I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

2

Arpel was quickly discovered by the child. The storehouse where he was kept only contained wooden swords, and everything else was just crude items that a child might play with. Even though everything had been burned to ashes with nothing left, Arpel, or more precisely his main body, was undamaged and intact, making him stand out.

After a moment of hesitation, a small hand grasped the sword handle. At the same time, Arpel felt as if every cell in his body was awakening to a viscous emotion that struck like lightning.

‘This is…’

This is ‘despair’. The despair that this child holding him was feeling.

Only then did Arpel realize his situation. He was a fallen demon sword, awakened by negative emotions. He was an existence destined to be so.

After awakening in response to the protagonist’s despair, he could do much more. He once again realized that he himself was just one of the entities designed for the protagonist’s unfortunate narrative. It seemed as if the whole world was shouting that Rohan must lose everything, and that his past was an absolute that could not be changed.

Perhaps even the current situation, where he could intervene in Rohan’s past only after being touched by Rohan’s hand, was already a predetermined constraint of this world. A subtle feeling rose to his throat, as if his chest was a bit tight.

Momentarily confused by the unknown emotion, he decided to first comfort this child who seemed quite startled by the humming and trembling of the sword blade as he awakened.

“…Huh? Who just…”

Of course, there are no talking swords in this world. Even other holy swords or demon swords only have a simple consciousness enough to express likes and dislikes, but they can’t converse.

Then, was the reason he could communicate because he had fallen? But even that couldn’t be certain. In the novel, the demon sword picked up by the protagonist only repeated the same whispers to break down the child’s mind, not engaging in conversation.

“The, the sword is talking…!”

He waited for the child who had momentarily fallen into panic. There was still plenty of time.

“Y-yes…”

“…Rohan.”

Once the child had calmed down enough to talk, they first introduced themselves. It would be good to know each other’s names since they would be spending a lot of time together.

“How can a sword talk…?”

“Demon sword?”

In fact, the story of demon swords and holy swords was something most children in this world would know. There were two gods in the world, the Celestial God and the Demon God, and separate temples existed to serve each of them.

Although they were in opposition in that they used holy power and demonic power respectively, the relationship between the two temples was neither particularly good nor bad. Historical records even showed that they had joined forces when the world faced crises.

The two gods usually bestowed blessings on the human world alternately once every 100 years, and designated those who received these blessings to their respective temples.

And those who received the blessings made contracts with holy swords or demon swords. The moment they gained the god’s authority contained in the sword, in addition to the vast amount of holy or demonic power received from the god, they took a step forward in the duty they had to shoulder.

Unusually, this year both the Celestial God and the Demon God had designated blessed children, and Rohan was the one who received the Demon God’s blessing.

“Me…? That, that can’t be.”

Rohan, who had been babbling, suddenly stood still with blank eyes. The burned house and village, the people who had turned to ashes and disappeared. Guessing what he was thinking, Arpel let out a silent sigh.

In the novel, Rohan was described as a very perceptive character. It was thought to be something he learned while wandering the world, but it seems he was just naturally perceptive. Despite not having many clues, he had already grasped the situation and was trembling. Excessive trembling could be felt from the hand gripping the sword handle.

“Did I… Did they die because I received the blessing?”

As expected, Rohan fell into panic.

In the original work, he seemed to have learned this fact quite later… It seems that variables have occurred due to the fact that he himself became capable of communication.

As tears began to fall again, it felt like his chest was tightening. Naturally, it wasn’t a good feeling.

Arpel’s gaze turned to Rohan, who was probably the cause of all these changes. It seems he had burdened the child who was already struggling to accept this nightmarish situation.

After recalling his past life, he realized that this was inside a novel and that he was destined to follow the protagonist. And soon after, Arpel awakened two abilities.

The ability to have clear consciousness and engage in conversation, and the ability to create a human appearance. Judging that it would be difficult to comfort the child while in the form of a sword, Arpel used the second ability without hesitation.

The sword briefly absorbed light, and in an instant, it grew in size and began to take on a human form. Right after using the ability, the belated thought ‘What if I’m naked?’ did cross his mind, but…

“…Fortunately, I’m not naked.”

Luckily, he was clothed. It was good that he had wished to transform into a clothed appearance.

“Huh…?”

And Rohan, who had been crying until just a moment ago, forgot about crying and blinked blankly as the sword in his hand suddenly turned into a person in the blink of an eye.

Arpel, who had been awkwardly staring at the white and slender hands visible in his sight for a moment, soon slowly patted Rohan’s head.

“Ar, pel…?”

“Yes. It’s Arpel.”

“You were a sword just now…”

“I told you, I’m special.”

I’m not good at comforting children.

He wiped the cheeks that had been thoroughly soaked from crying until just now, and carefully stroked under the reddened eyes. The feeling of the cheeks in his hand was so soft that it seemed like they would break if he squeezed even a little too hard.

As he silently continued to pat the head and wipe away tears, before long, Rohan’s expression crumpled and he began to cry even more sorrowfully.

…No, why?

***

Feeling sorry for him just standing and crying, Arpel awkwardly picked him up and repeatedly patted his back. At some point, Rohan fell asleep.

The problem was that he had developed a fever, probably from crying for so long.

Arpel clicked his tongue after stroking the feverish cheek once with his hand. Thanks to the memories of his past life that he vaguely remembered, he knew a little about how to take care of someone, but unfortunately, Arpel currently had nothing but his own body and a set of clothes.

“I wonder if there’s a village nearby.”

He needed to find a place to treat the child and stay. …Even if he found a village, it was unlikely that he’d be able to get medical treatment without money to pay, but that was the reality.

He held the small body tightly and left the burned-down house site. With each step, his body rushed forward at an astonishing speed.

It was natural to be strong, as his main body was a sword containing the power of the Demon God, even if it was just a fragment. He briefly looked awkwardly at the surroundings passing by before quickly adapting and moving his body.

The village where Rohan lived was quite far from other villages. That’s why no one came to help even though such a big fire had occurred. As if being isolated wasn’t enough, it was also surrounded by forests, which allowed the fire to isolate people and burn everything.

“Is there a doctor in this village?”

Upon entering the village, Arpel stopped a person and asked. The woman, who seemed wary of the sudden approach, checked Rohan’s condition in his arms and, with a surprised look, told him the location of the doctor.

The place he arrived at shortly was a small clinic that showed traces of time. The person who greeted Arpel as soon as he opened the door couldn’t be called an old man, but judging by the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes, he seemed to have been running this clinic for a considerable amount of time.

“What in the… Quickly, move him to the bed!”

The man, startled by Rohan’s appearance, immediately guided them to a place to lie down, and Arpel obediently laid Rohan there.

The doctor seemed to be quickly examining various things. It passed by so quickly that he couldn’t properly see what was being done.

The doctor, who had removed a tool that looked similar to a stethoscope from above Rohan’s body, let out a sigh of relief.

“Fortunately, apart from the wounds on his legs and inhaling a bit of smoke, there’s no major problem with his body… Was there a fire nearby?”

“There was a fire in the village you reach if you walk straight northeast from the entrance of this village. This child is the only survivor.”

“Oh my…”

As they had come down to the village the day after the fire occurred, it would take a while for the news to spread. The doctor kindly gave him instructions on how to nurse Rohan and handed over a few medicinal herbs that would be good to eat.

If only he had money. With a face tinged with regret, Arpel handed back the herbs he was holding.

“I can’t accept these as I have no money to pay.”

“Tsk, I’ll give them to you on credit, so take them.”

“…I’m in a position of wandering without a home, so I won’t have the ability to pay you.”

The doctor, who had opened his eyes wide, let out a sigh, and after a moment of contemplation, nodded his head.

“Then I’ll lend you one of the rooms upstairs until the child recovers. You can pay for everything at once when you leave.”

Arpel, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, hesitated. He hadn’t expected to receive such kindness.

“What are you staring blankly at? Aren’t you going to move the child?”

If it weren’t for the doctor’s blunt question, he would have kept standing there.