I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

8 – 8. Confession

The cultures of elves and humans are different.

There is no way that the culture of a species that lives 1,000 years longer and a species that lives longer than 100 years is the limit.

For this reason, even the same words have slightly different meanings.

“To the elves, a human bride is like a roommate with whom they spend the rest of their lives. To put it simply, from a human point of view, it should be said that it is similar to a pet…”

“Is that so? I didn’t even know that and misunderstood… no, did you think of me as a pet?!”

Alfred kindly explained what his grandmother was saying.

Thanks to that, Arcel was able to calm down, but that was something that was hard to ignore.

“Is something wrong? I don’t know much about human culture either… The demon king called the princesses he ordered me to kidnap as pets. So even when called, they are usually female-“

“No, don’t say more. Instead, know that what you say is not entirely wrong, but neither is it right.”

Arsel managed to calm his burning face.

I was told in enough detail by the princesses that the demon king had done something with the kidnapped princesses.

Among them, there were even people who enjoyed such a life.

Anyway, it was a small misunderstanding that arose from the difference in culture, but the fact that I imagined it for a moment remains unchanged.

“…”

I create a harmonious family myself.

If he hadn’t been chosen as a warrior, Arsel would probably be getting married or dating by now.

She may already have a child at the earliest.

He must have lived a peaceful life, holding agricultural implements, not swords, with dirt on his face, not blood.

If that were the case, even though he wouldn’t have been able to slay the demon king and wouldn’t have been called a hero, at least he wouldn’t have been called a terrible traitor living in stigma.

Maybe that tragedy never happened either.

It was when Arcel smiled bitterly at that thought.

“…Umm, so why don’t you release me soon? Hanging like this with her broken arm, I can’t even imagine how painful it will be when the sensations she blocked come back.”

The crucified Zion spoke.

“I purposely hung it up like that so I could see it? It’s a sin of putting your hands on someone else’s bride. But since we’re family, if you cry in a good voice, I’ll think about it.”

“Again?!”

Even Arcel flinched at that remark.

Even though I knew what Alfred meant by bride, my body reacted without even realizing it.

“Oh, my God…”

“You don’t believe in God, Grandma, anyway. Isn’t that why you are punished by God because you only seek God when you need it?”

Looking at Shion staggering and touching his forehead, Alfred responded with a genuine smile.

“As expected, I have to leave, I will really be burned at the stake if I stay like this. Please forgive me for taking the book on my own. From the looks of it, he doesn’t seem to be doing anything particularly dangerous.”

“How did you do that-“

“Chit, isn’t there any point in sealing only magic?”

Alfred clicks his tongue.

Before I knew it, Shion had untied the ropes that were tightly bound to her hands and feet.

I couldn’t use magic and my body was in a mess, so I wondered how they solved it.

What’s even more surprising is that I couldn’t find the slightest sign of loosening the rope.

“Her grandmother is also an accomplished magician, so yes, she knows that. A trick that people who can’t use magic use instead of magic. Although there are occasions when a real wizard fakes his identity as a magician.”

“If you are a magician…”

“As I get older, I sometimes get attracted to newspaper articles. It is a very interesting study even though it was created by humans.”

“Where are you going to relax?”

“Oh?”

Quang!

A green bolt of lightning shot from Alfred’s fingertips.

The cross on which Zion was tied a moment ago evaporated without a trace.

I managed to dodge it, but if I was a bit late, I would have been hit directly.

After seeing that scene, Arcel and Shion became pale because their complexions were pale.

Is that really the magic you use on your family?

“I’ve turned a blind eye to the fact that I took the book on my own, but… I get it! I don’t turn off quickly! Heung, I came because I was worried about my baby, so next time, don’t even dream about it.”

In the end, Shion hurriedly corrected her clothes and her figure suddenly disappeared.

Arcel tried to follow the signs, but he couldn’t find them either.

“Ah, Grandma got angry again for no reason. He just got older and became meaner for no reason. Shall we bring a bottle of fine wine next time we go?”

“…If what you did ended up being a pout, wouldn’t it be rather a big deal?”

“How about it, family members can joke around like that.”

I wondered which family would play such a prank, but Arcel gave up thinking because he didn’t know the details of the demon society.

For now, it would be best to just show respect.

In the first place, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the demon society.

“Besides, I’m not the only one like that. Can you see me behind my back?”

“…”

Alfred’s maternal grandmother, who disappeared as if she had just run away, didn’t seem to be able to touch it anyway.

“Is family the same as the concept of an enemy to the demons…?”

“There is a saying in the world to love your enemies, and since you have to love your family too, it might be similar.”

A number of daggers were stuck behind Alfred’s back.

Anyway, it must have disappeared a while ago and slipped a knife into it.

And Alfred pulled it out casually.

It was a meeting that made me think about what family means to the demons.

“Anyway, what should I do with this?”

Arsel went back to his room to sleep again, but strangely, Alfred didn’t go in at the door.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Your room is dirty.”

“Ah…”

The reason is simple.

Due to the aftermath of the short but intense battle, a lot of dust rose, and as a result, a lot of dust came in through the window.

Arcel doesn’t mind, but Alfred doesn’t seem to.

“I can’t sleep at this rate, so I should have at least closed the window instead of just watching.”

“…Didn’t you break the window?”

“Ah! It really is.”

When Alfred jumped Shion out the window, he broke the window.

When I belatedly recalled that fact, I thought about what to do.

Then he opened his mouth as if he couldn’t help it.

“Then, sleep in my room today. I will clean this room and fix the broken windows.”

“That, in your room?!”

Arsel is startled.

“Yeah, it can’t be helped. All other rooms are empty and not cleaned.”

“It’s okay! Or a stable is fine, so there is no need to use your room.”

“There’s no way there could be a stable in a castle like this.

“Then, are there any other rooms? It’s okay if it’s not cleaned. As long as there is a ceiling anywhere, I am satisfied.”

“No, this castle also has traps to deal with intruders. It’s dangerous unless it’s made for residential use.”

As a demonstration, Alfred opened the room right next to Arcel’s and showed it to him.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary room.

However, when Alfred created a skeleton, a lower level undead, with magic, and sent him inside…

Puff!

“Do you want to use another room?”

The skeleton’s head was neatly cut off.

Something like a thin thread that is hard to see with the naked eye passed quickly and quietly.

The skeleton whose head was cut off came out intact with his head wrapped around his waist, but Arcel couldn’t do that.

“That, if you don’t mind…”

In the end, I had no choice but to use Alfred’s room.

“Of course, even with this preparation, the most important heroes and colleagues did not fall into the trap.”

Aware of Alfred’s displeasure, Arsel fiddled with his neck for no reason.

†††

“…Is this your room?”

Alfred’s room was cleaner than expected.

It wasn’t particularly fancy or expensively furnished, but deep down Arcel felt that his room was the best he had ever seen.

There are no luxuries.

It’s not even the gold-plated walls or floors that are unique to aristocrats.

The only decoration is that there is a small tree in the center of the room, and other than that, white beds and bookshelves fill the room.

“Have you been here before?”

“No, I was so distracted at the time that I couldn’t see it properly.”

It was a little creepy.

This room gives people peace and quiet.

However, I don’t know why I feel that peace.

I don’t know if this is the atmosphere of the room itself, or if the owner of this room intended it to be like that.

I just didn’t feel like people lived here.

“The whole room is white.”

“This room doesn’t get much sunlight, so the moonlight does come through, but strangely there is no sunlight. And you can sleep in this bed.”

Arsel sat down on the bed, led by Alfred’s hand.

It is a bed that feels firm rather than soft.

Instead, the blanket was as warm and cozy as it was.

“But when I sleep in the bed, you…?”

At the time I wondered if they were sharing the same bed.

“I don’t sleep, because there are many things to look for today. The broken window and the forest have to be restored. I didn’t even sleep until you came in the first place. That bed was also brought in yesterday.”

Alfred shook his head resolutely.

In the first place, it seemed like he couldn’t sleep well in bed.

Looking at the thin blanket draped next to the chair, it seems like he usually sleeps there little by little.

“Why did I say I came to the bed?”

“You wake me up in the morning when I have to be asleep, right? I’m not sleeping, so I can’t come to wake you up.”

It was natural.

“Is that so…”

Some demons do not sleep before being born, or it is possible to compensate for this with magic.

Perhaps Alfred didn’t need sleep for similar reasons, but she insisted on sleeping because Arcel had to wake him up in the morning.

That obviousness made Arcel feel something in her face make her blush.

Thump!

After a while, dozens of books were put down on the table.

When stacked in a straight line, they were as high as a person’s height.

“Are those books something you’ve seen before?”

“Yes, my grandmother brought me a few more books that I couldn’t find on her visits.”

All of these are books related to Haeju of the Curse.

It must have been brought here to cast a curse on Arcel’s heart.

Seeing that makes me feel like my heart is choking.

“Please understand if the sound of flipping books annoys you, because this is to curse you.”

“At that level… No problem.”

Alfred turns the pages using the moonlight and lanterns on the bookshelf as lighting.

Every time the page turned, Arcel turned her eyes towards him little by little.

“Ummm…”

She still couldn’t sleep, and after a while Arcel laid her down and sat up again.

“Does the sound of books bother you?”

“No. Rather, it feels more comfortable than having no sound at all. Similar to when I used to sleep with the sound of grass insects as a lullaby in my old hometown.”

“Then why? Oh, are you the kind of person who can’t sleep when there’s someone next to you?”

Arcel shook her head.

The sound of books was not particularly loud.

But I was so nervous that I couldn’t fall asleep.

“…Really, why are you so kind to me?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I don’t really want anything in return.”

“Didn’t I ask you to wake me up every morning?”

“That can’t be called reciprocation. It is said that each person has a different set of values, but there is a difference in the fundamental weight.”

Alfred took back his former enemy.

Not only that, they even prepared a warm bed and plenty of delicious food.

In addition, he is enduring such trouble in order to save his life from the knights who came to execute him, and to cast a curse that was made impossible to do now.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care.

No matter how much he had no other feelings for subduing the demon lord, even Arsel himself could not understand this kind of treatment.

“After hearing it, it seems that it is…”

“?”

Alfred seemed to be thinking for a moment, then he casually walked over to the bed and sat down beside him.

Then he naturally turned off the light.

Now, only the thin moonlight by the window illuminates the room.

It was obviously a white room, but when the lights were turned off, it took on a different atmosphere.

“You seem to have gone bad today, too. It’s strange to receive something in return, but is it okay if I ask you a question?”

“What are you talking about?”

Alfred said looking out the window at the moon.

That doesn’t sound like a very good question.

Arsel himself also predicted what he would say.

“…You, what the hell happened after you subdued the demon lord? What’s wrong with humans hating you more than the demon king? And your comrades, they know better than anyone that you are a hero.”

“…”

“Of course, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, it’s your freedom. Just as humans can open and close their mouths, it is entirely up to you whether you speak or not.”

I expected to ask someday.

“No, I will tell you. Because you can’t hide it in the first place.”

It didn’t seem like he was particularly interested in it, but it’s something I must say in order to be together in the future.

Arcel held her chest for a moment as if he was feeling stuffy, then took a deep breath and quietly opened his mouth.

“My comrades were all horribly killed by the holy sword. Besides, when I woke up, the hometown where I was supposed to hide was on fire…”

Arsel smiled involuntarily.

But that wasn’t a happy smile.

Guilt, despair, hopelessness.

Aside from that, it was a smile filled with many negative things.