"Kai!"
The front door of the two-story brick house swung open with a bang, and a tall, gentle-looking woman with black hair rushed out, throwing her arms around me in a crushing hug. Yes. My mother was someone who still hadn't learned how to let go of her child.
"How was your trip? Nothing dangerous happened along the way, did it?"
She patted and felt all over me, thoroughly checking to make sure I was in one piece.
"Yeah. I'm fine, Mom."
If I remembered correctly, this was how I used to talk back in the day. It felt overwhelmingly unnatural coming out of my mouth now.
"..."
Mother grabbed both of my shoulders, staring intently into my face.
"Kai, did you... grow up a little?"
She just had to hit me with a question that was downright impossible to answer.
"Well, I suppose."
Rather than growing up a little, I was already a hundred thousand years old. Honestly, even to myself, my existence had become something of a bad joke.
"I see... You really have grown, Kai."
With tears welling in the corners of her eyes, she pulled me into another fierce embrace.
I had hoped to just exchange quick greetings and take my leave right away, but that seemed out of the question. As an A-rank hunter, Mother was fundamentally busy, so she wouldn't be able to stay in this house for very long anyway.
Once she stepped out for work, I could just leave a note saying I'd found a live-in job and slip away. Besides, that wouldn't entirely be a lie.
"Come on, I'll make us something to eat, so get inside."
It couldn't be helped. For now, I had to play along. Well, I had left Faf and Mew in the care of Anna, who acted like their older sister, and Asta, the self-proclaimed butler. A few days on their own shouldn't be an issue. If it went on any longer than that, Faf would probably start looking for me, so I'd have to show my face eventually.
Sure enough, three days later, Mother had to leave the royal capital for about two months on a job. That was standard fare for an A-rank hunter at the height of her popularity, completely within my expectations.
I left a letter on the table stating that I had found a live-in job, then slipped out of the house.
From there, I headed toward the small inn in the commercial district of the royal capital's northwest where Faf and the others were staying, but—
"Come on, cheer up already."
Currently, I was having an early dinner at the dining hall with Faf and Mew.
"Faf refuses!"
Faf turned away in a huff. Being apart from me for a mere three days had completely soured its mood.
For the past tens of thousands of years, Faf and I hadn't spent a single moment apart. If I suddenly vanished, this reaction was only natural. I should have known full well the sheer terror and anxiety of having family disappear without warning. I ought to have been more considerate of Faf's feelings. It was careless of me.
"I'm sorry, Faf."
I gently stroked Faf's head just as I always did.
"Faf will not be swayed! Faf is... Faf is..."
Tears spilled like falling beads from its eyes, and I continued to stroke its head in silence.
Mew stared blankly as Faf, exhausted from crying, fell asleep using my lap as a pillow.
"What's the matter?"
"It's nothing..."
Saying that with such a faint, trembling expression carried zero conviction.
"Children don't need to hold back. I told you that from the start, didn't I?"
Looking down and clutching the hem of her skirt over her knees, Mew cried out in a shaking voice,
"I want to see Papa... Mama, and Big Sister."
Drops of liquid dripped from her eyes onto the backs of her tiny hands.
She wanted to see her family, did she? Naturally. Mew was still at an age where she needed the warmth and love of a family. Even I couldn't help but yearn for my mother and grandfather after being swallowed by that dungeon for the weak. For a young child like Mew, it had to be far worse.
"Well, once things settle down in this country, I intend to set out on a journey anyway. It was an aimless journey to begin with. Let's look for your family then. So, be a good girl and wait until then, all right?"
"O-Okay..."
Finally breaking down, she clung to me and burst into loud, racking sobs.
However, from what I'd heard of the circumstances, their survival was hopeless. After all, when the Holy Amelia Kingdom's army invaded, Mew's parents—the chieftains of the tribe—had only stayed behind to let Mew and her older sister flee into the forest.
Judging by the fact that the couple hadn't escaped with their children, they had likely taken full responsibility as defeated commanders and gone down with their people.
(Fools!)
There was no such thing as a responsibility that could be atoned for through death. That was merely a form of running away. Mew's parents should have fought tooth and nail to survive, even if it meant crawling through the mud. If they had, they surely could have carved out a path forward. At least, that was what I believed.
Even so, this was all ultimately the fault of the Hero's party. One of the reasons the Holy Amelia Kingdom had invaded the Beast Kingdom in the first place was because they suddenly gained the leeway to face the Demon King.
According to the church's revered scriptures, the demon race was supposed to be the sworn enemy of the entire human race. Yet, right in the middle of a conflict against the Demon King—a threat that all humanity should have united to face—they looked down on their fellow human race as inferior and invaded them instead. Few strategies could ever be so utterly moronic.
No, it was entirely possible that the church's doctrine branding the demon race as evil was itself a fabrication. In the first place, the humans merely asserted that the demon race was evil, and the supposed proof backing that claim was limited to ancient, half-forgotten texts from the distant past.
Hmm. In every conceivable aspect, the nation of Amelia was untrustworthy. And entangled deep within the heart of that Holy Amelia Kingdom were that tomboy Lena Grot and Keith Steinberg.
As things stood, it was no different from having them held hostage by this trash heap of a nation. Of course, the moment anyone tried to harm the two of them, I would drag this wretched country through hell on earth, but I had no desire to live such a turbulent life in this world.
That was when an idea struck me. Conveniently enough, I was currently traveling alongside Princess Rose. And if Rose won the upcoming Throne Succession War, she would become the ruler of this country.
Rose was green, but she wasn't stupid. She would immediately halt the pointless conflict with the demon race and focus on domestic reconstruction. In other words, the war with the demon race itself would certainly come to an end. Once that happened, the so-called Hero's party would be cast aside.
Since the reigning king decided the conditions of the Throne Succession War, there was no telling when it would conclude. But no matter how long it dragged out, it shouldn't take more than three to four years at most. If Lena and Keith went into hiding with their families in Amour during that time, and I took my time finding someone capable of serving as Rose's Royal Guard, everything would be solved.
With that plan in mind, I had spent the last few days trying to contact the two of them to talk them into it, but it seemed they were both currently studying abroad at Babel, the World Mage Academy and the pinnacle of global education, alongside the Hero's party.
The reason Keith was accompanying the Hero's party was likely that the government of the Holy Amelia Kingdom intended to draft him—the bearer of the Grand Mage Gift—into the Hero's ranks in the near future. His studies at Babel were probably just preparation for that.
Regardless, the fact remained that the entire Hero's party had gone off to study at Babel together. There was no doubt that some sort of backroom deal regarding the Demon King's subjugation had been struck between the Holy Amelia Kingdom and Babel—
"Yo."
A sudden voice broke my train of thought. I looked up to see a man with a beast-like face and a heavily muscled frame standing a full two mel tall right in front of me.
"Zack? You're in the capital too?"
"Pretty much. Actually, I ended up becoming Princess Rose's knight. Guess we'll be working together."
He dropped heavily into the seat across from me, flagged down a server to order food, and immediately began wolfing it down.
I see. Rose must have scouted him after the tournament. But this was an exceptionally convenient development for me.
Zack's talent in the martial arts was extraordinary. With proper training, he would become a monster. What's more, he possessed the unyielding pride of a warrior; as long as he attained overwhelming strength, he would never falter before the kingdom's worthless fools. I could rest easy foisting the exceedingly hazardous duty of Royal Guard onto him.
Of course, the current Zack was far too green to even consider for the role. Until he reached an acceptable level of strength, I'd have no choice but to shoulder the duties of Royal Guard myself.
The real problem was whether Zack would actually accept my instruction. After all, he viewed me as a rival. He didn't seem like the type to swallow his pride and humbly learn from someone he wanted to beat.
Well, what would be, would be.
"Zack. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to train you."
"F-For real?!"
I leaned back slightly, somewhat taken aback as Zack lunged forward with an intensely fierce look in his eyes.
"Yeah. However, I am a swordsman. Hand-to-hand combat isn't my specialty. What I can teach you are purely the fundamentals and instincts for becoming stronger in battle. Are you fine with that?"
"Hell yeah! As long as I get stronger, I don't care what it is! Taking the princess's offer really was the right call! The old man's gonna be weeping with envy when he hears about this!"
I had no idea what he was rambling about, but Zack accepting the training was a stroke of good fortune for me. Starting tomorrow, I'd forge him into shape.