Chapter 73
Those days had been precious.
The foundation of her life.
Memories that had become vivid scenery, shaping her present happiness.
Though tattered and torn, she sometimes leaned on those memories to rest.
-Your Highness.
-I baked today's cookies with extra chocolate chips just for you.
But then.
-It seems they're to your liking.
-Ahem, this is so gratifying that I'd like to give you even more.
-Of course, if I give you any more snacks, Sir Refil will probably scold me too···.
Lies.
She had heard that it had all been lies.
Even that had merely been manipulated by someone else.
-A full fifteen years.
-Thank you for being foolish enough to believe me.
“You were merely being used,” those once-gentle lips sneered.
Even as she hated and resented him, she had cherished something precious in one corner of her heart.
Now she realized that even that had been a delusion.
‘If only.’
If only she had never awakened for a long, long time.
She had wished that even those shattered memories could remain.
“······.”
How much time had passed?
Carmilla opened her eyes.
A hazy, half-conscious field of vision.
A person's back was visible a short distance ahead.
A boy wearing a snow-white mask, always smiling like a clown.
‘Victor.’
The girl knew.
Lies.
A world rife with lies.
She knew that it wasn't only the memories of the past deceiving her.
Carmilla was foolish and innocent, but she couldn't bring herself to be stupid.
The kindness that echoed in her ears pierced her heart.
-Your Highness.
The girl knew.
One more thing.
She knew someone who was lying to her.
Because even though she had vaguely noticed, she had pretended not to know all along.
-My name is Victor.
-By order of the late king, I am the knight assigned to guard Your Highness.
Carmilla Blandir.
The girl's world was filled with all kinds of lies.
***
I stood still in the center of the plaza.
A message appeared before my eyes.
Ding-!
[You have cleared the sub-quest!]
-Title: Lunar Eclipse (月食)
-Content: Defeat the boss monster ‘The Corrupted Black Knight’.
[You have achieved an impossible accomplishment!]
[You defeated an enemy that could not be defeated!]
[A special reward will be provided. Please check your inventory.]
The apostle summoned using vampires and ghouls as sacrifices.
The Black Knight had vanished before it could even cause any trouble.
Because the colossal stake I had prepared had cleanly pierced through its upper body.
The apostle crumbled into ash.
“Phew··· It's really over.”
A one-shot kill.
There was nothing in particular left to clean up.
The vampires and ghouls had all been consumed as sacrifices to summon the apostle.
All that remained was a single pureblood vampire, sprawled on the ground with his life force drained away.
‘Perfect.’
The village was safe.
No danger remained.
“······.”
Jersian had worn a dazed expression the entire time.
It was hard to say whether he looked hollow or completely out of it.
He looked like a man who had bought a sports car on a full loan, only to have it half-destroyed.
With his limbs severed and his body emaciated, he looked pitiful beyond words.
‘He used up every last bit of his life force, so if I leave him like that, he'll die on his own.’
Let's get some rest.
I stowed away the Godslayer Bow, which had served its purpose.
I had used up my only stake, but if I stored it for now, it might prove useful again someday.
‘My whole body really is throbbing.’
I lightly massaged my arm.
As I paused to catch my breath, a voice suddenly came from behind me.
“Sir Victor···!”
“Ah.”
It was Alice.
Her voice was more excited than usual.
Her face was brightly lit, as if she had safely completed her role.
“Miss Alice.”
“H-how did it go? What about over here?”
“It ended safely and successfully. From the looks of it, things at the cathedral wrapped up nicely too.”
“Yes···!”
Alice came running over in quick little steps.
The girl glanced around, brimming with excitement.
I found myself smiling fondly at that reaction.
“Something rose up from the cathedral earlier! Just like that bright-red knight we encountered during training···!”
“You mean the Black Knight? I took care of it over here.”
“I knew it···! I thought it had to be you, Sir Victor!”
“I'm glad you trusted me that much.”
“Of course. Because you're Sir Victor.”
Her blue eyes sparkled brightly.
Her hands waved back and forth, seemingly expressing her excitement.
Perhaps Alice herself hadn't realized it, because she just kept pouring out words in a high-pitched voice.
“Um, you know···! I've gotten better at handling nightmares! I can control so many more soldiers now! So earlier, when I was almost in danger after being surrounded by ghouls, I was able to protect everyone safely···!”
“I'm glad I entrusted the cathedral to you, Miss Alice.”
“I didn't go berserk, either! All the soldiers listened to me···!”
“Well done, well done. I'm truly happy to see you growing, Miss Alice.”
“That's right, I grew!”
The girl was remarkably bright and lively.
No, perhaps this was simply her true personality.
Alice had spent so long crushed beneath nightmares and trauma.
If she had grown up in a normal environment, perhaps this was what she would have been like.
“You worked hard.”
Feeling an inexplicable tenderness, I stroked the girl's head.
Her soft hair slipped gently between my fingers.
“Miss Alice.”
“Ah···.”
A light touch.
Perhaps that was when she finally came to her senses.
Alice, who had been hopping excitedly, froze in place.
Immediately afterward, heat rose rapidly across her white cheeks.
“Agh··· Wh-what···.”
The girl ducked her head.
Even her speech started to stammer again.
“S-sorry··· I was just a little, ex-excited···.”
“There's no need to shrink back. You can be proud. If it weren't for you, we couldn't have saved the villagers. You deserve praise, Miss Alice.”
“······I-is that so?”
“Of course.”
“Heh, hehe···.”
Stroke-stroke-.
I stroked her head a few more times.
Alice had certainly done more than her share in this quest.
She had rescued everyone without a single person falling behind.
Thanks to that, my status window was practically bursting at the seams.
Ding-!
[You have acquired 20 Good Deed points.]
[Remaining Good Deed points: 1860p]
Ding-!
[You have completed the hidden quest.]
-Title: The Path of the Saint
-Content: Stop the New Kingdom's plan, [Lunar Eclipse]. Clear the quest without a single casualty.
[Through your astonishing efforts, you saved all the villagers!]
-A special reward will be granted. Please check the status window.
A status window overflowing with rewards to claim.
I'd have to open them one by one after returning to the dormitory.
As I was distracted by that for a moment, the sound of someone staggering reached my ears.
“Ugh, haa···.”
Perhaps she had regained consciousness at some point; Carmilla was getting to her feet.
Her wounds had healed considerably, perhaps thanks to the ample blood packs she'd consumed.
The girl staggered forward.
Her stance looked ready to collapse at any moment.
“Your Highness? You mustn't overexert yourself yet.”
“······Victo, r.”
I hurried over and supported her.
Even so, Carmilla stubbornly kept walking.
In the end, I had no choice but to support her along the path she was taking.
“······.”
“······.”
Carmilla stopped in front of her former retainer.
Jersian lay there, horribly hacked to pieces.
Even his tenacious life seemed to be nearing its end.
His body was breaking apart, as if gradually turning to ash.
“······Jersian.”
Her delicate voice called out to her retainer.
The girl did not cry, but her exhausted breath seemed to carry tears.
The fading light in Jersian's pupils looked up at Carmilla.
“······.”
The man gave no answer.
Or perhaps he simply lacked the strength to answer.
“You really are···.”
What was she trying to say?
Carmilla began to speak, but couldn't bring herself to finish.
She turned countless words over in her mouth, but couldn't weave them into one.
“······.”
Thus, the girl had to repeat the cycle of speaking and swallowing her words for quite some time.
In the end, she closed her mouth without saying anything of note.
The princess merely stared at her former retainer.
To Carmilla, Jersian, who was dying, opened his mouth.
“Stupid··· princess···.”
“······.”
“Long live the New Kingdom···.”
“······.”
That was all.
Leaving only those words behind, Jersian stopped his ragged breathing.
His crackling, crumbling body turned entirely to ash and scattered.
Carmilla did not open her mouth until that moment.
“······.”
“······.”
The girl simply stood there.
Amid the fine ash drifting through the air, the barrier surrounding the entire village was dispelled.
Cracks spread across the bright-red ceiling, revealing the dark night sky beyond.
The world was waking up.
Ding-!
[You have cleared the main quest!]
-Title: Water Knows the Answer!
-Content: Secure the New Kingdom vampire ‘Jersian’. Make him submit through various methods of persuasion.
[Through your astonishing efforts, you defeated the target!]
-Your reward will be provided. Please check the status window.
The night was over.
Lunar Eclipse (月蝕).
The day when the continent's shadow covers the moon.
Even that darkness was torn apart by a faint ray of sunlight.
“······It's morning.”
Dawn was breaking over the horizon in the distance.
I broke the silence and whispered into Carmilla's ear.
“It's time to go back, Your Highness.”
“······.”
Carmilla gave no answer.
She merely leaned her shoulder against me as if exhausted.
Her gaze had sunk deep, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“You worked hard.”
“······.”
Even so, morning continued to dawn.
And so, the long, long night came to an end.
***
The Slayers had successfully stopped [Lunar Eclipse].
We returned to the academy for the time being.
Everyone seemed to need some rest.
Carmilla in particular lost consciousness on the way back.
Perhaps she was still recovering from internal injuries; fatigue had overcome her, and she had fallen asleep.
‘It must have been··· such a long night for Carmilla.’
A bitter feeling lingered in my mouth.
I covered the peacefully sleeping girl with a blanket.
Then I left the bedroom, leaving her soft breathing behind.
“I'm tired···.”
In the living room, I stretched.
She wasn't the only one exhausted.
I had put my body through quite a lot too, and my eyes felt like they could close at any moment.
“Still, I should do what needs to be done first.”
I forced away my sleepiness.
Then I leaned against one end of the sofa and opened the status window.
The blue screen was filled with windows I had put off checking.
Ding-!
[You have cleared the hidden quest!]
-Title: Continued Growth! Continued Balloon!
-Content: Achieve 500 parries with the growth-type weapon ‘Balloon Sword+’.
[Through your astonishing persistence, you have fulfilled the conditions!]
-As a reward, the grade of the weapon will increase.
Ding-!
[You have cleared the hidden quest.]
-Title: The Path of the Saint
-Content: Stop the New Kingdom's plan, [Lunar Eclipse]. Clear the quest without a single casualty.
[Through your astonishing efforts, you saved all the villagers!]
-A special reward will be granted. Please check the status window.
Ding-!
[You have cleared the sub-quest!]
-Title: Lunar Eclipse (月食)
-Content: Defeat the boss monster ‘The Corrupted Black Knight’.
[You defeated an enemy that could not be defeated!]
-A special reward will be provided. Please check your inventory.
Ding-!
[You have cleared the main quest!]
-Title: Water Knows the Answer!
-Content: Secure the New Kingdom vampire ‘Jersian’. Make him submit through various methods of persuasion.
[Through your astonishing efforts, you defeated the target!]
-Your reward will be provided. Please check the status window.
Well, then.
Shall I start by opening all the rewards?