Chapter 226

Chapter 226

***

Many heroes meet their ruin at the end. That was not by a lifelong nemesis, but was often brought upon themselves.

As they age their judgment clouds, they were captivated by incomprehensible madness or their stubbornness grows stronger, and they were pushed aside by new waves.

Being killed by their children, or being betrayed by a close friend they were together with their whole life......

They didn't bring such miserable endings upon themselves because they were foolish or fools. It was the fault of becoming monsters themselves without realizing it while defeating monsters over a long time.

The fortunate point was that they remain in people's memories for a long time at least as an epic poem and become immortal. Someone will see his light, and someone will see his dark shadow.

Rickart was different from such heroes. Because rather than reigning over the great achievements he accomplished, he was now organizing and folding them one by one.

Rickart knew his usefulness had run out. Whether that was the fate of the era or a personal wish. He had no stubbornness, and nothing he clung to.

If one looks deeply into why Rickart was different from tragic heroes, perhaps it was because Rickart started from a monster in the first place.

Therefore Rickart's epic poem wasn't a process of becoming a hero, but was closer to a story of a monster shedding its skin and becoming a human.

Only Rickart alone knows that, and therefore it was his most personal fate and task.

The Eastern Frontier was calling. No, was it an expedition region, or if not that even, was it just a gruesome battlefield.

The point different from his past life was that he isn't going like a fallen leaf floating on a river not even knowing where he was going, but going knowing.

Of course before that the final clean-up remained. Rickart headed to Adelorn. By his side his old friend Bori was together.

"If you disappear without a word instead of returning to Adelorn, what will people's reactions be like?"

Bori, wearing the hood attached to his black cloak, said. The wind brushed the bottom hem of his cloak, and subsequently fluttered the hem of Rickart's dark red cloak.

"The one that comes to mind first is the sight of Marie running wild like crazy. It's only to that extent because she restrains herself, if she loses her temper once who would handle it?"

"Ricky, you are saving the world."

Bori said while plucking a violet blooming by the roadside. Holding it right under his nose, rubbing it with his fingers, he spun it round and round.

"When I die, I want no one else to remember me."

Rickart said. As Bori sneaked a glance back holding the flower Rickart added words.

"It seems exactly like causing a nuisance for nothing. I want them to not pay attention to me and just live their own lives. Not feeling depressed recalling me for nothing, or thinking it serves me right."

"You know that's impossible right?"

"If I die the latest among us it's not impossible."

"No. It's impossible. Because everyone knows even if they don't have personal acquaintance with you. Even people who aren't born yet will remember you. And they will follow behind admiring you."

"Well......"

When Bori looked at it Rickart seemed to want to be forgotten. However exactly as he said himself, that was impossible. Could it be Rickart's final difficult problem. Being forgotten.

"Do you really have no thoughts of marriage?"

"Can you stop pestering? Aren't you tired of it?"

"Becca is slowly becoming an old maid now too. Don't you pity her?"

Roy's sister and the current Emperor's closest bodyguard and champion, Becca, was in her early 20s.

Considering that most marry, have children, and start families in their late teens, it was an age that missed the marriageable age.

But what ddid that have to did with Bori? Although what it was exactly was unknowable, Rickart and Bori both seemed to know.

"She doesn't even spare a glance if it's not a man superior to herself. There are few men in the world who satisfy that level. Furthermore the only unrelated man she was together with during her hardest times is you."

He was speaking of the time they were going to the Eastern Frontier together with her father and mother. Bori also accompanied them back then, and the ones who directly taught her the sword for the first time were Marie and Bori.

"......I don't have the courage to have and raise kids like you, Ricky."

"When did I raise the kids. I just played and conversed with them that's all. There's nothing to think of as difficult."

"It's difficult for me. You know too. How my father and mother were. I just don't want to repeat that."

What couldn't be solved even after becoming a Sword Master was childhood trauma or deficiencies.

His father as a noble didn't even acknowledge Bori as a child and had no interest, and his mother was a maid and considered her life ruined because of Bori.

Running away from such an environment exactly like fleeing, Bori entered Beringen Academy. The good point of the Chicken Coop days was that they didn't particularly take something called tuition.

"Wanna go?"

Rickart asked tossing it out exactly as if it was nothing.

"......What for coming now. My father is an unknown person. That's enough."

"No just, it's not bad to show that I grew up well like this even without your help. In the worst case you can cleanly throw away your lingering attachments. Thinking you should never associate with them again."

As Rickart saw it, Bori's parent issue looked exactly like homework he had to solve to take a step further in life.

And that homework didn't need courage but needed dullness. Dull emotions exactly to the extent of barely being able to face it only after entering his thirties.

"Is there a need to?"

"Don't act exactly like it's nothing."

"......"

Bori had a naive and blank side when he was young, but after aging he was the type whose inside was unknowable.

However Rickart had known him too long to not know his inner thoughts.

"Bori as you know too, I don't forcibly dictate anything or do things like that. But there seems to be a time when one must push, and a time when one must do it even if pushed. Because it's you and not anyone else I want to push you. Can I do that?"

"Why ask when you already resolved to?"

Rickart smiled grin. They knew each other too well.

Anyway since it was decided with this, on the way to Adelorn, Rickart temporarily turned south at an intersection. For a moment, to stop by Bori's hometown before going.

Bori's hometown was a place called Dussen, located at the southeastern end point of the Empire.

In terms of distance it wasn't very far from Adelorn, but because the terrain was rugged it was quite a hardship to walk there. Crossing mountains, crossing rivers, passing through canyons, it took roughly three to four days.

A river flowed at the border of the Empire, and beyond that was a place where those who were said to be born on horses roamed.

In the old days nomad invasions were frequent, but not now. Because the nomads also aimed for places that bring money, they didn't suffer that hardship to rob beggar-like bastards to eat.

So they often aimed for the capital of another Empire far away to the east.

Anyway Dussen was a backwoods among backwoods. Compared to Dussen, one could even consider Stormhearts the capital of an ancient Empire.

However, the scenery was very beautiful. As a place surrounded by high mountains and a lake, rather than farming it was a small village living by hunting, fishing, and gathering in the mountains and lake.

Following the narrow road by the lake, buildings were lined up on the road.

"How does it feel coming back to your hometown?"

Rickart asked.

"Surprisingly it's nothing."

"Bori you got a habit of lying to yourself."

"Besides you there is no one asking about me either. And well...... I can't say it's fucking shitty."

"Hmm...... I'm sorry."

At the entrance of the village there was an inn converted from a residential house, and many tables and chairs were placed outdoors.

Rickart sat at a table with Bori and looked at the lake. Sunlight dropped on the ripples and the sunglint shone. It seemed exactly like looking at a cross-section of heaven.

"Oh my, what brings you here. Travelers?"

Someone said exactly towards the back of Rickart's head. Looking back it was an old waitress with dry white hair tied roughly back. The wrinkles around her eyes and nasolabial folds contained the weariness of life. However the smile lingering on her lips was vulgar.

"That's right."

"Oh my, young too. What brings you to such a countryside?"

"Stopped by briefly on our way far. Give us proper things to fill our stomachs. Not things like soup of eternity. Freshly baked or boiled ones, and a glass of whether beer or ale."

"You don't need anything else?"

"We don't need a room right now. If we come to need we will look for one ourselves and come back or something."

"No, not a room. As travelers wouldn't there be weariness of the flesh but also need something to stroke your soul."

It was a question of whether they didn't need a woman to spend the night with, or even if not night, to share a bed with. Places doing prostitution concurrently with an inn weren't that rare.

The old waitress lowered her hip sitting on the table and looked down at Rickart with a gaze seemingly seducing in her own way.

Having pulled his hood down deep, Bori merely sat wordlessly. Rickart blankly stared at such Bori then asked the waitress.

"Do you have a son?"

"A son? Why? Don't like women who gave birth to a kid? Eyy, it'll probably be better rather?"

"Where is that kid?"

"It's no fun, that kind of talk. Won't you come inside with us and share more conversation? Both of you at once is fine too."

"Aren't you curious about your son? How he is doing."

"......I said it's no fun."

Rickart calmly looked up at the old waitress. He didn't press her, but that gaze touched somewhere in the waitress's inner side.

"Fine. I'll speak shortly. Wherever he is doing what, died or lived, it has nothing to do with me. Because of him I am living in this shape and this state. Done? So are you going to do it, or not? If you keep saying no fun words I'll call people."

"No."

Bori said. The waitress looked back at Bori but couldn't see his face because of the hood.

"The fact you live in that shape and state is not your son's fault. It's your fault. Just clear it from your memory. You never gave birth to a son. Because that son didn't want to be born either."

The waitress frowned with a look exactly like asking what sound were you making. Bori immediately stood up from his seat.

"Let's go, Ricky."

Rickart stood up putting all the money he brought completely on the table. The waitress opened the money pouch and her eyes grew round. Because there were a few silver coins and mostly gold coins.

"Did you hear the words? You never gave birth to a son. This is the price for erasing your memory. If the talk of a child comes out of your mouth even once more I won't forgive you."

"Of course. Don't even remember the name."

The waitress became wide open and said with her gaze completely pinned only on the money.

Rickart fired a gaze of contempt at the waitress, then followed Bori. Because he was moving away with busy steps he ran a little.

As he stood next to Bori, Bori spoke first. Because it was hidden by the hood his face still couldn't be seen.

"Surprisingly it's nothing."

"Yeah."

Rickart answered calmly. Of course, because he was an old friend he knew that the words saying it's nothing were a lie.

And he could know without particularly looking at his words or expression. That Bori's chest was tearing right now.

However one cannot keep living with a cracked heart. Because it's better to be torn to shreds once, and gather the good things among those one by one and slowly grow them.

Only then, could one become truly happy without being caught by the ankle by what was unhappy.

Rickart put his arm around Bori's shoulder. Thirty years old, and thirty-two years old. The two were friends of almost 20 years. Who saved who? That didn't matter. Because between true friends it's exactly naturally gained.