It had been a day since Iria met Sera.
And then…
She decided to meet Ariel and Klana next. Unlike Sera, who was stuck in one place, the two were surprisingly together.
The reason was that they had completely finished their preparations to leave.
Ariel, who had entered the deserted facility like Sera, was recognized by the Sword Saint, and Klana had also bid farewell to the church people.
Among them, the monastery head, who was like a parent to Klana, even shed tears, begging her not to leave, but what was already decided could not be changed.
In fact, Klana thought that being born a Saint, it was her fate to join the Hero Party and dedicate herself to humanity.
In this respect, she might resemble Ariel.
“Ah, Iria, you’re here?” Klana greeted as Iria approached the two.
In a way, they had been the most awkward duo, but now it wasn’t particularly the case.
Iria had apologized for what happened before, and Klana had forgiven her.
Looking back, the fact that Klana adapted swiftly to the outside world because of Iria was also there.
In any case, this was around the time they met again. Unusually, the place was a hillside behind the Academy.
It was a spot overlooking the Empire’s landscape and a place Sertia often visited in her lifetime.
Iria asked the two of them.
“What were you two doing?”
To be honest, it seemed like a place not really suited for the two of them.
The terrain was steep and not suitable for sword training, and there was nothing much to see for a walk.
There were no flowers, and not even a blade of grass could be found nearby, devoid of any life’s vitality.
Yet somehow, the two stood side by side in such a place.
At Iria’s question, Ariel thought for a moment, then opened her mouth while looking down at the bottom of the cliff.
“I was watching the Empire’s scenery. There’s nothing here, but the Empire is down there.”
Iria stood next to Ariel and looked down.
It seemed she could see all the scenery of the Empire. The students bustling around the Academy or Central Park in the Empire.
The back alley where you could enter with the central fountain.
Is this the Empire Sertia wanted to protect?
Surely it was a place she cherished.
Of course, now there was a monster who almost destroyed such an Empire right here.
Getting a little closer to observe the scenery, Ariel stopped her.
“Be careful not to go too close.”
“Are you afraid I’ll fall?”
“That too, but there’s a mistake this time.”
Ariel pointed to a single flower blooming at the edge of the cliff.
“This is a grave. A place to honor someone who dedicated their whole life to the Empire and protected it.”
“······.”
Though she didn’t specify who that person was, Iria understood who it was.
How could she not?
Iria was the one who killed her.
······A grave.
So she ended up buried here.
Iria stepped back a foot before Sertia’s grave. She thought she had no right to step on her tomb.
Even Iria, who killed her, acknowledged that she was an extraordinary person.
However, that did not mean she felt guilt over the act.
It wasn’t that Iria was a monster incapable of feeling emotions; Sertia was someone who had already been destined to die anyway.
The faint memories of the original development brushed through Iria’s mind.
“······.”
In the original story, Sertia met a more miserable end than anyone.
The curse eventually spread throughout her body, and by that time, she couldn’t even bring herself to die, causing Albert, who had to kill her, to hesitate for just a moment.
Sertia became a new calamity. Just like the previous Saint, her friend and comrade.
She became the largest wall blocking Ariel, who had awakened her powers, and the Empire barely succeeded in subjugating her by gathering all its forces.
Wouldn’t this be better than that future?
Being recorded as a hero who dedicated and sacrificed for the Empire rather than being recorded as the worst calamity to ever befall the Empire.
For that reason, she didn’t feel guilty over this incident. After all, it was something that needed to be done regardless.
The day she stabbed her heart with a knife, she did so because, for some reason, it felt like something that had to be done.
A lonely wind blew on the cliff.
With the breeze, Iria’s silver hair fluttered. Since Ariel spoke, a heavy silence descended.
At that moment, Klana closed her eyes and offered a prayer.
To bless the now desolate place.
To revive a place someone once cherished, which had nearly died.
“Light.”
In fact, Klana had come here with this purpose from the beginning.
A Saint capable of performing divine miracles, she was asked by Ariel to come here.
Of course, Klana didn’t come here solely because of the request. As Sertia’s doctor, she felt a sense of responsibility.
Thus, the golden divine power emanating from Klana slowly began to envelop this space.
Life began to settle in the dead ground.
“······.”
New sprouts emerged.
As if to convey the formation of a new Hero Party to the predecessors, the memorial service for the legendary hero came to an end here.
*
Another day passed, and for the final day, Iria decided to have a conversation with Ariel.
Perhaps still unsettled, Ariel climbed the mountain alone today. In the place where the Sword Saint had left, he wielded his sword by himself.
Speaking of which, this was the place where they first met, wasn’t it?
Iria quietly emerged from the dark thicket like a monster from a back alley.
“······.”
As soon as Ariel confirmed Iria’s presence, he stopped his sword-wielding motion. The path of the sword he swung left a long trail of cleanly cut marks.
Had he already reached a level comparable to the Sword Saint, purely in swordsmanship?
After organizing his sword, Ariel sat down on a nearby hill, and Iria came to sit beside him.
The air of dawn, when they were about to depart the next day, wasn’t particularly warm. The air had become cool, cooling the sweat on their foreheads, and the flowers that bloomed in the summer were wilting now.
Iria sometimes judged the passage of time by the temperature during her time at the Academy.
The sense of time felt quite different for a monster, as what had actually been just a few months felt like an eternity.
Just a few months.
Yet, for a monster, it was time for the temperature of the wind brushing against skin to change.
She looked back at the heavy and cruel passage of time.
Counting the number of humans she had killed, measuring the amount of blood she had consumed, carrying the weight of the sins she had committed.
Then, perhaps this was also a journey to settle that debt. The truth about Iria lay with the Demon King’s army.
Perhaps the source of all the evils Iria had committed until now resided there.
Wasn’t it?
The sins she committed were entirely birthed from instincts as a living being, and those instincts were instilled in Iria by the Demon King’s army.
Thus, they too bore some blame.
She had no plan to beg for forgiveness for the misdeeds committed now. In the end, it was her own actions, and it was still her who had killed humans to the point where the blood seeped into her hands.
However, at the very least, if Iria had the will to rectify those evils…
Wouldn’t it be right to punish all the accomplices and then face judgment for her sins?
It was an unclear thought.
It wasn’t something she could consult anyone about; after all, it was a conclusion reached alone through deep contemplation.
But Iria decided to go that way.
As of now, there was no means left for her to die alone, and she must kill someone as long as she was alive.
Time passed in silence on the back mountain as Iria spent time with Ariel.
Both Iria and Ariel were not particularly talkative types. They were both more accustomed to listening than directly speaking.
However, it was Iria who had come to find Ariel on the back mountain.
Iria seemed to have a question she wanted to ask him.
“Are you ready to leave, Ariel?”
Facing the cold wind, she opened her mouth after gazing sufficiently at the starlit night sky.
Ariel’s blue eyes turned to Iria.
“Ready to leave?”
“Klana accepted her fate to go to the battlefield long ago, and Sera-senpai is now prepared to leave as she has no lingering attachments.”
“······.”
“And I’m ready too.”
Ariel was the only one who didn’t reply.
Ariel.
The leader of the Hero Party, who had been entrusted with the holy sword against his will, the hero of the current generation.
A man bearing the heavy responsibility to lead the upcoming full-scale battle against the Demon King’s army to victory.
“We are all ready, but are you prepared to head to the battlefield, Ariel? This is a question from a party member to the leader.”
Even in response to Iria’s question, Ariel took quite a long time to answer.
He kept his lips sealed for a while, while Iria waited for his reply.
Waiting was something Iria was quite good at.
Once more, she experienced the cold wind and gazed at the starlit night sky, awaiting his response.
Just how much time passed like that?
Ariel rose from his spot.
Then, he gently patted Iria, who was shorter than him, on the head.
“I’ve been ready for a long time. I’m just doing what must be done. It’s something only I can do.”
“······.”
“Well then, let’s meet tomorrow morning. We’ll be leaving early.”
With those words, the hero left the back mountain.
Silence settled upon the mountain peak.
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