The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 3 – Special Request (2)

Lord,
When I am called to duty,
Grant me the strength to save lives,
Even in the fiercest flames.
Before it’s too late,
Let me cradle the innocent child,
And rescue the trembling elderly.
Help me remain focused,
To hear even the faintest cry,
And let me swiftly and efficiently
Extinguish the fires.
May I fulfill my duties with devotion,
And give my all,
To protect the lives and property of my neighbors.
And when my time comes,
Please, with your merciful hand,
Watch over my wife and only son.

This was my father’s prayer. He was a firefighter, and I still remember the way his voice sounded, the way he looked when he said it.
Even now.
And for the rest of my life.
I will never forget.

***

That’s why I have to.
I have to carry on that will.
I have to be the one to protect.

***

“You’ve read the request details, I assume?” Aileen tapped the table, sipping the last of her deathly bitter coffee.

“Confidentiality… Fine. I’ll trust you for now.”

Her eyes shifted towards the blacksmith.

Come on, he’s not the type to leak information!

Turning back to me, Aileen spoke softly but sharply.

“But if even the slightest word gets out…”

I heard a grinding sound from her mouth.

Jeez… how hard is she clenching her teeth?

“…I won’t be held responsible for the consequences.”

“Y-yes…”

A cold sweat trickled down my spine.

At least she wasn’t a criminal—that much I’d confirmed earlier. When I went to the kitchen to make coffee, I’d asked the blacksmith. His response was a straightforward “She’s not a criminal.”

But… what’s with the hesitation? What is she then?
A noble? Or… could she be royalty?
Is that why she’s paying so much gold?

My head spun with possibilities.

Sure, I was a veteran of Black Sun, but that didn’t mean I knew every character. And I definitely didn’t remember the story. I’d forgotten most of it!

When I first started the game, I skimmed through the story, but after that, it was all about hunting and PvP. Who remembers a story from eight years ago?

If I had known the plot, I probably wouldn’t be stuck in this small village…

“Sigh…”

As I was lost in thought, a heavy pouch suddenly landed on the table with a thud.

“That’s 15 gold. It’s your advance payment. You’ll get the remaining 15 when we reach Cartia Village.”

But… this pouch seemed way too big for just 15 gold.

As I poked the pouch curiously, Aileen hesitated before speaking.

“Oh, um… I couldn’t get gold coins, so it’s all in silver. But don’t worry, the amount is correct.”

“Hehe… looks like it came straight from a piggy bank…”

The moment I muttered that, Aileen jumped out of her seat, flustered.

“A-a piggy bank?! No! What do you take me for?! I’m older than I look, you know! I’m not some child with a piggy bank!”

Geez, it was just a joke! Why is she getting so worked up?
I wasn’t being mean! It just reminded me of when I emptied my piggy bank to run away from home back in middle school!

“S-sorry…”

“No… I’m sorry for yelling. Let’s get back on track.”

After taking a deep breath, Aileen sat down and spread a large piece of paper across the table.

“Okay, so this is the village we’re currently in. Right?”

I could only feel her finger moving across the paper, unable to see whatever she was pointing to.

From her explanation, it sounded like a map.

But I can’t see a thing…
If I interrupt her to explain, though, she might get mad again.
I have to protect my 30 gold…! It’s best to just listen for now and speak up later.

“Yes.”

“We’ll be heading out from here and… taking this route.”

Aileen’s finger swished back and forth.

“We’ll pass through this area. You okay with that?”

“Y-yes.”

“You seem confident. Alright. Most people would take this path, but we’ll cut straight through here.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s a bit dangerous, but it’s the fastest route. And then from there…”

As Aileen continued explaining, her voice trailed off, and her head slowly lifted.

“…Wait a minute…”

Suddenly, she became visibly flustered, lowering her head again.

“This is… I mean… I didn’t do it on purpose, I wasn’t trying to…”

Ah, I see.

She must’ve momentarily forgotten that I’m blind.
It’s understandable; I’d been walking around just fine, making coffee and all. Easy to forget.

I’m a forgiving person, so I’ll let it slide!

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

I reached over and patted her hand resting on the table with a gentle smile.

To be honest, I’m not used to it.
It’s only been two months since I lost my sight, so how could I be?
But I said it to ease her guilt.

Besides, it’s not her fault.
We just met today, and if I had told her from the beginning that I couldn’t see, this wouldn’t have happened…

Wait… did I unintentionally guilt-trip her?

“This is my fault… really. You didn’t do anything wrong, Miss Aileen, so please… don’t feel bad. I-I’m the one who should apologize…”

I tried to console her, but I stuttered terribly.
And my voice cracked at the end…

Aileen looked up at me.
I hope she didn’t catch the crack in my voice… or worse, laugh at it. Ugh, how embarrassing.

“Ahem.”

Feeling awkward, I brought my cup to my mouth.
But before I could drink, Aileen placed her hand on my cup.

“Miss Noah… you already finished your milk…”

“Oh… right.”

She was right.

I had been so flustered I didn’t even realize I was drinking from an empty cup.

“Miss Noah… you don’t have to force yourself to laugh…”

“N-no, that’s not it…!”

My face flushed with embarrassment, and I quickly lowered my head to hide my blushing cheeks.

Not only did I fail to comfort her, but I also stuttered like a fool and even cracked my voice…!

Ugh!!

I abruptly stood up.

I can’t even look her in the eyes out of embarrassment… though, I couldn’t look her in the eyes anyway.

“Let me… g-get some more drinks…!”

Ah.

My voice cracked again.

I cursed my useless body and its timing as I grabbed the cup and rushed to the kitchen…

“Be careful!”

Crash—

“Ah!”

Before I could make it, I tripped and fell.
I forgot to grab my greatsword.

Seriously, Shin Noah! You idiot!!

I crawled on the ground, feeling around.

“Noah…?”

Aileen’s voice sounded confused, much closer than before.
Was she standing near me?

I wasn’t sure.

Anyway, I need to find my sword first!

I thought about asking Aileen for help, but that would mean exposing my weakness… not ideal.

“N-no, it’s fine… heh…”

I crawled around, searching for my sword.

Okay, that’s the table leg… and this is a chair… so…

“Aha!”

I found it! I stood up quickly and grabbed the hilt.

Taking a moment to scan my surroundings, I sensed Aileen staring at me blankly, and… well, the cup was completely shattered on the floor.

And now my hands and knees were bleeding.

I was used to injuries like this, but today…

They stung a little more than usual.

***

“Be careful!”

Crash—!

“Ah!”

Noah tripped over a hammer lying on the floor, the very thing she had been carrying a cup of milk to avoid.

There was no way she didn’t see it.

On the way here, she had deftly avoided piles of animal droppings and even sidestepped puddles without issue. She had cleared obstacles in front of me multiple times.

But now she tripped over something as obvious as that hammer.

As I pieced the situation together, Noah crawled on the floor, searching.

Something was wrong.

She wouldn’t have missed that hammer.

And yet…

A thought crept into my mind, a question I shouldn’t have been asking.

“Noah…?”

When she heard my voice, she didn’t react the way she should have.

She couldn’t pinpoint my location.

She could only guess the direction, unable to actually look at me.
No… she couldn’t see me.

“…”

I realized that I had unintentionally triggered Noah’s trauma.
I had poked at her wounds, so deep that it sent her into a panic.

I had spread the map on the table and rambled about routes, all because I didn’t want her to know that I had emptied my piggy bank for this journey.
Even though Hermilla, the receptionist, had warned me about Noah’s condition.

Noah could sense her surroundings but couldn’t actually see them.
It made sense that she couldn’t read the map.

I knew that. I had kept it in mind.

But my pride got in the way, and I lost my composure.

I hadn’t been considerate of Noah at all.
And now, watching her laugh bitterly, blaming herself, I couldn’t find the words to offer her a proper apology.

The adventurers I saw in the guild were all rough and wild.

But Noah, a young blind girl, had survived among them.
She couldn’t read, couldn’t see maps or clocks, couldn’t recognize faces.

And yet, she had persevered.

Without any family, in a body that barely functioned, she had endured, no matter how much scorn or ridicule was thrown her way.

That small, blind girl…

She was… brilliant.

Even in this cruel world, people like her still existed.

Even among the selfish, the ones who only cared about their own safety…

There were still people like her.

So, Noah.
To you, and to everyone else who shines so brightly in this world.

I have to apologize.

Even if you shine as brightly as you do…
Even if you’re beautiful and strong…
The darkness of this world is so vast.
The filth of humanity is so overwhelming.

That’s why I don’t want to save the world.
Even if the world crumbles, I’ll keep running.

***

“Why does this hurt so much… Oh, there’s glass stuck in my hand…”

I focused my Heightened Senses on the stinging areas, and sure enough, small shards of glass were embedded in my skin.

I thought back to the humiliating display I had just made of myself.

Ugh… so embarrassing…

“Should I just… die…”

And what was that nonsense about today hurting more?
Idiot!

How old am I? Am I seriously going through some kind of second puberty?

Argh!!

I thought I was emotionally hurt because of my situation, but nope—it was just the glass.

“Ahh… this is so embarrassing…”

As I picked the glass shards out of my wounds, I thought about Aileen sitting outside, waiting.
She seemed tough, but also a bit… clumsy.
She tried to act cool, but there was an awkwardness to her.
And her heart… it seemed fragile.

She reminded me of how I used to be.

Was she someone with a painful past she couldn’t talk about?

Who knows.
Not that it really matters.

I let go of my greatsword, relaxing a bit.

I closed my eyes.
Blocked out the noise.
Held my breath.

And then… I thought.

Even if Aileen has some painful past…
Even if she’s a criminal, a saint, or something in between…
Whatever she is, as long as she’s human…

If Aileen—or anyone else—reaches out a hand…

I will take it.

If they ask for help, I will help.

If they beg for their life, I will do whatever it takes.
No matter what, I will save them.

Because that’s what I have to do.

In the past.
Now.
And maybe even in the future.

That’s just the way I am.

“Right?”

***

“Ugh—!”

After picking out the glass shards, I grabbed my greatsword and stood up.

“Think she’d like another cup of coffee, even though she already had some earlier?”

I poured Aileen’s coffee and my milk into new cups.

As I left the kitchen, I checked the room.

“Did I forget anything?”

Looking back, I sensed that the place where I had been sitting was…

“Huh… nothing here.”

There wasn’t a single shard of glass left.

“Alright, let’s act more confidently this time!”

I strode back with newfound determination.