Chapter 3: The Promise of a Lie
Dear Mother, whose face I do not know, everything has been exposed.
“…”
“Hey, hey, if you’re free, let’s play, Hero-uncle.”
“…Big Brother, okay?”
The pressure from her gaze was so intense that I spilled everything. Looking back now, I think I could have fudged the truth a little, but in that situation, my brain wasn’t working that well. So I just told her everything: from being an ex-convict fresh out of the slammer, to being a thief aiming to get rich quick, to swinging a shovel and somehow pulling it out, and finally, that this thing isn’t a Holy Sword but a Demonic Sword.
I told her the whole story like that.
I thought I was going to be killed, but—
“…Is that so.”
Luna just lowered her eyes, looking slightly disappointed. And for some reason, the village still treated him as a Hero, and the knights, just like when he crossed swords with Schutz, still held a certain kind of respect for him. It had become a rather uncomfortable situation.
Since he had nothing to do for the time being,
“Hey! You can’t do that! Cheating is bad!”
“You’re quite precocious, aren’t you?”
He was playing with a village girl.
Solo himself didn’t know why he was doing this.
Well, he was good at playing with kids this age, so he didn’t mind, but—
“May I join you?”
Suddenly, the aforementioned Luna arrived in the middle of playing house.
Solo flinched and shrank back.
“There’s room.”
“P-Princess!? H-Hey, you have to be more humble!”
“What’s ‘humble’?”
“Solo-dono.”
“Eep!?”
Solo shrank back even further. Seeing this, she sighed and said,
“I am also confident in playing house.”
“It’s a pretty difficult household, though.”
“Understood. Let us improve the family environment with all our might.”
(…W-What should I do in this situation? Toro-suke.)
『Just play house. She holds the power of life and death over you. Also, stop calling me Toro-suke. Use “-sama”, or at least “-san”.』
(If you have an idea to escape from here, I’ll add “-sama” or whatever you want.)
『It’s impossible right now. Because she has no openings, this young lady.』
(Then Toro-suke it is.)
『Keh.』
After pushing responsibility onto each other, the relationship between one person and one sword continued to deteriorate. Originally a combination of a petty crook and a Demonic Sword, this was probably to be expected.
“Dear, which one are you going to choose, me or this woman!?”
“Hey, why don’t we make it a more peaceful house?”
“Which one will you choose?”
“…”
“We are asking a question. Please answer. By the way, I am the mistress.”
“Ah, yes, um, well, uhh.”
Solo felt like he was getting a stomach ache. For some reason, he was being pushed around by the enthusiastic Luna and the girl. While feeling like his head was about to explode, Solo desperately played his role.
The setting of a man caught between his wife and his mistress.
Reality was already a carnage; having even playing house be a carnage left no room for dreams.
『Heh, Contractor, you have a talent for playing house.』
(…I had someone like a little sister, you know.)
『“Like”, and “had”, huh. Sounds complicated.』
Well, he managed to get through it somehow.
“…Zzz.”
Play when energetic, sleep when sleepy. Showing a truly childlike appearance, the girl, tired from playing, was sleeping soundly on Luna’s lap with a satisfied look.
While stroking the girl’s hair,
“It is best for children to be energetic.”
“Indeed.”
“Your acting was wonderful, enough to make one forget you are an ex-convict.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m an ex-convict.”
“Fufu, is that so?”
She let out a lonely smile.
“Why don’t you expose me to everyone?”
“Any hope is necessary right now. Even if it is a lie.”
“…Is it that bad, the battlefield?”
“Yes. It is hell.”
He couldn’t imagine her losing. The faint fear in her, who looked like such a perfect superhuman, who seemed like nothing but a true Hero.
That showed the magnitude of the situation.
The invasion of the Demon King’s Army, which had not yet spread to the general public.
Its intensity—
“There were no lies in what you told me the other night, correct?”
“I told you everything.”
“An amateur who had just gripped a sword crossed blades with Schutz, one of the leading knights in the Kingdom of Andreia, and surpassed him in speed alone. That is an undeniable truth. Therefore—”
Luna looked straight at Solo.
“I will have you carry this lie through to the end. Together with me.”
“…I’ll be exposed soon.”
“Then you must become strong. If you do, there is no way you will be exposed. It will be a truth born from a lie. If you wish, shall I teach you the sword?”
“I’m already an uncle, so learning something new now is a bit…”
“You’re a ‘Big Brother’, aren’t you?”
“…You heard that?”
“Yes. Please remember that I have hellishly sharp ears that appear out of nowhere. I will not let you escape. Besides, you took my hand… so please give up.”
“Ugh. That was an expensive handshake.”
“Fufu, I may look like this, but I am a Princess, you see.”
Watching her back as she picked up the girl and walked away dashingly,
“…No matter how you look at it, you’re a Princess.”
He muttered softly.
“I can hear you.”
“Eep!?”
She caught it even though she was quite far away. She really did have hell ears.
“Well, I shall take it as a compliment.”
He couldn’t relax until she was out of sight. He watched her until she disappeared, and then,
(Toro-suke, I might be done for.)
『Contract termination in five seconds.』
(If you terminate it, I’ll immediately tell on you to the Princess, push Toro-suke onto her, and bolt by myself.)
『Y-You bastard, thinking of such a cowardly thing!』
(Try it if you think you can!)
In the end, neither Solo nor Toro could escape. So what to do? For now, they had no choice but to keep lying.
Beyond that—was there anything waiting for them?
***
Since they were leaving the village tomorrow, a modest banquet was being held in the usual meeting hall. The knights were generously serving the food and alcohol they had brought. Luna had ordered it as a token of gratitude to the villagers who had continued to protect the Holy Sword.
Thanks to that, the meeting hall was bustling.
“Uncle. I’ve never eaten such delicious food before!”
“Me neither. Also, Big Brother, okay?”
“You’re fussy.”
“There is a big wall between Big Brother and Uncle, for a man.”
“Hmm.”
The village children also seemed very satisfied with the meal unavailable in the village. In fact, it was a meal like Solo had never eaten before either.
Princess of a great nation is amazing, was the feeling.
“My apologies for the other day!”
Thud. Sitting down opposite him was the giant man, firm as a rock even without his armor, the ‘Iron Knight’ Schutz. Sitting with drinks in both hands, he thrust one towards Solo.
“Are you bad with alcohol?”
“That’s a foolish question, Pops. I love it.”
“Po… W-Well, fine. This is an apology for my rudeness. And also, a small token of appreciation for one who will fight alongside us, bit by bit.”
“…What does that mean?”
Solo gulped down the drink. As always, alcohol was the best. It made his feelings light and fluffy, and helped him forget unpleasant things.
“That sake is my personal property. A bottle worth one hundred thousand Oro.”
Oro was the currency widely circulated in this world, the Blue Land of Azul. Prices and market values differed by region, but one hundred thousand Oro for a luxury item would be considered sufficiently expensive even in urban areas. Though there were plenty of more expensive drinks.
Some sake cost millions, or even over ten million—a world unknown to Solo.
“Pfft!? T-This is such expensive sake!?”
“Umu.”
“E-Eeeek.”
Normally, the sake Solo drank didn’t cost even a hundred thousand for a whole barrel. However, unfortunately, Solo had a poor palate, so wine just tasted like wine to him.
“Also, I have just one request.”
“…Th-That’s sneaky. Asking after making me drink is foul play!”
“I-It is not particularly difficult. Um, come closer. The Princess has hell ears.”
“…You know it well.”
Ignoring the Princess enjoying a meal with the children in the distance,
“Earlier, by chance, I saw the Princess playing house with the village girl.”
“…I’ll say this first, but she was the one who was into it.”
The sight of two men, a (self-proclaimed) Big Brother and an old man, huddling their faces together was unnecessarily conspicuous, but this old man Schutz didn’t seem to understand that well.
“I know. Even at the royal palace, she often enjoyed playing house with her younger sister.”
“…She has a sister?”
“Umu. They are very close sisters. To protect her sister, the Princess… well, that is a story for later. What is important is that you appeared to be a good conversation partner for the Princess.”
“Pops, are your eyes knotholes?”
If anything, he thought the relationship was closer to guard and prisoner—
“To me, it looked that way. The Princess is strong. She is a warrior with no equal, not only in her generation but even reaching into ours. Therefore, she has always carried loneliness.”
“I-Is that so.”
“I would be happy if, as fellow strong warriors, you could get along and support each other in the future.”
“…I think she’s fine even on her own, though.”
“I beg you.”
“…Y-Yessir.”
“You have my gratitude!”
Grip. A rugged, large hand squeezed his strongly. From the power he felt there, he felt like he was being told, “If you run away, I’ll crush you as soon as I find you.”
Just like that, the drinking party began with the knights who had gathered.
Birth and upbringing didn’t matter. Alcohol connected everyone.
『Hehehe, you’re weak to pressure, aren’t you, Contractor Solo-kun.』
(Shut up. I didn’t make the promise because I wanted to.)
『So, are you going to fight?』
(F-For now, I have no choice but to keep deceiving them. You cooperate too, Toro-suke.)
『Well, I don’t mind, really.』
(…You’re surprisingly obedient.)
『Once you know me, you’ll want to run away from fighting immediately anyway.』
(What are you talking about? You’ll fight automatically, right?)
『That’s a bonus, a bonus.』
(You mean you have even more amazing power? What the hell, we can totally do this.)
『If you pay up, that is.』
(What is this ‘pay up’ you’re talking about, Toro-suke?)
『I’ll tell you in due time, in due time.』
Thinking what is with this guy as Toro blew smoke, Solo gulped down his sake. He still couldn’t tell the difference in taste, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.
Because everyone was enjoying themselves.
Because the villagers, the knights, everyone was smiling.
So—
『You’re naive.』
He might have been dreaming.
Thinking, Well, maybe it’ll work out somehow. A sweet dream that seemed like a lie.
***
A single shadow ran across the night sky.
What the moonlight reflected against the clouds floating in the dark night was a gigantic figure of something.
Something like a huge bird with spread wings.
That thing,
“Fouuuund yoooou.”
Detected a presence below. The presence of the hateful lower life form that had taken one of its eyes.
And there were also instructions from the King.
To destroy the sword.
Therefore—
“A greeting for our reunion! Take this!”
From a part of that huge shadow, a massive light swelled up. Illuminating the gaps between the clouds with scorching heat, it fell with tremendous speed.
Who could react? Who could predict it—
“Hero-uncle.”
“Hmm?”
“Here, for you.”
“What’s this?”
“Grass I picked earlier.”
“Pfft, I don’t need th—”
“Next time I’ll give you a flower. So—”
Boom.
The hellfire fell.
The flames that would swallow everything—
