I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

38

“Mmm… Done!”

Leriana was on the opposite side of the lake. She had run to the opposite end to escape after splashing water on Rohan, and it seemed she had found an injured animal.

In the novel, she was able to use the power of healing. That probably hadn’t changed, but because she was still young and hadn’t made a contract with the Holy Sword, she could only use consecration.

Despite its low efficiency, she seemed to have focused on treating the animal. Although there were blood stains on its leg, the rabbit in her arms didn’t look to be in bad condition.

Arpel glanced around and spotted a trap in one corner.

“Was that there originally?”

“The trap? Yes, I removed it.”

Arpel immediately bent down. He quickly checked if there were any wounds on Rohan’s hands from touching the trap. Rohan’s tightly gripped fingers twitched slightly. Rohan looked at Arpel, who wasn’t hiding his concern, with a peculiar gaze.

While he disliked receiving such trivial worry since he was no longer a child, on the other hand, it wasn’t unpleasant to feel repeatedly verified that he was precious to Arpel.

Due to these conflicting thoughts constantly clashing, he ended up quietly accepting the care.

“Now go back home, little rabbit.”

Leriana, having successfully completed the consecration, stroked the rabbit’s forehead with her finger. The rabbit, laying its ears back and seeming to savor the touch for a moment, bumped its nose against her hand several times as if expressing gratitude before leaving. It moved at a quick pace, proving that its leg had healed well.

Leriana burst into laughter belatedly at the rabbit’s show of affection before it left. Her clear laughter rang out cheerfully.

At that moment, Arpel unconsciously looked at Rohan. Their eyes met as soon as his gaze turned to him. All along, Rohan had been looking only at Arpel. Even with Leriana right in front of him, smiling beautifully enough to easily capture anyone’s attention.

A blatant satisfaction seemed to fill his chest to the brim and overflow.

‘This is why.’

This is why he couldn’t stop Rohan from disliking being with Leriana, even though he wanted to.

Because he thought that he himself, feeling such base satisfaction towards a child, might ruin the child someday. He couldn’t stop it out of fear that the goodness remaining in Rohan might disappear.

“Ow! Why did you hit me?!”

“You splashed water on me and ran away earlier.”

“Wasn’t that already over?”

“Should I push you into the water?”

“…Sorry.”

Only after gaining certainty that Arpel was looking at him did Rohan approach Leriana and unhesitatingly flick her forehead. Not only did her round forehead make a crisp sound, but it also quickly turned red.

Although not as much as in the original work, as the time they spent together increased, a bond had formed between Rohan and Leriana. The fact that they were both orphans who had lost their parents and experienced hardships at a young age might have served as a connecting link, just as in the original work.

Their attitudes towards each other seemed comfortable. Even Rohan, who tended to act sensitively towards Leriana only when Arpel was around, usually treated her like a close friend otherwise.

Arpel merely watched all these changes. He hoped that Leriana’s untainted goodness and the kindness that had comforted Rohan in the original work would protect Rohan’s goodness as well, keeping it from fading.

***

Afterwards, they spread out a mat and laid out the food they had brought. It was filled with various items from sandwiches with rich contents to refreshing fruits perfect for cleansing the palate, crispy fried chicken, and fragrant bread.

In fact, it wasn’t much different from what they usually ate. Nevertheless, Rohan seemed to be in quite a good mood. His hair was tousled from the gentle outdoor breeze, but his smiling face was brimming with happiness.

‘…Should we come out more often?’

It was only natural that Arpel would have such thoughts. He couldn’t take his eyes off Rohan’s brightly smiling face. Meanwhile, he silently accepted and ate the bite-sized pieces of food that Rohan offered him.

A satisfying meal and cool weather had the talent of making people relax. Arpel, who had offered his lap when Rohan seemed sleepy, looked at the now soundly sleeping Rohan with affectionate eyes.

Because it was such a peaceful place, any discordant noise was more noticeable.

“Just now…”

“Shh.”

Although Leriana had been teasing them about Rohan sleeping on Arpel’s lap, even she had started to doze off, leaving only Arpel and Casia awake. Casia, sitting opposite, had also heard the sound and her expression changed. Arpel quietly put his finger to his lips.

He glanced down, but there was no change in Rohan’s expression. He had worried that the voice from earlier might have woken him, but fortunately, he seemed to be deep in sleep. After lightly adjusting his head, which was pressed to one side, Arpel carefully lowered it to the ground.

“I’ll be right back.”

Before Casia could stop him, Arpel moved towards the source of the sound. Despite running quickly, he made no sound, with only the swaying grass providing any trace of his passing.

Having moved to avoid waking Rohan with loud noises, he needed to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. This intense determination led Arpel to the source of the noise.

“Eek! P-please spare me!”

“Shut your mouth.”

He seemed to know what he had been doing. As soon as he saw Arpel, he immediately fell to his knees and begged for his life.

This forest was the temple’s private property. Not only was it forbidden to enter without permission, but hunting animals inside was certainly not allowed. In fact, it was explicitly prohibited.

However, the butcher’s knife and traps hanging from the man’s waist proved that he was a hunter. He must have been hunting until just now. The clanking traps looked similar to the one seen near the lake.

Although Arpel frowned at the noisy shouting, unwanted excuses flowed from the man’s mouth.

“M-my only child is sick. I couldn’t possibly afford medicine, so I ended up reaching for this forbidden act. If, if I don’t return, my child might die alone from illness. If you forgive me just this once, I’ll never…”

“I told you to be quiet.”

Why can’t you understand?

In the blink of an eye, a shadow sprouting from the ground swallowed the man whole.

Some might find the man’s circumstances pitiful, but Arpel didn’t. He hadn’t focused on the content of what the man was saying while shedding tears in the first place. From the moment it became clear that he had entered private property and was engaging in prohibited hunting, the man’s words held no value.

Since the outing wasn’t over yet, the man trapped in the shadow wouldn’t emerge again for several hours. Being confined in a space where one couldn’t sense anything often drove people mad or broke their minds.

If what the man said was true, even after paying for his crime, he wouldn’t be able to take care of his only child. How could he look after others when his own mind was broken?

“…I wonder if he woke up.”

But this was of little significance to Arpel. The man and Arpel were strangers, and the only thing that mattered to Arpel was Rohan, so whether the man went mad or not was none of his concern.

His steps were quick as he set out to return to where he had been. His body, lightly springing forward as he stepped on the soft grass, made no sound at all.

Only after taking a few more steps like this, returning to where they had been staying and confirming Rohan’s sleeping face, did Arpel’s expression soften. He gently lifted Rohan’s head and slid his knee underneath.

“Arpel…?”

“Shh. Sleep more.”

Golden eyes opened lazily, perhaps awakened by the movement. He covered the eyes with his hand as they moved slowly, seemingly unaware of the situation. Every time Rohan blinked, his long eyelashes tickled Arpel’s palm.

Only after his breathing became quiet again did the hand move away. He silently looked down at his palm, which seemed to still have a faint sensation lingering on it.

Was it because only the sound of the wind rustling through the grass and the breathing of the two sleeping people could be clearly heard? Suddenly, he remembered the man who had shouted for his life.

‘…I hope you don’t become like me.’

He wasn’t regretting it. If he went back, Arpel would make the same choice. But… he thought that if Rohan made the exact same choice as him, he might feel a little sad.

His increasingly complex thoughts were interrupted a little while later when Rohan, who had been sleeping with his head on Arpel’s lap, suddenly opened his eyes.

“Ah… Did I sleep for a long time?”

“No, not really.”

Rohan, trying to gauge how long he had slept, pouted his lips saying he had slept too long. It was an expression dripping with disappointment.

“I slept a lot… The sun has already gone down that much.”

…Indeed, compared to before he fell asleep, the sun’s height had lowered considerably. Arpel’s lips moved slightly, and suddenly the blue lake came into his view.

“…Want to play in the water?”

Although it was a spontaneous suggestion, it was effective.

As soon as Arpel spoke, Rohan got up excitedly. Then, holding hands, they went in just until the water reached their ankles and splashed with their feet. Every time they playfully moved their feet, small water droplets left dark marks on their clothes.

“Are you playing in the water without me?!”

Leriana, who had woken up late, and Casia, whom she had dragged along, joined in, and what had been simple splashing escalated into a water fight. The clothes that had only had traces of a few droplets were now soaked from the bottom.

Having soaked clothes clinging to the body wasn’t entirely pleasant. However, when Arpel glanced at Rohan’s face, a blooming smile circled it, as if he had forgotten his earlier disappointment. That alone was enough to make him feel better.

‘It might not be bad.’

Thinking about it again, it seemed fun. It was a very quick change of mind.

Only after the day had grown dark did they return to the temple. Rohan and Leriana burst into laughter when they saw a priest who had come out to greet them gape with a comical expression at the sight of four thoroughly soaked people.

Three years since they had started living at the temple. Their first outing ended peacefully like this.