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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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A comrade, from whom I had heard nothing, suddenly reappeared, swathed in bandages.
He was still the same as before—carefree, playful, with a personality you couldn’t hate.
… Not that I would ever describe myself that way.
Absolutely not.
Anyway, we had fought alongside each other for a long time, forging a deep camaraderie.
Beneath those bandages, however, were scars I’d never seen before, concentrated in one area.
Scars clearly self-inflicted.
He seemed all too familiar with the act of harming himself.
And then, he coughed up blood.
Not the bright red of a fresh wound, but a dark, murky color that screamed, “Look, I’m not okay!”
This…
This was my fault.
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“You… Don’t tell me you’re dying…” Odrox trailed off, his voice low and grave as he ran a hand over his face.
“Don’t die… Please don’t die… Waaah… I’ll do anything… just please…” Lian clung to my leg, tears streaming down her face.
“…No, everyone, calm down. First, we need to figure out how to turn back time…” Rain clenched her jaw, muttering dangerous words.
It was utter chaos.
The only saving grace was that Sola seemed to understand the situation to some extent.
Lost in thought, she had been silent, her expression unreadable.
Perhaps she had pieced together what had happened.
I did my best to calm them down, assuring them that I wasn’t on death’s door.
It wasn’t easy.
Odrox kept muttering threats about breaking someone’s neck, while Rain, despite her calm demeanor, uttered chilling words.
But somehow, I managed to pacify them.
…Although, pacified meant that they had merely taken a step back from the brink of hysteria.
The fundamental problem remained unresolved.
“This won’t do,” Lian declared, her voice firm despite her tears.
“From now on, I’ll stay by your side and watch over you.”
And so, Lian, the Saintess, a figure revered by the church and tasked with maintaining peace on the continent, clung to my side, refusing to let go.
I couldn’t see her expression, hidden by her hood.
What was she thinking?
The only sensation I felt was the pressure of her body against mine, the weight of her presence, and the soft brush of her silver hair against my neck.
It was… strangely comforting.
But that was all.
I wasn’t exactly dead inside, but after all the hardships we had faced together, traveling across the continent and venturing into the Demon Realm, I had seen it all.
And with Lian, her Awakening had felt more like raising a child than anything else.
My comrades were like family now.
There were no romantic feelings, not anymore.
I was sure they felt the same way.
It was like looking after a rebellious younger sibling.
…A fleeting memory of Rain’s confession surfaced in my mind, but I quickly pushed it aside.
Why did her dangerous words keep popping up at the most inopportune moments?
It was making things unnecessarily complicated.
“Don’t you have work to do?” I asked Lian.
“Are you sure you can just abandon all that and follow me around?”
“It’s fine,” she replied, her voice muffled by her hood.
“For you… anything.”
“Well, I’m not fine with it.”
I shook my head, rejecting her suffocating overprotectiveness.
Lian lowered her head slightly and tightened her grip on my arm.
If it had been Rain or Odrox, I would’ve heard a cracking sound as my arm dislocated.
I should have been grateful it was Lian.
“…Rain! Sola! Odrox! Why are you just standing there? Don’t you care if he disappears again?” Lian exclaimed, looking at them accusingly.
Seriously, why were they deciding what was okay for me?
This was my life!
Lian seemed to be seeking their approval, but the only response she received was from Odrox.
“…Why are the two of you so lukewarm about this?” he asked, nodding in agreement with Lian’s sentiment.
He then turned his attention to Rain and Sola, who remained silent.
Well, they were already close to me, so there was no need for them to express their agreement, I guess.
Lian was currently playing a vital role in maintaining peace on the continent.
As a Saintess, she was receiving divine messages and praying to suppress the forces of evil.
She must have felt a strong sense of duty and pride in her role.
Even though she had declared her intention to stay by my side, she must have been thinking otherwise deep down.
Right, Lian?
“Please! Just agree! Does it really matter if it’s divine messages or prayers or peace or whatever? The continent is the same as it was before! It’s just a matter of luck, whether there are a lot of monsters or not!”
…Right?
“I’ll even find a successor! Just please agree! We’ve always been worried! It wasn’t just me! We’re not that heartless, are we?!”
Heartless?
You were overflowing with compassion, to the point of being reckless.
What kind of Saintess would abandon their divine duties to watch over a former comrade?
This was beyond dereliction of duty.
“Lian, I prefer seeing you diligently praying in the temple.” Rain said, her voice soft.
“Ron, people might praise the Saintess’s prayers, but they’re meaningless,” Lian countered, her voice firm despite her tears.
“It’s just a placebo effect. They think, ‘The continent is peaceful because she’s praying so hard.’”
Lian had not only rejected those who revered her, but also the very work she was doing.
She then looked at Rain and Sola, her gaze filled with reproach.
“Well, I…” Rain began, but Odrox cut her off.
“Sola, you, of all people, have no right to make excuses,” he said, his voice sharp and accusing.
“You were with him in the Demon Realm. Explain why you didn’t do anything while Ron was getting to this state.”
His words were like daggers, piercing through Sola’s usual composure.
Stop it!
Sola was delicate!
She needed praise and reassurance!
“Odrox, you’re pushing your luck,” Sola snapped, her voice laced with annoyance.
“Don’t try to act like we’re equals.”
“Pushing my luck? I’m the one who should be angry,” Odrox retorted, his voice booming.
“Explain why you, who were always by his side, are silent now!”
“…Can I tell them?” Sola asked, turning to me.
Tell them what?
I almost blurted out a stupid question before I realized what she meant.
I nodded silently.
There was no harm in revealing it.
Not really.
“You all know about the curse on Ron’s hand, right?” Sola asked, her gaze sweeping across their faces.
Rain flinched slightly. It was a wound she had received while protecting me.
“I don’t know when it started, but Ron’s been utilizing the curse. The method I told him about. If he’s using my method, then he’s distributing the pain over time.
… I was going to tell you all anyway, so I’ll just say it now.
We encountered a demon, and Ron was stabbed and received several heavy blows while fighting it. But there were no visible external wounds.”
“What? A demon…?”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Sola interrupted, her voice firm.
“Back to Ron. He’s likely delaying and distributing the impact of those blows. That’s why he coughed up blood. And it’s probably related to his lack of mana.”
The demon was a more pressing issue, but no one brought it up, so I remained silent.
Sola looked at me and asked, “Right?”
I nodded in confirmation.
As Sola had said, I was burning through my mana to utilize the curse.
I could no longer use magic, but at least I was alive.
It was a good outcome… wasn’t it?
But my comrades didn’t seem to agree.
Lian, especially, was overcome with emotion.
Her tears soaked my clothes as she apologized repeatedly.
“Ron, I won’t say I’ll follow you.” she said, her voice trembling.
“Huh? Oh… Right. You have your duties…”
“But please take this.” she said, slipping something into my pocket.
It was a communication mana stone, pulsing with energy, clearly expensive and designed for someone like me, who couldn’t use mana.
“I can’t bear to see you suffer anymore. Promise me you’ll tell me what you did today, how you’re feeling, before you go to sleep. If anything feels off, I’ll come running immediately…”
“That’s… a bit much…” I muttered, but Lian didn’t relent.
She pressed on, her gaze unwavering, until I finally agreed.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t read her emotions.
I had no idea what she was truly feeling.
“…We should head back,” Rain interjected, her voice slightly urgent.
“If they return without us, they’ll get suspicious.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
I wondered if they were even alive.
Lian might be a Saintess, but Odrox had smashed their skulls with full force.
Maybe their brains were scrambled.
I wouldn’t be surprised if their bodies were delivered to us in pieces.
“Right. We’ll talk about this later. You all go ahead,” I said.
“…Huh? Ron, what about you?” Rain asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
“I have some things to take care of. And I wasn’t even invited. If I go back with you, they’ll just think I’m suspicious.” I replied.
No one argued with my logic.
It was the truth, after all.
“…Okay. Just be back by 9, alright?” Rain said, her voice filled with concern.
“You’re being overprotective, Mom,” I replied, waving my hand dismissively.
Before Rain could react to my teasing, Sola finished her chant and we vanished in a flash of light.
They needed to focus on what they could do.
The very existence of the four heroes who had saved the continent was enough to reassure people.
I approached the remnants of the Demon Labyrinth, now a pile of rubble, and began to search through the debris.
The demon’s words echoed in my mind.
Despite all our efforts, all the hardship we had endured to defeat the Demon King, some demons still remained.
The peace we had fought so hard for could be shattered.
It was a small possibility, but I couldn’t ignore it.
I needed to ensure that the academy, the guild, the magic tower… that the next generation of warriors were trained to be worthy successors.
To prepare for the unexpected.
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[I had a mixup with the raws, i got confused between to chapters, the chapter i missed is currently labeled as “chapter 35” go read it for more context, although its really similar for chapter 34 Lian = little sister Rain = mom Sola = big sis odrox = big bro]
