"Hero, huh…"
The missive given to King Leric by the knight who acted as messenger. It was written by Mephia Zwai Afillis, without a doubt. However, it contained only one line.
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It was enough for Leric to understand everything. If he was a hero, a superhuman being, then everything clicked.
Only "Heroes" could kill other "Heroes".
"That Fay…aren't you sly, my boy…"
Had Leric suddenly been told that someone other than Fay was actually a "Hero", he probably wouldn't have believed it. That could be said with confidence. From Leric's viewpoint, Fay was an existence shrouded in mystery.
Leric had met Fay several times during official events. Fay would smile a little when he spoke to his elder brother, Grerial Hanse Diestburg, but was expressionless any other time. Or rather, it looked like his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Leric couldn't tell where that was. Through his conversations with Fay, however, all he could learn was that Fay hated the sword, a way of thinking quite unlike anyone else in that world.
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The words he said that time were probably related to that way of thinking.
"So much about grandstanding."
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Now, Leric could understand the reason why Fay added a condition like that.
"Whatever led you to think in such a way…?"
If Fay was aware of his true abilities, he wouldn't speak that way. Fay was probably not thinking seriously of surviving. If he died, then he died. That was it.
That was his line of thinking.
"What twisted you so much, my boy?"
He probably decided that he would be the one to face the "Hero". He probably decided to stand on the frontlines. Despite stating his hate for the sword so many times.
Despite possessing enough fighting prowess to defeat a "Hero", Fay avoided combat like the plague. There had to be a reason. Even if Fay was questioned about it, however, he would just say that he hated swords. Because he never tried to let others understand *that*. He did not wish to.
"What can—"
What can save you?
Leric's faint words resounded in the surroundings.
"I want to be of help to you, if I can…"
King Leric had a debt to repay, but more than that, he liked the boy as a person. Leric liked Fay for his utter lack of ulterior motives. Thus he wished to save him.
However, Leric understood that it was impossible for him. He did not know why, but he felt that he couldn't.
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What Fay sought was a scene from his memories. He thought that, if he was weaker, he would have failed to survive and would have possibly died with a smile on his face, like the others.
But Fay had luck on his side. Protected by his mentor and other people he was on good terms with, he grew strong thanks to them and could survive till the end. He ended up surviving. He failed to die. Which he was convinced was a mistake.
If I wasn't strong, I could have gone where my mentor and the others are, he thought.
If only the sword didn't exist, things wouldn't have turned out like this, he thought.
But he also wanted to become stronger in order to kill his mentor.
Fay was aware of the contradictions in his way of thinking, but, even so, he hated the sword.
The sword that led him to solitude.
He shunned everything about the sword. A way of thinking that no one would understand, and that no one had any way to understand.
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Leric, who did not know anything about Fey's experiences, realized that he would never even understand half of Fay's thinking.
"…I have no concrete proof, but one day Fay will be saved. I just feel it."
So…
"So please, don't die, my boy."
Leric wished so not as a king, but as a friend.
"If you keep living, you can surely find all kinds of happiness."
Right? Fay, my boy…
In a room of the royal palace, a king faced the wide-open window and let his words ride the breeze, hoping they would reach their destination.