I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

57

The second village they were heading to wasn’t too far away, but the problem was that they had set out at an awkward time. Looking at the completely darkened outside, Casia asked the coachman in front:

“Is there a place nearby where we can rest for the night?”

“There’s a decent spot nearby, I’ll take us there!”

When traveling by carriage, it was quite common to camp out late at night. The coachman seemed familiar with Casia’s question and immediately answered, skillfully starting to drive the carriage.

Soon, the place where he stopped the carriage was a wide open space surrounded by trees on three sides. There was enough room to park the carriage, and it wasn’t a bad place to camp outside, so the four of them got out of the carriage without complaint.

“Lady Leriana, will you sleep in the carriage?”

“I want to sleep outside too.”

Her intention not to be the only one doing so was clear. In the end, the carriage was parked in a corner of the clearing without becoming anyone’s sleeping place.

After borrowing some simple items needed for camping from the coachman, they managed to set up a decent sleeping arrangement. They had a light dinner, and as it got late, they started to fall asleep one by one. Casia suggested taking turns standing watch, but Arpel shook his head.

He said he could wake up at the slightest sign, so it would be better for the other three, who would feel tired if they didn’t sleep, to rest. No one particularly objected to this opinion, and everyone thought they had found a not-so-bad place to sleep, even if it wasn’t comfortable.

Arpel’s eyes suddenly opened wide.

“……”

A very small crying sound, one that ordinary people would easily miss unless they were listening carefully.

Following that, there was a rustling noise. Someone quietly got up from their spot, hastily gathering their clothes. They seemed to be in such a hurry that they couldn’t even tidy their messy golden hair from having just been lying down.

Arpel, who had been watching this scene with narrowed eyes, slowly closed them again. It was because Leriana had suddenly turned her head, as if to check if the others were sleeping. Judging from the steady breath he was exhaling without a single tremor, she must have decided he was asleep, and the sound of footsteps moving away could be heard.

Only after some distance had been put between them did Arpel open his eyes. He raised his upper body from where he had been lying down and looked down at Rohan, who had been sleeping right next to him.

“Rohan.”

“…Looks like I’ve been caught.”

Despite the low voice, Rohan immediately responded, blinking his eyes. He seemed to have woken up from Leriana’s movement, and although there was still some sleepiness left, that was all. Following Arpel’s lead, he sat up and cast his gaze in the direction Leriana had gone.

Arpel reached out his hand first towards the silent Rohan. It was because he had read the subtle worry in his eyes. The fact that he didn’t speak up first to suggest going, despite this, was probably because he was prioritizing Arpel. For Arpel, that alone was enough.

The two got up and walked in the direction Leriana had gone. Throughout this, Casia never opened her eyes.

‘…Is she leaving it to us?’

It was unlikely that Casia, an excellent knight, hadn’t noticed Leriana’s movement. The fact that she didn’t open her eyes despite this was probably because she had deduced that the reason for Leriana’s strange state stemmed from a problem with Casia herself. And she must have thought that what Leriana needed right now was just a friend to confide her worries to.

“…Ah.”

Not far away, they found Leriana alone, huddled against a rock. Since they hadn’t particularly tried to hide their presence as they moved, she must have heard the sound of grass being stepped on. She raised her face, which had been lowered, and opened her eyes wide.

Her eyes were red enough to be clearly visible even under the night sky.

Arpel felt no particular emotion seeing Leriana like this, but he at least knew that Rohan was feeling sympathetic. Responding to his clear will, Arpel’s appearance changed in an instant.

“…Rohan? Why is Arpel…?”

“Want to spar?”

“What?”

Rohan firmly gripped Arpel, who had now transformed into a sword. Leriana’s eyes trembled slightly as she looked at the gleaming black blade. Seeing her hesitation, as if she didn’t understand the meaning, Rohan had no choice but to add with a light sigh:

“Take out your Holy Sword and get up.”

“……”

“You’re angry because you’re weak, aren’t you?”

Only after hearing those words did Leriana finally move. As she got up from her huddled position, holy power began to gather at her fingertips in response to her will. A large sword quickly materialized.

“Do you think I’m weak?”

“If you want to know, you can spar with me. This time, I won’t go easy on you.”

Rohan calmly replied to her muttering.

The two of them had taken classes together at the temple until now, so it wasn’t as if they had never sparred before. However, after the gap in their skills became noticeably wide, the number of sparring sessions had significantly decreased, and even when they did spar, Rohan always matched his skill level to Leriana’s.

Leriana was vaguely aware of this fact, but admitting it herself wasn’t something that would make her feel good. Her hand gripping the sword tensed up.

There was no further exchange of words, but the two moved quickly the moment their eyes met. Although it was a sparring match using only swords without using any powers, Leriana’s expression quickly distorted after just one exchange.

‘It’s heavy…!’

Clearly, she was the one holding the greatsword. Yet it was difficult to fully bear the weight of the force coming down heavily. Despite reinforcing her body with holy power, the wrist holding the sword tingled.

“Ugh…!”

Rohan, keenly observing Leriana’s reactions, changed the trajectory of his sword that was about to strike down from above. The sword that had been gracefully dancing in the air suddenly accelerated and drove straight towards Leriana’s side. Despite tensing her body in response to the unpredictable movement, her reaction speed was slow, and the outcome was decided in that moment.

With a movement that seemed to sweep away her sword, Leriana ended up losing her grip on her weapon. It ended before she could even properly launch an attack.

Her gaze towards the sword lying far away was filled with disbelief. Her clenched fists also looked quite resentful.

“Do you want to attack this time?”

And so, the sparring began again, but…

“Huff, hah……”

The result remained unchanged.

Unlike Leriana, who was exhaling rough breaths with difficulty, Rohan’s breathing remained undisturbed.

It had been a one-sided barrage of attacks, but Leriana’s sword couldn’t even touch Rohan. As if acutely aware of this fact, her expression was filled with various frustrations.

“…I lost.”

But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t admit defeat. Leriana, who frankly admitted her loss, dropped her sword to the ground and sat down with it. Rohan just silently watched as she hugged her knees with both hands.

“…I had a dream where Casia died because of me.”

“That’s a bad dream.”

“You’re right, it’s just a bad dream. But I thought that if things continue like this, it might really happen… That’s why I was anxious, I guess.”

Moving my body made me feel a bit better.

She let out a soft laugh, but no one laughed along. With only a calm gaze looking back at her, Leriana’s face, which had been smiling, gradually sank. The corners of her mouth, which she had been trying hard to keep up, slowly lost their strength.

Her tightly closed lips, which she even bit slightly, were layered with various emotions.

“Rohan. Why… why are you so strong? How did you become so strong?”

“……”

“I don’t know what I should do……”

Although her voice was so small that it could easily scatter, there was no way Rohan couldn’t hear her murmur. He nodded slightly and spoke in a very light tone.

“Then start by finding that reason.”

“Reason?”

“The reason you want to become strong.”

“…What’s yours?”

“To protect Arpel.”

Cold water seemed to be poured over her gloomy face. Leriana, who ended up making a suddenly awakened expression, finally let out a hollow laugh.

“How is it that you never change……”

Before long, she got up, dusting herself off. She even diligently picked up the greatsword that had fallen to the side and waved her hand roughly at Rohan.

“I’ll think hard about it. Thanks.”

Although her tone was gruff, everyone here would know that it was because she was embarrassed. Rohan lightly tapped the sword while watching Leriana’s retreating figure.

“Arpel.”

As soon as he heard that call, Arpel returned to his original form. Although it was a natural situation they had repeated many times, Arpel’s gaze was awkwardly fixed on Rohan’s arm. More precisely, on the arm that was hugging his body and not letting go.

“…Rohan, your arm.”

Although there was a slight pout of his lips as if reluctant, the arm obediently fell away. Arpel was barely able to calm the strange feeling and his fluttering heart.

Remembering Leriana’s face from just a moment ago made him feel a bit better. Seeing her obvious contemplation, it seemed like she might find an answer soon.

There was almost no such description of Leriana in the original work. She was merely a kind and lovely character who helped Rohan. He remembers that descriptions of her using her powers only appeared when someone was hurt and she was helping them. She never held a sword.

‘…This is better.’

He thought it suited her more.

It was quite a big change from Arpel’s perspective, who didn’t have any special feelings for anyone other than Rohan. Of course, there was some calculation that the current Leriana would be a bit more helpful to Rohan.

“I did well, didn’t I?”

Rohan, who had keenly noticed that Arpel was thinking about something else, leaned his head expectantly.

Although his fingertips trembled at the sensation of their skin touching, Arpel silently tidied Rohan’s hair, knowing that subtle jealousy was leaking out beneath his bright smile. It had become quite disheveled due to the intense movements just before.

“…Yes, you did well.”

The emotion that gently rose at those quiet words was happiness. Was it because they were left alone in the quiet forest after Leriana had left too? It felt particularly sweet, and his mood was elevated.

Probably because it was Rohan’s happiness, and no one else’s, Arpel thought, as he continued to fiddle with Rohan’s hair.

It really was not a bad night.