Chapter 242: A Meeting and a Revelation

“You arrived sooner than I expected. I almost had a scheduling conflict.”

His refined tone carried a hint of playfulness, mimicking a gentle complaint.

The gentle-looking old man chuckled softly.

“Sleep comes less easily with age, you see. Even if our appointments had overlapped, I would have been happy to wait. It was I who arrived early without permission, after all. But more importantly…”

Silver-blue eyes gleamed sharply.

“And what business does someone as renowned as you have with an old man like me?”

“Renowned, you say… I won’t deny it, but you’re hardly one to talk.”

The rumors surrounding ‘the wanderer of the continent’ weren’t limited to just ‘Stigma Primiero’. Stigma smirked, though his eyes remained cold.

Though overshadowed by the rumors of the ‘Hero’, there was another rumor circulating quietly beneath the surface. A rumor about an old man who slays monsters. It was even more unbelievable than the ‘Hero’ rumors, offering no hope or expectation, and thus remained largely buried, yet it was undeniably true.

The old man before him, Rememver, was wandering the continent for reasons unknown.

“If you’ve come seeking mercenary brokerage, I’m afraid you’re too late. This old man has retired and no longer holds any authority.”

“One could easily deduce that just from seeing a broker wandering around instead of staying put. That’s not my purpose.”

…Then what brings you to me?

After forcing through the mercenary support, and with the Empire, which benefited from it, now cornered, Rememver retired from his position as a broker, paying the price for endangering Esperance.

Though he delayed returning to the kingdom using his status and connections, wandering the continent to compile a history book, he no longer held any authority for me.

A mere old man who was only slightly skilled in combat revealed his question on his face. As if answering it, Stigma spoke.

“I heard you were writing a history book.”

“I haven’t exactly been secretive about it, so it’s no surprise you heard. But why…”

“I’m here to propose traveling together.”

“…Excuse me?”

The old man, who never showed any sign of fluster, widened his eyes slightly.

The elegant man smoothly curved his lips into a smile. With an even more refined gesture, he extended his hand.

“I’m wandering the continent, and you’re wandering too. There shouldn’t be any problem traveling together, don’t you think?”

There might be monsters too tough for an old man to handle.

Let’s travel together.

***

“Actually, you know…”

“?”

In the silent space, just as he was getting used to the quiet, Dan snapped his head up at the sudden voice.

Whether his gaze reached him or not, Deon didn’t even look at Dan, fiddling with the ‘Ches-s’ pieces on the table. His muttering, almost to himself, continued.

“I knew you’d become a burden.”

“…”

Realizing what he meant, Dan chose silence over a hasty reply. His lips, which had parted as if to answer, had long since clamped shut.

Deon hadn’t really expected an answer, so he continued speaking, unfazed by the lack of response.

“Knowing that, I deliberately… did it that way.”

Even knowing they would be a burden, he sent ordinary troops with the 8th Corps Commander. Even knowing it would be more efficient to send him alone, he deliberately did it to hold him back.

“The same goes for saying I trusted you.”

He knew that saying so would make the guy do his best to live up to the expectation.

He blocked his retreat to prevent him from easily giving up and returning. He placed shackles on him in advance so he couldn’t carelessly abandon the burden of ordinary troops.

Blood pooling on the floor sloshed. The stench of blood made his head throb, and as Deon habitually reached into his coat for medicine, he realized he had none and let his empty hand drop. A voice laced with irritation hissed from between his teeth.

“…Damn it.”

“Kkyiaek.”

A green vine patted the back of his hand. Deon paused and lowered his gaze.

“…Are you telling me to calm down?”

“Kkyiaek!”

“Heh…”

…Of all things, I’m being comforted by a plant.

As if absurdity had taken irritation and flown away with it, a weak chuckle escaped him.

His mood improved as if the earlier irritation had been a lie. He didn’t shake it off, quietly accepting the patting, then moved his hand to grab the long, extended green vine.

“Kkyiaek?!”

“Why are you surprised?”

“Kkulg!”

“…”

The creature, which had been poking around Deon with other vines as if wary, stopped abruptly when it met his questioning face. Seeing it frozen stiff as a stone, Deon tilted his head in confusion. In that instant, the firm vine went limp.

“Kkyiaee…”

“Why are you twisting your body like that… Are you sick somewhere?”

“It’s not that. It seems it’s usually been playful, so it was wary thinking you were going to joke around again, but then realized that wasn’t the case and is now happy. In my eyes, it looks like it’s being shy.”

“…”

Only then did Deon’s gaze land on Dan.

He had quite a look on his face, as if he’d heard something utterly absurd.

“Shy…? Is it female?”

“Judging by its mannerisms, it seems more like a male…”

“Then… is it hermaphroditic? No, wait, this thing is a plant in the first place. Plants have sexes… well, they do…”

Yeah, they do…

Lost in thought, Deon then grabbed the flowerpot and tried to have a conversation. The content was a sight to behold.

Are you female? Kkyiaek.

Are you male? Kkyiaek.

Are you hermaphroditic? Kkyiaek.

What is it, what do you want me to do? Kkyiaek.

Shit.

Dan’s face, who had been watching, was filled with bewilderment.

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah, isn’t this important? I’ll ask again.”

Do you like me?

Kkyiaek!

Shit.

“You need to be able to understand what I’m saying…”

“It’s stranger if you expect it to understand.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

Now that my mood has improved, shall we get back to the main topic?

Enough of this pointless chatter.

Telling it to play alone without disturbing him, Deon poked the center of the flower bud, which also seemed to be its mouth and eyes, with his finger. He pushed the glowing carnivorous plant aside and looked back at the table. Green vines darted in, but he swatted them away with one hand like flies while touching the board with the other.

Dan wore a weary expression at the still unfamiliar sight.

‘…Still, I should be grateful that the atmosphere has lightened up a bit.’

Just moments ago, it felt like I was suffocating under the heavy atmosphere.

Thanks to that plant interrupting whenever the atmosphere gets too serious, I feel like I’ve had a breathing space lately. Deon Hart also seems to soften up when dealing with the plant. You could even say he becomes much more human-like.

‘Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know.’

At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that plant has taken on the role of a second Lofty Knights… Ah, but is that an insult to the plant?

Anyway, as he looked at the carnivorous plant with renewed interest, Deon snatched a vine flying at him and pinned it to the table, then looked up.

“Dan. Want to play a game?”

“Are you talking about that thing on the table? It looks like the ‘Ches-s’ you made last time, but… it’s changed a lot from before.”

“I just changed the game board itself into a sliding puzzle form, but the basics haven’t changed.”

Dan glanced at the carnivorous plant, which had become tired and docile, then slowly approached the table.

Like before, it was based on a chessboard with many squares. Terrain such as mountains, rivers, and fields were engraved within the squares, but the pieces for the initially fixed starting positions of both sides were missing. He could tell at a glance.

“So, you decide the terrain before starting the game.”

“That’s right. You take turns sliding the board pieces to change the terrain. It’s impossible to immediately return a piece your opponent slid in the very next turn. The number of times you can slide is… let’s decide by rolling two twenty-sided dice.”

“Land rich in resources should be placed closer to your own camp, and barren, rough land should be guided to positions advantageous for defense, right?”

“Exactly. The game play after that isn’t much different from what we did last time, so let’s skip that and just try setting up the terrain?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Dan looked at Deon.

‘What is he trying to say, dragging things out like this…’

He knew that the game wasn’t the real purpose. Just by looking at him, he could tell Deon was repeatedly holding words he wanted to say in his mouth, unable to spit them out and eventually swallowing them down. He must have proposed this to buy time.

‘Between people who have already shown each other the depths of their humanity, it’s unlikely he’s hesitating to speak out of a guilty conscience or because he’s reluctant to show an ugly side…’

As if finding the lack of an answer strange, red eyes turned towards him. Their eyes met.

Pressing him would only backfire, and there was nothing to gain. He couldn’t dare to press him and pry either. Dan obediently nodded and sat down at the table.

“Understood.”

***

Deon opened his mouth sooner than expected.

Throughout the game, he had been repeatedly moving his lips as if to speak, then closing them again. Around the midpoint, he slid a board piece, changing the position of the terrain Dan was about to take, and broached the topic.

A voice filled with clear hesitation slowly filled the space.

“Back then… the statement you made in front of the screen.”

“Yes.”

“…Were you serious?”

Statements made in front of the screen weren’t just one or two; how was he supposed to understand if he spoke like that?

He didn’t know what he was referring to. Dan slid a piece, passing his turn, and then quietly stared at Deon. Deon, belatedly realizing his mistake, added.

“You spoke about the reason Cruel sent me to the Demon Realm, didn’t you?”

“Ah.”

I understand now.

“That, were you serious?”

Could hyung really have thought that deeply and cared for me that much?

He was sure he didn’t have any abilities like mind-reading, but he didn’t understand why he could hear the words Deon had ultimately swallowed without speaking. Dan swallowed a sigh.

“Are you thinking of going to the Human Realm?”

“…”

“You have a ‘how did you know?’ look, but otherwise, there’s no reason to suddenly think about this. Judging by your look, you seem to be considering participating in combat directly as well…”

He raised a hand and rubbed around his chin.

Momentarily, he clenched his fist, placed his index finger joint under his lips, and smirked slyly.

“Now that you’ve actually made up your mind, you seem to be feeling sentimental?”

“…You’re quick to catch on.”

“Have I only known Master for a day or two?”

He shrugged demonstratively at Deon Hart, who was subtly sniping at him, calling him annoying, and fell into thought.

…When he exposed the Duke’s sins in front of everyone, there was Paul’s question about why Cruel Hart specifically sent Deon Hart to the Demon Realm, leaving other options behind.

The answer he gave back then was probably this.

[In a situation where his death was certain, he would have wanted to send the person he wanted to protect to the safest place.]

It was a statement that wasn’t a big deal, but it seems it resonated differently with Deon Hart.

Before he knew it, the game had entered its last turn, but Deon Hart wasn’t moving, so there was no progress. Dan, who had been staring at the frozen board, lifted his head and met the red eyes looking at him.

“What answer are you expecting? You know everything already.”

“…”

“Cruel Hart thoroughly deceived and concealed things from Master’s eyes while he was alive. Because of that, Master only learned the truth after his death and realized his sacrifice and consideration. Daring to ask here, do you really think that everything Master has learned is all there is?”

This should be a sufficient answer.

He gave Deon, who was frozen with wide eyes, a refreshing smile.

“He probably cared for Master even more than Master thinks. Actually, even just considering what we’ve learned so far, I wonder if it’s even possible to care more than that…”

“…”

“Anyway, he prioritized Master’s safety and survival above all else. That’s why he chose the Demon Realm. And Master survived as he intended, became a Hero, and escaped even from precarious situations.”

It’s not just ‘escaped’, is it? To the point where there’s only one person who can threaten him.

He lowered his gaze.

The terrain of the sliding board was already set up to be advantageous for Deon Hart. Dan picked up the last piece, which Deon Hart had uniquely failed to take, with his index and middle fingers, and personally slid it in, saying.

“So, don’t worry about going against hyung’s will now, and just go and come back safely. You’ve already gone to the Human Realm to fight in person before, so why are you now being so mindful of someone who’s gone?”