I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

31

Having agreed to resolve Gilbert’s matter, Arpel went to the temple’s underground prison early the next morning, asking for directions. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a pleasant sight for a child, so he looked down at Rohan, considering leaving him behind. But as soon as their eyes met, Rohan seemed to guess something and clung tightly to Arpel’s leg, refusing to move.

In the end, Arpel had no choice but to go to the underground prison with Rohan, guided by a knight.

“Well…”

The holy exterior of the temple and the gloomy underground prison naturally didn’t match. Even though it was located quite in a corner, the entrance to the underground prison felt alien, as if a completely different place had been pasted on.

After nodding once to the knight who had guided them, Arpel was about to go down. Thinking the stairs might be too high, he was about to pick up Rohan when the knight, who had been silent throughout the guidance, spoke for the first time. Arpel’s gaze fell on the knight who couldn’t hide his awkward demeanor.

“I’m truly sorry for what happened then.”

“What are you referring to?”

“When I… to Lord Arpel.”

Only then did Arpel look closely at the knight’s face. He couldn’t remember exactly, but as he kept looking, it felt somewhat familiar. It seemed like a face he had only seen in passing.

Nevertheless, he didn’t know what the knight was apologizing for. He didn’t particularly want to know either. After silently looking at the man for a moment, Arpel simply nodded.

“It’s fine.”

The face he had been looking at immediately brightened. The inappropriately reddened cheeks and sparkling eyes were uncomfortable. Feeling reluctant to keep looking at a face that seemed to hold even reverence, Arpel went down the stairs without waiting for a response.

“Thank you!”

I don’t understand why he’s acting like this.

The underground prison naturally held a somewhat cool air. Patting Rohan, who was fidgeting in his arms, Arpel whispered in a small voice.

“Are you cold?”

“I’m okay.”

The returning voice was brave. Gently stroking the eye area where the swelling had subsided considerably with his thumb, Arpel didn’t bother to hide the corners of his mouth rising in admiration.

The space full of iron bars looked particularly cold. Soon after stepping into the deepest part, noise was heard from inside.

“You…!”

The man who until being dragged away had exuded an arrogant aura, lording over the priests as an elder, was now in a position where he had to sit in the cold underground prison. Shabby clothes, disheveled hair, and a face that had become dirty after just one day.

Gilbert gritted his teeth as he looked at Arpel, who didn’t even respond. Those emotionless eyes seemed to remind him, ‘You are nothing.’

Perhaps this was the only thing Gilbert had correctly predicted about Arpel. In reality, Arpel had no interest in Gilbert. Whether he had handed him over to the Salvation Church or infiltrated the temple as a spy made no difference to him.

The only wrong he cared about was troubling Rohan.

“Who’s behind this?”

“Ha, I’ve told you many times. Haven’t you heard from the noble High Priest? It was all my doing alone!”

“I see.”

Gilbert’s appearance, grinding his teeth and shouting, was objectively ugly. Since it wasn’t a pleasant sight, Arpel covered Rohan’s eyes.

“I’ll give you three days. Think again about how you want to answer.”

That was the end of the business. By then, Gilbert, who had been in the middle of the underground prison, had disappeared without a trace.

As soon as Arpel removed the hand covering his eyes, Rohan glanced inside and noticed shadows swimming around on the floor. Their trembling seemed strangely pleasant.

“That person just now…?”

“I put him away. I’ll take him out in three days.”

Gilbert would probably be struggling in darkness where he couldn’t perceive anything with his five senses. Though it was only three days, it might feel like an eternity to him inside. Arpel was suddenly reminded of the Salvation Church followers who had begged for their lives after entering and coming out of the shadows alive.

After briefly informing the knight guarding the outside of the underground prison, he headed back to where they were staying. Arpel, who was generally uninterested in people other than Rohan and not sensitive to changes, felt something odd when passing through the main hall.

“Lord Arpel, please forgive me just once…”

“I have committed a discourtesy. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for accepting…”

A strange phenomenon occurred where every priest they encountered in the corridors rushed over to beg for forgiveness. Meanwhile, they didn’t forget to greet Rohan as well.

Even Arpel, who hadn’t paid much attention for the first two or three times and just nodded, gradually began to become aware of the situation. Not wanting to be caught anymore, he quickly entered the room with a slightly furrowed brow. Rohan also looked bewildered.

“Ah, Lord Arpel. You’ve arrived.”

Dionel was standing in the room they thought would be empty. His face, looking less tired than yesterday, smiled as he greeted the two.

“…The priests seem strange.”

“The priests? Did something happen?”

“They apologize every time we meet.”

“Ah.”

His eyes, full of concern as if worried something might have happened, relaxed belatedly. He even gave a small, hollow laugh. Dionel could now fully understand the hearts of the priests apologizing to Arpel.

This is a temple serving the Demon God. Although there were people like Elder Gilbert, most held reverence for the power of the Demon God. In that sense, the existence of Arpel, who embodied the Demon God’s power and could converse in human form, was literally a miracle to them.

Although he had been contaminated by specters, the story of how he protected Rohan and brought him to the temple, and even caught the spy disrupting the temple, had already spread throughout the temple overnight.

Most priests were greatly impressed by this fact. They said that his will to receive the Demon God’s intentions had overcome the contamination. At some point, many priests began to worship him and wished to be forgiven for their initial disrespect.

The very person who had been half-deified seemed unaware of all this. If Dionel’s prediction was correct, Arpel would find this fact annoying rather than burdensome upon learning of it.

“…I see.”

As expected, Arpel just nodded after hearing the full story.

Although they had only known each other for a day, Arpel’s behavior patterns were simpler than expected, so they could be quickly understood.

All his actions stemmed from Rohan. He probably found this situation annoying because he felt it interfered with their time together. Nevertheless, Dionel could feel deeply reassured. As much as there was no room to intervene in the bond between the two, they would never do anything to harm each other as they relied on each other.

“Gilbert’s matter has been well resolved.”

“Did he… spill the information?”

“No. I put him in the shadows. I’ll take him out in three days.”

Even so, he wasn’t completely accustomed to the emotionless voice that treated people like objects. Dionel nodded hard and inwardly accepted. In any case, it wasn’t a bad thing for the temple, so he overlooked it with clouded eyes.

“That’s fortunate. Oh, and this.”

“…What’s this?”

“It’s a holy object the Demon God asked me to give you. He said it would be quite helpful as it can suppress the outward manifestation of spectral power.”

It was a simple ring decorated with a pale purple gem. Arpel, who had been silently looking down at it, put the ring on his finger without a word.

Suddenly, the word ‘holy object’ felt strange. Arpel, who had been fiddling with the ring, glanced at Dionel.

“Are divine provisions and holy objects different?”

“…Did you receive divine provisions?”

Dionel asked back in surprise after hearing the answer. The person who had been wearing a devout smile all along was now blinking his eyes with curiosity. Partly to find out more, Arpel took out the earring he had put in his pocket.

“…Oh my.”

He let out an inexplicable sigh and then put his hands together in a prayer posture. Arpel’s gaze at Dionel became strange.

“Please answer.”

“Ah…”

Thinking that at this rate he might have to wait for a long time, Arpel withdrew the hand showing the earring. Dionel, who had been looking at that hand with lingering eyes, flinched. A rather embarrassed smile appeared on his lips.

“I’m sorry. It’s my first time seeing it directly, I couldn’t help myself… You asked about the difference between divine provisions and holy objects, right?”

“Yes.”

“While they are both created by the god… unlike holy objects, it’s said that there are no records of divine provisions being bestowed upon the mortal world because it’s so rare. We only know that they exist. That’s why no one knows what role God’s divine provisions play or what results they bring.”

Arpel, who had been listening quietly, frowned. Somehow it felt a bit unsettling. As if understanding what Arpel was thinking, Dionel added with a small laugh.

“You don’t need to worry. While we can’t even dare to predict what power the divine provisions hold, there’s no disagreement that it brings about the outcome desired by its owner.”

So there’s no way it could harm Lord Rohan.

At Dionel’s softly whispered words, Arpel finally nodded. There was no way the object given as divine provisions would cause harm in the first place.

After Dionel politely bid farewell, saying he would return in the afternoon, Arpel briefly watched him leave before approaching the child sitting on the bed and matching his eye level.

“…Rohan? Are you feeling unwell?”

It was unexpected that the child’s expression wasn’t very good. His face seemed strangely sullen, or maybe on the verge of tears, and it was hard to pin down.

“It’s nothing…”

“Hm?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Arpel, keenly observing Rohan’s mood, realized that the child’s gaze was directed at the ring he had just put on. Perhaps he quite liked this ring.

“Do you want me to give it to you?”

“But Arpel needs it…”

“No, I don’t need it.”

If the Demon God had heard this, he would have been shocked.