As a father (1)
It’s so far away that I can’t even remember.
If I hadn’t lived a life of constant return, I would have reacted like Irina.
To believe in absurd things like legends at this age.
But what can I do?
First of all, I’ve been through hundreds of ridiculous things since I started.
“I understand that you don’t believe it easily.”
“I’d rather just say it’s a joke, and I’ll forget about it.”
“When I took a bath with Rize earlier.”
I gave up on lengthening my words any longer and immediately added the rationale.
“Didn’t you have something on your back?”
Immediately recalling the memory, Irina immediately narrowed her eyes and hardened her expression again.
However, I said a question that I thought would come out somehow, as if I couldn’t clearly understand it.
“I saw that the young lady has a mysterious pattern on her back, but… … Do you have any solid proof that that’s the mark of a real hero?”
“I don’t have it right now, but I can come back in a few days if I want. Even if what I say is a lie, what would I gain from doing so?”
“… … .”
Perhaps realizing that the words were more credible than any other evidence, Irina frowned and thought for a moment.
I didn’t bother to say anything more and waited for Irina to organize her thoughts, and shortly thereafter, Irina’s gaze turned to me again.
“Irvin, do you want to make Lady Rize a hero?”
“No, just the opposite.”
No way, cancer.
Unless Rize says she’s doing it, even if dirt gets in my eyes, that won’t happen.
No, even if Rize did it, she would desperately stop it.
“What kind of world is it these days? how do you make a hero In that case, I’ll just step out and save the world. I will never make Rize do anything dangerous. Even if you get caught up in something dangerous, I have to protect you.”
In response to my firm answer, Irina put on a strange expression.
He seemed to have no idea why he would be telling the story if he was going to say it this way.
Well, it wasn’t an incomprehensible reaction, so I calmly continued my words.
“The important thing is this. You, too, should be aware that Lize is destined to be a hero and protect her from harm.”
“That’s true, whether Lady Rize is a hero or not… … .”
“No, I don’t mean that.”
Interrupting Irina’s muffled words, she asked a question as if telling her not to think of it as a joke.
“What does it mean that a child with the destiny of a hero is born? Rather than why Rize is a hero, think about why she is now. Thinking of old stories.”
“… … Then please… … .”
Fortunately, Irina realized something and opened her eyes wide.
I wondered if it would be okay to leave Rize’s education at this level.
Irina, who mumbled for a while, soon gave me the answer I wanted.
“Are you saying that the ‘dark lord’ who was defeated by the hero of the past will be resurrected?”
“Yeah, right. A hero’s destiny is only complete when he is defeated. If there is a hero, there must also be a dark lord. It’s just in case, but I have no intention of having Rize fight that bastard.”
“No, that means… … Isn’t the harbinger of the disaster brought by the Dark Lord coming first?”
“You confirmed that it has already started.”
I said that and pointed down with my index finger, and Irina made a shocked face again.
The dark lord was truly synonymous with fear, to the extent that people in the past feared it so terribly, and even today there are stories about calling it the root of all evil.
The reason for this is, of course, its monstrous strength, but the main fear of ordinary people is the harbingers of disaster that come like a plague.
If the resurrection of the dark lord approaches, unknown plagues actually spread, natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons increase, and even famine occurs due to poor harvests.
As if it is not an exaggeration to say that it really brings darkness to the world.
The portents of disaster varied from small to large, but the most representative of them was… … It was the increase in the number of monsters and their ferocity.
Yes, the monsters that attacked this village nine years ago were also affected.
“The harbingers of disaster have been happening steadily, though small, since then. It’s happening all over the continent, but nothing as serious has happened so far as what happened here.”
“… … Until now… … Are you saying there will be worse things in the future?”
I didn’t dare to answer and kept silent, and Irina stiffened her expression.
To be honest, I thought they wouldn’t believe me easily, but I was taking the story more seriously than I thought.
Maybe it’s because Rize is involved?
I was prepared to be treated like a crazy person, but it seemed that it would end in misfortune.
Still, Irina asked a rather sharp question, perhaps not just listening to the story without thinking.
“If everything you said is true, how on earth does Irvin know that?”
“I can’t say that. Even so, I won’t believe this.”
Living life over and over hundreds of times was simply absurd.
Of course, I tried to reveal that fact several times, but the results were not very good. There are some people who sincerely believe in it, though.
Even so, it was even annoying to convince them with the same story all the time.
That’s why it’s become a habit to consistently give such evasive answers.
If Rize ever asked me this question… … I’ll have to think about it a lot, though.
Thankfully, Irina hesitated for a moment without further questioning, and then asked another question.
“Then, did Lady Rize take it because she was born with the destiny of a hero?”
“… … .”
This is, I ate a room.
I never thought I would ask such a question, so I opened my mouth slightly and couldn’t speak easily.
But in the end, there was only one thing I could say.
“that’s right. It is true that I brought Rize to make her a hero.”
Irina’s eyes changed fiercely at my answer.
According to what I heard, if it wasn’t for the lumber of heroes, it was no different than saying that Rize wouldn’t have been reaped.
I wanted to grab her by the collar, but Irina kept her seat, suppressing her emotions.
If you look at it like this, you have a lot of self-control, but I finished what I was going to say, putting aside the question of why the first meeting was like that.
“I thought so at first, but… … not now. For me, Rize has become an irreplaceable treasure. So, I want Lize to grow up safely without feeling any danger and live a peaceful and happy life.”
Maybe it’s because I opened the water like this once?
Maybe it was because it was a subject I hadn’t talked to anyone about.
Surprisingly, I honestly confessed to Irina the things I had been thinking about.
“But now the world has become unstable because of the damn Dark Lord. Even the idiots who want to jump on the bandwagon and commit nonsense will run rampant, making it even more sh*t. Right now, there’s nothing that stands out, but… … it’ll accelerate soon Among them, there must be things suitable for what is commonly referred to as a hero’s journey by Rize’s resolution. But you can’t endanger Rize just because of that, can you?”
Yes, how dangerous these are, but would you leave it to Rize?
Not only that, but there were also other things that were disgusting.
so… … Knowing it, I had no intention of leaving it alone.
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“From now on, I will go around to prevent such things from happening. In other words, the time to be with Rize is reduced, and depending on the work, you may not be able to see her for a long time. And that’s why I hired you as a housekeeper.”
“Are you saying that I’m going to protect Lady Rise’s safety while Irvin-nim is gone?”
“No, I want more than that.”
Irina looked at me with a puzzled expression.
It seemed that she couldn’t imagine anything more than that, considering Rize’s safety as her top priority.
I didn’t hesitate and immediately cleared my doubts.
“In case something happens to me and I can’t come back for a long time, or I can’t come back for Rize’s safety, even if… … Even if I die, I want you to protect and take care of Rize. All I want is to be someone who is absolutely trustworthy to that extent. Because to me, Rize is more important than my life.”
I used to think like this often.
Indeed, when I die and go back to the past… … What will the world be like in the meantime?
It’s not like the whole thing is going to disappear.
It was a long time since I had already abandoned the arrogant thought that I was the main character of the world.
Even if I don’t exist, the world will return without any problems, and each person in the world will live his or her own life and quietly walk the path of destruction.
In the end, it doesn’t change how the world perishes.
It is a story that the dark lord awakens and destroys the world at will.
It took quite a long time to find out that even if you don’t experience death, you can’t prevent it and keep returning.
I tried my best to the end, but in the end I failed.
But this world is different from before.
Because Rize, who was born with the fate of a hero to defeat the Dark Lord and make the darkness of the world recede, is here.
Yes, so to speak, Rize was the only hope.
Even without me, Rize would be able to save this world.
“That’s what being a hero is. The whole world is eager to torment. Even if Rize tries not to walk the path of a hero, troublesome things will come her way. Besides, isn’t our Rize a little too good? It is said that angular stones are right, and the world is like this, so you will get caught up in one way or another. Of course I’ll go first… … If not, I have no one else to trust except you.”
Needless to say, Irina’s skills weren’t lacking in experience and knowledge as a former knight.
In particular, the desire to protect Rize was deeper than anyone except me.
That’s why Irina was the one who could become a strong ally who could support Rize when I wasn’t there.
Since he was truly a hero, Irina would surely come in handy if he got caught up in unwanted incidents.
That was exactly what I was hoping for.
It was because even if I died due to something beyond my control, I could lessen my worries about Rize.
Of course, I’ll make various preparations before that, but I can’t be relieved even if I have a few insurances.
“As a father… … I have to do everything I can.”
The beginning must have been selfish.
On the contrary, perhaps because that was how he started, he felt more responsible for Rize.
At least I wanted to protect Rize’s happiness no matter what. Even for that… … Even if I have to die.
“… … .”
I finished talking like that, but Irina stayed silent as if she was thinking for a moment, and I calmly waited while leaning back on the backrest.
It’s only natural that you think it’s strange, since he said something like death out of the blue.
Still, I hoped that one day, when something I was really concerned about happened, I would remember this conversation. For now, that was enough.
But soon Irina did something I never expected.
Irina got up from her seat and suddenly got down on one knee towards me and bowed her head very politely.
“… … what are you doing?”
No, what are you really doing?