“…I’m a fool…”
I muttered. I couldn’t wrap my head around the situation.
I finally understood the request of the Holy Sword. The Seventh Disaster wouldn’t come. I didn’t have to fight as a Hero anymore. I don’t have to look for her. I should enjoy everything I achieved as a Hero and live like a human.
“Is there some problem?”
Arjen asked, examining my expression, but I didn’t answer. He stared at my face for a while and turned his head towards the restraint on his left arm. Even his strength wouldn’t break it. His arm twitched uncomfortably.
“Well, anyway. Currently, there’s no sign of the monsters crossing over. It might be a relief, but I’m unsure if it’s a good situation. It doesn’t seem like the hand of a demon will reach this world anytime soon. There won’t be Disasters either. If you have to report something, you should talk about that.”
I raised my head with a stern expression. Looking at my changed gaze, Arjen raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not saying to be reassured. We don’t know when that door will open again, and we don’t even know why it suddenly closed in the first place. So, I can’t say it’s a situation to be relieved about. We don’t know what will happen, so stay by people’s side if you want to genuinely prevent that situation. Instill trust in them, and show them what hope is. If you remain a pillar of support, people won’t be afraid. You might be able to push the impending end far into the future.”
“Are you content with that?”
When I suddenly spoke, Arjen furrowed his brow. He sighed deeply and made a gesture towards the cigarette pack. Somehow, his gaze searching for the cigarette seemed desperate. I nervously pulled out a cigarette and threw it into Arjen’s hand.
“I have no choice but to be satisfied. It’s what I wanted anyway. At least it’s what I thought I should do.”
Along with that answer, he began to light the cigarette again. I tapped my fingers quietly on the desk. As if the sound was irritating, Arjen looked down at my hand. I stopped and looked at him.
“Aren’t you going to tell me about the other you again?”
“…No, I’ll tell you. But why do you want to hear that story so badly?”
Arjen, or rather, everyone in this world except me, doesn’t know that the Holy Sword is one entity. They don’t know how significant a role she played in saving this world or how much of a support she was to me. If the people in this world are living because of me, I was living by the words of the Holy Sword. How could I make them understand this fact?
“…I think that space is a symbolic world and another universe that is not directly connected to this world.”
“A world where concepts and ideas, substance and essence, are indistinguishable.”
I vaguely agreed and nodded my head. Arjen continued speaking.
“The other me in that place wasn’t alive or dead. It was literally a concept. The me in a world without you. The possibilities seemed vividly apparent.”
“It’s a world without a physical form. Transcendence progresses without being constrained by the physical.”
“Yeah, to put it bluntly, it felt like dealing with a ghost. You must have felt it too.”
A ghost. It was an accurate description. One with the fanatic obsession to kill us.
“I had a brief conversation with the other me, but it seemed he was no different from the dead. An arrogance akin to a curse, something only a specter could possess…”
Arjen exhaled a bitter sigh along with the smoke.
“He had an obsession with his failures and mistakes. His determination was visible. However, existing in the symbolic world without such will is even stranger. In a sense, he should have died with the world he once belonged to.”
I sorted through Arjen’s words in my mind, feeling something, a glimmer of possibility. Death, transcendence, and the Arjen from the ‘original work’ had reached a particular place.
“I don’t know if the other me truly disappeared or if he continues to endure that stubborn life.”
“…That’s enough. Thank you for sharing the story.”
Arjen looked at me with one corner of his mouth lifted.
“So, what do you plan to do now? Are you going to report what I said to the Queen?”
“Of course, I’ll report to Her Majesty.”
“My fate is probably already decided then. Execution, right?”
Arjen calmly uttered those words. I looked at Arjen and let out a small sigh.
“Don’t rush. Why are you trying to hasten the process of execution?”
“It’s going to happen anyway. You know it, I know it, and anyone who’s heard about that tragedy knows it. There’s no need to hide and keep the truth.”
I exchanged the thin, quiet breaths for a deep sigh. Arjen’s words were poking and stabbing at my guilt. Simultaneously, they brought confusion to me.
“I’m not trying to instill guilt. I’m just trying to find my own way to accept the fact that I can’t avoid imminent death.”
“You really are relentless to the end. How much do you want to torment me?”
Arjen only smiled without saying a word. Somehow, that laughter made me uncomfortable. Who to save, who to let live, how much should I think about it? As the burden on my shoulders increased, the questions grew larger.
“Is there anything else to say?”
“Yeah, I’m done, bastard. Enjoy rotting in prison until the next interrogation.”
I spat out a curse-filled with bitterness. Arjen shrugged, then stood up. I escorted Arjen out of the room. Thanks to this guy who had stirred up my temper, I could perform the role of a jailer properly.
As we stepped outside the room, the warden and the Bishop, who had been waiting silently, welcomed us. The warden sniffed the air as if savoring the scent and grinned, nodding his head. It seemed like he smelled the scent of tobacco. Although he seemed to know better, the warden walked silently to the interrogation room without saying a word.
“Well done, Hero.”
“I believe we’ve gathered the necessary information.”
Guards approached and restrained Arjen, blindfolding him again. The warden watched him silently for a moment before turning to me.
“Will you head to the Palace?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
The warden smiled and murmured something to himself, then approached Arjen. Despite his quirks, he exuded a peculiar charisma without being overly dominant. I thought he would be petty and annoying, but he had a memorable presence.
“Well then, one of the guards will guide you to the surface. Hope you enjoyed your visit.”
The warden tipped the brim of his hat slightly. I nodded, and he pushed Arjen forward. Even with his back to me, I felt Arjen was still watching me.
***
“Let’s go. Depart.”
The warden’s cold voice echoed. Arjen turned his head toward the direction where Elroy’s footsteps could be heard in the darkness. The Hero’s footsteps were always orderly and faint, as if ready to leave at any moment, never lingering anywhere. Those steps seemed precarious in the past, but now there was a certain confidence in them.
“I’ll open the gate.”
After a few steps, Arjen turned his gaze back to the pitch-black pupils, facing the direction where Elroy had left. During his stay here, he couldn’t properly perceive the passage of time. He could only await the next time he visited.
“Go in. While being excited since you met the Hero is understandable, don’t do anything foolish.”
The warden’s voice came through the bars. Arjen chuckled bitterly and sat down on the prison floor. The dampness that seeped into the ground awakened his senses. The warden seemed to exchange words with the guards beyond the iron bars before leaving the underground prison.
“…Even so.”
Heart. Although Arjen suspected it wasn’t in perfect condition, the Hero’s body, seen up close, was much worse than he could have imagined. Closer to death than life, closer to something other than a human. If Elroy touched that space again based on what Arjen had told him, he could remove the deadline on humanity.
“I don’t know if you can do it.”
Arjen raised his hand to his own heart. The hand that detected the heartbeat gradually gathered and turned into a fist. After being lost in thought for a moment, Arjen’s lips, adorned with a faint smile, finally spoke.
“I have a feeling you will definitely try.”
***
“Anyway, is it a situation to worry about so much?”
Agnes nodded her head. Her expression couldn’t be called bright, even with empty words. Each revelation of Arjen’s stories made the silence heavier and more fragile. In that silence, the sound of the pouring tea, like a blanket on cold skin, felt unusually sharp.
“Yes. I think it’s good to be prepared in any form.”
“Be prepared for the incomprehensible.”
I chuckled in agreement with Agnes’ words. Incomprehensible. It doesn’t come in a form we can face, appearing in something that dominates emotions and thoughts.
“Since we can’t be militarily prepared, I’ll do my best in other ways. Spread your victories across the continent and imprint your history as a legend. So that the hearts of people cannot be penetrated by malevolence. So that the existence of the Hero remains a shield in people’s hearts forever.”
Agnes spoke forcefully. I chuckled in response to her words.
“We’re going to get even busier.”
“It will be exhausting. You’ll have to give speeches often in front of many people, like inauguration ceremonies or improvement ceremonies. There will be little else for you to do.
“It’s okay. It’s already a familiar task.”
I shrugged, and Agnes, with a faint smile, filled the cup with tea. As we discussed solutions, the weight of silence lightened. I engaged in casual chatter with her, unrelated to the current situation. Stories like the discovery of a new vein in the north and a significant decrease in the number of monsters causing trouble for adventurers.
Agnes occasionally laughed as if enjoying herself, and her expression showed a momentary relaxation from the Queen’s majesty. Then, she looked at me blankly, fiddling with the handle of her teacup.
“…Is there something bothering you?”
“…No. I just suddenly had a good idea.”
A good idea? I raised an eyebrow.
“A way to give people confidence. A clearer way for you to remain as a guardian.”
“What is it?”
I’ve never seen her so confident. Speaking with a strangely heated voice, Agnes had a very subtle blush.
“Elroy, do you happen to have an engagement?”
“… Yes? No, not yet…”
An engagement? Why bring up such a topic out of the blue? I raised my head again, looking into Agnes’ eyes. Her red eyes twinkled like stars. Her lips lifted ever so slightly, and with a quiet yet definite statement, she said:
“Then, how about marrying me?”
What did she just say?
A bomb had just dropped from her mouth.
Translator’s Corner
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I can’t say this was unexpected. Anyway, I’ve been reading too much lotm. I have the urge to put ‘They’ and ‘Disasters.’ That’s about it.
-Ruminas
