Chapter 115: You Kept Your Promise

“Of course we should part ways here.”

The day of departure.

Ases spoke as if there were no need to even discuss it.

Unlike her usual self, she wore versatile light armor made of leather with chains reinforcing only a few key areas. She pulled the small bag hanging from a strap tight against her back, looking as if she were ready to leave this very instant.

“Why?”

Had there been no prior discussion?

As Mines asked, sounding surprised, Ases clicked her tongue as if wondering how she didn’t know.

“Everyone who needs to know probably already knows that I smuggled Kariel out. Imagine the reaction if he and I just showed up together in plain sight.”

“That’s….”

“For now, all eyes will be focused on me, so I have to use that to my advantage. It’s better if we don’t stay together for now, even if we reunite later. I have a few places to stop by, so if you have the leisure, find me on your own. Well, if you’re even still around by then.”

With those words, Ases moved forward with her small pack on her shoulder, heading in the completely opposite direction from Kariel and Mines.

Perhaps worried about her as she walked away so confidently.

“Will she… be okay?”

Mines let her inner thoughts slip.

Mines was also dressed for easy movement, wearing plain brown pants and a simple, undyed linen top. Over that, she wore a blue short cape that reached her waist; since it was different from her usual attire, she kept glancing at herself, feeling a bit awkward.

“Who are you worrying about?”

It was only because Kariel and Mines were so exceptional; by the world’s standards, Ases was a walking disaster in her own right.

Surely she could take care of herself.

“I… suppose so.”

Because he had grown in stature, there was a problem with wearing the clothes he had on when he first arrived here.

However, the cloak he received from Elhermina was a high-grade magic tool, so it was still perfectly useful.

In fact, aside from that, the only thing he had brought when leaving the capital was a lute.

Even the sword he received from Elhermina had been integrated with the sword Grandeus had arranged.

He kept bulky and heavy luggage stored away in that manner.

And so.

The two watched Ases’s retreating figure before eventually turning toward the forest in the opposite direction.

The heat had faded, and a faintly cool breeze flowed in, carrying the refreshing scent of the woods.

If exposed to the sun, the skin would flare up as if the cool breeze had never existed.

But aside from that, the wind felt as if it were gradually preparing to carry a chill—it was perfect weather for traveling.

====

If branches weren’t pruned in winter, snow would settle and freeze them, and the frozen branches would be blown away by gusts of wind, falling onto village roofs or nearby areas.

In severe cases, passing children or adults were often hit and injured.

Therefore, branches near the village were pruned in advance, also serving as a source of firewood.

However, pruning wasn’t done indiscriminately.

“Leo. Trees are living beings too. Do you think it’s okay to just cut them however we want just for our own convenience?”

“Dad. But you said we can’t just leave them like this.”

“That’s true. That’s why we aren’t cutting the tree’s hands or arms; we’re trimming its nails.”

“Do trees have nails?”

“It’s just a figure of speech.”

He had explained it in a way that a little kid could understand.

“Now, climb up and see.”

Leo, who climbed the tree skillfully, focused his gaze on the tree his father was pointing to, having already ascended via a ladder.

“What do you see?”

“A tree?”

“…….”

He pointed to a specific spot.

“Look here.”

“??”

“I cut this part a long time ago. Now look. See? The bark wrapped around the area on its own, right?”

“Is that how it works?”

“…Develop your powers of observation. This is the work you’ll have to do when I’m bedridden.”

“Do Forest Keepers do this too? The other uncles help out when they’re busy, don’t they?”

“…That’s why those problems happen. No, words aren’t enough, I’ll show you directly.”

Following him as he climbed down the ladder, Leo also nimbly descended and headed toward a tree on the other side.

“Look here.”

It was clearly a tree that had been pruned in the same way.

Yet, unlike the one they saw earlier, the bark here did not wrap around the cut surface.

Perhaps because of that, the open area looked poor, as if it had been pierced by something.

The man reached in and pulled out fragments and splinters as if searching for something.

“If you cut a nail, it grows back, but a finger doesn’t. As you can see, this is how a tree dies. It becomes diseased.”

“Really?”

“The person who cut this probably didn’t have any ill intent. But as a result, if I hadn’t tended to this tree, it would have quickly rotted, smelling of decay and mold. Well, it would be great for growing mushrooms, but everything around it would have become a mess. This one is a bit better off, though.”

In that way.

Leo followed his father, looking at various trees, unable to tell the difference between this one or that one.

“If there aren’t enough trees, the mountain collapses. Then the village would suffer great damage.”

“Is that so?”

“When I was young, a few neighbors’ houses were buried just like that. After that, everyone started building their houses a bit further away from the mountain.”

“Ah.”

He had wondered why they had to go through the trouble of hauling loads from further away when being closer to the mountain meant quicker access to firewood.

Now he realized there was a reason for it.

Whether it was houses burning down from fire or being crushed by landslides, these were problems that couldn’t be taken lightly.

“But we still have the mountain lodge, right?”

“Do only we use it? Everyone uses it together.”

And so.

He felt he had learned a lot for one day.

But after a few days, he would quickly forget.

And then he would learn new things again.

It differed by season.

It differed by year.

He wondered why there were so many things to learn and know.

“…….”

Waking up suddenly to the sound of a crackling campfire, Leo looked around with a blank expression for a moment, watching Luirin stir the fire with a poker.

“Were you asleep?”

“You were sleeping deeply. I guess you were tired?”

It was quite peaceful.

Now that the big event had settled and he was temporarily away from his comrades….

No, was it really just temporary?

“…….”

“You’re not used to the silence after being in a noisy crowd every day, are you? It’s already been a few days, but you still have that strange look on your face.”

“Did I look like that?”

Leo scratched his brown hair.

His two black eyes gazed steadily up at the sky, which had not yet reached dawn.

“We should arrive around today, right?”

“I guess so.”

Luirin’s silver eyes, paired with her mysterious hair that evoked a pale lilac hue, sparkled beautifully with the flickering light of the fire.

Perhaps because she wasn’t fully human.

Even though quite some time had passed since they started traveling together, her appearance and physique showed no significant difference from before.

She was certainly tall, but maybe by a hand’s breadth?

“Then I’ll close my eyes for a bit. I plan to rest deeply after we arrive anyway, so wake me up as soon as the sun rises.”

“Yeah. Thanks for looking out for me.”

As Luirin wrapped herself in her unique magic tool cloak like a blanket and closed her eyes, her breathing soon became slow and relaxed.

“Phew.”

Even though it wasn’t winter yet, the dawn was chilly.

Leo, who wrapped himself again in the cloak that served as his lining, stared blankly at the fire, stirring the poker and adding logs whenever it seemed necessary.

-It’s been a little over three years since you first set out on your journey in earnest.

“That’s right.”

As the Holy Sword hummed, he gripped it, and the voice naturally reached him.

-Quite a lot has happened since you held me, hasn’t it?

“I suppose so.”

He had become a Hero unintentionally.

Immediately after, he had even faced Sir Lueld, the Chief of Nine Heroes.

Lueld had told him that following him was an option, but Leo, having a deep attachment to his village and country, humbly declined.

However, the fact that Leo had become a Hero caused a greater stir than expected.

After that, he was summoned here and there, swept up in all sorts of dangerous missions and conspiracies—it was absolute chaos.

Still, he had his comrades, and as they solved various problems together and gathered clues to resolve the issue Luciri had taken on.

Eventually, after a long pursuit, they reached a final conclusion.

-Do you believe she will keep her promise?

“…Because in a way, she was a victim too.”

In a way, he had ended up avenging the grudge of Mines.

The being that had sought to kill Leo himself.

The being that had contributed to making his village that way.

In the end, that member of the Demon Race, who had left the Edenlevan Regiment to embrace evil, fell by the hands of Leo and his party.

The various conspiracies and plots he had orchestrated were all neutralized and frozen from that point onward.

“The world is a complicated place.”

-Stating the obvious.

A voice that was solemn yet gently comforting.

How long had he been like this?

Sensing a small presence, he turned his gaze toward it.

“Who’s there?”

A man appeared, dressed in worn leather.

He held a bow that also looked to be in poor condition.

However.

“Uncle Zeban?”

“Huh? Who’s calling me uncle… Oh, you? You look like someone. Uh, Leo? Leo, son of Forest Keeper Jusek, right?”

“…….”

Leo wondered if this was a dream or reality.

In the dream he had just had, he dreamed of his childhood, being dragged here and there by his father.

And now….

“You’re… safe?”

“Safe? I’m safe. But… a lot of time has passed without us noticing, hasn’t it? What happened? And why have you become so mature? It’s unlike you.”

Zeban approached and sat near the campfire.

Then, as Zeban’s eyes met Luirin’s, he jumped in surprise.

“Whoa! What is this, a beast? How is your presence this faint?!”

“……Leo. Is it someone you know?”

“Uh, yeah. Right. So….”

Amidst the swirling emotions, Leo felt a sensation that was hard to describe.

The words wouldn’t come out properly.

Within those overflowing emotions.

Leo remembered the promise once again.

‘The promise….’

You kept it.

Kariel.

And.

Mines….

Leo remembered vividly.

Inside the frozen house.

Himself, lying on a small bed, and his family.

But the fact that he had opened his eyes like this now meant….

“H-how is my father? And the villagers?”

“Father? Villagers? Wait, why aren’t you saying ‘Dad’? Why is your way of speaking so old? Not for your age.”

“…Ha… ha.”

Leo instinctively looked at Luirin.

Even though it was impossible, she was openly acting as if she had expected everything.

“A lot happened while you were asleep, Uncle.”

By the way, did you know?

“I became a Hero.”

Zeban immediately protested.

“Let’s keep the lies to a reasonable limit. A mountain brat as a Hero? What, did a rabbit eat a dragon?”

“Uh, well….”

It’s true, though.

He felt awkward even while smiling, and somehow sad yet happy.

Regardless.

It was truly hard to put into words.

But he was just happy.