Chapter 184: Return (2) |
After a brief respite, Shiron immediately went to see Hugo.
Although it was not intentional, having been away from the mansion for a whole year, it was natural for him to stop by Hugo, the elder of the household.
Unexpectedly, Hugo was not in his office but in the training yard. Stopping the iron mass he was swinging, Hugo turned his head towards Shiron.
Thud!
“It’s been a while.”
Shiron did not respond but bowed respectfully. Hugo, whom he saw for the first time in a year, had lost weight and returned to his former figure.
‘It seems like I’m not the one who has become half a person?’
Hugo, who had promised to participate in the next expedition no matter what, was a man of his word. His once chubby cheeks were now untraceable, and his previously flabby arms looked as solid and heavy as if they were carved out of logs.
“Is this black iron?”
“Yes. I even placed a special order at the forge to help me lose weight.”
Hugo showed off the iron ingot, larger and more imposing than an adult male. The weight of this so-called black iron was obviously substantial, but Hugo swung it effortlessly.
“Anyway, the expedition was quite long, wasn’t it?”
“I’m sorry for causing concern. I should have sent updates more often, but I was rolling through such harsh terrain.”
“Not at all. What do you have to be sorry for? I’ve been receiving updates on the situation there from time to time, so I had a rough idea of what was going on.”
Hugo irritably took off his sweat-drenched clothes.
As the expedition had lasted a long time, there was a lot of paperwork coming and going from the central administration. Hugo had occasionally seen leaflets coming in, and the fact that this expedition took twice as long as the last six-month one, even without Hugo as a main force, seemed unbelievable.
“Have the demonic beasts crossing the Makal Mountains increased? Or is there another problem in the Demonic Realm? That’s what I’ve been wondering.”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing.”
“Weren’t any investigative teams formed?”
“Far from it. We were too busy fighting off demonic beasts. Between deserters and numerous deaths, we suffered unnecessary losses.”
“Mmm… It’s a serious issue. A serious issue…”
Hugo repeated that it was a serious issue for a while.
There weren’t many humans who could withstand the dense demonic energy to venture into the Demonic Realm. Only after selecting the elites from the Sky Knights and other knightly orders were they able to barely form a capable investigative team.
‘That was already 10 years ago.’
After a long moment with a fierce expression, Hugo stared at Shiron.
“Speaking of which, did you come back alone?”
“Yes?”
“That always-visible kid. The small and cute one.”
Hugo quickly turned his head, looking for Latera. Realizing he was being searched for, Latera peeked out from behind Shiron.
“Are you looking for me?”
“Oh, yes, our baby… that…”
“Latera.”
“Yes, Latera.”
Hugo was about to lift Latera up but stopped himself when he realized he was sweating profusely.
After hastily wiping off his sweat, Hugo sprayed some deodorant from an unknown source and changed into fresh clothes.
“I’ve been waiting for you a lot.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you’re cute.”
This time, Hugo did lift Latera up without resistance. Latera allowed herself to be held in Hugo’s large hands without much protest.
“Really?”
“Yes, why would I lie about that?”
“Thank you!”
Latera beamed at the genuine compliment.
“I missed you a lot, Hugo.”
“Haha. Really?”
“Yes! I wanted to eat the cookies you make.”
Indeed, Shiron had packed a mountain of cookies before leaving, but as the expedition had been long, Latera hadn’t tasted any cookies for months.
She did eat the oatmeal porridge that was distributed, but every time, she dearly missed the cookies made by Hugo.
“I wanted to make cookies for our little angel too. I’ve been practicing a lot over the past year.”
Hugo laughed heartily and stroked Latera’s hair.
Recognition in areas other than swordsmanship and brute strength.
Hugo was highly sensitive to the evaluations of others due to an inferiority complex towards his talented younger sibling and grew up without meeting the expectations around him.
From the moment he completed his coming-of-age ceremony and returned to secular life, Hugo had been striving to become a perfect warrior, untarnished by procedures. Though he grew up unloved and was clumsy at expressing emotions, his exceptional martial prowess compensated for this weakness.
What did it matter if he couldn’t chat like others? Being a reticent warrior intertwined with the Prient lineage, he reached the pinnacle.
However, sometimes the emptiness in his heart was painfully cold. Despite earning the title of ‘Empire’s Greatest Swordsman’ and having a cunning wife and a rabbit-like daughter, he didn’t change as a person.
Even with achievements that others might envy, Hugo couldn’t fully enjoy his position.
Perhaps due to the environment encouraging him to remain reserved, Hugo couldn’t evolve beyond being a dull old man. Unlike Franz, who could make everyone laugh, Hugo never smiled at the emperor’s jokes, which he deeply regretted.
A critical factor was the existence of other knights who were starting to have children.
Even if their martial skills were modest, these junior knights had rabbit-like children and maintained harmonious families.
They gathered every evening for warm meals and conversation, and at bedtime, they were fathers reading fairy tales beside the bed.
Hugo felt sorry for Siriel and Eldrina.
He fulfilled the role of a reliable head of the household but couldn’t embody the affectionate father. The knights, Johann included, stepped into the fatherly role.
Siriel’s happy childhood was a result of Hugo’s fortunate relationships.
‘At least once…’
But the lingering regrets told another story.
Hugo regretted never feeding young Siriel cookies. It was easy to express love first to Eldrina, but young Siriel’s time would not come back.
What about the risk of gaining weight? Now an adolescent, the fully-grown Siriel refused to eat cookies. Learning confectionery and baking too late seemed pointless without anyone to appreciate it.
It appeared Lucia had also conspired, claiming cookies interfered with her training and refusing them. Even Johann objected, citing the risk of diabetes.
At least the mansion’s servants were grateful for the cookie packages, but a girl who devoured all the cookies right in front of him did not provide Hugo the same satisfaction as feeding cookies to Latera.
“It’s not the time to be leisurely swinging around a lump of iron…”
Snapping back to reality, Hugo gently put Latera down.
“Let’s have a welcome party this evening. Of course, it’ll include all the cookies and cakes our little angel loves. Make sure you come!”
Hugo extended his pinky towards Latera. Latera grinned broadly, grabbed his thick finger, and shook it.
“I want to eat strawberry and blueberry tarts.”
Perhaps because it had been months since such an opportunity, Latera openly stated her cravings.
And so,
Hugo left the training yard without cleaning up, seemingly in anticipation of an unprecedented feast that evening.
Worried about how much Latera and Hugo would press the chefs, Shiron turned his head towards a figure approaching.
It wasn’t Lucia. An elf approached timidly, resembling a loner.
“Seira.”
“Long time no see! Little one. Did you have a good expedition?”
“You heard everything. Do I need to repeat it?”
“Hello, Seira!”
“Hehehe. Nice to see a kiddo who remembers me too!”
Seira seemed oddly energetic, not casting polymorph magic and being out in broad daylight, which was unusual. She was also wearing new earrings, unlike a year ago.
“Did something good happen while I was away?”
“Why?”
“You keep laughing so sheepishly.”
“Do I seem that way? Anyway, I’m really happy!”
Seira grinned and patted Shiron on the back. Shiron frowned, wondering why Seira was behaving this way.
‘What the hell?’
As Shiron glared dangerously, Seira, realizing her mistake, stopped her frivolous behavior.
“More people remember me now!”
Shiron’s eyes widened at Seira’s words.
“…Who exactly?”
“That human who just left. The old knight, Johann, wasn’t it? They could remember me.”
“My uncle and Knight Johann? Why? Why would they remember you?”
“I don’t know! I’m researching it, but there’s no progress!”
How could she talk so cheerfully? Seira’s positive energy was overwhelming.
It was like watching someone pity Shiron for his troubled expression, despite the curse not being lifted yet.
“Don’t look so gloomy. I’m satisfied with just that. Isn’t it proof that the curse is disappearing?”
“Nothing else?”
“I’ve been free anyway. I’ve been wandering around Rien City for months… Yep, nothing!”
Now, she even winked, wincing one eye. This was not the attitude of someone boasting about stagnant progress.
“But it’s okay! I’ve been alive a long time, and it’s been less than half a year since I started investigating. And the demon will be killed soon. Think of it as entertainment in the meantime.”
“Good for you.”
“Right! By the way, you’ve been talking about me to others! This cutie. As grumpy as you usually are, you really look after me!”
“Yeah.”
Shiron couldn’t get used to Seira’s demeanor. Where had the always despondent, self-doubting Seira gone? He didn’t want her to return to her old, loner-like self, just that the non-stop chattering Seira was uncomfortable.
But it wasn’t strange for Seira to act this way. It was significant that an ordinary person like Johann could remember her, not just special beings like a Prient or an angel.
Clueless about this fact, Shiron wore only a puzzled expression.
“And that being said, did you just say you have plenty of time?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, which was beginning to ache, Shiron recalled his purpose with Seira.
“Teach me some magic.”
“Huh?”
Seira paused at Shiron’s request.
“You couldn’t use magic before?”
“I’ve had a dragon’s heart transplanted.”
“Where did that come from…”
“Demodras.”
Shiron answered briefly.
