Vol 3: Chapter 4: A Ray of Hope
I tried my best to write the most depressing parts of the story all at once, but...I ran out of energy.
The Atonement of the Guilty
A Ray of Hope
I woke up in my bed in my room, with the maid standing in front of me.
When I asked her about what happened afterwards... she told me that the royal magicians had heard me scream and had come.
Apparently, he saw the terrible state of the room and saw me collapsed, and then he dealt with it. And then, I was in bed for more than two days after that...
...Lily-chan's body will be buried in the cemetery behind the royal castle. He also asked Lily-chan's parents in the village... if they could take her.
"We don't need a daughter who will laugh at the death of her brother and then cut ties with the family!"
He apparently was told that.
No, that's not it. Those were Lily-chan, but they weren't Lily-chan. Everything were all the hero's...
That's what I thought, but when I think about how Aleph and Lily's parents must be feeling, it's no consolation. I'd say the same thing if I were in their position.
The maid gave me food, but I didn't feel like eating it because I had no will to live anymore.
Maybe it would be better to just die without eating anything... I was so exhausted that I even thought about it.
"You were already in a very weak state. If you don't eat, you won't get better."
The maid said that, but I shook my head and refused, saying that there was no need for me to get better.
"If the Sword Saint is like that...even though you were given great skills by the Goddess, you won't be able to defeat the Demon King."
She uses my title as an excuse to urge me to eat...but!
Those words touched a nerve in me!
"What is that? Even in this state, you still want me to defeat the Demon King?! What mission?! What greatness?! What blessed skill?! This isn't a blessing or anything, it's a curse!! Because of I'm receiving this skill! I've lost everything..."
As I continued yelling, my words gradually lost power...
Again... I'm the worst, taking my anger out on someone else. Why did I become such a terrible person?
"...Sword Saint. Your heart is deeply wounded. At a time like this, if the Saint of Devotion were here, she could heal your heart."
The Saint of Devotion...? The maid suddenly mentioned a name I was unfamiliar with.
No, I remember hearing something about it.
Until I came to my senses, my mind was filled with thoughts of that dreadful man.
"The Saint of Devotion...?"
I felt a little embarrassed because she was someone famous, but I didn't really know anything about her, so I listened obediently.
"Huh? You didn't know? The Saint of Devotion is an incredible person who has been traveling to various places recently and saving people from the Demon King's army."
The maid tells me that she has continued to accomplish many things since then.
Apparently, they were far more heroic than we were, the so-called hero party.
Or rather, in reality we were just a bunch of scum, and perhaps those people are the ones who can truly save the world.
"The Hero of Salvation and the Saint of Devotion... just the two of them managed to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's army! It's amazing! And... actually, I saw the Saint of Devotion up close when she came to the castle!"
The excited maid approached me and started talking.
"She was so pretty and lovely, or rather, she was still a young girl! In any case, she was beautiful like a goddess. When she looked at me, she smiled gently! Ahh, I can't get enough of thinking about it! It's unbearable!"
The maid was immersed in memories with an ecstatic look on her face... I couldn't find the words to say to her.
"Ah... Ahem. So, you see, it seems the Saint of Devotion will also listen to the troubles of people who are in pain. Everyone who consults her has regained their peace of mind and become more energetic, so she has an amazing reputation."
The calm maid tried to convince me of the greatness of the saint of devotion, but I knew that even God couldn't heal my ugly heart.
"Yeah, well... but I don't think anyone could heal me--"
But I tried to deny it.
"Now that I think about it, when the Hero was alive, he was surprised to see the Saint of Devotion. He muttered something about her being alive, and then laughed out loud, which was a bit creepy... Ah, that was disrespectful..."
……..Eh?
"She was alive...? He said that after seeing the Saint of Devotion?!"
"Yes? Ah, yes. That's right. I wonder if she was an acquaintance of yours and the hero."
The hero has always been with us... so there is only one person who the hero can say that about.
It can't be... the Saint of Devotion is ...
"Hey..."
I have to meet her. I absolutely have to meet her and make sure. I thought I'd lost everything. Everything... but what if I was wrong?
What if she had continued to live, beneath that bottomless cliff? That was...exactly....
--My last ray of hope.
"Where is that Saint of Devotion now?"
I asked the maid where the saint was.
"Apparently, she's at an inn in the royal capital. Ah, but a high-ranking official at the castle said that she'll be leaving the capital soon, so if you want to meet her, you'd better hurry--"
Before I could hear what the maid had to say, I quickly jumped out of bed, which made it hard to believe I had been sleeping, and headed out of the room.
I had to hurry! I had to check! So I was a bit impatient. As I done dressing, I put on my waist the sword I had been using ever since I became a Sword Saint.
This weapon is also a memorable item that I picked out together with Aleph at the weapon shop when it was decided that I would go with the hero.
Good. I still had something left that could connect me to Aleph... In the end, I didn't use it for anything good, though.
Anyway, I have to meet the Saint of Devotion...! Please, make it in time!!
I don't want to be alone anymore.
The epilogue is also close.
By the way, this maid is a rare person who has not fallen into Hayato's clutches.
Author's Note
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