Chapter 589

「...」

「...」

Fran and Sierra stared at each other in silence. But Fran was just as silent and expressionless as usual.

Eventually, Sierra looked away and walked past Fran to get past her.

But at that moment, Urushi, who was standing beside Fran, grew huge at once and intervened between Fran and Sierra.

「Grrrr...」

Urushi growled with the full force of intimidation. Sierra stopped in surprise at his reaction, which was even laced with killing intent.

However, Urushi's gaze was not on Sierra――but on the sword at his hip.

Does it mean it was his magic sword that Urushi is wary of? No, but that didn't explain this reaction. Was it because the person releasing the killing intent was in possession of a powerful magic sword?

I wondered as I appraised Sierra and his magic sword.

『Not that it matters, but...』

Sierra's status was the same as before. He was certainly strong for his age, but his abilities were at best at those of a D-ranked adventurer.

But after appraising the sword, I understood why Urushi was so wary.

『What! All of its descriptions were displayed as unknown!?』

If the opponent's rank was higher than mine and the appraisal fails, it would end up not showing up anything rather than showing up as unknown.

The only things that showed up as unknown were evil people and things possessed by an evil spirit. Come to think of it, Urushi should had the skill to detect evil spirits. So, I'm sure he had sensed a very small amount of evil in the sword that even Fran and I couldn't detect.

『Urushi, hold back a little』

「Grrr...」

Urushi reverted to his large dog size and lessened his intimidation. However, he was still in a position to attack at any time. Sierra, who could understand this, was bracing himself with a sense of caution.

「That sword... Where did you get it?」

「...Do I have to tell you?」

We had never heard his voice before. It was higher-pitched than we expected.

「I can sense the evil in it」

「Then?」

「Nothing」

「Hmph」

His reaction now, Sierra seemed to know that there was an evil spirit hidden in his sword. Honestly, we were not sure what to do now.

But we couldn't sense any evil in him, and just because he had an evil weapon didn't mean he was evil.

It was the same for me. No, rather, am I even worse? After all, a part of the Evil God's soul was sealed in me. Was it evil of Fran to use me? No, not at all. It was just that the sword I'm using has a bit of a story behind it.

I guess it's the same for Sierra.

The boy frowned uncomfortably and walked away. It was amazing that he was only slightly surprised by Urushi's intimidation. In terms of his ability, it wouldn't be strange if he would instantly die from being shocked... It seemed that he had tremendous courage.

It was then at the moment after he avoided Urushi and passed Fran, Sierra stopped and opened his mouth.

「...Weena Rhyn might kill Romio」

「! What do you mean?」

「But the fact that she decided to do it means that it needs to be done. And when she does, don't do anything you don't have to do」

「Wait! Please explain!」

「...Just ask Weena Rhyn yourself」

That was all Sierra said and tried to walk away, but Fran wouldn't let him. She walked around in front of him and glared at him.

「...The power of the 『Evil God's Sacrament』 is hidden in Magnolia's bloodline. But if she uses that power, Romio will die」

「Evil God's Sacrament?」

「It is a fearsome grace given by the Evil Gods to rule over the evil people, to devour them, to absorb their Evil Soul, and to transform them into power. That is the Evil God's Sacrament possessed by the Magnolias. The Grace of the Evil God passed down to each family is what gives the three Gordician families their power」

The three Gordician families were the guardian families that were supposed to keep the Evil Gods at bay, right? They are Magnolia, Camellia, and Wisteria. I've heard that they've already been ruined though...

But now he's telling me that they were empowered by the Evil God? In other words, they worshipped the Evil God? And yet, they sealed away the Evil God?

「Was it given by the Evil God?」

「You're gonna have to find out for yourself. What's important now is this lake. The magic beast sealed in here has also taken in the power of the Evil God's piece. The best way to suppress its power is to sacrifice Romio and use the power of the Evil God's Sacrament to seal it」

Oi, oi, the huge magic beast in this lake has even had the power of the Evil Gods?

「How do you know all this?」

Certainly, Sierra knew too much about Romio. It was hard to believe that he could know so much from mere research. However, there was no way Sierra would answer it.

「It's none of your business. Just stay out of my way and Weena Rhyn's. That's it」

Sierra told her so with a cold expression on his face, to which Fran replied in protest.

「Romio will not die!」

「...? You, aren't you supposed to be Romio's enemy?」

「Why?」

「You're an enemy of Zelos Reed, aren't you?」

「Nn. Zelos Read is my enemy. But Romio isn't really an enemy」

「...Tsk」

How much does Sierra know about anything? I'm not sure why he even knew about Fran's relationship with Romio and Zelos Reed.

Who was he? I wondered, and Fran questioned Sierra's back as he was walking away.

「Are you... Romio's big brother?」

「I'm not」

Sierra only answered with that and disappeared into the crowded streets of the town.

『Romio's big brother? What made you think so?』

「He knew a lot of things」

『I see. Well, I guess that's why he even knows about the power of Magnolia's bloodline and all that』

「Moreover...」

『Moreover?』

「He looked like Romio」

『Is that so?』

Sure, they had the same hair color, but did they look that much alike?

「Nn, their eyes look similar」

『Eyes?』

「Their eyes are similar when they stared at me」

Ah, now that she mentioned it, they may indeed be similar. Romio's eyes towards Fran, and Sierra's eyes towards Fran. The sharp eyes mixed with hostility; the feel was very similar.

Why did he teach Fran such a thing? What was he aiming for?

I wonder who exactly he was. Anyway, I'm sure he was no ordinary adventurer.