I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

10

No need for it? Who? Even Arpel, who rarely showed changes in expression, was shocked enough to look down at Rohan with wide eyes.

“Arpel is strong, isn’t he? I was just scared…”

“Rohan.”

“…I thought because Arpel is a sword, sniff, you’d like someone stronger than me. I’m weak, and I can’t protect Arpel. I’m useless… waaah.”

His voice, which started slowly, gradually became mixed with sobs. It was heartbreaking to see him trying to hold back tears while speaking chokingly.

Finally, tears fell from his misty eyes. Arpel, who had been staring blankly at this sight, quickly reached out to the child.

“Sob, Arpel…”

“Rohan. Shh, don’t cry.”

“Are you… going to abandon me?”

His hands, tightly gripping Arpel’s clothes, were pale as if expressing that he never wanted to let go. Worried that his nails might leave marks and hurt his palms, Arpel carefully moved back and detached Rohan’s hands. Seeing this gesture, Rohan’s hands slowly lowered as if in resignation, but Arpel caught one of them with his own.

“Rohan. Look at me.”

He spoke while firmly holding the small, hesitant hand.

“I told you I’d be your sword. It’s okay if you’re weak.”

“But… then. Why won’t you make the promise?”

Once, Arpel had explained that beings blessed by the Demon Sword and the Celestial God could form a contract with each other. Since the word “contract” was difficult for Rohan, he had explained it as a “promise to be together.”

This was what Rohan was talking about. Although the contract was something that needed more consideration as nothing was certain yet, Arpel should have explained it in more detail back then.

“People who contract with a sword no longer age. They can’t exceed their predetermined lifespan, though.”

“……”

“If you contract with me now, Rohan, you’ll have to live your whole life as a child.”

I’ll make the contract when you’re as big as me. Arpel whispered, unsure if it was a white lie or his own true feelings that he had been ignoring.

Holding the child fully in his arms, he released their intertwined hands and stroked Rohan’s head. Feeling Rohan nod with his face buried in Arpel’s shoulder, as if he didn’t want to live as a child forever, Arpel finally felt relieved. The sobbing that had been almost breathless gradually subsided.

Until then, Arpel had been patting Rohan’s back.

He hadn’t expected Rohan to be thinking like this. He knew that Rohan suffered from nightmares every night due to the memories of losing all his loved ones. But since the child didn’t show it otherwise, Arpel thought he might be getting better little by little.

But that wasn’t the case. Apart from fearing the memories of that night, Rohan was afraid of the situation where Arpel, the only one left by his side, would leave him.

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes…”

Children need adults. Arpel wanted to become someone Rohan could rely on.

Throughout their journey here, Arpel had taken care of Rohan out of pity, but his own wellbeing had always been the priority. Even while saying sweet words about staying together, there were many times when he thought about leaving before reaching the temple.

But as time passed, he became less sure.

Could I leave this child behind? This child who’s crying, begging not to be abandoned?

The longer they spent time together, the more Arpel realized how much Rohan depended on him, the more Arpel was giving his heart to Rohan.

Was it because he was a Demon Sword inevitably drawn to a blessed person? Or was it…

He swallowed the complex emotions bubbling up. It was still too early.

***

That night, Rohan didn’t have a nightmare.

Arpel, who had been keeping an eye on the child with his eyes closed, expecting him to suffer from nightmares as usual, found himself staring blankly at Rohan when he realized the child was breathing evenly despite falling asleep.

No cold sweat, no tears leaking out. Arpel gently touched Rohan’s fluffy hair and chubby cheeks, then laid his half-raised body back down on the bed.

…Should I sleep?

After not sleeping for quite a long time, closing his eyes and trying to sleep felt a bit unfamiliar. Blinking slowly, Arpel decided to recall the events of the day rather than falling asleep right away.

The plot of the novel he knew didn’t mention incidents like this one, caused by beings corrupted by the power of specters. In a way, it was natural.

Originally, everyone in the village would have died, and Rohan would have wandered here and there with only the corrupted Demon Sword. There was only a description of how he lost his humanity and his mind became broken during that time, but no details about what incidents occurred or who he met in the places he visited. The entire process until he was taken in by the temple was omitted.

So there were no clues about this incident that could be obtained from the novel. He had to understand the situation based solely on the clues he had found himself. Recalling the rumors about the lord’s castle that Seid had mentioned, Arpel stopped blinking and closed his eyelids.

He was a Demon Sword, and Rohan was a child blessed by the Celestial God. If everything had been revealed, they could have declared an investigation at the lord’s castle, considering the possibility that the cause of the anomalies was the power of specters.

But now, even that was impossible. They were just a mercenary of unclear status and a child accompanying him.

Moreover, Arpel wasn’t a good person who went around helping others without compensation. There might be clues about the cult that tried to harm Rohan, but he didn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest trying to save someone he barely knew.

‘I don’t care if they live or die anyway.’

If he had been a complete human like in his previous life, would he have felt sorry and guilty about ignoring this?

From the perspective of trying to understand and learn human emotions, it was impossible to know.

The power of specters dwelling in his body craves living beings. It’s a trace of the past that devours every last drop of blood and writhes in hunger that can never be satisfied, repeating the process again and again.

But rather than wanting to kill living beings, Arpel had become insensitive to the value of life. Perhaps it had something to do with the sudden recollection of his previous life.

The only thing that mattered to him was Rohan. As long as this child wasn’t hurt, nothing else mattered.

“…Good night, Rohan.”

He fiddled with the cheek of the child sleeping soundly. His blinking eyes slowly closed.

It was truly a good night’s sleep after a long time.

***

Rohan’s life, which had been no different from that of ordinary children, changed dramatically in a single night.

A nightmarish night filled with screams, cries, and flames that greedily devoured everything. That day, Rohan lost everything and gained a single being who promised to stay by his side.

When Rohan first saw Arpel, he was a sword. If it weren’t for the situation he was in, he would have admired it for a long time, saying what a beautiful and cool sword it was. He thought it was such a beautiful sword, but surprisingly, it could speak and introduced itself as Arpel.

The moment that voice with almost no intonation said this, Rohan realized that everything that happened in the village was his fault.

Because I received the blessing. Because I lived in this village. Because I cherished them.

Dozens of lives that depended on him were all lost because of his existence. Thinking this way made him feel like the world was crumbling. His eyes burned, he couldn’t breathe, and he resented the god who had given him the blessing. Although it wasn’t a blessing he had asked for, Rohan had lost too much in return.

Seeing Rohan crying and barely able to breathe, Arpel said this. Before he could notice, the sword transformed into a person, and while he was still shocked by this surreal sight, the warmth that felt as if it came from a real person embraced and comforted him.

“What happened to the village isn’t your fault.”

After that, Arpel continued to stay by Rohan’s side.

He took Rohan, who had fallen asleep exhausted from crying, to a doctor in the neighboring village, cared for him until his wounds healed, and promised not to go anywhere.

Arpel was the person who had been that sword Rohan first saw. He was beautiful and elegant, prettier than anyone Rohan had ever seen.

After a brief moment of unfamiliarity, that promise came to Rohan, who had no one left by his side, like a huge wave.

Arpel didn’t smile much, but he was kind to Rohan. The way he firmly drew lines with other people made Rohan feel like he was Arpel’s special exception, and waves began to fill his empty heart again.

“When you need a sword later, I’ll become your sword.”

There were days when he had nightmares about that night, but thanks to the voice whispering that it would become his sword and the warm body that always embraced him, he could forget the nightmares.

Wherever they went, Rohan was with Arpel, and when he said he wanted to go somewhere together, Arpel willingly listened. Rohan became accustomed to such an Arpel. Arpel, who had felt a bit unfamiliar at first, had now become Rohan’s only precious person left in this world.

But he still feared that Arpel might leave overnight. Despite being told that they would stay together, Rohan trembled with anxiety. Perhaps the sharp intuition of a young child had read the last bit of hesitation remaining in Arpel’s eyes.