I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

55

Apparently unsatisfied with just a verbal assurance, Rohan spent a while carefully examining Arpel’s body. This continued until Leriana returned from checking on the horse’s condition.

“Ah… Did it touch you?”

Interpreting Rohan’s reaction in her own way, Leriana’s face immediately became worried. Unlike Rohan, Arpel couldn’t read Leriana’s emotions, but similar feelings seemed to be etched on her face.

Being worried over by multiple people felt somewhat unfamiliar. Arpel awkwardly shook his head.

“Lady Leriana.”

“Sia, are you done?”

“Yes, but… how should we handle this?”

Casia, who had been alone at the back of the carriage, quickly approached, having finished her task. She was dragging a half-unconscious man by the edge of his clothes along the ground.

Naturally, this didn’t match her neat appearance, and the coachman who had been holding his breath let out an audible gasp.

Casia’s gaze turned directly to Rohan. It seemed she intended to pass the decision to him, as he had been the one to capture the man. After a moment of consideration, Rohan gestured towards the carriage.

“Let’s take him with us.”

“Put him in the carriage?”

“You want to put that guy in the same carriage as Arpel?”

Rohan’s brow furrowed sharply. Leriana, who had obviously meant “I don’t want to ride with him,” looked at Rohan incredulously. He was already not quite right in the head, but he seemed to get even stranger when it came to Arpel.

Without waiting for an answer, Rohan summoned his magic. The shadows, responding to his power, crept along the ground and swallowed the man whole before he could even scream.

“Let’s go.”

“Ah, right, that was a thing.”

The four of them were able to continue their journey comfortably.

***

Since they had already traveled quite a distance, it didn’t take long to reach their destination village. It was a bit late for lunch, but there was still plenty of time before sunset.

As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, the coachman hurriedly turned the horse around and headed back the way they came. It was almost like he was half-running away.

“He will relay the message to the High Priest. Let’s go now.”

The gazes following him were withdrawn at Arpel’s words.

The village they arrived at was quite far from the temple. Having traveled for about two days by carriage, the chances of the Emperor’s eyes being planted in this village were low, but it wasn’t a bad choice to be cautious.

They securely fastened their robes to ensure their faces remained hidden. It was inevitable that they would attract a lot of attention, with not one but four people appearing in the middle of the village with their faces covered. Of course, the four paid no heed to the whispering people.

The reason for coming all the way to this distant village was closely related to the person they were about to meet.

It was one of the few places that met all three conditions: not too far away, fairly isolated so that people don’t frequent it much, and surprisingly often visited by mercenaries.

“So what business do we have in this village?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Although she had heard about the destination, Leriana didn’t seem to understand why they had specifically come to this village, as she hadn’t been told the details. Casia was no different.

A branch of the Mercenary Guild had recently been established in this village. Thanks to this, there were quite a few people coming and going despite it not being a very large village.

The four’s destination was this newly built Mercenary Guild branch.

As they opened the door and entered, many gazes gathered on them. Naturally, it was because of the robes that covered their bodies so thoroughly that only their general shape could be barely made out. The man at the reception desk awkwardly stood up.

“Um… What brings you here…?”

Arpel held out a badge to the slightly nervous man. Naturally, the man’s eyes widened as he received it.

“P-Please wait a moment!”

His body, rushing to the back, was as fast as any knight. Meanwhile, Leriana showed interest in the badge Arpel had tucked back into his clothes.

“What was that?”

“An S-rank mercenary badge.”

“…S-rank? Arpel, are you an S-rank mercenary?”

“I had an occasion to receive it.”

“Wow…”

It was worth the respect. Although she hadn’t looked into it specifically, she had heard many stories about the Mercenary Guild while growing up. She knew very well that there were only a few S-rank mercenaries in the empire.

The more she learned, the more Arpel – no, the sword – seemed to be an endless enigma. Leriana, who had only learned that Arpel was a sword a few hours ago, decided to stop thinking about it, overwhelmed by the confusion that showed no signs of dissipating.

“Please follow me.”

The man who had returned bowed politely and guided the four people. They climbed the stairs inside and walked a few steps down a long corridor before they could escape the midst of the murmuring noise.

The man walked to the farthest corner of the corridor and knocked on the door in front. As the door opened slowly, the scene inside the room became visible.

The first thing that caught their eye was the various books and documents strewn about. The room was thick with the smell of paper. Someone who had been burying their head in the desk suddenly looked up.

Although the face showed more fatigue compared to when they last saw it, the smile that soon spread was similar to what Arpel remembered from before.

“You’ve brought guests I haven’t seen before.”

Lexia, half-throwing aside the document in hand, greeted the guests who had entered his room with a clear face. There was a small table with chairs prepared. A teapot, teacups, and several types of sealed tea leaves were there, suggesting he often brewed tea on the spot.

“It’s a bit messy, but please excuse it. I’ve been very busy lately.”

While Rohan and Arpel calmly accepted the teacups, the other two couldn’t shake off their awkwardness. They only belatedly nodded when Lexia asked, “Do you like fruit tea?”

“So, who might this be?”

“This is Leriana. And this is Casia, my bodyguard.”

The voice answering while fiddling with the edge of the teacup was calm. Casia had already lowered her eyes and kept her mouth shut. Both seemed quite shy, but Lexia didn’t seem to mind much.

“I see. I’m Lexia, the Mercenary Guild Master. Nice to meet you.”

“Guild Master…?”

Whoosh. The gaze that had been fixed suddenly turned towards Rohan. Although she had never seen it firsthand, Leriana was well aware of the status of the Mercenary Guild. But the Guild Master of that Mercenary Guild?

A gaze full of questions was directed at him, but Rohan didn’t respond to her curiosity at all.

“Evelyn couldn’t come because she’s busy. Her status makes it difficult for her to move around freely. Last time was when she was fortunately able to travel incognito… If there’s a chance to go near the imperial palace next time, we might be able to send our regards.”

“……”

Leriana’s mouth remained tightly shut, but her glance at Rohan became even more intense. As he didn’t even look at her no matter how much she stared, she finally chose to elbow him in the side.

“What are you doing?”

“S-Surely, it’s not who I think it is?”

“What?”

“The person you just mentioned!”

It was a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear. Naturally, Rohan’s face was full of annoyance.

In fact, that was the emotion Arpel sensed from Rohan. Being able to resonate with his emotions, Arpel knew better than anyone how Rohan was feeling at this moment.

But even if he already knew, seeing and thinking about it were separate matters. Leriana, who was whispering close to Rohan, seemingly trying to keep Lexia from hearing, and Rohan not pushing her away, kept catching his eye.

He still couldn’t easily gauge his own feelings towards Rohan. Many tangled thoughts were reflected in his faintly submerged purple eyes.

Meanwhile, Lexia, who had been watching the two with some amusement, suddenly couldn’t help but focus his gaze in one direction. Specifically, towards Arpel, who didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

“Haha.”

A laugh he couldn’t quite suppress escaped. Arpel and Rohan were still the same, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t changed. Lexia found their relationship interesting.

‘They really are amusing to watch.’

Although he had to stop laughing soon due to Arpel’s displeased gaze. He awkwardly smiled and continued speaking. There was a clear effort to change the subject.

“It’s probably the person the young lady is thinking of.”

“Really? Then, truly, the Empire’s…?”

“Yes. Her full name is Evelyn Lencester, the Imperial Princess. She has long believed that the Emperor and Crown Prince’s ideologies are wrong, which is why she joined hands with me.”

“Isn’t this getting too involved in politics?”

Casia, who had been silent all along, spoke for the first time. Her blue eyes, looking at Lexia, were hardened. A chill seemed to sweep through her gaze. If there was even the slightest involvement, she looked ready to grab Leriana’s hand and rush out of the room immediately.

“Rest assured, I won’t ask for political support. However, given the nature of the situation, there may come a time when we ask for help in dethroning the Emperor. If you consider even that as involvement in politics, then it seems our intentions don’t align.”

The gazes they exchanged were far from friendly. Leriana grabbed Casia’s sleeve as if to stop her, but she didn’t avert her gaze.

“…I understand. If I see any sign of trying to use Lady Leriana politically during our cooperation, we will immediately cease our involvement.”

“That won’t happen, so don’t worry.”

The suffocating silence that followed disappeared when Casia nodded first. Only then could Leriana noticeably breathe a sigh of relief.

Despite having been together for a very long time, Casia was still scary when she got serious.