I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

14

Arpel recalled his past that he had read about.

It was those cult bastards who did the despicable act of corrupting the Demon Sword ‘Arpel’ with the power of specters. Those idiots who called themselves the ‘Salvation Church’.

He didn’t particularly feel the need for revenge. He wasn’t swayed by the power of specters, and even if he was affected, it was only to the extent that he could sense the power of specters around him well and use that power if he wanted to.

Yet, the decision to kill them was solely because of Rohan. Now that they had inevitably encountered them due to the request, it was better to kill off these parasitic cult members who would repeatedly block Rohan’s path in the future, even if just one at a time.

Arpel’s eyes grew cold as he thought of the priest he had never seen.

“Rohan.”

“No.”

He was about to tell him to wait here, but was refused before he could even speak. It was the first time the child had answered so firmly, and Arpel’s shoulders flinched.

“You’re trying to leave me behind, aren’t you…”

“No. It’s not abandoning you.”

“To me, it is.”

Arpel couldn’t answer.

Taking Rohan along wouldn’t affect Arpel at all. Fighting while protecting something was difficult, but that didn’t apply to someone with overwhelming power. The same was true for Arpel.

Nevertheless, he didn’t want to bring Rohan because what he was about to do was by no means a clean task. No matter how much of a scumbag the target was, it was still killing a person.

Of course, someday Rohan would have to do this too. Those deeply ingrained with the Salvation Church’s ideology couldn’t be persuaded with words. They had tried to kill countless priests, and there were inevitably casualties in the process of stopping them.

Since Rohan was blessed by the Celestial God, he would someday be on the front lines of the battle between the temple and the Salvation Church, and might have to kill evil people without hesitation.

He knew all this, but he just wanted to protect him. Worried that for a child who had lost everyone around him not long ago, “the death of a person” might trigger trauma.

But looking at the firm eyes meeting his gaze, he couldn’t even be sure of that anymore.

“You said so, Arpel. That it’s something I’ll have to do someday.”

“…Rohan.”

“And I know. It was those people who burned down the village, right?”

The child was quick-witted. It was similar to when he had figured out the cause-and-effect relationship just from hearing the situation explained, even though no one had directly told him that someone had burned down the village targeting Rohan.

Of course, Arpel couldn’t deny it.

“So I want to go.”

For a moment, no words were exchanged. The Countess, who had been silently observing the situation, stood up with a bright smile without asking anything.

“I’ll go meet him now. It would be good to have someone to buy time, just in case.”

Even Louis, who had been standing at the door, left with her, leaving only Arpel and Rohan in the reception room. Only after their presence had completely disappeared did Arpel speak with difficulty.

“…Rohan. I’m going to kill that person.”

It was a truth he didn’t want to mention to the child. However, he didn’t want to separate him with lies. Contrary to his expectation that Rohan would at least flinch once, the child didn’t even blink.

“I don’t mind.”

“Why?”

“Because I would have killed him someday anyway.”

…He’s right. In the novel, Rohan sealed the Demon Sword he had when he arrived at the temple. And although he had time to recover with the Saint, even that didn’t last long. He learned that it was a religious group called the ‘Salvation Church’ that had reduced the village to ashes. Rohan, who came to hate the cult, carried out a one-sided massacre against them.

Was it because he focused more on revenge than the priest’s duty to protect the world from specters? It was literally a cruel slaughter, and a bloody wind blew wherever he passed. He remembered that there were even some priests who criticized his actions as extreme.

He had wondered if the act of seeking revenge using only ‘death’ as a means was due to broken humanity. So he had assumed that now, when he hadn’t been corrupted and had just been watching over and taking care of Rohan, even if he didn’t make a completely different decision, he might have at least a bit of hesitation.

But there was not a shred of hesitation in the gaze he met. Only then could he notice. Regardless of wielding a corrupted Demon Sword, perhaps somewhere in this child’s heart had been broken on that day when he lost all his loved ones.

He didn’t bother saying “You shouldn’t kill people.” It wouldn’t apply to Arpel, nor to Rohan in the distant future. Whether the target of the sword’s tip had committed a crime or not – that was the only criterion that shouldn’t be forgotten.

The stern look in the young child’s eyes showed that he had been pondering this for a long time. Arpel didn’t want to forcibly overturn Rohan’s own decision.

Just staying by his side and watching to ensure the child didn’t cross the line – that was all Arpel could do. Finally, Arpel expressed his agreement.

“You were worried about me, right?”

Rohan asked with a bright smile, having received the answer he wanted. Arpel replied with a short “Yes,” and fully embraced the child. The warm body temperature unique to young children touched him, and the fresh laughter of happiness echoed in his ears.

Would a normal adult have allowed this? They might have separated the child, insisting on the logic of “You’re still too young” even when he said he wanted to take revenge by killing and asked to go along.

Arpel knew the ‘general human values.’ He remembered his previous life as a human. A proper adult shouldn’t kill people, nor should they take a young child into a situation where they’re going to kill someone.

But Arpel decided to take Rohan. In a way, it might be selfishness to fulfill his own wish. Because what mattered to Arpel was ‘Rohan’s happiness.’

He could do anything as long as Rohan was happy, within the bounds of not becoming completely twisted. He had set a standard that one shouldn’t kill unless the person had committed a crime evil enough to deserve death, but if Rohan cried saying he couldn’t possibly be happy without killing that person, Arpel would gladly kill them. It was a shallow standard compared to his affection for Rohan.

“Let’s go together.”

At this point, he couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

I’m sorry for being this kind of adult. He swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.

Whether it’s guilt, the preciousness built up during their time together, or the fate of a Demon Sword being drawn to the blessed one, Arpel can’t let go of Rohan. That was the clear truth.