Heir (10)
To ensure that the heir meets the succession conditions for the Holy Sword.
It was a daunting task in itself, but there was a problem that had to be solved first.
‘How should I take the heir?’
Once you take your heir to the world outside the mountains, you will be able to start anything.
I thought it was not a problem that could only be solved by persuading the heir.
What was ambiguous was the existence of the heir’s father, Ben.
‘Even in the game, the heir was obviously very reluctant to talk about his father.’
That was an easy part to guess. Could something have happened to her father between now and a few years from now?
If not, there seemed to be no reason for her to go outside the mountains, no reason to be reluctant to talk about her father, no reason why her personality seemed darker in the future than it is now.
And if that was true, it was obvious what the error was. The attack of the Demon Contractor was prevented by me and the hero’s intervention.
It can’t be said with certainty, but given the evidence given, it was the most reasonable guess at the moment.
Putting aside that part, anyway, for the heir, the father is the only family.
It was unlikely that the heir would easily leave the mountains alone, leaving behind such a father, and vice versa.
So, unless they were going to forcibly kidnap the heir, not only her, but he too needed persuasion.
‘Even the warrior must be struggling by now.’
I asked Asher, who was standing behind me.
“Ashel.”
“yes.”
“Do you have any good ideas? Regarding the succession of the holy sword.”
The information about the holy sword and the successor had been shared with Asher a long time ago, so she also understood the current situation.
Ashley shook her head with a slight embarrassment.
“I’m sorry. I’ll do my best to think about it.”
“No. I just asked once.”
I can’t come up with anything, but there’s no way that Asher would have an idea.
I let out a small sigh and lay down on the grass.
As I was looking up at the sky with my arm on my head, Asher’s expression caught my eye on the other side of my field of vision.
An expression that feels like it’s strangely shaded somewhere.
“······.”
Since when? The fact that Asher showed such a strange expression.
It must have been halfway since he started to accompany the hero.
The reason was unknown. It’s just that I have a vague feeling that it’s not just because the hero’s existence is uncomfortable.
At this point, I thought that I should definitely go over the problem with her, so I opened my mouth right away.
“Ashel.”
“yes.”
“Is it because of my mood that you’ve been feeling a little strange lately?”
I asked openly because it seemed like it would go overboard if I said it round and round.
I could see Ashelle, who took a small breath, hesitated. Also, there is something.
“No, Ron. I…”
“If you want to get over it and say nothing happened, do so. I believe in you, so there will be no problem if you think so.”
Ashley’s eyes twinkled.
“Just know. You don’t always have to be cool or unshakable in front of me. I never asked for that.”
I said that and turned my head again.
Even though I said this, I can’t do anything if I don’t open up. I don’t want to forcefully ask questions.
After a moment of silence, Ashley opened her mouth in a suppressed voice.
“I just couldn’t tell you because it was so pathetic.”
“·······?”
Are you pathetic?
I tilted my head and said.
“What’s new? I’ve seen you look so pathetic.”
“yes?”
“Forgetting to add salt while boiling the stew, secretly stroking the zodiac while twitching the corners of your mouth, or…”
“······Yes, yes?”
Asher stuttered several times as if something was wrong.
“It’s a joke.”
I joked about it once because I looked so droopy, but the reaction was fierce.
She was quite embarrassed that I made such a joke, even her face was stained red.
“I will never disappoint you for any reason, so tell me.”
Asher, who had calmed down and returned to normal, sighed and said.
“I was skeptical of how I would be of any help in my future journey.”
There was no need to ask why he was so skeptical.
The hero, even though she was uncomfortable because of her family, was with her as a collaborator.
‘······Ah, come to think of it.’
Right. Come to think of it, it seems to have been since then.
A conversation with a hero, when I comforted her by telling her that the only person I can rely on right now is you.
Asher wondered if he must have felt skeptical after hearing the conversation.
If so, this guy was really misunderstanding something.
“Do you remember the conversation we had in the Archmage’s dungeon?”
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“·······?”
“I told you of my wishes and purpose, and you were willing to help him.”
I slowly stood up and looked straight at Asher.
“It was the first thing I ever said out loud, and it was the truest of my thoughts that I had never told anyone.”
“······.”
“Do you understand? Asher. You were the first. Think about what that means. And leave those pitiful thoughts behind.”
It has nothing to do with force.
In this lonely world, the person I can rely on the most is now and always will be Asher.
Asher stood there blankly for a long time, and then nodded in bewilderment.
“yes······.”
I asked if it was serious, but it was nothing. Anyway.
I brushed off my clothes and got up.
Just in time, the hero started a conversation with the heir, faintly audible from afar.
***
The hero, Aindel, looked at Kaan who was wielding a wooden sword on the other side of the yard.
After entering the hut, she came out to the yard again and practiced swordsmanship.
“······.”
The way the sword draws one after another, the balance of the body, and the movement of the muscles.
It’s perfect with nothing angular.
She was unleashing the perfect sword at her current level.
You can tell at a glance. Is it the fruit of bloody effort, or is it a natural talent bestowed by the sky?
‘genius.’
Kaan is the successor to the Holy Sword. So it was not surprising, but she was the latter. Rather, she would be surprised if she were ordinary.
“You look very carefully.”
Kaan stopped swinging her sword and turned her gaze to Aindel.
Aindel was in the yard first, and Kaan was the one who started swinging her sword in front of her, but Aindel handed her an apology.
“I’m sorry if that’s rude.”
“It’s not particularly rude.”
Kaan slung a wooden sword over her shoulder and asked after clearing her throat.
“I said Aindel. You’re a swordsman too, right? Can you tell me how my swordsmanship was?”
“Excellently wonderful.”
“Really? It’s empty, isn’t it?”
“I’m serious. There’s no reason for me to be empty.”
Hmmm, Kaan snorted and shrugged her shoulders before sitting next to Aindel.
“By the way, in the end, why did you ask me to hold that strange sword? What do I do to see if that sword suits me or not?”
Aindel stared at her like that and said.
“To find a new master for the sword.”
“New owner…? Why?”
“It’s because I don’t have many days left to hold that sword. It’s a great sword too precious to be buried with me in my grave.”
At that, Kaan looked at her with a startled face.
“Uh… have you got some kind of incurable disease?”
“You can do that.”
“If it’s a disease, my father is good at fixing things. Shall I tell you?”
“It’s a pity, but it’s not a disease that can be cured. Just be thankful for your heart.”
“No, though.”
Kaan was about to say something more, but stopped after feeling an unknown resoluteness from Aindel.
“······ So I was suitable as the owner of that sword? Something flashed brightly, but.”
Aindel shook her head.
“I don’t know yet.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kaan looked at her and spoke cautiously.
“If there’s anything I can help with, let me know. I’ll do it if I can.”
Aindel gave a faint smile.
“Then I want to ask you a few questions.”
“That’s enough.”
“It may sound strange, but why are you and your father living alone in the depths of a mountain like this?”
There was no immediate answer to that question.
Kaan, who was scratching the nape of her neck with her gaze averted, opened her mouth.
“Well, there’s no particular reason. I’ve been living here with my father since I can remember being a child.”
“······.”
“The only memory I had outside the mountains is that my father saved me from dying and brought me here.
Aindel looked at her with strange eyes. So you’re saying he wasn’t her biological father?
“Have you ever thought of going outside the mountains?”
Aindel changed the question after realizing that Kaan was confused.
She had to somehow get this girl out of the mountains. Only then will I be able to somehow try to inherit the Holy Sword.
But I didn’t have the slightest desire to force it out.
Even if the situation becomes so urgent that it can no longer be postponed.
It was Aindel who suffered more painfully than anyone else and understood the reality, the sacrifice of a cow for the sake of the great.
However, she never intended to pass on the responsibility if the successor refused to become the owner of the Holy Sword of their own will. That was why she was her warrior.
“Hmm… that’s okay too. But I’m interested in the outside world.”
Kaan began chattering with a little excitement.
“I saw it in books or heard it only from my father. A place called a city where a lot of people live together, a mage tower in Saintea where wizards of all kinds gather to study new magic, and adventurers wandering all over the continent looking for ancient ruins.”
“Yes. There are things like that out there.”
“And I think Calderic, which you said you came from, is a very interesting place. I heard that all the rulers, the rulers, are of different races?”
Aindel nodded and listened to her words.
Still, it was nice to have an interest in the outside world. If I had no interest at all, persuasion would not have been so difficult.
“The most interesting thing is the academy that Lodiven talked about.”
“Academy······?”
“Yes, it’s an academy. It’s called an academy? Anyway, it’s a place where a lot of people the same age as me gather to learn all kinds of things. Learn swordsmanship, learn magic, and gather together to study.”
Aindel looked at Kaan, who was happily talking, with a strange look.
Listening closely, everything she said was focused on people coming together to do something rather than the place itself.
