Chapter 128

“Seriously, I need to think…”

Walking to a deserted place, Evan sat down and contemplated the stories Esther had told him.

‘I thought the timing was too early…’

Now that those words were directly confronting him, he felt it even more acutely.

Isn’t the world still being threatened by the Demon King?

The confession he had just entered to do was ultimately just to correct the complacent feelings that had settled in him after living peacefully in trials for two weeks.

In the midst of that, it was just a story that Esther happened to notice something was off and asked him seriously about the trials.

‘I can’t let this happen.’

It was undeniable that he liked Aria, but the world wasn’t peaceful yet, so confessing his feelings might just delay his growth.

He wondered if he had the right to confess to Aria when he hadn’t even alleviated the pain she was carrying.

‘Still…’

It’s still a distant story, isn’t it?

In a situation where he didn’t know when the Demon King would resurrect, if he thought it would be soon and trained too hard, he might end up losing Aria.

If it was already too late, would he regret it then?

Evan gritted his teeth.

That couldn’t happen.

Absolutely not.

Although he had been given the duty of a hero, he was originally just a regular kid who met his master and wielded a sword.

Even though he had been suddenly tasked with saving the world, he hadn’t shrunk back and had come this far, even subduing that colossal monster which was one of the calamities of the distant past.

Was it not a bit… okay to rest?

Though he vowed to defeat the Demon King, he didn’t want to do something he would later regret.

Yet, he couldn’t just abandon his duty either; from Evan’s perspective, he couldn’t give up on either. He couldn’t give up on defeating the Demon King, but he didn’t want to give up on Aria either… it was a situation like that.

‘What I can do here…’

Evan, who had been contemplating for a while, finally made a decision.

If he couldn’t give up on either, he had no choice but to do both even if it took a little longer.

However, if he spent time like this without saying anything, he might lose this opportunity forever.

If he wanted to hold onto both…

‘There’s no other option.’

Evan sighed, covering his face with both hands.

*

– Have you made a decision?

When Evan returned, he had a look as if he had made a “great determination.”

On the surface, he was seriously advised to choose where to place more weight between the peace of the world and love, but since Esther’s intention was simply to buy some time, it was difficult for her to guess what choice Evan had made.

‘What could it be…?’

Did he really think deeply about it?

If he decided to choose love, it was hard to believe he would have such an expression…

‘Did he lean more toward duty after all?’

It was a somewhat disappointing choice…

Esther felt a bit of regret.

That said, it wasn’t completely unreasonable… In reality, there had been many who, during their time with the Sacred Sword, loved each other excessively and attempted to run away.

The Demon King was so powerful that being sealed was common, and even if he were to be defeated, it was a given that he would reappear after a long time; it was akin to the laws of this world.

While peace would last longer than sealing, it was ultimately impossible to prevent a similar being from appearing once again.

‘It can’t be helped…’

Putting pleasure off for now, it seemed best to focus on Evan’s growth.

That was what Esther thought, but…

“I’m going to confess.”

At Evan’s sudden bombshell declaration, Esther froze in place.

– Uh… Really?

She never expected he would lean more toward love…?

From Esther’s perspective, choosing love was undoubtedly a joyous and good choice, but it was also concerning.

Evan and Aria weren’t the type to abandon subjugation or sealing and choose to run away…

‘Hmm…’

As she mentioned earlier, the reason she brought this up was primarily to buy time, so she couldn’t help but be flustered by Evan’s decision that came back after only an hour.

She had expected at least a day or two of contemplation…

For such a significant matter.

Esther broke out in a cold sweat.

Of course, she had thought about what advice to give.

It was just that it hadn’t been concretized, and…

‘Well… Is it just to tell them to do it?’

To do it, or simply put, sex.

To be frank, the humans she had observed for a long time had greatly enjoyed entangling their bodies and doing various things together.

For someone who had lived as the Sacred Sword for thousands of years, she didn’t understand why that was so enjoyable, but seeing them happy while doing it, she wondered if Aria and Evan might also engage in that.

Considering it was called a reproductive act… and the fact that children could be born from it.

‘Should I just tell them to do that?’

Although she had lived as the Sacred Sword, the fact that she had existed for thousands of years made her understand that discussing such matters outright wasn’t the most tasteful thing.

Given how much she disliked appearing before others, it was clear she didn’t exhibit or flaunt things.

Unfortunately, however, because she wasn’t human, she didn’t understand what such an act was, its social implications, or any of those factors.

‘I don’t know.’

Anyway, since Evan had made a decision, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to say it couldn’t be done.

She was the one who had told him to decide between the two.

– So now you’re going to confess right away? Whether Aria will accept it is another matter, but I think it’s okay.

“…That’s not it.”

Then what exactly is it?

What did he mean when he said he would confess?

As Esther questioned what kind of nonsense Evan was talking about, he scratched his head with a shy, reddened face and replied quietly.

“Uh… I will confess that I like her, but… we have a duty to defeat the Demon King, so I’ll ask her to wait in the meantime…”

– Uh… okay?

“I’ll promise to become a cool guy suitable for her by then. I’ll also tell her I wish she would decide by that time…”

…

…

‘Oh my.’

In the end, he decided on both.

It could be a challenging path for both of them.

For both Aria and Evan… but it was certainly a choice that could allow him to hold onto both.

– …Alright. That works.

“So, um…”

– Yes?

“Could you help me become a guy worthy of Aria, Esther?”

– Wow…

No.

Is every hero this pure?

Eventually, as time goes on, do they lose their innocence to the tumult of the world and become too focused on a coarse life?

Well… It’s natural that they were chosen as heroes because they were innocent…

While it might seem like she had received the choice of the Sacred Sword, technically, it wasn’t her choosing; it was more accurate to say it was a miracle bestowed upon her, and because of that, it was driving Esther to madness to see such a pure hero after so long.

‘Let’s do our best…’

It seemed that she had to work hard to see this pure side for a longer time.

That was the feeling Esther had.

.

.

.

“[… Yes?]”

“Um… I have something to talk about, so I was wondering if you could come out for a moment.”

After the confession time ended and while taking a short break, Evan came over and asked.

…

Oh dear.

Could it be that he discovered I had done the confession?

It was not impossible.

I had been so flustered at that time… Of course, it would be hard to imagine that after operating my thoughts for so long, I would make such a basic mistake with one person.

Thoughts flowed as easily as my limbs, so focusing and sending thoughts to just one person is not that difficult.

Most people wouldn’t realize unless I directly sent it from my own head.

If someone could figure that out, they would either be sensitive to thoughts or…

‘Someone who can manipulate thoughts…’

Evan wasn’t like that, though.

Regardless, the fact that he was calling me was real.

‘Oh no… this is bad…’

My mind was already complicated enough with the feeling that Evan liked me, but if he found out I told him all those things during confession…

That could very well shatter the fragile relationship I had managed to maintain.

‘Sigh…’

Maintaining a concept is really tough.

When will the day come when I can peacefully enjoy pain?

As a saint, I shouldn’t be saying such things, but Maleficent, why don’t you attack sooner?

It feels too peaceful these days.

Really.