I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

12

Rohan, who had approached from behind, looked at the knight kneeling. It seemed more like curiosity than fear, but… it wasn’t quite pure curiosity either, as there was a strangely negative gaze. Arpel, holding the child, turned without hesitation.

“I’m leaving this town.”

“Wait, just a moment is fine!”

“First, I don’t want to listen to requests from someone who hasn’t revealed their affiliation or purpose. Second, I’m not someone who does good deeds without compensation. Go to the Mercenary Guild and submit a formal request. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“I-I came after hearing Seid’s story!”

Arpel, who had half-closed the door, stopped. An unexpected name was heard.

“Seid?”

“Yes… And, I’m sorry for not mentioning my affiliation first. I forgot in my haste. Countess S wishes to request something of Sir Arpel. Ah, my name is Louis.”

The lord’s castle. The Countess. And a knight who came running after hearing Seid’s story.

Arpel’s brow furrowed. The owner of the breeding ground was more loose-lipped than he thought.

Judging by the fact that he came from the lord’s castle, it seemed he had come about the young lady covered in black spots from the rumor Seid had shared. The fact that he was begging on his knees proved the rumor true.

“…Come in for now.”

In the end, Arpel let in the man who introduced himself as Louis. He had ruined the future plans Arpel had roughly thought out, and intruded on the peaceful time he was spending alone with Rohan.

Just for that, he wanted to kick him out and slam the door shut, but he was concerned about Rohan, who was blinking in his arms. It seemed it would be quite bad for the child’s emotional education if he coldly ignored a grown man, especially one kneeling and desperately pleading.

Since he wasn’t a welcome guest, Arpel didn’t offer him anything to drink. Seemingly aware that he was an uninvited guest, Louis, with a rather guilty expression, began to speak with difficulty.

“Do you know about our young lady?”

“Seid told me.”

“Ah, that bastard…”

Louis clenched his fist. Judging by his ominous aura, he seemed angry at Seid for spreading the story on his own. Arpel didn’t particularly care. He just thought Seid should pay the price for reporting the request details to the lord’s castle without being able to wait.

“…Anyway, that rumor is true. I’d like to ask Sir Arpel to diagnose the young lady’s condition.”

Diagnosis, not treatment. Arpel’s brow furrowed strangely.

“The Count recently brought in a man, claiming he was a skilled priest. He entrusted the young lady’s treatment to that guy. Then that priest locked the young lady in an isolated room in the annex. Even when the Countess belatedly came to her senses and protested, it was of no use.”

“……”

“To prove that the priest’s treatment is wrong, we have no choice but to bring in another priest. But the Count keeps opposing it… Then the Countess heard rumors about Seid’s request. That there were animals with similar symptoms. We thought that Sir Arpel, who solved the request, might have the answer…”

A priest, huh. Arpel, who had been listening silently, quickly assessed the situation. The priest was likely a fraud, and if Arpel helped, the young lady this knight spoke of could recover quickly.

To call for a priest, they would have to formally request a visit to the temple. Since the Count was refusing to allow a new priest to come, that process would clearly not be easy. His influence would certainly be involved in some way.

As much as he wanted to refuse…

Arpel’s gaze turned to Rohan. The child, who had been staring intently at the knight as if seriously listening to the conversation, belatedly felt the gaze and met Arpel’s eyes.

Seeing those beautiful eyes gently curve as soon as they met his, Arpel finally nodded.

Even if not now, when he started working at the temple, he would have to step up to help others. Especially if it was related to specters. Like this knight’s situation where only Arpel could help, there might be tasks that Rohan would inevitably have to take on someday.

Children are mirrors of their parents. This saying, which had been established like a principle in his previous world, suddenly came to mind. Although they weren’t really in a parent-child relationship, Arpel was the only adult around for Rohan to observe and learn from.

And Arpel knew he was heartless and cold. Rohan was his only exception.

Imagining Rohan growing up watching his actions, imitating them, and not caring whether people lived or died made him feel a bit troubled. He hoped the child wouldn’t grow up to be like that.

Raising a child is hard.

For Arpel, this matter with the Count’s family was so worthless he didn’t even need to weigh its value. It was just a choice made for Rohan’s growth. Completely unaware of this fact, Louis was busy bowing his head to the ground and repeating “Thank you!”

Louis said they would enter the mansion tomorrow afternoon. When Arpel, who wanted to finish the job quickly, asked why, he answered with difficulty.

“After the young lady collapsed, the lord’s castle was essentially closed off. Unless you’re a merchant delivering daily necessities, you can’t enter freely. Since Sir Arpel is an outsider, the guards won’t let you in.”

His solution was to sneak into the castle by hiding among the merchants delivering food ingredients to the lord’s castle the next day.

Louis, who had been biting his lip anxiously throughout, visibly sighed in relief when Arpel readily nodded after listening silently.

After saying he would come back at the same time tomorrow, Louis was promptly kicked out of the room by Arpel. With the large figure gone, the room that had seemed cramped became spacious again.

“Was that person a knight?”

“Yes.”

Arpel, who had been frowning at the spot where Louis had been, immediately turned his head. His eyes were already softly relaxed as he looked at Rohan.

The child seemed interested in Louis. He looked like he was deeply pondering something.

“Arpel?”

“Yes?”

“Will I be able to grow that big too?”

He recalled the knight who had just left with his back turned. Even considering he was a knight, he was an exceptionally large man. Arpel’s expression became strange as he looked down at the child again.

“I guess not…”

“…No. You’ll grow that big.”

To Arpel, Rohan was still just a small and cute child. Looking at the small hand that couldn’t even fully grasp his own, only managing to hold onto two fingers, and the tiny face, he couldn’t imagine what Rohan would look like when he grew as big as the knight.

But no matter how much he grew, Rohan would always be the only person Arpel cared about, paid attention to, and needed to cherish.

“When I grow up later, I’ll definitely protect Arpel.”

Rohan said with a bright smile, his mood lifted again by just that one statement that he would grow. Arpel, who had hesitated for just a moment, patted Rohan’s head.

It was a pleasant, tingling feeling.

The child, smiling broadly as he received the touch, suddenly held out his finger. His short pinky wiggled.

“Shall we promise?”

“Thank you.”

He carefully wrapped his finger around the child’s. It was the first promise the child had ever made to him.

***

Since the knight said he would come back tomorrow, Arpel was able to spend all the remaining time with Rohan. As planned in advance, they ate lunch outside, and afterwards, they looked around the market lined up outside.

The outside world, explored for sightseeing rather than travel, felt unfamiliar. The sight of people shouting boisterously, buying and selling things, was a scene he couldn’t quite get used to.

In the midst of the bustling crowd, Arpel focused more on not losing sight of Rohan rather than looking around. Fortunately, the child seemed to quite like this atmosphere, showing interest in various items sold at the stalls.

For Rohan, who seemed to be enjoying himself, Arpel bought various snacks like sweet candies and skewers sold on the street and put them in Rohan’s hands.

Of course, half of them ended up in Arpel’s stomach. This was because Rohan would take one bite and then hand the next bite to Arpel, repeating this pattern.

Having learned from their time together that Rohan would make a sad face if he didn’t eat, Arpel ate the food the child handed him without complaint.

While pushing through the noisy crowd wasn’t something he welcomed, it wasn’t bad with Rohan. He could just watch the child’s face, unable to contain his excitement.

It was quite a fulfilling time. Even Arpel, who had only been thinking about hurrying to the temple, thought that taking a break like this occasionally might be fine.

The next day, Louis came to their room shortly after lunchtime, as he had promised.

“Will you be going with the child?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll lend you this robe.”

It was a robe with a wider fit than what Arpel had. It was roomy enough to hide a small child’s body inside.

The reason was that having a young child mixed in with the merchants’ procession could unnecessarily draw attention. Since it wasn’t a bad consideration, Arpel accepted it without objection. He picked up Rohan, who was standing blankly wearing the robe on the outside.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“It’s okay.”

Rohan, peeking his face out from between the folds, rested his head on Arpel’s shoulder familiarly. It was now one of the habits that flowed naturally after repeating it many times.

Arpel patted Rohan’s back and followed Louis, walking along the outer road of the lord’s castle. It seemed the merchants delivering food ingredients were entering through the back door, not the front. The procession could be seen in the distance.

“Rohan. When you grow up, you’ll do a lot of things like this.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. Because you’re blessed.”

“With Arpel too?”

I don’t like it, or I do like it. Or maybe it’s okay.

Arpel, who had expected such a response, stared at Rohan, surprised by the unexpected answer. The golden eyes looking back at him were clear.

“…Yes. By then, I’ll be your sword.”

His mouth moved on its own, betraying his confused emotions. Seeing the child’s face brighten with a smile at those words, Arpel could only hold back his words for a moment.