‘I'll save them both.’
Having made up his mind, Arden immediately picked up the dagger Kariel had dropped.
The dagger was about as long as two palms laid together.
He had never used this kind of weapon before, but it did not matter. His talent made up for that.
“Whew....”
After rolling the dagger over his palm a couple of times, Arden aimed it at the muscular man in robes.
He did not think for long. Holding his breath for a moment, he threw the dagger.
―WHOOSH!
The dagger left his hand. Arden immediately kicked off the ground.
‘That won't be enough.’
It was only natural, since it was not a surprise attack.
Just as he had expected.
The man easily dodged the dagger, then met Arden's sword with his own.
―CLANG!
“......!”
Arden's sword hand shook violently in an instant. The impact traveled up his arm.
The same was true of the man. He grinned as he looked at Arden over the faintly trembling blade of his sword.
“Interesting.”
The man put his weight behind it.
―CREAK!
Arden's legs slowly began to bend, and he clenched his teeth.
If this continued, he would be the first to tire. He had to find a solution before it was too late.
‘Like this...!’
At that moment, something flashed through his mind.
‘This might be possible.’
―CREAK!
Arden deliberately bent lower. Slowly, without letting the man notice. He made it seem as though he were merely being forced down by the man's strength.
“You're less than I expected. Die already.”
The man put strength into his arm and pushed his sword down. As though he meant to cut Arden's neck in one stroke, his sword moved a little away from Arden.
“――!”
At that moment, Arden shot forward with his sword held out, as though he had been waiting for it.
“......!”
The man realized a beat too late that Arden had not fallen and tried to widen the distance.
―SQUELCH!
He was too slow.
Arden's sword pierced the man's abdomen and emerged from his back. The man coughed up red blood. But he did not die immediately. He dropped the sword he had been holding and clenched his fist. He intended to send Arden flying.
“Hup!”
Realizing this, Arden immediately pulled out his sword. He lifted his head slightly and looked at the fist the man threw. ...It was absurdly slow. Arden followed its path with his eyes, then turned his head when it came right before his face. WHAM―! As the fist sliced through the air, Arden cut the man's throat.
―SPLASH....
A thin red line appeared across his pale neck.
The man touched his throat with eyes full of disbelief.
“Th-this....”
THUD―
The world before the man's eyes turned upside down.
At that moment.
―CRUMBLE....
The rectangular insignia on his forearm crumbled to dust and disappeared.
But Arden did not notice.
He merely looked at the man's corpse before turning his head.
The orphanage director's voice could still be heard downstairs.
Arden hurried onward.
―CREEEAK....
The farther he descended the old stairs, the stronger the smell of blood became.
“......”
At last, Arden reached the first floor and looked ahead.
A man holding an axe stood in the middle of the corridor.
At his feet lay the unconscious orphanage director, with both of her legs missing below the knees.
...It was then, as Arden's face twisted at the horrific sight.
“What? You're already done?”
Sensing someone there, the man asked as he wiped the blood from his cheek.
“Why aren't you answering...?”
When no answer came even after a long while, the man turned around.
“Who are you? What happened to the people upstairs?”
He sneered when he saw Arden standing still.
“Did you get scared? Can't you talk?”
“......”
But Arden did not answer.
He only stared at the orphanage director behind the man, his face twisted.
Can her legs be reattached?
He did not know.
Arden had never seen anyone suffer an injury like that.
His mother had been cleaved in half before she had a chance to do anything. She had been swallowed whole and died.
But what Arden had to do was clear.
He had to kill that man before it was too late and stop the orphanage director's legs from bleeding.
“......!”
At that moment, lost in thought, Arden reflexively ducked his head.
A pitch-black axe grazed past Arden's hair.
―CRUNCH!
The axe embedded itself in the stairs leading to the second floor. The man looked between Arden and the axe, then muttered with interest,
“You dodged?”
The man kicked the orphanage director aside and approached Arden.
“Heh. This should be fun.”
The man raised the axe in his right hand high. Arden looked at him with cold eyes, then stepped forward. Extending his arm, he drove his sword into the man's eye. The movement was like a flash of lightning. It was too fast for the man to react.
SPLURT—!
The eyeball burst. Seared by agony that burned into his brain, the man rolled across the floor.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
Arden watched him, then gripped his sword in a reverse hold. SQUELCH— Arden pierced the man's throat.
After struggling for a moment, the man soon went limp.
“Whew.”
...It was over. Arden had killed every intruder who had attacked the orphanage.
But few people had survived.
Arden had protected them, but he had also lost them.
―SMACK!
“It's not over yet.”
Slapping his own cheek to shake away those distracting thoughts, Arden hurried to the orphanage director.
Her face was pale, perhaps because she had lost so much blood.
It seemed he had to stop the bleeding at once.
After looking around, Arden rushed into the kitchen.
―CREEEAK!
“Thank goodness.”
Pushing through the shattered door and entering, Arden let out a sigh of relief.
The tablecloth was clean enough to serve as a bandage.
It looked fit to use to stop the bleeding right away.
“And I have to send word quickly.”
As he gathered the tablecloth, Arden searched his memory.
He was trying to find the carrier pigeon the orphanage director used to contact the Arcane Temple.
“Ah. Right, she kept it there.”
Arden went to the orphanage director's bedroom as quickly as he could and brought back the carrier pigeon.
He could not find anything to write with, so he had to write with the blood pooled on the floor.
Remembering the letters his mother had taught him as a child, Arden moved his finger.
[Help us. We have been attacked by bandits.]
He wrote it as simply as he could. Once he sent it, someone at the Temple would see it and send a priest.
All she had to do was stay alive until then.
“Then....”
Arden soon stood before the orphanage director. She still had not regained consciousness.
In a way, that was fortunate.
―RIIIP!
Arden tore the tablecloth into long strips and tied them tightly around the orphanage director's thighs. Then he pressed cloth over the exposed stumps.
He used the same method on the other side. The blood flowing out visibly decreased.
It seemed the immediate danger had passed.
Wiping away the beads of sweat running down his forehead, Arden lifted the orphanage director into his arms.
He carried her to her room, whose door stood half open, and laid her on the bed.
Then he carefully covered her with a blanket and left the room.
“Whew.”
Back in the corridor, Arden headed upstairs.
“......”
Arden walked over to the children lying limp on the floor.
Biting his lip, he closed their eyes one by one.
Then he stood before two children trembling with fear.
They were Maril and Leon.
“Are you all right?”
“B-brother!”
“Arden—no, big brother....”
The two children did not look well either.
Arden carefully gathered them into his arms and fell into thought.
‘Where should I go?’
Leaving the children in his room was not a good choice.
Then he would have to leave them beside the orphanage director, but her condition was serious as well.
Still, even after thinking for a long while, he could not find a suitable way other than that.
For now, it seemed like the best option.
Arden nodded and headed downstairs.
Then, suddenly, he looked outside the window.
The sun was rising.
The long dawn had come to an end.
With complicated emotions, Arden entered the bedroom where the orphanage director was.
***
Two days passed.
Fortunately, the orphanage director had regained consciousness and was staying inside with the two children.
“Whew.”
Arden was digging graves for the dead children.
Ordinarily, he should have done it yesterday, but he had spent the entire day gathering medicinal herbs, which had delayed him.
The muscle pain that left him unable to move properly had also played a part.
―THUD!
“It's done.”
Arden stared at the eight graves for a long time.
The child whose birthday had been only a few days ago, and the child who had wanted to race....
They were all dead. All that remained was to bury them there.
What sin had they committed to deserve this?
Arden could not understand.
If there was a god, he wanted to ask.
“Let's do this.”
―THUD, THUD....
But Arden soon shook off those distracting thoughts and lifted the children he had covered with white cloth.
He carefully laid them in the graves one by one. Then he began to bury them in turn.
―THUD....
Then.
Arden saw a woman wearing familiar clothes.
Platinum-blond hair. Pure-white robes.
She was Berua, one of the countless Saintess Candidates.
“You've come.”
“Arden....”
Berua had seen Arden a few times before, so she gave him a small bow.
“Are they the children?”
“Yes.”
When Arden nodded, Berua recited a prayer.
“The little children....”
Then two Holy Knights in armor appeared.
They, too, cast a glance over the scene, then stood beside Berua and began to pray.
“Great Light....”
The prayer continued even as Arden buried the children.
“Lord Arcane, please embrace them.”
At last, when Arden had buried them all, they opened their eyes.
“Are you all right?”
Berua asked Arden.
“......”
Arden did not answer at all.
He should have been all right, but....
He could not bring himself to speak.
He could not even nod.
It felt as though something were tightly blocked inside him.
As Arden stood there without moving, Berua carefully embraced him.
“Ah....”
At that moment, tears streamed from Arden's eyes.
He did not know why. Even he was startled.
I was fine... Nothing was wrong, so why is this happening?
Unable to find an answer amid those questions, Arden kept crying.
...After some time had passed.
“Are you feeling a little better now?”
Patting Arden's back after his trembling had subsided, Berua asked.
Arden nodded.
Then he spoke.
“Let's go inside.”
Arden led Berua toward the orphanage director's office.
Her eyes widened at the smell of blood wafting from every direction.
She wanted to ask in detail what had happened, but she held herself back for Arden's sake.
Though he looked fine on the surface, Arden was not in a good state right now.
“Can you reattach her legs?”
When they reached the orphanage director's office, Arden said this as he opened the door.
Thinking she had misheard, Berua entered and covered her mouth.
Both legs of the friend who was no different from her own flesh and blood had been severed.
“W-what....”
The two had been friends and family, living together for twenty years since the day they were born.
It could not help but be a terrible shock.
“Oh, Berua!”
Knowing Berua's heart well, the orphanage director called brightly from the bed.
“Stay still. Don't move....”
Berua hurried to her.
“......”
But to her surprise.
Up close, the orphanage director's condition was not as serious as Berua had expected.
The exposed stumps had not festered, and she had no fever.
The severed legs also did not seem to have any serious problem.
Berua looked at Arden standing beside her, then immediately began her work.
“O Light.”
Pure-white light gathered in Berua's hands. It was Divine Power, which only the chosen could wield.
“First, I'll do everything I can.”
“Don't overdo it.”
While the two spoke, someone called Arden.
It was the two Holy Knights, who had quietly gone somewhere and returned.
“Could you come outside for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Arden nodded and stood before them.
Then the black-haired man spoke.
“You have heard it, Arden. You have two choices.”
“Yes, I heard a few days ago.”
“We were the ones who recommended it. The reason is....”
He gave a small smile and continued.
“It may sound ridiculous, but we felt something indescribable when we saw you holding a farm implement.”
But he was not done speaking.
He added an explanation.
“However, we have changed our minds. The people who broke into this place were the Third Unit of the Red Hawk Bandit Gang.”
“The Red Hawk...?”
Arden knew that bandit gang too. He had heard of it several times while traveling to and from the village.
Merchants said it was large and powerful, but the men who had attacked the orphanage had not seemed that way.
There had been only three of them, and they had been weak.
So Arden had not known.
“There was an insignia and unit number written inside their robes. Fortunately, we could tell because you had not disposed of the bodies yet.”
“Ah.”
“Also, lately they have been moving in groups of three. They have begun operating in separate teams, each centered around a captain.”
“But... what does that have to do with changing your mind?”
The man gave a small smile at Arden's question.
“Haha.... The conversation briefly went in a strange direction. To return to the point, would you consider skipping the apprenticeship and becoming a Holy Knight immediately?”
“......!”
Arden's eyes widened.
A Holy Knight.
Skipping the apprenticeship and becoming a Holy Knight immediately was unprecedented since the Temple had been founded.