Benedict, whom I faced directly, was a monster beyond what I had seen with my eyes.
Each punch of his had enough power to break through my defenses—does that even make sense?
Even with the [Superhuman Body] skill I gained, which slightly improved my stats, I was still relentlessly pressured by Benedict and eventually collapsed onto the ground.
There was no time to provoke Benedict. How could I even speak when it was hard to catch my breath?
After I had become so exhausted that I couldn’t even move a finger, Frey and Arthur stepped forward, both wanting to experience Benedict’s power for themselves.
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but question if the two had lost their minds. They had just watched what happened to me, and yet they were saying things like that? I started to wonder if they had developed some masochistic tendencies after training with the Allen knights.
Benedict didn’t refuse their request. He said he’d be happy to help those who had enlightened him.
“Since I can’t show you much by fighting one at a time, how about all three of you come at me together?”
“...What? Allen-Bake, I don’t really want to spar.”
“I understand. I’ll give it my best.”
“Even if I can only land one hit, I’ll make sure it happens.”
“No, seriously, I don’t want to spar!”
“Haha. Well, let’s see. I hope your spirit stays strong until the end.”
“Excuse me?! Can’t you hear me at all?!”
Naturally, all three of them were utterly destroyed by Benedict.
How could the three of them endure attacks that I couldn’t even withstand?
Then, Jackal joined in, making it four of them, and after I regained some energy, I joined in as the fifth. But even with five of us, nothing changed. Benedict was overwhelming, and we were all treated like playthings.
Despite that, we didn’t back down. Even knowing we couldn’t win, we threw ourselves at Benedict, desperately trying to land a hit.
In the face of physical and mental exhaustion, with the overwhelming strength creating despair, the spar with Benedict had helped us a lot.
To have someone as strong as the greatest fighter on the continent personally move their body and teach us—there was immense value in that.
For several days, I did my physical training in the mornings, sparred with Benedict at lunch, and then trained with the knights until I went to sleep.
The snow that had been covering the estate gradually weakened, and eventually, the dark clouds cleared, and the sun rose.
Mira. The woman Benedict loved, would continue to love, and the mother of Lucy, who had passed away. It was a day to honor her memory.
“Useless Erin. Tie this for me today.”
Waking up early in the morning, I took out the ornament given to me by the perverted apostle from my inventory. Erin stared blankly at the ornament I held in my hand for a while, and then suddenly snapped back to reality.
“Lady, what is this?”
“It’s something filled with the perverted tastes of that perverted apostle.”
“...What?”
Erin blinked in confusion at my explanation, but I didn’t say anything further.
I knew that no matter how I explained the perverted apostle, it would only add to her confusion.
Erin, seeing that I had closed my mouth, didn’t ask any further questions. She just handled the precious-looking ornament carefully, as though it was burdensome.
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“I’m sorry, Lady. My skills are lacking compared to the greatness of this ornament.”
After thinking for a while, Erin had managed to shape her hair, but her expression was dark.
She explained that she couldn’t fully handle the greatness of the ornament because her skills weren’t up to par.
I had trouble understanding Erin’s words. To me, the hairstyle created by the perverted apostle and the current one didn’t seem to differ much.
“I’d like to ask the person who made this ornament for guidance. They must be an incredible artist.”
Watching Erin’s internal struggle from the mirror, I thought about whether I should introduce her to the perverted apostle.
That guy was a disgusting pervert, but in the field of art, he was an overwhelming figure.
I didn’t think he’d hesitate to pass on his techniques. If I indulged his perverted tastes just once, he would probably teach her eagerly, smiling widely.
“As for the outfit, I’ve prepared the dress your late mother loved the most.”
“...Useless Erin. Do you think the dress my mother wore back then will fit me now?”
“Don’t worry, Lady. There isn’t much difference.”
Erin’s claim that a little tailoring was enough left me frozen.
It had been years since Mira passed away, and Erin was saying that there wasn’t much difference? Are you telling me Lucy’s body is still like when she was a child?!
An unspeakable shock filled my mind, but at the same time, I could almost accept it.
After all, Lucy’s height was on par with that of an elementary school student. If we went to an amusement park, half of the rides would be off-limits for her.
...More than that, when I met Lucy, I was struck by the fact that our eyes met at the same level, in a place the perverted god had arranged. Knowing that fact, how could I deny it?
The dress Erin brought was similar to the white one I wore at the graduation party. A simple dress that highlighted the wearer’s appearance with minimal decoration.
‘Wow! Lucy! You’re so beautiful!’
‘I’ll be so worried if they think you’re an angel from heaven and try to take you away!’
At that moment, the memories of Lucy’s past rushed through my mind.
Aha. Damn. I understand now why Lucy insisted on wearing such extravagant clothes. It wasn’t because she wanted to, but because if she didn’t, her mother’s face would come to mind, and she couldn’t help it.
“Lady? Are you alright?”
Hearing Erin’s voice, I snapped out of my thoughts, wiping away the tears that had formed at the corners of my eyes. I was beginning to grow accustomed to these sudden waves of sadness.
Once I finished preparing, I stepped outside, where Benedict was already waiting for me.
As always, he tried to greet me with a smile, but when he saw me, he froze for a moment, then bit his lip, hastily turned his head, and after a while, faced me again.
He forced a smile, but the tears in his eyes betrayed who he was really thinking about.
“You’re wearing that dress again, huh?”
“Well, doesn’t it make me look even prettier? I hate it when disgusting perverts swarm around.”
“Haha, I suppose so. Even now, there’s talk in society about your beauty.”
Benedict stopped there and extended his hand toward me.
Even though my hand would be small compared to his, his hand wasn’t intimidating—just reliable.
Without hesitation, I took Benedict’s hand, and we walked together.
While walking, Benedict spoke about Mira, how they met by chance during the war, his desperate courtship, and the family’s opposition to him marrying a commoner, followed by Benedict’s insistence.
As I listened to his story, I realized that the Benedict in front of me was much gentler than before.
In the past, he had been reckless, driven by his moods, with the power and ability to do whatever he wanted. Of course, he had a fundamentally kind nature, but he had his differences from Lucy.
As I paid attention to his words and walked, I noticed the Allen family cemetery coming into view.
It was still early by medieval standards, but many people were gathered near the cemetery.
What was strange, though, was that while they stayed outside the cemetery, none of them entered. It was as if they were waiting for someone.
“Everyone, the lord has arrived.”
As soon as one person spoke, the crowd parted, forming a path for Benedict and me.
It was a path made not from fear but from respect.
How enviable. Would I ever see such a scene?
“It’s been a long time, Lord.”
The man in charge of managing the cemetery bowed respectfully to Benedict and then raised an eyebrow when he saw me. Was it really that surprising that I had returned after not coming last year?
“...Lady?”
“People grow, don’t they?”
“I’m sure Mira would be happy.”
“She would be.”
“Please go in. I’ll keep watch over the cemetery from here.”
As we walked further into the cemetery, a marble building came into view.
It seemed to be a place where the family members of the Allen clan were buried, given the family seal on it.
Benedict led me there and then took a step back.
“Go on ahead and speak with her. This father doesn’t have much to say, always coming and bothering her.”
I didn’t refuse Benedict’s gesture. I knew that the moment I saw Mira’s grave, my heart would crumble.
“...Ugh.”
As expected, when I stepped inside and saw the cross with Mira’s name engraved on it, my eyes turned red.
“...Hmph.”
It wasn’t the same feeling as when fear surged and my heart shattered. When I was overwhelmed with fear, it felt like the dam would break, but now it felt like the dam’s gate had just opened naturally.
“Haaa!”
So, I collapsed on the ground and cried. I wept for a long time.
I cried until there were no more tears.
Over and over.
Over and over.
Until my throat became too sore to make a sound.
Finally, after gathering my wits, I staggered to my feet.
As I looked at Mira’s name again, it felt like tears would burst from me, but I forced the emotion down. I was afraid that if I cried again, I might faint from exhaustion.
Suppressing my emotions, I looked at Mira’s name and took out a necklace.
The necklace that Lucy had desperately wanted to find.
Once full of miracles, but now a piece of jewelry drained of its power.
Unlike what Lucy used to prefer, it was simple, almost plain to the eye.
I placed that necklace on the grave, on behalf of Lucy.
The moment the necklace left my hand, holy energy infused into it.
It wasn’t the typical holy energy used by priests but the warmth of the God of Light himself.