Chapter: 581
Before I could even say a word, the answer that my grandfather offered was disappointing.
He was planning to move my body in case of a failed backup plan!
Why does he have to be so annoyingly virtuous? Just indulge those desires a bit more already!
I mean, sure, I might have wondered about the necessity of walking around with a mace, but it would have been entertaining!
‘Why are you trying to hide that? You got my hopes up for nothing.’
[…I can’t say.]
‘Did I say something strange when I possessed your body?’
[Wait. How did you know that!]
Ah, I see. I’ve fallen under the curse of the Mesugaki skill.
It’s disconcerting when the translations get twisted from the get-go. Even now that I’ve somewhat gotten used to it, I still can’t wrap my head around why it translates like that. Yep. Yep.
‘But you know, once you adapt, it’s actually pretty fun.’
They do say if you can’t escape it, you might as well enjoy it.
The Mesugaki skill still spouts swears all day long like it’s a gift from the gods or something, but it’s not all bad.
Making jokes under the pretense of this skill is actually pretty amusing.
‘You must have taken pleasure in calling Erginus a pathetic loser as well, right?’
That was a rhetorical question expecting an answer, but my grandfather didn’t respond.
‘Uh… Grandpa. No way.’
[I’ll answer! But don’t press me any further!]
‘It’s fine, Grandpa. Everyone gets swayed by temptation sometime. I can embrace that.’
[Just don’t dig any deeper!]
Hearing his self-deprecating shout made my sadistic tendencies spike, but I held back, fearing he might actually cry.
How terrifying! The power of a Mesugaki can even corrupt a holy knight!
‘So why hide it? If you had just told the truth, we wouldn’t be in this situation.’
[…How could I proudly share the story of how I parted ways with an old friend?]
‘You fought?’
[As you well know, our fight didn’t have a proper ending. What we chose was merely a temporary solution, nothing I could confidently relay to the next generation.]
The heroes of the Mythological Era may have won their battles, but they couldn’t achieve what they desired. The Evil God couldn’t be erased by their powers.
[While others called us heroes, we didn’t see ourselves that way. Instead, we viewed ourselves as sinners.]
The heroes were more than deserving of the title.
They were noble beings who ought to have been chosen by the gods, which resulted in them being exceptionally hard on themselves.
Even if the world praised their achievements, the heroes never forgave themselves.
[Given the circumstances, how could we maintain a good relationship? Of course not. We feigned smiles in public, but behind the scenes, we didn’t share a word. The moment someone brought it up, a fight would follow.]
Erginus lamented with a heavy heart, blaming himself.
Garad wished he hadn’t given in to despair, but at Ruel’s insistence, he kept his mouth shut.
Ironically, Ruel, who pressured Garad, had similar thoughts and raised his voice to hide his own despair.
And then the warrior…
He kept silent.
He didn’t say a word.
In formal gatherings, he would smile and engage in conversation, but on the sidelines, he gazed at his broken sword with hollow eyes, keeping his lips pressed shut.
[In retrospect, I think it’s quite pathetic, but back then, we had no other choice. To rescue the world from the Evil God, we pushed through every trial, only to pass down the consequences to future generations. Everyone felt that they were far too inadequate to bear.]
The remorseful tale of the holy knight was truly cruel.
After sacrificing so much, overcoming innumerable trials, driven solely by the desire to save the world from evil—if that was the conclusion they reached, who could smile?
[I would have preferred if we had just had another grand fight. If I could’ve just shouted at the ones floating up in the heavens, we wouldn’t have ended up like this. I’d have stopped staring for hours, questioning if there was anything I could’ve done.]
Yet the heroes couldn’t do that.
They were too virtuous.
They were noble enough to step forward to save the world, giving up all their glory.
So foolishly eager to jump into the impossible even when others tried to dissuade them.
That’s why they couldn’t speak up. They wanted to shoulder everything themselves.
[Well, after all, we remain human. A festering heart creates thorns that turn towards each other, and we gradually drifted apart. Whenever we faced one another, we would be reminded of things we wanted to forget and naturally fled from each other.]
‘But in the end, didn’t you and your comrades confront what you wanted to forget?’
[…Hmm?]
‘If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have left anything behind for the next generation, would you?’
Leaving something for the next generation means you pondered what they needed, which, in turn, implies confronting the nightmares you wished to forget. The heroes may have stumbled, but they didn’t fall.
‘Grandpa?’
[…Ah. I see. I’m sorry. Just a moment.]
I tilted my head at his voice, which seemed to carry a hint of moisture. Did I say something wrong? I thought I was saying something pretty good?
[Anyway, roughly five years after we dispersed, the warrior sought me out again. I didn’t even recognize him at first, he looked so shabby.]
Ruel, having met the warrior caught by the guards, was shocked but also tried to apologize for the past.
Back then, he wanted to express regret about how he had failed to see his comrade as his comrade while being captured by temptation.
And if the warrior still had lingering regrets, he wanted to hear his confession like a proper priest.
[But our reunion ended in the worst way possible.]
‘…What did the warrior do?’
[Don’t tell me you think I did something wrong, right?]
‘Someone who is about to do something terrible won’t be thinking of apologizing.’
[Ha ha. That’s a fair point.]
My grandfather chuckled lightly, then let out a long sigh. After more than a minute, he finally broke the silence.
[That guy suggested bringing the gods down to earth.]
‘…Huh?’
[That’s exactly what he said. The warrior claimed it would be fine if the gods were to vanish from this world.]
If there’s light, the darkness deepens; and where there’s darkness, the light shines brighter—if both are eliminated, wouldn’t that benefit everyone? The warrior said this to Ruel.
[Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with his reasoning. If Erginus had been there, he would’ve yelled something about how insane that idea was, but he couldn’t outright deny that it wasn’t completely off the wall.]
‘What kind of person is this Erginus inside my grandfather?’
[To explain that would take more than a day, so let’s skip it. In any case, while I could understand the warrior’s words logically, I couldn’t accept them emotionally. No, at this point, I can assert that they’re utterly incomprehensible. Like a lunatic. To eliminate evil, he suggested we eliminate good? It’s like saying we should burn down the village to stop the plague.]
Ruel initially attempted a calm explanation, but the warrior refused to listen to him up until the moment his rationality unraveled.
[So I tossed him out. I flung the one clinging to me outside the saintly land. Then after some time, when my head cooled down, I went outside, but the warrior had already vanished.]
Since then, my grandfather had been trying to achieve his determined goal while searching for information about the warrior, but he couldn’t obtain any leads.
[That’s the end of the story I know. It’s quite mundane, isn’t it? The reason I didn’t speak about it was that I wondered whether I needed to share it at all…]
‘Where was the last place you saw the warrior?’
That’s enough. Just having the last sighting info would significantly narrow down the search range. My grandfather’s story wasn’t boring at all!
[…Sigh. Alright. I’ll respond as you would, Lucy.]
‘Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?’
[Lucy, I hope you don’t seek out the warrior’s traces. Even if the fairy’s song is eerily prophetic, it doesn’t mean you should carry on the legacy of a lunatic who wanted to take the gods down.]
His voice harbored deep concern.
Having witnessed the despicable end of the warrior, my grandfather believed what the warrior left behind would harm me.
Still, the efficient little planner in me wrestled against that thought, shoving it down.
Saying that to my grandfather wouldn’t resonate with him at all.
The person I ought to be addressing now isn’t the rotten essence of the Soul Academy, but the next generation of heroes who carry on the legacy of the heroes from the Mythological Era.
‘Grandpa, I said it earlier, didn’t I? The heroes didn’t flee. They faced what they considered sins.’
[That’s right. You did mention that. But Lucy, don’t think my words encompass all that is true. To preserve the honor of an old friend, I’ve omitted much.]
Of course. The warrior Ruel saw must be even more grotesque than I imagined. It must be horrifying enough to shine vividly in the depths of my mind even after a few hundred years.
‘But he’s still a warrior.’
Even so, he is a warrior.
Greater than the Great Mage Erginus. Greater than the knight Garad. More noble, more righteous, and more filled with hope and purity. A hero chosen by the gods.
‘A bird that soars high must fall longer. But a bird is still a bird. Even if it falls to the ground, it’ll rise back to the sky. The same must have been true for the warrior. He just needed some time, right?’
[That’s way too optimistic…]
‘He’s someone you recognized as a warrior, isn’t he? I’ll trust your judgment.’
I can’t say for certain that this pathetic god has good judgment. If I find out the warrior actually looks like a cute girl, I might really hate the gods.
Hiding these thoughts, I answered, prompting a chuckle from my grandfather.
[Ah, kids are indeed growing up so fast.]
‘Did I grow taller? After causing another miracle, does my stature grow too…?’
[That’s not what I meant. Kiddo.]
‘Kiddo!? Did you just call me a kid?!’
I can put up with a lot, but being called “kid” is absolutely intolerable! War! Ruel!
[Ha ha ha. While I’m up for a war, I should probably answer your question first. The last place the warrior was seen? It was the island we visited together last time.]
‘…An island? Is it, then?’
[Yeah. The place where that strange dungeon was.]
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