The Bird That Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (3)

Portraits lined up like guards in the wide corridor. The portraits representing the kingdom’s history showed similarities to each other, sitting in dignified postures and occupying high places to be looked up to by those passing through the corridor.

Those walking through the corridor would carefully reduce their footsteps, showing respect for the kingdom with its small but deep history.

However, the person passing through here today didn’t seem to care about such respect for the royal family or fear of history. The blonde-haired hero, walking so fast that it surprised the servants and guards, opened the door wide and shouted:

“Father!”

It wasn’t the audience chamber. At the end of the royal portraits was the royal garden. The high-ranking guards protecting this place stood like statues, boasting solid armor, and the king’s knight guard was sitting lazily in a chair, looking at the hero.

And the king was chopping firewood with his upper body bare. Beside him was a pile of dry firewood enough for a campfire, and the king was emitting a shine, exposing his glossy body to the sunlight. His sturdy physique, though with some fat, revealed hidden muscles with each swing of the axe, sending firewood flying.

“Wow, long live our Majesty.”

Every time he swung the axe, the knight guard sitting next to him would whistle or clap. The hero frowned, finding it hard to understand the absurd rural play unfolding before his eyes, and looked straight at the king again.

“Hm? Isn’t it the hero? Ho ho ho, for the hero to come all the way to this garden, what urgent matter made you run here so hastily?”

The king wiped the sweat flowing on his forehead and spoke to the hero. Those here were more accustomed to silence than chatter, so the knight guard closed his mouth and turned away when the hero and king started talking.

The hero spoke to the king again:

“Father. What on earth is this…”

The hero, forgetting what to say due to the king’s bizarre appearance, started with a question. The king pointed at the still plentiful pile of wood and said:

“Am I not chopping firewood?”

“…So, why on earth…”

“As the war drags on, the people are suffering. Many men have died, causing households unable to farm to emerge, and in severe cases, some can’t even get firewood to survive the winter. In this situation, how could I alone lie comfortably warm? If the state doesn’t step up at times like this, how could I, as king, receive loyalty from them?”

The hero’s face was full of admiration. As he looked at the king with sparkling eyes, the king stroked his mustache with a pleased expression. Then, pointing at the stacked firewood, he said to the soldiers:

“Send this firewood down to the provinces along with the firewood purchased on the lower floor. Make sure to distribute it first to households that have lost family members, along with food. Understood?”

The soldiers silently took their positions and then moved the firewood onto carts. The king received a towel from the knight guard and walked to the garden table. As the hero stood next to him, the king said:

“Well then, hero. The whole kingdom is buzzing about your exploits. I hear you played a huge role in this recent battlefield too? I remember when news came that you had taken the enemy commander’s head, the entire capital was in a festive mood. I’ve already received detailed reports, so go back and rest well. Or do you want to rest in your room here after a long time?”

“…No. I’ll go out again. Father. Rather than that, um…”

“What’s the matter?”

After slightly avoiding the king’s downward gaze, the hero scratched his arm. Then, looking back at the king, he said:

“Um… About handling that rumor this time…”

“Ah, that false rumor? Don’t worry. Did you think I would just let such a terrible rumor about the hero slide? I scolded them severely so they won’t do such a thing again, so such rumors won’t spread anymore.”

“…That, I mean, I’m grateful for that… But… Isn’t it too… obvious?”

The hero was struggling with how to say that he was grateful but it was too much. Hearing the words the hero finally uttered after much deliberation, the king stroked his chin and tilted his head.

“Hmm, what do you mean by obvious? When such things happen to the hero, isn’t it natural for the royal palace to protect you?”

“B-but Father… Usually, for such personal rumors… I mean! They take time to explain and clarify, right? Responding so quickly like this… I’ve been trying so hard to hide it, they might even start doubting my identity…”

“You mean your party members?”

“…Yes.”

The hero reluctantly answered. Although they tried to act like nothing was wrong, the party members were suspicious of the hero. They hadn’t noticed for sure yet, but they were clearly suspicious to the extent of thinking ‘he doesn’t seem like a country person’.

At the hero’s words, the king shook his head and said:

“Oh my, after finding such elite agents, it would be a big problem if they become suspicious. Do you want to replace the party members then?”

The hero was startled at the mention of changing party members. As the hero shook his head and spoke urgently, the king rather showed a pleased smile.

“Ah, th-that’s not it! I like the current party members!”

“Then what do you want?”

The king’s hand moved towards the hero’s head. The hero carefully tilted his head to make it easier for the king to pat. The king rubbed the hero’s head as if petting a dog, and the hero sat down in a chair and said:

“Um… I think I need more detailed background settings about my family.”

The king blinked. His expression became like that of a goldfish or a large, lazy dog, and the knight guard turned his head to hold back laughter.

“…Detailed settings, you say?”

“Yes. Since the porter, Lena, and Mille are all from the countryside or forest, that topic comes up sometimes, and I’ve had to lie hastily every time. So, um… If I had a more perfect setting… I think it would be easier to talk about.”

“Hmm, I see. Alright! Knight guard!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The seated knight guard moved. As befitting the king’s guard, he was neatly dressed, but his face was spread with languidness. The hero thought his face looked like a sleeping pill that made him yawn just by looking at it, and the drowsy face stared straight at the hero with an indifferent expression.

The king said:

“I heard before that you were originally born into a farming family, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. My father and grandfather were all farmers.”

“Then you must know a lot about country life.”

The knight nodded and answered:

“Yes, that’s right.”

The king patted his shoulder and said to the knight guard:

“Good, then let’s give it a try.”

Although the question of why they couldn’t just openly say he was royalty crossed the knight’s mind, in a position where his livelihood depended on the king’s words, even that wasn’t easy.

As the knight sat down, the hero apologized with an awkward smile:

“I’m sorry. Father said that when dealing with such unconventional enemies, even gender and origin can become weaknesses, so he told me to keep everything tightly concealed. It could be burdensome for the party members too, and it’s more inconvenient to have the title of royalty attached when moving around.”

The knight was annoyed but changed his expression to pretend he wasn’t and nodded.

“It’s no problem. I’ll help you.”

“Ah, yes. Then, starting with the father setting… Now, what I’ve said about my father being a woodcutter and…”

The day was setting in the royal palace.

Along with a meticulous plan.

---

A dark evening with starlight hidden by the capital’s lights. The group, huddled around a crimson table, was drumming on the table waiting for someone. The hero, who they thought would come by dinnertime, was taking longer than expected.

Mille was whining about being hungry, and Ashuria was soothing her, patting her head.

“Mille. Please be patient a little longer. We should eat dinner together when the hero arrives.”

“That’s right. That’s right. Our hero is quite sensitive, so he might feel hurt if we eat dinner first.”

“That’s right.”

I said that while picking up a snack placed on the table. It was perfect for whetting the appetite with its nutty and crispy taste. Ashuria too, though saying we should be patient, seemed hungry and was sneakily taking and eating snacks one by one.

“But when is he coming? Did something happen?”

“What could happen in the royal palace? The current His Majesty is quite a good person, isn’t he?”

I nodded at Ashuria’s words. We’ve received a lot of help from His Majesty after all.

“Of course, he’s a good person. He has an excellent eye for people.”

Ding-a-ling

Ding-a-ling

The bell rang. The guest welcome bell shook, and the hero, looking a bit tired, came in bathed in light. Mille brightened up and waved at the hero, and we all picked up menus without anyone starting first.

The hero said:

“Oh? Were you waiting for me? Sorry. The talk went on a bit long.”

The hero looked tired but strangely seemed overflowing with confidence and gave off an atmosphere of wanting to say something. The hero, seated, waited while others chose their menus, and when everyone finished selecting, he looked at Lena and said:

“Lena. Hey. Ask me anything about the countryside.”

“…Suddenly?”

Lena looked the hero up and down with suspicious eyes and then passed her gaze to me. The hero, naturally looking at me, said with even more sparkling eyes:

“Old man. I’ll tell you about my hometown! Ask me anything?”

“…Suddenly? Even if you say that, I don’t have anything I’m curious about.”

“Come on, don’t be like that!”

Seeing the hero’s energetic appearance, I racked my brain and threw out a question.

“Who was your best friend in childhood?”

“My friend was a kid named Charlie who lived in the next village. Charlie was a kid with lots of freckles on his face and a bit taller than me, like a neighborhood leader, and his parents were a hunter and a farmer respectively. At the time, my mother worked as a tenant farmer, so when barley harvesting season came, she would take Charlie to pick up ears of grain, and whenever that happened, Charlie’s family would sing work songs while working. The work song they sang at that time was…”

…What’s going on?

Lena said to me in a small voice:

“I told you the hero has a stubborn side.”

I quietly nodded.

While playing along with the hero who was excitedly explaining.