The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Lovers’ Pact

“Saintess, the Hero has arrived.”

The Holy Knight assigned as escort.

At his words, Letty and I alighted from the carriage.

Heibis, the Holy Kingdom.

Its capital was no larger than any ordinary kingdom’s.

But—.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?”

Grand buildings dedicated to the veneration of their god.

The Order’s structures were particularly striking, inspiring an almost instinctive reverence.

And it wasn’t just the Order’s buildings.

For the most part, the architecture seemed more akin to art than mere dwellings.

And—.

‘How is it that the Order’s buildings are bigger, grander than the royal palace?’

Heibis, the Holy Kingdom.

A king did rule here.

But the Pope’s power held more sway than the crown.

Hence, the Order’s holy sites outshone the royal palace in splendor.

Leti took my hand.

I’d noticed it before, but Leti seemed to initiate physical contact rather often.

Anyway, Leti held my hand.

She smiled at me, her eyes crinkling.

“Well then, I’ll head into the Order first! Just come by as we agreed.”

With those words, Leti disappeared into the depths of the Order.

Leti departed, the holy knights did as well.

Left alone, I first looked for a place to sit nearby,

and soon discovered a bench.

Sitting on that bench, I pondered the deal I’d made with Leti.

‘A lover’s contract, is it…? Feels a little bit Asian, doesn’t it.’

What the Saintess desired of me.

Was a lover’s contract.

She wanted the relationship of lovers, even if it was a charade.

‘For now, please become my lover.’

‘Hm…?’

‘It would be wonderful if it were real, but for now, I’m simply asking you to pretend.’

That was roughly the gist of our conversation then.

Frankly, I didn’t immediately understand why Leti had made such a proposal.

Suddenly asking me to act as her lover.

It wasn’t exactly something easy to grasp.

But after hearing the reason, I could finally comprehend it.

“They say the Demon King is about to descend… what on earth is it about that damned humanocentrism…”

Currently, the Order was divided into the Papal faction and the Saintess faction.

Two factions within a single Order.

One could tell at a glance, the situation was far from ideal.

And yet—

‘The Papal faction intends to assassinate Letty, is it…’

The Papal faction was currently plotting the Saintess’s demise.

They had attempted it several times already, but,

thankfully, Letty said she had managed to evade them.

The reason the Papal faction sought Letty’s assassination…

was simply because Letty was a demihuman.

A lamentable tragedy born from the Church’s Saintesses having always been human.

A twisted belief steeped in such racial purism.

With the Demon Lord looming, why would they choose such a course? A natural question arose.

The reason being, the Saintess was replaceable.

Should the current Saintess, Letty, die, a new one would emerge.

In other words, with a bit of luck, they could draw a Saintess who was fully human.

And if luck wasn’t on their side, they could simply repeat the process.

‘The Saintess, some sort of gacha game character.’

What if they incurred the wrath of the gods with such actions?

It felt utterly reckless.

What was it about that blasted racial purism anyway?

“Well, Letty’s plan is that if the Saintess they’re trying to kill is the Hero’s lover, the Papal faction, not wanting to incur the Hero’s wrath, will cease their assassination attempts—that’s Letty’s thinking, anyway.”

I doubted it would work out that easily, though.

“For now, they were told to come tonight.”

The time to meet Letty was at night.

It was still only midday.

So, for the moment—

“Let’s do some sightseeing.”

I resolved to explore just what kind of place the Holy Nation of Heivis was.

.

.

.

“Hmm…”

What to say…?

The Holy Nation of Heivis.

This place had a stronger… hue than other nations.

Specifically, a religious hue.

Every twenty paces, there was a statue of Lea.

The capital itself felt like a giant church.

Furthermore, everyone living here was a devout believer in Lea.

And perhaps because of this,

There was a strong sense of quietude, so characteristic of religious people.

In a word, the street lacked vibrancy.

Perhaps this stillness was due to the hymns echoing through the air.

In any case, it was a place of peculiar character.

Somehow ill-fitting to my own temperament.

Disappointed, I continued walking – when-.

“…”

I spotted a girl silently meeting the gaze of the Rhea statue.

Her black hair, reaching her waist, and eyes of a dark, violet hue.

Something about her sparked my interest.

‘Could it be because our hair is the same color?’

As one who shared her dark tresses, a strange curiosity took root.

As I walked, I casually observed the girl.

Not a single flicker of expression crossed her face as she stared at the statue.

Perhaps it was the lack of emotion that made it seem

as if she were glaring at the stone effigy.

I approached the girl.

“What are you doing?”

She continued to meet the Rhea statue’s gaze.

I was curious as to the reason why.

The girl glanced at me once,

then returned her gaze to the statue of Rhea.

But something felt… off.

The girl’s eyes held something –

Something that felt profoundly wrong.

‘Why is that?’

Then I understood.

Usually, staring at a statue with such intensity

would imply devoutness.

But there was no hint of religious fervor in the girl’s eyes.

No admiration, no kindness, no awe.

Nothing.

It felt as if this girl’s eyes held absolutely nothing at all.

I asked the girl again.

“Excuse me… what are you doing?”

The girl once again glanced in my direction.

And then-.

Finally, the girl’s lips parted.

“I’m waiting.”

“Who?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Ah, I see.”

And so, I departed.

For I didn’t believe the girl would offer a different reaction even if we spoke further here.

And so, I continued my exploration of the Holy Kingdom.

And –

Before I knew it, dusk had fallen.

*

The Saintess sat in her room, her gaze fixed solely upon the clock.

“He should be arriving any moment now.”

It was almost time for the Hero to seek her out.

“Ah-choo!”

The Saintess sneezed.

Not from an itch in her nose, but because she felt a slight chill.

The reason for the Saintess’s current chill…

It was due to the attire she was wearing.

‘Just in case…!’

The Saintess’s clothing was exceedingly light.

Difficult to discern in the darkness,

But thin enough to reveal the skin beneath when standing beneath the bright moonlight.

Clothing akin to undergarments.

There was a reason the Saintess was dressed in such a way.

Anticipation.

Preparedness for the unforeseen.

Meeting a man alone, late at night.

She had summoned him with a purpose, of course,

But the Saintess harbored a small expectation.

Of a slightly… provocative situation.

“When will he arrive…!”

After waiting for quite some time,

The sound of footsteps echoed from outside.

The Saintess immediately sniffed the air.

“He’s here!”

The scent she had inhaled so often inside the carriage.

Undoubtedly, it was the Hero’s scent.

And –

Knock, knock.

“Letty, it’s me. May I come in?”

Just as the Saintess had anticipated, it was the Hero.

“Yes. Come in.”

Arthurs, upon opening the door, started for just a moment.

Moonlight streamed through the window.

It bathed the Saintess in its glow.

Revealing her form in its pale light.

A sight quite…unsettling for a youth in his prime.

“Ahem, perhaps you should consider covering up a bit?”

“Hm? This is my room, you know? I always dress like this.”

Arthurs, judging it futile to argue with her brazen attitude,

Sighed, abandoning all hope of getting her to put on something more.

“Very well… I understand. So, why did you summon me here?”

“I have something to show you.”

The Saintess offered a sly smile.

And then-.

She seized Arthurs,

Pulling him down onto her bed.

“What…?”

“Just be quiet for a moment, please.”

The Saintess placed a finger to Arthurs’ lips,

Silencing him.

Soon after, she lay down beside him.

Arthurs whispered softly.

“Just what is the meaning of this…”

It was a rather sticky situation.

A man and a woman, lying together in a bed.

Arthurs was quite taken aback by this unfamiliar circumstance.

But then-.

The Saintess, without a word, only insisted on silence.

Tens of minutes passed.

Just as Arthurs decided he could no longer bear the strangely charged atmosphere and began to rise,

*Rustle.*

He sensed a strange stirring from the ceiling.

Immediately, Arthurs understood the Saintess’s intent.

At first, he had thought it a ploy to turn their contract into something…more.

But-.

‘She wanted to prove her words were truth.’

The threat of assassination.

The impudent rustling from above was surely the work of an assassin.

I gathered energy in my fingertip, and released it towards the ceiling from whence the sound came.

Simultaneously-.

A sound like someone enduring pain,

distant-.

A sharp clack, the sound of teeth grinding hard together.

With a ‘what if’ thought, I hurriedly rose, slashing at the spot where I’d sensed the assassin’s presence.

And what fell was-.

The assassin, foaming at the mouth, dead.

The grinding sound had been the assassin breaking the vial of poison.

The Saintess, also belatedly rising, further explained her situation to Arthurs.

“Honestly, I understand if you suspect I planned this. But I truly have been living under the threat of assassination. If I didn’t have illusion magic, I might have died a long time ago.”

Arthurs didn’t believe Leti was lying.

‘The Saintess is a person chosen by the Gods.’

My past life is irrelevant,

because the Gods truly exist in this world.

Having delivered prophecies related to Asia, Arthurs firmly believed in the existence of Gods in this world.

And he figured the Saintess, chosen by such a God, had no reason to lie about something so trivial.