Joyful, the Savior Has Come (4)

"How've you been, Dian?"

Linus asked as I gazed out the window of the moving carriage.

"Looking at your face, I'd say you've been doing just fine."

I turned from the window and smiled.

"Couldn't be better. Not like there's anything to complain about."

"The principal's been working hard lately, nobody's breathing down my neck, and the academy's got everything I need. It's all perfect. Except for you dragging me to this event today."

"Haha. Sorry about that. But I didn't have a choice."

Linus raised both hands in a helpless shrug.

"You have no idea how desperately the people of Tatanok Village have been searching for you these past ten years. I know you don't want to lean on past glory and draw a crowd's attention — but I think you'll change your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind once you get there."

"I don't know about that. Still not convinced."

"By the way, have you checked the Patient Log yet?"

"Haven't had the chance. The timing never works out."

"I see. As you know, Rormane is—"

"Stop. Why bring up Rormane on a day like this?"

Linus shut his mouth with an awkward smile.

"I went on a battlefield tour of Ivronik Castle not too long ago."

I changed the subject, trying to shake Rormane from my thoughts.

"It's changed a lot. The whole place has turned into a tourist attraction."

"The Imperial Palace did that on purpose — inflating my achievements to win over public sentiment."

"Figured as much. There's a mural of you, and markers on the cliff face."

"Ah, yeah..."

Linus pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long, embarrassed sigh.

"When I first heard about the development plans, I opposed them. You know as well as I do that retaking Ivronik Castle wasn't just our achievement. We climbed over the bodies of the fallen — we were just the last drop that made the cup overflow."

"Right. A staggering number of people had already died before we even got there."

"Ignoring all of that and hanging only my name on the signboard is an insult to everyone who died there. I didn't even climb that cliff alone."

"It's pretty ridiculous, honestly."

"I proposed preserving the original form of Ivronik Castle and carving the names of the fallen into the cliff. But the result is exactly what you saw — tour guides, cafés, souvenir shops, murals. It isn't even funny."

Linus stared out the window with a grim expression and went on.

"Now that you're back in the Empire, you'll probably see a lot more of the same. Places like Ivronik Castle are scattered all over this country."

Familiar place names spilled from Linus's mouth one after another. Camel Pass, Derbion, Callias, Rajoram, the Black Swamp, Orandir, Finlook, Pensimian, Tyraelen, and countless more.

"Anywhere you and I so much as stopped by has a monument or a statue, without exception. All of it is the product of the Emperor thrashing around to keep his political life afloat."

After the war, the Empire's power structure had been completely inverted. The Noble Council and the old-guard power brokers — the Emperor among them — who had dominated the Empire for so long produced nothing of note during the fighting. Rigid thinking, self-preservation, and a strategic incompetence that their authority had long papered over saw to that.

By contrast, the Second Princess — a concubine's daughter — and officers of common birth carved out staggering victories against the Demon King's army through sheer intelligence and flexibility. So the Emperor, desperate to shore up his crumbling foundation, launched a massive publicity campaign around the Demon King Assassination Special Task Force — and Linus's achievements in particular. He himself had authorized the formation of that five-member unit, and it was the only accomplishment he could claim from the entire war.

But my name is nowhere in that story. I'd rejected every offer from the Imperial Palace and vanished, which pissed the Emperor off to no end. More precisely, it was a cocktail of rage that I'd dared refuse an imperial offer, fear that I might become a stain on his only achievement, and anxiety that I might harbor other ambitions.

"Her Highness the Second Princess wants your existence kept secret even as she placed you as a professor at the academy."

"That's what I want too."

"But that measure of hers isn't purely out of consideration for you."

"Yeah, I can more or less guess. She probably wants to monopolize me. You're already under her control, after all."

Linus nodded.

"I'm openly called the Hero of the Continent, and Celine's body isn't up to taking on anything anymore. Rormane is the Grand Chancellor of the Church — not someone the secular world can casually touch. Kayden has shut himself away in a magic tower sealed off from the outside."

"Meanwhile, one vanished member of the task force is now a nobody professor that anyone can walk up to. She wants to avoid a situation where the opposition ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tries to court and recruit me. But she can't just lock me up, so she keeps my existence a secret and stashes me at the Special Operations Academy, which she controls. That about right?"

"As expected. You'd already seen through all of it."

"Anyone who's not an idiot could figure that out. But there's one thing I still don't understand."

"What's that?"

"Your behavior."

I pointed at Linus.

"I don't care about being treated like a hero, and you said the Second Princess prefers I stay quiet. So why are you trying to drag me to this event?"

"Because it was something you and I did together."

Linus's expression turned serious.

"It wasn't just me. It was you and me. For me to receive all the recognition while you're forgotten — that's unjust."

"But doesn't this go against the Imperial Palace's intentions? Word's going to spread, little by little."

"That's unjust too."

Linus's tone grew firmer.

"I want you to stand in a position that matches everything you've done, Dian. I don't want you hidden or revealed against your will for some complicated political purpose. You're not someone who should be treated that way."

"I get what you're saying. Whether I become a hero or a footnote should be my choice. But I want to live quietly."

"Ten years ago you left the Imperial Palace and went to a distant port city, and you have no idea how the world has changed in the meantime. You don't even know how many people who owe you their lives have been waiting for you, honoring you. I want you to experience the full picture for yourself, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then decide."

"Hmm..."

"If after meeting the people of Tatanok Village today you still want to cut yourself off from everything and live quietly, I'll respect that. Your free will and your choices come first for me. The Imperial Palace's intentions aren't even worth considering."

I was slowly nodding when Linus asked,

"You said you went to Ivronik Castle, so you must have met the veterans working there. Did they recognize you?"

"They did. The guide there seemed to have already heard all about me from them."

"There are a great many people across the continent waiting for you like that. And over there, too."

Linus pointed out the window.

A fairly large village came into view between the mountains. That's Tatanok Village? It's so much bigger than it was back then.

Seeing a village that had been nothing but crumbling ruins standing whole and intact filled me with a feeling I couldn't put into words.

"After the war ended, I kept sending aid to the village in both our names. Sorry I didn't ask your permission first. There was no way to get in touch with you."

"It's fine. And... it doesn't look bad. It looks good, actually."

"And that's the valley where we took a short rest."

I looked where Linus was pointing and saw a sunken valley not far from the village. The memories of that day came flooding back.

I'd thought this village would never rise again...

"They're here! Sir Linus's carriage!"

As the carriage drew near the village, people poured out and raised a cheer.

"Sir Linus! Did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you bring him as well?!"

"You promised you'd bring him this year for sure!"

Linus stepped down first, and the crowd seized him with a flood of questions.

"I brought him. Dian, come on."

Linus smiled and stepped aside, and I climbed down from the carriage with an awkward smile. The moment I was fully on the ground, a cold silence settled over the crowd.

"D-Dian... it's Dian..."

"He really came! Dian is here!"

"Waaaaaah!"

Someone's cry was the signal — people screamed and rushed at me. Then they grabbed me, tossed me high into the air, and started bouncing me in a victory toss.

"What on earth is going on...?"

Meanwhile, Lina, hidden in the nearby mountains, was watching everything unfolding at the village entrance. The two who had stepped from the carriage were unmistakably Sir Linus and Professor Dian. Knightly's information had been correct.

And then, out of nowhere, the villagers had given Professor Dian a massive welcome — they were even tossing him in the air?

Unable to make any sense of it, Lina decided to infiltrate the village.