Ch.187Chapter 187. You Didn’t Forget, Did You?

    A large-scale riot broke out across the Empire.

    I had expected it would happen someday, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.

    Why did this incident have to occur right before my return?

    Why did this have to happen when her delivery was so close?

    “Hero, more refugees are coming.”

    As I felt my anger rising, Sanson’s shout reached my ears.

    I immediately turned my gaze in that direction and spotted about ten people desperately running up the hill, fleeing for their lives.

    The reason they carried so little luggage was probably because they had lost everything on their way here.

    I could immediately identify the cause as the monsters following close behind them.

    -Kyaaak! Kiyaaak!

    Damn it, this place was supposed to be one of the subjugation zones, so why are monsters appearing everywhere I go?

    What the hell were the other subjugation teams doing instead of properly handling their duties?

    “Leave the monsters to me and evacuate everyone first!”

    “Hero! More are coming from the flank! This time there’s a huge one…”

    BOOM!! The large beast was struck by my thrown spear and shattered into pieces.

    With its fragments on my back, I immediately gave orders to the expedition members who were looking at me with bewildered expressions.

    “Except for those taking the refugees to camp, the rest follow me. We need to clear the surrounding area a bit more.”

    “Ah, yes. Understood.”

    I’d like to rush straight to the Empire, but moving hastily while monsters are swarming would risk casualties.

    So protecting our base must be the priority for now.

    That importance grew as the number of people I was responsible for increased.

    “Are these all the refugees gathered in this area so far?”

    “Y-yes… That’s correct.”

    After clearing the surroundings, I returned to the camp at the bottom of the valley.

    It was a suitable place to hide from prying eyes, but it felt cramped because there were too many people gathered.

    Is it any wonder, considering the number of refugees we’ve secured here already exceeds our expedition members?

    “They’re all in terrible condition.”

    “Some haven’t eaten for days. Fortunately, we have supplies from the sanctuary, but…”

    We’re treating injuries and providing meals as best we can, but our primary mission is subjugation, not rescue and protection.

    We don’t even have enough sleeping bags or blankets for all the refugees to spend the night here.

    If only the refugees had brought their belongings, but most had abandoned their luggage during their escape.

    “My mother was eaten by monsters.”

    “My wife… Aah!!!”

    “My child! I got separated from my child on the way here!!”

    Even after being rescued through hardship, what remains is the deep despair of having lost everything.

    Amidst the wails of grief echoing from all directions, expedition members who had been searching the opposite side brought in new refugees.

    “Hero, we’ve brought survivors from another subjugation team! They appear to be members of the team responsible for this area…”

    “Fuck, that stupid hero bastard! I told him it was strange that the number of monsters suddenly increased…!!”

    …Now I can guess why this area is in such chaos.

    But even accepting this reality didn’t ease the tightness in my chest.

    We couldn’t abandon the refugees, so we had to stay here until we secured their safety, which meant I couldn’t return to the Empire immediately.

    “From what we’ve heard, the Imperial Palace has deployed massive forces to control the people in the Empire in an attempt to suppress the riots.”

    “They’re not hesitating to execute anyone who shows the slightest resistance on the spot. That means the riots must be severe enough to warrant such extreme measures…”

    One reason for the refugees’ flight was the Imperial Army’s increasingly brutal suppression.

    The expedition members all wore dark expressions after hearing this.

    It was understandable. Before joining our expedition, they had belonged to the Imperial Army, and thus had exceptional loyalty to the Empire and humanity.

    “Are you all really okay with not returning to the Empire now?”

    Concerned, I asked them this question, and after exchanging glances with each other, they answered.

    “Although we belong to the Imperial Army, we are currently an expedition under your command, Hero. Unless His Majesty directly orders otherwise, our priority is to follow your commands.”

    “And our comrades in the Empire probably aren’t suppressing the riots because they want to. If they have to get blood on their hands, don’t they need someone to help clean it off, even a little?”

    So being part of the expedition rather than the army is actually better in this situation.

    That’s a relief. At least I won’t have to be at odds with these people.

    “What concerns us more than ourselves is you, Hero… Are you really okay with staying here to protect the refugees instead of going to the Empire?”

    But that was merely making the best of a bad situation.

    Even if I don’t have to fight them, the Empire is still in chaos, and the people there remain in danger.

    If rioters—or even Imperial soldiers on edge—were to point their swords at Irie, who is about to give birth…

    “…No, this is actually better for now.”

    Shaking off such extreme thoughts, I composed myself and calmly explained my decision.

    “From what the refugees say, the riots haven’t reached the Imperial Palace yet, right?”

    “Ah, yes. With the Imperial Army and elites stationed there, it wouldn’t be easily breached unless the Demon Lord’s army invaded.”

    “Then it should be fine. If the Empire values me, they’ll surely protect those close to me properly.”

    If the riots grow worse, they likely would have brought the people from the mansion into the Imperial Palace for protection.

    But if, by some chance, the situation deteriorated and they couldn’t bring them in…

    “…And who knows, they might be among the refugees.”

    Was that underlying anxiety evident in my response?

    As the expedition members watched me with worried eyes, I moved away from them and prepared to finish gearing up.

    “Everyone, please bear with this a little longer. Things will surely get better with time.”

    I sincerely hoped my thoughts weren’t wrong.

    ****

    Later that night, as midnight approached.

    The base camp’s lights remained on because even at this hour, refugees continued to arrive, fleeing from danger.

    “The numbers keep growing.”

    “We managed to find blankets in an abandoned village nearby, but… if this continues, we might have even more people here soon.”

    If this situation persists, there will be limits to our supply capabilities.

    Moreover, from what the refugees have told us, the situation in other territories and the Empire itself is deteriorating rapidly.

    They say that even in the middle of the night, people break into homes, falsely accuse innocent people of being rebels, drag them into the streets, and execute them.

    As such apocalyptic scenes formed in my mind, I felt the tightness in my chest growing worse.

    “Are you alright?”

    Flandor approached as I was chewing on jerky, trying to calm these emotions.

    With her injured body, she moved with crutches, yet she had volunteered to tend to the refugees without rest, even at this late hour.

    As if this situation made it impossible for her to remain idle.

    “…Just taking a break.”

    “No, I don’t get tired or need sleep.”

    “You need to know how to preserve your strength if you want to help more people. At least until we find a place to repair you…”

    “You’re the one who needs to rest for that purpose, Master.”

    Flandor cut off my concern and expressed her own worry in return.

    As she approached unsteadily with her crutches, she looked sadly at the cracks etched into my armor.

    “…They must be very important to you, for you to push yourself this hard.”

    “…”

    I removed the jerky from my mouth and turned to look at Flandor.

    My mentor and the solid pillar of our expedition.

    And a pitiful girl who simply wants to love humans despite this cruel world.

    “You’re important to me too.”

    It was I who jumped into danger to save such a girl.

    Just like Irie and Merilyn, I want Flandor to remain by my side as well.

    “Rest for later’s sake. The other expedition members can take care of the refugees.”

    “…Yes, if you say so.”

    Reluctantly agreeing to my persuasion, Flandor turned to head back to camp. As I felt relief and prepared to maintain my position, I noticed Flandor suddenly stopping and looking somewhere.

    Did she change her mind already?

    “Master, look over there!”

    No, she had simply noticed something.

    The key point was that it was coming from above our valley, at the center of the sky where the moon had risen.

    “…A flare?”

    Whether it was magic shot into the air or gunpowder, someone below had fired something upward.

    Could it be a distress signal?

    That seemed highly likely, but the problem was that setting off a light in the middle of the night could attract nearby monsters.

    “Hero, we’ll go check it out…”

    “No, I’ll go. You stay here and guard the area.”

    Whatever it was, I needed to check it out.

    Immediately mounting my horse and heading toward where the light had burst, I prepared to create a spear in my hand in case of trouble.

    And that expectation was immediately confirmed.

    -Kiyaooo! Kyaaak!

    Monsters came charging through the underbrush along my path.

    As I tore through their attacks and pressed forward, I felt my urgency growing.

    Surely these monsters were also drawn by that light.

    And if, by some chance, the person who made that light was someone I needed to protect…

    -Kuooooooo!

    At the end of my anxious journey, at the top of a cliff, I encountered a roaring massive monster.

    It had the imposing presence of a bear, but having faced even fiercer beasts before, I wasn’t intimidated.

    What concerned me was that the monster was about to swing its front paw at someone standing on the edge of the cliff.

    -BOOM!!

    Recognizing this, I leapt forward to intercept the attack, redirecting the force back at the monster and shattering its body into pieces.

    My body was soiled with fragments, but I didn’t mind.

    There were more important things to worry about than getting dirty.

    “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…”

    “Yes, just as the child prophesied.”

    And then I heard a familiar voice…

    Yes, definitely a voice I remembered.

    And the face revealed as she pulled back the hood covering her head.

    “The child said if I made a light here, you would come, but I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.”

    The woman spoke quietly as she turned her face toward me.

    With a gentle breeze at her back, as calm and soft as her voice.

    “It’s been half a year, my son. You haven’t forgotten your mother while we’ve been apart, have you?”

    Tashian Pailoi.

    A dragon who lost her prime power and declined. A being who vowed to live with me despite her condition.

    Someone who loves me and someone I must protect. And…

    “Oh my, son, what’s wrong? Your expression…”

    “I haven’t forgotten.”

    My body was drawn to her, and as I embraced her, the frustration that had built up inside me began to leak out with sobs.

    I could feel that force growing stronger as time passed.

    The terror that something terrible might have happened if I’d been even a little late was melting away through the clear warmth I felt in this moment.

    “How could I ever… forget you, Mother…”

    “…Well now, you finally call me Mother.”

    Even as my carefully maintained composure collapsed, she accepted me without reservation.

    Despite her decline, she still acted as my mother.

    “Don’t worry, Mother is fine.”

    Showing me that even after I left, she had always kept my place waiting for my return.


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