Hans walked on the road by himself. Although he had gone out with Snoc and Elena at first, they moved separately now.
‘I can’t help but feel self-conscious when I’m around those two.’
He felt like a clueless older brother third-wheeling on his young brother’s date. Of course, it wasn’t as if those two people gave him any signs that made him feel unwelcome, nor were they actually lovers. Yet, that was how Hans felt whenever the three of them gathered.
‘Those two are especially close.’
Since Snoc had bonded with Elena while helping her study magic, Elena tended to treat Snoc very kindly. The fact that Snoc was also her first friend after she spent all her time studying magic as the fallen genius also played a huge factor. Thus, the time Hans spent wandering around the city alone increased even if the three of them went out of the lodging together.
‘It gives me a weird feeling.’
It almost felt like he was falling behind his younger brother in something. Like that, Hans walked around the city listlessly. Even though he was by himself, since he was in the entertainment city, Janmalpi, there were many things he could do alone. Hans tried not to feel down by the fact that he was alone and tried to enjoy the city as much as he could.
‘If Sir Zich judges that he has given us enough free time, he’ll recommence training again, and it’ll be brutal.’ Hans was sure of it. Then, his feet suddenly stopped at a place. ‘This place is…’
It was a familiar place. The surroundings which had been filled to the corner with buildings now had an opening. It was one of the main streams that ran through the city, and there were several bridges that stretched over the streams.
‘This is the place where I met Ms. Browning.’
Hans stared at the top of the bridge where he met her before.
‘Huh?’ As if he had gone back in time, he saw Lara standing in the same spot, appearing just like before. Since Hans thought he should at least greet her, he approached her. When he was about to talk to her, Lara’s shoulder twitched. She placed her hand on her sword hilt and spun around. Hans couldn’t help but laugh because he had gone through the exact same situation the last time he saw her. Like before, Hans took a step back and lifted both arms lightly.
“Who…”
Her wary eyes settled down as soon as she saw Hans. He said with his hands still raised, “Hello, Ms. Browning. We meet again just like before.”
“Ah…!” Lara saw her hand on the sword hilt and quickly fixed her posture. “I-I apologize.”
“No, it’s fine. I understand why you responded so strongly.” Since one of his companions was the most beautiful person that could possibly exist, he could guess how many bothersome experiences Lara might have gone through. There was probably even more when she was alone. Hans looked around his surroundings. Beyond the railing of the bridge, he saw the flowing streams and more bridges. “You must like this place. I saw you here last time too.”
“My eyes feel at ease just looking at the stream. It gives me a refreshing feeling.”
Hans and Lara naturally leaned on the bridge rails and talked. They even had a common issue that they could talk about, and their conversation topic naturally flowed to the Condel case that happened a couple of days ago.
“Is Sir Zenard all right? It seems like he was injured last time.”
“He wasn’t injured badly. He simply lost his consciousness from a large shock. He also healed all his injuries with potions.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Are your companions all right, Mr. Hans?”
“Yes, everyone is fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
The two asked about each other’s and their team’s well-being. Then, as they continued talking about the case, their topic reached one person they couldn’t skip over—Zich. As soon as Zich’s name was mentioned, an awkward atmosphere began to flow between the two.
“To tell you the truth, I can’t believe that person is a Karuwiman Honorary Knight.”
Hans smiled bitterly at Lara’s words. Hans held a deep admiration for Zich, but even he couldn’t take Zich’s side regarding his personality.
‘I’m sure Sir Zich wouldn’t want me to do that either.’ Even if Hans claimed that Zich’s character was good, Hans could bet that Zich would just ask Hans if ‘he had gone blind.’
“He gained his title by protecting the Saint and annihilating the Bellids, so he doesn’t match the image of holy knights that people commonly have.”
“Well, there’s his personality, but the way he treated Condel Siede in the end…”
Although Lara had been busy fighting Condel’s shadows with Zich’s companions, she still heard what Zich said to Condel to a certain extent. She especially heard the conversation they had after Condel received a critical wound. Furthermore, she also heard more about the situation from Glen after the case was over. Thus, she had a pretty clear picture of what happened between Zich and Condel.
“Condel Siede was an evil person befitting punishment. I know that even if he has a sad story, it doesn’t mean he can be forgiven,” Lara admitted. “However, the things that man did were too much! If I only consider the situation, it’s hard to tell who the villain is!”
‘But Sir Zich isn’t the villain,’ Hans thought. However, if he was asked whose character was worse between the two, Hans would have to give his vote to Zich; and if he was asked whether Zich’s behavior was just like a villain’s, he wouldn’t be able to answer. However, that was all, and Hans responded, “I admit that Sir Zich’s behavior may seem over-the-top to other people and his character is truly terrible. Still, Sir Zich is not a villain.” Hans said firmly without a shred of shame or embarrassment.
“The opponent that Sir Zich tormented was a villain in every form and meaning of the word. Sir Zich would never torment good people who don’t do anything. Instead, he works hard to save such people from the hands of villains.”
“…I admit that, but it’s also true that the man’s personality is rotten. What if such a person changed and became a villain? Seeing how twisted he is, I don’t think it would be any strange for such a person to become a vill—”
“Then I would stop him.”
“…Sorry?” Lara stared at Hans with wide eyes after hearing a response she didn’t expect.
“If that happened, I would do all I can to stop Sir Zich. I would even put my life on the line to do that.” Hans’ pupils didn’t shake at all as he said this.
“No, if I consider Sir Zich’s strength, even if I put my life on the line, it will simply increase my chance of stopping him by a tiny amount. Still, I will do my best to stop him, and this is also what Sir Zich taught me to do.”
“…That’s what he taught you?”
“Yes. Sir Zich fully supports my childish dream of becoming a hero. So he says things like that without hesitation. He told me that if he becomes a villain, I should likewise point my sword towards him without hesitation.”
“…” Lara was unable to find the right words to say since she never imagined that Zich was teaching Hans with such a mindset.
The silence lengthened between them. Hans couldn’t find any reason to stay anymore, so he turned his feet to leave.
Before he left, Hans said, “Ah, but Ms. Browning, I told you this before, right? Sir Zich told me that you have talent with the sword.”
Lara remembered Hans telling her that. In a way, Zich had been the only person who complimented her sword talent recently.
“Ms. Browning, if you want to continue using a sword, you should continue doing what you want. Because Sir Zich is much stronger than your companion.”
Hans felt Lara getting emotional; it seemed as if it bothered her that he compared Glen with another person in a negative light. However, Hans didn’t pay her any attention and turned his back.
* * *
“And you separated like that?” Lyla asked with interest.
Hans had his head down as if he committed a grave crime, and nodded. Then, he thought, ‘How did it turn out like this?’
After having slightly conflicting opinions with Lara, he coldly turned his back. Now that he thought about it again, he thought he had behaved too coldly. Even though Hans was influenced by Zich and showed no mercy to his enemies, he could not be so cold to others. Therefore, when he returned to his lodging, a melancholy cloud hung over his head, and Lyla initiated a conversation by asking him what was wrong. She went out of her way to drag Hans and storm into Zich’s room. She was going to listen to Hans’ complaints if he had one. Moreover, a small part of her wanted to release stress from translating Clowon’s letters by listening to other people’s concerns.
“Why did you say something like that?”
“…I was a bit hurt that she insulted Sir Zich so…”
“You did something useless. She said nothing wrong.” Lyla turned back and asked Zich, “Isn’t that right?”
Lying down on the bed, Zich waved his hand and said, “Well, she’s right.”
“Sir, I also know that.”
“Punk, what did you say?” When Zich lifted his upper body, Hans dragged his chair back—it was a reflexive move from going through Zich’s hellish training.
Fortunately, Zich merely waved his fist and didn’t directly harm him. Moreover, when Lyla told him to be quiet and threw a pillow at him, he went back to lying flat on the bed. Lyla encouraged Hans to continue.
Hans glanced at Zich and continued, “Even though I could completely understand her words from an outsider’s perspective, they were still insults against Sir Zich. If I thought about it like that, it would make me a bit angry.”
“Well, no wonder. It’s okay if we call each other bastards, but if others do it, it can be annoying.”
“Hey, that’s not consolation,” Zich chuckled as he twirled the pillow that Lyla threw at him.
Lyla ignored him and continued, “So that’s why you mentioned Glen Zenard, whom she seemed to like?”
“Yes. To be honest, I also didn’t say anything wrong.”
“Yeah, that’s also right.” If Lyla had to choose who she trusted more in regards to judging talent, she would obviously choose Zich over Glen. In the futures that she knew, there was not a single time where Glen Zenard was able to individually surpass Zich in talent or abilities.
‘In matters of strength and talent, Zich is the very definition of those two factors.’
Moreover, Lyla thought that Zich also had memories about the future like her.
“You’re right.” Zich threw the pillow he was twirling on the bed and after quickly standing up, he sat on an empty chair. “Anyways, Lara Browning told you a truth that was uncomfortable for you to hear. You also only said the truth. That could have made her uncomfortable, but she was the one who did it first.”
Lyla said, “…In a way, you’re also amazing.”
Zich admitted that Lara’s insults towards him were all truths without hesitation. Lyla thought Zich had astonishing mana, talent, sense of morality, but out of all of these traits, she thought that his most astonishing trait was his shamelessness.
“But why are you worrying so much about such a little thing? I roughly know your personality by now, but it seems like your concern is a bit too much. Perhaps, did your heart shrink because you said something harsh to the person you like?”
Zich jeered at him, but Hans shook his head. That wasn’t his concern.
He replied, “Like I said, I told her to continue using the sword if she wanted to. But even while saying that, I provoked her in the end. I’m worried that she might give up on the sword in retaliation. Even without me saying anything, she seemed to have a lot on her mind.”
They had not expected a worry like this. Zich and Lyla stared at each other and blinked their eyes.
Zich said, “…You’re really concerned about all sorts of things.”
“But isn’t it nice that he’s so innocent? If I imagine everyone to be like you, Zich, the world would be an awful place.”
“Yeah, my perfection is too advanced for people to catch up to me.” Zich ignored Lyla who looked at him as if he was pathetic and turned his eyes to Hans. “Don’t worry about such a trivial matter. If she throws away her sword from such a small provocation, it won’t be because of what you said. It’ll be her her own decision.”
“Sir, but…”
“Moreover, I said this to you before, but you didn’t say anything wrong.” Zich said with confidence, “It’s true that I’m way stronger than that Glen Zenard guy.”
Hans made a bitter smile.
Zich said, “But if you’re still concerned about it, I’ll fix the problem for you.”
“Sir, how will you do that?”
“You know, you can only worry about things when you have a certain amount of leisure. I can thoroughly train you so you won’t be able to think about anything els…”
Hans quickly jumped up and shouted, “Sir, I have no worries now!”
Zich seemed to be pleased by Hans’ answer and nodded. Lyla quietly clutched her head.
