episode_0017

“This is your name.”

“My name…”

After returning to the inn, Allen immediately began Lily’s literacy education. The first characters Allen showed Lily were her own name.

It was Allen’s hope that at least Lily could read and write her own name.

“Hmm…”

Lily, still unfamiliar with letters, tilted her head as she cautiously accepted the pen Allen offered and slowly began to write the characters on the paper.

“Well done.”

“Hehe…”

Although the writing was still clumsy and unstable, it was only natural for a beginner.

She had written recognizable characters on her first attempt, which was commendable.

Swish-

Since Lily entered the room without her hat, Allen could pat her head as a gesture of praise.

Quietly enjoying Allen’s touch, Lily felt a desire to learn more about the unknown world.

“I want to learn more.”

“Impressive.”

Even though she had only learned her name, Lily’s enthusiasm for learning pleased Allen.

Since there was plenty of time, he decided to adjust the pace of teaching to keep Lily engaged.

“Let’s start with basic characters then.”

“Yes!”

Starting with the sky, the ground, and people.

And more characters.

Although it was her first study session, Lily quickly absorbed the characters Allen taught her.

Her progress was so rapid that Allen was amazed.

As a teacher, seeing a talented child putting in effort made him happy.

“I should prepare a reward.”

Despite initially planning to teach Lily to read even if she lost interest, Allen was pleasantly surprised by her diligence and decided to continue fostering this passion.

“Mister, I want to learn a specific character.”

Looking up at Allen, Lily, who had been reading and writing various characters, spoke.

“What character?”

“Your name.”

“… My name?”

“Yes, mister’s name.”

Only then did Allen realize that Lily didn’t know his name.

He hadn’t mentioned it, and Lily hadn’t asked either.

“Allen.”

“Allen… How do you write it?”

“Like this.”

Allen wrote his name on the paper Lily was practicing on.

“Is this correct?”

“Yes, that’s my name.”

“But there were different characters on the mercenary card?”

“Ah.”

Not only had she seen his name on the mercenary card in that brief moment with the guard, but she also remembered the characters.

Thinking it was a remarkable talent, Allen pondered how to respond.

“Honesty is probably best.”

Having resolved to protect her until she could stand on her own, Allen decided to tell the truth.

“The name on the mercenary card… It’s a name called Airen. I registered it as an alias.”

“Why?”

Lily was curious about why Allen operated under an alias.

Though she had much to learn about the world, she knew that those who used aliases had their reasons.

Silently patting Lily’s head, Allen struggled between truth and falsehood.

In the end, Allen chose a vague truth.

“Lily, everyone has their own stories. Of course, I have mine too.”

…”

Listening attentively to Allen’s continued words, Lily looked at him.

Reflecting in Lily’s eyes, Allen wore a bitter expression as he continued speaking.

“I’d like to tell the truth, but… I’m not ready yet, so I’ll keep it simple. I… have a sin of betraying my old colleagues.”

“Betrayal… by you?”

It was an unexpected statement, so Lily widened her eyes in surprise.

“Yeah… even though it wasn’t something I wanted to do.”

“…”

“The reason I travel through many villages helping people is simple. It made me feel a little better inside.”

“You…”

Although she couldn’t understand the exact circumstances, seeing Allen express his story with a pained expression made Lily’s heart ache.

“…Sorry, Lily. Maybe taking care of you is also one of my hypocrisies.”

“What’s the difference between hypocrisy and kindness?”

In response to Allen’s self-blaming words, Lily asked with confusion.

“Kindness is noble, but hypocrisy is not.”

“I still don’t get it. In the end, it’s kindness, right?”

Lily still seemed unable to understand, expressing this to Allen.

“Hypocrisy… because the intention behind it is not pure.”

“I still can’t understand. Whether your actions are hypocritical or not, ultimately, people are happy because of the kindness you show.”

“…”

Though the words came from a naive child who didn’t fully understand the world, they left a deep impression on Allen precisely because of that.

“Sir, I don’t know what troubles you, but… please don’t hate yourself too much.”

Lily hoped that at least the person who saved her would not suffer.

Even if Allen’s acts of kindness were driven by hypocrisy to ease his own mind, for Lily, who was saved by that kindness, whether Allen’s actions were hypocritical or not didn’t matter.

*Clunk-*

“Sir?!”

“…Thank you.”

Startled by Allen suddenly embracing her, Lily was taken aback, but she soon felt his body trembling slightly and silently patted his back.

A peculiar scene unfolded where a small child comforted a grown adult, but here, only Lily and Allen existed.

No one witnessed this strange sight, so once today passed, it would be forgotten as usual.

“It’s okay, sir.”

Unable to see Allen’s face as he held her, Lily realized that he was shedding tears.

Unaware that she had already noticed, Allen silently wept, trying to conceal it as much as possible.

“…Morning.”

“Yes.”

The morning after everything had passed.

An awkward atmosphere lingered between Allen and Lily.

Unlike the emotional evening before, the morning brought a sense of embarrassment after the night had passed.

“Well then, let’s eat first.”

“Order something delicious for me.”

“Sure.”

Any awkwardness would naturally dissipate as time passed.

Lily ordered an expensive dish, while Allen, opting for a simple soup, sat at a table on the inn’s first floor, observing the people.

Life for commoners seemed similar wherever one went, but occasionally, slightly better places could be found.

A prime example was a town where a lord with a conscience applied relatively low taxes.

“The atmosphere here isn’t bad.”

From the guards at the village entrance to seemingly caring lords, it appeared to be a town where the lord paid attention to the people.

“Yet, there will always be marginalized individuals.”

No matter how well a lord governs the territory, lords trapped in the frustrating framework of nobility generally did not pay much attention to the poor.

Even though churches or temples in each village played a role similar to relief centers for the poor, the poor always lived worrying about tomorrow, even if they ate their fill today.

‘First, secure as much food as possible… Buy sturdy clothes too…’

As Allen sipped the soup brought by a servant, he continued to plan.

“Delicious!”

Taking a bite of the unfamiliar dish in front of her, Lily shivered at the intense taste she was experiencing for the first time.

She swore there was no dish tastier than this in her life.

Thinking that, Lily quickly began inhaling the food.

“…Would you like to eat a bit slower?”

It was nice to see Lily happy, but Allen worried she might choke.

“Oops!”

“I said to eat slowly…”

As Allen’s worry came true, he sighed.

Hoping she learned the lesson to eat slowly, he patted Lily’s back as she struggled.

***

“This is the ‘Last Village,’ isn’t it?”

The expedition force had reached the edge of land owned by humanity.

It took a long time due to the endlessly slow march.

“…”

In Irene’s gaze towards the village, a wistful reminiscence of past memories arose.

For the Hero Party, the ‘Last Village’ was a place of memories and ‘where he departed.’

“Compared to the grand name ‘Last Village’… it’s quite humble.”

At the prince’s oblivious muttering, Irene’s eyebrows twitched.

“Now that we’ve arrived at the village, let’s each take a break.”

Since this land belonged to the demons beyond this village, the knight commander ordered the knights to rest.

“Irene. Let’s go too.”

“…Okay.”

As uncomfortable as resting with the Royal Knights, Irene nodded.

Watching the Hero Party move away, the prince shrugged and quietly followed them.