Volume 3 Chapter 8 – Arefgard: Heart’s Fire | Rosenmary

| Rosenmary

Beryl Kingdom, Marquisate of Luchie. The city of Nekrond.

We finally arrived at Nekrond, located at the edge of human territory, beyond the boundary between humans and demons.

Beryl is a kingdom known as the “Shield of the King” because it borders demon territory. And of all places, Nekrond is the fiercest battleground against the demons.

That would explain it. There are mighty warriors, mages, demi-humans, beastkin, and even knights from other territories.

The temple knights had us wear cloaks and guided us out of sight as we headed to the marquis’s mansion.

There must be some political agenda at play. I don’t really understand it, but Lily and Kuro seemed well-versed in such matters.

We were greeted by the Marquis of Luchie in the Beryl Kingdom, Garland=Luchie, and his son, Alan=Luchie.

“You’ve truly returned safely. How fortunate.”

“To the Miko of the divine oracle, I am pleased to see you have fulfilled your duty safely.”

“Ah, Marquis Luchie-dono. Alan-dono. I am grateful for your gracious welcome.”

Lily generally handles diplomatic relations as the princess-miko. My language tends to be rough, and Kuro is a bit too casual.

Especially Kuro, who tends to be too hasty in reaching conclusions. Perhaps it’s his merchant background that makes him so polarizing.

However, today, Lily entrusted me with the task, saying she had some matters to think over. The Marquis’s son, Alan, the next Marquis, came to offer me his sympathies.

“Lady Marie, I am so relieved you are safe. I was worried—deeply worried.”

“Oh, thank you, Alan-dono. Indeed, it was a challenging journey, but everyone returned safely.”

As I shook his hand, I noticed his lingering gaze. Alan never brings up the hero. Even when we stopped by before, he was strangely reluctant to discuss him.

Lily, on the other hand, seemed to sense something.

“Please, take your time today to rest and recover from your journey.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your hospitality.”

“Rosenmary, keep it discreet. The temple knights are here as well.”

“Of course, Alan-dono. As joyful as this reunion is, everyone is exhausted from the journey from demon territory. Could you guide us to where we can rest?”

Lily always puts on a cold front before nobles. In truth, she’s a warm-hearted friend who cares deeply for her companions.

It pains me that people misunderstand her, but she claims it’s convenient, saying she prefers not to get tangled up in troublesome affairs.

Since the demon king’s defeat, Lily has been on edge. She tries to hide it, but I can tell, having been by her side for so long. The only time she softens is when she reads letters.

The demon king is defeated, the world saved, and her beloved has departed. From now on…what should I do?

I’ve been pondering this endlessly, wondering where to go from here.

◆

“Got it?”

“Go ahead.”

Whenever we were staying in a noble’s mansion, I would always end up visiting Lily’s room. My background is just that of a commoner. I could handle staying in a town inn or the village elder’s home just fine.

But when it came to a noble’s mansion, I couldn’t help but feel out of place. That’s why I always found myself coming to Lily or Kuro’s room.

“Kuro, you’re here too?”

“What, am I not allowed to be here?”

“Hehe, Marie-san doesn’t think that way.”

“Exactly. That’s what you’d call needless self-pity.”

The three of us laughed together. It was good. This was the same Lily as always. But what was it about today? After sharing a round of laughter, Lily composed herself and took a stone from her belongings—the Barrier Stone of the Guiding Star.

“Both of you.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

This Barrier Stone, depending on the user’s mana, could cut off and isolate space.

It was the same stone we used to create a perfect barrier on the final night of the demon king’s defeat, the night of our resolve.

We acquired it in the mining town of Mercain about a year ago and had been charging it with mana ever since.

To protect that one precious night, a night of boundless love, even if it was only for a brief moment.

There still seemed to be residual mana within it. Once the barrier was set, Lily began to speak.

“I couldn’t tell you this on the way back since the temple knights were with us, so I kept it quiet until now.”

Even though the hero had returned, anything we discussed would be reported back to the Great Church by the temple knights.

As members of the Great Church, we avoided any talk that might raise suspicions. Using the Barrier Stone along the way would have likely invited scrutiny.

“Also, noble houses are usually built to serve the noble’s interests. Peeping, eavesdropping—they’re all fair game. I’ve mentioned this before, haven’t I?”

That was true. That’s why I always came to Lily’s room. I’m only good for piercing through situations, after all. When Kyosuke wasn’t around, I was usually with Lily, who was skilled at detecting others.

“Luckily, when Kyosuke-san was with us, he continuously enveloped us in detection magic, so we were able to travel safely.”

“Honestly, I never fully understood how that worked. He was so far away.”

“Yes, not just because of his mana, but his ideas were something else.”

Kyosuke’s way of thinking was unique. Dividing mana into four types had probably never been done in history, and his mana capacity erased any advantage we had from two years of prior training.

“…It’s nostalgic, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“…Indeed.”

The journey to save the world.

To me, it feels like both yesterday and a distant memory.

“But starting today, things are different. We’ll be traveling through human territories now. Without Kyosuke-san, some fools may look down on us because of our commoner origins and treat us accordingly.”

“Oh, they’re out there, for sure.”

“Right.”

Even on our journey, there were many who had bad intentions toward us. The troublesome ones were those who didn’t solve things with brute force.

“Additionally, there are nations that covertly have disputes with our homeland, the Kingdom of Ranetta. Beryl is one of them.”

I vaguely remembered hearing something about that during my miko training. Something about the distribution of mana stones, if I recall correctly.

Since I could only fight, I had left everything else to Lily and Kuro.

“The Holy Lady and the Sage both mentioned this, and from reading past records, we understand that if the hero hadn’t returned to his original world, we might not have seen these disputes among humans surface until now.”

It had been humanity’s wish to defeat the demon king. And it had been granted.

But with that success, new problems arise.

“We, for the first time in history since the demon king appeared, sent Kyosuke-san—the hero—back to his original world. We sent him away, fulfilling his wish, yet in doing so, we betrayed him without any farewell after he had done so much for the peace of this world.”

“……”

“…”

Our beloved has left.

I had wished, countless times, that the demon king would just flee. But the only way to save Kyosuke, who saved everyone, was through a collision between him and the demon king.

The three of us had debated it many times.

In the end, we chose this outcome.

And as a result of that choice, all I’m left with is regret.

“That’s precisely why. Peace is the beloved child that Kyosuke-sama and we brought into being. I, as the princess-miko of the hero, will annihilate anyone who dares to disrupt this peace.”

“Is that…”

“Lily…”

Could something like that even be possible?

Fortunately, the blessing of the miko is said to last until death. On top of that, we’ve reached the highest possible rank for humans. We won’t go down easily.

But wars between nations are on a different level.

Still… if I don’t give up, like Kyosuke, could it be possible?

“Marie-san, Kuroie-san, are you prepared for this?”

“I… don’t know if I understand the whole idea of ‘resolve’ yet, but I am prepared to protect this child.”

“…”

Resolve, huh.

No matter how much I think about it, I have nothing I want to do. Kyosuke isn’t here. I don’t even feel the reality of the child within me yet.

But… even so. If peace is Kyosuke’s beloved legacy, I want to protect it. To protect it, along with this child.

As a new goal, it’s not bad.

Yes, a fire lights in my heart.

The fire I thought I had lost.

“And I have not given up on Kyosuke-sama.”