Chapter 543: The Man’s Story

The Great Holy Church directly controlled the entire northern region of the Gharast Kingdom.

Now, the kingdom and its great religion were seeking true unity.

Having lost its capital, the kingdom needed the backing of the Great Holy Church. On the other hand, the Great Holy Church, lacking the authority of a nation, was constantly seeking a vessel for itself.

The aims of these two sides were finally on the verge of complete alignment after the emergence of external pressure in the form of a new kingdom led by Queen Philos.

The noble family most prominent among them belonged to Olivia Belch’s family, a powerful noble house.

The Belch family was close to the Great Holy Church, not only within the Gharast Kingdom, but also within the Cathedral itself. This made them ideally suited to mediate between two powers.

It was easy to think of them as mediators and negotiators.

And what strengthened the power of the Belch family more than anything else was the fact that their only daughter, Olivia, was an old friend of Saint Ariene. Olivia was still the only person the Saint called friend.

Olivia uttered a suspicious voice in Ariene’s private chambers.

「If you say so, but there won’t be a problem by not letting me go through? 」

Olivia spoke with a rare candor. She sounded more like a friend than a noble.

「That’s not true. Order is important. Forcing your way through is bound to cause friction. 」

Saint Ariene had taken off her shoes and was leaning back on the sofa in front of Olivia.

To say she was relaxing might sound nice, but that was a bit much.

Olivia nodded slightly at her words, then spoke.

「I understand. Then, I will urge His Majesty King Ameritz to send in an army. The pretext is to defeat the pretender…though at this point, pretexts are hardly relevant. 」

The old and new kingdoms were now in a relationship where they could only hope for conflict.

It was just a matter of whether it was sooner or later. There were many reasons for turning spears against each other. So it was fine for Ariene to want it that way.

Ariene gave a wry smile at Olivia’s words. Even though she was the one who ordered the war, she still displayed the innocence of a young girl.

Was this what a saint truly was? Olivia thought that Ariene didn’t seem like this when she was at the convent.

「Hey, Ariene. Do you think we can win this war? 」

「Of course. Wars that cannot be won shouldn’t be fought. 」

Ariene’s light smile dazzled Olivia. She understood what it meant to be a saint, and the responsibility that came with that leadership. And there wasn’t a trace of doubt in the words that came from her lips.

Olivia would’ve been sure of victory if she was just a believer.

But perhaps she couldn’t accept those words because she was closer to Ariene than anyone else.

Olivia was a realistic woman. She was able to view her situation objectively. It was obvious that the new kingdom had more momentum right now.

The new kingdom, having slain the dragon and the magical devilish beings, and crowned a new queen, was at the peak of its power. In fact, it could reach even greater heights from here on out.

On the other hand, this side was in complete decline. They had lost their capital and most of their territory, and all they had was a cause and an army. Though they may possess many heroes, the same was true for their enemy.

The chances of victory were slim even if they outnumbered them. That was the realistic judgment Olivia had made.

The only chance they had of winning was that they possessed the saint.

Perhaps, noticing the stern look in Olivia’s eyes, Ariene spoke in a pure voice.

「It’ll be fine. Ever since we were kids, Lugis has never beaten me, even in an argument or anything. I’ll win this time too. 」

「Right…I’m sorry, Ariene. If you’re sure about that…」

「Lugis has never beaten me. 」

The tea Olivia had poured down her throat nearly came back up. Ariene’s straightforward words made her all the more terrifying.

Lugis was a name that no one in the Great Holy Church or the Gharast Kingdom didn’t know.

A great evil. A great traitor. The anti-hero, Lugis. The one who even a dragon couldn’t kill.

There was no doubt that he was the greatest enemy to both the Great Holy Church and the Gharast Kingdom. Many territories were hanging around his head.

Assuming that King Ameritz regained real power…anyone who killed Lugis would earn a small duchy.

Ariene called out the name of this hateful enemy as if in a feverish state.

「Oh, I forgot to tell you. Lugis and I grew up in the same orphanage. We’d promised each other our futures. 」

「Huh…? 」

She was speechless.

It would’ve been so much easier if she’d just laughed it off as a joke. But Ariene showed no signs of that. She even seemed to find Olivia’s reaction amusing.

It was completely wrong to reveal that the Holy Maiden of the Great Holy Church and the de facto leader of a hostile force had a deep relationship. The very knowledge of it was dangerous.

Olivia swallowed hard and asked.

「I wonder who else besides me knows about that? 」

「Only you, Olivia. It’s fine, right? 」

That’s what I thought, Olivia suddenly had those thoughts.

Ariene hadn’t accidentally let it slip. She’d deliberately revealed her relationship with Lugis.

She sensed that Olivia was beginning to feel a sense of crisis about the situation and wanted to catch her before she could waver.

Basically, Ariene was telling her to make up her mind.

Olivia was speechless. Ariene’s golden eyes were fixed on Olivia.

Then, Olivia made her decision in an instant. She was certain that she would die if she didn’t make a decision.

「…I don’t have any intention of letting your acquaintance roam free, but I need something in order to do that, so please tell me. What kind of person is Lugis? 」

Olivia sat down next to Ariene after taking a deep breath. Ariene still had the innocent expression befitting her age.

—

What kind of person is Lugis?

Olivia’s question made Ariene question herself without thinking.

Come to think of it, what did she think of him?

『There’s nothing worth talking about. He slew several magical devilish beings and a dragon. But that won’t last any longer. He’s no hero or brave warrior. 』

The voice belonged to the divine spirit Altia. The one in the saint’s body. One who transcended humans and demons alike.

The god spoke with a wavering, yet terrifyingly uninterested tone.

What do you mean with, “that won’t last any longer”?

When Ariene asked this question in her soul, Altia paused for a moment before speaking.

There was a hint of emotion in her voice. Ariene felt like she had been hearing these kinds of things more and more recently. Perhaps it was a sign that she was beginning to assimilate with Altia.

『Let me tell you the story of a man, Ariene. A journey I walked in the past. Most people and my companions spoke as if I was the center, but that’s a mistake. That man was the beginning of it all, the center of it all. 』

Altia spoke with nostalgia, as if trying to make these memories Ariene’s own memories.

Altia remembered the words such man spoke in the distant past.

「That’s foolish. Why give up now! Nothing is impossible in this world. The world is filled with joy! 」

He was truly a madman.

A time when demons still ruled the earth, and humans were nothing more than their livestock and food. The man declared those words with eyes that contained no doubt.

Everyone looked at him suspiciously. They moved away from him so as not to get caught up in his lunacy. No one believed his words.

But he believed in people.

「I will never give up. I will not run away from my circumstances! I will live! Living is not painful. Living is not hatred! 」

Soon, people began to be drawn to the man’s words.

A thief who only knew how to say embellishing things.

A huge mass of suspicion.

And a woman who had never known love.

As they continued their journey, things had revolved around him before they knew it.

That was surely because he had never known self-reflection. He threw his body into the air, pretending not to notice pain or wounds, and charged forward without regard for self-preservation. With a passion unimaginable from his usual self. No one could leave him alone like that.

The man said this many times.

Nothing is impossible in this world. As long as you don’t give up.

Many heroes and brave warriors were born around that man. He was undoubtedly a source of hope for the people, and for the woman. The woman was said to be great because of her talent, but she believed that it was the man who was great.

With him, it seemed to her that nothing was truly impossible.

…But ironically, it was the man’s body that first crumbled in the face of the wall of impossibility.

The man was neither a hero nor a brave warrior. His soul was ordinary, and his body was human.

And the human body was not designed to keep moving forward.

Once in a while, they had to stop and rest, and only then could they find the nourishment to move forward.

Throwing aside time for sleep and rest and forcing themselves forward was a vice, not a virtue.

Suppressing a body writhing in pain and suffering and trying to move forward was madness, not courage.

The man surely knew this. Which was why, in his final moments as a human being, he said these words.

「This is fine. Even if I die, someone else will fulfill my role! I was happy until the end. I was able to stay by your side until the very end! 」

It must have been then. The woman who had never known love discovered it and wished to save the man. That’s why, even now, the two of them haven’t vanished, but were struggling to save each other. Even if their paths were fundamentally different.

『…In the end, Lugis is no different from that man. He believes it’s his duty to keep moving forward, never knowing when to stop. In other words, he is destined to break down eventually. No. He already broke down once. 』

Ariene didn’t understand what Altia was talking about. What did she mean by “broke down once”?

Altia continued before Ariene could press her to answer.

『So…after all, he has no choice but to die alone in despair. Miracles will no longer happen. 』

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