Theo noticed that something had changed the moment he opened his eyes. He had only moved his body slightly beneath the blanket, yet his clothes felt unusually short and tight. His sleeves had ridden up above his wrists, and his ankles were plainly exposed beneath his trousers.
Over the memories of his twelve-year-old self, the years he had forgotten overlapped.
At fifteen, he had been the youngest student admitted to the swordsmanship class at the Imperial Academy. The subtle ridicule and contempt that followed him because he was a commoner and an orphan. The attitudes of those who spoke kindly to him but ultimately kept their distance. Although they were things that had already passed, they were as vivid as if he had just experienced them. His heart beat rapidly.
Theo rolled his body to the side and burrowed into Rihen’s embrace. It was warm. When he buried his forehead deeply against his chest, his unsettled heart gradually calmed down.
Theo raised his head and looked at the sleeping Rihen. His ash-gray hair was scattered across the pillow, and the red eyes that had felt special from the moment he first saw them were hidden beneath his eyelids and could not be seen. He was a very charming man when his eyes curved into narrow lines as he smiled. His pale skin often made him seem inhuman, but the body heat he could feel was warmly and comfortably human.
To his twelve-year-old self, Rihen had simply been a good person. A kind adult who had saved him when he was buried in the snow and dying, for no reason at all.
But now, with the memories of having lived three more years, he could not see him so simply.
‘He may have some kind of objective.’
That thought occurred to him, but he was not disappointed.
Humans generally acted after calculating what they stood to gain. Kindness without a reason was, rather, unfamiliar. There had to be some kind of calculation behind taking such devoted care of a child he had picked up in a snowfield.
Theo slowly considered several possibilities.
Perhaps Rihen held an expectation like, If this person’s curse is lifted someday and he becomes an adult, he will surely repay my kindness. Theo had been wearing a uniform that looked rather expensive when he had collapsed, and anyone could see that he was not an ordinary child. In Rihen’s eyes, he might have looked like someone who would someday regain power or status.
If that was the case, he had to satisfy Rihen’s expectations. After the curse was completely lifted and he regained all his lost memories, he had to repay Rihen’s kindness without fail.
Thinking that, Theo pressed his body even closer to Rihen. Because he wanted to hold on to this warmth forever.
Then, suddenly, another emotion raised its head.
Once he became completely grown-up, he would no longer be able to be held like this or act spoiled. That fact made him a little, no, very sad.
Theo thought that, if possible, he wanted to grow slowly. Hoping that this time, this embrace, would continue just a little longer.
***
“Look. I was right, wasn’t I? You ate well and slept well, so you grew in no time. Now you’re completely an adult, an adult.”
I sincerely applauded as I looked at Theo, who had grown considerably. Theo was wearing the loose-fitting clothes I had prepared in advance. But for some reason, Theo did not seem pleased to hear the word ‘adult.’
“I’m not an adult yet. I’m fifteen.”
“What? This is the first time I’ve seen a kid who doesn’t like being called an adult.”
I grumbled playfully and lightly pinched Theo’s cheek. The sensation beneath my fingertips was soft.
“So, how much of your memory has returned? What kind of person were you at fifteen?”
I asked as I pushed the warmly heated milk toward Theo. Theo wrapped both hands around the cup, took a sip, and then suddenly blurted out something unrelated.
“Shall we play a question-and-answer game?”
“Hm?”
“We ask each other things we’re curious about and answer them. The topic is… the past.”
Theo seemed to have made up this game because he wanted to know more about me. It was not a game suitable for a demon Legion Commander like me, who had many things to hide. A single ambiguous lie could come back to trip me up later. More than anything, I already knew almost everything about Theo’s past.
“Let’s play the question-and-answer game later. After all your memories return.”
I did the best thing I could do. Postponing the decision.
Theo quietly grabbed my arm.
“Don’t you want to know what kind of person I am right now?”
I merely smiled gently.
“You know, Theo. It doesn’t matter whether the fifteen-year-old you was a young nobleman or a pickpocket living from one day’s earnings to the next. I’ve decided to stay by your side and protect you until you become an adult.”
Theo stared blankly at me, then muttered as though talking to himself.
“So it didn’t matter….”
He carefully removed his hand from my wrist, then confessed as though he had made up his mind.
“At fifteen, I had talent in swordsmanship.”
I widened my eyes, pretending to be slightly surprised.
“Oh, really?”
Theo’s eyes sparkled as he leaned his body slightly forward.
“So, could you perhaps get me a sword? I want to practice swordsmanship again.”
“Sure. I’ll get one for you. But there’s a condition. For the time being, practice together with me. Don’t overdo it, and only go as far as you can manage.”
I lightly tapped the bridge of his nose with my fingertip. “Yes, all right.” Theo nodded happily.
***
I stopped by a bookstore with Theo and picked out several books that the fifteen-year-old him might be able to read. I did not care about the price. What did money matter when raising a hero? Theo seemed considerably shocked by the fact that a single worn-out book was priced at five silver coins.
“This is too expensive. You don’t need to spend this much money on me….”
“Ah, seriously. I told you not to worry about money, didn’t I? I told you. I have an inheritance.”
It was not that I could not understand how Theo felt. He, too, had possessed some inheritance after losing his parents and becoming an orphan, but even that had been completely taken away by his relatives. He probably knew better than anyone how meaninglessly money could disappear. Moreover, I lived in a moderately run-down cabin without a single servant. I probably did not look like someone who had inherited a vast fortune.
I could not make Theo recall painful memories. To reassure him, I deliberately spoke with even more bravado.
“And I’m confident I can earn a lot of money. I’m living as an unemployed person because I have something I can rely on.”
Despite Theo trying to stop me because they were expensive, I insisted on filling his arms with a large pile of books. Theo hugged the books carefully and said that he would definitely repay my kindness.
The moment Theo returned home, he opened one of the books he had received as a gift. He sat at the desk with his back perfectly straight and began reading with a fairly dignified attitude. Watching him made me feel like a parent with a model-student son.
At that moment, the communication orb vibrated faintly. It was Kairos. It seemed he was trying to give me another quest. Having played through the game once, albeit roughly, I vaguely remembered what that quest was. An event that, if handled well, would allow me to give Theo a sword as a present. I would receive points and obtain a sword. Wasn’t that completely killing two birds with one stone?
Pretending that I was going to the bathroom, I locked the door and took the orb out of my pocket. The command I had expected flowed out exactly as I remembered.
“Destroy the Holy Knights’ armories.”
<Main Quest>
Destroy the Holy Knights’ Armories
Time Limit: Within 2 weeks
Upon Success:
High – If all 7 armories are destroyed: Infamy Points +1500p
Middle – If 4–6 are destroyed: Infamy Points +1000p
Low – If 1–3 are destroyed: Infamy Points +700p
Upon Failure: Kairos’s wrath
Perhaps because it was a difficult quest, the time limit was quite long. It also gave a lot of points. By the way, what would happen if I failed and incurred Kairos’s wrath? I became curious, but I did not particularly want to try it. Unlike a real game, there was no saving and loading here. If I failed once, that was the end.
First of all, destroying all seven was impossible with my current Stats from the start, and honestly, I did not want to do that either. The damage to the human side would be too great. Even if I destroyed only four, I would receive 1000 Infamy Points. That amount was just right.
As far as I remembered, the truly best weapons were kept in Armories 1 through 3, while the quality tended to drop somewhat from Armory 4 onward. The plan was simple. I would take a sword for Theo and a weapon for myself from Armory 1, then destroy Armories 4 through 7. I would collect the points and obtain what I needed.
As I was drawing the route in my mind, Kairos interrupted my thoughts.
“And lately, it seems the offering of souls has not been carried out properly.”
Huh?
This was a development that had not existed in the original game. Was it because I had not offered a single soul until now?
“If you keep behaving like this, I will have no choice but to doubt your loyalty. A mere half-blood. Are you sympathizing with humans because human blood flows through you?”
“I apologize for causing you concern. I wanted to offer valuable souls to the Demon King, so I spent some time considering….”
I formed the characteristically meaningful smile of a narrow-eyed character. Kairos had no intention of listening to my excuse.
“I have no interest in that nonsense. Offer thirty souls within one week. Otherwise, I will strip you of your qualifications as a Legion Commander.”
<Unexpected Quest>
Offer the Souls of 30 People
Time Limit: Within 1 week
Upon Success: Infamy Points +1000p
Upon Failure: Loss of Legion Commander Qualifications
My first thought was that if these qualifications could only be maintained by offering the souls of thirty people, it might be better to have them taken away. But if I were driven from my position as Legion Commander, the path to receiving the next quest from Kairos would also be cut off. Without quests, I would not be able to collect Infamy Points.
In the end, there was only one choice.
When I opened the door and came out, Theo was still reading his book with proper posture. His blond hair and golden eyes, as though they had been made by melting down the sun, sparkled beautifully in the sunlight.
He was the only proof that I was walking the right path. Someone I had to protect by any means, and the hero of the Human Realm whom I absolutely had to raise to be good.
I diligently stroked Theo’s head. Then I said something so fatherly that even I was surprised.
“Just grow up upright and healthy. I don’t ask for anything more than that.”
Theo opened his eyes wide, then soon smiled brightly.
“Just now, Rihen, you really sounded like a father.”
Those words strangely remained in my heart. I did not know whether I should say I felt happy or bitter with guilt. I was telling you to grow up upright, while I myself was not living that way. I could not remove my hand from Theo’s head.
After spending a long while playing with Theo’s fine blond hair as though stroking a puppy, my heart gradually calmed down.
Right, what in the world was truly impossible? I had already brought down a sacred statue and burned down a temple without causing a single casualty. If so, then somewhere, there must also be a way to offer souls while causing as little sin as possible.
Instead of spending time groaning while consumed by guilt, I should silently do what had to be done. That was the conclusion I reached.
To lift my sunken mood, I threw a silly joke at Theo.
“Why, do you want to call me Father? You can call me that if you’d like.”
“No. Where would you find a father this young?”
Theo quickly shook his head. His head brushed against the area near my chest. Only then did I notice that we were standing closer together than I had thought. He had leaned his upper body fully toward me. He continued speaking in a voice as warm as spring sunlight.
“Rihen is… Rihen. That is enough.”