Ch.141Chapter 141

Thanks to leaning on The Huntsman for a moment, my previously unsettled heart seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Thinking about what I had just witnessed made my head throb again, but having someone beside me made it somewhat bearable.

Choosing The Huntsman as my companion had been a stroke of genius.

If they had become flustered upon seeing my condition, I might have been swept up in that atmosphere and lost consciousness.

“Huntsman, thank you. I feel a bit calmer now.”

With gratitude, I turned my head to look at The Huntsman’s face and expressed my thanks.

I thought I could move now, so I tried to get up.

“Ugh.”

The moment I tried to pull away from The Huntsman, they suddenly tightened their grip on my arm, restoring me to my original position.

What, what’s going on?

For a moment, recalling what The Huntsman had been trying to do to me earlier, I looked at them with a bewildered expression.

Lost in thought, as if confirming something…

They were holding me still and looking at me.

I wanted to pull away quickly because of that… indescribable sensation.

Now I’m the one feeling embarrassed!

“H-Huntsman?”

“Different intention.”

The Huntsman looked at me quietly, and then a certain expression appeared on her face.

I had never seen the expression she was making now, and considering The Huntsman’s character, I thought I would never see it.

So when I witnessed it for the first time, I became speechless as if struck mute and froze in place.

“Perhaps it might be possible.”

With a warm smile spreading across her cold features—not bright due to stiff muscles, but subtle and all the more captivating because of it—The Huntsman was looking at me.

#

We immediately headed to our lodgings, almost as if fleeing.

The innkeeper there also gave me a blank stare, so I quickly paid and went to my room.

After securing separate rooms for The Huntsman and myself, I immediately lay down on the bed.

Normally I would detest lying on a bed while dirty, but my head was that dizzy.

Even now, memories brushing against my frontal lobe made it difficult to remain still.

What exactly were these memories?

Above all, that white-haired woman in my memories.

I felt like I’d seen her somewhere before, and she was identical to the woman I had seen in my dreams.

The woman who left with the words “final gift.”

I couldn’t think rationally.

Rather, the thoughts coming to me now were tormenting me so much that I wished I could think of nothing at all.

As I tossed and turned on the bed, I heard a knock at the door.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I finally answered.

“Yes, who is it?”

“Let’s go fill our stomachs.”

Perhaps they were looking after me since we came together.

I thought The Huntsman was actually a good person, aside from their usual eccentricities.

With their looks, they should find someone nice instead of fixating on strange things.

I forced my curled-up body to rise and opened the door to see The Huntsman standing there.

What the…

I thought they were wearing somewhat decent attire until just now—though even that was quite violent.

Why had they changed back into the same outfit I saw them wearing on the way to the library?

“Huntsman.”

“Hmm?”

“What is that outfit?”

“I told you it’s comfortable clothing.”

“I’m asking why you’re wearing it now!”

In response to my protest, The Huntsman tilted their head and showed an expression of bewilderment.

“Should I wear uncomfortable clothes even for a meal?”

“No, but the clothes you were wearing earlier seemed plenty comfortable.”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, let’s just go. It’s a waste of time.”

With those words, The Huntsman started walking ahead.

Maybe it was just my imagination…

But their footsteps seemed strangely more cheerful.

#

Perhaps out of consideration for me, The Huntsman deliberately chose a place with as few people as possible.

Even so, such restaurants were likely to have poor food.

I wasn’t sure if it would satisfy The Huntsman’s gourmet palate.

“Here you are.”

Naturally, we ordered pasta dishes loaded with meat.

Since both The Huntsman and I understood very well that building muscle was necessary to become stronger, our menu choices naturally aligned.

Fortunately, the visual presentation was decent, and the moment The Huntsman and I put the food in our mouths simultaneously…

“Oh.”

“Not bad.”

The food was so delicious that exclamations naturally escaped us.

How long had it been since I’d had such delicious cooking?

Moreover, for some reason, I felt like I’d eaten this somewhere before, which made me like it even more.

There seemed to be much more meat than the standard portion listed on the menu—was that okay?

“I wonder how much more delicious other places must be if a place like this has no customers?”

“No, it’s the opposite. This place actually became a holy site thanks to someone, and now only wealthy people tend to come here. The restaurant’s sales have dropped, but they keep operating because they believe that ‘someone’ will return someday.”

I had expressed my curiosity to The Huntsman, but strangely, the answer came from elsewhere.

I soon realized that the voice belonged to the restaurant owner.

“Owner?”

For some reason, the owner was looking down at me with somewhat sad eyes.

We were certainly meeting for the first time.

Why was this man giving me such a look?

“I thought you were dead, you rascal. If you were alive, you could have at least sent a letter. Still, seeing you bring a girlfriend here makes me feel like I’m watching my son get married.”

Saying that, he suddenly started wiping away tears with a handkerchief.

G-girlfriend?

You’re causing misunderstandings by wearing that kind of outfit.

More importantly.

What’s going on?

He was speaking as if he really knew me.

And saying I had died?

But this is my first time here.

While The Huntsman was looking at the owner as if he were strange, I pointed at myself and asked him:

“Do you know me?”

“How could I not know you?”

The owner finally finished wiping away his tears with the handkerchief and said with a proud smile:

“How could I forget Raedan Tanthyn, the hero who brought peace to Lintfia, and my regular customer for beef pasta?”

The hero of Lintfia.

And a beef pasta regular.

The moment I heard these two keywords, more memories began to flow in.

Me, having an animated conversation with the restaurant owner.

The owner listening to me with a pleased expression.

And me, twirling pasta loaded with an obscene amount of meat—just like what I was eating now—onto my fork and roughly shoving it into my mouth.

– Every time I see you, you look exactly like the son I lost.

– Then be my father! The more fathers, the better, right?

– Haha, you rascal. Hurry up and eat, then get going.

That guy would probably be jealous of me too.

“Hnngh!”

“Raedan Tanthyn!”

This is really driving me crazy.

Since coming here, I think I’ve spent more time in this state than in a normal one.

This time was worse than ever before.

My body rose on its own.

My brain was screaming like a survival instinct, telling me to go somewhere.

In the end, abandoning the food I was eating, I rushed out of the restaurant.

“Where are you going, Raedan Tanthyn!”

I heard The Huntsman jump up, but they didn’t seem to be following me.

That was better.

I didn’t want to keep showing this unsightly appearance to anyone.

I didn’t even know where I was running to.

I had no destination.

I was just running along paths that felt familiar.

Why?

Why does everything feel so familiar?

I had never been here before!

I wish these memories would leave my head.

I could think of nothing but wanting to open my skull and scrape them out.

As I ran endlessly, faint voices reached me.

– Muji Absoluta?

– Muji Absoluta has returned!

– Muji Absoluta?! So you’ve finally come back alive!

– Ah! Muji Absoluta!

Muji Absoluta!

Muji Absoluta!

The hero of Lintfia, Raedan Tanthyn!

“Aaaaargh!”

After running endlessly, I collapsed as soon as I reached an open space.

My overloaded brain no longer allowed me the strength to run.

“Haa, haa.”

Barely controlling my labored breathing, I slowly raised my head.

At the very least, I wanted to know where I was.

And the moment my eyes met the structure before me…

“Ah, aah.”

I could only stare blankly at that structure.

Through it, I could somewhat understand why people were calling me by strange titles and saying I had returned.

A statue that looked exactly like me stood with its arm raised high, pointing to the sky, wearing a playful smile as if overflowing with confidence.