I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

26

Arpel frowned as he recalled the child’s soft, small earlobe. The earring’s tip suddenly seemed too sharp.

Of course, he only frowned. He carefully put the earring in his pocket. Being the god’s provision, it surely wouldn’t harm Rohan. If anything, it might help. He was just a little displeased.

Why not give a ring instead? He disliked the idea of having to pierce a hole in the small child’s body, whom he absolutely didn’t want to hurt, just to wear an earring.

It was an unusually sullen face for Arpel, but the only one watching was the demon god, who was trying to suppress a chuckle.

The face that had shown no noticeable emotional change, except for slight sullenness about the earring, suddenly transformed at those words. It was a look as if he was seeing the craziest person in the world. It was a very irreverent gaze for looking at a god, but the so-called god didn’t seem to mind.

In the human world, they call the one who gave birth to them daddy or mommy, right?

The words spoken with a shrug were quite brazen. More than that, Arpel was annoyed at the comment about their faces being similar. He hadn’t particularly noticed before, but now his face that he had seen in the mirror recently did seem to resemble the face before him.

<…Why that expression? I’m quite good-looking. Even that old geezer Celestial God acknowledged my face.>

“Which way should I exit?”

“Thank you for the provision.”

The demon god was left alone, looking dumbfounded as Arpel escaped without even answering. Muttering that there couldn’t be anyone more irreverent in the world. But he couldn’t deny that he particularly liked that aspect. His blank eyes returned to normal after a few seconds.

He waved his hand familiarly. The entirely white space began to change, and like paint spreading, a garden full of colorful flowers bloomed from the ground up.

It was a place where anyone would praise it as the most beautiful in the world and shed tears from the overwhelming emotions, but the demon god who was looking at it showed no reaction.

The eyes that had been sparkling with interest just moments ago became emotionless unbelievably quickly. It was natural since the interesting thing had left.

<…Still, it’ll be fun to watch.>

Watching that child seemed like it would be quite enjoyable.

Recalling the conversation they had, the demon god let out a small “Ah.” His blinking eyes, contrary to his cold appearance, looked a bit dull for a moment.

Wasn’t he forcibly made to harbor dirty power due to some terrible act? He couldn’t erase it right away, but he could give something to help.

Of course, the one to deliver it would be the High Priest. He was quite diligent and likeable, so he would listen immediately. The only drawback was that he became overly fixated on matters of specters… but it seemed there was no need to worry as he had mediated.

He walked with slow steps through the garden where flowers were in full bloom, swaying gently. A smile returned to the demon god’s face as he thought of Arpel.

What did that old-fashioned will see in you?

For the first time in a long while, he felt quite excited.

***

When he opened his eyes, his vision was strange. After pondering for a while, he belatedly remembered that he had lost consciousness while still in sword form. And that Rohan was gripping the sword handle so tightly that his hand had turned pale white.

“…Arpel? Is that you, Arpel?”

“I, I thought Arpel had disappeared.”

Large eyes were already brimming with tears. Unable to say anything for a moment, only when the child’s tears began to fall did he hurriedly change his form. There was a flash before his eyes, and as he returned to his familiar appearance, Rohan immediately embraced Arpel’s body.

“Don’t disappear… *hic* *sob* I don’t want to be left alone. Okay…?”

“Rohan. Rohan… don’t cry. Okay?”

I don’t know what to do if you cry.

Arpel’s expression contorted in response. As if unsure what to do, his careful touch gently stroking the reddened, swollen eyelids betrayed his unease.

He held the child tightly as he cried breathlessly, patting his back. He repeatedly kissed the tear-soaked cheeks that were growing hot. They tasted salty with tears, but he didn’t mind. Comforting the child who was crying as if he had nearly lost everything in the world was more important.

“Now, now don’t go anywhere. Stay by my side always…”

“Shh. I promise. Let’s stop crying, you’ll get sick. Please?”

“If you promise…”

“Yes. I promise.”

Two pinky fingers of vastly different sizes intertwined. Only then did Rohan gradually stop crying and burrow into Arpel’s arms, hiccuping. As he held the child tightly, Arpel thought.

That he would live the rest of his life for this child.

It was the first vow Arpel made to his own power.

***

Despite comforting him for a long time, Rohan showed no intention of leaving Arpel’s arms. Whenever Arpel tried to set the child down, those eyes would immediately start to water, forcing him to adjust his hold. He couldn’t help feeling a little pleased about it.

“Did your conversation go well?”

Dionel seemed to have been waiting in front of the prayer room the whole time. When Arpel nodded without much reaction, his expression became strange.

“Are you not feeling unwell?”

“What do you mean?”

In contrast to their last conversation which had been one-sided informal speech, Arpel responded politely.

In Arpel’s eyes, there was no negative emotion towards Dionel. It was just a gaze one would give to a stranger passed countless times on the street, someone you might bump into occasionally – a look devoid of any particular feeling. That was all.

At that moment, Dionel realized that although this man had a human appearance, his essence was ultimately that of a demon sword. The only time he showed noticeable emotional changes was in matters related to Rohan. In fact, the only time he had revealed his magic power and shown killing intent was the moment Rohan was attacked, just that once.

Looking at the back of Rohan’s head, who was in Arpel’s arms and not sparing a glance this way, Dionel gave a bitter smile.

“I wanted to apologize properly. It was I who, blinded by the power of specters, used devout people. Moreover, the loss of you 20 years ago is entirely the temple’s responsibility.”

Arpel silently blinked his eyes.

Loss. In truth, he knew nothing more than the fact that the demon sword had fallen into the hands of the Salvation Church and was subjected to experiments injecting specter power, leading to its corruption. He didn’t even know how it had ended up with the Salvation Church, and his lack of interest in his own affairs also played a part.

His memories, if they could be called that, began in Rohan’s village. Everything before that was just a one-line past he had only read about. He merely assumed it was the work of a Salvation Church spy in the temple.

Thinking that Arpel wanted more explanation about that incident, Dionel, with eyes sunk in guilt, lowered his gaze and murmured.

“At that time, the previous High Priest wanted to strengthen cooperation with the imperial family. He wanted to hold a banquet inviting outsiders and nobles, and showcase the newly bestowed demon sword, that is, you. But during transport, something went wrong and the demon sword was lost.”

“Are you not suspecting that there are spies here?”

“……”

“You should question the person in charge of transport at the time and the one responsible for the search after the incident.”

Yes. That’s right.

Dionel, who had been silent for a moment, nodded. He too had long suspected that there were those eating away at some part of this temple.

When the incident of losing the demon sword occurred, naturally, the previous High Priest incurred the wrath of the demon god. Many priests had already been expressing dissatisfaction with the fact that the demon sword was to be showcased for others’ entertainment at the banquet, so he was swiftly dismissed from the position of High Priest.

Along with him taking all the responsibility, the sudden vacancy in the High Priest position caused much confusion in the temple. Whether by coincidence or someone’s scheme, the matter of holding the responsible parties accountable at the time became neglected.

Dionel, who was young at the time, had no way of knowing the detailed circumstances. There had never been an incident of losing a demon sword in the temple’s history, and the high-ranking priests and elders of the time considered the incident a shame to the temple. Most records explaining the situation at that time were expunged from within the temple for the same reason.

It’s not that they didn’t try to find the demon sword again belatedly, but there was no clue as to its whereabouts, as if it had vanished into thin air or sunk into the ground. Even when they asked the demon god for help, the only answer that came down was ‘I cannot interfere’.

Arpel, who had been silently watching Dionel’s eyes filled with complex emotions darting back and forth, opened his mouth.

“Would you like to make a deal with me?”

“A deal? What do you…”

It seemed to be an unexpected situation, as the eyes that met his trembled violently.

For Arpel, resolving this matter as quickly as possible was important. Whether Dionel’s speculation was right or wrong, the very fact that spies remained in the temple could be a threat to Rohan.

“I can help you with that matter.”

So he proposed.

Even if the situation goes awry, it wouldn’t matter if he intervened directly.

Arpel didn’t fully trust Dionel’s speculation. When he learned that he was the ‘demon sword’, he intended to closely observe the emotional fluctuations that would inevitably appear in a person if they were the perpetrator of the series of events.