Chapter 46
The heavy snowfall finally stopped.
Ashtein watched the man dissolve into particles.
He'd swung his sword with the resolve to kill.
Though he was still breathing, he had precious little time left.
Would they even have time for a brief conversation?
Crack.
The black helmet he'd been wearing split in two a moment later.
“……That face.”
The face revealed beneath it was an exact copy of Ashtein's.
The only difference was perhaps his hair, which had turned completely white.
He smiled gently.
As if all the hostility he'd shown until now had been a lie.
-The trial is over. I'm not entirely satisfied, but I think highly of your potential.
Ashtein was fed up with the man's tone, still full of himself to the very end.
“You lost, and yet your mouth still works.”
-Don't be satisfied with where you are now. Your skills are meager and inadequate.
“I know.”
This battle had made that painfully clear.
His fight with the man had not been a true victory.
It was a lucky break that would have been impossible without Azazel and Aria's help.
-Good. Then you should be able to protect them with your own strength.
His gaze turned to Aria and Azazel.
Was the emotion in his eyes pity, or regret?
Ashtein gazed silently at him.
The man looked as if he regretted something.
What had he lost?
What had he failed to protect?
Ashtein didn't ask for the details.
“I'll decide that for myself, so don't lecture me, predecessor.”
-Right. A loser's words are only good as a cautionary example.
The man laughed heartily.
It was a boisterous laugh.
When he stopped laughing, he pointed west with his left index finger.
-Take the Sword of Judgment to the royal palace of Gallia.
“The royal palace of Gallia?”
-The truth lies there.
Ashtein was about to ask more, but pressed his lips together.
His form was scattering like ashes, burned away.
“Are you disappearing?”
-I'm only returning to where I belong.
Fwoosh.
A little while later, nothing remained where the Hero had stood.
Nothing.
“Does he think vanishing after saying something cryptic makes him look cool?”
He was a stodgy, old-fashioned bastard.
Ashtein never wanted to deal with him again.
……Anyway, it's over, right?
For a while there, I really thought I was done for.
I'm glad it ended like this.
The holy sword, which had changed into that strange shape, had returned to its original form at some point.
A sword that can change shape. It's full of secrets.
“Phew…… huh?”
He'd been about to sigh, but his breath caught.
Aria and Azazel had come up behind him and clung to his back.
He relaxed his shoulders and turned around.
He saw a short-haired woman with black hair and a girl with red hair that reached her waist.
Perhaps they'd been so worried about him that both were sobbing.
Both women had furrowed brows and were bawling their eyes out.
He couldn't handle this.
Ashtein gave an awkward smile.
“……Let's go back. It's cold.”
And so, the incident came to an end for now.
It had been a damn exhausting day.
* * *
The three descended Mount Ascendio and arrived at an inn in town.
Ashtein ordered a simple dinner, and it was brought out right away.
Aria and Azazel ate with their eyes half closed.
Ashtein thought it was such a rare sight that it was worth preserving in a painting.
“How about we split up the rooms like this? What do you two think?”
“……Whatever works.”
“……Same.”
Aria and Azazel would share a room, while Ashtein would use the room Azazel had been staying in.
It was Ashtein's way of being considerate, figuring the two women might be more comfortable sharing a room.
The two women entered their room utterly exhausted and collapsed face-down onto the bed.
They were so perfectly in sync that anyone seeing them might think they'd rehearsed it.
They buried their faces in the same position, then turned to the side at about the same time.
And their eyes met.
It might have been awkward, but they both chuckled.
Maybe surviving a crisis and hardship together had brought them closer.
“I'm so sleepy, but I can't fall asleep. Is this insomnia?”
“Really? Me too.”
“Want to talk or something?”
“Sure.”
The two chatted quietly.
“……What a mess of a day. I cried, got angry, cried again, and now I'm laughing. This is the first time in my life my emotions have swung around this much.”
Aria agreed with Azazel's not-quite-a-complaint.
“I know. I feel the same.”
“I feel like I've aged ten years.”
“For someone who's just been through ten years' worth of life, you still look beautiful.”
Aria's compliment lacked the insincerity people often showed.
Her tone was plain and sincere.
Azazel was genuinely happy about that.
Though it was hard to show it.
“……Saintess, are you good at giving fake compliments?”
“I used to be, but not anymore.”
Azazel's lips puckered.
“What does that mean? Was it a fake compliment or not?”
“I mean it wasn't a fake compliment.”
“Would it kill you to make yourself easier to understand?”
The Witch was whining like a child.
Was this how Azazel acted when she was being spoiled?
She continued in a quiet voice.
“……And you're pretty too, Aria.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Azazel was used to hurting people with her sharp words.
Perhaps that was why a conversation made up entirely of compliments felt so awkward.
“You don't have to thank me. Pretty is pretty, right? I can't call you ugly.”
The sharp tone came free with the compliment.
For some reason, Azazel reached out without even realizing it.
Aria noticed and promptly took the hand reaching toward her.
“Eep, what? Why are you holding my hand?”
She jolted as if someone had dropped ice down her back.
Had she thought Aria wouldn't take her hand?
Aria gently stroked her small hand and said,
“You looked like you wanted me to hold it.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“……….”
Was it strange for two women to hold hands?
She tried to say something, but no voice came out.
So Azazel silently fidgeted with Aria's hand.
Aria asked,
“Is there something you want to say?”
“……Hic.”
She hiccupped.
The question had suddenly hit the mark, and she'd been startled.
“Did I say something surprising?”
“…No, I was just surprised. It felt like you'd read my mind.”
“How could I read the Witch's thoughts?”
“……I feel like you could, Aria.”
She was an adorable girl.
Aria let go of Azazel's hand and brushed her forehead.
Azazel's face flushed pink like a balsam flower.
It was a sight to behold, color spreading across her pale skin.
“Azazel, your head feels hot. Would you like some cold water?”
“N-no, no, I'm fine. More importantly, what I, what I wanted to say was…….”
She was visibly stiff.
What could Aria say to ease the tension?
Aria recalled what Ashtein had said to her.
Tell me when you're comfortable, he had said.
“I'm not trying to rush you. Say it whenever you want to, Azazel.”
After she said that, silence fell.
How many minutes passed?
Azazel asked haltingly,
“……I was curious why you tried to save me, even shoving me out of the way.”
“‘That time’—when do you mean?”
“Before that tin can cut me.”
“Oh, that's what you wanted to know?”
Azazel nodded.
Their eyes met.
“I don't know either. My body moved on its own.”
“……Liar.”
“It's true.”
“………Are you an idiot?”
“I told you sincerely, and you're calling me an idiot? You're so cold and harsh.”
“N-no. I didn't mean to, to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“……Damn it, I feel like I'm getting dragged along by you.”
Aria smiled with old-fashioned grace.
Azazel wondered if this was what having an older sister would feel like.
Speaking of an older sister, she suddenly got curious.
How old Aria was.
Even if she asked carefully, it was the kind of question that could draw a sensitive reaction.
At times like this, it was better to be bold.
“Aria, you…… how old are you?”
Still, she couldn't help feeling nervous.
What if Aria snapped that it was rude?
What if she got angry over such a sensitive question?
“Oh, me? Hmm, I'm twenty-one this year.”
Aria answered more readily than expected.
“You're the older one. I'm twenty.”
“Huh? You're twenty? I thought you were fifteen or sixteen at most…….”
“What?”
A ferocious, wildcat-like gaze bore into Aria.
What could Aria do if that's how old she looked?
She found it unfair.
“A-anyway, that means you're older than me, Aria?”
“Hmm, I suppose so?”
“Then can I call you big sister?”
It was a direct question, no room to dodge.
Big sister.
It was an unfamiliar form of address.
But she supposed she'd have to get used to it.
After a moment's thought, Aria smiled.
“I'd be happy to.”
The moment she got permission, Azazel changed how she addressed her.
“Big Sister Aria.”
“……Yes.”
Hearing it so suddenly made embarrassment wash over her.
“Big Sister Aria, Big Sister Aria, Big Sister Aria.”
“……You only have to say it once.”
“It just has an interesting ring to it.”
And so Aria was teased with the title several times.
Azazel abruptly sat up.
“Ugh, I feel gross, Big Sis. Want to take a bath together?”
“……What?”
“I've always wanted to try it once. I've always bathed alone.”
Always alone.
Those words struck Aria as sad.
“Sure, I don't see why not.”
* * *
Ashtein gazed through the window at the softly lit landscape outside.
The dark clouds had cleared, and a round full moon had appeared.
It was bright.
“Carelin.”
His voice was low.
-I'm listening, Ashtein.
“Did you know from the start that it was a trial?”
-……What if I did?
“Why didn't you tell me?”
-There are things one can only see when driven to desperation.
Silence hung in the air.
It wasn't a gentle silence.
“Even if it was necessary, what you did wasn't right. You deliberately led me into it, didn't you?”
-It was something that couldn't be allowed to happen.
“That's just your own arbitrary judgment.”
-I won't deny it. I did lead you into it.
Ashtein snapped at the sword in a low, growling voice.
“Trust matters, Carelin.”
-………I know.
“Aria and Azazel might not have noticed, but that man's face was ‘identical’ to mine. You knew that, didn't you?”
-…….
The holy sword, usually so chatty, was silent now, as if it had swallowed a mouthful of honey.
Ashtein took a breath, then continued.
“You said you've lived for 500 years.”
-I did.
“Is the truth really in the royal palace of Gallia?”
-Do you want me to answer?
“Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me.”
-There is truth there.
“Then I'll ask again. Do you know the truth he was talking about?”
-I do. But I don't think it's something you need to know yet.
“And it'll be all right for me to know if I go to the royal palace of Gallia?”
-By then, it should be all right.
“Carelin.”
-Yes, Hero.
“There won't be a second time. If Aria or Azazel gets hurt because of a problem you bring on us without warning me, I'll either break you or throw you away. So give me a heads-up in advance.”
-……I'll do so if possible.
One night.
It was a secret conversation between the holy sword and the Hero.