Book 9 Chapter 7

Episode 206

As soon as we disembarked from the ship onto the pier, evidence that the continent had changed began to stimulate our five senses.

‘The exotic scent of spices permeating the warm hot wind… and the unfamiliar languages heard everywhere, are they all Southern Language?’

Originally a dialect of the Republic language (the Imperial language is also a dialect), it had further diverged over 300 years, now appearing to have become an entirely separate language.

Still, perhaps because it was the entrance to the continent, the Republic language, often called the common language, could frequently be heard.

Valencidis first pulled down his hood and turned around.

“I’m going to gather some information about the political situation for a bit. I’ll join you later.”

“Information, information, information.”

Pipi landed on his head, as if to accompany him.

They seemed to have grown closer after the recent Rinkland incident, but don’t be silly. Pipi is closest to me.

Though I had gossiped about him this and that, in moments like these, he’s quite dependable.

“I’m going to renew my identification tag. Gosul, you?”

“Me too.”

It wasn’t planned, but Miria and Rem were paired up like a team. Perhaps because they are of the same gender, they become close faster than others.

Miria seemed quite burdened by Rem’s quirky and straightforward personality…

The name Gosul was also a haphazard abbreviation of Goblin Slayer, and they started calling him that from a certain point.

“I’m going to see the Rista Party statue.”

“Aru.”

“Aki is going too!”

Only Bart suddenly disappeared somewhere without telling us his destination.

“There are a lot of people, so hold my hand tightly so you don’t get lost.”

“I don’t know what ‘lost’ means!”

“It means you’ll be separated from me and won’t be able to meet again.”

Aki’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“If Aki disappears, will Daddy die?!”

Why that conclusion…?

Aki leaped up, put his feet on my shoulder, and snatched my conical hat. It had gotten quite heavy, but it wasn’t a weight I couldn’t bear.

Thus, with Setsunen in my arms and Aki on my neck, I crossed the harbor district where the fish market was located.

“Crocodile!”

“It’s an eel.”

“Aru!”

“Dog!”

“You mean crab, right?”

“Aruuu!”

“Mixture!”

“It’s a mussel.”

“Aruru!”

Alakish, this is the current state of Aki’s intelligence… But he’s growing up healthy, so I guess it’s fine, right?

‘By the way, a fish market…’

What a different scene from 300 years ago, which reminded me of the end of the century. Everywhere I look, there’s vitality. Back then, all I saw was despair.

‘People were lining up, asking Friede for prayers.’

Not a few people approached, their faces emaciated from hunger.

In that very spot where the fishmonger is now holding a flapping marlin and attracting the attention of passersby, there used to be children dying of illness.

And over there, there was a swarm of flies clustered in a human shape. When I stepped forward, they instantly buzzed and flew up.

‘Now that I think about it, even the smell back then was only the stench of sewage, the smell of rotting corpses and feces…’

The rear at that time was truly a city of the sick.

One might even say that the conditions in villages and cities not in the rear were better.

It was likely a natural phenomenon, as refugees from across the continent all flocked to the rear.

- Let’s depart after we’ve sorted out the city’s condition.

Friede stayed awake for three days and nights, tending to all the sick, and Rista distributed all the food she had brought on the military vessel.

- We have enough with local provisions.

I followed Rista’s orders.

I used telekinesis to collect and categorize the scattered corpses in the city (if their identities could be recognized), and started fires to cremate them to prevent the disease from spreading further.

And I placed the ashes in urns and distributed them to the bereaved families; that was likely the first time someone had wept and bowed their head to me.

- Thank you very much, Wizard…

I merely waved my hand, feeling embarrassed, ashamed, and awkward, but it didn’t seem like such a bad experience.

- You will learn during your journey. Where and how to use the power the gods have given you, Rin…

Because it felt like I was recalling the words the Dean had told me before I left the magic tower. I also felt a warmth welling up in my chest.

“Grilled fish!”

“Two, please. Small ones.”

After leaving the fish market, it wasn’t long before we arrived at the famous ‘Plaza of Beginnings’.

‘Just like back then.’

The plaza was bustling with merchants traveling across the continent, and even amidst the crowd, the statue, towering high in the distance, was clearly visible.

‘This is the place where our journey truly began.’

Rista, holding her Divine Star Blade, Shirpen, high.

And following her, Friede, Kiese, and… me.

Not the merchants, but the citizens residing in this city would respectfully clasp their hands together and observe a moment of silence whenever they passed the statue.

“Thank you.”

Muttering that.

For a moment, a sense of déjà vu caused dizziness, painting the noisy surrounding scenery pure white.

The stone faces of my companions gained vitality, and with their own voices, led me back to the depths of my memory.

- I want to create a world where everyone can smile comfortably.

Rista, who wished to be remembered as someone who could spread smiles at any moment and any time, indeed smiled on every statue.

Had my eyes been unfocused for a moment?

Emerging from my memories, I saw Aki on my shoulders and Nen in my arms gazing up at the statue.

“Aki, Nen.”

“Abu?”

“Aru.”

“People are remembered in the future by building up their actions in the present.”

She smiled at everyone.

She smiled in any situation.

Just as Rista, who spread light through her smile in a war situation steeped in despair, is now remembered exactly as she was then.

“How do you want to be remembered in the future?”

And just as Alakish, who fulfilled his mission and died after a thousand years, is remembered more vividly than a flame in my heart.

These guys too.

These guys, who must live through the final era… I hoped they would live lives that leave beautiful footprints for many.

“I just wanted to be remembered as a good uncle to the children I wanted to protect.”

The one who answered my question was a giant, extending his massive frame through the crowd and casting a long shadow.

Bart.

Whether he had just arrived, or had been there earlier… he was looking at the statue with a somewhat sad gaze.

“I never wanted to be a hero like them. I never even dreamed such an illusory dream.”

“What are you talking about, Bart?”

“Just me grumbling about my pathetic self.”

Bart was originally a lumberjack in the eastern mountains of the Empire, who took in and cared for children abandoned in villages or in the mountains.

He would cut firewood with about twenty children and sell it, leading a simple and humble, yet happy life.

Though I heard this later, the reason Bart loved children was that his wife had died along with their baby during a stillbirth.

“The problem arose when I went down to the city to sell firewood and returned a day later than usual.”

It was a time when demonic beasts ran wild due to the Abyss’s stirrings.

A demonic beast attacked the cabin, devoured all the children, and destroyed the house.

The moment I saw that, some power surged within me. It felt like dormant senses were awakening…

“I had never learned swordsmanship normally… but when I came to my senses, I was holding a dull axe. A demonic beast lay fallen in front of me.”

I don’t know how many days and nights I cried, clutching the bloodstained clothes of the dead children.

- The dead don’t return if you cry. Let them go now.

Later, an elder from the Namryun Sword Sect, who had tracked the presence of the demonic beast, calmed Bart down, helped him deal with the collapsed house and the children, then noticed his talent and recommended swordsmanship.

- If you couldn’t protect your own daily life, become someone who can protect the daily lives of others. The times will only grow harsher.

That elder is Tywin Esserad, the current sect leader of Namryun. Bart learned swordsmanship from Tywin for five years, became his top disciple, and then left the mountains.

“I picked up a sword and became an adventurer, following that teaching, but…”

So that’s why.

Rin thought. The reason Bart could smile in a way that reminded him of Rista, from the very first moment they met.

It was precisely because of that mindset.

“It seems I’m incapable of doing anything alone, both then and now. Utterly pathetic, isn’t it?”

It was true during the Rat-Spider Queen incident, the Ant Nest incident, and this current incident as well.

I just talk big without any real skill.

If it weren’t for you, I would have said I’d help but accomplished nothing.

“And for someone like me to be Platinum rank… Standing before them truly makes me feel ridiculous.”

For some reason, the flow of the crowd passing us seemed to quicken.

Nevertheless, that self-deprecating voice, mixed with regret, was clearly audible.

If I had heard such lamentations before meeting Rista, would I have just dismissed them? My body reacted before any thought could form.

“It’s not ridiculous.”

It was I who received help time and again. In crucial moments, I relied on him, almost childishly, repeatedly.

I dared to do so.

Just as I had done with those guys 300 years ago.

“Just for being able to genuinely fight for someone, Bart is truly an amazing person.”

It took me years to reach that realization.

If it weren’t for the Dean and the days I accompanied Rista, I might have never known it my whole life.

And if not for those five years, I wouldn’t be here now.

“Those children probably think so too.”

Just as I thought that while looking at Rista… Aki and Nen chimed in.

“They think so!”

“Aruuu!”

Was it a confusion in emotional processing at that moment? For an instant, the smiles of the dead children flashed before Bart’s eyes.

- Uncle!

- Uncle Bart!

What surfaced on his lips was a bitter smile.

And what lingered in his eyes was…

“I truly wish that were so.”

Seeing the phantoms of those children, Bart smiled a smile that seemed on the verge of breaking.

I wish it were so.

I really, really wish it were so.

Then, after looking back at the statue once more, he turned his body towards the other side of the plaza.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to update my identification tag to Platinum rank.”

Watching his retreating back, Rin scratched his temple.

It seems my vocabulary is still greatly lacking to convey my true feelings. I have neither Rista’s gentleness nor Friede’s eloquence…

Just as I swallowed a bitter smile, Aki bent down and thrust his face, upside down, fully into my view.

“Like Daddy!”

“Huh?”

“I want to be remembered like Daddy!”

Aki’s widely smiling eyes gleamed with a golden luster. Even without reflected light, they shone like flames, dazzling to the point of being blinding.

No, it wasn’t just dazzling.

This feeling of something warm and touching settling in my heart, it was the same feeling I had when dealing with the Dean, or Rista, or Alakish.

“No, Aki.”

I slightly bowed my head, pressing my forehead against Aki’s. It was warm like a winter stove.

You will undoubtedly be remembered as incomparably great, unlike a wizard like me who failed on his journey and couldn’t keep his promises.

Everyone in this world gaining strength just by remembering you… You shouldn’t become like me.

“Aruuu.”

At that moment, a tingling current ran across my chest.

Setsunen had tugged at my collar, and his eyes, just like Aki’s, were staring straight at me.

The eyes of the absolute lifeform, seeming to peer into the deepest parts of my soul, somehow seemed to be speaking.

“No…” they seemed to say.

I don’t know if he was truly saying that or if my delusion was just imagining it, but I simply let out a wry smile.

“Well, I wonder who’s taking care of whom now.”

In genuine regret.

Why did I not say a single warm word to the Dean or my mother in my youth?

When now, it’s so incredibly, heartbreakingly, ineffably joyful…

I learn little by little.

A parent’s heart from a child.

Fragments of a truth not written in any book in the world.