Chapter 124

Kurou gave a small smile and looked to the right .

「Well, beastmen don’t have a habit of counting how many years they’ve lived . I too have forgotten the precise number, but I’ve definitely lived for two hundred years . 」

I looked at him in amazement .

Of that number, half of it was used to remember the ancient language .

What peerless tenacity .

I definitely can not do it .

Or rather, why was he still alive?

「Well, I started aging after my younger sister was killed and that was fifty years ago, so I’m around two hundred and fifty? No, maybe I’m three hundred? In any case, I have a long life because of my aberrant mother . 」

Aberrant… .

I don’t think that’s a word one should use to describe mothers .

Or rather, Kurou himself was aberrant as well .

Was it hereditary?

「Normally, would you mistakenly drink an elixir of immortality? Because of that, the old woman is still alive and my life span became twice as long… . She’s the main culprit in all of this . 」

After saying that, Kurou fell, and leaned against the sofa .

…was he drunk?

He was much more talkative than usual, and was reminiscing about various things .

It was the same as when the construction site ossans were drunk .

「So you live longer because your mother drank the immortality elixir?」

When asked that, Kurou, with a dazed look in his eyes, nodded .

「Aah, because the aberrant old woman drank that elixir before she gave birth to me, it also had an effect on me while I was in her womb . 」

It seems that it was because of this that Kurou lived this long even when compared to other beastmen .

However, even if he said that his lifespan was twice as long, wasn’t it coming to an end soon?

「I will not die until I avenge my younger sister, but even so, I’m tired of living . I want it all to be over soon . 」

I was surprised by the words that came out of Kurou’s mouth .

Wanting it to end, did he mean that he wanted to die?

Or, did he want to stop living for the sake of revenge?

Japanese people lived longer than people of other countries, but even so, there weren’t a lot of people who lived to a hundred .

Because I myself had not even lived one-tenth of the years that Kurou had lived, it was impossible for me to know how he felt .

…why don’t I try discussing with Amelia?

As I was thinking that, before I knew it, Kurou had sank into the sofa and was breathing evenly, sleeping .

He had an extremely calm look on his face, not the expression of someone who wanted to die .

「If possible, can you do it softly . 」

I turned around when I said this, and Zeal-san was standing there, holding a blanket .

I had felt his presence, but as expected, it seems that he was nearby .

「What kind of relationship does Zeal-san have with Kurou?」

I asked Zeal-san who was softly laying the blanket on Kurou this .

Zeal-san laughed, as if troubled, and sat down on the white sofa that was on the other side of me .

「You know that this person used to take in disciples, right?」

I nodded .

We had just talked about this .

「Among those disciples was my mother . Of course, she had already passed away . 」

My eyes widened in surprise .

After Kurou left the front lines, every country wanted to acquire the first hero’s skill by any means necessary .

Since Kurou had the skill, they sent people to him in hopes that he would pass down the knowledge of the skill to their own people .

Of course, humans weren’t an exception either .

It seems that Kurou did not refuse .

His desire for revenge had began to fade, he had began to age, so he had the free time to do so .

And so, Zeal-san’s mother’s spirit broke, just like everyone else .

「My father was an adventurer, and he was already gone when I was very young, so my mother raised me all by herself . 」

My own mother came to mind .

My mother who had a weak constitution .

「After my mother’s spirit broke, the one who raised me was Kurou-san . He was also the one who recommended me to the chivalric order, as well as the one who had asked me to come home after he heard that I had been fired from the order . 」

Zeal-san gave a sigh and looked at Kurou’s sleeping face with a gentle look on his face .

Those eyes were filled with affection, as if looking at his aging father, and I was captivated by the scene that seemed straight out of a painting .

「To me, he is my benefactor and my father . In regards to my mother, I do not resent him for it at all . This person is just awkward . 」

「Though it had only been a short amount of time, I can kind of understand it . Then, what do you want for Kurou?」

From the words of the hotel’s owner, I also understood that Kurou had a tsundere personality and was a champion of justice who couldn’t overlook people who were in trouble .

For a champion of justice, he was a bit contrary as well .

However, why was he telling me this .

「Can you let this person do as he pleases? As you’ve guessed, he doesn’t have much time left . 」

「…I don’t want to be involved though . 」

I’m not a champion of justice, nor am I a good person .

Certainly, Kurou had saved my life, and Zeal-san had helped me leave the castle as well, but I have my own goals .

I just want to go home .

That was the only thing that I wished for .

I’ll be fine with it, if, when the time came, Amelia, Yoru, and my classmates were there all together .

And, the key to returning was the demon king’s castle, or Retice castle .

We were called to this world by those in Retice castle in hopes of us subjugating the demon king .

The magic circles that Mahiro was using looked quite similar to the one that was used to call us .

「Aah, I understand . Why you guys are taking action because of that, and why you want to go to the demon king’s castle . 」

「Then… . 」

「It’s fine if it’s halfway . Since it seems that you had promised to pick up the elves if you came across any along the way . 」

I want to click my tongue at the me from before .

I dug my own grave with my words that I said at that time .

「Besides, wouldn’t you need this person to help you get to the demon king’s castle in the demon territory? I haven’t been there before, but it seems that getting there is terribly complicated . Besides, you shouldn’t trust that demon’s daughter to act as your guide . 」

Certainly, it may be necessary to have Kurou who had gone there before .

In any case, the demon territory was different from the elven and beastmen territories and I didn’t know what could happen .

It’s probably essential that we have a guide .

For that, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to do Kurou a favor .

「That’s true . However, it’s not that simple . 」

Something that was requested by Kurou, for me… .

Zeal-san stood up and patted me, who had sunk into silence, on the shoulder .

「That’s all I wanted to say . I don’t know when this person will pass away, so you had better make up your mind quickly . 」

After Zeal-san left, I listened to Kurou’s even breaths as I gazed at the night view .

With no concern in regards to my worries, the town was gorgeous, beautiful, and unchanging .