#097. The Aftermath is Too Kind (1)

#097. The Aftermath is Too Kind (1)

A full eight years passed in the cocoon of evolution, a time of suggestion – or rather, guidance.

Waiting for Ian as he emerged from the cocoon was his mother Teresa, as beautiful as ever, though the passage of time had inevitably left faint lines on her forehead, around her eyes, and at the corners of her mouth.

“You’ve come.”

“Aye.”

“Still the same. This troublesome firstborn.”

Theresa chuckled softly.

“Wouldn’t it be scarier if I *did* change?”

“True enough. Where would we be if you’d gone all Anna on us!”

“Ach, I can’t win. Tried to offer you something to eat, but everything’s smashed to bits. Here, you peel this one.”

Gorgor, clad in armor, seemed even more resolute, even stronger than before.

Nina stood tall, her shoulders squared with a regal air.

And there was Pinkie, the Eggslayer, cracking eggshells with her eight legs, inadvertently splattering boiled egg everywhere.

“Everyone…”

Ian’s throat tightened.

But hadn’t they all already spent too many nights awash in too many tears?

He swallowed them down.

And bowed his head in greeting.

“Thank you. For waiting.”

“Hmph. Fool. Making us wait *years*? You should’ve dealt with that demon king blood and gotten out here. Useless. Hopeless. Ungrateful wretch.”

“Cecilia, did you never return to the Order?”

“Of course not. You think I’d let some strange humans or monsters snatch *my* man? How much do you think I’ve toiled in this desolate North to prevent such things?”

Cecilia chattered on, recounting tales of monster hunting parties and creatures that had sought Ian out.

The resentment that had clouded her face gradually faded, replaced at last by a profound relief.

“Is it all truly over now?”

“Yes. When I surrendered the blood, I was briefly connected to the consciousness of the boy monster. I saw it then. Even without me, the Demon King can no longer be an enemy of humanity.”

Peace had returned to the world.

The kingdom was safe once more.

Sodom had won its freedom.

The Adventurer’s Guild, Theresa’s Clan, all would return to their rightful places.

But one man stepped forward, stopping them as they turned to leave.

“Are you Theresa’s son?”

The Clan members exchanged awkward nods as the silver-haired old man approached.

“Hello,” Ian replied.

“I am your…”

Could he dare call himself grandfather?

After erasing his daughter’s name from the family register, after years of ignoring her, treating her as a stranger…

Could he presume to reach out to a child who had endured a difficult upbringing in the back alleys?

In the silence thick with such hesitation, Ian spoke first.

“You’re my grandfather, aren’t you?”

“…That’s right.”

“Thank you for helping my mother and me, even if it was late.”

Though he alone had remained a child even as everyone else aged, Ian was still the most mature one present.

Not as the head of the Stasephia family, but as Theresa’s father, as Ian’s grandfather, he finally spoke.

“The House of Starsephia will lend any aid to the House of Theresa. Do not hesitate to ask for assistance.”

“I will always remember that. Thank you.”

Theresa nodded, as if supporting Ian’s decision.

“Safe travels.”

“…Aye.”

One of the long shadows borne by the Theresa family had lifted.

* * *

The homecoming to Sodom City.

Many soldiers of the Holy War Alliance bowed in farewell at the crossroads leading to their respective homes.

“We shall return from here.”

“Should trouble arise, summon us at any time.”

“My participation in the Holy War Alliance will be the pride of my life.”

“It was an honor to serve alongside you.”

“We pray for the peace of the House of Theresa.”

Among those departing were beastkin, the second wave of reinforcements dispatched by the King, and mercenaries hired from the Bloodwood.

Though their origins and occupations were diverse, they had been united by a single desire: to protect Ian and Theresa, and the future of the kingdom. Their departure stirred a considerable sense of loneliness.

“Feels bittersweet, somehow.”

“Aye, it does.”

“But surely not as bittersweet as it must be for the Saintess of Calamity?”

Unlike Kasha, who was returning to the Revolutionary Order, Cecilia did not go back to the Order.

She had decided to become a free woman, no longer bound by the Order’s commands, choosing her own path and place.

“Are you not tempted by the immense reward the Order would bestow?”

“Hmph. You think I’m a fool? I don’t need such tawdry recompense. Choosing a house to live in with Ian is far more exciting.”

Indeed. In a conscript army lasting a year and a half, there are often those who abandon their loved ones, claiming their youth is too precious to waste. How remarkable, then, was Cecilia’s devotion, having waited eight years without certainty of reunion.

As if prepared for a wait that could have been a lifetime, as if unwilling to lose the reunion achieved after such long patience,

Cecilia clung to Ian like a cloud that would vanish if she took her eyes off him, refusing to let go.

“Enviable.”

“The Archduke of Bloodwood is quite alright, you know.”

“Are you… trying to set me up?”

“A farewell gift for a comrade who shared the front lines for eight years. I’d be rather unsettled to hear you met some strange man and had half your fortune cleaved off.”

“Thank you.”

The two Saintesses, who had once squabbled over the size of a holy power pouch and clashed with sharp tongues, parted ways, carrying with them enduring friendship and trust.

With the departure of the clerics and inquisitors, the alliance, no longer deserving of the name Holy War Alliance, left the Order’s headquarters and the kingdom’s capital behind, marching down the causeway.

“Where is Anna?”

“Undertaking martial training.”

That child, who used to complain about her meals and throw tantrums, on a martial pilgrimage?

It was then that Ian fully realized the passage of time, something he hadn’t truly felt even in Theresa’s wrinkles.

Theresa’s beauty had not diminished with the appearance of wrinkles, but rather, a dignified presence worthy of respect had only been added. Thus, it was difficult to perceive time’s march.

On the other hand, the mere thought of connecting Anna, who, in every memory Ian held, perfectly embodied childhood innocence, with martial training was something he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“Is she… alright?”

“She takes after me more than you.”

“Teresa’s right. She’s a regular little Teresa, I tell you!”

Anna, the nanny, nodded vigorously, agreeing wholeheartedly.

“I knew right away from the strength of her grip when she grabbed my hair. She’s definitely not one to be trifled with.”

At the end of a long journey, they’d reached the city of Sodom.

Even with the lord absent, the territory was characterized by incorruptibility, improved relations with the neighboring Grand Duke, and a noble backed by the King.

Countless strengths combined, the city of Sodom was noticeably different in scale from when everyone had left.

“Finally arrived, have we?”

“Diego. Has the house been well-kept?”

“Of course. Revel in it. This is the city we were able to build thanks to you.”

Sodom no longer had back alleys.

That’s not to say there are no adventurers who fall ill, get injured, or retire from active duty.

Nor has the profession of adventurer been eradicated.

The Empire, while not allowing the appearance of the next Demon King to destroy a kingdom, built numerous Mana Disposal Facilities along its borders as retribution against kingdoms that did not comply with their control.

As a result, the increased number of monsters crossed the borders and even advanced into the kingdoms, ushering in a new age of adventurers, to the point where it could be said that the number of adventurers had increased even further.

[Low-Cost Clinic]

[Beginner Adventurer Training Center]

[Martial Arts Dojo]

Treatment, knowledge, and martial arts, inaccessible to the common folk, could now be easily experienced everywhere.

It was the result of the Sodom Guild Master and the High-Rank Adventurer Diego combining their efforts, with all those who came to the territory mindful of Teresa and Ian’s principle of always putting people first and diligently working as territory representatives.

“And this is the lord’s residence where your family will live.”

A grand four-story mansion.

A bustling residence that could not even be imagined back when they were wandering from inn to inn and using the guild’s spare rooms as lodging.

They’d certainly made it.

It was in this moment that they truly realized it.

However, it wasn’t just good news that awaited Ian upon his return to the manor.

“This is the burial site of Lady Shoa.”

“Shoa… is that so…”

Ian’s sacrifice had saved her life, but Shoa had already lost much of her lifespan due to the side effects of the Function-Boosting Pill.

She had lived longer than expected, but ultimately passed away three years prior.

━━━

I am proud of this city.

I wish for my death to be regarded in the same way.

━━━

The will inscribed on Shoa’s grave stirred Ian’s heart.

[Brainwashing Activation]

[Designated Target – Shoa]

[Command – I will be by your side until the pain is gone.]

“I couldn’t keep my promise, and yet you were positive about me until the very end…?”

Ian stood motionless before Shoa’s grave, gazing at it for a long time, until he suddenly noticed someone’s frozen footsteps behind him, someone who had come to visit the grave.

A woman radiating a peculiar metallic tang, emanating from an Inquisitor’s armor.

It was Maria, who had naturally departed Sodom after the battle at Bloodrim.

“Have you come to offer flowers?”

“…I came around this time last year, too. I fought alongside them in the battle that held back the nobles who invaded Sodom.”

“Such a thing happened…”

A cowardly invasion aimed at Sodom while its lord was absent.

The nobles who launched the offensive were all annihilated.

But for Shoah, already weakened, it was her final battlefield.

“If only I had awakened sooner…”

“No. What you must do is not self-reproach.”

Maria recalled that night she faced Shoah.

-You are a good person. If I die, I can trust Ian to you.

-…!

-Within Ian, even a wretch like me can become a star, but in the end, I will fade. A meteor falls from the sky, so I cannot illuminate the darkness in your heart.

-…

-You can live the rest of your life with the memory of today. So do not worry. There will never be another day when I try to take Ian from you.

The woman who had organized her feelings after a single date.

Maria smiled bitterly to herself.

One night? Hardly.

At this rate, she’d lost to Shoah for life.

Cecilia for his queen, Shoah for his concubine.

Maria’s sorrow deepened, for she had lost the right to remain by Ian’s side, to remain in his heart.

“Shoah said she was grateful for the time she spent with you. That protecting Sodom, keeping a homeland for you to return to, was no different than always being with you.”

“…!”

“Shoah protected her home. She passed away comfortably, with a painless, serene expression until the very end. So, there is only one thing you need to say.”

I’m back.

As if in response to those words, spoken with difficulty by Ian, a gust of wind swept past the graves.