Someone Understands Without Words
Shailia suddenly threw her arms around Capier.
"Thank you... thank you so much..."
She had been certain she and her father were going to die this time. Trembling in utter terror in a situation they couldn't possibly resist.
"Get out of my way. I'm busy."
Shailia, her voice choked with sobs, looked up at Capier with wide, sparkling eyes. Her gaze was filled with admiration.
Her father bowed his head to the man in thanks as well. But Capier gave a curt reply and moved on.
"Hey, Frensia, Merian, Henessi, and Rasitena—you pair up, two by two, and put up barriers for the villagers, heal them."
Frensia spoke in a tone laced with worry.
"B-but what about you, Hero? If we're spread out, it'll be hard to buff or heal you..."
"I don't need it. These things can't even touch me anyway."
With that, Capier began subjugating the skeletons swarming the village and the goblins hurling firebombs.
-Slash-
"Th-thank you so much..."
A man grimacing in pain from a sword wound on his arm bowed his head in gratitude.
-Slash-
"H-how can I ever repay this kindness..."
An elderly man gripped his hand tightly, speaking with sincere thanks.
-Slash-
"Thank you... thank you... It was so scary..."
A woman who had been desperately shielding her young daughter prostrated herself flat on the ground as the skeleton before her crumbled. Sobbing uncontrollably, she kowtowed in gratitude.
As Capier's sword swung, the villagers' screams grew fewer and fewer.
The priests and saintesses were fulfilling their roles perfectly, so what should have been a total annihilation ended with only eight deaths. An utterly absurd outcome.
"..."
After sweeping through the monsters and felling the last skeleton, Capier stood surveying the village now free of threats.
He had butchered dozens of them without breaking a sweat, yet his eyes held only emptiness.
"C-Capier... are you okay...?"
"..."
Capier said nothing for a long while. Finally, he spoke calmly to Frensia.
"Let's go. We need to handle the aftermath."
"Yes... understood..."
Finding houses, land, and people still intact was somehow the harder task.
Merian and Rasitena had healed the villagers' wounds, but that only mended their physical injuries in an instant. It couldn't heal the scars burned into their hearts.
It would probably take a long time before they could live normally again. Some might never laugh and enjoy life as they once did.
"Hero, we're back."
As they reentered the village, Henessi came trudging over from afar. Beside her were Merian fidgeting anxiously with her fingers and Rasitena with a displeased expression.
"Good work."
Capier said curtly, and the others nodded.
As they gathered, a man who seemed to be the village head approached Capier and his party, rushing over.
"Oh dear... truly... truly thank you. Without you benefactors' help, we all would have been wiped out without a chance. We are so, so grateful from the bottom of our hearts."
He bowed repeatedly at the waist in thanks, and even amid the chaos of cleanup, the other villagers bowed their heads and offered heartfelt gratitude.
Capier listened silently, then spoke in a cold voice.
"Don't thank me. We just happened to pass by, spotted the monsters by chance, and I took them out. That's all. Anyway, you're not planning to send us off with empty words, right?"
"O-of course not... naturally... We don't have much right now, but we'll gather as much money as we can..."
Suddenly, Henessi scowled fiercely. She glared at Capier as if accusing him of trying to extort them.
But Capier continued indifferently.
"Do I look like I need money? I've got more than enough. Just find us anywhere to crash tonight—no matter the shape."
"R-really, that's all you need?"
"What, you want me to take more?"
"Oh no, if that's what you want, of course..."
"Forget it. Get lost. I'm tired."
The elderly village head kept insisting on offering more reward, but Capier waved him off irritably.
Soon, the villagers dispersed, leaving only the hero and his party.
Henessi spoke up.
"Capier, why on earth do you talk like that?"
"What'd I do?"
"Those people are weak. Innocent victims attacked by monsters. Couldn't you have said it nicer?"
"Why should I? And they died because they were weaker than the monsters. If they'd been stronger, it wouldn't have happened."
"You really—! If you keep talking like that, no one will appreciate your good deeds, no matter what!"
Henessi shouted in exasperation. It was the first time she'd seen her raise her voice since joining the hero subjugation team.
But Capier replied without a care.
"So what if they don't? What value do those opinions have? You want me to butter them up with sweet talk and get attached just for that?"
Capier stepped closer to Henessi.
"I don't do that fake crap. You go ahead if you want."
As Henessi bristled to yell back, the village head returned.
"Hero and party—I've prepared lodging. Allow me to guide you."
Capier and the others headed to the lodging without another word.
The sun was setting, and the air growing chilly, so they entered the cabin promptly.
"Village head, I've got a question..."
Capier stepped out to ask the head something, while Henessi huffed and turned to Frensia.
"Frensia, is he always so rude?"
Frensia shook her head awkwardly.
"The Hero is a warm person. His words are rough, but I think his true nature is kind and pure. He saved my life, after all..."
"Even so, that way of speaking is wrong. I'll confront him properly tomorrow morning."
As Frensia looked troubled, Merian chimed in.
"Henessi... don't be too mad... After all, the Hero saved everyone in the village today..."
"..."
She fell silent. The results spoke for themselves, didn't they? Capier had single-handedly faced dozens of monsters and saved the villagers. She agreed with that much, so she couldn't argue further.
"I got a bit heated. Sorry."
Once their heated conversation settled, they climbed into their beds. (Rasitena had long since put up a divine power noise-blocking barrier, annoyed by the racket, and gone to sleep.)
-Creak-
Soon, Capier opened the door and entered.
-Thud-
He sat rigidly on a wooden chair.
Frensia spoke to him worriedly.
"Hero... there are only three beds. If you're planning to sleep there, we can switch..."
She whispered softly.
"O-or you could sleep next to me..."
Capier cut her off firmly.
"I can't sleep in beds. Habit from sleeping on the ground or chairs."
Frensia gazed at him wistfully, but he closed his eyes.
"Everyone, sleep. We move out tomorrow."
With that, the party drifted off.
A while later.
-Creeeak-
The door creaked open, jolting awake Henessi, who rubbed her eyes.
What's that noise?
Thinking someone had left, she looked around. The others slept soundly—except Capier, who was gone. He must have headed out.
"Merian, wake up."
"Y-yes...? What's wrong...?"
Too scared to go alone, she woke Merian and they slipped outside. Henessi's curiosity had gotten the better of her—what was he doing out at this hour?
What the hell is he up to in the dead of night?
Capier dragged a bulging sack toward the hills. He then used his sword like a shovel to dig into the earth.
"H-Henessi... what is the Hero doing...?"
"No idea..."
After digging eight pits, he stopped and opened the sack. Inside were eight corpses.
Henessi recognized their faces.
Those are the ones killed by monsters this morning...? Why...?
Capier placed each body into a pit one by one, covering them with dirt. He gathered large stones from nearby and carved into them with his sword.
-Scrape, scrape-
Once the graves were filled and stones planted, he bowed his head and murmured.
"Sorry... If I'd been faster... stronger..."
He lingered like that for a while before straightening up and trudging back as if nothing had happened.
Henessi doubted her ears. Hearing words she never imagined from that man's mouth was shocking.
Merian beside her looked stunned too.
After he left, they stood dazed before approaching the stones to see what he'd written.
Each makeshift gravestone bore a simple name: Lunia... Torries... All names of the dead, presumably.
No way...
Henessi recalled Capier asking the village head something earlier.
-What? Hero? Why ask about that...?
-Just tell me. Do I need to report this too?
-N-no... Their names are Lunia...
The pieces clicked.
-Thump, thump
Henessi's heart pounded wildly.
Capier wasn't as cold as she'd thought. He just couldn't express it—he was more emotional than anyone.
Who else would ask for strangers' names just to bury them properly? They were outsiders, not family or friends.
Someone with such delicate feelings might distance himself to protect his fragile heart.
-Thump
He performed great deeds casually, without fanfare. Even if no one noticed, he didn't care or seek reward.
-Thump, thump
She'd always admired such people. Immature perhaps, but with strong responsibility—saving the weak without boasting, acting on conviction even if ignored. Different eras called them differently, but here, they were heroes.
Henessi couldn't believe it. People were like that, weren't they? When doing good, they craved recognition. But not Capier.
"...Merian... what should I do...?"
"H-Henessi...?"
Her face burned red. Not just shame from her rude words earlier.
The ideal person she'd dreamed of since childhood. The strong hero from another world she'd always longed to follow.
"My heart... it's pounding so hard, like it's clogged... hurts..."
Admiration, longing, awe—all mixed in her emotions. But above all, it was something deeper.
For the first time, she felt it: profound affection, love even.
And she thought to herself.
Tomorrow... I have to apologize to the Hero...