CH 21

Chapter 21 – Escaping Helos (1)

“I have no idea how you are going to fight with that kind of weapon but use it well.”

A rapier with a red handle appeared, as I had requested.

“Thanks, I will.”

I touched the rapier. Just like food straight from the oven, I could feel the heat. It wasn’t that scalding, but warm like a heater in winter.

“I know it’s a little too late to ask now, but are you really my hero?”

Asking after giving me everything. But if I were to tell him ‘No,’ I felt as if he was going to take it back. 

“Of course, how else would I have found out and gotten here?”

“That is true.”

He must not know that Banu brought me here.  I guess just because he is a god, that doesn’t mean that you know everything. 

“Well then, my hero!”

At that moment, a heat wave came over and floated me into the air.

“Yeeeeek?!” 

For a moment, I was so surprised that I let out a weird gasp.

“Go on now and spread justice under my name!”

Then, I started to fly in the direction where I came from with the wind. I could not get hold of myself from all the spinning, but at least I didn’t have to walk all the way back nor have a flame chasing me.

Tap!

So, like that, the kind wind of god Helios brought me up to the point of the door where Arje and Banu were waiting on the other side. I landed in a cool way, but I was sad that no one was there to see it.

Clank!

And as I arrived at the door, it opened as if it were waiting for me.

“Aris!” 

As soon as the door opened, Arje came over and hugged me tightly.

“Are you all right? Why are you covered in dust? Are you hurt?”

And then she started to look over my body.

“I am fine, but the robe you gave me burned a little. Is it okay?”

When I asked about the robe which had a slight damage from the fire, Arje shook her head.

“I have plenty of those robes! All I need is that you are safe!”

I was glad that she didn’t say anything about ruining her clothes.

“And the sword? Did you find it?”

As if the sword was more of a concern than my life, Banu kept asking about the sword following Arje from behind.

“Here.”

I showed the red-handled sword to Banu. 

“So, it’s true. The prophecy was real.”

Banu made a really surprised face, even though he had sent me all this way.

“That sword. Could you let me see it for a second? I want to see with my own eyes how the legendary sword looks.”

Asking for my sword? Something was up, but I still gave me permission, doubting that he would do anything.

Tssssssseeeek! 

I heard the sound of a raw meat on a grill as soon as Banu held the sword, and 

“Argh!”

Banu dropped the sword on the spot.  

Clank!

As the sword fell, a clear clanking sound rang throughout the temple.

“Banu! Are you all right?”

Arje immediately went over to look at his hands. 

“My goodness. How could this be?”

Arje was extremely shocked, and that was because Banu’s hands now had a carved-out mark in the shape of the handle of the rapier. It seemed like a severe burn. 

“This sword was made so that no one except the one recognized by the god could touch it.”

Still, Banu had a rather relaxed face for a person with such a severe injury. 

“It’s pretty warm for me, too. Although it’s not where I would get burned like you.”

“Did you meet the god?”

When god was mentioned, the priests all ran over.

“Yup, I did, in fact.”

“The god of Sun! How was he like? Tell us! What did he say?”

These folks had worshipped this god their entire life. Of course, they wanted to know what he said.

“You really want to know?”

As I stalled, the priests kneeled in front of me. These were the same people who looked down on me for being a dual specimen. I guess they were really desperate.

“Of course!”

“Please let us know!”

So, I decided to tell them.

“The god of the sun that you worship is actually a bunny.”

“What?”

“Heh?” 

The priests looked at me dubiously.

“And he said to me that I should protect the peace in this world.”

The faces of the priests became distort and gruesome.

“You are tricking us now, right?”

They were trying their best to not let go of their last hope, but

“If you can’t believe me, why don’t you all try meeting him yourself? All you have to do is avoid the flame chasing your ass and running to the altar.”

This would be impossible for them to do. They would either all burn to death or fall inside the pit. On top of that, they had seen that the sword I brought with me was not an ordinary one. No matter how stupid they were, they had eyes to believe.

“From today onwards, I will step down as a priest.”

Finally, priest Becks, who had already lost his mind, made a shocking remark.

“What are you saying?”

“Priest Becks, please get ahold of yourself!”

It took a while for the priests to get ahold of themselves.

“Well, please take a good care of that idiotic man.”

“Yes, my lady. We will treat Sir Banu with the utmost care.”

Not only had Banu hurt his palms, but that of his dominant hand, so our battle had to be postponed. Also, he needed to get medical care at the temple. 

“Haha, to become bedridden from just holding another’s weapon.”

Banu still laughed as he always did and regretted his choice.

“By the way, what were you going to do after holding my sword?”

He could have just looked at it with his eyes. I wanted to know why he wanted to hold it himself.

“Well, if I were to tell you that I was going to take it for myself, would you take it as a joke or take it seriously?”

I was the one to ask, but he asked a question in return. I didn’t have to think so hard to know the answer.

“Of course, it would be a joke. If you had done so, Arje would have beaten you into powder.”

From my answer, Banu laughed out loud.

“Haha! That would be a possibility!”

Still, there was something off about the way he answered. I wasn’t sure if he meant that he would die for her, or had other intentions hidden inside. 

“Anyways, please take good care of our lady Arberaj, bunny. I meant Aris Wafer. Now that I am out, I have to leave the safety of lady Arberaj in your hands. If you betray her or if anything happens to her, I will not be talking to you in the same tone.”

For the first time, Banu made a serious face. His attitude towards Arje was real. 

“Don’t be worried. Nothing will happen to Arje.”

“Yes. Enough worrying about me; worry about yourself.”

Arje nagged Banu.

“So, you should return to the palace. If you were to return, I wouldn’t have to worry so much about you and only worry about myself.”

Banu slipped in a suggestion that she should return to the palace once again.

“You are asking knowing what my answer is, right?”

Still, Arje always had the same answer for that question. 

“Yes, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

And so Arje and I headed back to the inn after leaving Banu at the temple.

“Oh yeah, Aris, you wanted to go shopping, right?”

So, on our way back to the place, Arje mentioned the conversation we had before going inside the temple.

“Yes, I am going to change into something better suited for a swordsman.”

And definitely into something lighter.

“Here’s the money; go ahead and buy the clothes you like.”

And Arje handed me a bag of gold.

“Can you give me all of this? How will you get by? I cannot accept so much money.”

I was happy on the inside, but still it was an overwhelming amount.

“You are saying that, but your ears are flapping still.”

Ah, these damn ears. 

“And don’t worry about the money. I still have a lot with me.”

How much money did she even have?

“Are you that rich?”

Then Arje placed her hand on her mask as if she were laughing. 

“It’s weird to say this myself, but I am from the royal family.”

This was a perk of hanging around with a princess. Even if we were to go our separate ways in the future, I would like to keep being her company.

“Thanks, Arje. I will pay you back for your kindness in the future. I promise you as a swordsman.”

Then Arje reacted wildly.

“No need to repay me; you are already helping me so much by just keeping me company!”

After chatting, we parted briefly after reaching the clothing store. Although the shop owner freaked out in the beginning after seeing a bunny, 

“How about this one?”

“This is really trendy among young women these days.”

“You suit this so nicely!”

In front of gold, every race was equal. 

“Thank you, please come again!”

When I paid, the shop owner even walked me outside. 

“Phew, now I seem more like a swordsman.”

I tried to match my outfit from the academy as much as possible. It was not an exact copy, but I was able to get the black hat and coat, a white shirt and red skirt. 

And that didn’t mean that it was bad. Arje had given me quite a lot of money, and the quality of the clothes at the store was nice. It felt nice wearing it. Still, one thing was funny.

“A skirt.”

If I were to fight with a sword, pants would be more comfortable and suited for fighting. I already knew this, having been a swordsman and swordswoman. Still, I chose the skirt…

One reason. The skirt seemed prettier. 

“Look over there! It’s a bunny!”

“Isn’t that the same bunny from the temple earlier?”

“Aren’t the clothes different, though?”

“She is pretty cute, actually.”

I guess I had a good sense of style. The people around all focused their eyes on me. Or it could have been because of my long ears. Still, getting attention was a pretty good mood-lifter, so I didn’t feel too bad.

“It’s that, right?”

“Yes, I think that’s the bunny that miss was talking about.”

And among the attention, I heard a conversation that I couldn’t miss. If it weren’t’ for my great hearing, I would have let it slip through. The conversation was obviously a negative one. 

I pretended as if I didn’t hear anything and turned in the direction of an alleyway instead of heading towards the inn. If they weren’t to follow, it would just be me being sensitive. If they were to trail behind me, however, it wasn’t something to be so carefree about.

Trod. Trod. 

And as I predicted, they followed me inside the alleyway.

“Oh, you followed.”

It was the latter case.