The Taste of Coming Home

[Whoa! I can feel the wind!]

But all Alex could see was the village drawing closer and closer.

He was overwhelmed. The peaceful, tranquil scenery before him—something he couldn't have even dreamed of in the age of ruin—stung at his eyes, and he felt tears about to spill over.

Alex's pace quickened.

"…!"

Then, all at once, he stopped.

It was around sunset. At the entrance to the hillside forest behind the village, he had spotted a child playing with friends.

A six-year-old boy with golden hair.

"…Leo."

The small voice slipped out of him unbidden—and somehow the boy heard it. Leo, who had been drawing pictures in the dirt with his friends while waiting for his uncle, turned his head and looked toward Alex.

Every second of it seemed to stretch into eternity.

Alex stared at the child without blinking.

The golden hair swaying in the breeze, the plump, soft red cheeks, the sparkling sky-blue eyes, and a smile as bright as a blooming flower.

Not the 'Hero Leo' who slept forever—there stood Leo, young and bursting with life.

His heart pounded wildly.

It felt like a dream. Afraid that even the slightest movement might wake him, Alex found himself unable to breathe—so unlike the way he'd been sprinting with joy just moments before.

There.

Leo was there.

His nephew was alive and well, right there.

The moment the boy spotted his uncle, his face lit up—then flooded with surprise.

"Uncle!"

Leo was calling out to him, those shining sky-blue eyes locked straight onto him, and Alex felt tears threatening to burst free. He held them back. If he started crying while dressed like a beggar, Leo would only worry.

"…Leo!"

But he couldn't stop his voice from coming out heavy with longing and overwhelming emotion.

"Uncle! What happened to you?"

The moment Leo saw his uncle had returned from the hills dressed in rags, he came racing over with a face on the verge of tears.

Alex dropped to his knees by instinct and swept the boy into his arms.

"Ah! You're cold!"

Leo cried out at the touch of the damp clothes. Alex felt a pang of guilt—but he didn't want to let go.

He could feel the warmth that announced a living body, the rapid flutter of Leo's little heart. Vitality poured out of that small frame.

'…Ah.'

Only when he was holding that small, warm body did Alex truly, deeply understand: this was real.

He really had come back to the past.

"Uncle, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Does it hurt a lot?"

Leo worried about his uncle first, even as the cold clothes must have chilled him, and Alex fought to keep his surging emotions in check.

For more than a decade, his nephew had never once heard him when he spoke. And now here he was, reaching out first.

Laughter and tears threatened to come out together, but Alex forced them down, smiled wide through reddened eyes, and said,

"No, I'm fine. Look—only my clothes got torn."

Alex showed his unharmed skin through the rips. Leo and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the children looked him over everywhere, and true to his word, there wasn't a single wound.

"Your uncle dodged like this, and that, and this!"

"Whoaaa!"

When Alex swayed side to side, acting out exaggerated dodges, the children's eyes lit up with admiration.

"How about that, Leo? Your uncle's pretty amazing, huh?"

"Yeah! Uncle's the best!"

Watching Leo grin, his worry melting away, Alex made a vow.

No matter what it took, he would protect that smile.

[Is that your nephew? Adorable!]

[How old is he?]

And for that, he'd first have to pry this otherworldly lich out of his body.

"Oh my. What on earth happened?"

Drawn by the children's chatter, the adults of the village gathered and gasped at the sight of Alex in his beggar's clothes.

Facing the familiar faces of people who had all died in the 'future,' Alex struggled to keep his composure and whispered quietly enough that the children couldn't hear,

"I heard a wolf howling, and I tripped while running away."

The adults looked Alex up and down again.

"How on earth do you trip so hard your clothes end up like that?"

"No kidding. Even a rag wouldn't want those."

"Ahaha."

Alex laughed awkwardly.

"But you say a wolf showed up?"

"I only heard it."

In the 'future,' only one wolf ever appeared near the village—but now that Alex was alive and the wolf was dead, there was no telling what might change. Better to give a warning, he figured.

Wolves lived in packs, after all.

"Then we should let the next village and the lord's castle know. Everyone, stay out of the hills for a while."

At Mark's words—Mark, who lived right next door—the villagers nodded along.

"So why are you soaked, then?"

"I got in the stream to wash off my scent."

"That must've been rough. Go change quick, before you catch a cold. You too, Leo."

"Okay."

After greeting the villagers, Alex took Leo's small hand and headed for home. He realized it anew—six-year-old Leo was so very small.

"Bye! See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah! See you, Leo!"

This child, for whom playing with friends was simply everyday life, would grow up so admirably—and become the Hero who crushed monsters and demons alike.

'I can't help feeling proud of—no. No I can't.'

He wanted to stop Leo from ever becoming the Hero.

'…Though I doubt simply wanting it will stop it.'

He'd just have to try everything he could!

Alex steeled himself.

"Hey, hey, Uncle! Today me and my friends had a contest to see who could catch the most fish, and guess who caught the most?"

Leo chattered away, swinging the hand he held with his uncle, his voice brimming with pride.

"Hmm… our Leo?"

"Right! I caught the most!"

Chuckling, Leo went on and on about what he'd played today, what he'd eaten for lunch, and how well he'd done running an errand for the grandmother next door.

As Alex listened to the babble, he fought to calm the ache rising in his chest.

The 'future' that no longer existed.

Six-year-old Leo would have wanted to tell all of this to the uncle coming back from the hills.

But what came back was nothing but his uncle's corpse, killed by a wolf.

He never got to tell about winning first place in the fishing contest, or eating the sandwich he'd made for lunch himself, or doing well on the neighbor grandmother's errand. He had only wailed and wailed.

And Alex, who had died and become a ghost, could do nothing but watch.

That small face flashed before his eyes, and Alex couldn't bear it—he scooped Leo up into the air, hugging him tight, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as if to make up for every embrace he hadn't been able to give back then.

"Our Leo is the best!"

"Wah! You're cold, Uncle!"

Leo shouted—but then giggled, finding it funny all the same.

"Ah, right, I'm soaked. Let's hurry in and get changed."

"Yeah!"

This time that had returned to him like a miracle—Alex wanted to spend every moment of it joyfully and happily, together with Leo.

"Leo, what do you want for dinner?"

"Hmm. Meat!"

"Meat! Sounds great!"

[Me too! I want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meat!]

…Everything would be perfect if only he weren't here.

Alex resolved to come up with a way to get rid of him. Fast.

Changed into clean clothes, Alex and Leo headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Along the way, Alex forgot he now had a physical body and tried to walk straight through the door and the wall—banging into both. But when Leo just laughed, thinking it was a joke, Alex ended up laughing too.

Even though more than a decade had passed in Alex's time, the kitchen was exactly as it had been in the past.

The stew left over from breakfast and cuts of meat sliced into easy portions sat neatly stored away.

"I'll get the bread!"

Leo trotted off to fetch the bread with the ease of habit.

"Our Leo, such a good boy, too."

Leo tilted his head at his uncle's big green eyes, then grinned. It somehow felt like Alex was more moved than usual—but come to think of it, his uncle had always been like this.

Alex set a frying pan over the fire and moved to throw the meat straight on.

[Wait!]

[You season it first!]

[Salt! Pepper!]

…He would have, if Lee Baek hadn't suddenly butted in.

While Leo arranged the bread and forks on the table with his tiny hands, Alex whispered,

"Where'd that come from all of a sudden?"

Alex had no idea what that meant, but he could feel the burning will of a man who wanted to eat something delicious.

"Have you actually cooked before?"

A cooking lich.

He couldn't picture it at all.

Alex, by contrast, had spent his childhood wandering with his sister and never had the luxury of caring about food. Even after settling in the village, his philosophy was that as long as it was seasoned and cooked through, it counted as dinner.

He'd raised Leo the same way.

'…And that's why our Leo became a Hero who'll eat anything.'

Every time Alex had watched the 'Hero Leo' cheerfully wolf down terrible cooking, he'd regretted never being able to give him anything delicious.

'Though thanks to that, he managed fine even when the food supplies ran dry….'

From now on, he'd feed him all the delicious food he could, Alex resolved.

Though skeptical, Alex sprinkled the salt as Lee Baek instructed.

"No pepper. Too expensive."

There was no way a poor farmer's house kept pepper worth its weight in gold.

Alex thought for a moment. It was a bit of a hassle, but if the food really would turn out delicious like Lee Baek said, it was worth it.

"Leo, could you go to Grandma Jessie's house and borrow some rosemary?"

"Yeah!"

Leo nodded energetically at the errand.

While Leo was out of the house, Lee Baek taught him the method.

"Garlic? How much?"

Alex, who had been about to take out two cloves, froze.

"…How much, did you say?"

A brief silence fell.

Alex took out two cloves, exactly as he'd originally planned.

"Well, it's not the lifeblood of the Kingdom of Myhty."

Lee Baek's voice was thick with disappointment, but Alex ignored him. A whole handful of garlic? Like that was going to ruin anything.

"Uncle! I got the rosemary!"

"Good job, Leo."

Beaming, Alex ruffled Leo's hair and set the meat to cooking. He seared it over high heat, flipped it, and added butter, rosemary, and the two cloves of garlic.

Spoon the butter? Onto the meat?

"I'm seriously doubting this…."

Still, he didn't think this was what would wreck the dish, so Alex dutifully spooned butter over the meat as instructed.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

"Mm. Apparently it makes it taste better."

"Wow!"

Everything Uncle did earned a gasp of wonder from Leo first, and Alex couldn't help laughing.

"Uncle! It smells so good!"

Just like the thoroughly worked-up Lee Baek, Alex too felt his mouth water uncontrollably at the smell of good food—the first in twelve years.

Lee Baek's voice, brimming with anticipation, grew louder and louder. Leo's blue eyes sparkled brighter and brighter.

At last, the meat was done.

The golden-brown sear looked absolutely delicious.

"Let's eat dinner now, Leo."

"Yeah!"

Alex looked back and forth between Leo's shining eyes and the meat, then said with something like a sigh,

"Should we make a salad too, Leo?"

He'd come this far following Lee Baek's instructions—it seemed better to see it through to the end.

"…Yeah!"

Leo, who had been staring at the meat with eyes full of longing, quickly nodded.

Alex and Leo washed the vegetables, cut them into rough pieces, and dressed them with a sauce one of the village mothers had given them.

And by the time they sat down at the table, the three minutes Lee Baek had insisted on had already passed.

"Thank you for the food!"

"Thank you for the food."

Between the stew, the bread, the salad, and the meat, it went without saying where both of their forks headed.

Unlike the meat he usually just threw on the pan, this one had been cooked with all sorts of extras—and he couldn't help wondering how it would taste.

Leo stabbed the meat boldly with his fork, popped it into his mouth, and his plump cheeks went to work. The meat melted away almost as soon as it hit his tongue, barely chewed at all, and Leo's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes went wide with surprise and joy.

"Whoa! It's so good, Uncle!"

Alex was just lifting his own piece of meat to his mouth. For some reason, the hand gripping his fork was trembling.

He hadn't eaten a single bite of food since becoming a ghost. Not one.

The outdoor meals Leo and his friends shared, the exotic dishes of the Magic Tower Federation, the lavish banquets of the Knight Empire, the sacred meals of the Holy Kingdom—all of it, ghostly Alex could only watch, licking lips that couldn't taste.

But now, at last,

he could eat.

And it was food cooked in an otherworlder's style, no less!

The roast, tempting from the very first whiff of its aroma, was drawing the saliva out of him all on its own.

"Uncle, you're drooling!"

"Hup!"

He hadn't expected to actually drool.

Alex hastily wiped his mouth, face burning, and laughed awkwardly.

"Uncle's just really hungry, that's all."

"Oh! Then eat quick!"

Leo held out a piece of meat on his own fork—and at the sight of that sweet, generous boy, Alex's eyes welled up.

It felt like Lee Baek was simply shouting what was already in Alex's own heart, and as he listened, Alex put the meat Leo held out into his mouth.

"…Ah…."

The meat, at exactly the right temperature, gave way softly under his teeth. Juices mingled with butter, swirling through his mouth. The fragrance of rosemary and garlic blended together beyond all improvement.

Alex chewed very, very slowly, savoring every note of the flavor.

Even Lee Baek's voice—so moved it bordered on sobbing—couldn't interrupt Alex's savoring.

"…It's delicious."

The taste filled a soul that had starved for more than a decade.

"Right?! It's so good. Uncle, your cooking is the best!"

Leo smiled wide, his whole face glowing with happiness—and somehow, with him sitting right there beside Alex, it all tasted even better.

"Eat plenty, Leo."

"Yeah! You too, Uncle!"

It was a perfectly peaceful, perfectly ordinary evening—as if everything that had come before were nothing but a nightmare.

…He decided to ignore it.