The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits - Chapter 224



EP10. The Falling Twilight

When I came to my senses, I had already arrived at Se-in’s mansion.

‘How did it end up like this?’

I was not able to properly assess the rapidly changing situation, and the world said to me as I was doing so.

“Just wait a minute. I’ll have the tea ready.”

I nodded at her. In fact, it was okay. No matter how well-maintained the roads were in the capital of the empire, if we brought the enemies all the way to the capital, and this damn carriage rattled even on flat ground, the physical fatigue was beyond words. Right now, I wanted to quickly lie down or sit down somewhere and recover from my fatigue.

I tried to recall what had happened. So, I was clearly walking in the palace garden with Feria, and Feria suddenly handed me over to Sein, and I was invited to Sein’s mansion. I recalled that and looked out the carriage window. The servants were approaching the carriage.

So, after a while, I headed into her mansion.

… Looking at it this way, I had a strange feeling. Since I now vaguely remembered memories from the past, this mansion gave me a rather strange feeling.

Of course, if you look at it that way, there are probably a few places in the capital where I wouldn’t recall such memories.

With such trivial thoughts in mind, I headed inside the mansion.

The butler took my coat, and I looked around inside.

A mansion decorated with lion ornaments and draperies everywhere. The mansion, splendidly decorated in crimson and gold, still looked as splendid as ever, even though it had been quite some time since I had visited.

I said with a little laugh.

“Nothing has changed here.”

Even though so much time had passed, Se-in looked up at the ceiling for a moment and then answered.

“…Yeah. For people like us, it feels like a long time has passed and a lot has changed, but… unlike relationships between people, buildings don’t change much in a short period of time. Yeah.”

I nodded, but looked around, wondering if something had changed.

And then, as I continued to look around the mansion, I discovered a door there.

The door was no longer locked. The door was no longer guarded by soldiers.

I could see the basement where she and I had met our deaths in the past.

Sensing my gaze, Se-in linked arms with me and urged me on.

“Hey, let’s hurry up. Oh, you said you didn’t eat dinner? Should I tell you to prepare it? I haven’t eaten dinner either, so if you tell me to prepare it, it’ll be ready in no time. Our chef is pretty good.”

“…okay.”

I tried to look away from the door.

As I sat at the table waiting for a while, I saw a girl. A girl with long red hair who looked like she hadn’t even reached puberty yet. I stared blankly at her. The girl also sat quietly and stared at me.

“…hi?”

I made an effort to greet the girl first. The girl looked at me with bright eyes and asked me a question.

“Brother, who are you?”

“Umm… My name is Ainzel. Please call me Ainzel.”

The girl thought about something for a moment, then slammed her fist into her palm and said.

“Ah, you are a warrior!”

When I heard that, I flinched and trembled slightly. I looked at the girl without being able to hide my trembling voice and asked.

“Do you know me?”

“Yes, my sister said that I was a really bad person. A bad person who was greedy and betrayed everyone else. She cried while saying that. She said that she was so, so angry that she didn’t even know that I was that kind of person and was close to him.”

“…”

“But then he said it was all a misunderstanding and that he hadn’t done anything wrong. So I just thought, ‘That’s just how it is.’”

I looked at the girl and said.

“…Little lady, what is your name?”

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“Tia, my name is Angelotia Ruderan. It’s a name my older sister gave me.”

I smiled when I heard that. I had never met that girl before. It felt strange to meet her in person like this. While I was imagining such things, the girl threw a straight ball.”

“Hey, do you like my sister?”

“…what?”

I looked at the girl with trembling hands. The girl was looking at me with a serious face.

“My sister sometimes tells me stories about the warrior, and whenever she does, her face lights up. Can you take my sister with you?”

I was silent. And was it really right for me to take her in the first place? If I were the one being taken, then maybe it would be different. Anyway, after thinking about it for a while, the answer I gave the girl was nothing but shabby.

“…Hmm, well?”

The girl pouted her lips when she heard that. Then she spoke in a husky voice.

“…bad.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“It’s bad. He said that people who play with women’s hearts are the worst people in the world.”

“…No. That’s not it…:

“Or what? It’s the worst thing to be vague like that. You have to be clear about everything, right?”

I closed my mouth for a moment. I had nothing to say. After thinking about it for a moment, I opened my mouth again.

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

The girl laughed bashfully when she heard that. I drank the tea that came out before the food. My throat felt like it was burning.

“Oh, that would be hot.”

“I’m okay. I’m an adult.”

“Wow, when you grow up you can do things like that?”

When you become an adult… Should I call this a good thing? Compared to when you were young, you become less sensitive to temperature and can eat hot food well. Should I say that it is a good thing? I fell into a subtle feeling. However, I did not want to break my childlike innocence, so I smiled and answered.

“Yeah, when you grow up, you’ll be able to do even greater things.”

While they were talking, Se-in, who had been absent, sat down in the seat reserved for the owner. She then looked at me and the girl and said.

“Have you been waiting long? The food will be here soon.”

As he said that, Se-in sat down and whispered to me.

“Wasn’t it annoying? He’s my younger brother, but he’s very weak. That’s why he doesn’t really get to hang out with people. So once he starts talking to someone, he tends to be persistent and persistent. Please understand.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“No, it’s okay. It’s cute though.”

“…I’m glad you think so.”

At that moment, while they were whispering to each other, Tia, Se-in’s younger sister, spoke to them again.

“What are you talking about without me? What are you two going to do together?”

I looked at the girl, put my index finger to my lips, smiled and said.

“secret.”

Although the girl’s cheeks were puffed out and swollen like a puffer fish, Sein and I just laughed.

“Hey, don’t laugh! I told you not to laugh!”

…

Se-in came out of the room slowly and approached me. I smiled at Se-in and said.

“Have you put the kids to sleep?”

“Yeah, last time we evacuated, I guess it was still stuck in my mind, I guess you were really anxious. I called you first, sorry.”

“No, that’s fine. That could be true. … So, why did you call me here to talk to me?”

Se-in scratched his reddened cheek and laughed, “Ehehe.”

“It’s not that I wanted to say anything in particular… I just wanted to see your face like this. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since you and I have been able to leisurely look each other in the eye.”

… Yes, it had been quite some time. I nodded. As I was like that, Sein grabbed my wrist and led me somewhere.

“…They say that buildings, unlike people, don’t change much, but… there is one thing that has changed.”

Up the stairs, up, up, up again.

At the end, we arrived at a night sky covered with an endless Milky Way.

“Here…”

“It’s an observatory.”

There was a telescope in the middle of this tower. I slowly approached it.

“…Suddenly, my mother came to mind. I mean, after reading your records. So… So, I made it. When I look at the night sky, my mother comes to mind.”

I looked at her. She was still smiling forlornly.

“My mother told me to live freely. But I still live quietly in this house. I haven’t changed anything, just as I used to. I haven’t changed the family crest, the decorations, or even a single small piece of tableware. So, the only thing I’ve changed in this mansion is this place.”

As she said that, she came over to me and stroked the telescope.

“So, this might be… a desperate attempt to leave a trace of my mother in this mansion that was once filled with only my father’s belongings. Now, even my mother’s voice is fading… but still, the words my mother said to me still linger in my mind.”

I looked at her and smiled.

“…Yeah, that’s great.”

Se-in looked at me and spoke with a slightly brighter expression.

“Shall we look at the night sky together?”