"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice made Carlisle's hand movements pause. He turned his head to see Felix standing beside him, arms crossed.
"Uh... getting ready to go back?" Carlisle replied, a little confused, his fingers gripping the Earth dragon's reins.
Felix looked Carlisle up and down, his gaze lingering on the damaged knight's uniform for a moment.
Other members around them were also making preparations for departure. Everyone carried the fatigue and relief of victory, ready to bring today's good news back to the capital.
But today's victory was too bizarre. In just one day, three legendary Archbishops of Sin appeared one after another Sloth, gluttony, Greed, and the most mysterious Pandora.
On the surface, the Witch Cult's goal was to resurrect the Witch of Envy. Their attack on Roswaal's border seemed to be a test to see if Emilia, who shared the Witch of Envy's appearance, was suitable as a vessel. But Subaru clearly remembered that when the sealed Witch of Envy appeared, Pandora's face didn't show much surprise.
Too many mysteries remained unsolved, but for now, they had at least won a temporary victory.
Hours earlier, when Carlisle and Subaru finally appeared at the village entrance, Julius's tense nerves finally relaxed. But then, an unprecedented sense of shame gnawed at his heart. His pride as the "Finest Knight" seemed so ridiculous at this moment; he had become a burden who needed protection.
At that time, Julius secretly vowed to train twice as hard, but a stronger curiosity immediately surged, wondering how they had repelled a monster like Greed? But when he asked Carlisle, the other's evasive eyes and stammering answers made Julius understand something.
He recalled Carlisle saying he knew some kind of ritual, a forbidden magic that could prolong life. Julius didn't know what price had to be paid to perform such a ritual, but from Carlisle's evasive attitude, the price must be significant. This realization deepened his self-reproach, and he ultimately chose not to press further.
However, Julius had misunderstood; Carlisle was equally confused. Because in his memory, the battle with Greed was already blurry. He only remembered that at the brink of death, the holy sword, which had only appeared in fantasy stories, suddenly manifested. Then Pandora, the Witch who could distort reality, appeared. After the illusion, when he regained consciousness, the legendary Witch of Envy appeared. All of it felt as unreal as a dream.
His last memory was of being caught by the Witch of Envy, his body's limits plunging him into darkness. When he woke again, the battle was over, and all the mysteries remained unanswered as the knight Carlisle had never met departed.
On the way back to the village, Carlisle couldn't help but ask Subaru about what happened during his unconsciousness. Subaru also stammered; how was she supposed to answer?
How was she supposed to explain? Was she to say that a man claiming to be a novelist suddenly appeared, wielding a sword shining like stars, and repelled the legendary Witch of Envy? She herself knew almost nothing about this man named Touma Kamiyama, except for his name and that sword.
What confused her even more was that the novelist seemed to know Carlisle. Subaru clearly remembered him mentioning "Flame Sword" and saying it was an agreement between him and Carlisle. Also, Touma Kamiyama didn't seem to be under any time constraint, yet he left before Carlisle woke up.
Subaru rubbed her throbbing temples. She hadn't slept for almost a day and a night, and her brain felt as heavy as lead. All the mysteries were jumbled together, leaving her unable to make sense of them. Finally, she could only shake her head helplessly: "Let's talk about it when we get back..."
Carlisle looked at Subaru's tired figure and realized his lover's exhaustion. He stopped pressing, feeling a pang of heartache, but overlooked the fact that he too had endured a long period of high-intensity combat.
Then, the initial situation occurred.
Just as Carlisle was about to mount his Earth dragon, Felix stopped him, then pointed to Otto's dragon carriage not far away.
"Listen," Felix's tone was uncharacteristically serious, "Go rest in the merchant boy's dragon carriage, sleep or something."
Carlisle instinctively wanted to object, but his lips had barely parted when Felix interrupted him.
"Even if you don't care about yourself," Felix's cat ears twitched, "at least care about the people who care about you." He shivered, "I don't want to return to the capital and have Lady Crusch see the hero who contributed to the White Whale subjugation and then participated in the fight against three Archbishops of Sin, exhausted..." His voice suddenly rose, "Lady Crusch would really scold me to death, Nyaa~"
Seeing Carlisle still hesitating, Felix added, "I know you want to leave the space for Subaru and Maid, but..." He winked slyly, "Don't tell me your relationship can't allow you to rest together?"
Subaru and Rem, hearing this, both blushed simultaneously. But, as expected, neither of them voiced any objection. Subaru lowered her head, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, while Rem's blue eyes sparkled with anticipation... Just like that, after Carlisle, Subaru, and Rem finally boarded the carriage, the others also successively mounted their ground dragons, ready to depart. Felix keenly noticed Wilhelm's condition not far away; the Old Man Will appeared particularly aged at this moment, the wrinkles on his face seemingly a few shades deeper.
Felix lightly dismounted his Earth dragon and walked over to Wilhelm.
"Old Man Will..." Felix's voice was softer. "It's unavoidable that you were sent back."
Wilhelm didn't respond, and Felix continued, "That level of battle... among the entire kingdom, perhaps only Carlisle and your granddaughter, the Sword Saint, could have participated."
The Old Man Will's fingers suddenly paused. He slowly turned to look at Felix, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "...You're right. At my age, I really can't deny getting old..."
Wilhelm rode on the back of his Earth dragon, his thoughts drifting with the bumpy journey.
He remembered Reinhard. When the "Divine Protection of the Sword Saint" was transferred back then, he did blame the child for his wife's death. But at his wife's funeral, looking at that tender face almost identical to his wife's, he ultimately couldn't utter words of blame.
But the rift in his heart never truly disappeared. Over the years, he maintained a distant attitude towards Reinhard, treating every conversation as if with a stranger. It was Carlisle, instead, who gave that lonely girl more companionship than her own grandfather during her growth.
Wilhelm remembered Reinhard excitedly telling him that Carlisle's dream was to become a hero like her. He hadn't thought much of it at the time.
Until today, when he saw Carlisle's guilty look after sending his companions out of the battlefield, Wilhelm understood that this young man could never become a hero like Reinhard.
Not because of his strength, but because he valued his companions too much, was too emotional, and could never weigh the pros and cons like a pure "hero."
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.