I was about to leave as it was, but fortunately, Johanna could open her eyes as soon as the day broke.
“Hero, I…”
Although she didn’t say much, Johanna’s voice seed to carry a lot of emotions.
Without needing to see her expression, Shiron could tell just by her trembling voice that she might burst into tears.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you.”
However, contrary to his worries, what ca out of Johanna’s mouth was a calm apology. Why was she apologizing? It’s not Johanna’s fault but Kiara’s, who used her.
“Since you’re awake, I guess I can go now.”
Shiron didn’t show any particular reaction to her apology.
It might seem cold, but he felt that waiting until she woke up was the least he could do since Johanna wasn’t at fault.
After closing the door and finishing the protective barrier, Shiron handed a gold coin to the innkeeper, indicating a long stay, and finally stepped outside the building.
“It seems you’ve grown attached? I thought you’d leave imdiately, but this is unexpected.”
“…Attached? I didn’t even say goodbye.”
‘You’re not being honest.’
Shiron nonchalantly spoke to Lucia, but his lie was so clumsy that it made even Lucia chuckle.
It wasn’t that it was bad; her smile ca from being proud of how he tried to take responsibility for what he could control.
Lucia realized that her emotions were drawn to this aspect of Shiron.
“And besides, now that I’ve been discovered as Kyrie, I can’t tarnish the heroic deeds of the past.”
“…Has it already begun?”
Of course, not all aspects of a person can be appealing, so Lucia’s face imdiately frowned.
“Thanks to reincarnation, I’ve lived without worrying about others, but because of that damn Kiara, I have to walk the noble path again.”
But regardless of Lucia’s frowning, Shiron did not stop his ‘act’ as Kyrie. As they got closer to the sea, he beca more determined to portray Kyrie, even in speech and actions, to an embarrassing degree.
“That’s why you took care of Johanna until the end. Got it?”
“…”
“Did you get it or not?”
“I don’t think the Kyrie in the hero’s biography did heroic deeds while worrying about others…”
“Heroes are often exaggerated in later descriptions.”
“……Yes, I see.”
Lucia wanted to say sothing about Shiron’s acting, but she stopped as they were near the sea.
Just yesterday, the stormy sea was now calm, as if in a different world. This was possible because Kiara mistook Shiron for Kyrie.
“Why did you hide it all this ti?!”
In the end, Lucia, the ‘real’ Kyrie, could only watch silently as Seira approached the two.
Seira, who had been waiting at the edge of the cliff, approached them quickly.
“Kyrie, do you know how lonely I was?!”
“I’m sorry, Seira, but I had no choice.”
“Is that all you can say? Is it?!”
Seira, who ca up close, thumped Shiron’s chest.
“I don’t know if this counts as an excuse, but after reincarnating, I enjoyed life too much to reveal it.”
Shiron looked at Seira with sorrowful eyes as she hit his chest.
“I didn’t have to be dragged into wars I hated, and there were no nobles belittling for my lack of education. It was so enjoyable.”
“Idiot, idiot, idiot! You could’ve just told !”
“…Even telling you was too embarrassing.”
“What’s embarrassing about it? Ha, let’s hear it.”
“Hiding my identity at school and pretending to be an ordinary student, or being praised for strength I couldn’t have at a young age. It’s naturally embarrassing if my identity is revealed!”
At Shiron’s pathetic words, Seira was about to cry with her magic.
“Dumb Kyrie! Real idiot! Did you really not expect to get caught?”
“…I expected it, but hiding my power was too fun to give up despite the risk.”
“So, fun was more important than your past companions?”
“Sorry, but I never expected Kiara to find out.”
Ignoring Lucia, who clenched her fists and made a rotten face, Shiron continued.
“I intended to save the world again and live as Shiron Prient, not Kyrie. Ugh. It’s such a pity.”
“If that’s the case, you didn’t have to wield the holy sword! Let the world perish for all I care!”
“Sorry, but the goddess of fate reached out to first. I couldn’t refuse.”
‘…Is this really okay?’
Lucia, with her arms crossed, blushed with embarrassnt.
But naturally, she didn’t say anything. She had no room to comnt as she was barely holding back the urge to jump off the cliff from embarassnt.
“Then, did you not avoid the fate of saving the world? Kyrie, you’re a hero even after being reborn!”
“Hey… Aren’t we going in?”
In the end, Lucia couldn’t wait quietly until the skit was over. Fortunately, Shiron also didn’t intend to prolong the act, and neither did Seira.
“Haha, sorry. I got too into it because it was more fun than I thought.”
Feeling awkward at Lucia’s reproach, Seira whispered awkwardly.
“Then.”
Seira activated the magic spell she had prepared in advance. The asure was to enter the water, where it was not only difficult to move but also hard to breathe properly. Layers of complex formulas wrapped around the group imdiately.
It was the magic used 500 years ago to subdue Kiara, the Waterproof Jade. As its grand na suggested, it was a magic that alleviated the pressure of the deep sea and enabled breathing.
“It’s been hundreds of years since I’ve had to use this, since there was no need to enter the water. I’m glad I didn’t forget it.”
“…Is this really okay?”
While Lucia felt a sense of nostalgia from the long-forgotten sensation, Shiron put his face into the water floating in mid-air to check if the magic was working properly.
Thankfully, the magic had no issues. Even when he filled his lungs with water, it felt as natural as breathing air.
“Let’s go.”
Leading the group, Shiron was the first to dive into the sea.
The underwater scenery was indeed dark. Although the storm had stopped, the dark clouds in the sky hadn’t cleared, so it was natural that light couldn’t fully penetrate the sea.
As ti passed, their eyes adapted to the darkness, allowing them to move without hindrance.
The group pushed through the densely grown seaweed and moved forward.
The sea surface rose, and the current pulling them forward strengthened, but they could no longer advance.
A massive gate built underwater blocked their path. Contrary to the current pulling them forward, the dark bars of the gate obstructed their progress.
“…There was no such structure before.”
“Didn’t they say they left the path open?”
Seira mumbled in a troubled manner, while Lucia grumbled irritably.
“Can we break it?”
“…Breaking it is not a good choice.”
Shiron stopped Lucia, who was reaching for her sword.
Pale faces appeared around the gate. They resembled humans but were not human. They were the underwater residents who hadn’t escaped Kiara’s rule.
“We are not here to massacre, so we should avoid senseless killing and destroying their hos.”
“……As expected of Kyrie.”
Lucia let go of her sword upon seeing the faces of the rfolk.
“Kyrie never took lightly even the lives of demons…”
“Kiara wouldn’t lie to , so let’s try to talk.”
Shiron approached the gate, ignoring Lucia’s words.
“Stop!”
A rfolk holding a giant crescent blade jumped down from the gate tower and approached Shiron. Though his fierce aura suggested a fight might break out imdiately, the rfolk inspected Shiron’s appearance and decided to speak first.
“Why have humans co here?”
“We’ve co to et Kiara.”
“…Do you want to go to the temple?”
“I don’t know about the temple, but we definitely ca to et Kiara. Haven’t you heard anything?”
“I haven’t heard.”
While they conversed, a large number of soldiers gathered around. Shiron tilted his head, looking troubled.
“Then, what must we do to pass this gate?”
“Pilgrims need the appropriate mark.”
The rfolk took out a sparkling dal from his bosom and showed it to Shiron.
“You must prove your faith.”
Faith. It seed like he ant showing a symbol of worship to a demon god, but the dal didn’t have any sinister aura.
Lucia and Seira also found it strange.
“Faith?”
“You’ve been talking about the temple since earlier. Are you sure you’re not lost?”
“No, this is the right place.”
Shiron closely examined the engraved pattern on the dal. The image of a beautiful woman covered in scales, resembling Kiara, confird that the rfolk was asking for proof of faith in Kiara.
“How do I prove faith?”
“It’s simple. Just sar blood on the dal.”
“And then?”
“If you have true faith, the dal will illuminate the sea and open the path to the temple.”
“Give it to .”
The rfolk handed the dal to Shiron, who cut his fingertip with the holy sword and sared blood on it.
But, as expected, Shiron, who only harbored hostility towards Kiara, couldn’t make the dal shine. No matter how much he rubbed his finger, only blood oozed out of the wound.
“You have no faith.”
“…Can’t you just let us pass? I don’t want to commit unnecessary killings.”
“That sounds quite confident. It’s best not to boast needlessly.”
“I have every reason to be confident, as I am the hero Kyrie.”
Looking down arrogantly, Shiron spoke boldly. The rfolk gripped his crescent blade and exuded killing intent.
“Hmph! Don’t you know that Kyrie died long ago?”
“What? People can resurrect over ti, can’t they?”
Shiron nonchalantly spouted lies, and the rfolk’s face twisted in an instant.
“Kill him!”
“Damn it!”
Was it wrong to expect to pass peacefully? Shiron imdiately executed the second plan.
With a leap, Shiron slashed the rfolk holding the crescent blade in half.
“I told you we should break it!”
“How was I supposed to know he’d be so stubborn?”
The dal, now soaked with the blood of nurous rfolk, shone brighter than ever.
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