If I am not strong, I cannot protect the past.
If I am not strong, I cannot keep my promise.
That is why I slew my old, weak self.
With no memories beyond the last nine years, the Holy City of Yugosland was the only place Leon could call home. He walked alone through the streets in the dead of night, dressed in rags. The scars of battle had left his dark coat ragged and worn, and his hair was thick with clotted blood.
He trailed his useless left leg—a mechanical prosthetic—behind him. It made for a pathetic sight. However, none of the people he passed on the street held any pity whatsoever. One averted their eyes. Another looked on with barely concealed disgust. Two of them muttered to each other as he walked past, and another dumped a bucket of cold water on his head. A woman from a second-floor window. She spat on him and yelled, “Get out of here, freak!”
Soon, the corpse arrived at his lodgings, a vast mansion, and one of the few physical reminders of his past.
“I’m home,” he said as he entered, though there was nobody within to answer.
Still, behind Leon’s crimson eyes dwelled the image of the two who used to share this abode with him. He walked alongside those phantoms to a room on the upper floor. There, he collapsed on a bed.
“Almost four years now…”
Four years since the day he lost everything. Four years since his life became a living hell.
“…I don’t deserve forgiveness. But if there’s just a chance that I could make things right…”
Leon didn’t finish that thought. He closed his eyes and fled this cruel world.
The man had started with nothing. No memories. No purpose. No standing. No sanctuary. Without those things, he was afraid, and so he sought them.
It was only now he realized what a mistake that had been. There was nothing wrong with nothing. With nothing, he could leave this world behind and avoid having to feel the despair he felt now.
“If you wish to find what you seek, you must choose a path and follow it.”
It was in that hellish world that he—that I—discovered those two people.
“I will show you the way. How you walk it…is up to you.”
The Second Hero of Salvation, Claire Redheart.
Teacher. Mother. Purpose. She was everything to me.
But she wasn’t the only one.
“Don’t fret it. We’ll protect you.”
Rheinhardt Crossline. He was like a big brother. A small big brother, but he was still my family.
I wanted to spend my life with them. I wanted to pay them back for all they did for me.
But…
“It’s all…my fault.”
…on that day, I lost everything.
“Leon. Rheina. I…”
She went somewhere far away.
“Hey, partner. The next time we meet, let’s…”
And he went somewhere far away.
I screamed. I knew it was in vain, but I threw out my arms and screamed.
Wait. Don’t go.
Don’t…
“Don’t leave me alone!”
The dream, like all things, came to an end.
“Don’t leave me alone? …Ridiculous. I did this to myself.”
Then the corpse closed his mouth and turned his attention to what had awakened him. Leon’s ears could hear a pin drop a mile away. An intruder on the lower floor posed no problem at all.
“…Fool. You should have contented yourself with the first-floor safe and left.”
They were coming up the stairs. They were nearly at the door. Five paces. Four, three, two, one…
The door opened. But when Leon saw who it was, he looked puzzled.
“Ah! I…I thought you might be in here!”
It was a young woman with long white hair that came down to her hips. Smooth, unblemished skin and sparkling green eyes. A true beauty in every sense of the word. Certainly not the kind of person one might expect to be breaking into houses in the middle of the night.
“…I remember you,” said Leon.
“Ah, um… Alice Campbell, at your service.”
“…One of the people the kobolds attacked in Shuzeria Dungeon.”
Alice’s eyes were downcast.
“You really don’t remember, then,” she said.
From that, Leon deduced the two must have met some time before, but he couldn’t recall when.
“I came because I…”
“I don’t care about your life story,” Leon replied. “Hurry up and get out of my house, and never show your face again.”
It was a harsh rebuke, and Alice seemed genuinely hurt by his words, but she worked up her courage and looked the corpse in the eyes.
“I came because I want to learn from you! And I’m not leaving until you agree!”
Her eyes were filled with the fire of wrath, like a misbehaving child defying her parents.
“Ask some other hero. They’ll be only too happy to help.”
“I…I want to learn from you! I don’t want to ask anybody else!”
The two argued for some time, but neither relented.
This girl’s not listening to me. We’re just arguing in circles. Still, I can’t just kick her out. I can’t use force against a young lady.
Yet the girl’s stubborn nature was proving hard to overcome.
The thought of taking on an apprentice was beyond the pale. Leon Crossheart lived alone and planned to die alone as well. That was the unspoken promise he had made to himself. There was only one thing to do.
…It’s a little mean, but I have no other choice.
Mired in doubt, guilt, and self-loathing, Leon opened his mouth to speak. To deceive the innocent young girl before him.
“In that case,” he said. “I’ll give you a trial. A trial to see if you are worthy of being my disciple. If you pass—”
“Then I can learn from you?!”
Leon nodded, and Alice’s angelic features blossomed into a smile, as though it were already a done deal. Leon knew, however, that her dream would never come true.
If I break her heart a little, I’m sure she’ll give up, just like all the others. There’s nobody on this earth who can stand beside me.
No matter what, the place at Leon’s side had to remain empty. He was incapable of protecting anyone.
“You can sleep here tonight. Assuming you don’t have an inn already, that is.”
“Y-yes! I mean, no! I’d be glad to! The truth is…I have no money… Ehehe.”
Thus, the desperate girl and the lonely ghoul began their short stay together.
Early the next morning.
“Wakey-wakey! Time to get up!”
A cacophony of clashing pots accompanied the girl’s yells. It sent Leon’s mind back to another time, to a morning long ago.
“Get up! It’s morning!”
“This racket could wake the dead! Oh, wait—you are dead! Ahahahaha!”
It felt as if Leon were transported back to the days of his rowdy senior’s merciless awakenings.
And that made it all the more irritating.
“…Be quiet,” he snarled, causing Alice to jump and quiver.
“I-I-I-I’m sorry!” she yelped. “I-i-it’s just…you weren’t waking up, so…”
“Who cares? I don’t remember asking for a wake-up call, do you?”
Leon sighed and righted himself. Alice smiled nervously and said, “I…I’ve made breakfast. I worked really hard, and I think you’ll like it!”