I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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Chapter 46

‘It seems all the temple folks are strange, after all.’

I looked at Yulian, who was laughing like a madman, with a puzzled expression. After a while, he wiped away the tears that had gathered in his eyes and gazed at me with a look still filled with the echoes of his laughter.

“Did you confirm that the Solar Mandala is engraved on both the princess’s wrist and that guy’s—no, the counterpart’s wrist after the oath?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s definitely true.”

Yulian flashed a grin.

“The Solar Mandala can never be forged.”

He blurted out the textbook answer that everyone in the Empire knows as common sense. As expected, I could only let out a small sigh.

‘So what on earth does El want from me?’

It remained an unsolvable dilemma. I pressed my slightly throbbing temples with a heavy sigh. I am a swordsman. Allegories and riddles are more Ariana’s forte than mine.

“May I ask one more thing?”

“Of course. As long as it’s within my capacity to answer.”

Yulian readily accepted. He seemed quite cheerful. After thinking for a moment, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Do you happen to know a priest named El?”

Recently, other predictions about El’s identity had been occupying my mind, but I decided to spit out what I knew first. Yulian’s face turned genuinely strange upon hearing my question. He looked like he was trying to hold back laughter, feeling pity, and was also somewhat incredulous.

“El, the priest… Hmph, El, hmm… he’s an old friend of mine.”

“……Really?”

Yulian being friends with El was surprising. My eyes widened in surprise, and Yulian, who had been tilting his head while shaking his shoulders, soon straightened up and nodded with a composed expression.

“Yes. He came before me… Mm… Ah, I’ve received a lot of help from him.”

Although his stuttering speech was a bit odd, my curiosity prevailed, so I asked seriously.

“What kind of person is El?”

At my question, the corners of Yulian’s mouth twitched as if he was trying to contain a laugh. He seemed to contemplate for a moment before breaking into a grin.

“Kid. I’ll save you just this once.”

“Yes?”

“No, that’s not it.”

With a strange mutter, Yulian returned to his usual saintly demeanor and spoke.

“El is… um, kind. Altruistic… and… he’s very pure and good-hearted, not one to raise anger. Ah… he’s a very good kid. He has no greed and no hidden agenda or dark intentions… Hah… He has the character of the Solar God Ra. Yes, that’s exactly right! El is like a friend of Ra’s incarnation!”

“……Isn’t Ra a God with a fiery temper and violent nature?”

Many refer to Ra as a benevolent god, but looking at Ra’s mythology, strictness and a dirty temperament stand out more than benevolence.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying…! No, no. What I mean is! He’s a friend with a warm and gentle personality, like the sun!”

Yulian seemed to struggle a great deal to give a compliment and rushed to correct himself.

‘Why not just curse him?’

If nothing else, even a five-year-old child could tell that Yulian’s assessment of El was not the truth.

‘El is… quite kind and naive, isn’t he?’

Actually, I found Yulian’s reaction hard to fathom. To me, El was like an angel, worrying about how to survive in this harsh world. It seemed quite suspicious, but my overall impression was that he didn’t seem like a bad person.

Despite not being a serious question, I looked at Yulian with a bemused expression as he forcefully lied, and his efforts felt admirable, so I decided to pretend to believe him.

“Well, he’s not a bad person, right?”

“Raishi, forgive me… Of course, he’s not!”

Though he seemed eager to deceive, I turned my head and bit my lip to suppress a laugh at Yulian, who was openly praying. He certainly was a funny fellow.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s living all that kindly in the temple… but having a friend who covers up like this surely doesn’t mean he’s living that badly, does it?’

I chuckled as I slightly revised my evaluation of El.

“Oh, and El is very famous in the temple.”

That was an unexpected statement. I tilted my head slightly in confusion, and Yulian’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

“He hasn’t forgotten his first love even at twenty and is still suffering from a fever of love.”

The mischievous grin on Yulian’s face reminded me of a playful boy.

‘El has a first love…?’

It felt somewhat strange. Who could El possibly love? For a moment, I pondered, and since he had been kind to someone like me, I thought he would probably show the utmost kindness to the one he truly loved.

“……Thank you for telling me. What do you want to tell me?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special.”

Leaving my whimsical feelings behind, I asked Yulian. He smiled slyly.

“If you don’t mind, would you visit our temple sometime when you have the chance?”

“That shouldn’t be hard… but is there a special reason?”

For nobles, it was common to make offerings at the temple and pray through the priests when even a small wish arose, so going wouldn’t be difficult. However, I questioned him again as his behavior seemed a bit strange, and he chuckled.

“Actually, we have a dog in our temple that can’t forget the princess and is driving everyone mad every day. A little rascal that bites and tears at the weak while being too cowardly to come here.”

“……Do you raise dogs in the temple?”

“Somehow, that dog has become the highest authority in our temple.”

It sounded absurd, yet somehow it made sense. I sighed and nodded.

“I’ll make sure to visit sometime soon.”

“Thank you. With that, it seems I can escape the misery for a week.”

‘What a strange guy.’

Seeing Yulian let out a sigh of relief, I couldn’t help but chuckle. I noticed a hint of surprise on his face upon seeing my smile, but he simply took another sip of his tea.

“Do you need someone to see you off?”

“Oh, no. You’ve already treated me to tea; I can’t ask for a send-off too.”

“Then I won’t go far.”

As I shook the magic bell on the table, it took less than ten seconds for a servant to knock at the door. I opened the reception room door and extended my hand for a handshake with Yulian.

“Take care on your way back. May the blessing of the sun always be with you.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you. May you dwell where the light always lingers.”

Yulian, with his white hair flowing, turned and walked away with the servant. As I leaned against the wall watching his retreating figure, Yulian suddenly turned his head, drooping his eyes, and mouthed something.

‘……Sorry?’

I wondered if Yulian had done anything to be sorry about, but that thought disappeared beyond the doorway as he vanished.

A somewhat peculiar day had passed.

“Are you all loosened up now?”

“Yes.”

Standing in the center of the empty training ground and stretching, I caught a glimpse of Caesar, who gave his wrist a light twist while holding his sword.

Dressed in a white shirt and high-waisted pants, Caesar radiated light on his own. I was reminded again that a handsome face needs no special accessories.

‘I want to stop being a mercenary but keep wielding a sword.’

‘That’s not difficult. There’s a training ground exclusively for the Duke’s lineage. You can go practice whenever you want. Just be careful not to show your aura in front of others.’

‘Yes! Thank you!’

‘Oh, are you free this Thursday?’

‘I don’t think I have any special plans…’

‘Then why not spar with me once?’

‘……What?’

‘I want to check your skills and get some exercise myself after a long time. Is that a problem?’

‘Ah, no. There’s no issue.’

And that’s how I found myself across from Caesar, both of us holding sharp swords.

“Shushu. Don’t hold back and smash your father to pieces.”

“Make sure to wreck him!”

Kal and Aria, who had come to watch, shouted outrageous encouragements towards me. It was almost pitiful how neither of them said a single word in support of Caesar.

“Raising kids is all for nothing.”

Caesar clicked his tongue, looking at Kal and Aria with a bewildered expression. I found it amusing and smirked as well.

“Then I’ll count on you.”

Drawing the well-sharpened sword from the sheath at my waist, I bowed slightly to Caesar. Since both Caesar and I are sword masters, we could adjust our strikes during the spar so that neither of us would be hurt by the real blades. As we exchanged glances, we both aimed our swords at each other simultaneously.

Clang!

As our swords clashed, a tremendous sound echoed around us, creating a strong gust of wind that engulfed the space between Caesar and me. Even without summoning our auras, the collision between two sword masters was intense.

‘Fighting against someone of the same level is quite fun.’

As I felt a slight ache in my wrist, excitement coursed through me, and I grinned. Caesar’s face, visible between the shining blades, was slightly flushed with thrill.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A light probing battle continued between our clashing swords. Even just those probing exchanges started to wear down the ground beneath us. Suddenly worried that it might be unsafe, I glanced over my shoulder at Kal and Aria, who were already casting a shield. Relieved, I swung my sword freely.

‘It’s graceful and clean, yet heavy. Each blow is sharp.’

Ducking to evade Caesar’s horizontal slashes, I analyzed his attacks. His sword was reminiscent of knights with structure and fundamentals, but it was also very unconventional and reckless, similar to mercenary swords.

‘Indeed, the Caesar Crisis.’

A name that never fails to appear when discussing the mightiest warriors of the continent. His reputation proved not to be mere talk as powerful attacks poured down on me.

Blocking his heavy strikes swiftly, I gritted my teeth and swung my sword. Knowing I became a sword master solely for survival without any formal training, I lacked the strength and skills that came easily to him. Given the time difference in our swordsmanship training, I was far less proficient than Caesar.

Yet even knowing that, it was completely normal for me to be weaker considering the way of life and the duration of our skills.

‘I refuse to lose.’

A burning desire ignited within me that had long been dormant. Embers of excitement and defiance danced like kindling, lighting up my heart.

I decided to change my attack pattern, which had hitherto focused merely on slashing. Swinging my sword toward Caesar’s abdomen, I suddenly altered its trajectory and thrust toward his shoulder.

Caesar’s sword, which had been defending against my abdomen, hastily shifted to block my shoulder attack. While it didn’t land, it was an impactful maneuver that slightly disrupted Caesar’s rhythm.

“……Your swordplay is quite unorthodox.”

With a slightly surprised look, he gazed at me, and I grinned back. Following the pounding rhythm of my heartbeat, I undid the ties binding my long hair.

If someone were to ask why a swordsman would keep their hair long down to their waist while it could be cumbersome, I would answer:

“It’s time to stop playing childishly, Father.”

My long hair wouldn’t hinder my fight; it was because I was strong enough to make it an asset.

Slash!

With a fierce gust of wind, explosive black aura erupted along my blade. The mana flowing through every vein connected to my heart began to surge wildly.

I had no intention of dragging out this fight. From the start, Caesar was not someone to be toyed with, and more importantly, I would be at a complete disadvantage in a drawn-out battle because of my weaker stamina.

I was ready to go all out from the beginning.

“Ha, haha!”

Caesar, who had been blankly watching me, finally brushed the sweat-soaked bangs from his forehead and burst into hearty laughter. His eyes squinted warmly as he looked at me. It was the first time I saw such a bright smile from Caesar.

“Is there any debate? As my daughter’s wish says.”