I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

45 – 45. The World of Stars

A holy sword that was said to have been stolen by humans.

An extensive search was continued to find the stolen holy sword, but in the end it seemed difficult to find it.

Therefore, Clen thought that it was difficult to find it by direct search, and he wanted to move forward with a war of attrition through time by setting up barriers all over the territory.

But maybe it was more effective than I thought, it wasn’t that difficult to find the stolen holy sword.

“How did you find it?”

Alfred asked with a bored expression.

“We found a shelter in a cave near the western forest and attacked it. He said he got it back more easily than he thought.”

It was the same with Clen.

It seems that he didn’t even think that he would be able to retrieve the holy sword so easily and quickly.

Of course, as the auction date was just around the corner, it was possible to find the holy sword within today to solve the problem smoothly.

Even so, isn’t this going too smoothly?

“What did they do?”

“There were three people who had the holy sword. There were also three people when it was stolen. It is said that in the process of retrieving the holy sword, there was fierce resistance and eventually killed him.”

The demon soldiers of Clen also made sacrifices, but in the end, it is said that they succeeded in retrieving the holy sword.

Although the opponents were quite talented, it seemed that they couldn’t help it in front of overwhelming numbers.

“…Could it be a trap?”

“No. It’s not like there’s any magic involved. Since then, the security of the auction house has been further strengthened.”

Alfred seemed to be feeling a bit strange, but Clen had already confirmed it.

There was no special trap on the Holy Sword, and only the Holy Sword wrapped in a really red cloth was recovered.

This is a natural result.

I thought I knew the other person was a fairly good thief, but after all, this is a foreign land and the territory of demons.

The reality was that even the best thief would have no choice but to be dealt with if the location was discovered.

“That’s a relief, then, can we go back now?”

“…I can’t release the barrier because it’s all over yet, but since I know you and your party’s innocence, it’s possible to send them out of the barrier.”

It’s not normally possible, but it’s called special treatment.

Clen says he can send him out of the barrier immediately if he wants, and he tells him to just talk.

“Alfred.”

“Why?”

But Arsel grabbed Alfred’s sleeve.

“If possible, I would like to see the last auction. I am also very interested in the real thing of another holy sword.”

I meant to stay until the last auction.

“Can’t I just show you right now?”

Alfred, not wanting to spend another night here, asked if he could show the holy sword in advance.

“That can’t be done. There is a limit to the special treatment, and the holy sword is kept separately for security. Even for security reasons, we can’t show it until the day of the auction.”

“Hmm, annoying…”

“Alfred, you may go back first. All I have to do is watch the auction alone.”

Arsel decides to stay alone and watch the final auction.

“No, what would Grandma Clen do to you if you left you alone? The opponent is a demon, and that’s also the demon with the second strongest power after the demon king. Don’t be careless.”

Then Alfred hugged Arcel and seemed to distance himself from Clen.

Deliberately, she poses as if to protect Arcel from Clen, and she takes a step behind her.

Arcel couldn’t say anything, only her face turned red.

“…You bastard, can’t you just get out of here and not do that right in front of me?”

The sight makes Clen frown and feel uncomfortable.

“Certainly, it must be burdensome for Grandma Clen, who has never been in a relationship, let alone married, at that age. Couldn’t she have killed her personality and lived a nice life like that?”

Right afterward, dozens of poison needles and steel-cutting tongs flew towards Alfred, but Alfred showed off his eccentricities by avoiding them all with his bizarre movements.

Stances that can only be found on murals of ancient ruins.

He didn’t even hesitate to do an act of unknown meaning, such as cutting off his own head first and attaching it again if he felt like his head was about to be cut off.

“I think it’s my fault for bringing you into the territory.”

“Yeah, I was a bit wrong.”

In the end, Clen attacked as if he was fed up first.

“…But, I can’t stay here forever. It was also very unexpected, and there were a few things to check.”

But for some reason, Alfred also withdrew his foot.

“What is that?”

“Grandma, so my maternal grandmother, not Grandma Clen, has to find me urgently and come back for a while. In addition, she also serves to move the things she bought here.”

The urgent side seems to be related to my maternal grandmother, Shion.

I don’t know what’s going on, but seeing Alfred say he’s going to look for it, it certainly doesn’t seem like something that can be left unattended.

“So, I have no choice but to leave for a while.”

“You can empty it forever.”

“Like Granny Clen’s side is forever empty?”

“…You bastard.”

“Oh no, did Grandma Clen start it?”

Alfred spreads his hand with a fishy laugh.

There, blackish magic particles gather in one place to form a beautiful black jewel.

Jewelry made in the form of a small ring.

It also reminded me of a space beyond the sky where the stars whisper.

In an unknown world where only darkness descends, countless stars illuminate it.

They are made in the form of small rings.

“Reach out your hand for a moment.”

Alfred put it on the ring finger of Arcel’s left hand.

“What is this ring?”

“I made it on the spot, so it’s mediocre, but if something happens, hold it in your hand and pray earnestly. Then I’ll run to you wherever you are.”

“…”

I felt something unknown.

A ring, originally a luxury item for the nobility, is sometimes modified and used as an artifact if necessary.

But in the winter, it was also a dangerous object that would take away the ringed finger.

For this reason, it was usually better to wear it over gloves or use it as a bracelet or necklace.

Still, I have a strange feeling.

You can clearly feel the sound of your heart, and it seems that a smile mixed with joy will be hidden.

“Okay. If something happens, I sincerely hope that you will come. I don’t even pray to God anymore, but you might be worth praying for.”

Arcel held the ring tightly with the hand that received it.

Because it was considered very precious.

“But I hope I don’t have to write anything. So now I’m thinking of going soon. It will probably arrive tomorrow. Because it’s a bit annoying.”

“Be careful and go, I will be waiting for you.”

Alfred stroked Arcel’s head once, then turned into black particles and disappeared.

I’m sure he was trapped in a barrier throughout the territory and couldn’t escape even with magic, but Alfred’s magic was no longer left anywhere in the territory.

“…Could it be that it was fake from the beginning?”

Klen said, looking a little surprised.

She seemed to have never seen her disappear like that.

But I heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Fake, that is too much. I never replace the time I spend with our warriors with fakes. In the first place, even my alter ego is all me and my body.”

Only Alfred’s head appeared out of nowhere and said with a smile.

“Get out of my castle right now.”

Clen attacked with the will to smash her head, but Alfred’s head stuck out her tongue and disappeared as well.

“Big…”

Clen seemed to have caught her mood since the morning.

“No, so what are you going to do with the warrior? After all, will you remain in my estate until tomorrow?”

Struggling to get used to it, I turned my attention to Arcel, who was left alone.

Still, if that eerie demon disappeared, I’d be able to spend the rest of my time peacefully.

Since he himself was quite interested in the hero, it wouldn’t be bad to ask questions while he’s gone.

“Alfred…”

However, Arcel held the ring tightly and smiled, saying he liked it without even realizing it.

He didn’t seem to hear Clen because of it.

“Tsk, you’ve been scratching my nerves since morning.”

In the end, Clen sat down alone and sipped the leftover wine from the morning.

Today, somehow, the wine just felt sweeter.

†††

“This is not caused by my poison, I am in a coma due to a purely psychological trauma.”

“Where did you get such a shock…”

A few hours later, Clen shook his head as he looked at Stella, still unconscious and unable to wake up.

It was no longer put to sleep by Clen’s poison.

As Clen said, I couldn’t wake up because I had a very big psychological shock, as if something hit my brain hard with a hammer.

“You really don’t know?”

“I don’t know why this is like this. I suddenly collapsed at the auction house… Could it be that Stella’s items were among the auction items?”

“…This elf must have had a lot of trouble too.”

Clen felt her sympathy for Stella when she saw the unsuspecting Arcel.

As Clen watched yesterday’s auction while drinking the finest wine and popcorn, it seemed like she knew what Stella was emotionally shocked by.

Arcel seems to be very blunt in this area.

“Alfred.”

Clen called out Alfred’s name as a test.

Then, as if Stella had a terrible nightmare, sweat dripped from her brow in agony.

“…But I guess I’ll wake up sooner or later, I think I’ll still be asleep for another day or so.”

“I’m glad that’s enough. I was worried that I might be sleeping for a long time again after seeing each other again.”

“Long-lived species like elves, like me, sometimes fall into long slumbers. It can be as short as a month or as long as decades of sleep.”

As life span is long, rest through sleep is said to be long.

It’s embarrassing to the human Arcel, but on the contrary, it’s not such a surprise to the elves.

“You’d better leave it alone now, don’t let him come near you. Now that the sun has risen, I plan to go to sleep and wake up in the evening. If you have any business, tell me now.”

“I don’t have anything in particular to do… but are you going to sleep when the sun rises?”

Arsel seemed a bit incomprehensible to Clen saying that he goes to sleep when the sun rises.

“…Isn’t it rather strange that vampires are openly active when the sun rises?”

“Ah, was it like that?”

I understand.

I forgot that I was a vampire because it was a clan that went in and out of the sunlight as if it was natural.

“It’s sunlight. I’ve evolved to overcome it since my ancestors, but I’m still in bad shape during the day.”

Originally, I feel bad in the morning, but today I say that it is even worse.

It’s probably because I saw something bad in my stomach in the morning.

“Still, I should eat breakfast, because there are long-awaited guests. It will take some time to prepare, but would you like to join us?”

“There is no reason to refuse. Let’s be thankful together.”

Clen and Arcel left Stella’s room and walked outside.

Perhaps he doesn’t like being in the sunlight, Clen is wearing a parasol.

It seems that vampires are definitely vampires.

Took!

“A ball?”

At that time, a small ball rolled under Arcel’s feet.

“There it is.”

It’s a bit out of place in Clen’s last name, so I check where it came from, and Clen taps Arcel on the shoulder and points with her finger.

The children playing with the ball were running there.

Playing ball in a castle like this would be surprising, even though it is a garden.

As Arcel, who has been to the royal palaces of many kingdoms because of the circumstances of her hero, I know very well that this is against etiquette.

Besides, Clen’s personality was like a principled one, so she was worried that she might be scolded.

“Sir, sorry! The ball accidentally hit the wall and bounced off…”

“These insignificant children. Are you running around like this without knowing the grace you gave to the castle?”

Unsurprisingly, Clen seemed to be sternly scolding her children.

As an outsider, Arcel had no right to say anything.

All I can do is worry about my children.

However.

“Playing is good. But eat breakfast and play. It’s time for you guys to grow up. At the very least, shouldn’t we make that insignificant body useful by feeding it well?”

Clen picked up the muddy balls and stroked the children’s heads with clean hands.

“Ah, come to think of it, it’s already time…”

“Wash your hands and follow me, if you want to stay in my castle. Don’t forget to eat three full meals a day.”

“Yes! Lord!”

All the children answered with a broad smile.

At that appearance, Arcel also smiled heartily.

All the leaders of the demons thought of the demon lord, and thought that they all resembled the demon lord, but it seems that is not the case.

“Eating with children is a bit noisy, but it is also fun. Can you endure that much?”

“Of course, nothing is impossible. Rather, I think it would be more comfortable to be with children.”

Maybe this is what she wanted.

Humans also wanted to make it like this.

To have everyone spend such a peaceful daily life.

Although I had failed before, I wanted to achieve that dream even now, if possible.

“By the way, Youngju, who is the pretty sister next to you?”

“That’s right, I’ve seen it from time to time in the castle since yesterday.”

“Think of this guest as Alfred’s lover.”

“Wait, what are you talking about all of a sudden?!”

Arsel was taken aback by Clen’s sudden introduction.

I couldn’t help but be surprised that she introduced herself as Alfred’s lover out of nowhere.

“…”

“Ah… Mi, sorry.”

But when she saw the look in Clen’s eyes, which were stained with fatigue and other loneliness, she couldn’t resist and apologized.

For some reason, I felt sorry.

“…That pretty sister is Alfred’s brother’s lover?”

In addition, the reaction of the children was also unusual.

The children said they couldn’t believe it, and were looking at Arcel with her pitiful eyes.

The children who just a little while ago were innocently laughing and running around looked rotten at the mention of Alfred’s name.

I don’t know why.

‘What the hell did he do that even the kids react like that?’

Arsel had a new question about Alfred’s evaluation.