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chapter 3




The kind person who told me about the story behind my statue left while I was standing completely still.
「Why a statue of me…… though it doesn’t look like me at all」
After muttering that, I fell into thought.
Obviously, this is Eric’s and Gran’s work. Those guys have a strong sense of camaraderie in the first place.
They probably acted recklessly feeling the debt of gratitude when I was stopping the devils in order to let them escape.
「More like they definitely thought that I was dead, didn’t they……」
As I muttered that, I suddenly realised.
The kind passer-by just now mentioned ten years ago. So I’ve been fighting for 10 years?
It didn’t feel that long. Is there a mistake somewhere?
I called out to someone else.
「Excuse me. I’m sorry if you are busy, but can you kindly tell me the current year and month?
After showing a surprised expression, he answered with a smile.
The passers-by are kind, even though I’m dressed in rags.
As expected, they must have this policy in being kind to outsiders.
「It’s the 10th of June, year 315」 (TLN: It’s technically the 6th month, but for convenience sake, June. Also, it literally says ‘the 315th year in the history of the kingdom’. So unless stated otherwise, the year will have this meaning)
「Thank you very much」
「Don’t mention it」
The passer-by went on his way.
It was the year 305 when I started fighting the devils.
So that means it really has been 10 years.
The battle was too desperate so my sense of time probably went haywire then.
No, maybe it’s a side effect of Marionette.
Using magic to manipulate one’s own body is not the regular use.
I used it over and over again throughout a long period of time.
It’s no wonder that my sense of time became wonky.
No matter the reason, it seems that there’s no doubt that my sense of time is out of place.
「……Well this is troubling」
I became dumbfounded once again.
When I looked upwards, it’s still the same overly-handsome statue of me.
As I lowered my gaze, I saw a parent and child enjoying a stroll.
This town is way peaceful and better compared to ten years ago.
That makes me really happy.
「Aaaahhh」
「Don’t run or you’ll fall again」
「Oww」
The kid tripped. He’s probably 3 or 4 years old. What a cute little boy.
「Uu, uu. Ueeeee」 (TLN: ….. It’s the sound of the kid crying. Yes. yes.)
「See, it’s because you ran」
The kid cried as his mother rushed over to him.
「You’re a strong kid so you shouldn’t cry, okay?」
「Ueeeeee」
「You can’t become someone like Rakku-sama if you’re a crybaby」
「……Uu…… I won’t cry」
「Good boy」
The boy wiped his tears and stood up. He held his mother’s hand and they both walked away.
「……I’d like it if you don’t use my name to train your kid」
I unintentionally whispered.
I am in no way an excellent human. I’d be troubled if you use me as a role model.
I then trudged towards the adventurer’s guild.
The building hasn’t changed.
It only looked a little older after these 10 years.
「Somehow, it makes me happy」
I feel nostalgic. It made me a little happier.
I opened the guild’s door while feeling cheerful inside.
Just as I did that, someone grasped my shoulder.
「You’re finally here!」
「Wait!」
「Come with me! We’ll talk after that」
Gran had been waiting for me at the adventurer’s guild.
His hair had some grey mixed in, and there were a few more wrinkles on his face.
As Gran held my shoulder, he pulled me to the back of the building.
「You’ve grown old, haven’t you?」
「Of course I have! It’s been 10 years! More like, you grew too little. No, more like, did you reverse your aging process?」
As we entered the room at the back, Gran gripped both of my shoulders.
「Thank god you came back alive……」
「You crying?」
「N, No I’m not!」
That’s what he said, but tears are spilling right out of his eyes.
Not the type where tears are hanging in the corner of his eyes. They’re literally pouring out.
It’s a little bothering that he insists he’s not crying as he’s spilling buckets.
「D, don’t cry」
They say that a man is weak to a woman’s tears, but I realised that the same goes for a man’s.
Especially if it’s a middle-aged man. Rather, it’s more troubling if it’s a middle-aged man.
It’s not like I can just hug him.
I can only silently stand here. His hands are resting on my shoulders far too long than the acceptable limit.
I waited a while until Gran stopped crying.
Gran who stopped crying awkwardly said,
「……Sorry」
「No, it’s alright」
Gran then started explaining.
「I’ve heard from my doorkeeper that a guy calling himself Rakku came to my house. If it really was you, you would go to the adventurer’s guild after that, so I waited here」
「Sorry for the trouble」
「No, it’s no trouble at all」
At that moment, tea and sweets were carried in.
I tried a mouthful of it.
It was terribly good. It’s my first taste of food after ten years.
「……Delicious」
「I see. How did you cope with food within the gap in dimensions?」
「I didn’t eat anything」
「Good job not dying」
「Yep」
I told him about Drain Touch.
He listened in admiration, but suddenly started panicking.
He picked up a sweet.
「You said you didn’t eat for 10 years, right?」
「I did……」
「Wouldn’t eating solid food after all that fasting be bad for you?」
「Now that you’ve said it, I have heard something like that before」
「Yeah, I’ll get some rice gruel for you」
「It’s alright. I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s surprisingly not a problem」
I tried to persuade Gran, but he didn’t agree with me.
「You’ve gone through all that to survive, so it’d be a problem if you were to die from this. If you want good food, you can eat as much as you want from now on」
Saying that, he told a staff member to bring rice gruel over.
I’m grateful that he’s looking out for me.
However, the sweets are extremely delicious, so it’s really a shame.
Until the gruel arrives, I recounted the events within the space between dimensions to Gran.
Fruit juice was brought over instead of tea so I had a drink.
「The juice’s also really nice」
「Of course」
After I roughly recounted the events, the rice gruel was carried over.
The man who brought it over had a mask on. He looks extremely suspicious.
「Oh, you’re finally here. Eric. Rakku’s back」
「Ooh, Rakku! It’s really you!」
The man removed his mask. He is without a doubt the Hero Eric himself.