The Final Parting
After hearing the explanation from Arandal, the party members realized the gravity of the situation, and not one of them could lift their heads. A heavy, suffocating air pressed down upon their shoulders.
“…Does the Emperor hate Nightstream that much?”
“Likely. And if we defy his will, we might have to give up everything we were promised.”
Cornelia, the mage, muttered in a hollow voice. “Our dreams… our wishes… the things we aimed for…”
Ten years ago, when she first began her adventure with the Hero, Cornelia had dreamed of becoming the Imperial Court Mage. She had assumed that once the Demon King was defeated, the position would be hers for the taking, but…
“Father…”
Lito, the puppeteer, had started his journey with the Hero in hopes of gaining recognition from his stern, rigid father. He had thought that when he finally returned to the capital, he could proudly tell his father that he would carry on the family business, but…
“I… I…”
Saintess Elihart’s mother had been executed for treason. That was her only disgrace, and had it not been for a divine revelation, she would have lived her life as a slave somewhere. For that reason, she was still hated by some of the common folk. She had believed that by saving the world, she could wash away that shame, but…
They could no longer afford to be entangled in such complicated matters.
“Princess…”
Arandal whispered the name of the Second Princess, Lucrezia, several times. His mouth grew increasingly dry. Finally, he confessed the truth.
“In truth… that man, Chancellor Mikhail, looked as if he were going to kill Haeru. Even though I felt that, I pretended not to notice. I… the Hero who was supposed to be more righteous than anyone else… I pushed Nightstream into the jaws of death.”
Arandal let out a deep sigh and buried his face in his hands. “If it’s now, there might still be a chance to save him. If anyone is willing to go help, go quickly. I… I cannot be there. If the leader is present, the people of the Imperial Palace will misunderstand and think the entire Hero party has become their enemy. So, I must pretend I didn’t know anything, so that later, I can step forward and protect our party by claiming it wasn’t an act of defiance against the Imperial decree. Strategically, I will keep my position as leader ambiguous… I will make it seem as though you all acted impulsively after seeing Nightstream being attacked. So, you at least should go. Hurry…”
However, five minutes passed after he finished speaking, and not one person moved. They simply sat there with gloomy expressions.
“…I see.”
Arandal muttered in a self-deprecating voice and dropped his head.
Creak.
Suddenly, a sound came from the stairs leading to the second floor. Everyone jumped to their feet and stared in that direction. Anxiety that someone might have overheard their conversation filled their eyes with tension.
“Who’s there!”
Arandal hurried up the stairs.
“I, I’m sorry! I thought you all might be thirsty…”
It was Madric, the Hero party’s porter. Standing halfway up the stairs, he held a tray in both hands. On the tray sat four steaming teacups.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
“You don’t have to bring them. We’re in the middle of something serious.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was being insensitive.”
“We’ll drink the tea later.”
“Yes. Th, then…”
Realizing it was nothing, the party members’ gazes returned to normal, and Arandal stepped back down the stairs, drained of energy. Then, he suddenly spotted a dark red bloodstain on the floor of the stairs, as if it had just been spilled.
“……?”
He touched it with his finger, stared at it blankly, and then stuck out his tongue to taste it. The Hero’s superhuman senses activated.
‘A familiar scent of blood.’
It flashed in his mind instantly. Arandal looked up the stairs immediately.
“Nightstream!”
As he rushed up the stairs, the others all stood up and followed him. Before long, they entered Nightstream’s room, and inside, they all clutched their heads in collective despair.
“Nightstreaaaaam!”
“Ah…! No! This, this can’t be…!”
“I’m dreaming. This isn’t reality! Someone tell me it’s not! Please!”
“Why… why would you make such a choice…”
Lying on the bed was the comrade who had shared their joys and sorrows for ten years. Nightstream lay there in a comfortable posture, his hands neatly folded, with a dagger plunged into his heart. From his chest to the sheets, everything was soaked and stained dark red. It was clearly a suicide. To think it was murder was impossible, as there were tear tracks running from the corners of his eyes.
“He overheard us! He heard us…! Kuh-heuk!”
Arandal fell to his knees and sobbed. Saintess Elihart fainted on the spot. Lito slumped to the floor, falling into a state of panic at the unbelievable reality. He muttered unintelligible things, the life fading from his eyes. In contrast, Cornelia was cautious. After carefully examining the body and realizing it was indeed a real suicide and not one of Nightstream’s pranks, she trembled like an aspen leaf.
“Ev, everyone listen closely. Don’t reveal the details to anyone. Let’s keep this… our secret. Then it will be fine. No one will know. The fact that we abandoned Nightstream.”
***
The next day, firewood was piled high in a wide open space. A fierce fire soon consumed the coffin where Nightstream lay. Watching the blazing flames, Arandal muttered blankly.
“Even though we extinguished the Demon King with the sole will to save the world, it is nothing but bitter. How unreasonable is this? Even though a bright world has arrived, all I have done is hide in fear…”
He had checked several times. He wondered if this was a trick by Nightstream, whose profession was a thief. He was certain he had died several times over. No matter how much he tried to find clues, he had no choice but to accept reality. The cowardly sense of relief that came in that moment… and the guilt that was shallower than that.
“This is not the time to be lost in agony. You must forget what cannot be helped.”
With a satisfied laugh, Mikhail, the Chancellor of the Golden Centipede Knights, approached.
“What is past is past. Go to the capital, wash away the sweat of your ten years of hard work, and be comforted. Hero, you are well-deserving of being treated with honor. The same goes for your grieving comrades over there.”
“You.”
Arandal glared at him. “You are a cruel man.”
He walked past him.
“Oh, and when you go to the capital, it would be best to refrain from mentioning Nightstream as much as possible.”
“……”
Arandal stopped walking. After a moment of hesitation, he turned back.
“…The marriage with the Second Princess will still be valid, right?”
“Is there any doubt? His Majesty will be very pleased with you, Hero.”
Mikhail laughed heartily.
***
A few days later.
“Your Highness, it’s this way.”
“Haa, haa. Who on earth made the grave in such a rough and remote place?”
“It is a grave where the cremated remains were buried.”
“If it’s like that, they could have placed it somewhere closer to the village.”
Esmeralda, climbing the mountain path, wiped the sweat from her forehead. In the hot weather, her clothes were soaked, and her undergarments felt sticky. The female knights following her didn’t show it, but they looked exhausted from hiking in their armor. That was how rugged the mountain path was.
The villager walking in the lead pointed to a distant spot.
“You only need to go up another hundred meters from here. Do you see that hill? It’s around there.”
“Did the Hero choose that spot?”
“I don’t know the details, but I assume the royals and the Hero’s party discussed it and chose that location for the grave. We just did as we were told. They told us to dig, so we dug, and then we buried him.”
“How can the grave of a hero who saved the world be so rugged that no one will visit?”
“Haha, that is true.”
Finally, they arrived at the grave. A square tombstone carved from marble lay flat on the ground.
-Nightstream. Rests here.
Esmeralda blinked as if surprised. “Th, this is it? This is all the inscription for a hero who saved the world?”
“Yes, this is all.”
“To not even write that he was a member of the Hero party, or what he had done all this time…! How could it be so shabby…!”
She felt a surge of emotion. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please forgive His Majesty. I, at least, will serve you forever. Nightstream…”
Esmeralda stayed in front of the grave for a long time. She shed tears for a long time for Nightstream, the hero of all ages and the loyal subject who saved the nation.
A few hours later, she descended the mountain and mounted her horse with a hardened expression.
“Let’s go.”
Isla, the captain of the White Rose Knights, asked, “Where shall we go?”
“I hate the Emperor even more now. I will go as far as possible. To the west, where Duchess Diana is.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I will follow you anywhere.”
The party departed. Esmeralda was lost in thought as she rode her horse. ‘That person from another world must have been very lonely, wandering without a home or family. Why couldn’t our Empire embrace such a person? He lived for all the people until the very end.’
She had accumulated bad karma. Perhaps this was not the liberation from the Demon King, but the beginning of the Empire’s decline. Would the Gigantia Empire not eventually be struck down by a sharp spear of justice? As that bleak future suddenly flashed through her mind, she shuddered with anxiety.
***
A man wearing a navy hood over his head was walking toward a cabin in the mountains. His gait was very cautious, and he did not lower his guard. He carefully entered the cabin’s yard through a side path, trying not to be noticed as much as possible.
“You’ve come. When I received the message, I wondered if it was true.”
The owner of the cabin welcomed him as if he had been waiting. He was an old man with sharp, extraordinary eyes. The man took off his hood, hugged him lightly, and smiled brightly.
“I was stabbed in the back quite cleanly. Can I stay here for a few days?”
“Do as you please. We don’t have any work for the time being, so we’ll be staying here too.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Nightstream. No, Haeru looked back. He could see a hawk flying in the distant blue sky. He bit his lip firmly and pledged a new beginning.