Chapter 18: The Unconscious Messenger
Misa heard Ginises sigh.
Her tone was tinged with disappointment, as if she couldn’t understand why even Misa didn’t remember this, but she couldn’t blame Misa, who had been assigned to such a strange hero. She could only sigh softly, saying, “How come you don’t remember either?”
Misa: “Um…”
He felt a little guilty.
Listening to the goddess and Misa’s conversation, Lance became even more certain of his thoughts. Misa was indeed his divine messenger. If Misa wasn’t a divine messenger, how could he be so familiar with the goddess, and how could he know so much about everything related to him?
Ginises maintained her friendly tone, as if trying to dispel Misa’s guilt. She softly evoked Misa’s memory, saying, “Remember, the most evil Demon Lord in this world is called—”
Ginises paused slightly.
Misa was still waiting. He thought Ginises wanted to build suspense; after all, such a remarkable Demon Lord’s entrance should have a timely pause. But after the brief pause, he vaguely heard… the sound of pages turning.
Misa: “…”
No way! Ginises! Don’t you remember either?!
Misa nervously looked at Lance beside him. Fortunately, Lance didn’t seem to have heard Ginises’s search for the Demon Lord’s name. He just frowned slightly, waiting for Ginises’s next words.
After a short silence, Ginises finally spoke.
She tried her best to remain calm, lowering her voice to maintain the mystery befitting a Demon Lord.
Ginises: “…Xisemyas.”
Misa: “…”
Misa’s memories were awakened.
Oh! So that’s his name!
“Lance, he’s your nemesis,” Ginises said. “No matter what, you must engrave this name in your heart.”
Lance: “…”
Lance reached out and touched the sword at his waist.
His action was a little abrupt, and he always had these strange extra movements. Ginises had been tricked too many times and had naturally developed a guarded attitude towards the hero. Seeing the hero’s strange action, she couldn’t help but ask, “Lance, what are you doing?”
Lance didn’t answer her.
He touched his sword, then opened the small bag at his side, diligently searching for something. Misa couldn’t help but lean over to look, and Ginises became even more uneasy. She asked again, “What are you looking for?”
Lance still didn’t answer her.
He focused on searching for the item he wanted. Ginises became a little panicked and even raised her voice slightly, saying, “Lance, you should listen to me carefully.”
Lance: “…”
Ginises: “I’m a goddess…”
Lance: “…”
Ginises took a deep breath: “Did you really remember what I just said?”
Lance: “…”
Lance finally stopped searching.
He held a small booklet and a pen he had just taken from the bag, looked up at the light representing Ginises in mid-air, and spoke very seriously.
“I should have memorized it,” Lance said. “Uh, Xi… Si…”
Ginises: “…”
“Sorry, the Demon Lord’s name,” Lance held up his notebook and pen. “Can you say it again?”
Ginises: “…”
Misa: “…”
Misa and Lance finally left the sanctuary.
The bishop bowed respectfully to them, even more so than his previous respect for the Chosen One. He seemed to regard Lance as his only hope. Even the sanctuary knight who had questioned Lance earlier now had eyes full of reverence for him.
Misa found it strange.
He racked his brain for knowledge related to this world, but he couldn’t recall any stories related to “two divine messengers.” He was a Demon Lord after all; he thought he didn’t need to know much about the scriptures and mythology, so he hadn’t delved into the church’s mythology, so when he needed this knowledge, he couldn’t remember anything.
The bishop entered the sanctuary alone to listen to the oracle given by the goddess herself, while the sanctuary knight humbly led Misa and Lance, saying, “Sir Lance, you should want to meet the divine messenger Arlo.”
Misa was startled and asked, “Arlo is back?”
A hint of guilt appeared on the sanctuary knight’s face, as if admitting a mistake, then he nodded, “Divine Messenger Arlo has indeed returned.”
But then he paused, apologetically saying to the two, “Sorry, Sir Lance, the messenger was injured and is still unconscious.”
Lance was startled: “Were they giants?”
Misa also widened his eyes nervously.
He didn’t understand what was going on. Logically, Karlik and Sayaya would never attack Arlo; Arlo couldn’t be injured, and certainly couldn’t be unconscious for a whole day and still not have woken up.
Arlo was a famous divine messenger in the Divine Realm. Even if he didn’t know any attack magic, his defense was extremely amazing. That day he endured two swords from Lance, his head bleeding profusely, yet he didn’t show any signs of dizziness.
In this situation, what kind of injury could make Arlo unconscious for a whole day, and still not have woken up?
Misa was very worried. Following Lance, he asked, “Is he alright?”
“Uh… the doctor said there’s no problem,” the sanctuary knight scratched his head, becoming even more embarrassed. “It wasn’t giants.”
Lance frowned: “Not giants?”
“According to the knights nearby, Sir Arlo easily repelled the two giants,” the sanctuary knight showed his reverence for Arlo’s powerful abilities. “They didn’t even see what happened, and the two giants screamed and fled in terror.”
Misa: “…”
Good, it seems his lie can finally be explained.
That wasn’t fleeing in terror.
He had told the giants about the backup plan in case of an emergency, telling Karlik and Sayaya that if something unexpected happened, no matter what, they just needed to run far away and protect themselves.
But Lance looked at Misa in shock, his eyes as if saying—
Arlo, you really are the boxing champion among divine messengers.
Misa: “…”
Misa nervously looked away.
The sanctuary knight was still full of reverence and excitement for Arlo, earnestly recounting the spectacle of Arlo repelling the two giants that day.
“After the knight squad noticed something was wrong, they wanted to help, but before they could get close, the giants had already fled in defeat,” the sanctuary knight said earnestly. “Divine Messenger Arlo firmly believed that Sir Lance wouldn’t be harmed; he didn’t want to leave, and even wanted to climb down the crack to find Sir Lance.”
Lance nodded, looking somewhat moved.
Misa was very satisfied.
Good, this is also a convergence of different paths.
No matter what, at least Lance’s favorability towards Arlo has increased!
“But the captain looked at the edge of the crack, and the crack was constantly collapsing; it was very dangerous,” the sanctuary knight paused slightly, as if embarrassed to admit that the knight squad had ultimately given up on rescuing the hero. “The captain could only bring Divine Messenger Arlo back to Sky City first.”
He skipped over the conflict between the knight squad and Arlo, after all, Lance reappeared before them. He couldn’t just say that the knight captain thought Lance was dead.
Fortunately, Lance didn’t seem to have any problem with their giving up; he calmly nodded but noticed an inconsistency in the sanctuary knight’s words and frowned, saying, “Arlo, he wasn’t injured.”
Sanctuary Knight: “…Indeed not.”
Since the giants didn’t injure Arlo, how did Arlo faint?
Misa was still worried about Arlo’s condition, and couldn’t help but ask, “How is Arlo now?”
“Just unconscious,” the sanctuary knight said. “The doctor said there’s nothing serious; he’ll be fine once he wakes up.”
So the question is.
“The giants didn’t hit him,” Misa asked, “Why did Arlo faint?”
Sanctuary Knight: “…”
The sanctuary knight nervously looked away.
“Divine Messenger Arlo was really… very worried about Sir Lance,” he stammered. “He didn’t want to leave the volcano.”
Misa: “Um…”
Sanctuary Knight: “But that area was collapsing, and the captain worried about Divine Messenger Arlo’s safety and didn’t want others to sacrifice unnecessarily.”
Misa: “…”
He had a bad feeling.
The sanctuary knight’s voice became smaller and smaller, almost like a mosquito’s buzz. He was clearly very guilty, and after a long time, finally revealed the truth.
“So… so…” The sanctuary knight looked up at the sky. “So the captain knocked him out.”
Misa: “…”
Lance: “…”
Sanctuary Knight: “…And carried him back.”
Misa: “…”
Lance: “…”
“The captain didn’t expect Divine Messenger’s body to be so frail,” the sanctuary knight whispered. “He’s been unconscious for a day and hasn’t woken up yet.”
Misa: “…”
Sorry! Arlo!
Why is it always you who gets hurt!