Blood poured out for a long time right after the attack.
It only stopped flowing after red dye had tainted all the surrounding seawater.
Splash-!
Akada reached out and retrieved the trident that had been deeply embedded in his head.
Though covered in blood, it might have lost some luster, but the Trident of Atlan still shone with a brilliant golden light in his hands.
“………”
Akada stood there, still in shock, worried that the monster might rise again just as it did before, even after it had collapsed.
Fortunately, it seemed to be a living creature, as it couldn’t rise again after its head was pierced through directly.
The defeat of the monster that had invaded Cordelia.
He had truly accomplished it.
“Huh…!”
Finally confirming that the mana had completely drained from the monster’s body, Akada sat down on the spot.
There wasn’t a single part of his body that felt okay.
His arm couldn’t hold up from the previous technique, and he felt like his bones had shattered completely, experiencing magical exhaustion.
As the echoes of battle faded, a raging pain hit his body.
It was a torture that an ordinary person could hardly endure for even a second, yet a smile lingered on Akada’s lips.
Both from the joy of finally avenging his comrades and from the pride he felt for overcoming his fear and taking down the monster.
“Haha…”
Akada let out a careless laugh. At that moment, someone approached him, opening the monster’s mouth.
It was Evan.
“Akada.”
Evan called out to Akada, who was slumped over, lying on the ground.
“…Yeah.”
“We did it.”
“I know that very well. I smashed that thing’s head in with the trident.”
Akada burst into cheerful laughter. Evan watched him quietly and then opened his mouth, wearing a faint smile.
“Good job. It’s thanks to you that we were able to catch this monster.”
“But their help was way bigger.”
With a voice much more serious than a moment ago, he continued speaking.
“I was originally going to run away from it. But because you believed in me, because Chloe fought alongside me, I was able to obtain the Trident of Atlan and re-enter this battlefield.”
“Still, it was your choice to enter this battlefield in the end.”
Evan said while giving Akada a magical potion to drink.
“If you had chosen to run away without gathering your courage, you wouldn’t have been able to win this fight.”
Just like what Slear had said to him before. Hearing the same words from his contemporary comrade made Akada smile.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. You did well.”
Evan helped him up, and they exited the monster’s mouth.
“Let’s go. All the people in Cordelia are waiting for you.”
“For me?”
“You’re the hero who caught the monster and saved Cordelia.”
“…Not just a runaway?”
“Of course, for those from before, you might be seen as a coward who ran away without fighting the monster. But today, you will be remembered as the hero who confronted and triumphed over the monster that invaded Cordelia.”
As they spoke, they soon arrived at the entrance of Cordelia.
There, many merfolk had come out to greet him, calling out Akada’s name.
“See? Aren’t many mermen shouting your name?”
“Really…”
Akada nodded slightly.
‘A hero.’
Truly, it was an exaggerated title. He could have protected even more people, but he didn’t.
While lost in such thoughts…
“…You might think that by not stepping up sooner, you couldn’t have saved more people.”
Evan spoke as if reading Akada’s mind.
“I had thoughts like that once as well. But I hope you don’t feel that way.”
“But it’s hard to let go of what weighs on my heart.”
“Yeah, that might be so. But remember this: because you stepped up, those people are alive today.”
“Do you really think I’m a hero?”
At his question, Evan nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. You’re the hero who risked your life to change their fate, Apostle of the Sea.”
Hearts filled with the words of a comrade who fought alongside him.
Akada engraved those words deeply within himself.
“…Thank you.”
*
Three days had passed since then.
The condition of Lucia and Akada after the battle was quite serious, but fortunately, they had received treatment early, so their lives were not in danger.
However, it seemed Lucia had been very exhausted, as she had slept for two days straight and only just woke up today.
“Ugh…”
“Are you awake?”
Evan approached the bed and asked upon confirming she was awake.
“Yeah. If you and I are alive, it seems the monster was dealt with well.”
“I completely cut off its breath. You’ve been asleep for about two days since then.”
“…I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I know you did your best, and in the end, we did catch it.”
Evan gently patted Lucia’s slightly drooping shoulder.
“You did well. If you’d pushed just a bit harder, you might have lost your life.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Lucia got up from the bed.
Thanks to her recovery, she had no significant restrictions in her movements.
She stretched her body and then tried to take off her hospital gown to change.
“…Wait, wait.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Are you going to change here?”
Even though they had seen everything already (?), Evan panicked and stopped Lucia from changing in front of him.
But Lucia looked at him strangely and continued to take off her hospital gown.
“Did a strange thought pop into your head? I’m just taking off the gown because I have clothes on underneath.”
As she said, underneath the hospital gown, she wore a white undershirt.
Upon confirming this, Evan’s face turned red.
“…So that’s what it was.”
“Did you think I would show my naked body in front of an adult man?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“And now that I think about it, with you, it doesn’t seem to matter much.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve seen my body while I was in nothing but underwear, so I don’t think you’d get any sort of desire looking at my body.”
A somewhat reasonable justification.
Yet, being embarrassed was a separate matter, and Evan’s face turned redder than before.
“Could you step out for a moment? I’m just in my underwear here.”
“I’ll step out.”
“If you don’t mind, it’d be fine if you just turned your back…”
“I’ll go right out.”
At Lucia’s words, Evan quickly drew the curtains of the hospital room and fled outside.
He felt the heat rise on his cheeks.
‘Is it alright for a grown woman to say such things…?’
While he thought that and let out a sigh, Akada approached him.
“Evan, you said you’d wait by Chloe until she woke up. Has she woken up yet?”
“Yeah. Fortunately, it seems she’s okay.”
“That’s good news. I need to thank her, so I’ll pop in for a moment to express my gratitude…”
Just as Akada was about to open the door and enter the hospital room.
BANG!
Evan slammed the door shut to block him.
It was an impulsive action born from surprise.
“Why are you blocking me?”
“…Chloe asked me to wait outside. Let’s wait out here.”
“Is that so? I was thinking of just saying thanks and leaving.”
“Since Chloe will need to leave with me anyway, go ahead and express your thanks outside.”
Right now, Lucia was undressing to change her clothes.
In other words, if Akada entered now, her identity could be revealed.
Such incidents had to be prevented until they finished their business in Cordelia.
“Well… let’s do that.”
Although it might seem rude, luckily, Akada was understanding.
Evan let out a quiet sigh of relief and took Akada outside.
*
About 30 minutes later.
The three met Optatum in the audience hall.
“I bow before the clearest waters of Cordelia.”
“There’s no need for you all to observe such formalities. You’re the heroes who saved Cordelia.”
Optatum chuckled heartily and pulled something out of his pocket, placing it on the table.
It was a key.
“This is the key to the Forbidden Library of Cordelia. A promise is a promise.”
“Thank you for keeping your promise.”
“It’s a small reward I can give to the heroes who protected the citizens.”
Saying that, Optatum stood up.
He then bowed his head, expressing his gratitude to them.
“Your Majesty!”
“If it hadn’t been for you, Cordelia would have sunk even deeper into the abyss. I extend my gratitude once again to the heroes who prevented that.”
“You really don’t have to say that. We helped out for our own reasons.”
“You don’t wish for anything else apart from the key to the Forbidden Library? I’d like to repay you a little more.”
“What we wish for is to obtain needed information, so this is more than enough.”
Evan accepted the key and stood up.
“Then I’ll take my leave now. Time has passed more than I thought, and we need to find the information quickly.”
“Be careful. May the blessings of Lady Undine be with your journey.”
After Lucia briefly bid farewell, she followed Evan outside.
Akada remained behind, as he had something to discuss with Optatum.
“Have we finally reached the point where we can acquire the information we seek?”
“Perhaps not exactly. We cannot be entirely sure information we seek exists in Cordelia.”
“…I suppose we can only hope it does.”
With a guide, the two entered deeper into the kingdom.
Eventually, Evan and Lucia reached the Forbidden Library, where they unlocked the door that had been locked with the key.
