༺ A Light That Shines On Its Own ༻
“She is my disciple.”
“…Hmm?”
Frey, on the verge of questioning the young girl beside him, turned as he caught the voice from behind.
“So don’t think about doing anything strange.”
“………”
Upon realizing the Magic Tower Master was behind him, Frey fell silent at her words.
“Are you sure you want to be there? You can follow me…”
“I want to watch from here!”
“Goodness, didn’t you come here to see the Hero? Why did you suddenly change your mind…”
Meanwhile, the Magic Tower Master, who was speaking while looking at Glare, shook her head in disbelief at the audacious girl and moved on. Despite being often labeled an eccentric witch or a peculiar wizard, her disciples consistently described her as soft-hearted.
“…….”
Once again, Frey sank into silent contemplation as the Magic Tower Master departed.
“Excuse me.”
Glare, observing Frey, cautiously moved closer to him and posed a question.
“Does it hurt?”
Frey’s shoulder was stained with blood, thanks to the young lady who had dug her fingernails at him earlier.
“…Mind your own business, kid.”
Nevertheless, Frey responded coldly to Glare, redirecting his focus on the Verification Ceremony.
“Do you swear, here in this place, that you have received a decree from the Sun God?”
“…Yes!”
In his line of sight was the bishop, asking with a solemn voice, and Ruby, answering with a serious expression.
“”………””
However, the gazes of the nobles were fixed on Frey, not on them.
Most of them, of course, were looking forward to seeing Frey, sitting there with a sullen expression on his face, his shoulders stained with blood but not quite as fierce as before.
“I declare! Her words are the truth!”
The nobles, who had been staring at Frey for some time, now turned their attention forward, applauding vigorously as the bishop made his proclamation.
“Ugh…”
Frey averted his eyes from Ruby, staring down at the ground and biting his lip.
“Hmm…..”
Glare, meticulously observing Frey, cautiously extended a hand towards him.
“What?”
In response, Frey recoiled like a wary cat, shrinking back.
The gesture appeared both amusing and somewhat pitiable.
“I won’t hurt you. Come here for a moment.”
“……..”
Glare approached Frey, who wore a puzzled expression, retrieved a crystal vial, and placed it on his shoulder.
– Shaaaah…
His shoulder instantly began to recover.
“Ouch.”
Biting his lip slightly because it hurt quite a bit even though he denied it, Frey cautiously questioned Glare, who continued to scrutinize him.
“Why are you… doing this to me.”
“What?”
“…Why are you being nice to me?”
As Frey spoke, his expression resembled that of a wounded cat whose pride had been bruised.
“Well…”
Glare scratched her head, feeling a bit puzzled, but then recalled her mentor’s words.
“He was the meanest bastard in the Empire, and he’s probably going to be stripped of his status today, right here, in front of everyone.”
“Oh, you mean that Frey they’ve been talking about in the papers…?”
“What, you know him?”
Glare, who had decided to secretly assist the Hero, naturally had some information about the notorious Frey.
But, why? The man she’d met today, Frey, didn’t seem as bad as the newspapers had portrayed him.
In fact, he seemed a little pitiful.
“Hey, Oppa. Put this on.”
“…What is it?”
“It’s an ointment my mentor developed, good for wounds.”
With that, Glare retrieved the healing cream her eccentric mentor had created and handed it to Frey.
“There, I thought your arm looked a little worn out…”
True to her word, the bandage on his arm, which had been stabbed by Alice, was covered in blood.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you taking it?”
“………”
Frey glanced down at the cream Glare held out to him, then turned away with a cold expression.
“I don’t need your help.”
“What?”
“I don’t need your help.”
In a self-mocking tone, Frey uttered the words.
“Don’t try to pity me. I feel offended.”
“…….”
“If you understand, get out of my way. Just go somewhere else before you get targeted.”
“You’re like a wary cat, aren’t you?”
“…Shut up.”
“Hehehe…”
Watching Frey twitch like a cat grinding its teeth, Glare couldn’t help but laugh.
“What, are you really… Huh?”
Frey looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, then furrowed his brows as he caught a glimpse of her face through her robes.
“I think I recognize you from somewhere…”
And then, scratching his head, he muttered.
– Sssk…!
And then, on top of Frey’s bandages, Glare smeared some cream.
“Oppa, are you a bad person?”
She asked.
“…Yeah.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Frey responded, swatting Glare’s hand away while she applied cream over the bandage.
“So you’d better not get involved with me.”
“You sound nice when you say that…”
“I’m a bad person.”
“Hmm…”
After uttering those words, Frey shifted a seat to the side as if to ignore Glare.
“Hey, Oppa, you go to the academy, right? Do you know this?”
Glare, who also moved to the side, handed Frey something.
“…….”
“Hey~? It’s very important…”
At first, Frey ignored her, but Glare waved the button in his face.
“…It’s a Sunrise Academy uniform button.”
He replied in a dull voice.
“Really? It’s really the Academy uniform button… that suspicious detective was right… I’ll have to find a way to get in next year…”
Glare muttered to herself, looking down at the button in her hand with a serious expression.
“…This is to pay back for what you did earlier.”
Still gazing away, Frey spoke in a hushed tone to Glare.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not exactly grateful.”
His voice retained a sense of caution, but a subtle gratitude lingered beneath the surface, prompting a smile from Glare.
‘For some reason, I want to help him…’
Was it his kindness or her instinct reading Frey’s thoughts? Glare struggled to appear unaffected by the hostile glances around her, yet she felt a pang of sympathy for Frey, who trembled involuntarily in the face of impending doom.
“I read a small article in the newspaper distributed by the Church.”
Gently taking Frey’s hand, which was trembling slightly, perhaps from nervousness, she spoke softly to him.
“They said they couldn’t find any direct evidence of your misdeeds…”
“Because I hid it all.”
“That’s not true. You didn’t actually do anything bad?”
“Shut up, kid.”
Once again, Frey roughly slapped Glare’s hand away.
“…Leave me alone.”
He spoke with a trembling voice.
“…Thereby, the Imperial Family and the Church, declare!”
At that very moment, a solemn voice echoed through the ballroom.
“The Sunrise Empire hereby appoints Ruby, a commoner girl, as its Second Hero!”
“…Thank you.”
Ruby slightly bowed at the proclamation and was handed a seal confirming her status as the Hero.
“…Hehe.”
She glared at Frey who was at the far end.
“Ooohhhhh!!!”
Simultaneously, cheers erupted throughout the ballroom.
It marked the juncture where the fates of the Hero and the Demon King were poised for reversal.
“…Ugh.”
“……….”
In such a situation, Frey, who was silently grinding his teeth, had his head bowed in silence, as did Glare in her robe.
“…….?”
They stared at each other, then tilted their heads.
“Why do you have that look on your face?”
“Why are you grinding your teeth…”
They exchanged glances, and then, almost simultaneously, they asked each other those questions.
“Well, if you’ll all please rise from your seats, we’re waiting in the hall next door for some dancing and refreshments.”
A servant standing beside Ruby proclaimed loudly.
– Squeak…
Then, the sound of dragging chairs and chattering could be heard everywhere.
“…Phew.”
At this point, Frey felt a sense of relief and quietly stood up to make his way out.
“Frey Raon Starlight.”
A gentle voice unexpectedly called out from beside Frey.
“Why are you at the far end? It took me a while to find you.”
Ruby, who had just descended from the stage in front of them, scratched her head, wearing a fairly innocent expression as she inquired.
“Pwaha!”
“Hehehe…”
It was a hilarious situation where Ruby, an apparently innocent country girl, gave Frey a run for his money.
As she strolled away, laughter erupted among the onlookers enjoying the comedic exchange.
“I need to speak with you in private, along with Frey… Could you come with me?”
“…Me, too?”
“Yes, um… I mean… I need you to give me some advice about the Hero Party, oh, and after you’re done talking to me, I need to talk to you about Frey’s future treatment…”
“…Hero.”
“Oh!”
Ruby, who had been talking cheerfully under the circumstances, covered her mouth in embarrassment as the knight escorting her from the side interrupted her.
“This, this was a confidential matter, wasn’t it, I’m sorry…”
“…No, it wasn’t.”
Her bodyguard spoke as he bowed down to Ruby, then glanced down at Frey.
“After I have spoken with the Hero, I think you should meet with us for a moment.”
“Why?”
“…You don’t have to know that.”
The woman who had escorted him to his mansion during the Third Ordeal dismissed Frey’s question flatly.
“Well, have a good day, then.”
With that, she turned and walked out into the hallway with Ruby.
“…….”
The words left Frey speechless, unable to respond.
“He looks terrible.”
“What… So annoying.”
“…Creeping in just because he was invited. He doesn’t even know what it was for.”
He watched as the nobles passed by him and exited into the hallway, each making a comment.
“…Ugh.”
He clasped his hands together in his lap and looked down with a frown.
A long moment passed.
“…How annoying.”
A young, inexperienced maid picked up where the nobles left off, frowned at Frey, who was still there, and disappeared.
“Tsk.”
Suddenly, Frey, previously pale and frightened, underwent a swift transformation in expression and mumbled quietly.
“You’re going to regret this.”
Having uttered those words, Frey, who had been intently observing the point settlement window before him with a grim countenance, rose from his seat, preparing to leave.
“Excuse me.”
He let out a deep sigh and turned his gaze aside, having heard that phrase multiple times that day.
“Go away, kid.”
He glared at the kid who was looking at him with concern, a kid who didn’t know what was going on in the world.
“Like I said, I’m not looking for sympathy…”
His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes.
“…Cheer up.”
As she spoke those words, he fell silent, visibly taken aback.
– Clatter.
At the same time, the wound-healing cream slipped from Frey’s arms.
“……..”
Was it because it had been so long since a complete stranger had offered him some warmth?
Frey stood there for a moment, feeling a pit in his stomach.
“You have such kind eyes… It’s like, you look like him, and that’s quite…”
She continued to stare at Frey, muttering to herself before offering a suggestion.
“If…If you ever become a commoner… I’d like to invite you to come to the Magic Tower. My mentor’s been in need of an assistant lately, and it’s a hard enough job that it exists as an imperial punishment, so I’m sure it’s possible.”
“………”
“It seems like you’ll get beaten to death at this rate, but that’s better, isn’t it? My mentor might overwork you, but you won’t die. So…”
“…You, what’s your name?”
While Frey attempted to slip away into the corridor, intentionally ignoring the little girl, he eventually posed the question in a hushed tone.
“Me?”
“Yes, I’ll remember it.”
Hearing his reply, the little girl somehow felt pity for Frey.
“My name is Glare.”
She tilted her head in an odd manner.
“What did you say?”
“Glare. It means a shining light.”
With that, she turned to leave.
“My parents, who I can hardly remember now, named me that, wishing me to be a light that shone in this dark world.”
“…..!”
“Well then, goodbye.”
With those words lingering, Glare vanished from her seat in an instant, as if she had employed magic.
“…Glare?”
Frey stood still for a while before speaking,
“Could it be… that girl from back then?”
Flustered, he murmured.
“Really?”
“What do you mean, really?”
And at that moment, an arrogant voice echoed in front of Frey.
“My thin and poor Frey…”
His once naive countenance was now nowhere to be seen.
“You didn’t come for so long that I had to find you myself…”
With a proud and excited expression, the Demon King Ruby swung open the door to the main hall and approached Frey.
“Would you like to have an intimate talk, just the two of us?”
Wrapping her arms around Frey, she whispered in a hushed voice.
“Okay~?”
.
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Meanwhile, at that moment.
“Ah, hello…”
Roswyn, having taken extra time for her glamorous makeup and consequently running late for the Verification Ceremony, hurriedly arrived at the entrance of the Hero Party’s waiting room.
“I’m a bit late, aren’t I?”
“Ah, no…”
“Well then, excuse me…!”
Concerned that the Hero might be disappointed due to her tardiness for the ceremony, she ignored the knight’s explanation and entered the waiting room.
“…Huh?”
Soon, she tilted her head.
“Is this the right place?”
She asked the knight beside her.
“There’s no one here?”
To her surprise, the waiting room was empty.
“I… I don’t know…”
“Huh?”
“We have to check… right now, only you, Miss Roswyn, have arrived…”
Her expression turned blank upon hearing this.
“What should I do…? The Hero is coming this way now. How do I handle this…”
“Roswyn, please sit down first!”
“Wh, what?”
The knight seized Roswyn’s arm and ushered her into a chair.
“Don’t go anywhere, stay put!”
“……..?”
After seating her, the knight vanished.
“What on earth is going on…”
She murmured to herself, puzzled as to why the Hero Party hadn’t arrived, despite her being late.
“Woah!!!”
“…Eek!!”
A spirited cheer erupted from the side, causing Roswyn, who had almost teared up from the shock, to turn her head.
“Hello!!”
“…Huh, huh?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ferloche, who had been taking a break after devoting herself to Ruby.
“Ni, nice to meet…”
“You are… You’re so ridiculous!”
“…Excuse me?”
Roswyn, who had been trying to calm her nerves and extend her hand to Ferloche, looked puzzled by her words.
“Then welcome to the Hero Party you have joined for all eterinty!”
Ferloche grabbed Roswyn’s hand and shook it vigorously, wearing a silly grin on her face.
“Seriously!!!”
Ferloche spoke once more, gazing straight at the bewildered Roswyn.
“…Roswyn is so ridiculous!!!”
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