Chapter 172: Kaen (1)

It was a sudden visit, but Kaen welcomed me warmly.

“Come in, Ran. Long time no see.”

Ben, who was drinking tea at the table, was equally welcoming.

“We just finished eating a while ago. Can I make you something to eat?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“Alright. Then you two chat. I need to take a nap. You can make me something to drink, Kaen.”

Ben picked up his tea and left for the room. Kaen scratched his head and asked me.

“Do you want some tea?”

“No.”

“Okay. Then have some water.”

Kaen and I sat facing each other at the table. She didn’t seem to have changed much from the outside.

“You must have been surprised. The city is a mess, isn’t it? The Academy building collapsed too.”

“Yeah, it’s true.”

“The demons suddenly invaded, and that’s how it turned out.”

“Yes, I heard the story.”

A brief silence fell between us.

Kaen fiddled with the container of tea leaves on the table without saying a word.

Just as I was about to speak, Kaen spoke first.

“Hey, Ran. Leia is dead.”

For a moment, I struggled to figure out how to react and ended up just looking surprised. Kaen continued speaking.

“The demons also attacked the Herwyn Castle. Lea died protecting Rigon.”

“…Are you okay?”

“Me? As you can see, I’m fine. Rigon is safe too, so don’t worry. It seems like he has probably returned to Calderic.”

Kaen let out a sigh.

“So, about Lea…”

“Kaen, you don’t have to say anymore.”

Even without hearing the details, I knew everything that had happened.

But I was more concerned about her mental state. There was no need to keep talking about Lea.

Kaen looked at me hesitantly and asked, “Okay. What about your urgent matter?”

“I handled it well.”

“I see. Um… Do you want another cup?”

I just nodded and picked up my empty mug.

“I’ll have a cup. Do you want me to boil water?”

“No need. I’ll do it, so just wait.”

After that, we didn’t exchange any further words, just sipping our tea in silence.

Normally, there was never a lull in the conversation when I was with Kaen, so the atmosphere felt quite awkward.

As time passed, it was already evening without me noticing. So I had dinner here as well.

After the meal, Kaen said to me, “Ran, you’re not going back right away, are you? Stay for the night.”

“Sure.”

Since I had to stay near Kaen, there was no need to refuse.

I watched her carrying the dishes and going to the back.

***

Kaen usually didn’t dream much.

But ever since the day he watched Lea die in front of her, she’d had the same dream every night.

She stood alone in the middle of a ruined village.

In front of her were the corpses of people who died horribly. As she looked at them, she found herself crying for some reason.

Then the view changed. Lea, wrapped in flames, turned to ashes and scattered in the wind.

“…!”

Kaen woke up from the dream, breathing heavily. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and got up.

She waited for her pounding heart to calm down for a long time, and eventually, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Uh, sob…”

She finally remembered the things she had forgotten.

***

A week passed.

Somehow, I ended up staying at Kaen’s house.

Kaen never brought up when I should leave, or rather, it seemed like she deliberately avoided the topic.

Ben didn’t seem to care how long I stayed either, so I stayed.

“Asher.”

As I came out, I met Asher, who had come to Raphid City.

“How’s your body?”

“Yes, I’ve fully recovered.”

“Good to hear. What about Rigon?”

“He’s fine. Reef is taking good care of him.”

I let go of some of the worries that had been accumulating in my heart.

“Take a look at this.”

I pulled an object from my arms and handed it to Asher. A pure white gemstone, taken from the Emperor’s corpse.

Asher took the gem. A puzzled look crossed her face before her eyes widened.

“This, this is…?!”

Her reaction confirmed what I suspected.

The treasure of the White Moon Clan.

One of the reasons the Emperor had attacked the White Moon Clan in the past.

A magic stone that could contain purer magic than any other magic stone, closely resembling their racial trait.

Asher’s mana and aura were similar, so I knew what it was when I found it.

I told Asher the story I wasn’t able to share until now.

What happened in the Adessa Great Forest, what the Emperor did, and how he died.

“The Emperor met his end at my hands, and the Spear Saint met his fate at the hands of the Second Lord.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry, Asher. It was something you should have dealt with personally someday.”

Asher lowered her head.

“No, thank you for your concern, and… I think it’s fine if it’s Sir Ron.”

“……?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

What did she mean? Asher feigned a slight cough, carefully putting the magic stone in her bag.

“Thank you for finding the legacy of our clan. I will treasure it dearly.”

“Sure.”

“What are your plans from now on?”

I answered Asher’s question.

“It’s the same as before. I will continue to stand by the heir’s side. I entrust the monarchy to you.”

“Understood.”

Having seen Asher off, I returned to Kaen’s house.

Kaen stood in the front yard, gazing at the trees.

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm? Nothing, really.”

Kaen chuckled bashfully.

“Hey, Ran. I’m bored. Shall we go hunting? I noticed that the security checks aren’t as strict lately.”

“Why suddenly go hunting?”

“Oh, come on, just join me. I’m a complete expert in this field. I’ll teach you well.”

It had only been a few days since her mood seemed to improve.

Soon, Kaen acted as if she had fully regained her usual liveliness.

She engaged in friendly sparring in the courtyard or went out to the forest outside the city for hunting.

We played chess with the old, worn-out chessboard Ben had, or cooked and ate together.

Without realizing it, more than a month passed since we spent time together like this.

During that time, we did various things, so there was no time for boredom.

But I knew.

Kaen hadn’t completely escaped from her torment yet.

Almost every night, she seemed to be disturbed in her sleep.

I could sense that with my heightened senses.

She’d wake up breathing hard, wondering if she’d had a nightmare, and sometimes she’d break down in sobs.

“Oh, caught a lot of big ones!”

Kaen shouted, holding up the net she had set up by the riverbank.

“Let’s roast a few here and eat before we leave.”

“The sun has already set. What about Ben?”

“He’ll figure it out on his own. Hurry and gather some firewood.”

Kaen, who spoke words of being unfilial, suggested they had dinner without even caring about her father.

In truth, it seemed like she got her personality from Ben, considering how similar they were. They were like two peas in a pod.

“Hey, this is delicious. Look at these fresh fish.”

Kaen tore into the fish with gusto. As I watched the scene, I spoke up.

“Kaen, do you have anything you want to talk about with me?”

“Huh? What’s with the sudden question?”

“I mean, we’re friends. We should be able to confide in each other when things get tough.”

If taking care of Kaen’s mental state was part of my role, then it was my role to do so.

I could tell that the topic I subtly brought up shook her.

“Is it that obvious?”

“A little.”

Kaen swallowed what she was chewing and let out a sigh.

For a moment, only the crackling sound of the bonfire filled the air. Then Kaen spoke up.

“Ran, I think I mentioned this before. I have no memories of my childhood. Remember?”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Lately, I’ve been having frequent nightmares. In the dream, I’m standing alone in a ruined village. All the houses around are destroyed, and people are dead. I’m stuck in that terrible place, unable to move, and then suddenly the scenery changes. It’s the same landscape from when the demon killed Lea.”

“…”

“At first, I thought they were just nightmares. But… it turned out to be more than that. It was my childhood memory.”

Childhood memory? Kaen stopped talking.

“The village of Azeta, on the western edge of Santea, was my original hometown. However, one day, a deranged mage attacked the village. And all the villagers perished—my father and mother too. The one who killed the insane sorcerer and saved me when my life was in danger was my current father.”

Kaen wrapped her arms around her knees and bowed her head deeply.

“…I remembered everything as if I was having a nightmare. My father and mother, who died right in front of me, and Lea’s death kept overlapping in my dreams. I wonder why I had forgotten it all until now.”

I listened attentively to Kaen’s story, unaware of this part of her past.

It was information that had never appeared in the game.

“So, then…”

Ben wasn’t Kaen’s biological father, and he saved and adopted Kaen when she was young.

And due to the shock of losing her family, she experienced memory loss until Lea’s death triggered those memories.

“Ran.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have to go back home soon? Can’t you stay with us longer?”

“…”

“Lea is gone, and Rigon has left. I miss Esca. So please don’t leave too. I don’t want to be lonely again…”

Kaen’s voice trembled weakly, tears welling up in her eyes. I said to her.

“Kaen, don’t worry and have some fish.”

“…”

“I’m not going back home. No, actually, I can’t go back. I’m a runaway. If you want me to keep crashing at your place, that’s fine by me.”

Kaen’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? But you said you had urgent business at home before…”

“That was a lie. It wasn’t urgent business at home; it was something else that was urgent.”

She looked at me in disbelief. I waved the meat around smugly and took a bite.

“Argh, it’s annoying.”

Kaen wiped her tears and finished eating the fish with a sniffle.

The subtle shadow that had been lingering on her face seemed to have disappeared completely.

***

Swoosh!

I put down the axe and looked up at the sky while tidying up the stacked firewood.

It had been snowing heavily since the morning, and the yard was covered in thick layers of snow.

A white breath escaped from my mouth. It had been some years since I arrived in this world, but it was my first time seeing snow.

In short, it was my first snow in this world. It had been nearly half a year since I had decided to stay with Kaan.

During that time, the city had fully recovered from the damage caused by the demons’ attack and regained its former vitality.

Kaen no longer had nightmares.

Life just went on as if nothing much had happened.

Thud.

While moving the firewood, I turned my gaze. Kaen was holding a tightly packed snowball and grinning mischievously from a distance.

“Don’t do it. It’s bothersome.”

“Do it or don’t.”

“Don’t do it.”

I turned my head to avoid the snowball flying towards my face again. In the end, I threw the firewood aside and balled up some snow in my hands.

As we were having fun throwing snowballs at each other, Ben opened the door and came out. At the same time, a snowball got stuck on his face.

“Ah-ha!”

While watching Kaen wave her arms as if teasing him, Ben rubbed his face and chuckled heartily.

“Daughter, do you want to give it a try?”

The two people’s duel, which started like that, was one-sided. Ben’s movements weren’t particularly fast, either.

However, he miraculously found an opening and hit Kaen’s eye.

“Ah, for real!”

Eventually, Kaen, whose rage had risen to the fullest, began using magic, but nothing changed.

Because Ben had absorbed the magic contained in Kaen’s snowball and used the same magic.

I watched that scene with interest.

It’s fascinating.

Ben had an extraordinary ability to use other people’s magic as if it were his own.

Instead, I vaguely heard before that his body was damaged, so he couldn’t accumulate magic himself, but looking at the way he controlled magic, I could guess how skilled he must have been when his body was normal.

I hadn’t specifically asked about Ben’s past, so I didn’t know whether his body was injured to the point of being unable to accumulate magic.

At the end of the intense eye duel, Kaen, who was the only one left in a mess, burst into laughter.

“Father, you want to beat your daughter so badly?”

“Kaen, when did I ever take that into account?”

I smirked and picked up the firewood I had dropped on the ground. As I did, I felt someone’s gaze and glanced outside the house.

After arranging all the firewood, I said to Ben.

“I’m going to go out and get some groceries today.”

“Should I come with you?”

“No need. Just brush the snow off your head.”

Stepping outside, I entered an empty alleyway.

I stood still and waited, but soon someone emerged and approached.

It was the hero.

“It’s been a while, Seventh Lord.”

“Indeed. You’ve come. Why did you call me outside?”

“If I went inside directly, Kaen will cling onto me and won’t let go for even a moment. So, I’ll just visit her separately later.”

The hero said with a faint smile.

“More than that, it seems like you’re getting along well with Kaen.”

I made a slightly troubled expression.

“That’s true.”

On one hand, I thought that I was getting too close to Kaen than necessary.

After all, Ran was just a created figure to stay by her side.

So, even during our time at the academy, I always tried to maintain a certain distance.

But that sense of distance was gradually fading as we lived together.

… Honestly, these days, I felt like I was living comfortably and happily without worrying about anything.

Succession, Holy Sword, and all the conditions for the remaining succession, it was all just frustrating to think about.

I knew very well that time was not infinite.

“What about the imperial family?”

“They have stabilized, so you don’t need to worry.”

I heard that after the Emperor’s death was officially announced, the imperial family smoothly accepted the 1st Prince as the new Emperor without much noise or contention.

It turned out that the Emperor had left a clear will regarding the succession.

Although he had avoided the hero’s retribution under various pretexts, like a mirage, he had apparently taken care of posthumous matters before moving on to finish everything.

“More importantly, how is your physical condition?”

“It has improved a lot. He’s been quiet for a while.”

As I mentioned before, remnants of the Demon King’s power still lingered within the hero’s body.

And the closer it got to resurrection, the more it would react.

If it’s been quiet for a while, did that mean I could stop worrying about the Demon King for the time being–

Ah, shit. This shouldn’t happen. I was being careless again.

I thought this time I would have a proper discussion with the hero about the succession, but I put it off again.

We only exchanged updates about each other and finished our conversation.

“Why though?”

“It’s nothing. I should be going now.”

“Okay. Then I’ll visit your home later.”

We said our goodbyes and were about to part ways.

Swwoooosh.

Feeling a creepy aura from behind, I quickly turned my head.

“K-kuh!”

The hero collapsed, spewing blood.

A sickly aura was emanating from her body like a crimson flame.

The hero summoned the Holy Sword and began to fend off the evil energy with divine power.

After barely suppressing the persistent force, the hero exhaled and struggled to catch her breath.

I was taken aback and asked, “What happened?”

The hero lifted her head, and her eyelids trembled.

“The Demon King… just resurrected a moment ago…”