Vol 2: Chapter 3: The Fool's End

Aleph is so broken that it's becoming hopeless.

The Saint and The Hero of Salvation

The Fool's End

Chris' presence disappeared down a deserted slum alley. I sat up from the bed I was sleeping in at the inn. When I tensed up even more, I felt like Chris was standing on a dead-end road.

Because Chris is my everything, I will never lose sight of her. I will never lose sight of her. Wherever I am, whoever I am with, I will never lose sight of her.

"Chris is a kind person, so she probably went out of her way to help another child who had suffered a terrible experience."

As I muttered to myself, Chefs, the Arondight sword I was carrying on my waist, began speaking to me.

["The current Saint has a very kind and gentle personality. We've been to many places together, but there wasn't a single town where she didn't help people. Her actions go beyond even the dedication of a normal human being."]

"It's because of her that I'm alive, standing here today, being hailed as the hero who saved the world. From my perspective, as someone who was saved by her, it's nothing but arrogance for someone like me to be called the savior."

["There's no need to belittle yourself like that. You've traveled to many places with the Saint, and even defeated the Demon King's army's leaders, bringing hope and security to the people. In my eyes, you are more than worthy of being called a hero."]

Chefs said that about me, but his words only made me more angry.

"Everyone should be praising Chris more than me. Every single one of them! They seem to be praising me because I have obvious powers, and looking down on my beloved Chris, who is a being made of kindness and a compassionate heart. Every time I see that attitude, I want to tear every single person in town to pieces."

["Hey, hey... don't say such ominous things, Holy Hero Aleph."]

"Sorry, but I can't control myself when it comes to about Chris. More importantly, I need to go and help Chris quickly. I need to kill all those scum who would lay hands on Chris, the person most needed in the world."

["Um, well... I agree to help the Saint. I have come to understand from our year-long journey that she has a purer heart than any other Saint I have ever seen."]

I left the inn and headed straight for the back alley, using the Hero Skill I'd acquired when Arondight recognized me: Physical Enhancement (Extreme). At first, I could only last three seconds, but after training my body through the past year of travel, I could now last nearly a minute.

I ran until the effect wore off, and I was able to get very close, so all I had to do was walk closer. I wonder who Chris is helping today.

I hope it's a girl, because if it is a guy I see and Chris is hugging him, I'll just wants to kill him instantly.

Now, smiling is important. I have to smile all the time because I'm going to meet Chris. I definitely don't want Chris to dislike me.

The young man standing in front of the entrance didn't move an inch, a fake smile plastered on his face. The leader of the group only wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible and survive. As long as he stayed here, he didn't feel alive.

“…We'll give up, and you guys can do as you like. If you’re unsure, we’ll cancel the contract here.”

The leader takes out the contract he used to buy the girl from his pocket and tells the person in front of him that he burned it and destroyed it. Anyway, he will do anything to survive. He pretends to have a poker face, but he feels like he wants to cry.

"With this, the girl is truly free. There is no more need for us here, so we can walk away, right?"

He asked the young man at the entrance again, but there was no response. He just kept smiling, eerily quiet and unnaturally. Fear began to take hold of the man.

At that moment, a girl in pure white standing at the end of the road cried out as if to offer a lifeline.

"Aleph, if they are also feeling remorseful, could you please have mercy on them and let them go...?"

The girl spoke to the young man called Aleph in front of the entrance in a slightly nervous voice. She hadn't shown even a trace of nervousness in her conversation with us.

This only emphasized the frightening nature of the strange young man before him.

"If Chris says so, I'll go along with it now. Unless Chris saying the otherwise."

The leader was truly relieved to hear those words. It seemed that the pure white girl was willing to listen to what he had to say. All he had to do was quickly run away before she changed her mind.

"The deal is done. Alright, you two, let's go."

The leader suppressed his urge to run away immediately and told his two companions as a leader. With this, they could return peacefully... or so it was supposed to be.

"Huh? Why are you scared? We have no obligation to stop and show some respect, right?"

"That's right, if the kid's contract is broken then we'll just have to get her to come in the kid's place, right?"

His two companions were far more foolish than he had expected. One of them was looking at the pure white girl with a smirk, clearly intent on taking her in the place of the discarded girl.

'This isn't good. I don't have time to think about those two. If I don't leave this place quickly, I'll be killed too.' The leader intuitively realized this. He made up his mind to abandon those idiots.'

"I see. In that case, do as you like. If you're still alive, let's meet at our usual place..."

With that brief statement, the leader quickly passed by the young man in silver armor.

He ran! He ran as fast as he could, without looking back, and ran as far away as possible so as not to get caught up in the disaster. With the relief of having been saved, the man thought about the future of the two people left behind. He had a feeling that they probably wouldn't be saved.

Later, the two heads were found lying in the dead-end hallway where the man had been. They had both been severed with a single blow. No human could have done this.

The man remembered the face of a young man wearing silver armor and a fake smile. He realized once again that he had encountered a terrible monster.

And he was convinced that his judgment was correct.

AN: For a moment I forgot what I was writing...