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Chapter 58 : Let’s go somewhere together

Elia, who was in the middle of a battle against five dragons.

The moment Elia’s fight finally came to an end was when Nella had finished checking the chimera’s corpse and confirmed that there were no bodies of other disciples inside, and had wrapped everything up.

“Phew… That’s the last dragon down without a scratch… So, where’s Mom and Dad?”

Having defeated all five dragons without taking a single injury, Elia raised her head and looked around.

Seeing no one nearby, she turned to Ruina, who was staring at her.

Just where had everyone gone while she was fighting?

And then, Ruina gave an awkward smile and pointed behind Elia.

Following Ruina’s gaze, she saw Kael, Nella, and Zenre gathered far away, deep in conversation.

“Dad went over there just now… I’ll explain what’s going on, so could you come here for a second, Elia?”

Elia climbed down from the dragon where she had planted her sword and walked over to Ruina, who gave her a rough summary of what had happened.

“So that’s why they’re standing there like that.”

“Ah… all that happened while I was fighting for just a bit…”

Elia didn’t know much about Kael’s past, so the explanation wasn’t detailed.

But even that was enough for her to understand the current situation.

Even if she didn’t know the full details of Kael’s past, she at least knew he had been a war hero during the war against the demons and that he had disciples like Zenre and Nella.

Though she couldn’t completely empathize, she could at least guess how Kael must be feeling right now.

“Hmm… Dad must be really heartbroken.”

“Right. So if he seems upset, don’t ask too directly or press him—just stay by his side quietly, okay, Elia?”

“Okay, leave it to me, Mom.”

She was his daughter, after all.

Of course she could at least do that much.

If just staying by his side could help Kael, she would do it a hundred, a thousand times.

And as the three from afar—Kael, Nella, and Zenre—turned and walked back toward them, Elia hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward and running toward Kael.

“Dad!”

“…Ah, Elia.”

Kael gently embraced his daughter as she rushed into his arms.

As Elia remained silently nestled in his embrace, Kael looked between her and Ruina.

Then, understanding the situation, he smiled softly and stroked Elia’s head.

No words were exchanged, but the emotion in that touch said more than enough.

Watching the two, Nella, who had approached with the corpses behind her, finally opened her mouth.

“Well, now that the mission is over, let’s head back to the kingdom first. I’ll take care of the dragon corpses here later.”

“Alright, let’s head back to the kingdom first.”

There’s still work to be done.

Kael looked at the three corpses on his back and added quietly.

Right after, Nella’s staff swept light around them, centering on Kael.

Thus ended the mission and incident in just an hour.

But so much had happened in that short time, a small sigh quietly echoed from someone, though it wasn’t clear who.

Just looking at the wrecked landscape of the plateau showed how much had occurred.

Now, with the sun setting behind them, everyone at the plateau disappeared.

Only the scattered dragon corpses remained to tell that they had been there.

Fwoosh!

They returned to the kingdom the same way they left—through Nella’s teleportation.

And the first thing I did upon returning was to cooperate with the palace staff to return the corpses retrieved from the chimera to their respective families.

“Truly… truly thank you, Lord Kael…”

“Thanks to you, we were able to meet our son again after twenty years… Thank you, Lord Kael…!”

“We will never forget this kindness… Truly, thank you…!!”

All the bodies retrieved from the chimera were soldiers who had died in battle.

Though we were only able to find the families of those within the kingdom, about a third of the bodies were returned to their loved ones.

And as the families tearfully received the remains of those lost on the battlefield twenty years ago, I was showered with endless thanks.

I must’ve received their gratitude for at least an hour.

Still, being able to send the families home with the mostly uncorrupted bodies—despite them having been turned into a chimera—allowed me to finally take care of the remaining tasks.

“So now…”

The task left to me was to bury the three bodies I carried on my back—Melion, Sasha, and Zeke—beneath their original graves and offer prayers for their souls.

And now, the funeral that could finally be held properly was conducted under my lead in what could be called a grand scale.

First, I summoned all the disciples who could immediately attend the funeral.

Aside from those who were in distant places without teleport gates or those who truly couldn’t come, I summoned everyone I could.

As a result, eleven disciples gathered at the funeral.

“Thank you all for coming.”

Martin, Zenre, and Nella who were already in the kingdom, Asili who was still on vacation, and the current king Enoch who left his palace duties to rush over.

Along with six more disciples from major cities.

Each one a renowned figure, all busy in their own right, yet they came without hesitation at my message.

The first to respond to my gratitude was Enoch, who stood at the front.

“There’s no need to thank us, Master. It’s the funeral of an old friend. Unless there was no way to come, it’s only natural that we all be here.”

Now older, no longer the young man he once was, Enoch smiled warmly with a slightly aged face as he spoke.

Since I had allowed no one else into this ceremony, Enoch could speak casually without worry.

And the other disciples nodded in agreement.

Seeing them, I let out a small chuckle, and then another voice spoke—Arad, the former king, who stood next to me.

“Ha ha, you have good disciples, Lord Kael. I’m honestly envious just watching them.”

Arad laughed heartily as he said that.

In truth, Arad was never particularly fond of my disciples.

It was understandable — after all, they were disciples entrusted to him to cultivate talent for the kingdom.

Even if I had given my permission, all but Zenre had gone their own ways and become independent, so his feelings were natural.

Of course, since they were all doing things that ultimately benefited the kingdom, he didn’t outright dislike them. But it was true that the relationship remained awkward.

However, as if he had no intention of letting those feelings affect today’s gathering, Arad simply smiled warmly and spoke kindly.

And as we continued our conversation, an elderly man, having listened quietly, let out a small cough and carefully asked a question.

“Hm… Sir Kael. It is time now. May we begin the funeral?”

More precisely, it was the pope, who had come at my request to officiate the funeral, who asked the question. I responded with a soft hum and nodded.

“Ah, please do. Let my disciples reach heaven in peace.”

“Yes, then I shall begin.”

The pope nodded in response to my words, slowly turning the holy scriptures in his hand.

And we, who had just been casually chatting moments ago, fell silent as if on cue, awaiting the pope’s next words.

Me, my disciples, Arad, and lastly, Ruina and Elia who stood firmly by my side.

Rustle

“We pray. Oh goddess Marika, please guide the souls of Melion… Sasha… and Zeke, who lie here today, to heaven, and let them rest under your peace.”

Hearing that one sentence and the continued prayer of the pope, I quietly lowered my head in a solemn bow, picturing the three who surely had now ascended to Marika’s side.

‘There’s no longer anything for me to worry about because of you three, so rest easy.’

As you can see, I now have those still by my side and new bonds as well.

I won’t suffer in pain or harm myself like I did before.

I may never forget you, but I won’t be bound by you either. So please, don’t worry and rest peacefully in heaven.

Raising my head once more with that heartfelt wish buried deep in my chest,

I solemnly watched the funeral until the very end, wishing for the peace of the three.

Even gently peeling away the final remnants of sorrow that might still linger.

I kept watching, hoping the sorrow that filled me would leave together with the three.

The funeral of the three children continued on.

The funeral came to a close in what felt like a long yet short span of time.

And once it ended, the gathered disciples began talking not about the three who had passed, but catching up with one another after so long.

After all, it wouldn’t do to let the mood of this occasion sink even further with stories of those who had already gone.

So it seemed they were trying to lift the atmosphere in a more cheerful way.

Amidst the noisy chatter of disciples so loud that you could hardly find a trace of sorrow,

I approached Asili, who was sprawled out as if everything was a bother.

“Asili.”

“Oh, Master. What’s the matter~?”

Asili responded in a tired tone, as if saying such a lively mood didn’t suit her at all.

“Come with me to the underworld for a bit.”

To her, I brought up the main point without hesitation.

“…What?”

The main point that made Asili’s eyes widen in surprise.