The Soldier Shouted Save

Chapter 16

Tallin, where I arrived with Eris, was dazzling.

The buildings were neat, without a trace of disrepair, and the streets bustled with the voices of merchants, filling every corner.

Croa and Rian used to come here often, drawn by this lively atmosphere.

But there was no time to get caught up in the excitement.

“Will you head straight to the church?”

Eris pointed towards the church, already full of thoughts about spreading the word of Freya’s faith.

A prayer to the goddess would be nice, but I couldn’t afford to mix up my priorities.

Shaking my head, I replied, “Praying to Lady Freya is important, but I’d like to meet my siblings first.”

“Oh, you have siblings?”

“We were separated due to monsters, and we agreed to meet again here.”

I explained the situation to Eris, who looked puzzled.

I told her about the bandit raid on the village, the shadow that swallowed people, summoned by the dark mage, and how I dealt with the creature using a wildfire, leaving out the part about Save.

When I finished, Eris, now looking serious, asked, “Could you show me the dagger your sister gave you?”

It wasn’t the wildfire or the shadow that had caught her interest. It was the decorative dagger my sister had gifted me, imbued with divine power.

Careful not to touch it with my skin, I handed her the dagger, mindful of revealing my identity as a necromancer. Eris’ eyes widened in shock.

“…Does Allen want his sister to become a priest?”

“What do you mean?”

“…Your sister has been chosen by Lady Freya. She possesses an immense amount of divine power, comparable to… no, even greater than an elder who has dedicated their entire life to serving Freya.”

A girl not yet twenty, who had never even set foot in a church, held divine power on par with a priestly elder of Freya’s order.

Realizing the significance of that fact, I unconsciously began to fiddle with the handle of my sword.

‘…I need to stop this.’

Great power comes with great responsibility.

‘I have to start over, hide it again.’

A priest born with such divine power was no different from a weapon designed to destroy evil.

I clenched the hilt of my sword tightly, unwilling to let Croa’s life be consumed by constant fighting. Just then, Eris’ calm voice reached me.

“When you reunite with your sister, live in a village without a church. Hide if a priest visits, and if you have to travel to another city, leave behind any gifts from her.”

Startled by her firm tone, which I’d never heard before, I looked at her in confusion.

With a bitter expression, she handed back the dagger and said, “I was chosen too. If I hadn’t been, I’d probably still be farming with my family in the countryside…”

As I accepted the dagger, she smiled.

“Make sure to think carefully about what will make your sister the happiest.”

She still hadn’t realized that I was a necromancer.

Her words came from genuine goodwill.

“I’ll think about it.”

I let go of my sword hilt and nodded.

—

After setting up another meeting with Eris, I parted ways with her and focused on finding my siblings.

The Moonlight Inn.

It took two failed attempts before I arrived there, and when I asked about Rian and Croa, the innkeeper ran his finger along the guest list and wrinkled his brow, shaking his head.

“I don’t see anyone named Croa or Rian, but there is a Leon listed.”

Rian and Leon were clearly different names, but still, just in case, I asked, “What does this Leon look like?”

I slipped another silver coin onto the counter as I spoke.

Smiling, the innkeeper pulled the coin toward himself and replied, “Leon is a twenty-year-old rookie mercenary who’s rumored to be the illegitimate child of a nobleman.”

“…That’s not who I’m looking for.”

Disappointed, I turned away and slumped into a chair at a nearby table.

Thinking I was a customer, a woman approached me with a menu in hand.

“What would you like to order?”

The upstairs was the lodging, and the lobby served as a dining area.

The inns in our village and Tallin didn’t differ much in structure.

I glanced around at the people sitting at their tables, eating, and sighed softly.

“I’ll be leaving.”

What inn should I try next?

Could they be sleeping on the streets?

With these complicated thoughts swirling in my mind, I waved off the server and was about to stand up from my chair.

But it was as if time had stopped. I couldn’t move.

“Sir?”

I didn’t hear the server’s words.

My gaze was fixed solely on her.

―Suddenly.

“W-what’s wrong?”

Startled by my serious expression as I stood up, the server looked confused.

Ignoring her, I strode toward the woman.

“T-the chicken soup and…”

Her voice trembled, and she shrank back, clearly uncomfortable dealing with people.

I walked past the server, grabbed the woman’s shoulders, and pulled her toward me.

Then I hugged her.

“Kyaah!”

The woman, now suddenly in my arms, trembled in fear, and her shaking passed directly into me.

I knew.

Anyone would be shocked if someone acted like this out of the blue.

I should’ve shown her my face to reassure her, but I couldn’t let her go.

“I’m so glad…”

Tears from my eyes fell onto her shoulder, dampening it.

Her trembling ceased at the sound of my quivering voice.

“M-Mr. Blan!! Hurry!”

The frantic voice of another server rang out, and a burly man with a black beard approached.

Blan must have been the innkeeper’s name.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to my staff?!”

Blan raised his fist and aimed it at me.

Before his fist could reach my face, someone stopped him.

“W-wait a minute!”

The woman in my arms spoke, and Blan lowered his fist and took a step back.

The woman gently held my face and turned it toward her.

“Is it… you, brother?”

Finally, we faced each other.

“Yeah… it’s me.”

With those few words, I hugged my sister Croa once more.

—

In a corner of the inn.

Croa, still wearing her server uniform, and I sat at a table, struggling to calm our emotions. Then he approached us with a bright grin.

“Hey, bro!”

I couldn’t help but smile back.

He hadn’t changed one bit.

“You always said you wanted to become a royal guard, and now you’re just washing dishes?”

“W-well, we didn’t have money to stay anywhere else…”

Rian had listened to me and safely escaped with Croa to Tallin.

But they had arrived in the middle of the night.

And they’d been penniless, unable to bring anything with them.

Even in a safe town like Tallin, sleeping on the streets was dangerous, so they had likely pounded on the door of a dark inn in desperation.

The inn that kindly took them in was none other than the ‘Moonlight Inn.’

“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding! So, your names were Rian and Croa, right?”

Blan, the innkeeper, placed a large roast duck on the table.

“Thank you very much.”

I stood up and bowed respectfully.

Blan, laughing heartily, waved off my gratitude.

“It’s fine! It’s fine! I’ve got plenty of beds here at the inn. But… you’re not planning on quitting all of a sudden, are you?”

It seemed Blan had taken quite a liking to Rian and Croa, as he cautiously broached the subject, casting a glance their way.

Both Rian and Croa’s eyes naturally shifted toward me, under Blan’s gaze.

“If it’s about the overdue inn fees, I’ll take care of it by today.”

“Hm… that’s a bit disappointing.”

Blan’s expression, surprisingly downcast for his size, prompted Croa to speak up hesitantly.

“Um… Brother. I’d like to work here a little longer, if that’s okay?”

I couldn’t help but smile.

It wasn’t like Croa to openly express her feelings. She always kept her thoughts hidden, rarely speaking them aloud, but now she looked straight at me, making her wishes clear.

After a brief moment of thought, I answered, “We need to decide whether to stay here or leave. You won’t be able to do this for long.”

“…Just until the end of this month?”

“That’s fine. Do whatever you want.”

At my words, Croa’s face lit up with joy.

“Thank you, Brother!”

Eris had said that if I didn’t want my sister to become a priest, I should leave with her and go somewhere without a church.

…If I made the wrong choice, I could always fix it later.

“Great! To celebrate you becoming part of my staff, let me treat you to a feast!”

Blan raised his hand towards the kitchen, and dish after dish began to pile up on the table.

“…Is this really okay?”

“Don’t worry about the cost! I don’t charge my staff!”

Accepting his generosity with a slight nod of my head, I heard the sound of enthusiastic munching.

―Chomp, chomp.

I turned my head to see Rian, his cheeks stuffed full of food, hastily tearing into the meat.

“Take it easy and relax today!”

Blan ruffled Rian’s hair roughly before returning to his seat.

Now that I knew my siblings were safe, it was time for me to take care of my own business.

“…Brother, where are you going?”

I stopped in my tracks at the door and turned to Croa.

“I’ll be back by evening.”

With that, I headed to the meeting spot with Eris.

—

The fountain in Tallin Square.

At the edge of my sight, I saw Eris sitting demurely, dressed in robes adorned with Freya’s symbol.

I stopped walking and felt something on my chest.

―Clink.

As my hand pressed against my clothes, I felt the decoration on the dagger attached to the inside of my garment.

It was my suicide dagger, prepared at all times to pierce my heart.

‘I have to die in one blow.’

A priest could heal even the deepest wounds in the blink of an eye.

And I was headed to a place swarming with such priests.

After confirming the dagger was securely positioned at my solar plexus, I stepped forward, deliberately making my footsteps audible as I approached Eris.

“Allen, you’re here.”

Eris stood up, clasping her hands over her chest and bowing her head.

Was that a greeting of the Freya Church?

I mimicked her posture and returned the greeting.

“Heh, Allen, men aren’t supposed to greet like that.”

“Then how should men do it?”

“Like this, place your fist over your chest and bow your head.”

I straightened up and followed her instructions, greeting her again in the proper manner of the Freya Church.

Seeing me get it right, Eris smiled warmly.

“You look just like a priest of Freya now.”

Her words made me chuckle bitterly.

In a past life, she had spoken to me in the same tone when she called me a necromancer.

“It’s almost time for prayer. Let’s hurry.”

Estimating the time from the setting sun, Eris strode briskly toward the church, and I followed behind, asking, “What will happen if the church finds out about my sister?”

“They’ll protect her. Give her a good place to stay, feed her well, and dress her in fine clothes.”

Eris halted her steps and continued with a bitter smile.

“Once she adjusts to life in the church, they’ll teach her how to use her divine power… and then how to kill monsters and necromancers.”

“Isn’t there a way to quit halfway?”

“That depends on how much Lady Freya’s love has touched her.”

So, they wouldn’t let go of someone with talent.

I was about to ask more when Eris put a finger to her lips and shushed me.

“If anyone talks to us, I’ll answer. Just nod quietly, okay?”

The Freya Church building had unnervingly clean outer walls.

The moment I stepped inside, my skin prickled and my stomach churned.

“Holy golden light.”

A priest walking down the hall stopped and spoke to Eris.

“May it illuminate our path.”

Eris bowed her head in response, and the elderly priest smiled as he spoke again.

“Eris, guiding someone in their faith?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“…I hope you find the right answer.”

The priest’s face hardened as he looked at me before walking away.

Did he sense the necromancer’s soul inside me?

…No, if he had, I would’ve been executed on the spot.

But he might have sensed something unsettling.

“This way, to the basement.”

We followed the priests past the common citizens on the first floor and headed to the basement.

There, a massive statue of Lady Freya stood, with large wings spread wide.

“Allen, please stand over here.”

While the priests stood directly in front of the statue, I, along with a dozen or so civilians, stood to the side, gazing at it. Soon, the elder priest I’d seen earlier walked to the front of the statue.

Once everyone was in place, the elder shook the bell in his hand from side to side and closed his eyes.

“The prayer will begin. Holy golden light.”

“‘May it illuminate our path.’”

Following the priests’ lead, I knelt and, imitating their movements, clasped my hands together.

The statue, said to grant heroes a second chance after death.

For this moment, I offered a sincere prayer to Lady Freya.

…But I felt nothing.

As expected, the statue and Save were unrelated.

“…What? It can’t even do a save?”

Startled by the familiar word, I turned my head in shock.

A small woman in a black hood stood there.

“Silence. Be quiet during prayer.”

The elder narrowed his eyes and glared at her, and the girl, noticing his gaze, quickly bowed her head, mumbling under her breath.

“Oh, damn it. What the hell am I supposed to do now…?”

That familiar tone I’d heard before, in the Chamber of Fate.

There was no doubt.

Standing beside me was another warrior from another world.

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