“Damn it!”
Ludrick was feeling frustrated. Not only that the monster had captured Eurushia and he still couldn’t retrieve her, but he was also furious at his own helplessness on the battlefield.
Ludrick is said to be excellent, but only “for a twelve-year-old boy.”
His swordsmanship is at the level of a knight, but inferior to the holy knights.
His magic skills are average, but far behind Noel, who has been a mercenary for years.
The attendants who have received Eurushia’s blessing should have made agonizing efforts, not only as her attendants, but also as the Saint’s attendants. He has no match for their power to protect someone, their wisdom to try to save their master, or their ability to put it into action.
Right now, Ludrick is the most inferior one here.
Ludrick, as the highest-ranking person present, is the commander of this operation, but since everyone deeply understands their own roles, there is no need for him to give instructions.
(“What am I doing…?”)
Ludrick clenches his fist tightly, feeling his own powerlessness.
He joined this expedition to protect Eurushia. There were some voices of concern about the royal Ludrick participating, but he insisted on joining because he understood that he was the royal family’s backup.
Even if something happened to Ludrick, his brother Timothee is there.
However, that is not a valid reason to take the risk, but Ludrick is aware that there is a faction that is pushing for him to become the king, bypassing his brother. He has also thought that the country might be more united if he were gone.
He can well understand the feelings of Eurushia’s father, the Duke, who disliked the struggle for the throne and tried to distance himself from the royal family. At the same time, he can empathize with the fact that he could not completely separate himself from his family.
“Eurushia…!”
He is sometimes called too sweet, but he loved his family like that. For the sake of that family, he will definitely rescue Eurushia. Eurushia is family. Not because they are blood relatives, but because Ludrick already thinks of her as his “little sister.”
However, it was not always so…
When Ludrick first met her at the age of seven, he was captivated by her doll-like beauty and the charming human-like sadness she possessed.
Unlike himself, who was helpless in the kidnapping incident, this girl who was not even four years old was saving not only the bodies but also the hearts of the children. He admired her for that.
She is the true Saint. Unlike Ludrick, who is respected just for being a royal, she would have been protected and revered by the Holy Kingdom even if she was not a princess.
If only that were the case. If Eurushia did not have royal blood, Ludrick could have freely cared for her.
But to obtain her, who is both a Saint and a royal, is the same as becoming the king.
Ludrick’s brother Timothee, being much older, only sees Eurushia as a “little sister.” That’s why Ludrick had no choice but to become her “brother.”
For that reason, Ludrick tried to “grow up.” He tried to mature not only physically but also mentally, in order to make the necessary compromises.
Ludrick grew up as a “brother” to “protect” his “little sister”… or so he thought.
But now, Eurushia is in mortal danger due to the demon’s machination.
What was the point of trying to grow up? What was the point of deciding to be her brother? Were all his efforts in vain?
If I can’t save Eurushia, there is no meaning in feigning courage.
“–OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
At that moment, “something” dwelled within Ludrick, who had resolved to fight for the girl he loved.
The “Steel Resolve” — Silver light enveloped Ludrick’s entire body, blessed by the [Great Earth Spirit], and the boy howled to the heavens as a new power welled up from within him.
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“Lucia…!”
Noel swung his sword relentlessly.
Even injured, even blown away, he neither faltered nor retreated, but merely pressed forward, continuing to swing the sword in his hand.
All for the sake of the one girl he loved.
Having lost his entire family to murder as a child, and wounded by abuse, Noel had lost all hope and wished for his own death in despair.
But the one who saved Noel was a tiny golden “holy maiden” even younger than himself.
The holy maiden Eurushia. To Noel, who had wished for death in his despair, she used harsh words, refusing to let him give up, and showed him a gentle, loving smile. In her, Noel saw the figure of an angel sent by God.
Even if he lost everything, there was still hope. He felt that Eurushia, who gave him that hope, was the light of hope God had granted to the earth…the true holy maiden.
At first, it was admiration. Just as one clings to religion in the depths of despair, he lived depending on the existence of the “holy maiden” as an anchor for his heart. Struggling to live from a young age, recognized for his talents, and meeting his foster father, Noel, once a child of wandering folk, could now live as a nobleman.
He was able to make graves for his family, and report to them that he could now live properly, finally feeling human.
But as he gradually grew from a child content with mere admiration into an adult, he became acutely aware of the gap between them.
Between a minor nobleman’s adopted son without even a fief, and her, the princess of the Holy Kingdom and true holy maiden, there stood a wall as tall as a mountain range.
He was glad to reunite with her. But as he grew older, it became harder to interact with her casually.
Noel, who had lost everything, regained his will to live by meeting Eurushia, and gradually gained more “precious” things like his foster father, comrades, and friends.
Yet with each precious thing he gained, it became shackles distancing him from her.
She remained unchanged in how she treated him, smiling at Noel with the same smile from childhood, having only grown more beautiful than ever.
And now, that Eurushia was vanishing into the midst of a monster with abnormal power.
Her servants said that by continuing to attack this beast, they could separate Eurushia from it. They too must wish to save their master themselves if possible. Though they had ample ability, the reason they could not was because only those close by the holy maiden could use the magic to rescue her.
Believing in Noel, they entrusted Eurushia, their master, to him.
And yet, Noel still could not land that “decisive blow” to separate her.
“Why…?!”
Why couldn’t he do it? Unleash that strike from back then?
When Eurushia, who had come for a courtesy visit, was kidnapped in the provincial city of Tull, Noel had transformed the “feelings” welling up from his heart into light, defeating the beast-man.
He could no longer unleash that strike…that “light” from before. He could call forth light by chanting, but that explosive power had not occurred even once since then.
What was different from that time? Was it merely a temporary phenomenon from receiving Eurushia’s blessing? Had he simply misunderstood it as his own power?
“I see…so that’s it.”
The despair of being unable to save Eurushia filled his heart. But unlike before, even filled with despair, the “courage” of light remained in the depths of his heart.
If he could not use light, then he had a substitute. And that was–
“My…life!!”
He needed no protection. A life without her was not worth having. Just like that time, he had no choice but to discard his life itself as a weapon and deliver a final, reckless blow.
Not to save the holy maiden he admired–no, different.
Noel resolved to cast away his life to rescue the girl he loved.
And that resolve–summoned back his former “light.”
“–!”
It had not vanished. It had been there all along. He had simply failed to see it.
He sensed the “Light Spirit” within his heart.
The legends of the Holy Kingdom record this:
When a great evil appears in this world, one chosen by the Light Spirit will awaken to save the world as the one true “hero”…
Having received the blessing of the Great Light Spirit and awakened as that singular true hero of this world, Noel shouts the feelings from the depths of his heart for the girl he loves.
“–[†§†]–!!”
A massive pillar of light rose from the sword Noel gripped, and that white brilliance was brought crashing down on the “golden beast.”
Noel’s light clashed against the power of the “golden beast.”
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
Simultaneously, Ludrick struck the opposite side with a silver-shining sword.
“Noel!”
“Ludrick!”
Calling each other’s names and nodding in unison, the two drove in two more bursts of light, finally blowing the previously immovable “golden beast” away.
“Now!!”
At Noah’s shout, not just Tina and Fanny but even Nia rushed over, and the four joined their magic power to activate a massive magic circle.
KISHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Even so, the “golden beast” did not stop moving and unleashed a shockwave from its mouth towards the four. Even for Noah and the others, taking that unprotected would be no simple matter.
“Like I’d let you!!”
But it was Cordle who leapt in, using his magic sword and his own body as a shield to receive the shockwave. With a resentful look on his face, he showed the slightest hint of vexation to the “heroes” he had so longed for.
“Do it! Heroes, rescue the holy maiden!!”
The next instant, Noah and the others’ magic circle activated, enveloping the “golden beast” in red light, from which a “golden” brilliance peeled away.
“Eurushia!”
“Lucia!!”
The intense light like the sun blinded them all.
Had the magic circle activated? Was Eurushia safe? The shouts from the boys’ hearts had summoned…something, as that light scattered like golden feathers–.
“Ahhh…”
In the center of that light, the figure of a girl emerged, her tattered dress fluttering like wings, as the unconscious Eurushia descended like an angel, returned to the hands of those who loved her.
TLNOTE:
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