Quit The Hero Party

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EP.517 Improvement, The Way Back (4)

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In a shabby shop located in a secluded alley of the Royal Capital.

Rania looked out the window resting her chin on her hand.

Thin rays of sunlight seeped into the shop. This place must have originally been one where not even a little light could reach, a dark spot even during the day.

However, the Demon Lord had died, and with his death, the sunlight had become a bit clearer. It began to illuminate a larger area.

Even in this secluded alley, sunlight reached. Watching the sunlight seep in, Rania slowly began to speak. The breath escaping her was light, but the words she uttered were not so light.

“What are you going to do now?”

Rania asked.

“Cardi.”

To an elf who had fulfilled a millennium’s worth of wish.

Rania was still looking outside, but she could feel Cardi’s hand, which had been wiping a glass, pause slightly. After a brief silence, Cardi opened his mouth.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Because I’m curious.”

Rania said bluntly.

“Your comrades have all found peace. Each met a satisfying end. Even the queen you served has found peace.”

She slowly turned her head.

Turning towards the elf who had been groaning for a thousand years. The elf was no longer groaning. He wasn’t making a painful expression as he always did.

“Now, don’t you have any lingering feelings or contracts binding you?”

Cardi smiled bitterly.

“Are you worried I might commit suicide or something?”

“Honestly, yes.”

“Well… it’s not like I haven’t thought about it.”

He set down the glass he was wiping.

The way Cardi put down the glass was light. It wasn’t just his touch that was light. His breath, his shoulders, everything felt light. Like a person who has cast away an old burden.

“As you said, I have no lingering feelings, no goals to achieve, no responsibilities, and no contracts binding me.”

He had achieved everything he wanted.

Even the things he thought would never come true had all come true. That’s why Cardi knew there was nothing that shackled him now.

He had endured for a thousand years to shoulder responsibilities.

He had lived because he couldn’t die.

But now… there was no reason to die, nor a reason to live. Whether to die or live was now his choice. It was freedom and lightness gained after a full thousand years.

“I thought about closing my eyes in Arcadia and ending my life. When I had exhausted all my mana, I even thought of exhausting my lifespan as well.”

“······.”

“But then I remembered something.”

What, Rania asked.

That day, Cardi answered.

“That day, when you got to meet Gleria again.”

Cardi smiled bitterly.

“That day she called me Cardi, not Armiel, at the end. It meant not to be mired in the past, but to look forward and move on.”

“…So?”

“What do you mean, so?”

Cardi shrugged.

“I should try living a little more. If there’s no reason to live, I can find one starting now. I think I’ll try living a bit more as Cardi, not Cardi van Armiel.”

The war was over.

He had fulfilled his long-standing desires.

He had become free from everything.

Therefore, an elf smiled.

“I think I’ll live freely without being tied to anything, just lightly. As for what I need to do, I guess I’ll start looking for them now. Maybe even try getting a job at the academy where you were.”

“That’s a good idea. If you need help, just ask. I can at least write a recommendation letter.”

Rania smiled faintly.

Without being tied to anything and living freely, just lightly. She reflected on Cardi’s words as she stood up.

“Are you leaving already?”

“I have a lot of people to meet.”

“Well, you’re a great hero, so I suppose that’s to be expected.”

“I’m really great now, so it won’t affect me much?”

Rania grinned mischievously.

After standing, she wrapped her robe around her and took one last look at Cardi. With her head bowed slightly to the now lightened elder who had shed all burdens, Rania said slowly.

“Thank you for your hard work, senior.”

“···What’s this?”

“I don’t know the traditions at the Ashen Tower? It’s common sense for the junior members to congratulate the senior on their retirement.”

Cardi laughed in disbelief.

“Yeah, thanks. You impudent brat.”

“Yes, may you live a long life. Damn you, senior.”

“You really are a Ashen kind of guy.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Is it a compliment?”

Laughter echoed in the shop.

Until we meet again, let’s meet in a brighter place.

With such words left behind, Rania departed. Alone, Cardi leaned back in his chair, still holding a smile.

He gazed at the sunlight trickling into the shop.

Cardi slowly closed his eyes.

After a thousand years of sleepless nights. The time flowed as he kept his eyes open out of fear of dreaming.

But now…

Now, he might be able to sleep.

Just for a moment, Cardi considered experiencing a nap after a thousand years. Creak, squeak! The door swung open noisily.

“We’re here, old man!”

“Shouldn’t I be called the Great Mage now? Plus, if you look at him, he doesn’t even look like an old man… he looks younger than me…”

Cardi squinted his eyes.

Standing at the opened door were Chloe and Belnoa. Cardi let out a breath and sighed.

“Can’t they ever just leave me alone?”

He slowly rose from his seat.

Looking at the two who had grown unrecognizably, Cardi couldn’t help but smile. So, this is what it feels like to raise children.

“Come on in.”

Is there something they want to eat?

As always, Cardi rolled up his sleeves. Even though everything was over, life goes on. He abruptly realized that he didn’t need to search far for a reason to live.

Suddenly, Cardi looked at his reflection in the dishes.

He was smiling.

More naturally than ever. And lightly.

“So, what do you plan to do now…”

The Knights Order Leader Heinkel… no.

The retired old man from the battlefield smiled bitterly.

“Everyone has been asking me that.”

“So, have you thought about it?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot. There are many places calling my name. But for now, I think I’ll ponder for a while.”

The old man let out a long breath.

“Because my soul is still bound to the battlefield. Right now, I need to get used to this daily life. I’m thinking of enjoying peace a bit more.”

“That’s a good thought.”

“Yes. It’s thanks to you.”

Heinkel von Zeikhardt smiled.

“Thank you, Rania.”

“It’s Rania van Trias.”

“What a ridiculous lie. I figured it out seven years ago, my friend.”

“…Did you know from the beginning?”

“Of course! Do you think someone would retire from the battlefield to do something mundane? When I heard there was someone to carry on your name, I thought it might be you.”

Rania chuckled awkwardly.

She thought he had noticed, but not that he would have figured it out so early.

“So, did my answer cover it?”

“…Huh?”

“Your personality doesn’t seem like you’d ask something out of the blue without reason, and it seems like you’re looking for an answer right now.”

Heinkel looked at Rania.

“I hope my answer helps whatever you’re troubled with.”

“…You’re still as sharp as ever.”

“The wisdom of an old man, my young friend.”

Leaving behind the hearty laugh of Heinkel, Rania bowed her head in thanks. After exiting the mansion, Rania headed toward the streets. It had already been a week since her return.

On the first day, she talked to her Master.

On the second day, she met Sara, Remia, and Kyle at the tavern to chat about the past few years.

On the third day, she heard about the demise of the Black Dragon, Belial, from Belnoa and Chloe.

On the fourth, she met Resti, on the fifth, Lac, and Natida.

On the sixth and today, she’d been meeting with those she owed and asking them what they would do in the future. While talking with them, Rania organized her thoughts. Thus, she had spent a leisurely yet busy week.

“······.”

With her robe pulled down, Rania walked through the streets.

The streets bustled with festival preparations. There was an overwhelming liveliness, and everyone was smiling. The sky was blue, and the newspapers were full of praises for heroes.

Blending into the crowd, Rania listened.

To the voices she heard, the noise of the living world, she paid attention to their lives. They were talking about the coming festival. They laughed as they discussed what they would do during the festivities.

Rania noticed a young man passing by.

His walk was somewhat awkward. He squinted as if the sunlight were dazzling, looking up at the sky repeatedly. He kept bringing his hand to his waist, grabbing at the air, letting out a sheepish breath.

Though he had no armor, helmet, or sword.

Rania could tell he was a knight who had fought on the battlefield. Even without his armor, he moved as if he were still wearing it, and despite not having a sword, he acted as if one were fastened at his hip.

Everything seemed unfamiliar to him.

But amidst the strangeness, the knightly youth moved forward.

Waving his hand to a lover who seemed to have come out to greet him, he talked about what he would do during the festival. It felt unfamiliar yet not entirely strange, and he was pushing forward.

Rania observed those like him.

People discussing tomorrow, those trying to move forward amidst the unfamiliarity, those looking back at the past while gazing at the future, and she listened to their lives.

“…Aha.”

After wandering in the crowd for a while, Rania smiled under the setting sun. When humans see something truly beautiful, they naturally smile. Rania was no different.

Smiling, she let out a long breath.

As if she had realized something.

Or perhaps, as if she had finally made a decision.

With her robe tightly pulled down, she shifted her steps.

I had been pondering for a long time.

About the existence of stars in the sky, about the norms surrounding the world, about everything.

I had to contemplate.

For I had the power and the qualifications.

My eyes could gaze at the web cast in the sky. My ten fingers had the power to tamper with the constellations, bending the norms of the sky to my will. I had that power.

If I could climb the tower and reach the sky to gain that qualification.

I held immense power that could achieve so much. If I wanted, I could become a god. If I wished, I could change the world to my liking. In a way, it was a power close to omnipotence.

That is what a Guide is.

A Guide’s eyes, gestures, and breath can accomplish a lot. When I first realized this power, the first feeling I had was not omnipotence. It was something quite the opposite.

Fear.

I felt fear.

Fear that I might stray. Fear that I might be wrong.

That terrified me greatly. If I reached the end of the path without realizing that I was wrong, I would inscribe erroneous norms into the sky. My failure would mean not just my own doom, but the world’s.

Thus, I was afraid.

Because of that fear, I had to be on guard.

Is my best truly the best? Is my conviction genuinely correct? Is my choice really just?… I was always on guard, always in agony. Until the very end, I did not let my guard down.

A Guide might be omnipotent, but they are not all-knowing. Mere humans cannot know everything. So, to know, I had to make efforts.

I endured, stayed vigilant, looked at the world with my eyes, and sought advice from countless people.

Through that process, I carved out a single conclusion lodged within me. I sharpened it, refined it, and polished it. The rough stone had turned into a sharp blade. Holding that blade, I exhaled.

This is my best.

This is the conclusion I have drawn.

Even if it strayed far from its initial form, even though it was refined… at the very least, the direction it points to remains unchanged. Therefore, my conclusion, in some sense, did not change.

“Now.”

I opened my eyes.

I raised my head to gaze at the night sky.

“It’s time to let us go, Gletus.”

I reached out toward the sparkling constellations.

To the star that is listening to me and lending its ear to my voice, I spoke.

“I will come for you.”

In the not-so-distant future.

To convey mankind’s answers to you.

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