64

“Kyaaah!”

“It’s alright now.”

Hamel summoned an Azure Flame and singed the injured person’s skin.

Then flesh sprouted from the wound where blood had been gushing.

The patient fell asleep as if fainting, with a look of relief on their face.

Hamel, scanning the surroundings, called out to Rena.

“Please prepare more salt water. There are still many people poisoned by the demonic energy.”

“Yes. I’ll bring it right away.”

Ingesting the salt water was highly effective at purifying the demonic energy poisoning.

More than half of the townspeople were injured.

It was impossible to know how many days it would take to treat them all.

Still, Hamel busied himself, moving as far as his hands could reach.

Galahad, watching him, sighed with a complicated expression and approached him.

“Lord Hamel.”

“Ah, Sir Galahad.”

Hamel straightened his back to greet Galahad.

“How is the young master Tristan doing?”

“…He cried for a long time and then fell asleep.”

“Please comfort him well. It’s okay if he blames me.”

Hamel hoped that if the boy could gain the strength to live by hating him, then so be it.

But Galahad shook his head and said.

“Young Tristan understands the situation intellectually as well. He just needs time to process it.”

“…”

Too many things had happened for such an innocent child to bear.

He would likely never see that naive smile again.

Hamel tasted bitterness and nodded.

“Separately, I believe I will serve as the acting lord of Lonelybirch for a while.”

“I see.”

As commander of the knights, Galahad would surely do well as the acting lord.

As he thought that, Galahad suddenly thrust something toward Hamel.

“…?”

“It’s a contract document.”

Hamel opened it with a puzzled look.

What was written there were things he hadn’t expected at all.

“All tariffs and bridge tolls are waived for the Haidern trading guild… What is this?”

Hamel widened his eyes and looked at Galahad.

Galahad gave a faint smile and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s modest compared to saving the estate. If the grand lord and Tristan permit later, I promise to offer greater rewards.”

Taken aback by the unexpected gift, Hamel was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a moment, Hamel spoke and expressed his thanks.

“Thank you.”

“The honor is ours. May Haidern be glorified.”

“Fortune to Lonelybirch.”

The two exchanged a brief handshake.

Hamel could feel deep trust in Galahad’s hand.

---

The lord of Lonelybirch had been beheaded and the remnants of the demons were all swept away.

More townsfolk than expected had survived.

Even so, chaos in the estate was unavoidable.

Many people had died.

Among them were the families and neighbors of the survivors.

Moreover, rumors that the lord had colluded with demons spread rapidly.

Having lost their leader and family, they could not help but be in turmoil.

“What should we do now…?”

Rupert, experiencing this for the first time, spoke with a tired look.

They had barely survived that hellish battlefield, but the struggle was far from over.

They had to care for wounded knights and soldiers, and reassure the estate’s people thrown into chaos.

They gathered bodies, distributed relief supplies, and ran around through the night, yet the work showed no end.

If anything, all of this had been possible because of one person.

Hamel Saint Gilmore.

It was thanks to him.

“Please hold on a little longer.”

He had wandered the battlefield without rest until dawn, treating the wounded.

It was devotion and sacrifice worthy of the title Saint.

Had it not been for him, they might not have reached even this outcome.

They would have become puppets of the demon without knowing anything.

Furthermore, the demon would have grown like a tumor, repeating slaughter and infection across Lonelybirch and neighboring estates.

That person had stopped it alone.

The fact sent a shiver through Rupert.

‘It was an unbelievable fight.’

Hamel’s battle was something he had neither heard of nor seen before.

If it had been him, could he have defeated that demon?

Certainly not.

The enemy was so powerful that even if all his knights charged, he wasn’t sure they could win.

Hamel had brought that demon down as easily as handling a child.

And what about himself?

Hadn’t he been preoccupied with petty competitiveness over swordsmanship contests?

Hamel stood on a completely different plane from Rupert.

‘…I see.’

Rupert realized the nature of the vague feeling he’d experienced while looking at Hamel.

It was the same sense of resolve he’d felt when looking at his father.

Respect and admiration.

I want to follow that person. I want to be like him.

Rupert thought so.

“Sir Rupert.”

At that moment, Hamel, having just treated the last wounded, approached Rupert.

“Yes, what is it, Lord Hamel?”

Rupert used a respectful address for the first time, but Hamel continued speaking without noticing.

“We have done all we can. We will leave now.”

“Leave?”

Rupert asked, eyes wide.

But Hamel spoke calmly, as if his mind was made up.

“Messengers have been sent to ask the nearby order for help, so others will handle the aftermath.”

Hamel could not stay here to manage the estate’s people.

That would be overstepping his authority and was beyond his capabilities to begin with.

The order, the Glenval family—the grand lord of the north—and Galahad would handle the estate’s affairs.

“We have someone we are pursuing. He may be the one responsible for this incident. He stayed here and then headed to Sturnhelm.”

“Sturnhelm… you mean?”

The castle ruled by the Glenval family and the center of the north.

That place was the fortress-city called Sturnhelm, known as the steel stronghold.

Rupert hesitated for a moment as if pondering something, then nodded.

“May I come along as well?”

“You, Sir Rupert?”

Hamel tilted his head in surprise.

Rupert hurriedly spoke.

“Please. Seeing what happened here worries me for the estate. If I go with you, it will be easier to track the one we are pursuing.”

“That makes sense.”

Hamel nodded as if the point was valid, then replied.

“Very well. I’ll ask Sir Galahad to handle the rest.”

“My knights will help sort things out. Only I need to go.”

Hamel nodded satisfactorily at Rupert’s answer.

“Sir Galahad will be greatly grateful. Then, I’ll see you shortly.”

With that, Hamel went to join his party.

Ono, Daniel, and Rena, if he recalled correctly.

They were also working to help the estate recover with their respective abilities.

“If they hadn’t passed through here…”

Rupert quietly swallowed that supposition he had just voiced.

Such an unfortunate future did not come, and it must not come.

Rupert simply felt quietly grateful to Hamel, who had saved him and countless lives.

---

“Leaving without resting? At this rate we’ll die of overwork before you get killed fighting a demon!”

Ono moaned, eyes rolling.

But there was nothing he could do.

His companions Daniel and Rena merely nodded at Hamel’s words.

“Do you lot have no self? Would you die if he told you to?”

“I have a lot of debts. It’s not impossible.”

Daniel snorted a laugh and loaded his saddle with supplies.

Rena shrugged and answered as well.

“We’ll have to see how things go. If it’s reasonable, it’s fine.”

“…Madmen.”

Ono clicked his tongue as if looking at fanatics and moved off.

“Aren’t you coming? Then we’ll depart on our own.”

At Daniel’s question, Ono leaped and shouted.

“I’m just popping to the privy! I’ll be right back, so wait.”

Daniel couldn’t help but laugh at Ono’s bluster.

Hamel asked with a strange expression.

“Since when did the two of you get so close?”

“Well, we’re similar in age. He’s a friend I enjoy teasing.”

Daniel was twenty-eight years old.

Come to think of it, Ono seemed about that age too.

He might be a year or two younger.

‘But the two of them don’t look the same age at all.’

Ono’s manner of speaking was like that of a man in his fifties, but his face still looked relatively youthful.

His behavior was simple and somewhat childlike.

On the other hand, Daniel was different.

His speech, actions, and the person himself were very mature.

Reflecting on that, Hamel thought anew that age might not be that important.

“Sir Daniel is very mature.”

“…”

At the compliment, Daniel made a peculiar face.

Then he replied somewhat awkwardly.

“To hear that from you… somehow it doesn’t feel like a compliment.”

“…?”

Hamel tilted his head, unaware of how he came across to others.

Hamel asked Rena.

“Miss Rena, did you understand what Sir Daniel meant?”

“Yes. The priest is considerably mature for his age. How to put it…”

“…?”

Choosing her words, Rena blurted out.

“You seem like an old soul.”

“…!”

Hamel found it hard to hide his shock.

He had never expected to be called an old soul by Rena, the youngest in the party.

“I see.”

Hamel mumbled for a moment and fell silent.

Seeing that, Rena opened her mouth, flustered.

“I’m sorry. I’m not good with words… I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“Yes? Ah, no, it’s fine.”

At that, Hamel belatedly reacted as if he’d been thinking other thoughts.

He then pondered a bit and suddenly spoke.

“Do you remember a promise from before? The thing I said I wanted to ask you about.”

“Yes, I remember.”

After rescuing her from the Old Tree Forest, Hamel had wanted to ask Rena something.

Hamel’s words referred to that matter.

“That day, Miss Rena, you approached the abandoned building where the other students were trapped, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Rena calmly nodded.

Hamel then asked.

“Why did you go? Didn’t they bully you?”

She could have chosen to flee.

She might not have succeeded in escaping, and choosing to save the students was certainly a choice that could get her killed.

Why did she choose such a sacrifice?

“…I don’t know. One thing’s certain: I hadn’t forgiven them.”

She tilted her head for a moment.

She seemed puzzled about why she had made that choice too.

At that time she had driven her fist into the face of the ringleader who led the bullying.

That anger had been considerable.

She shrugged her shoulders, still pondering.

“My feet moved before I realized it.”

“Before you realized it, Miss Rena?”

“Yes.”

Hamel stared at Rena for a moment.

Then Rena, as if finding it strange, asked.

“But isn’t that the same for you, Lord Hamel?”

“…Me?”

“You risked your life to catch demons at the Magic Tower. The same happened here in Lonelybirch. If you had only thought about your own safety, none of this would have happened.”

“…That’s different. I was merely making a rational choice…”

As Hamel tried to object, Rena shook her head firmly.

“No. It’s not just you, priest. Ono, Sir Daniel, and even the commander of Lonelybirch’s knights and that rude Rupert—all of them risked their lives.”

Rena turned her head and looked at the square.

There, many survivors from the estate had gathered.

Though they looked anxious, sad, and weary now, at least they had survived.

And that was because…

“There were people who risked their lives to protect them.”

“…”

Hamel slowly nodded.

It was the truth.

Hamel had always struggled to save as many people as possible.

And that belief wasn’t unique to Hamel alone.

Many people would put their lives on the line to protect others.

Where does the desire to save people come from?

What is its source?

Goodness.

‘Ah.’

Hamel felt a sense of frustration lift.

Lately, Hamel had felt his convictions wavering slightly.

It was because he had entered the estate of Lonelybirch and faced human frailty.

The cabin’s forest keeper as well.

Even the lord of Lonelybirch.

They had driven others into suffering with their desires and misguided love.

But that was not the whole of humanity.

‘Oh God, humans are at times evil, but that’s not their entire nature.’

They hate and despise each other, and feel jealousy and envy.

Yet somewhere in people’s hearts, there is an innate goodness from birth.

The village head who saved the newborn in Barina village, Antonio, and Rena had all shown that goodness.

Only then did Hamel quietly smile.

Goodness, evil, and weakness all coexist within humans.

That is what it means to be human.

That’s why they must be protected.

So they don’t tumble into darkness.

To guide them toward the light according to God’s teachings.

That is his calling as a priest.

At that moment.

“You haven’t left yet, right? Just try leaving us behind.”

From afar came Ono’s grumbling voice as he hurried back.

Though rough-mouthed, his resolve was firm.

Even if it meant death, he would act according to what he believed was right.

“Let’s be off. I want to watch Ono come running in surprise.”

Daniel snorted and climbed into the saddle.

Seeing that, Rena and Hamel exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

“This should be amusing.”

“I agree.”

The two quickly mounted their horses.

Rupert, having finished his preparations, waved and approached as well.

“Shall we depart then?”

“Let’s go. Toward Sturnhelm.”

Hamel pulled the reins.

The horse stretched its legs and began to run briskly.

The farther north they rode, the sharper the cold wind seemed to sting their cheeks.

The journey ahead would not be easy either.

But Hamel was not afraid.

Before, he had endured fear purely for vengeance, but now it was different.

He had companions who shared his convictions.

As long as he did not abandon his faith, God’s teachings would guide his way.

Hamel unconsciously let a faint smile cross his face.