Leon turned his back and crouched down. At first, Alice seemed reluctant, but soon she placed her arms around Leon’s neck and let him lift her off the ground.
The ghoul began to walk, dragging his left leg behind him and carrying his immobilized apprentice.
“W-wow! Just look at that!”
It seemed the holy sword had truly purged the village of monsters.
All that remained of them were their Testament Stones, shining brightly.
“You’re wonderful, Master! I can’t believe you slew all these monsters in one go!”
“It wasn’t me,” Leon replied. “It was the sword. It’s not a power I can call upon whenever I like.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. The sword’s power is finite. Every time I use it, it loses strength. Eventually, it’ll just be an ordinary lump of sharpened metal. For it to restore its powers, it needs to be kept in the sheath.”
“It’s not like the sacred weapons I’ve heard about in stories at all. But look.” Alice motioned at the sight unfolding before her eyes. “Look at what it made for us. It’s as though they’re lighting our way.”
Those stones were a testament to the lives of the humans their bearers once were. Now the sight of them all glittering in unison was really something to behold. Alice gazed at it wistfully before saying…
“I was nothing but a burden once again, wasn’t I, Master?”
“Not at all. If you hadn’t been there, I would have died.”
Leon couldn’t believe how gentle, how mild, his voice sounded. Perhaps Alice noticed it too, for she smiled and added. “I won’t hold you back next time. I promise. You’ll see; I’ll be the one protecting you.”
It was the same thing she swore in Emilia’s workshop. However, this time, Leon felt the warmth within those words. It entered his body, melting his heart.
“I trust you,” he said. And this time, it wasn’t a lie. “I’ll teach you everything I know. And until you grow strong enough to protect me, I’ll…”
Leon paused. Try as he might, he couldn’t say what was in his heart. The voice inside his head told him, You aren’t good enough.
I want to protect her…but I can’t.
The chains of Leon’s past bound him, forbade him. So while Leon knew how he felt about her, he couldn’t say it out loud.
“Master? Is something the matter?”
“…No, it’s nothing,” said Leon, shaking his head and bottling up the words he really wanted to say. “I’m looking forward to seeing great things from you. Maybe even greater than myself, Alice.”
Leon forced himself to say something bland and inoffensive. To himself, at least. But for whatever reason, Alice jumped when she heard those words.
“M-M-M-M-M-Master?! D-d-d-d-d-did you just…?!”
“…Hm? Did I say something wrong?”
“N-no, not…not really. Did you not even notice?”
“Notice what? I don’t sense any enemies around.”
“Not that either!” she shouted, her clear and beautiful voice quite agitated now. “You just called me by my name for the first time ever!”
“…Did I?”
“Yes, you did! That’s the first time you’ve called me anything other than ‘her’ and ‘the girl’! I was really upset about it!”
“Oh.”
“But now…ehehe…you said my name…”
She seemed extremely happy and a bit more forward than usual.
“Er…um! Do you think…you could…say my name again?!”
Leon suddenly got the feeling that if he granted her request, the pair’s relationship would be headed in a very intimate direction. The reason was obvious: for Leon, refusing to say Alice’s name had been his last line of defense. Beyond that point, he could no longer pretend she was just a mere acquaintance. That was why, even just subconsciously, he had avoided using it. He couldn’t allow himself to make friends if he wasn’t capable of protecting them. It was his penance, and he couldn’t just ignore that.
However…
Even if he was incapable, he had a duty to uphold. A duty to make her happy.
“…Alice.”
Leon shook off his self-loathing and spoke her name, just as she requested.
“Ehe…! Ehehehehehe…!”
Alice looked shy as she laughed adorably. Hearing her voice, Leon could barely contain himself. And so…
“O-one more! One more time, please!”
“Alice.”
“Oh! Hooh-hooh-hooh! A-again, please!”
“Alice.”
“Oho! Ho-ho-hooh! …Again!”
“Alice.”
Each time he fulfilled her request, Leon thought.
I was the one who took this girl’s mother from her. Even if it was to save her, that’s an incontrovertible truth. Which means…I must step into that role. I need to be there for her daughter instead of her. I need to make her daughter happy in her place.
And so, this was not something Leon was doing for himself.
With that excuse resounding in his mind, he continued.
“Alice.”
“Oo-hoo-hoo-hoo…!”
And for that girl, he swore a silent vow.
He would not betray her, as he had done.
He would grant her everything she desired.
And he would never make her upset again.
…Until the time came to fulfil his promise.
“Hmmm, he’s completely forgotten, hasn’t he?”
High above the clouds, in a pure-white world where even starlight failed to reach, ■■■ looked down upon the pair. He unfurled his glorious white wings, lording over his heavenly domain.
“What love could be so strong it makes you forget your archnemesis? …Haha, I’m a little jealous.”
■■■ narrowed his violet eyes and reminisced. He never used to believe in fate until now. Now he could see the two were bound to each other.
“What a coincidence. Both times, you almost noticed me.”
Karna Village was only a test of his own power. A way to see how much had returned. And the experiment here, at the Village of the Kin-Eaters, proved it. He was ready. And who should turn up at that exact moment but him.
It was the perfect opportunity to settle who was stronger, ■■■ or Leon? And the answer was precisely what he had been expecting.
“What have you been doing these past four years? Oh, you haven’t changed at all. But that’s okay. That means there’s still a reason to kill you. You’re still the same shameless coward you’ve always been.”
His lips curled up into a grin. A twisted smile upon a cherubic face.
“My old wounds have completely healed. Nothing stands in my way now.”
He looked down at the man carrying his disciple upon his back. At Leon Crossheart.
And his cheeks reddened as he declared, in the spirit of a lover placing a curse upon their beau,
“I want to see it again. Your face as you’re dragged down to the very pits of hell.”