102. Current Memories
I was able to move forward because I had people with me.
No matter how difficult and arduous the journey was, even if a terrible demon lord was waiting at the end, he did not give up.
I kept moving forward, looking only ahead.
Even though both my legs were broken, I crawled forward.
I was able to move forward because I had people with me.
I arrived at the end and looked back.
It’s strange.
There were definitely people who were together, but where did they all disappear?
And why are these hands full of blood?
Not your own blood, but the blood of others.
Why do I feel a familiar energy in that blood…?
†††
“You damn…”
A crushing headache weighed down Arcel’s head.
Why are you so angry now?
I have seen countless people die from being stabbed with a knife.
Moreover, if the group of thieves is similar to what it is now, the bandits across the country are now not only familiar, but even friendly.
The number of bandits that Arcel has captured over the years is equivalent to a large village.
But, compared to what I’ve experienced before, I wonder if I’m angry about something like this, which is nothing.
This is just an ordinary scene of robbery, so I don’t know why I’m so angry.
“Why don’t you quit? “Are you really going to kill that person?”
“…!”
Then I heard a familiar voice and came to my senses.
“Oh, what have I done…”
He shook his head and looked at the present.
Of course, I didn’t try to kill him.
However, the deadly force emanating from Arcel was so intense that an ordinary human would lose consciousness just by being near it.
“Know that you are not an ordinary human being. If you put your mind to it, you can become a monster that can rival the Demon King at any time. “You didn’t lift the curse just for that, did you?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Even this was something he was suppressing himself, so if he lost his sanity, there was a possibility that the citizens of the nearby city would also be in danger.
The woman behind him and the assailant who was grabbed by the collar had already lost consciousness with foam at the mouth.
“I understand, it’s been a while since I regained my strength, so it may be difficult to control. “Anyway, it’s like I’ve been asleep for five years straight.”
“Anyway, you… No, when did you come? “It seemed like he was taking some time because he obviously had other things to do.”
Arsel turned his gaze to the alley where the voice was heard.
White eyes blink in the shadowy alley.
Gradually, not just the eyes, but all aspects are revealed.
“When did you see me leave your side? Moreover, it is a land full of these people, so how can they be left alone? “The only person inside is a sleeping earring with a bottle of alcohol in his arms.”
The owner of those eyes was Alfred, but he was a little Alfred who was neither a crow nor his usual self.
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“…Anyway, this guy stabbed someone. And she even tried to harm this woman. Even if we avoid summary judgment, we can at least send it to the security guard-“
“It is a bad habit to only look at the present and make conclusions. “That person is easily misunderstood because of his behavior and ferocious face, but the person who stabbed him is a different person.”
Of course, it was different from the little Alfred I saw in the land of the elves, but that child was definitely something like Alfred.
From the voice, the way he treats himself, and the nature of his soul, you can be sure that that child is Alfred.
“What does that mean?”
Arsel looked around again at Little Alfred’s words.
It was clearly a stranger holding a knife, and she clearly saw it with her own eyes that he was threatening that woman, right?
“Look closely at the person who was stabbed. “Aren’t there signs that someone was trying to stop the bleeding?”
“Oh, come to think of it.”
Little Alfred gently took off the clothes of the person who had been stabbed.
He was stopping the bleeding at the stab wound with a red cloth.
“He probably found a person who had collapsed here and pulled out a knife to stop the bleeding, but did that woman appear and scream at bad timing? Honestly, if you look at his behavior, he looks like a psychopath who stabs people as a hobby.”
Alfred chuckles.
Certainly, if this assailant had stabbed the author, there would be no way that first aid would have been administered.
Besides, if you’re thinking about making that woman shut up, you should have cut her throat a long time ago. There’s no need to waste so much time.
“Ah, that does not mean that he is a good person. If you search her pockets, you’ll see that she stole her wallet. Still, it looks like he had a conscience and gave him first aid to save his life.”
As Alfred said, there was a wallet in the arms of the unconscious man that did not match his appearance, and it was not difficult to find out who the owner of the wallet was.
To summarize, it is as follows.
The gunman, a simple thief, found a man stabbed in an alley, and instead of stealing his wallet, he tried to give him first aid.
But by chance, I bumped into that woman passing by, and I was about to silence her because I thought I might be mistaken for the criminal.
Because I had already swiped my wallet, so there was no room for excuses if the security guards came.
At that time, Arcel also appeared and the assailant lost his mind without any time to explain the situation.
“Umm…”
Arsel frowned and groaned briefly at the complicated situation.
Normally, I would have noticed that the wound had stopped bleeding and listened to the story first, but due to the combination of bad memories and this situation, I seem to have lost my senses for a moment.
He didn’t even want to imagine what he would have done if that little Alfred hadn’t shown up.
“Whatever, the petty thief did something that could easily be misunderstood. “Honestly, you look like someone who’s going to fight with a sword, right?”
Little Alfred gently poked his knife wound with his finger.
Then, the person who had been stabbed began to see life on his face and his condition began to stabilize.
The wound had already healed.
“Then let’s leave now, because you’re not the only one who heard the screams. If you don’t want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings, it’s better to leave quickly. “Let these people take care of the rest.”
In the end, he left the place and left the people alone.
Soon after, guards arrived at the scene, and the misunderstood thief was dragged away with only the charge of stealing his wallet.
“First of all, we can say that it is fortunate that no one died, but in the end, doesn’t that mean that the real culprit is wandering around separately?”
“That’s right, you probably would have gone home by now?”
“Tsk…”
Arsel clicks her tongue in frustration.
Looking at the circumstances, the real culprit must have left this place at least 5 minutes ago.
Perhaps he could have been caught if he had started tracking him the moment he heard the screams, but finding the criminal in a city like this was never easy.
“There is no need for you to worry, because in the end, everything is self-earning. Besides, that person survived thanks to you, so should we consider him lucky?”
“If I hadn’t been there, wouldn’t you have helped that person?”
“It’s a carrot, it’s not my job, so why bother? It’s clear that it will only lead to misunderstandings. “If that idiot had just quietly taken my wallet, the security wouldn’t have caught him.”
Arsel had no choice but to spend the dawn at the clock tower again with Alfred.
Of course, unlike during the day, it was late and there were no people on the streets, and was there any difference in that Alfred also looked like a child?
“But what happened? “It’s uncharacteristic of you to get angry over just one person getting stabbed.”
Little Alfred asked, expressing confusion.
I don’t think a person being stabbed doesn’t meet the criteria for something happening to Alfred.
“…Seeing the person stabbed by a knife brought back memories of the past. That time when everyone was down. “The nightmare of me standing alone on a blood-stained hill.”
Arsel sighs while holding her eyebrows.
If my memories were clear, I could blame myself and resent myself, but the memories from that time were dreamlike, so I can’t remember anything.
But that is not a dream, it is a clear reality.
It was like a nightmare that seemed like a dream had come to reality.
“I see, that must have been difficult.”
“It has already passed. “The reason I’m stuck in that past now that the curse has been lifted is because I’m not good enough.”
Arcel removed his disguise, revealing his long hair.
His golden hair blew in the blowing wind.
The scene illuminated by the moonlight was beautiful, but on the other hand, it also felt bitter.
“Honestly, I don’t think I should have come to Hermod’s kingdom. Even if it was Stella, I didn’t deserve to be here. “I don’t deserve to enjoy the festival.”
I clenched my fists and bit my lip.
Perhaps this is why Arcel was unable to enjoy the festival with Stella and why she wandered around.
Guilt firmly settled in one corner of one’s heart.
The nightmarish reality that she had cut down her comrades with her own hands was still something she could not escape from.
“…If I had known this city would be this peaceful, if the world could continue without me, I wouldn’t have run away that day. “I got out of prison with the excuse that I still had work left to do.”
I defeated the devil, but nothing changed.
The world was still in chaos, and the number of people dying from the aftereffects of the war increased day by day.
In order to solve the remaining problems.
And even though he defeated the Demon King, he broke the prison and escaped to deal with the remaining discomfort.
But if I had known it would be like this…
The world can be peaceful even without confidence, and if I just needed time, I wouldn’t have done that.
Even though he would be executed as he pleases in prison, he would eventually be able to meet the comrades he had sent away first.
“Then do you want to die here?”
Then little Alfred asked in his usual voice.
There is no change in voice.
There is no change in facial expression.
Still, somehow I felt cold.
“Alfred…?”
“You probably made a lot of sacrifices to escape the human prison and hide yourself for five years. Moreover, there will be quite a few innocent people caught up in the path you took and dying.”
Alfred slowly lay down on Arcel’s lap and closed his eyes.
“But when you say something like that here, it’s the same as deceiving the people who died or were sacrificed because of you.”
“…”
Little Alfred was right.
To escape from prison that day five years ago.
To hide from pursuers for five years.
Arsel remembered that everyone had made quite a few sacrifices because of him.
They barely survived through such sacrifices, but for the person who actually survived thanks to their sacrifices to say something like that would be like making their deaths a dog’s death.
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you have defeated the Demon King? In the end, most problems are solved with time. Even if the Demon King had won, there would have been peace a few hundred years later. “All races except the demons will become extinct.”
“That’s…”
Alfred’s words had plenty of potential.
Once humans collapsed, the next targets would have been minor races or monsters, and in the end, even fairies such as elves would have died or become slaves.
Because he did not want that kind of ending, Arcel became a hero and cut down the Demon King with the holy sword.
“Of course, if you’re going to die, I won’t stop you. Instead, I’ll take care of your body?”
Little Alfred smiled sinisterly.
There is no difference between your younger self and your normal self when you smile like that.
“Isn’t that a bit creepy?”
“If you feel uncomfortable, just stop thinking about it. What are you here for? “Don’t forget what you lived for.”
“…I understand. “I’m sorry for talking nonsense.”
“Even if you apologize to me…”
“Then I will say thank you.”
“That’s good. “Why don’t you just do something to say thank you instead of doing something to be sorry about?”
“It’s a little difficult to say.”
“I think so too.”
Little Alfred smiles while leaving himself in Arcel’s arms.
Thanks to you, I was able to calm my mind.
The nightmarish memories of the past almost made me harm myself.
“Anyway, let’s kill some time here and then go back. “I will stay by your side until then.”
So Arcel waited for dawn to pass in the clock tower.
“You will be able to face the truth someday, so until then, just move forward.”
“Okay, thank you Alfred.”
And there was someone who stayed by my side until dawn.
Thanks to this, the chilly early morning wind didn’t feel that cold.
†††
“Wow, something like this was hidden here?”
Meanwhile, Alfred admired the scenery before his eyes and clapped his hands.
I had an idea that something like this would happen, but it seems the scale was bigger than I thought.
“It looks just like a chicken coop.”