Chapter 18

Alexia’s Story “So you’re here.” The door to the room opened with no resistance, revealing Solon sitting there expectantly, dressed in his typical purple Sage robes. He seemed to have anticipated my visit. “Why are you trying to reveal that Ares wasn’t the Hero?” I asked, my tone accusatory. “The truth was always going to come out eventually.” “I checked the interview transcripts. Whenever you mentioned Ares by name, you were talking about Ares, but whenever you said ‘he’ or ‘him,’ it was about Zack.” Solon smiled thinly in lieu of a response. “When exactly did Zack become Ares? As far as I can tell from my investigation, Zack had been referring to himself as Ares since he arrived at the capital…” “He said Ares died on the road to the capital when they got attacked by a demon. If you believe his story, that is.” Solon answered that way to test me. He was hinting at the possibility that Zack had murdered Ares. “I believe him. But why wait until now to speak of this?” I asked. “I told you, didn’t I? He had no talent. That includes lying—he was terrible at deception. It’s a miracle that his secret never came out after all those years. You never thought he was dead, did you…Princess Alexia?” I fell silent at his words. “You had all those marriage talks after we came back. Leon was first in line. But both of you refused. You said something about how you were sworn to the Hero and it was too soon after his passing.” Leon was not the only name in consideration. Solon was also a candidate, but he refused as well. I turned down all the marriage offers that came my way, and for some reason, Leon and Solon supported that. Only Maria suggested I marry “for the stability of the kingdom.” Maria aside, I had the Hero’s former party members to thank for the fact that I was still unmarried to this day. “But you can only put it off for so long,” Solon said. “His Majesty won’t let you off the hook forever. That’s why you started compiling the Hero’s deeds. You’re looking for him.” He was right. I was the one who proposed that our kingdom inscribe the Hero’s tale into our literature. It was so I could begin my own investigation. I believed he was still alive. What I hadn’t anticipated was that he was not Ares. “You’re not the only one sticking their nose into his business,” Solon went on. “Leon’s been using his family’s influence to find information on where that guy went, and Maria’s been using the church’s information network, too. And me, well, I’ve put together some search spells.” “But you haven’t found him?” “He went off to another country, after all. It’s not easy to track him down.” There was a slight softness in Solon’s cranky expression. “What do you plan to do when you find him?” I asked. “Take him back home. He’s my friend. A life without friends is no fun at all.” He put up his hands, attempting a quip. “…Zack doesn’t want people to know that he was the Hero,” I said. “But you still plan to bring him back to this country?” That was the part I was worried about. I wanted to expose Zack’s lie. “Who is he lying for? If you went to Daris Village, you’d know.” Solon looked at me expectantly. “He’s doing it for Shella. He wants her to believe that Ares was the Hero, at the very least.” “Exactly. He’s doing his duty for her because she raised him, and she’s Ares’s mother. He even got his portrait drawn to look exactly like Ares.” When I first saw his portrait, I thought it looked a little more attractive than he actually was, but there’d been a reason it was drawn that way. “So what do you propose?” I said. “Zack won’t return so that he can uphold the lie. His willpower is so strong that he defeated the Demon Lord. We can’t just tell Shella the truth. I don’t want Zack’s resolve to go to waste.” “Yeah.” There was no argument from Solon. “But what if Shella knew the lie from the start?” “What? She couldn’t possibly know.” “She knows. I guarantee it,” Solon declared. “How can you say that?” “If you see her again, she’ll tell you.” Just what did this man, known by others as the Great Sage, see? “So I have to go to Daris Village again?” It took ten days by horse—not a simple journey. “What’s the problem? I’ll take you right there. They don’t call me the Great Sage for nothing.” “Don’t tell me… A teleportation spell? I heard you were researching such magic, but…” “I’ve completed the incantation. Although, only I can use it.” He spoke matter-of-factly, but it was really not as simple as he made it sound. Teleportation was legendary magic that was said to exist long ago. “What’s wrong, Princess? Are you scared of traveling by magic?” Solon said tauntingly. Naturally, I felt some trepidation about entrusting myself to a spell I’d never seen before. But… “Very well,” I told him. “Let us be off.” There was no turning back now. Solon stood up at my answer and ushered me into a separate room. Deep in the basement of his mansion, there was a large magic circle on the floor. “For now, it’s only possible to teleport to and from this room.” Solon said this as if it was a flaw, but that already sounded beyond incredible. It was epoch-making, in fact. Solon and I stepped into the center of the magic circle, and then he started chanting the incantation. The circle began to shine with a pale light, which swiftly expanded across my entire vision. Our surroundings changed an instant later. Young trees strained at the sky around us. We’d been in the capital just moments ago, but now my senses detected the strong scent of vegetation. “Where are we?” I asked. “The woods near Daris Village. I picked somewhere we wouldn’t be seen. We’re not that far from Shella’s house, though. Let’s go,” said Solon, before breaking into a brisk stride. Given his scholarly appearance, one wouldn’t think he was suited for walking outdoors, but then I remembered that he was a member of the Hero’s party. A road like this would pose him no trouble at all. In fact, his pace was quite swift. I hurried on after him. The village chief’s house, where Shella lived, really wasn’t that far, just as Solon said. Some of the villagers we crossed paths with on the way regarded us with wariness, but Solon ignored their gazes completely. When we arrived at our destination, I knocked on the door at Solon’s urging. “Yes… Oh my?” It was Shella who answered. “Back again, I see… I expected you would come.” She put on a slightly nervous smile and ushered us inside. It was around the same hour of the day that I’d last visited. Her husband, the village chief, was usually out at this time. “Um… Who is this, may I ask…?” said Shella. “Solon Barclay. The Great Sage, according to some,” Solon told her before I could explain. “The Great Sage… I’m flattered that an esteemed individual like yourself came all the way to visit. I’m Shella Schmidt. Pleased to meet you.” Shella offered Solon a polite bow, and then she knelt toward me with the same reverence. “And you are Princess Alexia, I assume? Please excuse my rudeness at your last visit.” She had seen through my deception. Both now and during our last meeting, I’d worn simple clothing, presenting as a civil official on an investigation. Given that I’d borne none of my royal accoutrements, I’d been confident that I would not be perceived as nobility. “There is an air of elegance in your conduct that is not so easy to mask,” Shella said. “Although I did not realize who you were at first glance, your mannerisms and the way you speak did leave me wondering.” With a mother figure like Shella, no wonder Ares and Zack were such remarkable individuals. She had a discerning eye, and she’d applied that wisdom to the way she brought up her children. “You’re just the kind of person I thought you were.” Solon lowered his tone slightly. It was a far cry from the way he usually spoke, which was direct and to the point. “I’m sure you’ve guessed why we’re here.” “Yes, it’s about Zack, isn’t it?” Shella replied, closing her eyes. “I knew it. I knew that someday, I would have to tell somebody. No, I should have told him at the time, when he came to me…” “You knew from the start?!” I couldn’t help but exclaim. I never imagined that she had caught on so quickly. I’d only realized myself after investigating for quite a while. “I raised that boy, you know? I can tell when a child of mine lies. Zack always was an honest boy. A terrible liar.” Shella smiled wistfully. “When Zack came home, there was a moment when I thought he was Ares. But as soon as he looked at me with his kind and sad eyes, I knew it was Zack. He said to me, ‘Ares defeated the Demon Lord. But then he was killed by a demon.’ And then he gave me the sword.” Shella pointed to the blade hanging on the wall. “That boy was in tears when he told me, ‘I’m sorry that I’m the only one who came back. I’m so sorry.’ I asked him, ‘Did Ares defeat the Demon Lord?’ I think my voice was trembling. He nodded silently. Then I asked him where he’d been the whole time, and he answered, ‘I was working in the capital.’ Funny, right?” Tears streamed from Shella’s eyes. “I mean, he’d grown up into such an unbelievably fine man. I’d never seen a body as toned as his, and his face had become so manly. It was only his eyes that hadn’t changed since before he went on the journey. He did not look at all as if he had spent his time working on a farm or in a shop. He wouldn’t have looked that way even if he were a soldier. “I asked what he was planning to do after this, and he said, ‘I’m leaving on a journey.’ I didn’t want him to go, so I grabbed his hand. It was so rough, like touching tree bark. Even his palms were full of calluses—I’m sure he must have swung a sword tens of thousands of times. When I looked closer at him, the parts of his skin that weren’t covered by his clothes were scarred all over. I couldn’t believe how many scars there were… “And that’s how I knew. I knew that this boy defeated the Demon Lord. That he did it for me and Ares. And I couldn’t bring myself to say anything after that. I just couldn’t expose a lie he told out of pure kindness.” My vision blurred as I listened to Shella’s story. Solon covered his face with his hood. “I didn’t want either Ares or Zack to be the Hero. I just wanted them to grow up and live happy, normal lives,” Shella told us. “I know it’s no longer possible for Ares, but I at least want it for Zack. And I need to hear about Ares’s last moments from Zack’s own lips. That’s my duty as a mother. So please, Princess Alexia, find that boy. Find Zack. That’s all I ask.”