The Shadow of a Borrowed Name
It certainly could have been that way. Even my own reputation, earned through hard-fought battles, had never spread widely. If people who had barely acted at all were now having their good deeds attributed to me, how much of an effect could that truly have?
Most people, in most cases, believed not in essence or truth, but only in what they wanted to believe. They were convinced their own perspective was the most correct, objective, or rational. There was no difference between those being judged and those doing the judging.
The only difference lay in whether one recognized that fact and could use it—or not. I was no exception.
“If that was the case, you should have told me in advance. I would have cooperated fully.”
“We did send people to contact you directly, Lord Anak. We avoided letters for fear the contents might leak and had our people visit the village in person, but they were told you had accepted Viscount Ashston’s invitation and gone to the Hizen Kingdom.”
For a moment I hadn’t understood who Viscount Ashston was, but then I remembered the letter the High Assassin Guild had used to lure me had been sent under that name.
“So we sent people to Viscount Ashston as well, but strangely, we couldn’t find any information about you.”
Of course there wouldn’t be any. Still, had there actually been a Viscount Ashston in the Hizen Kingdom?
“We had no choice but to begin without you and inform you later. A few days ago we even sent someone back to the village to wait until you arrived, but this time the barrier and the spirits…”
Right. There would be a barrier. Come to think of it, timing had always been strangely precise in my life. The moment I awakened my talent and tried to become the center of the village, Rowell appeared. Just when I finished my academy education and thought I could live comfortably, the Demon King’s army—which had stayed quiet for thousands of years—invaded the surface.
And now, after years of quietly staying in the village, the moment I finally left, something like this happened.
“…It really does misalign at the most exquisite moments. Then why not simply tell Rowell and Aegina even without me? They could have passed the message on later, and they would have helped as much as they could.”
“Please understand, Lord Anak. We wanted to resolve these matters as quietly as possible, and only among summoners.”
Her tone, unlike before, was firm and almost desperate.
“Of course, if Lord Rowell and Lady Aegina helped, things would end easily. But the two of them draw far too much attention. Even now, many people grow uneasy at the mere mention of summoners forming any kind of gathering. What would happen if they learned of the Dark Temple’s existence?”
I understood what she meant. If Rowell stepped in, the Dark Temple would vanish without a trace—whether through physical defeat, the members fleeing in terror, or Rowell persuading them. But no matter the outcome, people would equate the Dark Temple with the Demon King’s army that the hero had repelled. That perception would spread to all summoners.
Even if Rowell and Aegina only passed the message to me without taking action, there was no guarantee the secret would be kept. So they had wanted to tell only me, another summoner.
“If our actions have caused you any trouble, we will compensate you.”
But was there really any damage worth compensating? From the start, no one had believed me even when I spoke. My reputation had always been that of someone people neither knew nor trusted.
Even if they still didn’t believe me, if my name itself had spread further, was that a loss or a gain?
“…Well, it would be troublesome if someone later asks me to summon a unicorn.”
Even before this incident, I had already received such requests a few times—people asking me to call a unicorn or let them see a dragon.
“Anyway, why didn’t you and Lord Kainaxnus participate in the last great war?”
I knew it might be a rude question, but I felt I had the right to ask. I was curious.
“As you know, I am a half-elf, and Lord Kainaxnus has a contract with dragons. Because of that, our souls are bound by the oldest pact of each race.”
“You mean the Libra Pact.”
Elves had never belonged to the middle realm, and dragons were never beings of a single world. When they first chose to stay in this land, they had to swear an oath to both the demon and celestial realms—an oath to remain neutral between the two forces. We all knew that oath well. Because of it, neither elves nor dragons could offer any help, and they eventually had to leave the middle realm to escape destruction.
“I see. Then what about Lord Neiku?”
“We don’t know much about Lord Neiku either. But since we’ve heard nothing from him even after the great war, we assume he must have fallen to the Demon King’s army.”
What a shame. I had hoped to meet all three great summoners.
“…I see.”
I had learned everything I was curious about. Now what should I do? I would soon meet Jane and have to explain the situation. When she learned that her fiancé was neither the hero’s companion nor even a man…
“…But it was you who treated Jane, right?”
I asked with a sliver of hope. She had said there were others, so if the person wasn’t her—if it was at least a man—perhaps a much cleaner ending was possible…
“You mean Lady Jane Conwell? Yes, I treated her. But why…?”
The hope was crushed before it could bloom.
“Did Lady Jane perhaps propose to you?”
“Yes, but I politely declined.”
The problem was that the other party hadn’t taken it that way.
“What exactly did you say?”
“I am grateful for your kindness, but I can only consider it after the time of the god Miltos has passed.”
Miltos, Miltos. He was one of the eight gods who had guaranteed the elves’ pact when they chose to stay in the middle realm—the god of contracts, promises, and also called the god of the treasury. But “after the time of the god Miltos has passed”?
“What does that mean?”
When I asked, she looked at me in confusion.
“It means until the time of the pact we elves made comes to an end.”
…Oh, beautiful and accomplished half-elf. Please don’t use elven idioms on ordinary people.
“Haa.”
I let out a long sigh first.
“So that’s how she interpreted it.”
It had certainly been a rejection, but since Miltos was the god of contracts and promises, she had taken it to mean a fairly long time by her standards. To Jane, it must have sounded like a rejection that still left room.
“What do you mean?”
I explained to her how I had come to know of the situation and why I had come all the way here. I also told her that Jane still considered her her fiancée.
She looked quite flustered, then became at a loss for words just like before. At least she didn’t start circling around me again, but her face had turned bright red.
It had been a long time since I’d seen someone whose every emotion showed so clearly on their face. Of course, the situation was rather special for her.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. I never imagined it would turn out like this…!”
“Please calm down.”
I could no longer remember how many times I had said those words.
“There’s no need to apologize. In any case, you saved someone’s life. Small misunderstandings can happen.”
The solution itself wasn’t particularly difficult.
Though it wasn’t the most beautiful scenario I had imagined, the basic plan could still be used. After changing my voice and appearance again, I would say I had used Anak’s name for a reasonable purpose, that I already had someone else in my heart so I couldn’t accept the proposal, and that I apologized for the confusion caused by the old idiom.
That was all I needed to say. Of course she would be shocked, but—
“You just need to tell Jane that. Will you be all right?”
“Yes, of course. Then this village…?”
“You can continue as you have been. There’s no need to go back and correct every place where you performed good deeds. Just tell Jane.”
I didn’t want to shatter the illusions of the people here. At least, not ‘any further.’
“Well then, let’s head back.”
We turned our steps toward the village. I no longer had any reason to stay here, and I could have left for Winzers right away, but I didn’t want to leave behind any unnecessary room for speculation.
Someone spreads rumors, the person being talked about follows, and the one who spread the rumors never returns. I didn’t want to create such a classic situation ripe for misunderstanding.
“Yes, of course. Please ride. Aris will carry you.”
At her gesture, Aris and the unicorn, who had been waiting quietly, approached. Aris slightly lowered her body toward me. Though she was much larger than an ordinary sheep, she was still a bit small for an adult man to mount without hesitation.
Yet her shimmering golden fleece looked incredibly soft and fluffy, so I eventually climbed onto her back. Just as expected, it was very soft and springy. The fleece could become harder than steel if she wished, but right now it was softer than any wool or fur.
“Now, let’s go.”
She mounted the unicorn. I had actually wanted to ride the unicorn, but I knew its nature well—it only offered its back to women. It was famous for forming contracts only with female summoners as well.
When I first heard that a male summoner had called a unicorn, I wondered if an exception had finally appeared, but in the end, it was a woman after all.
“Ah, Lady Elena?”
“Yes?”
I pointed to her neck and ears with my finger.
“Your voice and ears.”
“Ah, right.”
* * *
“Thank you, Lord Anak!”
An elderly woman bowed repeatedly while hugging a middle-aged man who had been injured. The man’s clothes resembled those of a hunter. Though he had received emergency treatment and was wrapped in bandages, his body was covered in wounds that looked like they had come from a wild beast.
“No, it’s fine. You should show those wounds to a doctor or priest as soon as possible.”
The one receiving such thanks was a young man with light red hair. He had somewhat sharp eyes and looked cold, yet even while accepting the gratitude, his gaze was directed elsewhere—not at the old woman or the middle-aged man.
“Yes, yes. We’ll be on our way. Thank you so much for saving our son!”
“Yes. Take care.”
Even as he watched them leave, his eyes remained indifferent. He wasn’t showing it openly, but his attitude suggested he disliked all of this.
That attitude isn’t good. You need to stay in character.
A moment later, when no one was around, a small deer emerged from the bushes. Its light brown fur and small size made it look as though it had only recently been born, yet its antlers were large and magnificent like those of a fully grown deer, glowing with a faint green light.
“What do you mean, stay in character? Duran. I’ve never even seen that Anak guy. And they say he’s one of the hero’s companions, but I’ve never heard of any proper achievements. So what exactly am I supposed to do to look like him?”
I don’t know either. But at least act the way people expect. Elena said the same thing—be careful not to do anything that could cause him trouble.
“Trouble? We’ve already helped hundreds of people in just a few weeks. And what has that guy been doing? Getting invited by a viscount, wandering around the royal palace. Yet all the credit will go to him. What trouble are you talking about?”
He saved the world. He fought the Demon King and his army alongside the hero on the front lines.
“Oh, that was the hero and the other companions. The Hero of Light, the Yellow Sage, the Golden Flash, the Greatest Assassin, the Twin-Wheeled Demon Swordsman, the Silent Saintess. Their exploits and tales of valor echo everywhere. But the Summoner of Deception? The Second-Best Strategist? What stories does that guy even have? Anyone could have done what he did.”
He continued with a cynical smile. His voice was calm, but laced with discontent and mockery.
“If it had been me, it would have been much better. I wouldn’t have been treated like an extra while being called the Summoner of Deception or the Second-Best Strategist.”