ELIAS’ bedroom was simplistic, with nothing inside aside from the furniture it originally came with. Aki stared with disappointment at the dreary room, a letdown compared to the extravagant image she had in mind for the Hero’s bedroom.
Maybe he isn’t particular about the decoration of a room he won’t be staying in for long because he knows he will have to leave on a journey eventually, Aki presumed, sitting on an ottoman Elias led her to in the center of his room.
The maid came in the room with deliciously fragrant tea. A mouthwatering sweet scent wafted from the freshly baked sugar cookies brought as their teatime sweet. Aki picked up the teacup first and felt relaxed by the smell of black tea leaves riding on the aromatic steam.
It smells nice, Aki mused and stole a look at Elias sitting across from her taking a sip of his tea too. His refined mannerisms, gentle expressions, and handsome facial features—were all those things purposely endowed to him by the Goddess?
Aki set her teacup on its saucer and addressed him, “…Say, Elias, I heard from Johann about how the Hero must defeat the Dark Lord or vice versa in order for this world to continue existing…”
What Johann informed her of was jaw dropping to say the least. To start with, their world was brought into existence by an almighty creation Goddess. She possessed the miraculous power to create worlds with a power known as Creation Energy and used it to construct, manage, and preserve this world. Creation Energy was the very lifeblood of the world, and the world was built on her bountiful supply of it.
But the Goddess didn’t possess infinite energy—her energy steadily declined with the passage of time. The Goddess’ Creation Energy was the very essence that gave life to the world and its heartbeat. As such, it was necessary to replenish the Creation Energy on a regular basis in order to sustain the world’s life, much like a blood transfusion.
Injecting new Creation Energy into the world was the supposed purpose of the Hero and Dark Lord. The process started with the Goddess creating soul-infused artificial life, the Hero and Dark Lord, with her Creation Energy and placing them on the planet. By one defeating the other, the Creation Energy imbued in their very soul and body would replenish the world anew.
The Goddess didn’t directly replenish the world’s Creation Energy because she couldn’t interfere in the world’s affairs without a living medium like the Hero and Dark Lord. In other words, the Hero and Dark Lord were the Creation Energy’s vessels into the dying world.
“…When I heard Johann talking about it, it all sounded so preposterous and I had a hard time wrapping my head around it. In one sense, the world itself is a life-form.”
The world required Creation Energy to continue living and would die if it wasn’t regularly supplied with it.
Elias placed his cup back on the saucer and somberly nodded. “You can put it that way. The world was created for a reason and requires energy to continue living. If you look at it that way, it’s no different from us humans… Well, I guess you can’t call me human,” Elias laughed self-derisively. Aki gasped.
He seemed hung up on the fact he was created by the Goddess for the sole purpose of fulfilling her goals, either by dying or killing. Aki closely watched him as he brought the teacup back to his mouth with a lonely smile.
Did the reality of his birth make him think he was a different creature from the rest of the people living in the world? Perhaps that was why he kept himself at arm’s length from others; to keep his thoughts unreadable. It was very possible he had always been smiling to distract others from the sadness and loneliness broiling inside him.
How can he fight with his life on the line for the world with that kind of mentality? Aki curled her hands on her lap. In all likelihood, continuing to fight while being cornered by his feelings would eventually take him out before the Dark Lord did. It’s not fair for him to suffer from loneliness and anguish without ever being able to open up to anyone because it’s all a secret! This is the wrong way to go about it!
“Elias!” Aki slammed both hands on the table and stood. Elias jumped in his chair.
“Y-Yes, m’lady?!” Surprised by her vigor, he accidentally switched to formal speech. Aki leaned across the table and scooped his hands into hers. She ardently looked into his green eyes.
“I thought about it long and hard after I heard about your origins from Johann, but before your complicated origins, you are just one human being who lives in this world like the rest! You were simply birthed by the Goddess and are a normal man no different from anyone else here. If anything, the fact the Goddess birthed you means she’s your mother, right? I think that is amazing!”
Elias is undeniably the only ‘Hero’ in this world and is supposedly an artificial life created by the Goddess. But it’s also undeniable that he’s another human being living out his life in this world. Yet he’s stuck with the anguishing predicament of harboring the secret of his birth, and fighting a war while bearing the burden of the entire world on his shoulders!
At first, Aki’s tight grip on his hands had taken Elias off guard, but her desperate appeal brought a soft smile to his face.
“…Thank you. I see. So the Goddess is like my mother? Mother? Yeah, I’m happy thinking about her that way,” he mused.
He hadn’t been able to get over the fact he was created by the Goddess and was nothing more than an artificial life. But altering that view a little bit simply made him a boy who had been born to a mother known as the Goddess. In that sense, he had an origin no one else could compete with. If he could change his outlook, he might be able to see himself the same way as others and not as an anomaly.
“…Until now, I’ve always thought of myself as a tool created for the sole purpose of sustaining the world. Hearing what you said helped ease my feelings on it somewhat,” Elias said, as if to convince himself of it, and looked up at Aki with a boyish smile. “Thank you, Aki. You truly are my Hero’s Right-hand. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. I’m happier than you could ever know.”
Elias’ shy broad smile was full of life compared to the countless fake smiles he had plastered on his face.
I didn’t know he could actually smile with such innocence. He’s so cute, Aki thought, smiling along with him. She hoped she could protect her hardworking and clumsy Hero. She wanted to support him at his side. As both the Hero’s Right-hand and as the Hero’s Secretary.
“Elias, I still don’t have much to offer you, but I will try my hardest to be of use to you! What should I do first?”
“Huh? Umm…” Elias fumbled over his words at her sudden offer.
…Ugh, I knew it. Someone without powers like me can’t be of any help. Aki’s excitement wilted when Elias sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
“I want you to always smile by my side. I feel like I can do my best no matter what if you are smiling beside me,” he propounded.
Aki blinked back at him in silence. Unable to stand it any longer, he shifted in his chair and looked away.
“S-Sorry… I may have been the one who said it, but it’s kind of embarrassing…”
“I-I’m embarrassed too! Those kinds of lines are like surprise attacks, so please refrain from saying them!”
Please save those lines for the woman you will fall in love with someday! Aki shouted internally.
“Even if you feel that way, my true hope is still for you to smile beside me forever!” Elias continued, striking another blow.
Aki covered her hot cheeks with both hands. Elias didn’t understand how embarrassing his comments were. Maybe the Hero was created with a personality that said everything directly. He may be suited for leading troops straight into enemy camps but not so much for romancing a lady. Elias had conflicted feelings over Aki refusing to meet his gaze and placed his right hand over his heart to calm down.
“…Aki, can I make one thing clear? While it is true the Hero’s duty is as perilous as you make it out to be, I believe I should be grateful to the Goddess—Mother—for giving me a purpose only I can fulfill. The reason for my existence is clear after all.” Elias looked right into Aki’s eyes when she finally raised her head. “As the Hero, I must continue to fight for my entire life, but I’ve never thought of that as unfair. If this is my fate, then all I have to do is carry out my duty.”
Aki nodded firmly at Elias’ words filled with determination and resolve. He was strong, kind, and ethereal. She hoped there was even a little she could do to support the man who had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Supporting Elias must be my mission as the one chosen as the Hero’s Right-hand.
Aki copied the way Elias put his hand in front of his chest and loudly declared, “All right! Your fate will be my fate and we shall walk with our destinies entwined from now on, Elias!”
“Pardon?” Elias stared back at Aki as if she had knocked the chair out from beneath him. Did her words not get across to him?
“Wh-What I mean is that I will bear the burden of Hero with you,” Aki added. He bashfully scratched the back of his head.
“O-Oh, you meant it that way? I took it a different way…”
“You did? What did you think I meant by it?” She tilted her head. Red singed the tips of his ears.
“…Forget about it,” he muttered, turning his face from her.