The Banished Black Swordsman Wants a Peaceful Life with the White Saint in the Frontier ~Huh? You Want Him to Come Back with the Saint? It’s Already Too Late~ - 70

Chapter 70: Welcoming the Guest

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They passed through the edge of the forest and emerged onto the highway where a collapsed stone marker stood. The coolness of the morning had completely retreated, and the sun hung white and high. The dirt road was dry, and fine grains of sand rasped against the soles of their boots with every step. A gentle wind from the west carried with it the mixed scents of wheat straw, hay, and distant livestock sheds.

The meeting point was a key spot at a three-way junction where a guidepost marking what had once been a village had sunk into moss. There was little foot traffic, but precisely because of that, the view was wide open. Anyone who came would not be overlooked, and even if someone were watching them, they would notice first.

They had arrived slightly earlier than the appointed time. Lloyd moved closer to the shadow of the guidepost and retightened his shoulder straps. The position of the sword at his waist, the collar of his cloak, the condition of the dirt beneath his feet—after checking everything out of habit, he casually looked up at the sky. Pale clouds stretched and broke apart in the wind. Particles of light spilled onto the dry earth and glittered in tiny points.

About five minutes passed. Beyond the bend in the western road, human figures wavered into view. Two silhouettes of differing heights. Walking shoulder to shoulder, the shapes gradually gained color as they approached. A blue-haired woman in a robe held a staff, while a small green-haired woman carried a war hammer that looked far too large for her stature. Elena and Fran.

“Yoo-hoo, Lloyd. We’re here~”

With a light step, Fran waved her hand toward him. Even from a distance, her voice carried, her arm swinging like an ear of wheat. A moment later, Elena lightly raised one hand as well. Both of them had sweat glistening at their napes, and he could see them brushing sand from their hems.

“Hey. Did you walk all the way here?”

As the distance closed, he could tell how hard they were breathing. Their complexion was not bad, but a hint of fatigue showed through. A thin layer of white dust from the road had settled on the tops of their boots, and fine grass tips were tangled in the leather straps on their shoulders.

“We walked here just for you, you know. It’d be bad if people found out the location, right?”

Elena lightly tapped the ground with the ferrule of her staff and said it casually. She had probably inferred the circumstances from Lloyd’s exchange with Cron the day before. Taking his situation into account and naturally choosing the best course of action, that was Elena’s way.

“We got a ride on an ox cart partway, though. Still, we’ve been walking pretty far on foot.”

Fran said as she shook the small pouch slung over her shoulder, patting away bits of grass. Her voice was lively, but fatigue showed in her steps.

“Sorry for making you go to the trouble. It really helps.”

When he put it into words, faint smiles appeared on both of their faces. They must have sensed that he had not even told Cron the location of the base during the meeting arrangements. Their quick understanding and smooth execution. That was why they were trustworthy.

Fran glanced restlessly around. Down the road, the shadows of the forest, the base of the guidepost. Rather than being unsettled, she seemed to be searching for something.

“Where’s Saint-sama?”

So that was what worried her first, after all. Whenever Fran was in front of Lusha, she became strangely formal. The time she had spent within the Church must have seeped into her body.

“She’s preparing lunch. She said she wants to treat you two, and she’s been fired up about it all morning.”

“H-hii… Being treated by the Saint-sama is way too much for me…”

Fran pressed both hands to her cheeks and put on a face that looked like she was about to cry. It was exaggerated, but probably sincere. He was reminded once again of just how significant Lusha’s position was to the Church. She was a being of such high rank that even a low-ranking cleric would shrink like this.

“Don’t say that. She may look like that, but she’s really been looking forward to you coming.”

Lusha had said that while she had friends from her convent days, after being chosen as a Saint she had almost no opportunities to casually talk with people her own age. A visit from women of the same sex and generation. It was only natural she would be excited.

“Fran’s been like this since this morning, so don’t worry about it. She even took forever picking out the souvenirs to bring.”

Elena shrugged, and Fran snorted.

“Well, I mean… To us, the ‘White Saint’ is the woman closest to a goddess. I keep wondering if baked sweets are really okay.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

The image of Lusha’s face when she received the gift surfaced in his mind—hands clasped in front of her chest, smiling brightly. Just imagining it made Lloyd’s cheeks loosen on their own. Suddenly, Fran leaned in to peer at him. She widened her eyes, then smiled gently.

“…You’ve softened up, Lloyd.”

“I’ve softened up? My body?”

He stretched every day, but he did not recall anything being particularly different today. When he tilted his head, Fran burst out laughing.

“That’s not what I mean. Your vibe, or your expression. You feel easier to talk to somehow.”

“Was I hard to talk to before?”

Pointing at himself, he asked Elena. Elena gave a wry smile in return.

“I wouldn’t say hard to talk to. But I did think maybe we shouldn’t bother you too much. It looked like you wanted to keep some distance from us.”

“Seriously…? I never meant it like that.”

Now that she mentioned it, that thought was not entirely unfamiliar. Back when he had convinced himself that he could not ‘resonate’ with anyone, he had decided somewhere along the line that keeping distance was better for everyone. His clash with Lusha had ultimately stemmed from that as well.

It had been a long way around, but it had led to the present. If Lloyd himself was changing through his bond with Lusha, that was something he welcomed.

“Let’s go. From here on, there’ll be even less traffic. Just in case, watch out for anyone tailing us.”

They left the junction and entered a narrow side path. Footprints were faint, and weeds had grown all the way to the center of the path. By now, only Lloyd and the others used this route. Brushing branches aside with his hands, he led the two forward. As they walked, trivial conversation continued.

“By the way, does Saint-sama actually cook and stuff?”

Fran said, flicking a roadside flower with her finger. Pollen scattered lightly and dissolved into the sunlight. Elena nodded.

“Ah, true. I always imagined attendants doing everything for her.”

“She probably really likes cooking. She said she was in charge of it back in the convent. She’s knowledgeable about edible plants and herbs too. Even ordinary weeds look like ingredients to Lusha.”

Lloyd glanced at the grass by his feet. Leaves with unknown names, fuzzy stems, small purple flowers. To him they were just weeds, but to her they became fragrance or medicine. He had been helped by that knowledge countless times on their journey here.

“T-that’s way too down-to-earth… It’s nothing like what I imagined.”

“She’s just a normal girl. Just one who’s a little unusually good with holy magic.”

“That ‘little’ is on a whole other level, which is why I’m this freaked out…”

Fran said with a bitter smile. Even as she laughed, her respect did not waver. It was probably her way of hiding her embarrassment. Soon, the view opened up through a break in the trees, and the ruins of Zaxon Village spread before them.

Houses with collapsed roofs, warped fences. Only the foundations, exposed to wind and rain, shone white in the sun. There was no sign of people, only the low sweep of birds’ shadows.

“This is it.”

When Lloyd stopped, the two of them halted instinctively.

“Well now…”

“That’s a textbook abandoned village.”

Their voices mixed unease and curiosity. They exchanged glances and furrowed their brows.The question was obvious: Can people really live here?

“Well, only we use it. That field over there? We spent a whole day tilling it the other day.”

Where he pointed, only one corner of land had been freshly turned. The furrows lay straight, and beneath the lightly dried surface soil stirred by the wind was the scent of rich earth. The seeds to be sown in spring had already been arranged during their last job.

“Oh, you’re right! There’s something nice about this.”

Fran inhaled the scent of the soil, her eyes softening. She probably felt that weapons were not the entirety of the world after all. He understood that feeling. Lloyd himself often had that same thought after starting to live here.

At that moment, Elena suddenly stopped. At the center of the abandoned village—on a stone pillar exposed to wind and rain—she seemed to have spotted a simple holy emblem tied in place. The cord was new, and purifying sand had been lightly scattered at the base of the pillar.

“H-hold on! Don’t tell me you’ve covered this whole area with a〈Holy Field〉!?”

“Oh, you noticed? Yeah. That’s why monsters don’t come near here.”

The edge of the barrier could not be seen. But the way the wind flowed, the way birds flew, the placement of insect nests—the subtle quality of ‘stillness’ gave it away to those who knew. Elena’s eye was sharp. Fran’s eyes widened, then her cheek twitched.

“No way… I’ve never heard of a barrier covering an entire village. And with something that small as a holy focus.”

“Yeah, she mentioned that. She said if she had a bigger holy implement, she could keep the barrier up constantly. As it is, she re-applies the barrier magic to that emblem every day.”

“Every day? I can’t believe it. If I made a barrier on this scale, I’d use up all my mana for the day.”

Elena tightened her grip on her staff and looked out over the village from the holy emblem. In her eyes was a mix of astonishment and respect for the technique. Because she herself handled barrier magic, she could feel Lusha’s incredible ability firsthand.

The three of them moved on, weaving through the village roads. The shadows of roofless houses were cool, and the wind passed through them. From a shed with collapsed walls drifted the scent of dry grass. In the distance, a single straight plume of smoke rose from a chimney and melted into the blue sky.

“There are still buildings that might be salvageable, but they’re all in pretty bad shape.”

“Well, it’s an abandoned village after all.”

“Will it really be livable? Looks like it’ll leak when it rains.”

“You can decide that after you see the house we’re living in.”

Ahead, where Lloyd pointed, stood a house enclosed by a low wooden fence.

The roof had been re-thatched, the walls fully repaired. Thin cloth hung in the window frames, and a handmade awning jutted out over the doorway. Smoke drifted from the chimney. It was the same smoke they had seen earlier. As they drew closer, the sweet, savory scent of baked food tickled their noses. The warmth of soup steam, the saltiness of butter, and the tang of fruit blended together.

“Here we are.”

Lloyd stopped in front of the doorway and turned back to them. Anticipation and slight tension crossed Elena and Fran’s faces. Fran clutched her small pouch to her chest, while Elena lightly pressed the tip of her staff into the ground.

“I’m going in.”

Without the need to knock, footsteps approached from inside. Light and confident. The door was pulled inward, and warm air spilled out. The scent of wood, fire, and sweet steam. Lloyd stepped half a pace aside and gestured for them to go first. The two stepped over the threshold. Lloyd followed and closed the door.

The outside wind cut off, and the air of the house gently enveloped the three of them.

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