind though she hadn’t spoken, widened their eyes at the scene that unfolded next.

The sword transformed into a person in an instant.

“I’m fine, so let’s clean you up first.”

“But…”

“I’ll wipe it for you.”

“Okay.”

Despite the two shocked people in front of them, Rohan and Arpel were completely absorbed in their own world. Arpel took the handkerchief Rohan had been holding and started wiping the blood stains from his cheeks.

“…No. Wait, wait. What is this?! What’s going on?”

Thinking about it, Leriana felt like she had seen a scene like this before. She thought Arpel had disappeared, but in reality, he had become Rohan’s sword. It was such an unbelievable story that it would be more realistic to think she had seen an illusion, so she might have just cut it out of her mind.

But it still didn’t make sense. How could a person become a sword? What Rohan had been holding wasn’t just a sword, but a Demon Sword. That fact was evident from the magic power seeping out of it.

Rohan looked with disdain at Leriana, who was shouting in panic.

“Don’t treat it like it’s strange. Why are you suddenly making a fuss?”

“You’re the one talking nonsense! When did you ever tell me about this?”

“…Didn’t I tell you?”

Rohan tilted his head, genuinely looking as if he thought he had told her. Leriana, who had been staring at him silently, let out a hollow laugh and grabbed the back of her head. This guy was still as irritating as ever.

In the end, Rohan had to explain everything about Arpel right there. However, the strange ability of a Demon Sword becoming a person was difficult to comprehend without explaining that he also possessed the power of a specter. Arpel finished the explanation in place of Rohan, who was hesitant to speak.

“A specter… you say.”

“That’s also why Rohan reacts sensitively to holy power. When he comes into contact with it, his condition becomes quite bad.”

Both Casia’s and Leriana’s faces became quite complex. Arpel, who was watching their reactions without any sign of agitation, added:

“If it makes you uncomfortable, we can move separately even now-“

“Do I look like such trash to you…?”

Leriana’s immediate response was almost fierce. Arpel, who had turned his gaze towards her, hesitated when he saw the moisture in her eyes.

“I understand why you didn’t tell me… But I still think Arpel is a good person, no, not a person. Sword? Anyway, I think that, so it doesn’t bother me at all! Of course, if you had told me earlier, I would have been more careful about using holy power….”

Although she was rambling, she added a subtle complaint at the end. As Arpel silently watched Leriana and listened to her continued words, he thought to himself. Perhaps she was truly a being who couldn’t help but be loved.

“I think so too.”

Casia, who had been keeping her mouth shut, nodded her head. There wasn’t a trace of negative emotion in either of their gazes.

It was because of people like this that the original Rohan was able to be healed. Finally, Arpel’s lips curled up in a faint smile.

“Thank you.”

Arpel sincerely thought that it was fortunate such people were by Rohan’s side.

Leriana, who hadn’t expected to receive words of gratitude, opened her eyes wide before breaking into a bright smile. Of course, Arpel couldn’t keep his gaze on her for long. It was because of the unsettling emotion wafting from beside him.

It was jealousy.

“Rohan. Are you feeling alright?”

“Ah.”

He reacted reflexively when he sensed the emotion. It really couldn’t be helped. Arpel would always prioritize Rohan, and because of that, when Rohan wanted him, he had no choice but to take his hand without hesitation.

As soon as their eyes met, Rohan smiled prettily at Arpel and poured out various emotions. Affection, love, joy, delight, satisfaction, pride… Although the rush of emotions was still difficult to bear, Arpel had somehow come to realize his reason for existence through them.

Perhaps he would never turn away from Rohan for the rest of his life. Even if the day came when he was forced to accept a love he couldn’t reciprocate.

“Um… I’ll be fine as long as Arpel stays with me.”

There was no trace of worry or guilt in his clear smile. It shook Arpel’s assumption that even if they were attackers, Rohan might be struggling internally, even if he didn’t show it, after cutting down and killing living beings.

If anything, his face looked refreshed.

“…Are you really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Unlike Leriana, whose face had turned pale and who couldn’t quite hide that she was pretending to be fine, Rohan was different. As he tilted his head, causing his silky hair to sway, Arpel was momentarily captivated by the sight.

“They were all bad guys, right? They tormented Arpel and killed my family.”

“…Right. They did.”

He responded as if entranced by the whispering voice saying that Rohan shouldn’t feel bad. It cleared away the strange sense of discomfort that had slightly built up.

“But did you really kill them all?”

Leriana, who had tidied up her appearance with Casia’s help and wiped off the splattered blood, asked Rohan.

The scene Rohan had created was close to a tragedy. Because he had cut them down without hesitation, it was enough to make ordinary people vomit immediately if they saw it. Leriana’s face, which was already pale, turned even paler, probably because she wasn’t feeling well either.

“Ah. I left one alive.”

The shadow on the ground rippled and opened its maw. Eek. Leriana, startled for a moment, began to show interest as the black thing that suddenly popped out wriggled as if trying to take the shape of a human hand.

“This, this is cute.”

It did resemble a human hand, albeit with crooked lines as if drawn by a child. It was just a bit clumsy.

The shadow waved its hand as if greeting, but it only reacted after Rohan tapped the end part with his foot. A person popped out from between the opened jaws.

“Wow… I want this.”

“Can it store items too?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you have something like this, huh?!”

No one was focusing on the fact that the shadow had spit out a person, and that person wasn’t in a normal state. Even Casia seemed interested. Leriana took out her Holy Sword and shook it vigorously. It only hummed occasionally, and of course, there was no response.

Casia approached the man who had just emerged from the shadow and seemed disoriented. She forcibly removed his mask, revealing a face streaked with tears and snot. It was very similar to the appearance of some people who had entered and exited the shadow long ago.

“If you don’t answer properly, you’ll have to be swallowed by that shadow for 10 minutes at a time.”

“Eek!”

She was very good at efficient threats. The face that was already frightened now turned a distinct shade of blue.

The man nodded his head frantically. After checking that there was no poison in his mouth for suicide, Casia grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the side. It seemed she intended to question him about various things.

Meanwhile, Leriana headed towards the coachman who was standing at a distance. Arpel didn’t bother to stop Rohan, who was following closely, but pulled his hand to prevent him from stepping on the mess of vomit left on the ground. Rohan, holding hands with Arpel, was surrounded by a fluffy emotion.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes…!”

Whether it was because he had witnessed the scene that was no different from a massacre, fear and terror were mottled across the coachman’s face. Even if they were bad guys, an ordinary civilian like him wouldn’t be accustomed to seeing people being killed. The three of them didn’t find his attitude strange.

“Are the horses okay?”

“Ah… It seems one of them has a deep wound on its hoof from stepping on something sharp. I think it would be difficult to move right away… Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Somehow…!”

The coachman answered Arpel’s question, sweating profusely. He seemed frozen in excessive fear, as if he had been disciplined, but that wasn’t their concern.

Leriana, who had been looking around, approached the front of the carriage to check the condition of the horse. There was a pool of blood under the limping horse’s leg. As Rohan pulled Arpel close as if to protect him, light burst from Leriana’s fingertips as she examined the wound.

It felt different from the commonly used holy magic. If holy magic was like power spreading brightly from the fingertips, Leriana’s healing power was closer to a burst of light, as the name suggests.

Of course, the horse recovered quickly. As if recognizing the person who had healed it, it even lowered its head and gently nuzzled against Leriana. She seemed to quite like animals, as she didn’t avoid it and stroked its mane, her face filled with a smile.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…I’m fine, Rohan.”

Regardless, Rohan’s gaze was still fixed on Arpel. Even though they had been quite far away, he seemed concerned about Arpel being near when holy power was used, with worry clearly visible on his face. The emotions flowing from him were the same.