Chapter 14 : Exile (2)

The imperial capital, which we secretly escaped from at dawn.

Using teleportation magic, we arrived at a remote village and ran toward the forest until morning.

At dawn, the mage removed the sealing stone from my neck.

It was something I thought only a grand mage could do, but seeing the man in front of me accomplish it left me wide-eyed in shock.

“I’m the grand mage’s apprentice,” he said plainly.

The grand mage’s apprentice—such a person had decided to flee the empire.

I didn’t bother asking why.

Life is inherently filled with suffering, after all.

Similarly, he didn’t ask much about me either.

As a result, we embarked on this uncertain journey together without even knowing each other’s names.

We continued running through the dark forest.

“Um, where are we seeking asylum again?”

“The Dragon Kingdom.”

“The… Dragon Kingdom?”

When I stopped in surprise, the mage scolded me, urging me to move quickly.

“Hurry up, we don’t have much time. If the sun rises, we’ll be discovered immediately.”

“We might already have been caught.”

“And don’t use magic recklessly. If you do, we’ll be detected instantly. Your magic circuits are still unstable, so you might use it unintentionally.”

Was that different from skills?

“Um, is magic different from skills?”

“Skills have a fixed framework, but magic doesn’t. It’s hard to explain precisely.”

His surprisingly kind explanation made me bow my head in gratitude, and he bowed slightly in return.

We started walking through the dark forest again.

I don’t know how long we walked, but eventually, we found the edge of the forest and a valley.

We decided to rest there for a moment and drink some water.

“At this distance, they won’t be able to follow us anymore.”

“Let’s rest for just a bit.”

“…Without shoes.”

The mage looked at me and, noticing the wounds on my feet, apologized with a guilty expression as he began to heal them.

“It’s better to let the bruises from injections heal naturally.”

“…Why is that?”

“If you use healing magic, the residual magic could run wild and reopen the wounds.”

“Got it…”

As I vaguely absorbed his explanation, the mage smiled kindly and handed me his cloak.

“You must be cold, wearing just that. And it’s all torn up.”
“…Ah.”

Looking down at myself, I realized my clothes were indeed in tatters.

Originally white, they had turned gray with stains, full of holes, and showed signs of burns and blood.

Feeling embarrassed about my disheveled state, I hesitated to accept the cloak.

“Won’t it get dirty?”

“It doesn’t matter. After what we did to you…”

But it wasn’t his fault.

It was his master’s doing, not his.

“…That was the country’s doing.”

“I still tried to turn a blind eye. I’m just as much… No, even more of a hypocrite pretending to be kind.”

He smiled faintly and added,

“Perhaps I’m the worse person here.”

His smile, though bright, carried a certain loneliness.

I couldn’t say anything.

It felt like any words of comfort would only deepen his pain.

“Sorry. I made the mood so dark.”

“N-No, it’s fine.”

Snap!

When the mage snapped his fingers, a fire ignited from a pile of wood.

As I clapped in amazement, he burst into laughter.

Curious, I looked at him blankly until he explained.

“Sorry. It’s just… No one’s been impressed by this since I was a kid. It’s been so long that I couldn’t help it.”

“Ah…”

The cold air of dawn was slightly warmed by the fire, enveloping my body.

“…It’s warm.”

“Rest for a while. Your body must be exhausted.”

“…No, I’m fine.”

I was certainly in pain, but staying in this forest made me too uneasy to rest.

I looked up at the sky, hoping the sun would rise soon.

“Ah.”

“A full moon.”

“…Yes, a full moon.”

A bright full moon hung in the sky, making me feel as if someone was watching over me, cheering me on.

‘I wonder if they’re watching from there.’

As I thought that and smiled faintly—

“Oh, you smiled.”

“Excuse me?”

“You just smiled, didn’t you?”

“…Yes. Is that not okay?”

“No, no! It’s fine. It’s just… unusual. You always had such a pained expression.”

At those words, I gave an awkward smile again.

As I touched my hair absentmindedly, the mage observed me closely and asked,

“Your hair—it wasn’t originally that color, was it?”

“Ah… no, it wasn’t.”

My hair used to be brown.

However, after enduring torture, its color gradually faded until it became this ashen gray.

“I think it suits your pale skin well. What do you think, Mage?”

“…Your skin wasn’t like this either, was it?”

“…Haha.”

It was meant to be a lighthearted comment, but the mage looked troubled and bowed his head in apology.

“There was once respect for heroes. It was closer to reverence, really.”

I knew that. In the game I had enjoyed playing, heroes were treated like that.

“But as technology advanced, and the dragons unified to block the paths to the Demon Realm, heroes became disposable tools.”

I felt a bitter sensation rise within me.

At that moment, the fire from the campfire went out.

“Ah, I didn’t put much magic into it.”

“…I see.”

Was it like fuel?

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Before long, we reached a vast plain and watched the dawn break.

“It’s beautiful.”

“More than the full moon earlier?”

“…Yes?”

“Don’t you like the full moon?” the mage asked curiously.

“…Not particularly. It reminds me of someone.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Shall we go?”

“Yes, let’s. The dragons will likely accept us. They’re still neutral, after all.”

I hoped they would as we began walking again.

Naturally, Void Sister was imprisoned in the underground dungeon.

“Eva.”

“Eva.”

“Eva.”

“Eva.”

“Rejected by a 4-to-1 vote.”

Except for the unnamed elder, the other senior members, along with Father, had firmly rejected her appeal.

Void Sister fell to her knees, devastated.

Her dream had been crushed right before her eyes.

“No!! My adorable, squishy, mochi-filled dream!”

“… …”

“Don’t look at me like that, Minho!”

Seeing her quietly shedding tears as she put on handcuffs was pitiful, so I decided to help her out a little.

After all, she’d caused me no harm and had betrayed the Demon Realm for my sake—her courage left a strong impression on me.

“Dad…”

“Oh, my sweet daughter! I missed you so much~~!!”

After days apart, Father abandoned all royal dignity, hugging me tightly despite the stares of others.

Well, it felt nice.

No, wait—this isn’t right.

“Dad, I want to live with that sister.”

When I said that, Father firmly refused.

“It’s too dangerous. Absolutely not.”

“But still…”

As I tried to push my case, even Mother joined in and said,

“Tsk, no. It’s not happening.”

I couldn’t let them take away my ally like this.

If that’s how it’s going to be, I have no choice.

I’m sorry, Mother, Father.

I’m less than a month old, but I’ve already made my decision.

I’ll do what I must, even if it breaks my parents’ hearts.

Ugh, my chest hurts.

But I’ve already grown attached to Void Sister.

“Mom, Dad, I hate you!!!”

“I hate you~!”

“I hate you~!”

“Hate~!”

~0-

My voice echoed like a ripple, and everyone froze in place.

“Pfft.”

“Pfft.”

Except for Void and the gemstone grandpa.

“Mi… Minho?!”

“How could you say that to your mother…”

Mom looked on the verge of tears as she hugged me.

“I’m sorry for being an inadequate mom!”

“I’m a first-time mom too! I’m sorry!”

Wait, that’s not what I meant!

Mom burst into tears.

My chest throbbed painfully.

Han Minho, you wretched unfilial brat! What are you doing right now?!

How could you make your mom cry?

I hated myself for momentarily being blinded by a woman and breaking my parents’ hearts.

“Mom, I’m sorry… It was a lie.”

“…Really?”

Mom stopped crying and sniffled as she hugged me tightly.

“Thank goodness~!”

I can’t breathe.

“El! The baby’s suffocating!”

“Oh no! Minho!”

Ah, the world is spinning~

He, heheh.

“Minho!”

“Wow, there are two Void Sisters!”

Void Sister rushed over, looking flustered as she checked on me.

“Move aside.”

“Huh?! W-What?!”

Then, the gemstone grandpa came up to Void, pushed her aside, and pressed my solar plexus a few times.

Finally, I could breathe again.

“Hey, the guy who stole my name, what are you doing…?”

“It’s done.”

“…You’re picking a fight, aren’t you?”

“What? I’m on your side.”

“…What?!”

When I opened my eyes and looked ahead, there stood the gemstone grandpa making serious yet nonsensical remarks, and Void Sister blushing like a young girl.

Sister, I think you misunderstood something.

Probably because it seemed amusing to him.

“I support Void becoming one of our citizens,” the gemstone grandpa declared loudly.

I quickly ran to stand next to him, raising my hand.

“I, I grant permission too!”

Then, from the front, the elder grandmas and grandpas reacted:

‘Ugh, this crazy kid.’

‘Wasn’t that guy her enemy?’

‘…Damn.’

‘Hehe, the princess is cute.’

So, will Void Sister successfully immigrate to the Dragon Kingdom?!

After running day and night, we finally arrived.

“Hero, look over there.”

“…Yes.”

“That’s it—right there, the only city in the Dragon Kingdom and the second most advanced city in the world, Dragon Hive!!!”

The mage exclaimed loudly in front of me.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course. But, Hero, why are there two of you? Oh, wait, now there are three?”

Leaning heavily on a wooden staff, disheveled and barely able to breathe, it wasn’t exactly a secret that I looked miserable.

Why am I so weak as a person…?