Kays Translations

Chapter 11: An Unexpected Power (1)

　After the victory celebration, Elliot sat in the room provided to him at the royal castle and gazed absently at the holy sword.

　The pale light that had surrounded it on the battlefield was gone, but the beautiful blade, delicately engraved with an ivy relief, still sparkled in the moonlight.

　Approximately a year earlier, Elliot’s unit had entered a forest during the campaign and carefully destroyed the undead beasts one by one. A sudden, violent downpour isolated a platoon of approximately ten men, including Elliot.

　The blessing on a sword purified with holy water vanished after a single kill. Surrounded by a horde of undead beasts and left with no means of fighting, everyone prepared to die.

　At what he thought would be his final moment, Flora’s face came to mind as she waited in the royal capital. He had no clear memory of what followed.

　When he regained awareness, he stood amid the remains of the undead beasts, holding this faintly glowing sword.

　Relieved to find his fallen comrades still breathing, he rejoined the troops who had come to rescue them. Everyone called the weapon in Elliot’s hand a holy sword and shouted with joy.

　—From that day onward, my circumstances changed completely.

　Strangely, the sword became crushingly heavy in anyone’s hands but Elliot’s, and it lost the ability to destroy undead beasts without holy water. Everyone agreed that this proved Elliot was a Holy Knight who had received a holy sword, and from then on he always stood at the very front of the battle line.

　He had been a low-ranking knight only days earlier, but after that day, he was treated like a high-ranking knight. Because Elliot dramatically improved the brutal course of the war, he received far more gratitude than resentment. Fortunately, he avoided open envy and scorn.

　—I still don’t know why I was chosen…

“You never failed to devote yourself to training. Perhaps the Goddess recognized your sincerity.”

　The advice came from a high-ranking knight who had looked after Elliot since he first joined the Order.

　—I’ve always been clumsy at everything. I merely became obsessed with the sword because it was the one thing I could do well.

　Even as a young man, he had often become so absorbed in training that he failed to notice the world around him. Elliot furrowed his brow and sighed.

　—And because of that, there were many other things I failed to notice.

　As he sipped his drink to dispel the bitter thoughts, someone knocked on his door.

　Several high-ranking knights peered inside.

“Deputy Commander Elliot, thank you for your work at the celebration! We have a report for you before you retire!”

　The youngest among them, a high-ranking knight named Marcus, raised his voice the moment he entered.

　Marcus was the third son of a prominent count in the royal capital. Although he had joined the Order two years after Elliot, his talent with a sword and noble birth had quickly made him a rising high-ranking knight.

　Before receiving his title, Elliot had ranked below Marcus socially. Yet Marcus had served in the same platoon on the day Elliot obtained the holy sword and revered him as the man who saved his life.

　Marcus approached the sofa where Elliot sat and spread several inventory-like documents, crowded with dates and precise figures, across the low table.

“Here is the interim report on that matter!”

　From behind Marcus, the high-ranking knight Lloyd added calmly:

“…It hasn’t yet been thoroughly examined. This merely lists the information uncovered so far.”

　Lloyd, the oldest man present, came from a baronet’s family like Elliot but had earned his high rank through ability alone.

　Elliot read the documents, grimaced, and covered his forehead with one hand.

“A woman claiming to be the Holy Knight’s wife has used her husband’s fame to borrow money throughout the capital.”

　The story had reached the battlefield approximately six months earlier. Knowing his former wife’s character and temperament, Elliot had found it almost impossible to believe.

　At the time, he had also heard of several unknown women claiming to be his wife or lover, so he initially dismissed the report as another example of the same fraud.

　Less than a month later, however, Elliot was driven to despair.

　A copy of a promissory note bearing his wife’s name in handwriting he recognized arrived at the battlefield. The debt was far beyond anything the couple could have repaid with their previous earnings.

　—At first, I even worried that something terrible had left her in such desperate need of money…

　But further stories reached him at the front: she had bought expensive jewels, dined and drank daily at costly establishments, abandoned her job to pursue pleasure, and even lavished money on a lover.

　No matter how often he insisted she wasn’t that kind of woman, the repeated stories slowly accumulated and ate away at his heart.

　If true, it would have been a grave scandal, so only a few people in the Order had heard. Yet the seed of doubt gradually grew within him, until the small fracture ultimately shook his trust in his wife.

　Concerned by Elliot’s silence, Lloyd spoke.

“That list is only a compilation of testimony from moneylenders in the royal capital. The claims may be false or fabricated. Please remain calm.”

“But Sir Lloyd! Didn’t the deputy commander himself confirm the handwriting on at least one signature?”

　Marcus shouted his objection, but Lloyd silenced him with a look.

“…Well, unexpected power can drive people mad. Even a good person may be tempted after receiving fame beyond their station.”

　Marcus nevertheless pouted, openly dissatisfied with Lloyd’s words.

“Those achievements belonged to Deputy Commander Elliot and the Saint in the first place! A woman who did nothing has no right to profit from them this way!”

“Marcus… That’s enough.”

　To calm the younger knight, whose youth and reverence for the Holy Knight and Saint often narrowed his perspective, Lloyd made him sit.

　Another high-ranking knight stepped forward from the back of the room and placed a second set of papers on the low table.

“Here is the follow-up on how the money was spent—or at least the expenses for which records remain.”

　The speaker was Richard, second son of a marquis whose family had produced many Royal Guards. He was approximately Marcus’s age.

　The documents recorded donations to the church dating back to just after the Order left for war.

“She continued making small donations even after she began borrowing. Rather cunning, isn’t it? Perhaps she accepted the divorce because she had no other way out.”

　Richard sneered.

“His Majesty annulled her marriage to the deputy commander, so I’m sure matters will somehow be settled. Whether she can repay the debts is another question.”

“Didn’t she flee the royal capital? Will that be all right?”

“Leave her. The moneylenders will surely pursue her.”

　Lloyd sighed as the two young men continued making baseless assertions.

“I have also heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intends to conduct an independent investigation. Say nothing reckless for now.”

　Lloyd rebuked Richard, but the young man merely snorted.

“That disgrace of a crown prince? He’s simply desperate to find fault with Deputy Commander Elliot.”

“Stop it, that’s disrespectful.”

　Richard fell silent because they were in a room within the royal castle, but his displeasure remained obvious.

“…If anyone has been disrespectful, it’s that woman. I agree with Marcus. She exploited the deputy commander’s reputation and tarnished Saint Emily’s achievements.”

“Exactly! Without the Saint, we might never have received the holy sword!”

　Marcus joined in, raising his voice once again.

　Elliot, who had listened silently throughout, clenched his fists in his lap as though restraining the emotions rising within him.

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