〈 Chapter 210 〉 The Last Supper
*
“Yes, it seems possible.”
This was Violet’s response after contacting the earlier Demon Kings for a while.
“Usually, they are really hard to gather, but when I mentioned your name, their reactions changed.”
“Reactions?”
“Yes, they seemed generally intrigued.”
I was relieved; I had worried about this.
Right now, I was practically their main enemy, having nearly driven the Demon Kings to extinction.
Even if they wanted to avoid meeting me, they wouldn’t have had any grounds to refuse.
“So where are we meeting?”
“Of course, at the Demon King’s Castle.”
“The Demon King’s Castle?”
I could see the expressions of my companions, including Elsie, stiffen.
Well, it was their stronghold, after all.
“Isn’t there any other place besides the Demon King’s Castle…?”
“I don’t think that’s possible. Our side’s situation isn’t very good either, and while not everyone, most of them are quite repressed right now…”
“I see.”
Was there no choice?
From the initial Demon Kings’ perspective, they were simply curious about me; what they needed was me.
For now, I had no choice but to go along with them.
“Understood. Then let’s head to the Demon King’s Castle as soon as possible.”
“Thank you. The guide will likely be Ael over there… Huh? Me?”
Ael, confused.
“Wait a minute, Violet. What more is there?”
But she soon finished negotiations with Violet, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Yep, leave it to me.”
“Alright, I’ll rely on you.”
“So when are you going to let me go?”
Still tied up like a ball.
But I had no intention of releasing her right now.
‘Everyone is worn out.’
It was the result of a grueling few days.
If we didn’t take a moment to rest, it would be tough for everyone to exhibit their strength.
So we needed to take a little break.
‘Probably until sunset.’
Thanks to Basilium’s unique red barrier, it could be confusing, but since we had first entered Basilium at night, it was still daytime now.
We had plenty of time until nightfall.
For the sake of avoiding potential pursuers, it was better to move at night than during the day.
‘But…’
Before heading to the Demon King’s Castle, there was one place I wanted to stop by.
“I’ll let you go when the time comes.”
*
After spending the day at our temporary campsite, night fell.
We began to move under the cover of darkness again.
“But Allen, where are we going now?”
“To my hometown.”
“Hometown?”
Gwen reacted.
“Oh, are you talking about that village? The one with the inn where you used to work?”
“Yes, we’ll stop by there for a bit.”
“Why there all of a sudden? Aren’t we going to the Demon King’s Castle?”
It could indeed seem sudden.
But…
“There’s a saying that says you should take the long way when you’re in a hurry.”
“Huh?”
“Once we go to the Demon King’s Castle, I can’t guarantee any time to rest. So I wanted to give everyone one last opportunity to relax before we go.”
Sure, a large city like Basilium might be different, but a village on the outskirts of Basilium should be fine.
The quality of the inn was also quite decent for a rural village.
“And… we need to decide what to do about Lucy.”
For now, Luel had come up with some ideas regarding her arm.
Utilizing the Water Sage’s knowledge, she might be able to create something like a prosthetic.
However, that would take time, and even if made, it wouldn’t restore her combat ability to what it once was.
So…
“At least while we are at the Demon King’s Castle, it would be okay for her to stay at the inn.”
Upon hearing that, Luel looked worriedly at Lucy.
“Sis…”
But Lucy smiled back at her.
“It’s okay. It can’t be helped.”
To reassure the twins, I added, “The innkeeper and Miss Weiss are both good people, so there shouldn’t be any problems staying there.”
It was at that moment.
‘Weiss?’
A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Weiss.
While she sometimes crossed my mind when I thought of my hometown, I had never felt this kind of déjà vu before.
‘Why is that?’
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t recall the reason.
‘…’
Maybe seeing her face again would jog something loose.
‘By the way…’
How long had it been since I left my hometown?
I couldn’t remember clearly.
So many things had happened.
I met Elsie in Basilium and saved her.
I met Libero in Sakh and inherited his swordsmanship.
I went to Hailen and graduated from Hero Academy.
In the Leim Kingdom, I saved the kingdom with the friends I made at the academy.
In the Central Sea System, I fell for the High Priest’s plot, but with the help of the Twin Sisters, I rescued Gwen and was then able to defeat the Later Demon Kings.
There were far too many events for just a few years.
If I included the second trial, which didn’t remain in concrete memories…
‘It’s been a really long time.’
After traveling by night, we finally arrived at my hometown.
Seeing the ridgeline where I had first fought a wolf, and the fields where I had spent all day looking for hyacinths for Miss Weiss, memories began to flood back.
Even the unique smell of the village was stirring up my nostalgia.
And it wasn’t just me feeling sentimental.
“It’s been a while here too.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
Now that I think of it, Elsie and Gwen had visited this place separately.
Elsie had come to take the trial of the Regret God.
“It’s still such a pleasant town even after such a long time.”
Gwen seemed quite fond of the place.
“Once all the battles are over, I wouldn’t mind spending my days here.”
On the other hand, Elsie’s reaction was a bit different.
She shivered and muttered, “The fields where I used to scramble around like a dog, the hills I climbed up and down every day…”
Ah.
The rest, excluding those two, were looking around the village with curiosity.
To be fair, you couldn’t find such a rural village in Sakh, the Central Sea System, or Hailen.
In the meantime, we made our way through the village and arrived at the inn.
As it was night, we had not encountered any other residents on our way here.
[Basilia Inn]
An inn with a sign that said that.
It was far too long since I had been here.
‘Then…’
I opened the door and stepped in.
The familiar scene of the inn unfolded before my eyes.
And at the counter…
“Um… the inn’s operational costs…”
Miss Weiss was sprawled out, mumbling in her sleep.
(Please be quiet for a moment.)
I asked my companions like that and approached her.
“Wei…”
As I was about to gently wake her up, I suddenly noticed her hair.
Translucent white hair.
One person had the same color hair.
Schurz.
Only then did I realize the identity of the déjà vu I had felt when recalling Miss Weiss just a while ago.
‘The pure bloodline of the Ice Valley…?’
There was still one more person.
I simply hadn’t considered her since it was uncommon to meet her in the original Hundred Braves.
At that moment, Miss Weiss must have felt a presence, as she woke up.
“Um… Welcome to Basilia Inn…”
She froze, her eyes meeting mine.
“Allen?”
Her half-closed eyes widened.
“Allen!”
In an instant, she jumped up and hugged me, who stood behind the counter.
“Wah, Miss Weiss…?”
I stumbled back, confused, but she seemed unwilling to let go.
‘Oh no…!’
I felt a strong gaze on the back of my head.
I could even hear whispering voices.
“Was there one more person?”
“I never imagined this.”
No, that’s not it.
What should I say to explain?
“No, that’s not it…”
“Allen, do you have any idea how hard it’s been without you! And how many years is this? A whole four years? How could you disappear for so long?”
Her words made me feel even worse.
Of course, I felt a bit sorry for her after hearing that.
“I’m sorry. But there were circumstances. I’ve been so busy…”
But the public opinion behind me had already turned sour.
“Four years left us hanging?”
“I can’t cover up for that.”
No, it’s not like that.
“Uh, Miss Weiss…!”
As I was struggling to figure out how to disentangle myself from her grip, another familiar voice came through.
“Mister?”
It was the innkeeper, appearing from the back of the inn.
As soon as he spotted me, he laughed heartily and said, “Oh, Allen has returned!”
However, the next moment, his gaze shifted behind me.
“You’ve brought many young ladies with you…?”
“Yes?”
Miss Weiss pulled her face away from my chest.
Then her gaze moved over my shoulder for the first time.
“One, two, three, four, five… Is that lady at the back also a woman?”
“Miss Weiss? Why are you suddenly counting…”
Just then, Ael, still tied up and looking like a ball, said, “Of course, I’m a woman too!”
Ael, I won’t let you off easy later.
For now, I had to somehow navigate through this situation.
“Allen, I never saw you that way… you’re quite the Casanova, I see?”
“No, it’s a misunderstanding. At least not all of them.”
“Not all? Then how many are there?”
“Three.”
By the way, it seemed that Elsie naturally accepted Gwen as part of the group as if it was a given.
However…
Thinking about it, three might be pushing it?
To me, they were all precious individuals, but to strangers, it might look different.
But Miss Weiss seemed to nod, acknowledging.
“Three? Well, that’s not as much as I thought. Are you really sure it’s three?”
She still looked somewhat skeptical.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Probably.
“Alright then. In that case, I’ll trust you.”
Just as that uproar reached a conclusion…
“Since Allen is back, we can’t not welcome him.”
“Welcome? Is that already done?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? No feast is complete without drinks and food.”
“Yes?”
He said that and dashed into the kitchen.
Seeing him, Miss Weiss followed him, probably to help with the food preparation.
“This feels… really noisy yet nice.”
Elsie, who had somehow approached me, said.
“They probably got bored running the inn without me. Of course, the innkeeper was going crazy with boredom even when I was around.”
The three of us – me, Miss Weiss, and the innkeeper – had made for the liveliest times.
I was sure they must have missed me quite a bit.
But…
“I really need to tell them that grand things aren’t necessary.”
Then Sara tilted her head and asked, “Huh? Why not?”
“We don’t have the luxury to enjoy such things, and the atmosphere definitely isn’t right for it either.”
We had to rest as much as possible during the limited time we had and set off quickly.
However, it seemed like Luel had different thoughts.
“No, let’s enjoy a bit right now.”
“Luel?”
“This might be the last supper we all share together. Besides… I don’t think the mood should necessarily drop just because of our situation.”
Gwen agreed with that sentiment.
“I think so too. As long as we’re careful not to overindulge.”
It looked like everyone was in agreement generally.
And as I thought about it again, I couldn’t help but feel they were right.
‘Yeah, after all, spirits are important too.’
Being gloomy wouldn’t help when it came to fighting.
Of course, seriousness was crucial when necessary.
“Well then, let’s help out with the preparations.”
“Okay.”
“Understood.”
“Of course.”
Late at night, at the Basilia Inn.
We began preparing for what might be our last supper together.
*
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