I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

56 – 56. When the sun shines

Dawn passes and dawn breaks.

“Ah, well rested!”

The sun was shining and the morning was bright, and Alfred, who had had a satisfying night, stretched out.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“What?”

“I knew you wanted more from me. But all you wanted was…”

“Okay, I really wanted this.”

To be by one’s side.

Alfred smiled and said that was enough.

Since he has been alone for a long time, he says that he is satisfied with Arcel by his side.

He can’t even compare to the days when he was alone in a castle where no one was left, calling out the departed ghosts.

In particular, since Arcel was a warrior in the past before the demon king fell, he had to watch from afar.

Even if I got close, I couldn’t have a conversation with my heart.

That was because he was following the demon king’s orders and that Arcel was advancing as a hero.

But now that you can see it up close, what more could you ask for?

“Let’s go for a light walk, because I can’t circulate blood and put too much strain on my legs.”

Alfred took Arcel’s hand and went outside.

When I went outside, I saw the sky illuminated by a blue light in the glow of the sunset.

†††

It seemed that Clen’s estate was about to be tidied up.

The walls that had been burned were repaired as if they had never happened, and the buildings that had collapsed or were burnt to ashes were restored in a matter of days with Alfred’s help.

Of course, not everything went back to normal.

Sudden explosions and flames caused dozens to hundreds of casualties, and Clen cares about their bereaved families as much as possible, but the dead do not come back.

No matter what a living person did, he could not fill the void left by his family.

“What the hell happened, explain the demon.”

Stella asked Alfred in a sharp tone.

“I heard an explosion all of a sudden, so I woke up and saw that there were fires going up outside, what the hell was that?”

“There was literally a fire and an explosion?”

“You’re not asking that!”

During the night, Stella unintentionally had to run across the burning estate on her nimble legs.

“It wasn’t just a disaster, it was a fire deliberately started by a few humans, and it contained very much malice…”

Stellar, who roughly grasped the identity of the flames, said that people couldn’t be so vicious.

This is why it seemed to have been created to reduce everything on earth to ashes.

“…What the hell happened?”

It was thanks to Stella’s awakening that the number of victims was small compared to the size of the fire.

– Everyone away from the flames! If your clothes catch on fire, don’t try to put it out, take it off right away! Just cut the hair too!-

Stella ran all over the territory and took risks to rescue people trapped in the flames, and most of the mysterious humans who set the fire were stopped by arrows flying from the sky.

Although when they couldn’t move, they ate poison as if they had already expected it and kept quiet about themselves.

“Stella, I will tell you that.”

In the end, Arcel told Stella everything that had happened during the night.

Auction on the last day, a holy sword on the auction house… Not an unidentified sword used by the demon king.

In addition to the assassin group Savach’s man who broke into the auction house and Clen, who was angry and wanted to destroy humans.

“My God-“

Stella was shocked at how much had happened while she was asleep.

At first, I thought that someone deliberately set the fire on fire, but now that I see it, it is not something that can be dismissed as simple arson.

It was not simply an individual act, but someone systematically and meticulously planned it.

“Yes, my God. A dwarf who only knew how to do was snipe from behind with an arrow and slept all day long. Why don’t you stop wasting your time here and become a little more useful to people?”

“It was all because of someone-“

“You’re a cunt like that in the ‘old days’, and you weren’t there when you really needed it the most, right?”

“Ugh…”

Stella clenched her fists, speechless at Alfred’s precise point.

She was really upset that she was also absent.

In fact, if Stella had been at the auction house, the damage caused by this incident might have been reduced to a very small extent.

Even Arsel thinks that if Stella had been there, he would have been able to stop the man easily.

If Stella had sniped the man at that distance, he would have hit it accurately with no way to dodge or block it, and if he did, Clen or Arcel would have helped put out the fire, so the damage would certainly be less.

“Alfred, I want you to stop blaming Stella.”

“Yes, okay.”

But that’s over.

It would not change if I regretted it now.

Now was the time to right the wrongs of the past and move forward.

“…Sorry, I couldn’t be of any help.”

“It’s okay. Because no one hates you.”

“I resent you?”

“Alfred.”

“Sheesh.”

Stella apologized to Arcel biting her lip.

When the case was sorted out and Stella visited Arcel for a while, her injuries were so serious that even her mouth was shut.

Bone was broken and intestines were ruptured.

This is a serious injury since Arcel is already in bad shape and could have died if he did something wrong.

At that time, it would have been more accurate to say that Arcel had passed out rather than that he was actually asleep.

Although now she is able to move without difficulty after being treated by Alfred, at first she almost went on a rampage to find the person who made Arcel like that and pay him back.

-Grandma Clen is enough to run amok with anger.-

Of course, Alfred hit me in the head with a book and calmed me down.

Still, it didn’t change that she was angry at the guy who made Arcel like that.

If you find it, it will surely pierce your forehead.

“But what does that mean?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The holy sword that was put up on the auction house, wasn’t it the holy sword used by the hero of your predecessor?”

But there were also things that bothered me just as much.

“…I don’t know either.”

Arsel shook his head with a bitter expression.

Another holy sword that is said to have been put on the auction house.

From the circumstances, it is presumed to be a holy sword that was used by a hero before Arcel, but it was actually the demon king, not the hero, who used that sword.

A terribly strong Demon King who single-handedly trampled on Arcel and her comrades including Stella.

I wonder if Clen and Alfred would have obeyed the devil’s orders.

But the fact that the demon king even used the holy sword, if there really was a god in the world, was more than unfair, and in fact it was close to favoritism the demon king.

“Surely that sword is the one he used. It is clearly imprinted in my memory and in my body.”

Arcel took off his clothes to reveal the scars on his body.

These are the scars that Alfred identified earlier when Arcel first came to him.

“Those scars are-“

Even there, the only thing that stands out is the clear traces of the sword on the stomach, thighs, and sides.

“That’s always gross.”

Alfred turned his head and smiled.

Ripped, cut, pierced.

Only small traces remained of the other scars, but the wounds inflicted by that sword never completely erased, although they healed.

Aside from that, it wasn’t that there weren’t any scars, but it was the exact opposite of how the traces gradually faded.

I will never forget either in my head or in my body.

“But it is strange. At that time, when the demon king used it, I couldn’t bear to think of it as a holy sword.”

But not now.

If the demon lord hadn’t had the memory of using that noble sword, he would have recognized it as a holy sword.

I have assumed that it might be a black that is similar in appearance, but that is not the case either.

In the first place, a lot of research has been done on the blade of the holy sword, but I haven’t even figured out what it’s made of.

It’s just incredibly hard and intentionally contains the characteristics of killing demons, and other than that, according to the records, each holy sword has slightly different abilities.

Because of this, it was impossible to even duplicate the appearance of the holy sword.

“But Arsel, you finally defeated the demon lord, so wouldn’t you know where the holy sword went?”

Stella asked why such a holy sword fell into the hands of the demons.

The way the demon king obtained the holy sword. Even if it was stolen by the former hero, why did the demons keep the holy sword that was left after the demon king was subdued?

After the demon king fell, several investigation teams were dispatched from the human side and most of the items in the demon castle were recovered.

There were many weapons among them, and of course the holy sword was included.

“…At the time, I didn’t have time to worry about that. To be honest, I have very few memories of that time.”

“I guess it makes sense, since we all almost died then.”

Stella wrapped her body in his hands.

Even just for Stella right now, all the bones in her body were crushed, and if the treatment was delayed even a little bit, she would have died.

It was close to a miracle that Arcel survived as well.

Especially because of the excessive amount of blood shed, her skin was as pale as that of a dead person.

“The bodies of humans and elves are very inconvenient, right? To die just like that. Is it a miracle that you are still alive?”

Alfred, who heard the story, responded that he did not understand.

“You are strange!”

“Your body is strange.”

Even Arcel showed the same reaction as Stella.

“In the first place, what is your true identity? Even if your head is cut off, you come back to life, even if you blow your head off, you come back to life. Aren’t you the real demon lord? That’s enough and that’s it!”

“hahahaha, am I the Demon King?”

Stella made a heartfelt protest.

To be honest, he says he’s not hostile because he’s saving himself and protecting Arcel now, but when we met before, it was really terrible.

You mean that even if someone blows his head like that, he will come back to life?

Usually even monsters with high regenerative power eventually die if their heads are blown off.

“…But if I were the Demon King, do you think you guys would still be alive like you are now?”

“Ah.”

At that time, the smile disappeared from Alfred’s face and turned cold.

“I never leave any regrets, especially when it comes to demons with long-lasting grudges.”

Empty eyes look into himself.

In an instant, Stella’s entire body turned pale and almost collapsed on the spot.

Alfred says that if he were the demon king, he wouldn’t have saved Stella or even Arcel.

“I’m kidding, I won’t give you anything like the devil. I coveted the money or castle the demon king had, but I wasn’t envious of his location.”

Of course, as if it never happened, it returns to its usual form.

“Ah, but rather than killing it, it would be better to kidnap the hero like he kidnapped the princess.”

“…Do you know that you are very creepy right now?”

“Ah, that is too harsh.”

Moreover, Arcel, who was already familiar with Alfred, only slightly frowned at her.

‘Is that just going to end in a creepy way?’

Stella was amazed at how Arcel got along with something like that, so she thought it was great.

I felt like my mind would be destroyed the moment I looked into Alfred’s eyes, but Arcel, who was next to me, didn’t seem to mind.

To remain calm like that, a strong heart is probably not enough.

Thump!

“If that guy were the demon king, I would have annihilated the demon king army even if I had poured my all into it.”

Just as Stella was terrified, the door opened and Clen entered.

“What is it, Granny Clen, you still can’t give up on me?”

“Shut up, my heart wants to chain your lips right now and throw you into the sea.”

As if she had something to say, Clen quickly ignored Alfred and turned to Arcel.

Originally, he would have done more attacks like stabbing Alfred or cutting his throat, but it seems he has more important business than that.

“I investigated the holy sword you mentioned. And I have a few facts to tell you, so come along.”