Being young was not a good reason. There are some things that can be forgiven using age and ignorance as excuses, and some things that cannot. In my case, it was the latter.
As a thorough sinner, I have a duty to grant your wishes. So I am thankful. Because if you wanted me to live, I would have had no choice but to follow.
I lightly stroked his head and smiled bitterly. I will live a life with no regrets, just as you wish. So, Hyung.
Until the day I visit.
"Sweet dreams."
Just take a break.
There is no need to block nightmares or curses. I am an adult. No, I still have many shortcomings to be considered an 'adult', but now that I am in this situation, I have no intention of avoiding responsibility like a child and whining about how burdensome it is. In other words, they are all mine and I have no intention of opening my hands to others, living or dead.
The smell of blood emanated from all directions. Was it a hallucination or did it come from my brother? I paid no heed to it and stroked his hair a few more times before slowly withdrawing my hand.
Remember approached without notice and closed the coffin lid.
"I will make the tomb in the Northern style."
"I look forward to it."
It came without writing on the tombstone. I turned around to continue writing, but stopped at the sight I saw.
Red everywhere. For some reason, I felt like the bloody smell had gotten worse, and I think that was why.
'... This is the extent of my guilt toward Cruel.'
The world was covered in blood.
The water level was still at a level where I could feel the soles of my shoes splatter, but... to test it out, I climbed on a nearby rock. As a result, the water level rose rapidly and followed the soles of my shoes.
As soon as it hit the floor, it lowered itself again.
That's interesting. I smiled and bent down to pick up the wooden stick that was soaked in blood. My hands felt dry, with no moisture at all.
I approached the tombstone again and began to carefully carve the words. It wasn't a very long sentence and I was confident, so I was able to complete it without taking too long.
A response to his message that was sent with all my heart, leaving aside all formalities.
'Noli metuere una tecum bona mala tolerabimus.'
Don't worry, I'll endure the good and the bad with you.
I lightly brushed the fine engraving with my fingertip. It would make sense with this sentence. No, that's right.
It's a memory from my childhood, but I remember it clearly.
After watching my brother recite this part, I closed my eyes, and after reading a few more sentences, he picked me up and carried me as I fell asleep.
I thought it was a dream because I was asleep, but now that I think about it, it might have been reality.
"Are you finished?"
"... Yes."
"Are you going to go after the tomb is finished or are you going to go right away?"
I have no intention of going back right away. I raised the corner of my mouth in response to Remember's question and sat down in my seat.
The blood on the skin and the stronger smell of blood were annoying, but my pants aren't actually wet, so it's okay. I smiled naturally, pretending not to see or feel anything.
"I think this will be our last meeting, so I'm planning to stay a little longer. Would you like to be my conversation partner?"
"What do you think is so interesting about talking with this old man?"
"How could it not be fun to have a conversation with an old man who gave up his youth to time and gained insight? Besides, Remember is a man with many secrets."
The Demon King placed an anti-decay spell on Cruel's head on the condition that Esperanes took back the mercenaries from the Empire. If things continued like this, the magic would be canceled.
'I'm not sure if it was cast on the 'head' or the 'wooden box' that contained the head.'
Looking at the wooden sticks placed in all directions around the tomb and the amulets attached underneath them, the spell installed by Remember that slows down the rate of decay was a range type, not a specific type. Now that Cruel's body is complete, his head will also fall into that range.
Regardless of whether there was a spell on the 'head' or the 'wooden box', I was planning to ask Remember a last favor before returning anyway to remove the amulet that slows down the decay in time for me to arrive at the Demon King's Castle.
If the 'wooden box' is enchanted, the thing blocking the flow of time will disappear and Cruel's body will flow with the flow of nature without distinction between head and body.
Even if there is a spell on the 'head', even the Demon King will withdraw the magic that fixed time around the same time, so Cruel's intact body will no longer be forcibly held on the ground and will naturally return to the earth. Accordingly, his soul will also be able to rest.
'If it's going to be canceled anyway...'
Wouldn't it be better to cancel it after consuming more of the Demon King's magical power?
Lirinel said that anti-decay magic steadily takes away the caster's magic power. In order to expend even a little more of the damn Demon King's magic power, it would be better to wait as long as possible before returning.
Even at this moment, I feel disillusioned with myself for calculating, but I have no intention of stopping. As I was quietly fiddling with my lips, Remember, who had been shoveling, raised his head, met my gaze, and smiled kindly.
"You're openly declaring that you're going to dig up secrets."
"It's the last time, right?"
"'Last' is a really good excuse. It makes me feel like I have to listen to whatever request you ask."
"..."
"But we are not separated by death, so how can you confirm the end? It is impossible to know how the world will turn out."
"So, are we going to go different ways once the tomb is completed?"
I pretended to be disappointed and slumped my shoulders. I heard a soft laugh as if I was in trouble.
"They say you get younger as you get older, but it looks like I'm definitely getting older."
I raised my head as he muttered to himself with positive meaning. The old man who had once been my butler was looking at me with his silver-blue eyes shining gently.
My complexion brightens as if I was responding accordingly. The old man just laughed.
Remember remembered the young hero who reacted enthusiastically whenever he teased him.
He remembered him trying his best to avoid the medicine, saying he didn't want to eat it because it was bitter, and he remembered the young man who frowned when he put candy in his mouth, but his expression secretly relaxed.
At the same time, he had no choice but to ask because he knew the miserable life he had led.
"What are you curious about?"
It seems like it's time for him to retire as well.
I had no idea what was going on in the self-deprecating Remember's head, smiled brightly and tapped the seat next to him.
"Don't do that, let's sit here and talk. I will leave the grave to the person Remember brought."
"... Did you know?"
"Yes. He probably also built the earlier Southern-style tombs. There's no way an old man of noble status would do the digging himself."
"..."
Remember, who was looking at me with narrowed eyes, snapped his fingers.
A man dressed in black appeared from somewhere and was handed a shovel. Remember lightly patted his shoulder as if asking for his favor and sat down next to me.
"Since when did you know?"
"Wasn't it me who was asking the questions? You asked what I was curious about."
"I see. You are more mischievous than that. "If you had known, you would have told me sooner, but you just watched this old man do the digging himself."
"It's Remember's fault for hiding it. Besides, Remember is too healthy to be an old man."
I guess that wouldn't have put too much strain on his body.
I, hugging both knees, leaned my cheek on my arm and smiled. Remember let out a light laugh.
"Before I take questions, I'd like to ask how long you plan on staying..."
"I'm planning on leaving in about three weeks. With Remember, of course."
"Hm."
"It's not like you won't accept this level of stubbornness."
"... I guess I should check the rooms in the mansion again."
It was a shameless statement, but what can you do? It feels like just yesterday that he was the young hero's butler.
It was natural that the one who gave away his emotions first would lose.
I closed my eyes gracefully after reading the meaning of the permission.
"Then, now that you know that there is no use in wasting time by talking like this, let's have a full-blown conversation."
"Did you know this too? You've grown so much that I haven't even seen you before."
"As long as you live, you can't just stay in place forever. And what I'm asking for is a conversation, not a Q&A. There's no need to be so nervous."
Remember laughed instead of answering. A fierce battle will unfold for three weeks.
"Conversation is good. What is the topic?"
"Even so, I've always been curious about something."
I've been curious about Remember ever since I found out that he was unusual.
If you have the opportunity to ask a question like this, you'd be a fool to miss it. I gently closed my eyes, basking in the sunlight shining down on us. A calm voice was added to the gentle atmosphere.
"Did former Emperor Eduardo Desert know the identity of Remember?"
Emperor Eduardo did not simply grant me a mansion. Employees were also sent to manage the mansion and provide convenience, and Remember was one of them.
Did the Emperor really know his identity and sent him? If so, for what reason did he send him?
Red eyes filled with clear questions silently urged him to answer. Remember slowly opened his mouth.
"You said it wasn't a Q&A... but the topic of conversation is quite sharp."
"Are you trying to change your mind again?"
"No."
Silver-blue eyes gently curved.
"At least you probably didn't know as much as you do now, Hardt. His first impression was that I was a suspicious Esperanian with a guard, and if he had looked through old books to investigate, he would have guessed that I was a middleman."
"If he had known that you were a middleman, why would the Emperor have requested a mercenary... No, the Emperor would never have allowed a suspicious person to join him before that."
Former Emperor Eduardo Desert cherished his swords, that is, the talented people of his faction.
And it may be hard to say it myself, but at the time, I was his favorite sword. So the Emperor wouldn't have placed dangerous elements in the space that was supposed to be my resting place.
"The thorough neutrality of Esperanes is very famous, and it is also known to everyone that the Esperanians care for their country. What Esperanian would put their country in danger by messing with the Emperor's favorite hero for no reason? In a situation where safety was secured, being a fighting nation would have been an added point."
Well, as long as you're a 'human', there can be no exceptions, so how can you be so sure?
The voice continued as if it sensed the question.
"Esperanes is a very closed kingdom. In other words, it is very difficult to get in and out. Would such a kingdom really send out just anyone? And that includes middlemen."
"I see."
"And to answer the question of why the Emperor did not request mercenaries, he must have been unsure as there were very few cases of actual support for mercenaries. And most of all..."
He spoke in a whisper, without the slightest wavering in his delicate tone.
"There is no way a person who wants to die will fall into the water and look for a rope."
"..."
***
Three weeks passed by in an instant.
Cruel's tomb was completed on the same day that I and Remember began our 'conversation'. I had swept the tombstone in front of the completed tomb that day and returned to the mansion that was mine and lived in peace with Remember. Other than not having to deal with paperwork, going to Cruel's tomb whenever I had time, and not having anyone else other than Remember, my daily life was no different from before.
Occasionally, Remember would bring news about the Demon King's Army, but I didn't even blink at the news that we were winning or even that we were losing.
'There's no way the demons, whose ban on magic has been lifted, will suffer a crushing defeat.'
To begin with, I don't have any special attachment to the 'demon tribe' or the 'Demon King's Army'.
Rather, for my plan, it would be better if the number of demons were moderately reduced. It would be nice if everyone died, leaving just enough to completely trample the human world. How can a Corps Commander not die?
They were the biggest problem.
Afterwards, when news was delivered that the battle situation in which the Demon King's Army had been pushed back had completely changed with the arrival of a Corps Commander, I nodded quietly.
Of course, the Corps Commander was the problem.
"Are you planning to leave now?"
An unchanging, calm voice broke my thoughts.