Chapter 32 (32): The Village Of The Hero’s Sword: 02

Late morning sunlight washed across the city like someone had poured warm milk over the rooftops. The streets bustled with the usual mixture of noise that any respectable town produced when it believed itself important enough to deserve attention. Carts creaked. Chickens complained loudly about their existence. Merchants shouted prices as if louder voices could magically produce richer customers.

Subaru walked through the crowd at a relaxed pace.

The long piece of cloth wrapped neatly around her head like a turban. The fabric hid the small horns that curved out from her hair. She had practiced wrapping it several times in front of a mirror the previous night. The result looked almost respectable. At the very least nobody had screamed “Demon!” yet, which counted as success in her opinion.

Her purple eyes moved across the busy street.

Stalls filled the market square from one end to the other. Some sold fresh bread that released comforting smells into the air. Some sold roasted meat on sticks. Some sold fruit arranged so carefully that the piles looked like colorful towers.

One stall displayed a mountain of honey cakes.

Another had a pan sizzling with spiced sausages. Subaru paused there. The smell was amazing.

Her stomach reacted immediately, which should have been a good sign. She stepped closer and studied the vendor who stood proudly behind the pan. The man wore an apron that had once been white but had since absorbed years of cooking enthusiasm.

“Hungry?” the vendor asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Subaru replied honestly.

A few coins changed hands.

The vendor handed her a warm sausage wrapped in thin bread. Steam rose from it in little curls. The scent of spices filled her nose. Everything about the food promised satisfaction.

Subaru took a bite. Then her tongue touched the sausage. Her expression froze.

Something was wrong.

Not rotten wrong. Not spoiled wrong. It tasted exactly like it should taste. The spices were balanced. The meat had a satisfying bite. The bread was soft and warm.

Everything was perfect. And yet her mouth reacted as if she had just licked a brick.

Her tongue felt confused. Her throat refused to cooperate. Her brain stared at the situation like a teacher watching a student who had written the correct answer but used entirely the wrong formula.

She chewed slowly. Then she swallowed.

The vendor watched her with the hopeful eyes of a man who lived and died by customer reactions. “So?” he asked.

Subaru forced a smile. “It’s great.”

The vendor squinted slightly. “You sure?”

“Yes,” Subaru said, laughing awkwardly. “Very great.”

She took another bite to prove her claim.

Her tongue once again experienced the strange sensation of tasting something good while simultaneously feeling absolutely no desire to eat it.

It was like her mouth understood the concept of flavor but her body had unsubscribed from the whole activity.

She nodded politely to the vendor and walked away with the half eaten sausage still in her hand.

After a few steps she lowered it and stared at it.

“What is wrong with me,” she muttered.

A group of children ran past her chasing a wooden hoop. Someone shouted at a goat that had decided the vegetable stall belonged to it. The city continued its cheerful chaos while Subaru examined her personal crisis.

She took another bite. Same result. Her mouth recognized the food. Her body rejected the idea.

Subaru sighed and wrapped the remaining sausage in the paper again before dropping it into a nearby bin.

“Okay,” she whispered to herself. “This is probably the demon thing.”

It would explain a lot.

Ever since she had woken up in this body she had noticed several unusual impulses. One of them involved biting people. Specifically biting one person.

Übel.

More than once Subaru had looked at that girl’s neck and felt a strange urge that could be described politely as enthusiastic curiosity about blood circulation. She had managed to resist every time. Mostly.

Once she had leaned a little too close before realizing what she was doing. Übel had only laughed and asked if Subaru planned to kiss her. Subaru had nearly thrown herself out a window after that.

Now the food problem added another puzzle piece. “Great,” Subaru muttered. “So normal food is boring now.”

She continued walking through the market.

The buildings around her rose several stories high in places. Stone walls and wooden balconies leaned over the streets like neighbors trying to listen to each other’s conversations.

The market itself was lively, but Subaru quickly noticed that most tourists seemed to move toward one direction. Toward the center square. Curious, she followed the crowd.

The square opened up suddenly, wide enough to fit several wagons side by side. At its center stood something that clearly served as the city’s pride.

A statue.

Subaru stopped walking.

The figure carved from pale stone stood tall on a wide pedestal. The sculptor had captured the shape of a young man with short messy hair.

His posture carried quiet confidence.

One hand rested on the pommel of a sword whose tip touched the ground in front of him. A cape hung from his shoulders and curved gently behind his back.

His face looked calm. Kind. Handsome enough that several women nearby seemed to be discussing him with suspicious levels of enthusiasm.

A plaque beneath the statue read a single name. Hero Himmel.

Subaru had heard that name several times already during her short stay in the city. Every tavern conversation seemed to mention him eventually.

A group of travelers gathered near the statue while someone played a lute. A bard.

The musician stood beside the pedestal with his instrument resting against his chest. His voice carried across the square as he sang.

“Himmel, with the azure hair,

Stood foremost in the fray.

A hero born of noble grit,

Who chased the night away.”

Subaru crossed her arms and listened. The bard continued. She looked at the statue, his sword, something about it seems awefully familiar. Where has she seen it before?

“His courage wasn’t just in steel,

Or how he swung his sword,

But in the way he saw the world,

A beauty he adored.”

A few listeners nodded solemnly as if remembering an old friend. The song moved on.

“Beside him walked the mountain’s kin,

A dwarf of iron soul,

With a beard as thick as winter frost

And strength beyond control.”

Subaru pictured the dwarf. The bard’s voice grew louder.

“More grounded than the ancient roots,

More stubborn than the stone,

He carved a path through legion ranks

Where lesser men would groan.”

Subaru scratched her cheek thoughtfully.

“So the hero had a dwarf buddy,” she murmured. “Typical fantasy world party. All that's left is a mage and a saint,”

The bard continued with enthusiasm.

“A priest followed with steady hand,

Behind his silvered glass,

Blessed by the Megami herself

To let no evil pass.”

Subaru leaned slightly against a nearby wall.

“His prayers were shields of golden light,

His words a healing balm,

Facing down the abyss itself

With holy, centered calm.”

Now the priest sounded impressive. Then the bard sang the final verse.

“And then the mage with silver hair,

And eyes of forest green,

An elf who wove the ancient threads

Of magic yet unseen.”

Subaru blinked. The bard kept going.

“The elements obeyed her call,

The stars fell at her feet,

Ensuring that the hero’s quest

Would never know defeat.”

Something shifted inside Subaru’s mind.

The ground beneath her feet felt suddenly less stable. Not physically, mentally.

A memory surfaced. Wind rushing past her ears. Her body flying through the sky while panic screamed in her head. That red haired boy chasing her across trees and hills like an angry missile.

Subaru remembered desperately trying to escape. She had flown without wings. Pure levitation driven by fear. Below her the land had stretched in every direction.

Then she had seen something.

An elf. Silver hair moving like moonlight. Green eyes. Eyes that looked strangely empty. Around that elf stood dozens of skeletons. No. Not just skeletons. Headless skeletons.

They moved like a broken army while the elf stood in the middle casting spells that gently stopped them. Then that elf had attacked Subaru with a light beam and Subaru had died.

Subaru shook her head quickly. “No way,” she whispered.

The bard finished his song and bowed. The crowd clapped.

Subaru stared at the statue again. The hero looked peaceful. The sword rested calmly against the stone ground. Everything about the statue suggested victory and friendship and happy endings.

Subaru remembered those green eyes again. Cold, focused and hollow.

She rubbed her temples. “Okay,” she muttered. “That elf I saw probably wasn’t the same one.”

Right?

Right.

Before she could continue the argument with herself, an arm suddenly dropped over her shoulders. The motion felt casual and friendly. Also slightly invasive. Subaru turned her head slowly.

Übel grinned beside her. The girl had appeared from nowhere like a cat that enjoyed surprising people. “What are you doing here?” Übel asked.

Subaru sighed. “Exploring.”

Übel leaned forward slightly and examined the statue. “Cool,” she said.

Her eyes moved across the carved face of the hero. “You want to stay here for a few days?”

Subaru looked at the statue again. Then she remembered the silver haired elf fighting skeletons. Then she remembered those eyes.

Then she remembered that she herself was currently disguised with a turban while pretending not to be a demon.

A deep feeling of discomfort settled in her stomach.

“I feel like we should leave.”

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