Chapter 128: Healing (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: Healing (2)
It was the day Ryozo held a bow for the very first time.
Twang—!
The arrow lodged itself right on the razor-thin border between the ten-ring and the nine-ring.
“Incredible, Young Lady!”
“Did you see how that arrow flew? The speed with which it cut through the wind was reminiscent of Saki Yoichi, the founder of our house, Lord Archery Saint!”
“A grand blessing for the House of the Archery Saint! A true blessing!”
The servants of the Archery Saint Family marveled at Ryozo’s skill, showering her with endless praise. After all, she had hit the target on her very first try using a longbow that even grown men struggled just to draw back.
Feeling secretly proud, Ryozo stole a glance at the Archery Saint, who was watching her.
The Archery Saint kept his withered gaze fixed firmly on the target. Without breaking his eyes away, he spoke to his daughter.
—Ryozo. What score do you think that arrow got?
Words didn't come easily.
The arrow trembled precisely in the dead center between ten and nine. It was impossible to say it leaned toward either side.
Young Ryozo parted her lips hesitantly before answering.
“…Nine points.”
—And your reasoning?
“I will work harder next time and hit ten points.”
Only then did the Archery Saint uncross his tightly folded arms.
Rustle.
As he reached out his hand, Ryozo squeezed her eyes shut.
The next moment, a gentle warmth stroked the crown of her pure white hair.
—That is the correct answer.
It was the first—and practically the last—time she saw the Archery Saint smile.
—Remember, my daughter. Rather than indulging in optimism, being self-critical brings you far closer to the correct answer.
“…Thank you for your guidance.”
—You will enter Joaquin Academy ten years from now, but I tell you this in advance. Ever since the academy was founded, the posture the Hero of the Origin has stressed above all is an unyielding attitude. Complacent compromise contradicts our ancestor’s will. Overwork yourself to become the best. Find your correct answer that way, Ryozo. Do so, and the ancestor’s blessing will remain with you, allowing you to enjoy glory for generations.
“I will strive to live up to your expectations, Father.”
—Ryozo.
“…My apologies, Lord Patriarch.”
……
Though it was a memory that had long faded to a blur in her mind...
‘The correct answer.’
That was the word that struck the bullseye in Ryozo’s heart.
Recognition from her father.
Looking back now...
In her teenage years, she had been so desperate for that worthless recognition.
Until she met him.
* * *
“Uncle.”
Ryozo folded her arms on the counter, resting her tiny chin on top of them.
“May I talk about myself for a moment?”
“In front of me, no one needs to ask permission to speak except that Sword Demon brat.”
Ryozo gave a sweet smile.
A lonely overhead light bathed the two of them.
“…Ever since I was little, I was the kind of person who couldn’t rest until I found the ‘correct answer’ to everything.”
Ryozo had always been that kind of child. Once something caught her focus, she dug into it relentlessly. That was why the Archery Saint, Saki Kojima, had taken a special interest in her.
He believed that if that tenacity translated into ‘strength as a hero,’ his daughter would exert immense influence over the hero world.
“But before long, I reached a very important truth about the world. Not everything in this world has a correct answer, right? Especially when it comes to people.”
Ryozo was only seven years old when she realized that truth. At an age where she hadn’t even entered elementary school, she felt an emptiness toward a reality that failed to click together like puzzle pieces.
She had grown up carrying all the expectations of the Archery Saint Family. Even when she achieved results unthinkable for someone her age, her father was never satisfied.
She had thought that completing the tasks set by the Archery Saint perfectly was the ‘correct answer’...
“…But far from being the correct answer, it only rotted me away inside.”
Ever since childhood, Ryozo’s inner self had been creaking.
She had grown weary and tired of life at far too young an age.
The correct answer.
All because she had been running toward an ultimate goal that could never exist in a human life.
“What a pathetic excuse for a father.”
Even at her uncle’s insult toward her father, Ryozo merely chuckled. Because it was the truth.
“You’re right. He was a truly terrible man. Not only did he forcefully separate me from my mother, but he also expected me to always be the absolute best. He subtly brainwashed me, insisting that being the best was the only correct answer.”
Being the best is the correct answer.
That had once been Ryozo’s entire philosophy.
“But as you know, I wasn’t the best as a hero. It didn’t take long to realize that. As soon as Abel—my family—appeared, my limits were laid bare.”
Abel, the Sword Princess, possessed talent that made her the final boss of their era. Though it had lost some of its luster because of Kang Geomma and Leon, the prevailing view of the current era was that her potential surpassed even that of the Sword Emperor.
“From the Archery Saint’s perspective, I was a ‘wrong answer.’”
Having fallen to the status of a wrong answer in an instant, Ryozo was forced to rely solely on her sharp intellect.
No, that’s not it.
It was an escape.
Ryozo set off on yet another journey to find the correct answer. If her martial power was a wrong answer, she would find the correct answer through her brain no matter what.
“But…”
Ryozo relaxed her shoulders a little more.
“The conclusion I reached while searching for the correct answer was that there was no correct answer to anything in the first place.”
Agonizing between a nine and a ten had been meaningless.
What mattered was standing squarely before the target for the first time.
Confronting the problem head-on—that situation itself was the core.
Ryozo spoke.
“I suppose saying even this could sound like a contradiction—claiming it’s the ‘correct answer.’ So to rephrase, maybe this is a solution, or perhaps a bit of life wisdom.”
“You grew up far too early.”
“I suppose I did. But…”
Ryozo paused briefly before speaking.
“…Not compared to Geomma.”
She remembered her first impression of Kang Geomma.
It had been intensely striking.
At first, he was a man with an extraordinarily short fuse.
Quick to anger, and quick to cool off.
“In the beginning, I wondered what kind of crazy guy he was.”
“I have no excuse.”
“Oh, come on. How is that your fault, Uncle? That’s just Geomma’s personality. And for the record, I like that side of Geomma now.”
It started around then.
To Ryozo, the person known as ‘Kang Geomma’ was a new conundrum.
Why was he like that?
He always pretended to dodge difficult situations, yet in the end, he stepped forward to take on everyone’s burden anyway.
Envy, jealousy, contempt.
Quietly enduring all manner of negative emotions, he pushed forward, eyes fixed ahead.
“Or so I thought.”
But it wasn’t true.
Kang Geomma was not looking solely ahead.
As the number of people walking alongside him grew, he engaged in everything even more proactively.
Because I have to protect them.
This was Kang Geomma’s obsession. Even while pretending otherwise, he cherished every single bond he formed. Rather than letting those by his side get hurt, he would pick up his sashimi knife himself.
People were fooled by Kang Geomma’s erratic behavior.
But as far as Ryozo knew, Kang Geomma was the most selfless person in the world.
He saved others even at the cost of hurting himself.
In the past, though no one forced him, he remained steadfast in his duties as a hero.
“Is that really a life with a ‘correct answer’?”
“……”
“I honestly don’t know. To be completely frank, as his family, I wish he wouldn’t do that. Wouldn’t his own life be better if he unburdened himself just a little? That’s all Abel and I ever think.”
“You’re right. If that brat were an archer like you, Ryozo, he wouldn’t have even gotten into Joaquin Academy. He’s the kind of guy who intentionally shoots away from the exact center.”
Balor Joaquin vaguely understood why Kang Geomma suffered from such a sickness of the heart.
Regardless, that bastard is still doing this even after coming to this world.
“Sometimes I wonder... is Geomma rebelling against people’s expectations on purpose? Is he trying so hard to deviate from the image of the ‘100-point Heavenly Sword’ that everyone wants?”
“……”
“I don’t think so.”
She smirked softly.
“Geomma is actually accepting his own shortcomings. It’s as if he believes that the moment he denies his own flaws, he’ll lose something precious.”
Listening to Ryozo’s story, Balor Joaquin hesitated.
What a remarkable child.
Her intuition and insight were second to none. Even Balor Joaquin, who had lived through countless regressions, had never seen such a talent.
The reason why the Kang Geomma of this worldline was the only one able to find the correct answer... was you, Ryozo.
Among infinite worldlines, only the current Kang Geomma had transcended the Outer Gods and the God of Sword.
Balor Joaquin had wondered how he managed it. Only now did he realize. The people who acted as lighthouses to keep his rough, tempestuous son from straying off course... Because Ryozo was at the forefront of those people, Kang Geomma never lost his way.
...I find myself wanting to tell her.
Balor Joaquin wrestled with his thoughts before finally speaking up.
“You want to know why that brat turned out that way, don’t you, Ryozo?”
Ryozo slowly leaned back. Then, with a faint smile, she shrugged.
Balor Joaquin asked his daughter-in-law, whose eyes held a faint sorrow.
“Are you curious about why he became like that?”
“Of course I am.”
However...
“Even back when I craved the ‘correct answer,’ I never looked at the answer key. So now, believing as I do that there are no correct answers in human relationships, well... if the answer key were right in front of me, I’d probably just burn it. Besides, Abel is here too; it’d be too unfair if only I peeked at it.”
“Are you still competing with Abel?”
“I want to play fair with Abel.”
“Ha, haha. Hahaha!”
Balor Joaquin’s chuckles made the hanging light sway softly in the air. Ryozo smiled back at him.
“I intend to take my time solving the puzzle that is Geomma.”
I want to know about you.
I decline shortcuts like answer keys and explanations.
Whether it’s a winding road or a steep slope, I want to overcome it together with you and create our own solution.
Even if that path turns out to be a ‘wrong answer.’
Just as an arrow that missed the bullseye is a part of the process and not worthless, I intend to enjoy the journey of finding you.
“Over the course of a lifetime.”
That was why Ryozo chose silence.
Even if her answer wasn’t a perfect ten-point hit, but an off-target misfire...
She wanted to contribute to his happiness.
“By the way, I’ve interrupted you too much. Shouldn’t you finish sharpening the blade?”
“Ah, this.”
Balor Joaquin tapped the blade light with his fingernail.
A crisp, well-tuned ring resonated from the sword.
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? I was just bored and wanted something to do. In the first place, this blade was never dull or damaged.”
This was because Kang Geomma periodically healed it using the Blessing of Regeneration.
But that wasn’t the point Balor Joaquin was trying to make.
“And unless something major happens, it won’t be damaged in the future either.”
“……”
The Hero of the Origin was praising Saki Ryozo.
Naturally, Ryozo caught his meaning instantly.
Balor Joaquin handed Murasame—Kang Geomma’s alter ego—to his daughter-in-law, who was watching him in silence.
“Whenever that brat gives you trouble or confuses you, feel free to talk to me anytime. It might be favoritism, but after hearing what you had to say, feigning ignorance would be too irresponsible of me.”
Ryozo gently accepted Murasame into her hands.
The sharpness of the blade and its hilt still retained the genuine warmth of her uncle—her father-in-law.
It had been a long time.
The warmth of a parent figure passed down to her.
Perhaps for the first time since that day she shot a bow for the very first time in her life, when she received that genuine praise from the Archery Saint.
Ryozo tensed her eyes, holding back her tears. She didn't want to make a scene in the middle of the night.
At the very least, she wanted to appear as a proud, honorable person before him.
She gave a firm, labored nod.
“Yes, Father.”
As those words fell from her lips, the hollow void in her heart began to fill and heal.
—Healing. [End]