chapter 31
best day
“Joe, is this a nice place?”
The disciple’s pupils are shaking wildly.
Tsk, it’s because I can’t trust my teacher like this.
“Hey, am I going to make you, my disciple, do something bad?”
“That’s not it… … .”
“Do you remember what I said when I accepted you as a disciple?”
After thinking for a while, the guy gave up an answer.
“… If you go, go, if you stand, stop?”
The head doesn’t look too bad.
“Yes, now is the time to go. If I tell you to stand, then you can stand. okay?”
“… yes.”
Seeing the fat guy pretending to be pitiful makes me laugh.
It’s good that the tone has changed though.
I happily shouted at the children.
“Hey guys, let’s go in and eat!”
Kids following me.
Colsen, on the other hand, was still steadfast, as if he had frozen.
‘It’s because I’m so scared.’
Still, for the sake of the future, it must be dragged along.
I clicked my tongue and told the guy.
“You come too.”
* * *
Pedro and Cedric came across the remote alley of Count Lou through the fantasy door.
The atmosphere in the castle was quiet and gloomy.
‘It must be because of the curse on Rain.’
Pedro thought so and asked Cedric.
“Was it a rule not to use magic within the castle?”
“Yes, there are already a lot of foreign invasions, but if you don’t do that, the people of the territory will be insecure and can’t live.”
“Then let’s walk a little faster.”
The two trotted towards Cedric’s quarters.
The two of them walked without speaking for a while.
Cedric opened his mouth.
“Brother, did I ever tell Martin the name of my grandson?”
“Well? What else does that mean?”
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I ever mentioned the name Lane to Martin.”
And yet, apparently, Martin mentioned Lane’s name.
-Rain will be fine.
With a confident face.
At the time, I was in a hurry, so I didn’t recognize it, but now that I’ve had time like this, it’s very strange to think about it.
But Pedro just shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
“If it wasn’t for my brother, I would have said it.”
“… Is that so?”
“Then, does Martin have any precognitive powers? Think of what Martin has been through these days. If I had foreknowledge, I would have avoided or prepared for it in advance.”
Whether it was the villain’s attack, the demon’s descent, or being sucked into the seal, it was definitely the case.
Cedric had no choice but to admit it and nodded his head.
“Stop talking nonsense and speed up a bit. Isn’t Lane waiting for you?”
Pedro said that and moved forward.
Unbeknownst to Cedric, who was behind him, Pedro’s face hardened.
He also knew early on that neither Cedric nor himself had mentioned Lane’s name to Martin.
In fact, Pedro knew Martin had a secret from before.
I was just thinking of waiting for Martin to tell me.
Pedro, with a smile on his face again, turned to Cedric and said.
“Come on, let’s go quickly.”
* * *
The curse on Lane was solved surprisingly easily.
Through ‘Eye’, Pedro found out how to lift the curse on Lane and even the witch doctor who cast the curse, and showed kindness by telling Cedric about it, and the curse incident that troubled Cedric was easily over.
As expected, the word Pedro comes out of nowhere.
– I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life, brother!
– What is grace?
-You’re not going to do this, let’s start with a meal!
Cedric said that he would hold a big banquet soon, so he would stay for a few days.
But Pedro refused.
It was not possible to have a party for personal reasons in a castle on the northern frontline where there was always a cloud of war.
Pedro returned home straight away after saying he would only accept his heart.
midnight.
It was the time when Pedro returned home through the phantom door.
Pedro, who was heading to the study to go to bed after reading briefly as usual, smiled at the corner of his mouth when he saw that the light was on.
It was because what I felt inside was the presence of my son.
And that wasn’t all.
A familiar face stood at the door.
“Meet the Duke.”
Pedro said, patting the shoulder of the man who respectfully bowed his head.
“Good job.”
“no.”
“Have you met Martin?”
“The Duke seems to have business, so I was waiting for him.”
“I see. You look tired, but get some rest. Let’s talk about tomorrow.”
The man shook his head.
“I’ll wait.”
A satisfied smile formed on Pedro’s lips.
“It wasn’t me who was waiting.”
“I apologize.”
“You never know when it will end.”
“I’ll wait.”
“Okay, then I’ll look at the right timing and call.”
“Thank you, Duke.”
Pedro, who tapped the man on the shoulder once again, entered the study.
“Martin.”
Martin, who was reading, greeted Pedro with a smile.
“Are you here?”
“Why aren’t you sleeping at this late hour?”
“Father waited for you.”
“What if I didn’t come by today?”
Martin shrugged, “What are you talking about?”
“It can’t be. It’s only natural that things get resolved quickly now that my father is gone. He is someone who can break the chain seal that an ancient hero put on the devil.”
“Heh heh, he’s really good too.”
Pedro burst out laughing and asked with a serious face.
“Are you thinking of talking now?”
“… what?”
Pedro smiled silently, and Martin sighed softly at Pedro’s appearance.
“Did you know I was hiding something?”
“I thought so. Haven’t we been together quite a bit over the past week?”
“It was… … . But why didn’t you ask?”
“I didn’t want to burden you. It’s still the same now. If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to say something after a little more time has passed and you feel no pressure to say anything.”
Martin’s pupils shook strongly.
* * *
What should I do?
The reason I waited for my father in the study until now was to explain the karma that can be obtained by killing villains, and to declare that we will go hunting for villains sooner or later. I get some help in terms of information.
But after hearing my father’s sincerity like this, I can’t stop there. No, I didn’t want to stop.
I want to tell the whole truth about my past life and be reborn as a true father and son.
‘Wouldn’t my father understand?’
I think so, but at the same time I am afraid.
I’m afraid the current relationship will break down.
He’s like that, even though he’s such a good person, the root of his father is a hero. One of the five heroes who reached the peak of the world.
Can my father accept the fact that I was called the worst villain and that I had a life-and-death relationship with him?
Not sure.
I believe in him, but our time together is too short for that level of confidence.
“If it bothers you, don’t do it. You can relax a bit. Abby won’t wait.”
Could it be because of the warmth in his voice?
I stopped thinking and realized what my instincts wanted.
“I have returned.”
A very brief silence came,
As soon as he said “Hwaaa”, his father’s magical power covered the study.
The father let out a small sigh and opened his mouth.
“I was surprised. If you’re going to say something like that, couldn’t you say something a little earlier?”
Then, the father looked at the door.
It seems that he is watching to see if no one has listened to what I have to say.
After a while, my father turned his gaze back to me, and I immediately started talking about my previous life.
Words flow out as if a blocked dam has burst.
“In the past, I took my children and fled to the east where the villains of the ‘swamp’ are waiting… … .”
“I had to watch the children die one by one through training and combat… … .”
“Awakening the trait of ‘seeker of evil’, he fled from the ‘swamp’… … .”
“In order to increase my strength, I killed good people without any guilt… … .”
“In the end, he succeeded in revenge by killing Krishnar, the head of the ‘swamp’, but he has already become an enemy of the world… … .”
“After running around and enduring for ten years, I met my death in the Kadar Mountains with the death squad led by my father.”
Without breathing properly, he spat out terrible stories from his previous life.
Now it’s father’s turn.
How will your father react?
Will you kill me as a hero? Since there is affection, should we just end it on the line of kicking it out? Or will you forgive me?
In my head, it was too complicated.
I even wonder if I was thinking about my relationship with my father so deeply.
My father was just silent for a long time, but he only looked into my eyes for a short time, and opened his mouth when his mouth was dry.
“You have suffered.”
Ahh… … .
This reaction was not unexpected.
But when I hear it like this, I feel an inexplicable feeling.
“Son.”
Son not my name Martin.
My father spoke to me with his usual gentle face.
“I cannot say that what you went through before returning was meaningless.”
“… I know now that I was wrong.”
“That’s not what I want to say.”
The head that was about to go down flashed.
“Isn’t that what it is?”
“Do not be distressed. Don’t feel guilty.”
“… That doesn’t work.”
“Among those who were killed by your hands at that time, are any of them dead now?”
Of course not.
Because I am not a villain in my current life.
“To them, the previous life you lived through doesn’t exist. The life you went through has no meaning at least to anyone but you.”
“… … .”
“The you of your past life and the you of now are so different that you cannot think of them as the same person just by hearing about them. You now know how to distinguish between good and evil, and your inclination itself is a person inclined toward goodness. Isn’t that why you suffered so much from not being able to tell me about things in your past life that didn’t even happen in reality?”
Yes.
“Only you remember what no one remembers. I’m afraid my son will get hurt because of those memories, that’s what I’m most worried about.”
I need to talk, but I don’t know what to say, so my mouth is moving.
And then my father’s hand covered the back of my hand.
“If the feeling of guilt still persists, do good now, as you did evil in the past. Try to save more people than you killed in your previous life. If you do that, won’t those uncomfortable feelings inside you disappear someday?”
What my father said was wrong.
Someday, not because I’m already starting to feel comfortable.
He forcibly pierced his throat and let out a sound.
“It could be… Will there be?”
“Sure.”
It’s really strange.
In a world where everything I could see from a certain moment was blurry, only my father’s face was clearly visible.
In this moment, I felt I was being healed.
‘Ahh… … .’
I felt true freedom and comfort.
The longer the conversation with my father, the stronger the sense of stability came.
The muscles that were always in a state of tension were relaxed, and I felt a refreshing feeling as if each cell was activated.
As I surrendered to that feeling, at some point I started not even hearing my father’s voice.
‘Feel so good.’
how much time has passed
When all those changes were over, the sun was shining through the curtains.
I looked ahead.
My father was still watching me as he was the first time.
“Have you achieved success?”
“yes.”
It’s been a while since I reached 4 stars, but I got one more star and became a 5 star superhuman.
A 5-star superman at the age of 14… … .
It is a growth rate that is beyond imagination.
“Congratulations, son.”
“no. Thanks to my father.”
I bowed deeply toward my father.
It wasn’t just because I became a 5-star.
‘He fully understood and acknowledged me.’
That fact makes me more grateful and empowered.
“Anyway, you made me wait too long.”
“… sorry.”
“I am not talking about me.”
Saying that, the father glanced toward the door and raised his voice.
“Come in.”
The person who entered when the door opened was a very welcome person who, together with me, prevented the descent of demons, and could therefore be called a comrade-in-arms.
“Sir Leon!”
Leon, who went somewhere with Kumalai, has returned.
He looks thinner than before, perhaps because he suffered a lot, but his eyes are shining like stars.
I couldn’t feel the agony that had shaken him at all, and the momentum felt like a mountain in him told me that he was no longer a 7-star superman.
“It was a lot of trouble.”
That was when I was about to get up from my seat and reach out my hand to him.
widely.
Leon suddenly got down on one knee in front of me.
“… What are you doing?”
He speaks in a very serious voice.
“My name is Leon Fortrera, who was vice-captain of the Phantom Knights. At a young age he became a vassal of the Duke of Lamot and studied under Sir James Redford. I want to have Prince Martin as my lord, so please allow me.”
ah… … .
What day is it really?