149. The Siblings' Dream
149. The Siblings' Dream
In the world today, there are all sorts of books published about the Heroes from four hundred years ago—meaning, about us.
Of course, Ronan was dead, and the remaining Heroes had long since vanished from the world, but that didn't mean there was no information at all.
How was that possible?
Some of the people who received our help four hundred years ago and kept their lives had said something.
They said they would make sure the events of that day were passed down from generation to generation, so that we would be remembered and never forgotten.
Right. Those people wrote down our story like a family heirloom so their descendants could read it for generations.
But even that wasn't the same for everyone.
Maybe it was because their perspectives and circumstances differed, but the versions of us passed down to later generations were all different.
In the first place... it seems our story couldn't be passed down exactly as it was.
Well, I understand.
None of them had the kind of personality befitting a Hero. They were all batshit crazy.
Anyway, that's the feeling.
Looking at these two siblings, I wonder if they read about me from documents left by their ancestor.
Van Chaser. Van Chaser.
The Grand Duke of the North.
I do know one of the ancestors of House van Chaser.
Hilde van Chaser.
She was a woman who was out of her mind in many ways.
Her love for the Empire and her care for its people were so strong that she thought nothing of her own life.
But she wasn't in a position where she could throw her life away so easily. She was a Grand Duke, for crying out loud. A Grand Duke, second only to the Emperor in the Empire.
If that Grand Duke just up and died on the battlefield, the morale of the Imperial Army would obviously hit rock bottom.
Was she strong herself, then? She wasn't even strong. By my current standards, she'd be an incredibly strong person, but by my standards back then, she was total garbage.
So... I had no choice but to give her a bit of "education."
It started with a slap.
She kept trying to throw her life away at the drop of a hat, so I slapped her every time she did.
About... ten times a day.
Then, by the seventh day, after getting slapped on the right cheek, she started offering her left cheek too. And then she tried offering her ass and chest as well, so I smacked the back of her neck and knocked her out.
And just in case, I tied her arms to a pillar at the forward base before leaving.
Because if she started yelling for people to hit her ass and chest in front of everyone... well... something truly, truly spectacular would obviously happen.
I never saw her after that. We got word that Luxrina had personally appeared in the eastern region, starting from the forward base, and we left that front.
Later, letters stamped with the van Chaser seal occasionally flew my way, but of course I didn't read them. I was busy as hell—who had time to read letters?
Unless there were cigarettes inside, I threw them all away.
If there were cigarettes? I memorized the sender's name, then threw away everything except the cigarettes.
I still remember their names to this day.
Anyway... I don't think a woman like that could have left behind any good information about me.
So why the hell are these two acting like this?
I cautiously asked Ashtar, who was still blushing.
"...Why do you like Sir Ronan?"
"It's not like. It's love."
"Yes... why, um, do you... l-love him?"
"He's manly. Tough, cool... and strong."
Manly, tough, cool, and strong... Was she talking about me hitting Hilde?
I definitely did hit her hard.
But I don't know about the first three.
"Hmm... Then why does that crazy bird—ahem. Why does Senior Hudd respect Sir Ronan?"
"The same. Hero Ronan was greater and more valiant than anyone. Charging alone at the vanguard to open the path for the other Heroes was tough, and his manly nature—strong against the strong, gentle to the weak—was admirable. And at the end..."
"Ooh..."
Tears welled up in Hudd's eyes.
Emotion welled up in my eyes.
Hilde van Chaser.
I thought she was a lunatic, but she left behind only the good parts about me after all.
Even if I can never meet such a great person again, I must remember her name at the very least.
That's what I thought.
"At the end, how could I not respect a man who would throw away even his life for the one he loves?"
That is, until I heard those words.
"...The fuck did you say?"
This bastard does everything right and then always has to screw it up at the very end.
My fist, which had briefly relaxed, clenched tight with force.
Around my fist, squeezed so hard my nails nearly cracked, cherry-blossom-colored Mana flickered softly into bloom.
A form of Mana different from a month ago.
After training by following the book Arisa left behind...
No, that's not what matters right now.
I need to smash that crazy ogre bastard's jaw right this instant!
Love? Love?? Love???
"LOOOVE?! You crazy bastard!!"
"M-My lady!! Calm down!!"
The moment I raised my fist, Eurasia grabbed my body with all her strength. Meanwhile, Ashtar, who had been standing in front of me, opened her eyes wide and stared blankly with her mouth hanging open.
"Junior Eliarnes is... really tough, huh? I thought the rumors were just rumors... Ahaha..."
Even so, she tried to hold onto my body and calm me down.
Her raw physical ability is far lower than Eurasia's, but her skill at redirecting my strength is no joke.
I can roughly picture Ashtar's combat style.
No, whatever—first, I want to break that bastard's jaw!!
"H-Hm... Did this humble one make some mistake? If so, I apologize. This humble one had no intention of angering you. However... that reaction just now. I thought that getting so riled up is also important for walking the path of Hero Ronan. Indeed... one must have that kind of ferocity to throw away one's life for the one they love."
"You... you son of a bitch!!"
*****
I sent that damn Hudd bastard off somewhere else, and now Eurasia and I are with Ashtar in her personal training hall.
Ashtar's personal training hall had a different feel from the one I use.
The internal structure is the same, but maybe it's because the things arranged inside are different.
This one felt a bit colder.
Probably because she's from the North.
In one corner of the training hall, I could see some things I was quite fond of. Northern wooden swords that Mother bought me as birthday presents.
But those damn wooden swords broke within a day.
Dozens of them are arranged there.
The training dummies don't seem to be made of the North's ten-thousand-year cold iron, but of metal one grade lower.
...It'd be really nice if I could borrow one of those.
With that thought, I slurped down the iced chocolate Ashtar had given me. It was a shame there was no mint, but it was decent enough.
"Sorry, junior."
"What does Senior Ashtar have to be sorry for?"
"It was my twin brother who did it, so I should apologize on his behalf."
Having said that, Ashtar smiled bitterly and leaned back against her chair.
"You don't like Sir Ronan's romance either, huh? Though your level of dislike seems a bit extreme."
"I don't like it."
"Right? I don't like it either."
The reason Ashtar thinks that way and the reason I think that way are probably completely different, but still, I'm glad that at least Ashtar is normal.
"But did Senior Hudd really put down the sword of his own will?"
"...Yeah."
Her answer was reluctant.
It wasn't that she thought it was pathetic, and it wasn't anger. It was regret and... guilt?
The Fabiana and Silina sisters were like that too, but these siblings also seem to have circumstances that are hard to reveal.
"Hudd is... strong. No, he was strong. At least until he held a sword... there was no one his age who could compare to Hudd."
"He was that good?"
"Yeah. At fifteen, Hudd had already reached Tier 6 and was forming his Intent. That says it all."
Eurasia's jaw dropped open.
"R-Really? At fifteen...?"
"Ahaha! Right. Fifteen. I'm not hyping him up just because he's my brother—I'm just stating facts. Hudd could emit Sword Energy from the moment he first held a sword. By thirteen, he could wrap himself in Aura, and at fifteen, he opened his Upper Dantian."
"Good heavens..."
Listening to Eurasia's admiration, I recalled Grand Duke Betias bragging on and on.
Indeed... if what she says is true, he wouldn't have been able to resist bragging like that.
The talent to emit Sword Energy from the moment he held a sword.
That's talent rivaling Paulo, the only swordsman I truly acknowledge.
That bastard also started spewing hazy smoke the moment he picked up a sword he'd pickpocketed at age eleven, and I later found out that was Sword Energy.
That crazy bastard tried to shoot it at me, and if I hadn't dodged, I would've become Ro/nan.
"Then why did he put down such a sword?"
"That... I can't tell you. But I just want you to know that Hudd doing such stupid things and constantly spouting nonsense... isn't his true self."
"...Are you saying all of that is an act?"
"Uh... honestly, I'm not sure either. I want to think it's all... an act, but lately, I can feel a certain sincerity in it...?"
Ashtar giggled as if troubled.
"Still, he's a thoughtful and decent person in his own way. As you saw earlier, he's the heir to a grand ducal house, yet he humbly accepts his mistakes, doesn't hesitate to apologize... doesn't get angry easily... and he's still strong."
"I think Senior Ashtar is stronger than Senior Hudd."
"Of course, if we're only talking about immediate combat power, that's true. But I meant a different kind of strength just now."
I didn't know exactly what she meant by a different kind of strength, but I nodded for now.
"I see."
The mood grew a bit heavy.
Eurasia also had a solemn expression, and Ashtar looked like she wasn't used to this kind of atmosphere either.
But I'm a man who doesn't give a damn about this kind of mood.
"So in the end, Senior Hudd didn't put down his sword out of genuine respect for Sir Ronan, but rather, due to some circumstances, he put down his sword and wishes to emulate Sir Ronan?"
"Uh... that's not it either."
"No?"
"Yeah. The reason I swing my sword is that, even though he's gone now, I swing it with the heart of wanting to stand beside Sir Ronan and wield a sword. Like... Arisa, the founder of House Eustetia... Hehe."
"Uh... um... I see."
"And Hudd was the same. But... after some incident, he said that rather than standing beside Sir Ronan, he would follow behind him... and that's how he ended up."
I just heard an incredibly heavy mindset.
There was someone other than the Flame Emperor who respected me this much?
No, the Flame Emperor is more like... fan-like admiration for a celebrity? In modern terms, stanning? Something like that. This feels like genuine respect and reverence.
Uh... or not. Does the Flame Emperor also feel like respect and reverence? Well... anyway.
For some reason, a chill runs down my spine.
"But why, of all Heroes... why do you, um, like Sir Ronan specifically?"
"Our family has many stories about Sir Ronan. I grew up reading them since childhood, so it's only natural that reverence for Sir Ronan developed. In fact, it's said that Sir Ronan saved the life of our ancestor, Lady Hilde van Chaser, and stole her heart."
Her heart? Stole it? I did? That woman's?
All I ever did was slap her, sometimes punch her while pretending it was a slap, and whenever she kept going berserk, tie up her arms and legs and dump her at the forward base...
That's all I did.
I stole her heart?
"Senior, are you perhaps the type who enjoys being hit...?"
"Oh my? No? I'm more, how should I put it. Hehe, I'm not sure if I should be saying this... I think I prefer doing the hitting rather than being on the receiving end."
"Hmm... I see."
Hilde back then was like that too.
But she changed.
The trigger... well, I don't think it was me...
'You really are a piece of trash, Ronan.'
'Why are you suddenly bitching at me?'
'You awakened a woman who already had a fiancé to lewd tastes, and now you're even doing neglect play by leaving her at the forward base?'
'Lewd...? Neglect? I did? What? What did I do?'
'Now you're even playing dumb. Fine. Live like that for the rest of your life. Oh my. What's with that fist? Why, are you going to hit me too? Go ahead and hit me, you beast. Who knows? Maybe I, Luna Sacred Pnasensia, Saintess of the Pnasensia Holy Kingdom and member of the Hero Party, will also be corrupted by your hands?'
'...Please just shut the hell up.'
Luna and... Paulo and Kaloso. And... even Arisa, who was always smiling, called me trash for a while.
So... just in case... I decided I should avoid sparring with Ashtar.
*****
"What should the sparring rules be, junior?"
"Whatever's comfortable for you, senior."
"Ooh, feeling confident?"
"I have nothing to lose even if I lose, anyway."
"What the heck. Isn't your reason for accepting a little too impure?"
Across from Ashtar, who giggled as if she didn't mind, I wrapped bandages around my hands.
One sparring match should be fine, right?