The Great Sword is not the Main Body!

“No... Noah!”

I picked Noah up, who was collapsed on the ground.

Fortunately, she was still breathing, but blood was flowing freely from her nose and mouth.

I immediately infused divine power to heal her.

Even then, Noah’s body kept expelling blood.

Again. Again. Again.

I continuously infused divine power.

But Noah’s condition still showed no signs of improving.

“Noah... Noah! Shinnoah!”

“Miss. Please calm down for a moment. The Nols will come swarming again.”

“Calm down? Right now...?”

“She’s not dead. It’s not life-threatening either. She’s just asleep, so please calm down.”

“She's pouring out so much blood... and you say it's fine?”

“I’m assuring you.”

“Then... why is Noah like this?”

The one-eyed man, who had always just laughed recklessly, now looked at me and Noah with a serious expression.

“Hmm... for now, it’s better if we don’t have too many eyes watching, right?”

The man turned around and drew his sword.

“Gentlemen, I need to talk about something secret, so would you mind going somewhere else?”

I could hear the knights murmuring.

“Or, if you prefer, I can send you off. How about that... should I send you off?”

The man slowly walked toward the knights.

“I’m going to count to five. You know, I’m a poorly educated adventurer, so I’m not good with numbers. So, I’m not even sure how to count them. I’ll just count as I was taught. One.”

Step—step—

“One.”

The man held his sword.

“...We’ll retreat.”

The highest-ranking knight gritted his teeth and responded.

“Hahaha! We’re on the same page! I guess you learned well, huh? Then hurry up and go. I can’t wait since I wasn’t taught properly.”

As soon as the man finished speaking, the knights hurriedly began to move away.

“Phew, all cleaned up. Now, should we continue our conversation? Miss... Hmm, let’s call you the priestess since Noah is asleep. Do you know how Noah sees the world?”

“…Yes.”

“Then the explanation will be quicker. It’s because of the Giga Sense Noah uses.”

“What do you mean...?”

“Noah was able to sense the approaching Nols before either me or that bald guy could notice. You knew that, right?”

“That’s... true.”

“Even though the distance was quite far.”

“Eh...?”

Earlier, Noah had said she could only sense up to a distance of about 30 meters.

The Nols were at least 30 meters away.

So...

“Hmm... I’m not sure how to explain it in a way the priestess will understand, but... Simply put, Noah forcibly expanded the range of her Giga Sense. This is the side effect.”

The man pointed to Noah’s blood as he continued.

“I know someone who isn’t blind but uses Giga Sense to see his surroundings.”

“Yes…”

“That guy acted as our sensor when we traveled together. But every time he complained how tiring it was.”

“But what does that have to do with...?”

“Then one day, we were supposed to hunt a monster, but we couldn’t see where it went. So, I told him to use his precious sensor to find it. After we kept poking around, he got so frustrated that he forced himself to expand his Giga Sense.”

The one-eyed man smirked and looked at Noah.

“It took him five seconds. To find a monster 200 meters away, in just five seconds. Then, just like Noah, he fainted, pouring blood. But that was on a vast plain. A plain with nothing, no creatures, no buildings. Do you know what that means?”

I looked around.

The ruins, with structures and buildings tightly packed, filled my vision.

It was the opposite of a plain.

“Giga Sense... processes information differently?”

“That’s right. It’s good that you understand right away. The amount of information that enters the brain is on a different level. Sure, one could think the guy was just weak, but that guy... at that time, he was a platinum-ranked adventurer.”

“Yes...?”

I raised my head and looked at the man in front of me.

He had the look of an ordinary middle-aged man, yet platinum-ranked...?

“Heh, I guess you don’t believe it because of my appearance, but anyway. That guy was pretty impressive. But even someone like that shuddered at the thought of forcing his Giga Sense to expand. And me... I can feel Giga Sense to some extent, and let me tell you.”

The man closed his eyes and ground his teeth.

Then blood started pouring from his nose.

“Ugh-! Did you see that? It’s coming out like this? Even I, when I use just a little bit of it, feel like my skull is going to crack. But Noah... Noah uses it like it’s nothing. Damn, it hurts...”

The man spat out the blood from his nose and mouth, continuing.

“On top of all that, she kept fighting. Of course, it was a mistake on my part, Heinkel’s, and that bald guy’s, but... can you understand that? There were unavoidable circumstances.”

The unavoidable circumstances... must have been the knights from Erden.

And the reason they had to fight them... probably because of the request.

A request from Alrva.

It was probably from Hermeela.

The content... probably to escort Noah.

In the end... it all traces back to me.

Noah’s condition now... it’s all because of me.

“And the most important thing... is that.”

The man pointed in the direction of the broken wall.

“Right now, you’re implying that Noah broke that wall?”

The man nodded.

“Hmm, you know there are exactly 10 Masters in the world, right?”

“What’s with the sudden—”

“Do you know them?”

“...I do know.”

Masters.

The pinnacle that all knights and adventurers dream of.

I’d never seen one in person, but I had heard the rumors.

When Masters fight, entire mountains are cleaved and seas are overturned, they say.

Of course... I don’t believe it at all.

If there were such people, the monsters would have been wiped out by now.

“I’ve lived over 40 years, and I’ve only seen a Master once. And guess what? That guy swung his sword once, and a castle wall collapsed. It was the wall of a fallen kingdom, though.”

I looked at the broken wall again after hearing the man’s words.

“So... how did Noah break that wall?”

“I don’t know either. But she swung it once. Just once, and the wall fell. Exactly like the Master did.”

“That’s... impossible. Does that mean Noah is a Master?”

“Well, I don’t think so, but... she’ll probably reach that level soon.”

I looked down at Noah, who was still cradled in my arms.

Her small frame, lighter than most.

Her delicate arms, unable to swing a greatsword.

Yet, with this body, she endured pain that even platinum-ranked adventurers struggle with, and somehow kept fighting.

To protect me.

No... that’s not it.

Honestly, I don’t think she did this for me alone.

What am I even saying?

Noah doesn’t even know I’m a priestess.

We haven’t known each other for long.

So I don’t understand.

Why is she going through all this? What does she want? Why is she living so painfully?

I, who understand nothing, felt frustrated.

“Forcing her Giga Sense to expand, taking in enormous amounts of information, and on top of that, breaking a wall... swinging a weapon that can’t even be called a greatsword, killing at least a hundred Nols. That little girl.”

I hugged the collapsed Noah tighter.

“Why... why did she go this far...?”

“She probably has some kind of obsession. Something from her painful past that created this obsession. It’s the same for me... and for that bald guy too. Everyone has something like that. But it looks like Noah’s is pretty severe.”

I had expected this much from seeing Noah kill monsters.

Her face, voice, and atmosphere completely transformed. She became a different person, someone I could believe was entirely different.

Maybe... that’s Noah’s true self.@@novelbin@@

My mind was in turmoil.

I felt nauseous, like I was about to burst into tears.

The more I learned about Noah’s hidden side, the more I realized I’d made the wrong choice.

I was so ashamed of running away from my heavy responsibility.

Noah, peacefully sleeping in my arms, made me feel even worse.

“For now... I understand. The situation’s over, so I’ll lay Noah down to rest.”

“I’ll carry her—”

“No. I’ll do it. Just... please take care of the escort as you were requested.”

“...Heh, I see. But escorting a priestess while her knights are here... it’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Don’t you think?”

“Well... I’ll explain later. For now, Noah comes first.”

The man nodded readily and led the way.

“I’ll guide you to a good place. It’ll be perfect for resting.”

Our original location wasn’t bad, but I didn’t refuse his offer and followed him.

If it was a place where Noah could rest a little more comfortably, I didn’t care where it was.

“Oh, by the way, the priestess doesn’t know my name, does she? Noah knew my name.”

Noah knew his name?

“Yes... I don’t.”

“Hmph. Then, I’ll formally introduce myself. It’s only proper, right?”

The man sheathed his sword and placed his right hand over his chest, slightly bowing.

Then, with a serious voice, he spoke.

“I’m Luchi, a platinum adventurer. Among adventurers, they call me ‘One-Eyed Luchi,’ but... you can call me Luchi, or uncle, whichever you prefer. I look forward to working with you.”

“One-Eyed Lu... chi?”

“Well, I don’t like that nickname much, so how about just calling me ‘uncle,’ priestess?”

“Ah, yes... understood.”

“Hm. Then shall we go back?”

Luchi began walking again.

The survivor of Hablon.

Walking right in front of me.

And Noah knew him.

I looked down at Noah in my arms.

I’ve hidden that I’m a priestess from Noah...

But it seems Noah is hiding something from me too.

We’re still not that close...

But still.

I want to get closer, so...

Once she wakes up, we’ll have a deep conversation.

My story too.

And Noah’s story.

Everything.