Vol 1: Chapter 2: A Man On His Limit

Although it is not stated in the setting, Aleph is more handsome than a hero.

The Path to the Saint Legend
A Man On His Limit

I went outside and waited for about 30 minutes, and then Hayato and my four childhood friends came out of the inn. Even though they always seem to be in a hurry and pick fights with me, they always take their time leaving the inn.

With my arms and backs filled with so much luggage, just walking was difficult, but of course they didn't care and just keep on going, increasing thier speed.

If I was even a little late, Aria or Lily would come and say things that would tear me apart, like "You're late, you idiot" or "Can't you even carry your luggage, filthy bro?", so I couldn't let my guard down.

To be honest, I don't even know why I'm joining them on this journey, even if it means going through all these feelings.

Or perhaps somewhere deep inside I was still hoping that Aria and the others would smile at me and tell me that they loved me like they used to.

If that's the case, then I'm a hopeless idiot.
Looking at their attitude, it's clear that they don't like me anymore.

I have no idea why they hate me, but if they hate me this much, isn't it about time I gave up on them too...?

Thinking about this, I stopped in my tracks.

"Huh? Hey, You're late. What are you doing taking a break, porter?"

As soon as I heard that voice, an incredible pain ran through my right hand.

Aria hit the back of my right hand with the hilt of her sword.

"Ugh... what..."

"I was just giving you a scolding for slacking off, right? Why are you looking so rebellious? It's gross."

When Aria said that, Finne giggled as if she found something funny and said that it would be a shame to accurately tell the truth that gross, Lily was half laughing and making fun of me.

The hero acted as if he was scolding them, but if you looked at his face, you can see that he was grinning and was clearly on the other side.

And then, the heroes quickly moved on, as if to tell me to reflect on my actions alone.
Of course, Aria and the others were so focused on the hero that they had forgotten what I had just said.

If a monster were to attack me right now, I would be killed without being able to do anything... And I wouldn't even realize it.
No more...I can't take it...

The throbbing pain in the back of my right hand also wouldn't go away, and I thought maybe the bone was cracked.

I want to go home...

Even though I might be criticized if I went back to the village without accomplishing anything despite what I said, wouldn't it still be better than the hellish treatment I'm being given here? I'm reaching my mental limit and I'm starting to think like this.

"...Umm... Ah, Aleph-san."

"... (I want to go back to the village.)"

"...Umm, Aleph-san."

"……Eh?"

Feeling despair, I was lost in thought and didn't notice someone talking to me, and it wasn't until the second time that I realized I was being called, ... by my name.

Aleph.

Since I joined this party, the only person who has called me by my name like that is the hero.

However, the voice that had just come out was clearly clear and beautiful, like the sound of a bell rolling.

I turned towards the direction of the voice.
There I find Christina, Aria's younger sister, who, like the other three, I thought had long ago hated me.

"Um, well, Chris... tina? Did you just--"

I wanted to ask, "Did you call me?" but then I thought, "There's no way she would call me," and for a moment my voice stopped.

The pain and heartache I have endured from Aria and the others is making me feel more and more pathetic, and I feel like I'm going to cry.

Ah, how pathetic. Even if she had called me, she would have been annoyed by my obviously suspicious attitude... I'm feeling increasingly depressed.

"Yes...um, Aleph-san...about that ..Umm, well... does your right hand... hurt? My sister told me earlier... well..."

Christina seemed to have difficulty speaking as she stringed together her words.

She probably knows that her sister was treating me badly, which is why she doesn't know how to choose her words.

"Yeah, well... it might hurt a little. It's probably not broken, but it might be cracked."

"--I'm sorry."

"Eh? Christina, what were you just saying?"

"Aleph-san... I'm so sorry...!!"

When Christina turned towards me, she was crying. She was apologizing to me while crying.

Large tears were streaming from both of her beautiful blue eyes, her shoulders were trembling, and she gently wrapped her small hands around my right hand.

I understand that she is probably apologizing for the way her sister treated me.

Even though I knew that, I still couldn't understand why she was apologizing to me with that look on her face.

I thought she hated me - so much so that she hated talking to me, I had always thought that she hated me.

"I'm here... I'll heal you right away! Aleph-san, please stay still."

With that, she placed both of her hands on my right hand and began to chant.

"Healing light, heal his wounds and banish his pain! Heal!"

As soon as she chanted, a gentle green light appeared from both her hands and enveloped my right hand.

Then, in about 10 seconds, all the light disappeared, as if it had been absorbed by my right hand.

I tried shaking my right hand, but the throbbing sensation had completely disappeared.

"Christina... thank you, it's like... the pain has completely disappeared."

"N-no! I'm not the kind of person who should be thanked by Aleph-san... I'm not... that kind of person."

Even though I thanked her, Christina's expression remained gloomy. I had no idea why she looked so gloomy, even though she was genuinely worried about me and had even healed my injuries.

I was so happy to receive treatment that I couldn't help but speak.

"That's not true! No one cared about my injuries except you!"

I said forcefully. Up until now, I had mistakenly thought that Christina was just like the other three, so I was feeling a bit guilty.

"I, I... have seen to some extent how Aleph-san has been treated up until now..."

"Well, we're in the same party, so..."

"I've had many chances to help you up until now, but... I was scared that the same thing would happen to me if I protected Aleph-san, so I was scared... I was so scared... I just turned a blind eye!"

It was a cry from the soul...

At least to me, it sounded like Christina's cry was filled with regret and anger towards herself.

If you help me, you'll suffer the same fate as me... I understand that feeling very well. And because I understand that, I don't think it's right to simply tell her not to worry about it.

Yes, she must be very kind.

"I turned a blind eye to my sisters going crazy during the journey, and sacrificed Aleph... I... I!!"

"You could say that Christina left me to die."

"Y-yes, that's right... I'm ... to Aleph-san..."

"But then, if you ask me what would have been the best thing to do, I don't know an answer to that. In fact, even if you had protected me when Aria and the others first started to attack me, I think it would have only turned the situation from one person into two."

In reality, even if Christina, who seems a bit shy, had protected me from the crazy Aria, the result would most likely have been that one more person had become mentally broken.

Now that I think about it, Christina certainly never spoke to me, but she never looked down on me like Aria and the others did. I don't recall her ever being violent towards me.

Also, I think Christina's eyes looked worried the whole time she was looking at me.

When I think about the fact that I was lumping such a fine girl together with those three crazy people, I realize that I was pretty screwed.

"I know saying this might be a burden to you, but I think Christina is a kind girl who helped me recover and worried about me, so I can't bring myself to resent you."

"Aleph-san...thank you...! I am truly sorry...ugh..."

"Please don't cry anymore. I can't stand the thought of making you cry!"

For a while, Christina cried as if suppressing a voice, but eventually she stopped, looked at me and smiled.

Her eyes were still red and her nose was a little runny, but the smile I saw in that moment was more beautiful and touching than any I'd ever seen in this world.

"Aleph-san, for me! I'm so happy that you forgive me... My skill is Sainthood, but I've always thought that I shouldn't be a Saint with such a dirty heart, like abandoning people...! But! Starting today, I'm going to try to like myself a little more!"

"Oh, Christina, you should have a bit more confidence in yourself."

"Thank you! I will never abandon you, Aleph-san again... I want to fight alongside you, Aleph-san...!"

Those words made me want to cry. I had been enduring this alone for so long, but I was reaching my limit.

Christina said she would fight alongside me.

My desire to cling to her grew stronger, but then I calmed down.

If she stayed by my side from now on, won't Aria and the others end up not liking her and treat her badly?

Even I, a man, was pushed to such a difficult mental state, so I wondered if the fragile Christina could really withstand that kind of treatment.

"Christina, I have a favor to ask you."

"Aleph-san, please tell me anything you want! I won't run away again!"

Christina enthusiastically answers my voice.

You may not agree with what I'm about to say, but today I learned about her suffering and kindness.

That's why I think there's no way they should let someone go through something like that.

"Thank you, Christina... then, I'll tell you."

I made up my mind and opened my mouth.

"Please completely ignore me in front of the hero and Aria and the others---no matter what they do to me."

Author Note: We won't show this scene again, but I wonder what Christina was thinking at that moment...