I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

16 – 16. Whereabouts of the Holy Sword

I couldn’t help but be surprised by Alfred’s words.

Surely, just a moment ago, he said that the plague could not be cured even with his own mouth.

Even that meant that not just one Stella could be saved, but the entire species of elves.

“By the way, where is the holy sword? In the end, everything is only possible with the Holy Sword.”

Of course, the holy sword is indispensable for that.

Can’t be treated with normal methods, so an unusual method was needed.

“Ah, that’s…”

“I don’t think I have it at first glance, so I’ll probably go get it. I will be back. Where did you put it?”

“The Holy Sword is…”

“Come to think of it, it’s strange. If you had kept the holy sword, you would have been less affected by the curse. But why do you have to remove the holy sword?”

But strangely, Arcel’s reaction is unusual.

At first, he shuts up as if he has trouble speaking, but after that his face turns red, and he covers himself with his hands as if he had an accident after drinking all night.

As Alfred reasoned about the reason, he finally came to a conclusion.

“You can’t-“

“I’m sorry. I lost it.”

That is, Arcel lost her holy sword.

“My God, how can a hero lose his holy sword? In the first place, no one but you can carry it around.”

“So that’s a problem. I know where it is But the problem is that no one but me can take out the holy sword, and another thing is that I can’t go get the holy sword as I am now.”

A sword that only Arcel can wield.

But the problem is that the holy sword is in a place where Arcel cannot go.

“Where did you throw it into the human domain? It doesn’t matter where you are, so tell me.”

“If it had been the realm of humans, this would not have happened. After all, you sneaked into the castle I was guarding and kidnapped the princess.”

“Yes, kidnapping is my specialty.”

“The place I left the holy sword must be the spring of Hylas. At that time, a nymph rescued me and said that the sword I was carrying was so heavy that I couldn’t bring it.”

“Uh… why are you there?”

Alfred despises the word Hylas’ spring.

“At that time, I was being chased, so I had no choice but to go to a place where the pursuit didn’t catch up.”

Arsel seemed to understand Alfred.

Thanks to that, my shame and disgrace doubled.

The Fountain of Hylas.

Because it was a large, very deep, deep spring, inhabited by little fairies called nymphs.

The sunlight does not reach the deepest part of the fountain.

It is said that if you accidentally fall into the spring, you will never be able to get out without the help of a nymph.

But if it stopped there, it would simply be a very deep spring, but the reason Alfred reacted like that was because of Sam’s characteristics.

“What does that have to do with the loss of the holy sword… Are you perhaps more full of s*xual desire than I thought? Why did you lose it there?”

“That, it’s not like that! All it took was the heavy rain that day, so I was swept away by the torrent and swept all the way there!”

“Not necessarily anywhere else, but in a place like that…”

Seduces people who come nearby.

The beautiful naked body of the opposite s*x is reflected in the spring, making those who come to drink water enter the very depths of the spring.

Those who fell into the spring are said to be unable to come back forever, and those who somehow managed to survive there were only saved with the help of nymphs.

For this reason, people have quarantined the place and fenced it off, and periodically send out patrols to block anyone from approaching the fountain.

Before that, about 10 to 15 people each year went missing from the site of the spring of Hylas.

“I, of course, fell into Hylas Spring because of the rapids. It wouldn’t have happened if I was in good physical condition, but that’s relatively recent. With the help of a nymph, I was able to escape with only my life saved.”

“Little gnomes are just as terrible as the big gnomes. It would have been better to throw the holy sword into the volcano.”

“…”

“Even quite a few knights don’t lose their swords, so what’s the case with a hero losing his holy sword in such a place? If the previous warriors saw it, they would grab it by the back of their necks, right?”

Arsel covered his face at Alfred’s words.

It was impossible to refute because it was right from one to ten, and I was actually aware of what a stupid mistake it was.

“For some reason, strange rumors circulated, and the humans said that the holy sword had left because the hero had no qualifications. In reality, the hero just lost the Holy Sword absurdly…”

“Stop it! If I said more, I’d probably jump out of the window or hang myself in shame…!”

“How about jumping into the fountain of Hylas? Will you be happy until you drown? Either you die of pleasure beyond your limits, or because of pleasure, you will end without even knowing the end is coming.”

“Well, why are you so mischievous?!”

In the end, Arsel, who suffered a lot of mental damage, laid down on the sofa, and Alfred, who sat across from him, read a book and thought about future measures.

“Actually, I don’t mind going to the spring of Hylas. That kind of old hallucination magic doesn’t work for me anyway. But the problem must be the holy sword.”

“…Even now, if I hold my breath for a long time, I can hold it for 10 minutes. But it can’t be solved that way.”

“Perhaps it is. Due to the nature of that spring, magic cannot be used, so depending on the location of the holy sword, things will be cumbersome.”

Above all, the Fountain of Hylas says that you cannot use magic underwater.

This was known in the past when an outstanding wizard went into the water to see why the spring of Hylas attracts people.

However, the wizard eventually drowned despite taking various countermeasures against underwater breathing.

About an hour later, a nymph brought the body of a drowned sorcerer.

The reason is unknown, but there have been several similar attempts since then, all with the same result, so it’s almost as if it’s confirmed that magic can’t be used.

“Maybe I can hold a holy sword? To be honest, I have led a fairly upright life, and in terms of fairness, I am confident that I will not lose to anyone.”

“…No, that would be absolutely impossible. I know because I am the owner of the holy sword. That shouldn’t happen If you can hold a holy sword, it is no longer a holy sword.”

“So you give a pretty cruel review. I thought the Holy Sword would let me pick it up even if I didn’t have to choose.”

“Are you serious…?”

“Just kidding. In the first place, I wouldn’t have a sword like that even if you gave it to me.”

This made Alfred a little worried.

Only Arcel can hold the holy sword.

So, even if he searches for the holy sword in Hylas’s fountain by himself, he can’t bring it out, and taking Arcel into the water is also a problem.

“Are you feeling pretty unwell? In the past, you could fly well under water for an hour.”

“When you threw me into the depths of the sea, it was only then that I was full of determination to cut you into small pieces and feed you to sharks no matter what.”

As a human, Arcel has a limit to holding his breath.

If my body was normal, I would be able to hold out until I find the Holy Sword, but I can’t do that now.

Especially considering that you can’t use magic inside, your mobility will inevitably decrease, and if you swim, the time you can hold your breath will decrease even more.

“…That’s creepy. You’re crueler than I thought.”

“Yes, you are the most notorious kidnapper in the world who has kidnapped dozens of princesses. Didn’t he kidnap the princess while throwing me into the sea at that time, even while controlling the princess and putting on heavy armor on purpose?”

“Otherwise, you would have chased me down and cut me down with the holy sword, right?”

“Sounds obvious.”

After a brief bloody conversation, Alfred opened the book again.

But this time the type of book has changed.

Until a while ago, it was still books about the bodies of elves and curses, but now they are books about the species called nymphs and the spring of Hylas.

“Hmm…”

Alfred thinks carefully.

In conclusion, only one condition is required to find the holy sword.

The nymph who saved Arcel before said that the sword Arcel had was too heavy to bring.

It’s probably the holy sword.

The reason why the sword is so heavy is probably because it is only allowed for warriors who are not heavy.

“How about cutting off your hand and taking it with me? I’ll bring the Holy Sword with it.”

“Why is the conclusion of careful consideration?!”

“Oh right. Even if you cut off your hand, it won’t grow back. I’ll write it down and paste it, so don’t worry.”

“Is there any other way? Of course, if there is no other way…”

Arsel gulps while looking at his left hand.

“Just kidding. There’s no need to be so frightened, anyway, unless the holy sword is an idiot, you can’t just bring it with such a trick. Or were you really thinking about cutting something?”

“Alfred…”

“Wow, the look in your eyes is scary. I’m sorry for teasing you. So, why don’t you stop looking at me right now?”

Alfred smiled brightly and closed the book.

Of course, it was not meant to be sincere, but to make fun of Arsel.

It was scary to see Arsel growl, but I thought it was worth it.

“First of all, it’s a bit of a headache, aside from simply holding your breath, if the Holy Sword is in the depths of the spring, you’ll have to worry about the ice-cold water as well.”

“…That’s fine. If I alone can save the elves, it’s worth it. Perhaps, without them, I would not have even achieved the purpose of my journey.”

As long as it can save the elves, Arsel said it would be okay to sacrifice at least one of himself.

“Are you doing that again?”

“?”

Alfred sighed looking at Arcel.

“How about taking care of yourself a little more? Aren’t people too self-sacrificing?”

“But wouldn’t it be nice if I could save the elves with something like me?”

“Sometimes when I see you, I get goosebumps. What kind of race are humans to be able to do that?”

“This is not necessarily limited to humans. Like you, if you received help, isn’t it reasonable to repay it? I also received help from the elves, so I’m just trying to repay the favor.”

Arsel gave a bright smile as if there was no problem, but that wasn’t what Alfred pointed out.

“Do you really not feel anything strange?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…Okay, if you don’t mind.”

“You sometimes say incomprehensible things, now and in the past.”

Even now, Arcel doesn’t feel anything strange.

Of course.

Arsel has been chosen as the hero of the holy sword since he was young, and humans have thoroughly trained him to be a warrior.

I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Alfred liked that part of Arcel, but he sometimes thought that it was a bit too much for him.

“Let’s go to sleep for now, the sun has set before we know it. Anyway, I have to go find your sword. Are you hungry? I can make you a simple late-night snack before going to bed.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m definitely a bit tired today. She must have been too surprised by Stella’s work.”

“Then let’s go, I changed the bed while you were washing up. I made enough for 2 people. You can probably roll all over the place and not have to worry about falling.”

“…Are my sleeping habits so bad that I have to change beds?”

“Apart from muttering something in your sleep sometimes?”

“Ban, let me reflect… I will be careful not to disturb you from now on.”

Alfred took Arcel, who was worried about his sleeping habits, into the bedroom.