Epilogue

“Gyaaaaaaaaah!!!!”

“What the hell is all that racket, you bas—Ah, Luna-sama!!

Are you unharmed!! Has this insolent man done anything to you!! It seems the Teleportation Stone proved useful, at least!!”

“You’re a hundred times louder than me!” I shot back. “Besides, anyone would freak out if you showed up covered in blood like that...”

Reunion with Reese.

She had welcomed us with her clothes soaked in bright red, holding a pair of bloody scissors of unknown purpose. Honestly, it was perfectly reasonable to be terrified and scream.

“R-Reese... you’re scary,” Luna mumbled.

“...Ah, I was just in the middle of torturing a spy...!! My deepest apologies, it is quite frightening, isn't it? I shall go slaughter that spy this instant!!”

“She means you’re the scary one,” I pointed out.

“What did you say?! As if that could be true!!”

Just as I rolled up my sleeves to counter the combative Reese, the sharp sound of clapping hands echoed through the room.

“Please calm down, both of you,” Mei said. “Reese, go wash off that blood. Ars-sama and Luna-sama are undoubtedly covered in the dirt of their travels, so it would be best for them to take a bath.”

Reese glared at my face and groaned in blatant frustration, but with a reluctant expression and a sharp “Hmph!”, she turned on her heel and vanished somewhere.

As expected of Mei. She knew exactly how to handle Reese.

...Even so, I thought... sniff sniff. I caught a whiff of myself and realized I did smell quite a bit.

It was true that I hadn't bathed in a while.

Since we'd gone through all the trouble of returning safely to the capital, I might as well.

◇◆◇

“—Forgive me, Holy Knight. It was my mistake.”

“...”

In a small room meant for confidential talks—separate from the audience chamber—I found myself in an incredibly awkward position as the king of this country bowed his head to me.

...I mean, being waited on by cute girls is totally my thing, but having a powerful ruler bow to me—one who could literally have my head sent flying with a single word—was a bit much...

Since staying silent would also likely result in my head flying off, I decided to toss the King a lifeline.

“No one could have anticipated that the Church of the Priesthood, which worships the Saint, would seek to harm her escort knight. ...So please, raise your head.”

“...I had been keeping an eye on their suspicious movements for some time now. ...It is possible that their power has already surpassed even mine. The vast majority of the capital's citizens worship the God of Classes, after all.”

“Even so, protecting the Saint-sama regardless of the circumstances is my duty as a Holy Knight. In that regard, I am still far too inexperienced.”

...I was using unfamiliar polite speech, but was I getting it right? There won't be an immediate off with his head!! if I mess up, right??? I have zero experience talking to authority figures, so I have no clue.

Would I seriously get killed if I blurted out ‘wiener’? Figures... I really want to joke around, though...

“...You truly do... possess the spirit of purity and integrity just as the legends say. ...It is precisely because you are such a man that I can ask this of you. Please continue to look after the Saint. I do not wish to use that girl. If possible, I only pray that she lives a healthy and happy life.”

...There was no lie in his expression.

I really wanted to sit him down for a solid hour and discuss the fact that ‘purity and integrity’ were the traits furthest from who I actually was, but the mood definitely didn't allow for any interjections.

Still... I had thought the King was the culprit who bound a young girl with the chains of being the Saint and stole her smile... but it seemed the Church of the Priesthood was going to be involved in this as well...

But if his words weren't a lie, then there was only one thing I could say.

“...I share those same feelings, Your Majesty.”

◇◆◇

“I know I had to give a report, but no one told me I'd be alone with the King!” I complained.

“My deepest apologies, Ars-sama,” Mei said. “It was the King's earnest request...”

“...Well, yeah, there's the matter of the travel permits, and I wanted to express my gratitude anyway, so it's fine.”

The very first thing I did after getting out of the bath was have a confidential audience with the King. It had only added to the exhaustion of our journey, though.

...And after that, the usual four of us—Mei, Reese, Luna, and I—gathered in Luna's room.

Everyone was fresh and warm from the bath. The nape of Mei's neck peeking out from her slightly damp ponytail was extremely scandalous, you could say... My travel fatigue was fading. Or rather, it was already completely gone.

Now then... I should probably get this out of the way first.

I turned to face Reese, bowed deeply, and said,

“Thank you, Reese. You really helped us out. If you hadn't taken action, I think we'd still be wandering around the Hero's Graveyard. ...Ah, and ofcourse, I'm truly grateful to Mei for coming to save us, too. Thanks, both of you.”

At that, Reese's eyes went perfectly round, her mouth hanging open in pure shock. ...No, seriously, you're way too surprised.

Then, her expression gradually shifted. With a faint blush coloring her cheeks, she abruptly turned her face away and spoke.

“H-Hmph, it certainly wasn't for your sake, you bastard. I merely acted for the sake of Luna-sama—”

“If there's anything I can do—” “Then get castrated.” “—Ah, that's impossible.”

“Tch.”

She actually said it, this girl.

And she just clicked her tongue at me with everything she had.

I was genuinely thankful, but man, she really had a way of acting that made me want to take my gratitude back.

“Reese, Mei, truly... thank you,” Luna said softly. “For acting on my behalf... I haven't done anything for either of you... or for Ars. All I can do is express my thanks like this, but...”

There she goes again, saying things to put herself down. This girl really had no confidence.

Beating Reese to the punch as she hastily opened and closed her mouth like a fish, I roughly ruffled Luna's slightly damp silver hair.

“A-Ars?”

“It's a lie to say you haven't done anything. I was struck by your kindness, and I was moved by your selfless desire to do something for us. There's no way you haven't done anything.”

Realistically speaking, if I hadn't been able to exploit her ignorance to recharge my sexual desires during the fight with the Spear Knight, there was an extremely high chance we would have lost.

Not a single thing I just said was a lie, but in conclusion, it was essentially a garbage sentence saying: thanks for satisfying my fetishes.

“...You always say the words I want to hear, Ars...”

While I was busy thinking such vulgar thoughts, Luna looked up at me with a gaze that practically screamed she placed her absolute trust in me.

...Wait, did I do something? Oh well.

“...You do say some decent things every once in a while, you bastard,” Reese remarked. “Though your usual behavior completely ruins it!”

“I, too, have received many precious things from you, Luna-sama,” Mei added gently. “It is simply not true that you haven't done anything.”

“M-Me as well, Luna-samaaa!!”

As the two of them offered their reassurances one after another—Luna let a single, clear drop fall to the ground.

“...Hehe, shedding tears because I'm happy... I wonder how long it's been since I last did that...”

Her expression was overflowing with a warmth and beauty that felt like it could melt the world.

Just for a brief moment, I completely forgot about my sexual desires. That was how terribly breathtaking and lovely Luna was.

☆☆☆

—The conversation progressed a bit.

Leaving out the part about Luna being the Sex Saint, we began to share everything else that had occurred at the Hero's Graveyard.

...The church where a woman the spitting image of Luna was laid to rest, and the Giant Skeleton wielding a spear that stood in our way as if to protect it.

The dream we had afterward, where the Hero was still alive and appeared before Luna and me... Although we embellished quite a bit, we kept it just coherent enough to share with Reese and Mei.

...It was a rather wild and absurd tale, one that most people would have laughed off as utter nonsense if they heard it.

However, both of them listened with deadly serious expressions.

“I see... The spitting image of Luna-sama... That is certainly a mystery... To think such a structure existed in the Hero's Graveyard...” Reese murmured.

“...It is true that the end of the Hero's life is said to be shrouded in mystery,” Mei added. “It's recorded that he wore himself out in battle and lived out the rest of his days in peace... but there are also stories of his traces being discovered in various places even after he vanished from the public eye...”

It seemed the two of them actually believed our story.

...For them to believe such a ridiculous tale, Luna must have earned a tremendous amount of their trust.

If it had just been me, Mei might have still believed it, but Reese would have definitely snorted a sharp “Hah!” and walked out on the spot.

...Wait, that wouldn't have been about the validity of the story at all. She just hates my guts. That's no good.

“It has been four hundred years since the Demon King was defeated. Not once has anyone been granted the class of Hero. It was believed this was because the mighty enemy known as the Demon King no longer existed in this world, but...”

Remembering the words of the Luminous Entity, I picked up where Mei left off.

“If the Hero from four hundred years ago is still alive, it would make sense. Legendary classes can only reside within one person at a time, after all.”

“...But four hundred years ago, you say? Even if the Hero belonged to a race other than humanity, I know of no species capable of living for four centuries,” Reese argued.

...Just how he was managing to live so long was a mystery to me, too. ...There weren't any existing races with lifespans quite that long.

“...I want to know why there was a woman who looked exactly like me,” Luna declared, her voice earnest. “If Ars and I are destined to face the Hero, then I want to unravel the mystery of our classes...!”

Luna spoke as if pleading with the two of them.

The first to react to this was, unsurprisingly, Reese.

“Yes, absolutely. Let us solve this mystery!! It is also quite perplexing to me why both the Black Knight and the White Knight were born in the exact same generation!!”

Now that she mentioned it, the Black Knight and the White Knight were pretty unique and mysterious classes in their own right. It wouldn't be strange if there was some sort of mechanism behind them always appearing as a set.

I wanted to unravel that mystery. Because by solving it, I was sure we could finally clarify the reason for our existence.

The mystery of the Sexual Knight and the Sex Saint.

We had to figure this out.

...Well, if we're told, ‘These are simply classes granted to people with intense sexual desires!’, I'd have no choice but to accept it and just keep staring at Luna with lustful eyes.

...But even that would be fine. Because simply knowing the truth would bring us closure.

When that time comes, maybe I'd finally be able to tell them my class is the Sexual Knight. The same goes for Luna.

Living a constant lie must be painful for her. I'm shameless, so I don't particularly care, but... in my case, if I actually confessed, I'd just get executed...

“...Inevitably, if we are to unravel this mystery, we may need to travel to other countries,” Mei interjected. “I cannot say I believe it is the right choice to purposely walk a dangerous path.”

Following Reese, it was Mei who voiced her opinion.

However, within her rational gaze lay a deep affection, praying for our safety. ...She was right. What Mei was saying was undeniably true.

The price of seeking the truth would undoubtedly be heavy.

Besides, Luna wasn't the irresponsible type to just dump the task of solving the mystery of her class onto someone else.

She would definitely insist on leading the search herself.

“...Of course, that's why I won't ask you to just protect me,” Luna said. “I will become stronger. I want to grow stronger... so I can fight side by side with everyone.”

Her gaze was strong, her eyes filled with resolve.

It seemed she was determined to become a full-fledged martial arts Saint-sama... But admittedly, if we were going to be throwing ourselves into real danger, it would be best for Luna to get stronger.

The same went for us, of course. We'd need to grow even stronger as well.

“...Either way, no matter what we do, Luna's position makes her a target. Protecting her from that is our job, obviously. But, having a goal in life is never a bad thing. I think it's perfectly fine to go out and gather little hints every now and then,” I offered.

“Ars-sama...” Mei said.

It was sophistry. But it also contained a grain of truth.

Moving forward, Luna would undoubtedly continue to act as the Saint in her efforts to save people.

However, I didn't think anyone could stay sane while constantly being exposed to the danger of having their life targeted. There was a very real possibility she would eventually reach her mental breaking point.

To prevent that from happening, setting a life goal and working hard towards it seemed infinitely healthier to me.

In Luna's case, it was unraveling the mystery behind her class.

For me, it was meeting and talking with the Hero.

Just as Mei had pointed out, danger would accompany that path, and perhaps it would actually be safer to just focus entirely on her official duties as the Saint.

But seriously, who could endure that?

I wouldn't last a single month. With all that stress pushing my libido past the absolute limit, it wouldn't be surprising if I ended up wandering naked around the castle.

And then I'd upgrade from a virgin to a full-blown pervert before meeting a swift end. I hate that idea!!

Well, the point I wanted to get across was simply that having a life goal makes for a richer life than constantly living on the edge of a mental breakdown.

“...I suppose you are right,” Mei relented. “In that case, we will need to find a good excuse.”

“Mei...!” Luna beamed.

“Leave the direct appeal to the King to me!” Reese volunteered eagerly.

“Is that the kind of attitude you take into a royal audience?” I muttered.

Leaving the utterly fearless Reese aside, Mei let out a heaving sigh while smiling, resolving to grant Luna's wish.

As the three girls continued to chat and giggle excitedly, I couldn't help but let a dopey smile slip onto my face while I lost myself in thought.

“The Traitor, Schter Miluade, huh...” I murmured.