The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 220

“Malredrak was strong, but in the end, I cleaved his chest with my Divine Executioner Sword! My sword dug into the wound left by the Divine Executioner Sword Master!”

Ra-El clenched his fist.

Thinking about that day, his chest began to heat up.

The Divine Executioner Sword Master’s defiance of fate inflicted a fatal wound on Malredrak.

It left an unhealable wound on the Great Demon King, who wielded the power of a god in a human body!

“…Ahem. Yes. I see. As expected, you are amazing, Brother.”

“It’s not just me who’s amazing. The Divine Executioner Sword Master’s defiance of fate was truly incredible. He reached the Demon King with only his own power.”

“Yes. I know. The Divine Executioner Sword Master is also an incredible hero.”

Carlson barely nodded.

He, too, naturally knew that Ra-El and the Divine Executioner Sword Master were amazing.

That fact was known to all the humans on the continent who participated in the war, or rather, who watched the battle.

But, wasn’t this too much?

The heroic tale that started half in jest had already been going on for three hours.

“But it didn’t end there…! Malredrak rose again! At that time, I heard people’s prayers in my ears. Prayers that my Divine Executioner Sword would become even stronger!”

“Oh! So, you killed Malredrak then?!”

“The voices of the commoners, the prayers of the priests, the wishes of the knights…! They began to fill my chest!”

Whoosh-

Flames blazed from Ra-El’s sword.

It was the flame of the Divine Executioner Sword.

“I raised my right hand towards the sky. And the Holy Sword Saint answered my call! This was not an action done with certainty or calculation. Like the Divine Executioner Sword Master, I also leaped beyond the realm of Sword Master.”

Buzz-

The Holy Sword Saint, which was hanging on Ra-El’s waist, vibrated.

[Hero! How long are you going to tell this story?!]

But Ra-El, who was engrossed in his heroic tale, did not hear it.

“……”

Carlson now closed his eyes.

It seemed that it would take a little longer for Ra-El’s heroic tale to end.

“…That’s how I ended up killing Malredrak. Haa.”

About an hour later.

Ra-El finally lowered the raised flash.

“Wow. Wow….”

“As expected of the Hero….”

Clap clap clap-

As Ra-El’s long heroic tale ended, the paladins began to applaud wearily.

Before they knew it, their eyes were filled with fatigue.

Carlson used to slip away when his story got too long, but he couldn’t possibly escape from a heroic tale told by the Hero.

“Good job, Ra-El. That was a truly moving heroic tale.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Indeed, I think it would be better to call you Hero now, not Ra-El.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“Thank you, Ra-El.”

Only Commander Marco patted Ra-El’s shoulder with sincere admiration.

He had fought for the Order his entire life, but he probably wouldn’t even reach the tip of Ra-El’s achievements.

Clap clap clap-

At that time, someone clapped and walked in from the entrance of the training ground.

“It’s a heroic tale that’s hard to believe even though I saw it myself. Hero.”

“Saintess?”

Cecilia entered the training ground and lightly bowed her head.

“It’s been a week, Ra-El. I heard you were visiting today, but I didn’t hear from you, so I came to find you myself.”

“I was going to go find you anyway, but I’m sorry. The paladins kept begging me to tell them the story….”

“Hehe. It seems so. Everyone has a moved expression.”

“I know. I didn’t know they would like it this much. I should come and tell them my heroic tales from time to time.”

Ra-El smiled and nodded.

Telling heroic tales was quite annoying and difficult, but spending time with the paladins, who would be the future of the Order, was not a waste at all.

“Was I like that too? I should stop now….”

At Ra-El’s words, the paladins’ expressions began to stiffen, and Carlson also shook his head.

Heroic tales were more difficult than one might think from the listener’s point of view.

“Anyway, Commander, I’m going to go talk to the Saintess. Carlson, take care. All the other paladins, good work.”

“Yes. Brother!”

Watching Carlson and the paladins bow deeply, Ra-El came out of the training ground with Cecilia.

Greeting the priests outside the training ground, Ra-El followed Cecilia.

“Ra-El. How are the wounds from the war? I was worried because I could only give you first aid. I couldn’t go to the orphanage because I had so many people to treat.”

“It’s okay. Didn’t I tell you through Veggass at that time? That there were no urgent injuries to treat.”

Creak-

Cecilia continued the conversation and entered the Order’s indoor garden.

Unlike the outside, which still had the chill of winter, the garden was filled with warm air.

“Even so, you never know when magic power might seep into the human body. I can’t help but worry.”

Cecilia, who was walking ahead, turned around as soon as she entered the garden and took Ra-El’s hand.

Ra-El felt the warm divine power entering his body.

“Ra-El. How is it? Are you okay?”

Cecilia placed her hand on Ra-El’s chest.

Along with the warm air, Cecilia’s face approached.

“…Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

Ra-El unknowingly held his breath.

Until Cecilia’s suddenly approaching face moved away, an unknown emotion bloomed.

“Ra-El, you probably don’t know how great an achievement you have made.”

“…Suddenly?”

Cecilia began to talk as she walked through the garden.

“I still remember that day. When the Demon King disappeared and the magic power that filled the area slowly faded away. Everyone, including me, thought they were watching a myth unfold.”

“It’s thanks to Cecilia that the allied forces were able to endure.”

In fact, everyone would have died if it weren’t for Cecilia’s holy magic.

The executives of Soma Association also said so.

“…Still, I wanted to be of more help to Ra-El.”

Cecilia unfolded her holy magic and commanded the entire battlefield.

That was something only she could do, and it was definitely important.

But she also felt a little regret.

She also wanted to help Ra-El directly by his side, like Sir Carlson.

“You’ve visited the Order often, but this is your first time in the garden, right? You can see all the flowers that bloom in all seasons in the Order’s garden. I’m always using holy magic. The atmosphere is so nice that I often come here.”

Cecilia smiled and changed the subject.

Ra-El looked at the garden with a curious expression.

“No wonder it’s so warm. More than that, I didn’t know you liked flowers and gardens this much.”

“Flowers are beautiful. I can’t visit the orphanage or do volunteer work as often as I’d like, so I often come to the garden. Did you think I would always just pray?”

Cecilia gave a faint smile.

Looking at her, Ra-El thought that her emotions were richer today.

“No. You look good in the garden too.”

“As the end of winter passes, the flowers are showing their faces. It’s like announcing a new beginning to the continent that has been devastated by war.”

“Because when flowers bloom, it feels like spring is starting.”

Flowers are originally a beginning.

Just as the seeds that have endured the long winter bloom, the continent where Alheim has disappeared must be reborn.

“There are also many changes happening in the Empire. The knight orders are turning their eyes to the commoners. They have realized that talent does not depend on origin. The opportunities for orphanages and commoners to learn swords will increase.”

“It’s just amazing that they’ve only realized that obvious fact now.”

Nobles and commoners are the same human beings.

The foolish prejudice that the son of an excellent swordsman would unconditionally be an excellent swordsman was slowly disappearing due to the existence of Ra-El.

“Humans are more foolish than you think. Ra-El has enlightened everyone. Commoners will want to become the second Ra-El.”

“That’s a bit of a burdening story.”

Of course, it’s just the beginning.

It may take hundreds of years for all prejudices to disappear, and even then, they may not disappear completely.

That’s not an area that Ra-El would be responsible for.

“The fact that the Order remains normal is also thanks to Ra-El. Despite the many changes in the Pope and cardinals, Ra-El was at the center.”

Ra-El’s education was increasing in the priests’ curriculum.

What Ra-El had achieved was literally an achievement that could be called a myth.

“I know that Bernardo, who will soon become Pope, is also close to Ra-El. Maybe the changes in the Order won’t end here.”

“Well, something like that.”

Ra-El thought he was very close to Bernardo.

Maybe Bernardo would think so too?

“Yes…! In that sense, I’m going to talk about it at the next meeting. About putting Lord God Gaia and Ra-El on the same level!”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“Praying to Ra-El. There are many priests who think that the divine power Ra-El has is a sign of God. Not everyone prays to Ra-El, but if they want to, they can pray to Ra-El. Hmm, for example, how about Ra-Men instead of Gaia-Men?”

“…Ra-Men sounds a bit strange.”

Ra-El felt a headache for the first time in a while.

Gaia-Men doesn’t sound good either, but Ra-Men was unbearable.

“Is that so…?”

Cecilia drooped her shoulders as if she was sulking.

Looking at her, he felt guilty for no reason.

“Ahem. Well, it’s not necessarily bad. Talk about it if you want.”

“Hehe. That’s a relief!”

Cecilia smiled with relief.

“Oh my, it’s the Hero and the Saintess. I’m glad to see you in the garden.”

At that time, a female priest approached from the back of the garden.

She was an old female priest with a kind smile.

“Ah, Priestess Rian.”

Cecilia smiled as soon as she saw the female priest.

“Are you close?”

“Yes. She has been tending the garden in the Order for decades. I see her every time I come to the garden.”

“I see. Hello. Priestess Rian.”

“Oh my. I’m not a great priest that the Hero would treat with respect.”

Rian lightly bowed her head.

As a priest who had worked in the Order for decades, she seemed to have manners ingrained in her body.

“Saintess. This is the first time I’ve seen you visit the garden with someone else.”

“Yes. Ra-El, the Hero, is a special person to me.”

“Oh my. The Order’s garden is not a bad place for two young men and women to date. It’s a romantic place where you can see all the flowers of the four seasons. It’s been a meeting place for clergymen since long ago. I’ve turned a blind eye to it several times.”

“Priestess Rian. What are you talking about?”

Ra-El smiled as he watched Rian and Cecilia joke around.

She said she often came to the garden, and it seemed that the two were closer than he thought.

“I feel like an old woman like me is getting in the way of you two. I should get out of here.”

“I’ll see you next time. Priestess Rian.”

Cecilia lightly bowed her head, and Rian laughed and left.

After Rian had completely disappeared, Cecilia apologized to Ra-El as well.

“Priestess Rian is not usually like that… I’m sorry if you felt bad, Ra-El.”

“It’s okay. She’s more playful than she looks.”

“Perhaps because clergymen live a chaste life… they like to joke about love stories.”

“Ah… I see.”

When he thought about it, Carlson was always looking for a woman.

Rian’s joking was probably a similar feeling.

“Yes. Chapter 5 of the Gaia Sutra states that clergymen must be chaste.”

“There’s nothing that’s not written in the Gaia Sutra.”

There are quite a few religions that talk about chastity, but it was amazing that it was written so openly.

Perhaps it’s because the era is so tightly closed.

“Do you think that a Saintess should be chaste, Ra-El?”

“Well? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“That’s important to me right now.”

“What is…?”

Ding- Ding-

At that moment, the sound of bells announcing evening prayers rang in the distance.

Ra-El turned his head with the sound of the bell and looked at Cecilia.

“Ra-El. It’s a lily. It’s my favorite flower.”

Cecilia still smiled innocently and held out the flower.

It was evening prayer that she had never missed, but Cecilia did not bother to put her hands together.

At this moment, the Saintess’s heart was directed towards someone other than Gaia.