Chapter 14

Epilogue The Hero’s Party Regroups I’m back in the cheap inn in Vale Village. I lean back lightly in my chair and put my feet up on the table. A few hours have passed since the incident in the forest. I take a gulp of water and wet my lips as I continue my report. “Yes, it was a black-blood. A vampire. Stage three, but his abilities weren’t all that advanced. Honestly, he was kind of an idiot. Anyway, it appears the Demon Lord has keen eyes on his side to have discovered the hero already.” “A vampire…,” considers Creio. “Has a vampire ever appeared in the Forest of the Vale before?” “No, this is a first. I checked with Helios, too, and he said there was no sign of a vampire in the days leading up to this.” “A vampire with the protection of an evil god, huh…?” “If he’d had more combat experience, it could’ve been a close one.” It was a high-risk situation, and it’s fortunate we won. It was lucky I encountered the enemy before Toudou—and that the enemy himself was so careless. We can’t expect things to go so well next time. “He anticipated the hero’s arrival, though I didn’t get to ask how. Now, once they realize they can’t get in contact with Zarpahn, they’ll be convinced of the hero’s presence and set out in pursuit. We’ve just passed the one-month marker.” I glance at the calendar on the wall. Our time to warm up has run out. I stand and walk over to the window and glance outside discreetly. “What happened to the hero and his party?” “I put them to sleep and brought them to the church. They didn’t sustain any major damage. When they wake up, I’ll have the church send them on their way to the next town.” They didn’t wake up at all on the way to the church, so they haven’t seen my face. Or at least, I don’t think they have. Toudou keeps showing up and playing the hero at all the wrong times. Even though I was the one at the most risk in that battle, he interfered with his nonsense. Why didn’t he just listen when I told him not to do anything? As for Glacia—who has thus far proven to be useless, only ever talking about how hungry she is—I asked Helios to have a word with her. It would be good if she could be a little more helpful. “Hmm…,” says Creio thoughtfully, perhaps understanding my frustration. Then he makes an unexpected proposal. “Ares, would you rather resign from this mission?” “I can’t resign.” Closing the poorly fitting window, I sit back down. It’s a foolish question. I need to follow Toudou and the party on to the next town. I don’t have time to think about something stupid like quitting. “Isn’t this a lot of trouble? There are other crusaders who could fill the role.” “None of them is as strong as I am.” This is absolutely an annoying, stressful job. I feel like I’m babysitting children. I have a much easier time in battle, where my head is clear of distraction, swinging my mace at my demon enemies. But the cardinal was right to choose me for this mission. Among the ten-odd active crusaders, I’m the strongest. I also have the most battle experience and the highest level. “No need for concern. This is business, and I’m a professional. No matter how stressful or irritating Toudou is, I can use holy energy to heal the headaches. I’m getting used to them anyway. Don’t worry. I’m not going to break Toudou’s head open. Just today, I carried his defenseless, sleeping body to the church without putting a scratch on him.” “…Right, that’s all well and good, but…” He goes silent, hesitating. The transmission stays connected. I wait awhile, and finally he continues. “Ares, before we dispatched you on this mission, there was actually another candidate we were considering.” This is the first I’ve heard of this. Crusaders are nearly always on a job—I can’t picture there being another available candidate. I know they’re not foolish enough to send out Gregorio. I wait silently. Finally, Creio says it. “The Saint.” “…What?” The Saint is an iconic presence in the Church of Ahz Gried. She’s a young woman more deeply protected by the God of Order than any other and is the most advanced user of the holy arts. She’s the one who performed the hero summoning to call Toudou here from the other world. “Right up until the hero summoning was performed, we had intended to make the Saint a member of the hero’s party. The reason we called you away from your mission was to take her place.” It’s true that I was called in on extremely short notice. I’d just finished my preparations for another mission and was about to set out when I was told my orders had changed. “Why wasn’t she dispatched? She would have fit Toudou’s…preferences.” The Saint is powerful. She doesn’t have much combat power, but her divine protection from the God of Order is on a completely different level than other priests. I don’t know much about the Saint personally, but I’m sure Toudou wouldn’t have expelled her from his party. Creio answers my question in a tone one rarely hears from a long-standing leader of the Church—contempt. “…The hero’s disposition was…different than we expected. His character itself was different than the heroes recorded in our histories. That was the reason for the change. You understand, don’t you, Ares?” “…I do.” “This is the same reason the low-level Limis Al Friedia and Aria Rizas were chosen. Of course, the School of Swordsmanship and the School of Sorcery have their own motives, but this was the primary motivator.” As Creio explains, I recall the uncomfortable feeling I had time and again when I was a member of the party. His affinity for women aside, there was something in all his actions that resembled…could it be madness? It makes sense to me that the Church would hesitate to trust him with the Saint. But if that’s the case, couldn’t it be risky even to allow him to level up? Well, supposing the Church does see him as a risk, they still need to provide him with support. Which leads me to think that…I was chosen to clean up the mess if things took a wrong turn. The thought gives me a chill, and I shake my head to dispel it. At this point, I’m stronger than Toudou, without a doubt. I probably will be for a while longer yet, so there’s no reason to overthink this now. But I should at least be mentally prepared for the possibility. “Ares, don’t trouble yourself over it. All I’m really trying to say is that, yes, there is a reason you were chosen. And that you’re the only one with the ability to accomplish this mission. Do you understand?” “…Yes.” I understand. I’m prepared to do what I can—what I must. My adversary is both the Demon Lord and the hero himself. I can sense a little smile creeping across Creio’s face. “Very well, then. I’m putting my faith in you, Ares Crown, level-ninety-three crusader of the first order of Out Crusade. Continue to fulfill your duty to support Naotsugu Toudou…and defeat Demon Lord Kranos.” “Understood.” The transmission cuts out. I feel mentally strained. I sit there in a daze for a moment, then get to my feet. I will carry out my orders. It doesn’t matter what kind of person the hero is. The hero has divine blessings, and I have backup from the Church. If we combine those forces, that should be enough to defeat the Demon Lord. Anyone could do it, right? I’ll raise the hero’s level and extinguish any obstacles in our way. It’s that simple. In the hallway, I can hear Amelia’s light footsteps. She’s just coming back from gathering information on Toudou. I ready myself for the report and open the map on the table to discuss our next move. The current level of the Holy Warrior Naotsugu Toudou is—27. Then Naotsugu Toudou’s eyes open. Still half-asleep, he looks around but doesn’t recognize the room he’s in. He slowly sits up, and the armor protecting his shoulders, arms, and torso rubs together, clinking as he moves. His hair sticks to his face from sweat. He brushes it aside, his fingers shaking. He had a dream—a terrible dream. But he can’t remember any of it. Dropping his feet off the side of the bed, Toudou stands. There is no strength in his legs, and he staggers forward but somehow manages to remain upright without falling. His head throbs. He presses his palm to his forehead to suppress a headache and mumbles softly. “Where am I…?” The more time that passes, the more he remembers from the night before. He realized he needed to go to the forest. He went to fight the demon in order to protect others from harm. They had little chance of winning, but they still had to stand against the demon. Toudou didn’t make the decision to go based on the likelihood of his victory. He didn’t this time, and he won’t next time. That’s what it means to do the right thing. He remembers the light that sprang forth in the depths of the woods, and the demon—the first he’d ever seen—and the masked man who fought it. What time is it now? There isn’t a clock in the room, but he senses he must have been sleeping for a long time. Then it occurs to him. Where are Limis and Aria…? There is no one else in the room. His memory of the night before ceases at the sudden explosion and the shock wave—he thought the impact would blow him to pieces. Thankfully, he can still move his limbs. He hasn’t taken any damage, but he might have his armor to thank for that. At that moment, Toudou hears the sound of footsteps outside the door. The lock clicks, and the wooden door slowly opens. “Father Helios…” “I see you’re awake, Sir Toudou.” Helios nods as if he knew it already. Toudou remembers his calm expression and cunning smile. “If you’re here, Helios, that must mean…this is the church.” “Yes. You’re in a room at the Vale Village Church. Sir Toudou, you were involved in a battle with a follower of darkness.” “I…see… What about the others?” “All are safe and without injury.” Toudou breathes a sigh of relief. Helios leads Toudou to another room where Limis, Aria, and Glacia have already gathered. “Sir Nao, are you unharmed?” asks Aria. “…Yeah. I don’t feel so great, but…I’m fine.” “We were really worried, since you were the only one who didn’t wake up…,” says Limis, walking over to him. Toudou smiles weakly and apologizes. Helios picks up a pitcher and pours water into a cup, handing it to the hero. Toudou realizes how thirsty he is. After giving Toudou a moment to settle in, Helios starts to talk. “Now that Toudou is awake, let me explain the situation. Actually, it’s rather simple. You all were caught up in a battle with a demon—a black-blood—and you passed out. Then you were brought here. Do you have any memory of this?” “…Yes,” says Toudou. He looks to Aria and Limis. They both nod in response. Only Glacia doesn’t look up, swinging her legs back and forth from her chair. Helios nods and continues. He explains that all the items from the campsite have been stored using the magical tool. They had a few external wounds, but all were treated. Lastly, what caused them to faint was the blast from the demon’s self-destruction. At this, Toudou’s eyes grow wide. “…And the man who was fighting it?” “He is safe. It was he who carried you all here.” Toudou heaves another relieved sigh. Helios raises his eyebrows at him. “Now, I have a message for you from that man.” “A message…?” repeats Toudou anxiously. Although he doesn’t know exactly how he impacted it, he understands that his interference in the battle was not a good thing. “Well, he used a lot of…strong language, but I suppose I don’t need to repeat that. I’ve already discussed with Aria why you didn’t go where you reported to the Church that you were headed. We respect your personal decisions, but it’s not as though the Church doesn’t make its own plans. It was not necessary for you to interfere in that battle.” “…I see.” When he arrived at the scene and saw the fighting, Toudou was immediately overwhelmed. He knew that every single move they made was far beyond what he could do himself. The reason he got involved in spite of that was because he felt strongly that he had to do his part to help. He knows his intentions were right, but naturally, he feels badly about the way things turned out. Limis has an irritated expression on her face. Toudou gives her a look. She probably doesn’t understand why they’re being scolded for a well-intentioned action. However, that action had unintended consequences—it’s better not to argue the point. “What’s done cannot be changed,” says Helios. “However, the next time that you intend to take such measures, it would be helpful if you could let us know.” “…Even though you won’t dispatch us a priest,” Limis grouses under her breath. Helios smiles at Limis but continues without addressing her comment. “The Church is your ally. Of course, we have no authority to obstruct the will of the Holy Warrior. That is why this is not an obligation… It’s simply a request.” “Right… I understand,” says Toudou with a nod. It’s true they acted prematurely. They should have reported to the Church before entering the woods. The reason they failed to do so was that Toudou did not entirely trust the Church. Satisfied with Toudou’s reply, Helios moves on to his main question. “Now, I want to ask you something, Sir Toudou… This was your first experience with a demon… What impression did it leave on you?” Toudou recalls the events of the night before. Although the demon looked human, the moment he saw it, he knew for certain it was not. As soon as it entered his field of vision, the air around him changed. His heart started beating faster, and a feeling of despair entered his mind. He couldn’t understand how something like that could be in human form. He could feel the evil—he could feel it in his bones. He knew this was the natural enemy of humanity. When he saw it lying facedown on the ground, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of compassion. He was constantly on high alert. He didn’t even feel peace of mind when the thing was beaten and half-dead. That was an enemy. He was sure of it. He knew it needed to be killed. The father, having himself fought many demons, can read Toudou’s expression. “That is a demon, Toudou. What you will have to defeat is at least ten times stronger—a demon lord so powerful that no human in this world can defeat it.” “Ten times stronger…?” Toudou can’t even imagine that. The demon was strong. He was totally overwhelmed by the sight of the battle. His body went numb, and he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Evil and order. The collision of darkness and light. Until last night, Toudou had never really considered the possibility of his own defeat. Watching the battle unfold in front of him completely changed his mind-set. Toudou didn’t understand what most of the monster’s abilities were, but he could feel their power. And the power of the man with the mask. “They were strong…really strong. Both the demon and the man in the mask.” “Indeed.” “If I fought that demon myself, I’m sure I would lose.” Toudou thought he was strong. And he thought he had become stronger. The hero possesses the divine blessing of the Three Deities and Eight Spirit Kings that govern this world. During his training at the castle, he was recognized for his talent and even given the equipment of the heroes of past generations. But Naotsugu Toudou cannot imagine a victory against that demon. And then there’s the man who crushed the demon single-handedly. Just remembering the battle, Toudou feels tense and his heart beats faster. There is no human in this world who can contend with the Demon Lord. By that logic, Toudou will eventually need to become stronger than that masked man. Just thinking about this, Toudou’s hands start shaking. “Will I be able to win…?” he asks, voicing his misgivings. “Sir Toudou,” says Helios, looking at him intently. “Do you still have the will to do so?” The will. Toudou looks startled by the question. His strength, his knowledge, and his experience are all insufficient. He is lacking in every area—except for willpower. He hasn’t lost his will and his purpose. He wouldn’t even think of abandoning his mission now. This isn’t the first time he’s faced an impossible enemy. “Helios… Even before I was summoned here, I wanted to change the world…but before, I didn’t have the power.” Toudou takes a deep breath and retrieves his weapon from the storage ring. In his hand is a long, shining sword—the holy sword Ex. The sharpness of the blade reflects the will of its wielder. By now, Toudou’s hand has stopped shaking. The brilliant shine of the holy sword is proof in itself that Toudou is still the hero. “But I have power now. I may not be strong enough yet, but I will win. No matter who my opponent is—even if they are far more powerful than I am. I…I am here to save this world.” “I see. Then it seems there is no reason for me to be concerned.” There aren’t many people who would stick to their will after an encounter with a demon. “Come to think of it, Toudou, are you aware of the human level limit?” “Level limit?” Toudou looks over to Aria and Limis. They shake their heads. “It appears you are not aware. One theory held by the church is that the maximum level a human can attain is one hundred.” Toudou’s current level is 27. He can’t begin to imagine how long it would take to reach level 100. Helios continues. “As far as the Church is aware, the number of people to have reached that level is just three. And those three did not achieve it by leveling up in the ordinary way.” “The ordinary way…?” Helios nods. Then he laughs. “First of all, it would be good for you to set level one hundred as your goal. If you, already possessing great divine blessing, were to reach that level, you would certainly be the most powerful warrior in the world. You absolutely must defeat the Demon Lord, Sir Toudou.” Helios holds his hand high in the air, and from his palm, a white light shines down on Toudou. “Your current level is twenty-seven. You require thirty-two thousand six hundred and fifty-seven more life force units to reach your next level. I pray for your good fortune in the war with the Demon Lord.” They return to the inn. Toudou takes a hot shower to wash away his fatigue, and then they all gather around the table. Everyone is still tired, but they need to plan their next move as soon as possible. “Thank you all for your support in the forest. I’m sorry my actions caused so much trouble.” “No, we all share the responsibility,” says Aria. “It was me who jumped to the wrong conclusion to begin with…” Toudou smiles wearily at her and shakes his head. He was the one to make the final call. He looks at Aria and Limis. Spreading the map open on the table, he thinks about something Helios told them. “I’ve been thinking our next destination should be…Yutith’s Tomb. Not Golem Valley.” Limis and Aria exchange glances. “Why?” asks Aria with surprise. The village headman already rejected that idea. “In order to find a priest for the party.” “In order to find a priest?” “Right.” Toudou taps his finger on the map. He still looks tired, but his eyes are calm and have some energy left in them. The encounter with the demon and the priest who defeated it was a shock to Toudou. “Seeing a demon with my own eyes, I understood how badly we need a priest. Even if we can get by without one for the time being, once we have to start fighting demons, that will be our weakness.” “Ah—I see your point… I suppose that’s right.” “At first, I thought I would be able to cover that role myself. I can heal and make prisms…” “And if necessary, we could just stock up on healing potions…” This is what they discussed before. They would prioritize leveling up. They tried to find a priest, but there was no knowing when they would get one to join the party. Instead, they gathered a large quantity of high-potency healing medicine. “So…what’s different now?” asks Limis, raising an eyebrow. “You said yourself that we should put off finding a priest until later.” “But that won’t work! I see it now… I know what I’m lacking.” Limis looks puzzled. “Eradication techniques!” exclaims Toudou, nodding for emphasis. The image of the masked man shooting out countless arrows of light is burned into Toudou’s memory. They came down like meteors, destroying all the demon’s dark arrows. Arrows of light to cleanse the darkness. That sight was Toudou’s only ray of hope as he despaired at the great difference between the demon’s power and his own. “That power will undoubtedly be important in future battles. The sooner we have it, the better,” he says excitedly. “Well,” says Aria. “It certainly would benefit us to have those techniques…” Having witnessed the sight as well, Aria begins to understand the reason for his proposal. “The Great Tomb is where priests go to level up, right? I think it would be a good place to look for someone to join the party.” Limis and Aria consider this. “We may not be able to gain as much experience points there as in Golem Valley, but once we get a priest in our party, we can head over to Golem Valley right away.” “Surely, there should be a large number of priests at the Great Tomb…,” says Aria. “We might be able to find someone.” The tomb is a place where solo priests go to level up and also where mercenary parties accompany their priests to help them level up. Aria continues. “However…there are a few issues.” Toudou looks confused. “First, even if we go to the Great Tomb, it might not be possible for you to learn the eradication techniques that you saw yesterday.” “…Why?” “Because most priests won’t have learned such advanced techniques. The man yesterday must have been an eradication specialist.” Aria had heard talk of priests who specialize in demon exorcism, and besides, she could tell he wasn’t just a normal priest. “But any priest should at least have the ability to use those techniques, right?” “Priests are a support class. Most can probably use some degree of eradication techniques, but it isn’t a vital skill. The priest’s role is to cast buffs and to heal, and typically, other party members handle the offense.” Toudou recalls that Ares said the same sort of thing. But he wouldn’t need to learn all the techniques. “As long as they’re able to use some eradication techniques, they should be able to teach me—” “There’s a second problem. As a rule, priests will only teach holy techniques to other priests.” All mercenaries are aware of this, mainly because they’ve all thought of learning the techniques themselves. “What…? But Ares taught me, didn’t he?” “It appears to be part of their creed. I’ve heard rumors that it has to do with the Church’s rights to the techniques, but people don’t talk about it openly.” “But I learned holy techniques from Ares, didn’t I?” “That’s because Ares is…unusual. He also uses bladed tools and eats monster flesh.” A disgusted look appears on her face. Before meeting Ares, Aria had only known priests who were very strict about the creed, so this was a shock to her. Then when he offered her monster flesh to eat, she felt like her own faith was being tested. “Do you think they’d make an exception for the Holy Warrior?” “I don’t know, but I think it’s not likely. After all, the Church is uncompromising on certain points.” Toudou thinks on this, his expression grim. Trying to encourage him, Aria says, “It is true that we need a priest. It might not be a bad idea to go to the Great Tomb. Right, Limis?” “Well, I guess either place is fine for me…,” Limis says indifferently. She had been listening with little interest. Glacia sits across from her, frowning. “But…if you want to learn eradication techniques, rather than going so far away for it, why don’t you just have Ares teach you? I ran into him just a few days ago—he’s probably still in the village.” “?!” Aria turns to Limis, a look of astonishment on her face. Toudou has a similar reaction. Leaning his elbows on the table, he runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “We can’t do that. I forced him out of the party. How am I supposed to ask him for a favor now?” “I mean, I asked him if he could help us find a new priest.” “Limis—you did? You have more guts than me.” She’d told Toudou that she ran into Ares but not that she went so far as to ask him a favor. “I don’t think it would be so bad just to ask him…” “No way. There’s no way I could… I told him I wouldn’t have any men in the party.” Toudou rests his head on the table and slams his fist down. Limis jumps. Aria looks down at him wearily. “On that point, to be honest…I’ve been thinking we may need to give it up.” “I know… I know.” He slams his fist down again, hitting the table almost hard enough to break it. Aria continues calmly. “It’s going to be difficult to find a female priest, but that aside…there are other, more pressing issues.” “I said I know, didn’t I?! Dammit… Shouldn’t magical armor form to the body of the wearer? Why does it have magic to reduce its weight but not to adjust its size?! What idiot made this?! They summoned me here to be the hero, and look what I have to deal with!” “Huh? What are you talking about?” asks Limis, looking confused. Aria tries to stop herself from smiling, but it slips out. Toudou is still for a few seconds. He finally resigns himself to saying it. “The hero’s armor—the holy armor Fried…it’s gotten too tight for me. It’s because my chest has gotten bigger… It’s already so uncomfortable. If I go on like this, pretty soon I won’t be able to wear it anymore.” Limis chokes back laughter. Teary-eyed, Toudou grabs her shoulders and shakes her back and forth. “This is bad, Limis! It’s not something to laugh about—it’s terrible! Until now, I’ve been able to hide it, since my chest wasn’t that big to begin with…but the more I level up, the bigger it gets, and the armor doesn’t fit me anymore.” “N-Nao—quit shaking me—I—I get it already—” “No, you don’t. You don’t get it, Limis! This is the whole point. I’m a different gender than all the heroes who came before me. ‘There’s never been a female Holy Warrior before,’ they told me. It’s not like it’s my fault—they’re the ones who summoned me!” “Please try to stay calm,” says Aria. “We might be able to have it adjusted by a blacksmith or—” “No, we can’t! We can’t! What if it’s made with some kind of metal blessed by the gods? What kind of blacksmith could repair that?!” “Well, um… There might be a…legendary blacksmith…” “Where?!” Toudou lays her face on the table and whimpers, her energy exhausted. “Plus, if they only fixed the chest part of the armor…they’d know for sure I’m a woman. This isn’t a joke. They told me to make sure the kingdom and Church don’t find out… But still, I’m the hero. I’m supposed to be humanity’s hope.” Aria looks at the Holy Warrior sympathetically and consoles her. “…But, Lady Nao, we’ve reached the limit with the binding. Isn’t it already causing you considerable discomfort?”