novelraw Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Chapter 133
I picked up the Subspace Pouch that had been resting on the table. Then I reached inside it and drew out a single sword that had been stored deep within.
“…It hasn’t changed.”
I had drawn it while half-expecting something after River said it had absorbed the demonic energy that had seeped into my body, but the rusted blade looked exactly the same as before.
Letting out a small sigh, I slid it back into its scabbard and carefully ran my fingers over its surface.
No matter what, it was true that I had received a great deal of help from Tyrfing. The reason she had ended up like this was because she had taken a hit due to the Sword Saint’s misunderstanding while trying to protect me.
Tyrfing had said that if I could find the dwarf who created her, there might be some kind of solution. But dwarves were rare in this world to begin with, and among them, finding someone named ‘Diren’ would surely be even harder.
Once the schedule in the Holy Kingdom ended and I returned to the Academy, it wouldn’t be long before vacation came again—but even then, I already had plans.
‘Should I spread people out and put out a wanted notice?’
I had more money than I could ever use anyway. If I put out a request saying I’d pile up gold coins like a mountain for whoever found Diren, everyone would go mad rushing in.
I had to restore her within two years at the latest, so at the very least, I needed to start searching for Diren in earnest starting next year.
Once more, I pushed Tyrfing’s true body far, far into the depths of the Subspace Pouch.
If she were conscious like River, I could summon her into my hand, but as long as she was asleep, losing her would be nothing short of a disaster.
I had layered all kinds of anti-theft magic onto this pouch as well, so unless something extraordinary happened, I shouldn’t lose it.
I cast aside my tangled thoughts and pulled the blanket over myself. Whatever the outcome, I had saved Petra and defeated Agares.
With achievements like that, surely it was fine to slack off for at least one day.
“Let’s sleep for now.”
Between the stiffness in my shoulders and the fatigue still lingering in my body, I wasn’t in great shape. As the medicine slowly took effect and drowsiness crept in, I didn’t resist and simply entrusted myself to sleep.
A yellowish hue settled into the sky beyond the window as dusk began to fall. It felt like I had only lain down briefly after waking up in the morning, yet the day was already growing dark.
“…They really haven’t shown their faces at all.”
I was still lying alone in the room.
Normally, with the exchange event finished and only the banquet remaining, others would have come to visit.
However, according to Silvia, who had stopped by earlier to check on my condition, the exchange event—originally scheduled to span several days—was being concluded in a single day due to circumstances on the Holy Kingdom’s side.
Given how much of a commotion there had been, I thought that was only natural, but if that was the case, wouldn’t it have been fine to postpone the unfinished exchange events?
Since they were cramming all the remaining events into a single day, everyone was probably too busy to even think about coming to see me.
If that were all, I would’ve waved them off and told them to work hard, but lying there staring out the window endlessly made my whole body start to ache.
In my original world, I could hole myself up in a room for days on end with a computer or smartphone and never get bored, but in a place that at least outwardly adhered to a medieval worldview, there was no way such things existed.
That said, I couldn’t train with a sword indoors, and magic was even more out of the question.
“Hey.”
“…Yes?”
That was why I stepped out of the room and spoke to the Holy Knight guarding the door.
“My treatment is finished, so I’ll be heading back now.”
“Ah, um, the Saintess ordered that you be kept here for the entire day…….”
It seemed Silvia had anticipated that I wouldn’t be able to stand lying around and had given the Holy Knight advance notice. When I frowned at that, he wore an awkward expression but showed no intention of stepping aside.
‘Figures for the Holy Kingdom—so rigid.’
I knew it was a measure taken out of concern for me, but it was unbearably bothersome.
‘Now that the name ‘Hero’ has spread, I wanted to resolve things as quietly as possible, but…….’
I slowly gathered aura into my right hand. Since he wasn’t even Paladin-class, I could knock him out in a single blow. Given the circumstances, no one would scold me even if I overdid it a little.
But just before swinging my hand, a good idea came to mind.
“Unfortunately, I’d like to follow the Saintess’s words as well, but the Holy King asked me to take care of something.”
“Th, is that so…….”
At the mention of the Holy King, his eyes trembled. No matter how great the Saintess’s prestige was, there was no one in the Holy Kingdom who surpassed the Holy King.
Hearing that it was a matter requiring discretion, the Holy Knight fell into brief contemplation before cautiously opening his mouth.
“Then I will continue standing guard here as the Saintess commanded. However, since you are stronger than me, Hero, even if you were to slip out quietly, I wouldn’t notice.”
“It can’t be helped.”
I nodded briskly at his words and patted his shoulder, telling him to keep up the good work. This way, no matter what happened, it wouldn’t be said that I had simply disappeared.
Once again, I changed my hair color using an artifact and reverted to Ostia’s appearance.
Even so, if I attended the exchange event with this face exposed, a commotion would break out immediately—but judging by the time, they would be holding the final event, the banquet.
At banquets like this, half-masks were basic etiquette, so as long as I didn’t act conspicuously, there was little risk of my identity being exposed.
As expected, once it was confirmed that I was from Bayern Academy, entering the banquet hall was easy.
Inside, Academy students from both nations and even high-ranking officials of the Holy Kingdom were seated, conversing with one another.
After several brief programs passed and the atmosphere truly began to warm up, I moved to an upper terrace from which I could overlook the entire interior.
“……”
There was a reason I had come all this way despite the trouble. I was curious how my companions were doing, but I also wanted to grasp how the atmosphere within the Holy Kingdom was shifting.
‘And while I’m at it, I was hoping to uncover the Majin hiding in here.’
Agares possessing a Paladin’s body was a development that hadn’t existed in the original work. It was probably a move aimed at me because of what happened in Leipzig.
Which meant that, separate from him, the Majin who appeared in the original story was definitely somewhere.
“…What are you doing here?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from beside me. When I turned my head slightly, Silvia—dressed in a gown—was staring at me with a sulky expression.
“I didn’t think you’d catch me.”
I shrugged with a flustered expression.
I had deliberately erased my presence and aura while coming up to the terrace to avoid drawing attention. Only someone at Paladin-class should have been able to notice me. Yet Silvia had pinpointed me exactly.
“Who do you think treated your body? No matter how much you suppress your presence, the lingering trace of that holy power leads back to me.”
“…That’s the first I’ve heard of that.”
“Anyway, what are you doing here?”
Instead of answering, I first glanced down below. Someone of the Saintess’s stature couldn’t escape the public eye here.
I had gone to great lengths to erase my presence to get up here—if it were seen that we were together, it would be a headache.
“You don’t need to worry about attention. I said I was tired and came up through a back passage. This window is specially constructed too, so you can’t see inside from outside.”
As if reading my thoughts, Silvia waved her hand to reassure me, then poured herself some wine that had been prepared nearby.
“I’ll gladly dri—”
“Who said I was giving it to you? You’re still a patient. Abstaining from alcohol is basic for patients.”
Thinking she was handing it to me, I reached out, but my hand brushed empty air at her cold words. When I frowned slightly, Silvia shook her head firmly, saying absolutely not.
“…You’re not going to say you came all this way just to drink, are you?”
“If that were the case?”
“I’d call the Paladins and have you escorted back to your room.”
Her crisp manner was different from before—this was probably how she appeared outwardly as the Saintess.
“I told you earlier today. There’s likely a Majin hiding even within the Holy Palace.”
“…Like Agares.”
Silvia nodded heavily at my words. If anyone else had said it, she would have shouted about blasphemy, but after what happened yesterday, it had been proven that demons or Majin could infiltrate by possessing the bodies of clergy.
The Holy King’s side said they would conduct their own investigation, but I would be returning to the Empire before long. If that happened, the Majin’s identity might never be uncovered, so I wanted to resolve it as quickly as possible.
“At least, I don’t think they’re here. Before entering the banquet hall, everyone was ritually made to wash their hands in holy water…….”
“As with Agares, they might have high resistance to holy power.”
Even if not as strong as him, they could be specialized in resistance, or perhaps still retain strong human traits.
Once you started talking about possibilities, there was no end.
“By the way, the Grand Archbishop is attending too, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Is there something about that?”
“…River says the Grand Archbishop is suspicious.”
“For what reason?”
“She says it’s his physiognomy.”
At that, Silvia made an incredulous expression.
I shrugged, saying I was just relaying what I’d been told, and she let out a small laugh.
“It’s not the Grand Archbishop. Earlier today, he was using holy power and bestowing blessings on others.”
“I just thought I’d mention it, just in case.”
After that, we silently surveyed the situation inside.
Despite what had happened yesterday, the banquet hall’s atmosphere was peaceful to a fault. The placement of high-ranking officials was likely a courtesy from the Holy Kingdom.
I followed behind my companions, just in case someone suspicious might approach them.
“…What is your relationship with that person?”
At that moment, Silvia asked while pointing toward Petra, who was surrounded by representatives of Vatican Academy, deep in conversation.
“She’s my fiancée.”
“…Your fiancée.”
Silvia looked at Petra with a hint of envy. At that, a thought crossed my mind, and I asked cautiously.
“Don’t tell me you have feelings for me?”
“…Who?”
“You.”
“Me? For you?”
“Yeah.”
At my answer, her face twisted. Then she extended a finger and poked my cheek repeatedly, putting force into every word she spoke.
“I’m just envious of you, that’s all. I don’t harbor those kinds of feelings, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
“That’s a relief.”
When I shrugged, saying I was genuinely relieved, she let out a short sigh and complained.
“The Goddess can be so cruel. Why would she place a Hero like you next to a man like that…….”
“…Huh?”
Just as I chuckled and was about to toss back another joke at Silvia’s words, Alice—who had been talking with someone from the Holy Kingdom’s side—stepped out of the banquet hall together with her companion.
“…That.”
Seeing it, Silvia and I met each other’s eyes, and at the same time, we nodded and followed after them.