Chapter 5: The Hero Returns

Two years had passed since Harid went to the battlefield.

Measures against the monsters had been put in place, and with many of them slain, the borderlands were finally beginning to settle down.

Defensive walls had been constructed, greatly reducing human losses.

With greater leeway in military strength, the next strategy was devised.

By cutting down trees only in the shallow parts of the forest, they would gradually create paths deeper inside.

Yes.
An invasion of the forest that had once been abandoned.

At last, they were able to push in from their own side.

This made defending the towns far easier than before.

And the knights who had been dispatched from other territories were finally given a clear prospect of returning home.

Harid was among them.
At long last, he was permitted to return home.

“Harid, I would like you to stay.”

“Your Excellency, the Border Marquis…”

Harid had distinguished himself and achieved many merits.

Day after day, he had been praised as a ‘hero,’ raising the morale of countless knights.

“I am grateful for your words, but I also have territory I must protect.
Now that things here have settled, I wish to return to my own lands.”

“…That is true.
You are right.
You have truly been a great help.
I am grateful that you came to this land.”

The Border Marquis held a rank equivalent to a marquis.

Excluding the ducal houses of royal blood, he stood among the highest of the nobility.

For Harid, a mere baron, to receive such attention from the Border Marquis was a great honor.

“…By the way, Harid.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“I have heard that you have a wife…”

As he spoke, the Border Marquis cast a brief glance at the woman standing beside Harid.

She was Livia, a female cleric-soldier dispatched from the church.

Rumors that the two were lovers had spread once Harid was hailed as a hero.

However, the Border Marquis, who accurately understood Harid’s situation, had long been troubled by it.

Until now, he had refrained from asking in order not to lower morale.

But since Harid was leaving this land, he wished to confirm Harid’s intentions.

“…I have fallen in love with Livia.”

“Harid-sama…!”

Joy filled Livia’s face at those words.

Seeing her, Harid returned a passionate gaze.

Indeed, in terms of feelings, the two were likely bound together.

But the Border Marquis felt that this was not merely a matter of feelings.

“Then what do you intend to do about your wife?”

“…That.
Actually, Your Excellency.
Electra and I have a white marriage.”

“A white marriage?”

“Yes.
We did not share a bed on our wedding night.”

“…Is that so?
Was there some problem?”

“No.
It was Electra’s suggestion.
She called it a prayer.”

“A prayer?”

“Yes.
Apparently, the wives of knights refrain from intimacy to strengthen their husbands’ desire to return home alive.”

“…I wield a sword myself, but I have never heard of such a prayer.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, it may simply be something popular among wives that I, as a man, am unaware of.”

“…I see.
In any case, because of that prayer, I did not hold Electra.
So… even if we divorce, I do not think it would leave her ‘wounded.’”

That could not possibly be true, the Border Marquis thought, but he kept silent.

And he urged Harid to continue.

“Of course, Electra will not easily accept it.
She may cry, but I intend to persuade her.
And a divorce due to a white marriage is permitted after three years of marriage.
So if I endure… for one more year, I can formally divorce Electra.
Then I will be able to be with Livia.”

“…………”

The Border Marquis’ eyes grew distant.
They held a mixture of disbelief and faint disappointment.

‘What is this man saying?’
That was what he thought.

“…I see.
You were still young, Baron Carlson.”

“Huh?
Y-yes.”

“Then return safely to your lands.
No matter what kind of life you lead, my gratitude for your efforts here will not change.
Thank you for everything, Baron Carlson.”

“Y-yes!
Thank you very much for all your guidance!”

And so, the Border Marquis sent Harid and Livia off.

After they were out of sight, he spoke to the aide standing nearby.

“They say heroes are fond of women.
Is this another such case?”

“…Hard to say.
It depends on how people take it.
Merit or scandal, which will be valued more.
In a sense, it may even appeal to the masses.”

“Well, that may be true.”

“It will make him more talked about as a hero, but as a noble, it is a problem.”

“Indeed.
But if it is a white marriage, perhaps some would say it is still better…”

“Who knows.
I only hope his wife does not act rashly.”

“…If my territory had not needed to deal with the monsters, perhaps this bond would never have broken, and they would never have been joined.”

“Your Excellency, that is…”

“I know.
No one could have foreseen this situation.
Still…”

Even if he wished to help, the Border Marquis’ house had no such leeway now.

All he could do was pray that Harid would not make a grave mistake.

Yet even now, it was fair to say that he already had.

Was there truly such a thing as a ‘sincere response’ from that position?

The Border Marquis, inexperienced in such matters, could not imagine one.

After all, he himself was devoted to his wife.

“Harid remains a benefactor to this land.
That is why I wish he would not act inhumanely.
Let us hope for that.”

“Yes…”

The Border Marquis and his aide could only gaze into the distance, toward the direction where the hero had departed.