My question was answered before long.
“She asked me to give this to you, saying it would help… but she said she’s not worthy yet.”
“What kind of help?”
“I don’t know; she said she was going to go anyway, even if I tried to stop her.”
In a daze, I accepted Mr. Reynolds’ keepsake.
With my remaining hand, I poured myself a drink, my eyes endlessly gazing at the pitch-black rod.
Stop her?
What did she think I could do?
“Our uncle’s keepsake and will… please take care of it.”
For a while, I pondered those words.
The keepsake of the departed, the testament of the departed.
Nothing felt light.
It was suffocating.
Lupin brought me another piece of news.
He told me that Ria was keeping one of my belongings. If that was the case, she should have come to me long ago; why hadn’t I heard from her until now?
That question would be resolved once I visited her.
On the way to find Ria, I stopped several times to sigh.
My hand kept feeling around in my pocket. Inside was the short, pitch-black rod.
Mr. Reynolds’ keepsake.
I couldn’t understand the intent behind Senior Elsi giving me this item. I wasn’t a mage; would this rod really be of any help?
Lost in thought, I found myself standing in front of the place where Ria was staying.
It was a modest-sized shop. It looked a bit larger than the magic materials store once run by the elf Abiyang.
The office of the company was suitably sized.
I knocked on the door, and a feeble voice leaked from inside.
“We’re not accepting customers today.”
“It’s me.”
Silence lingered on the other side of the door.
Sensing hesitation, I opened the door and stepped inside.
The shop was neatly organized, reflecting its owner’s character. In the center stood my sister, looking dejected as she stared down at some documents.
She was trying hard to ignore me.
Rude as it was, I had no intention of letting her avoidance slide.
“Ria, I’m back.”
“Uh, yeah…”
Ria averted her gaze and blushed at my greeting.
It was evident she was reluctant to meet me. This could not be a trivial matter.
Isn’t it common sense for a sister to welcome her brother back with joy and affection?
Feeling irritated, I approached Ria and began to press her.
“Where’s my welcome hug? No kiss anymore?”
“Ugh, seriously!”
Finally unable to endure my teasing, Ria slammed her hand on the table.
Her cheeks slightly flushed, and a faint tear gathered at her eyelashes.
It seemed Ria also had the capacity for shame.
“Why, why are you acting like this… I’m an adult now! I won’t do that anymore!”
“You used to do it just fine until recently.”
“That, that’s…”
Ria’s eyes drooped like a puppy caught in wrongdoing.
I looked at her in silence. Sometimes, a brief silence is more effective than a hundred questions.
No one knew Ria better than I did.
I also had a way to hear her true feelings.
“…Ria.”
My soft call was the deciding blow.
Soon, tears began to gather in Ria’s eyes, and a choppy voice spilled out.
“But I’m not a sister… I just took someone else’s life away…”
“No, Ria.”
I then hugged Ria without hesitation as I spoke.
Ria did not resist my touch. Her sobbing deeply resonated in my chest.
“No matter what anyone says, you’re my sister. I’ve thought so, and I’ve lived my life that way.”
“What about that girl?”
“That girl,” it was obvious who she was referring to.
“Greed,” likely meant the true blood relation I had.
“I pity her… I couldn’t have endured it myself if I were her. I would have hated myself so much… but, is it okay for me to continue being happy?”
“Of course.”
I spoke again, filled with conviction.
“It’s not your fault.”
“But still…”
“You promised me.”
Hearing her voice filled with moisture, my mind recalled a memory from long ago.
“You said you’d let me protect you… who was that person who made a promise with me back then?”
“…Me, me.”
“Do you know?”
I slowly patted Ria’s back. Her tears wet my sleeve, but it wasn’t so unpleasant.
I just hoped Ria would stop crying soon.
“A good knight doesn’t tell lies.”
At that moment, Ria burst into tears.
It had been a long time since I comforted a crying sister. It was a joyful duty for an older brother.
After a considerable time rubbing her back, Ria mumbled in a voice slightly clearer from tears.
“Should that girl die?”
Of course.
The Dark Cult was the most notorious group across the continent. Once brainwashed and corrupted by their hands, there seemed no way to turn back.
I had proven that fact time and time again without exception.
With this hand, I had taken countless lives.
To now speak of blood ties felt unbearable, as I had committed too many sins.
Yet, why?
I could not bring myself to say it, my mouth dry, and it was hard to declare anything.
Above all, I felt that Ria might burst into tears again.
“…Let’s do our best.”
This was about all I could muster.
There was no way I could save anyone, yet I was selling a vain hope.
Ria likely understood that too. But she couldn’t burden me further, so she nodded her head quietly.
It was a tangled fate.
I didn’t even dare to unravel this thread.
Someone would have to die for it to end.
Unknowing of my thoughts, Ria closed her eyes and murmured.
“I’ll believe you; you’ve always kept your promises… okay.”
Suddenly, Ria’s palm was thrust before my eyes.
On it rested an unremarkable iron cross. It seemed to be a cheap necklace sold in the market.
I couldn’t fathom the intention behind this gift.
When I looked at her with a confused expression, Ria smiled softly.
“A little kid from the orphanage gave it to me. You know, the girl we rescued? It was her brother.”
Oh, that child.
I recalled that tangentially, she seemed to have safely returned to her family according to the terms of the ‘contract.’
I was glad I could keep my promise.
When I accepted the cross with a faint smile, she said.
“You’re a good knight. You keep all your promises, right?”
At those words, I felt a sense of longing somewhere.
My gaze halted, starting to closely examine the shape of the cross. It looked too familiar.
It was an object I had given to the Lady Virgin Saint.
The only difference was whether it was made of silver or cheap iron.
Did they think we were lovers?
“So, I’ll believe you. You won’t break your promise, no matter what happens.”
In reality, I had broken promises many times.
Especially the ones I made with the Lady Virgin Saint. I remembered breaking the promises not to visit dangerous places and to take some time to be stable, like it was a daily routine.
But at least for one.
I had to keep at least one.
A dreamlike, hazy voice brushed past my ears.
“I will, I will definitely make it happen…”
Applying pressure on the hand holding the cross, the metal pressed into my skin, but I didn’t let out even a faint groan.
Now it was Ria’s turn to look at me with a puzzled tone.
“Brother, is something wrong…?”
“Ria.”
With a lowered voice, I steadied my breath.
“I have something I need to do.”
It was a brief statement. But it was enough.
Ria seemed to have an inkling of what I was thinking. Of course, she would, being my sister.
“But it’s too dangerous. It’s impossible. I have to make it possible.”
“…What are the odds?”
“To be blunt, less than one in a hundred.”
At my honest confession, Ria’s complexion turned pale.
Then it twisted, straightened, and soon her lips quivered as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, it looked like she resigned, and a gloomy expression covered her face.
A sigh-laced retort came back.
“…Why do you have to do that?”
“Because I promised.”
My firm tone deepened Ria’s worries.
With her lips biting each other and her fingers fidgeting, it was evident she wanted to dissuade me.
But knowing it would be useless.
Ria quietly kissed my cheek.
“A kiss to wish you a safe trip.”
“Aren’t you not going to do that anymore because you’re an adult now?”
“Every woman secretly wants to stay a girl forever.”
Then Ria turned her head away sulkily with a little huff.
I couldn’t help but laugh for a while at how cute she looked.
The next day, an old friend welcomed me back.
Reto Einsten, the confidant I trusted the most.
The moment he heard my story, he touched his forehead as if unable to believe it.
“…I-an, you really have gone insane.”
“It’s just a misunderstanding that’s been going around lately.”
“No, you’re seriously crazy… Do you really think this absurd plan will work? The feasibility seems iffy at best… there are too many flaws in the logic. Do you think anyone would uphold such a unreasonable claim?”
“So you need to cover for me.”
Reto looked as if he wanted to scream in frustration.
His skin was about to peel off from the muscle tension, revealing the whites of his eyes beneath.
“I’m not gonna do it! If I end up designing this ridiculous plan, I’d deserve to have all my hair pulled out by Selin!”
“Reto, I don’t want to run away.”
With a swift motion, I muttered as if casting a spell on myself.
The pitch-black rod revolved through the air before getting drawn into my palm.
“I don’t want to act cowardly either.”
For the first time in ages, I truly asked my close friend for help.
“Please, help me just this once.”
“…What the hell!”
Reto couldn’t hold back his anger and threw the documents scattered before him in all directions.
Gasp, gasp.
As he breathed heavily, Reto shouted with bloodshot eyes.
“If you end up dying, you’d better know that I’ll come back to haunt you!”
“Are you planning to kill me twice?”
“Yeah, I’ll go to the afterlife and beat you up!”
Faced with my shouting friend, I couldn’t help but wear a wry smile.
Thus, the next day, according to Reto’s advice, I went to find the twins from Alphenhausen.
Finally, I could stand here now.
There were too many people milling about. Even with my hood pulled low, the crowd was so large that I struggled to see properly.
They were flowing like a great tide toward a certain location.
The capital of the Holy Kingdom, the sacred site of the Heavenly Deity Sect, Siendel.
On the tallest mountain there was a sacred place to distinguish truth from lies before the great Heavenly Deity.
It was called the “Mountain Court.”
Today was the day of the Lady Virgin Saint’s trial.
