Opening my eyes, I saw my little sister's cute face peering at me.
"Good morning, Big Brother."
"Good morning."
I wasn't surprised. This had been common during our travels together. Back then, Ruti
would sometimes stare at my face all night because she had nothing to do. I had
suggested reading a book every once in a while, but Ruti declined, saying it didn't feel
right to force herself to read even if she didn't want to just because she had extra time.
Thus, I had fallen into the habit of allowing Ruti to do whatever she pleased provided
it didn't wake me up.
Picturing Ruti sitting beside me in a dark tent, leaning over to look at my face all
night… It was just, well…
It was so adorable!
I mean, she was gazing straight at my face, right? Knowing that she thought I was so
dependable lit a fire in my heart. Plus, it was reassuring to have her beside me all night.
My dreams had always been pleasant with her there.
When I mentioned that to Tisse and Mister Crawly Wawly, though, they were taken
aback. For the following two hours, Tisse walked around as awkwardly as a poorly
crafted golem.
"Big Brother," Ruti called again.
"Ah, sorry. Guess I'm still a little sleepy. I'll get up now."
My sister nimbly pulled back as I sat up.
"Did you turn your Immunity to Sleep back on last night?" I asked.
"Yeah. I wanted to watch you. It's been a long time since I had the chance."
Gazing out the window, I could see a glum portrait of winter in Zoltan. Just how early
was it?
Rit had gone to a nearby village yesterday to stock up on some herbs. She was staying
the night and would be back in the evening. Ordinarily, I'd be the one to go, but…
"Thank you for keeping your promise, Big Brother," Ruti said happily.
I had told Ruti I'd show her around the harbor district today.
There was a rare herb—actually, it was a plant-type monster—called snake-eater
grass that could be used as a substitute for blood needles in a few medicines. As luck
would have it, a breeding ground of sorts for the creature had been discovered
yesterday. The snake-eater grass had already caused a few problems, so a request was
bound to show up in the Adventurers Guild soon. Whoever took the job would likely
burn it all. That was the fastest way to get rid of it.
I wanted to defeat the monster and bring it back here before that happened, but I
already had plans with Ruti. While I fretted over what to do, Rit had offered to go deal
with the snake-eater grass herself.
"So shall we dine out for breakfast today?" I proposed.
"Your cooking is my favorite… but I'm interested to see what sorts of food there are in
Zoltan, too," Ruti responded.
I couldn't help but smile at that. Not too long ago, the idea that Ruti would express
interest in anything had been absurd.
I gently patted her hair, and she tilted her head a bit in surprise, but then her eyes
narrowed like a contented cat's.
Zoltan's port was connected to the river.
Unfortunately, no one knew the waterway's name, though it likely had some kind of
moniker back during the age of the wood elves. A particularly old half-elf claimed he
was pretty sure it was something that started with "Mi" back in his grandparents'
generation. However, every account like this differed. Supposed name meanings
included river lit by the rising sun, dark of night river, summer's gleam river, and
tranquil winter river.
This variety was due to wood elf culture. They believed that all things were in a state
of continuous change. Thus, even a river became something else entirely to them
depending on the seasons and years.
Meanwhile, to the humans who had settled here and created Zoltan, it was just "the
river." They valued the waterway, of course, but a name was just a means of identifying
something. So long as it was clear what you were referring to, that was enough for
these lazy folk.
Wood elves went extinct long ago, but I would have liked to be able to sit down and
talk with them just once.
They may have disappeared, but the river was still here, and we humans wouldn't be
able to survive in this region without it, either.
"It's why we can enjoy this baked pike."
Shops in the harbor district catered to dockworkers and sailors, so you could find fish
soup just about anywhere you checked. The establishment Ruti and I had stopped in
was also an inn where ships' captains and officers regularly stayed, so it served proper
breakfasts, too.
The pike had been steamed in fish stock, which really brought out the refreshing flavor
of river fish. Its accompanying onion marinade was fantastic. The meal came with soft,
white bread and some wine, despite it being morning.
"Delicious." Ruti seemed to be enjoying herself as she had her breakfast.
I'm glad it suits her tastes.
"Since we're in the harbor district… I guess we should check out the import market.
After that, we can rent a sightseeing boat," I said.
"A sightseeing boat?"
"Yeah, you can pay to use one for a bit. We can ride it up the river and take in the sights."
"Just the two of us, on a boat…" Ruti glanced down. Her lips spread just a little, and I
caught a tiny, restrained giggle. Then she looked back up, eyes gleaming. "That would
be great."
The market was packed and lively whenever a ship came in, but today it was almost
entirely deserted—just a traveling merchant on a rowboat who had come back from
the villages upriver.
"Hey there, apothecary!"
Someone called out to me as Ruti and I walked. The voice belonged to a shady-looking
man named Pasquale. He lived here in the harbor district. Primarily, he worked as a
counterfeiter, but he also served as a ship's navigator on the side. He had all sorts of
scars on his lower legs, but it was the unspoken rule of Zoltan not to snoop into
people's pasts. I didn't have any solid urge to pry, either.
"What's this? Fooling around with another girl? You've already got Rit, don't you?"
"This is my sister, Ruti Ruhr," I replied.
"Huh, never woulda guessed you had a sister. She's a real cutie, too," remarked
Pasquale.
"Incidentally, she's the new B-rank adventurer, so if you try anything funny, you can
count yourself lucky if you only end up half-dead," I responded.
"Seriously? Rit's one thing, but your sister, too? Do you have some kinda blessing that
creates heroes?"
I couldn't help a wry chuckle at that. He wasn't entirely off the mark.
"As if a blessing like that could exist. So what'd you want?"
"I mean, I was sure you were on a date, is all. Look, these'd make a perfect present for
her, right?" Pasquale was gesturing at the various jeweled earrings and tiaras lined up
in front of him.
"They're all just fakes. Glass, right?" I pressed.
If he were selling authentic accessories, then I could add him to the list as a candidate
for Rit's ring.
"I mean, yeah, obviously. But they're still pretty, ain't they? They're all masterpieces
that I put my heart into polishin'," admitted Pasquale.
"So you say. No doubt you'll sell them at a markup since they're all such masterpieces,
right?"
"I don't do that for people who know the grift. I'll sell 'em to ya for a fair price,
accountin' for materials and labor."
"Hmmm."
I glanced over at Ruti.
Simply put, my sister was filthy stinking rich. She had found all sorts of legendary
treasures during her travels and sold off supplies and loot taken from the demon lord's
forces. The prizes she had were all so valuable that given the scale of the economy out
here, there wasn't anyone who could afford to buy them. She had more wealth than
the entire national budget of Zoltan. I'm sure she had payril silvers, too, though I had
no clue how many.
Given that, buying her a glass bauble as a present seemed almost like an insult.
Ruti wasn't wearing any of it now, but she had a wealth of magical accessories, from
mithril earrings to a buckle made from a scarce meteoric metal called redsky.
"Big Brother…"
"Hn? Did you want something?"
"Uh-huh… It can be the cheapest one; I don't mind."
I see…
"Okay, then I'll get you whichever one would look best on you."
"Yay, a present."
Ruti looked pleased, and she blushed bashfully.
With that, Pasquale and I descended into a sparring match. He tried to sell off the most
expensive thing he could, but eventually, I put down the money for a particularly wellmade pair of earrings and gave them to Ruti.
We were riding a little yacht with one mast and a triangular sail. It was small enough
that on a tranquil day, it only took one person to row. It wasn't equipped to carry
payloads and didn't travel fast, but it was a river sightseeing boat, so that was more
than enough.
"This should be about right." I maneuvered it so that just a little bit of wind would
catch the sail. The boat lazily glided upriver. "All right, let's have lunch."
I had picked up some food at a stall before we left. Inside the paper bag was fried
whitefish and sweet potato. Ruti and I dug in.
"In the northern district, there's a place with this foreign food called takoyaki that's
really good, but it's a bit far from here," I said.
"I want to eat that with you next time," Ruti answered immediately.
"Got it. On our next holiday, we'll take a look around the northern district."
"Okay."
As the boat sailed gently upriver, Ruti and I watched as the townscape slowly passed
by.
"This is so nice," Ruti stated. "I never thought I would get to spend a day like this with
just the two of us again. I didn't think I'd have friends like Tisse, Mister Crawly Wawly,
or Rit, either." She turned to look straight at me. "Thank you, Big Brother. Can we stay
together like this forever?"
She had asked that once before, and I had dodged the question because I'd been about
to join the Bahamut Knights at the time. Things were very different now, though. My
goal these days was to live a simple, peaceful life.
"Yeah. I'll be by your side for as long as you want me there."
Hearing that, Ruti smiled as her eyes trembled, and she clenched her fist and did a
little fist pump.
"Yay!"
Two days later, Rit, Ruti, and I went out to the mountain.
This time, it wasn't to fight. Our trip was only to gather some herbs. When Ares had
wrecked the shop, a large portion of the plants in storage had gone bad. Tisse and
Mister Crawly Wawly had stayed behind to watch the store for us.
"This is a white berry. I'm sure you know it's the base for magic potions, but have you
ever seen the raw fruit before?" I inquired.
"No," answered Ruti.
I was also using the opportunity to teach my sister all I could about medicinal herbs,
since she planned to start a farm for them. Given her current level, there was no way
she would be able to level up her blessing out here in Zoltan. So it would be difficult
for her to allocate skill points into Survival, the skill that allowed you to discern
medicinal herbs from other plants easily. Thus, I was teaching her the distinguishing
characteristics so she could tell for herself without using a skill. Using a skill
guaranteed accuracy, but it didn't confer the actual knowledge. Learned information
was more versatile.
"This is a fruit that looks very similar to white berries. It's called a gray berry. The
name's a bit misleading, however. If you put it next to a white berry, it appears nearly
identical. Can you see the difference?"
"Yeah."
"The Survival skill will tell you that this is just a weed that doesn't have any value and
that it isn't a white berry, but it can still be used to make an ointment that's good for
dealing with bug bites."
"Really?"
"Remember back when we were traveling, there was a salve we put on our arms and
legs and neck when we were going through forests and marshes?"
"Oh, so that's what that was. You really are amazing, Big Brother."
Insect bites wouldn't trouble the nearly invincible Ruti, but this wasn't knowledge for
the Hero anyway. It was just some simple stuff to help a young woman live her life.
Ruti wore a serious expression, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, listening
intently.
"She just like you, Red," Rit said.
"Huh?"
Behind us, Rit had set down her basket filled with herbs. Seeing my surprise, she
elaborated, "When you're preparing medicine and stuff, you have that same sort of
focused look, but it's clear you're having fun… It's a lovely expression. You two really
are siblings."
"Mph."
I held my hand up to cover my mouth. Seeing that, Rit tugged her bandana up to cover
a giggle.
"Big Brother, you do the same sort of thing Rit does when you smile," Ruti remarked,
looking just a little bit disgruntled.
Rit's eyes went wide, and then her cheeks flushed as she tried to conceal more and
more of her face behind the bandana.
"Mph."
Ruti peered over at my smiling face and used her hands to try to pull her mouth into a
smile. Trying to match my grin, I guess.
We stopped working for a little while, just smiling and laughing as we looked at each
other. After that, we split up into two groups and spent about four hours gathering
herbs.
"There we go."
Rit and I had finished harvesting polyp mushrooms that grew around a shady little
creek that ran through the valley, and we'd just gotten back to where we had split up.
"Ruti?"
My sister had filled her basket full of white berries and was leaning against a tree
trunk in the sunlight, eyes closed. She'd dozed off.
"That's a first."
Ruti was napping defenselessly. I guess she had gotten a little sleepy waiting for us
with the unseasonably warm sunlight shining down.
To the Hero, napping was pointless, but for Ruti, that moment of peace wasn't useless
at all. It was precisely the kind of thing I had always wanted her to experience.
"The weather really is nice," Rit said as she sat down at the base of a nearby tree.
"Yeah, it sure is."
I sat down and looked up at the blue sky. It was past three in the afternoon already. A
thrush sitting on a tree branch glanced over at me and chirped. Returning the look, I
held a finger to my lips.
"My sister is resting now."
However, the bird just cocked its head and flew down, trilling again right in front of
us. I couldn't help chuckling when it puffed out its chest, as if bragging about how great
its singing voice was.
Peaceful. It was such a lovely moment…
I started to doze off, but I opened one eye when I sensed something approaching. An
owlbear was peeking out of the undergrowth. It was small; still a child. It was peering
over at me as if looking for permission, so I signaled with a glance for it not to mind
us. At that, the owlbear quietly wound its way behind Ruti. It was pretty considerate
for a monster.
After going down the mountain a little ways behind Ruti, it picked up the corpse of a
five–meter-tall mountain giant in its mouth and dragged it off into the distance. The
giant must have attacked Ruti while she was gathering by herself. It had probably
wandered down from the Wall at the End of the World.
"So peaceful."
While the owlbear disappeared into the distance, I closed my eyes again.
The next day proved similarly tranquil, but dinner was a noisy affair because Danan
came over to eat.
He had been so severely wounded and covered with bandages that for a while, it had
looked painful just to sit up. Now he had recovered enough to walk around on his own.
That was Danan for you.
After treating Ruti, Tisse, and Danan to an evening meal, I asked Rit to take care of the
dishes and went out by myself to look at the night sky.
"Yo," a voice called out from behind me. It was Danan. "That was some great food. Your
cooking really is the best."
"Thanks."
"It's a shame I won't get to enjoy it anymore once I start traveling again."
"So you really are going to head out once you're all better?" I asked.
"Yeah. I swore I wouldn't forgive the demon lord for destroying my home."
"I see."
He'd still be recuperating for a while yet, but he'd be gone in half a year at most. Danan
was still a Martial Artist, even if my fight was over. Our paths had split.
"Hey, Red, I'm not the brightest guy, so I can't say I really understand it all, but… the
thing this time… how do I put it… it feels like there were too many weird coincidences.
You know what I mean, yeah?"
"…I do. For starters, why was Shisandan still alive? How did he know the Sacred
Avengers were there? And why was he after them?"
I had heard from Theodora that the swords the Asura demon had wielded were relics
from the first Hero. Like Danan, she had also suspected something strange was afoot.
However, the most suspicious part of it all was…
"Why were there five swords?"
"Right?"
The Sacred Avengers were long—about a meter. And it went without saying, but
humans and elves only had two arms. Even dual-wielding, you would only need two
swords. So why had there been five of them?
"It's too conspicuous to merely be a few spares…," I said.
"I can't imagine God being that generous," Danan concurred.
They were legendary weapons presented by God to the first Hero. Similar legendary
armaments and armor existed, but in every instance, they were always unique objects.
I'd never heard of extras.
"From what Ruti heard Shisandan say, it seems like…" I trailed off. It wasn't that there
were three or four extras; it was that one had been missing. The second-generation
Hero had taken one, leaving five behind. "There were originally six of them. That
would be my guess. Then the numbers add up."
Somewhere on the dark continent in the subterranean realm of Underdeep, inside the
demon lord's castle that served as the capital of the Asura demon nation known as
Asura Kshetra sat a towering shadow upon a throne.
The gigantic figure stood more than five meters tall. His body and six arms were
sculpted like one would have imagined the ideal warrior. His expression was the
embodiment of rage. In the middle of his forehead was a third eye filled with flames,
opened wide.
Taraxon, the Raging Demon Lord. The ruler of the forces invading the continent of
Avalon and a great Asura demon warrior. Taraxon had destroyed the tribe of wrath
demons that were true heirs to the throne.
Four of Taraxon's arms moved as if searching for something, while the other two
remained still. From the motion, a seal formed before his chest. Before long, light
started to emanate from the ground before him. The glow increased, expanding into a
massive, luminous ball before taking shape and gaining size. Finally, it transformed
into the figure of the Asura demon Shisandan.
Shisandan knelt before Taraxon and lowered his head in a practiced manner.
The demon lord's four moving arms stopped, and Taraxon looked down at the
kneeling Asura as he spoke.
"Hail, hero. Your death was unfortunate."
Asuras, having not been created by Demis, were far removed from the traditional cycle
of life and death. Their souls returned to the Asura lord to be reborn again. Asuras
were not originally a powerful race. In the age when New Truth was everywhere,
Asura heroes were defeated and slain countless times.
However, they learned from their losses, understanding more with each cycle. Despite
so many deaths, they had persisted without losing hope and continued to fight until
they'd finally destroyed the one who ruled New Truth.
That unbreakable resolve, that way of life, that was what it truly meant to be a hero in
the teaching of Asura philosophy.
"Take some time to regain the strength you've lost, proud Shisandan."
"Sir!" Shisandan nodded emphatically.
Even for Asuras, death meant losing both magical power and physical strength. Yet it
also conferred the courage to attain something even greater. This was why no Asura
feared death nor defeat.
I must train myself even further.
Shisandan thought back to Ruti's single blow, in awe of the destructive power that she
possessed.
Would he ever really be able to match that might?
The road was undoubtedly long, perhaps even endless. But for an undying Asura, there
was nothing more gratifying.
Shisandan's lips spread into a warped smile as he knelt there, head bowed.
To the west of Zoltan, on the highway just past the border, Godwin sat on a grassy knoll
beside the road, making a stew.
"Today's lunch is a brew of beef jerky and pickles, huh?"
The only seasoning he had was salt.
It had been a long time since Godwin had cooked out on the road, and it honestly did
not look particularly appealing.
"Haaah. It wasn't that long ago I was Bighawk's right-hand man and was livin' the good
life…" Lifting a spoonful to his lips, he could not taste anything other than salt. Godwin
sighed. "Even if I'm headin' for the archipelago kingdom, I'm gonna hafta find a
merchant ship or caravan first. I should see about getting hired as a guard, so I can
take it easy while makin' some money and gettin' food for free."
Suddenly, Godwin heard the sounds of travelers approaching from the distance. The
man was an escaped convict. He was out of Zoltan, but there might still be someone
who recognized him.
After dousing his fire, he grabbed the pot and put a lid on it, then he crouched down
to hide in the meadow.
A merchant procession of three horse-drawn carts drew close. The broker holding the
reins was someone Godwin recognized from Zoltan.
This is getting dangerous…
Smoke from his fire still rose into the air, and the smell of the soup he had been making
remained detectable.
Godwin cursed himself for believing he wouldn't run into anyone on their way to
Zoltan.
His face turned pale. This particular merchant had a good reason to hold a grudge
against him. It had been a long time ago, but back when Godwin was a grunt with the
Thieves Guild, he had been ordered to interfere with that dealer's sales.
I'm sure he's got it out for me. He'll definitely recognize me… Godwin was getting
nervous when he suddenly remembered the little vial in his bag. Oh yeah, I have that
invisibility potion Rit gave me.
Whether Rit had forgotten about it in all the commotion or she didn't care about losing
it, Godwin had held onto it.
Wasting no time, he downed the contents of the vial in a single gulp. He, his clothes,
and his luggage all vanished.
There, now it should be fine.
Godwin breathed a sigh of relief before remembering that the potion did not mute
sounds and covering his mouth with both hands.
The little caravan was getting nearer.
Godwin, now invisible, was lying beneath a rise in the ground. There were two
warriors on horseback guarding the traveling merchants. Seeing the remnants of the
fire, they looked around from atop their mounts, but didn't spot anything that gave
them further pause. The merchant driving the carts looked a little bit nervous as he
passed right in front of Godwin.
Yes!
Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived. The grass before him trembled.
"Huh?"
The verdant blades twisted like a living creature, wrapping around Godwin and
pinning him down.
Wh-what the hell's goin' on?!
He panicked, and the guards protecting the procession looked surprised. One of the
coaches stopped, and a single high elf woman stepped out. Her eyes looked straight at
Godwin even though he should have been undetectable.
"Plants do not see with eyes the way we do. An invisibility potion cannot deceive my
friends."
"Th-this is… Wait, a Singer of the Trees?!"
Godwin struggled desperately, but the thin vegetation holding him down may as well
have been steel chains.
"Why were you concealing yourself? Did we look like bandits to you?" inquired the
high elf woman.
"A-an abundance of caution. It's dangerous to travel alone," Godwin hurriedly replied.
"Even to the point of using a magic potion?"
"I'm a careful man."
"You don't really look it to me."
The high elf was scrutinizing Godwin. Noticing that her coach had stopped, the others
in the caravan turned to come back. A cold sweat started pouring down Godwin's back.
"The only place this road leads is the republic of Zoltan, right? Are you from there?"
"Wh-who knows? Hey, I ain't done anything wrong here! And it's not like I can do
anything by myself, so just let me go already!"
"I suppose so. I'd appreciate it if you'd answer me just one question, though."
"Wh-what?"
The high elf stooped over, looking straight into Godwin's eyes.
"I've heard there's an adventurer by the name of Rit in Zoltan. Do you know if she
associates with a young human man with black hair?
Godwin immediately realized she meant Red.
I've had nothin' but trouble ever since I got involved with him…
Godwin had once confidently thought that he could manage in a fight against most
anyone in Zoltan. His encountering Red had blown that notion out of the water,
however. Upon reflection, Godwin realized that was what it meant to be a big frog in a
small pond.
But come on! You didn't have go dumping goddamn dragons in the pond! Godwin cursed
God for pitting him against such monstrously powerful foes before switching gears
back to figuring out how to respond to his captor.
"Did something happen, Ms. Yarandrala?" asked a merchant Godwin had wronged
some time ago.
The high elf called Yarandrala, who had once been one of the Hero's comrades, turned
to the merchant. Behind him, the road continued into the distance.
And at the end of it lay Zoltan.