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Evan D. Sherden, Hearing About the Legend (2)
“What is it, Grandpa Bernard?”
Evan wrapped himself around Bernard’s waist with a smirk.
“Who are you receiving love letters from?”
“It’s not a love letter, kid.”
“Ah, I’ve already noticed that the seal of the letter is heart-shaped. What are you hiding from me Grandpa, eh?”
“It’s nothing.”
Bernard refused to talk about the matter. It was human psychology that made Evan even more suspicious after seeing him like that… At this point, an idea suddenly popped into Evan’s mind.
“Oh, Grandpa. Is that a letter from a distant friend?”
“It’s not a letter. This is the paper on which the contents of your next class are written down.”
“So this letter really did come from a distance…!”
“I won’t talk about it.”
Each of Bernard’s warrior companions who fought alongside him and helped him in Yo-Ma Great War 2 was called a legend. There was enough of a reason to contact Bernard from afar when they couldn’t meet in person!
‘If so, then who is it?’ Evan thought to himself.
In Yo-Ma Great War 2, there were as many as 20 people, including Bernard, who could be recruited as the protagonist’s companions.
In the end, the protagonist was only able to form a final party with seven people, and in the game, they had to say goodbye to the other teammates, who then left the party. There was nothing strange about still getting in touch with any of them.
‘Leo Arpeta was one of his most important and reliable colleagues. Was he the one who Bernard contacted and then even sent a reply?’
Didn’t Evan already know that this world wasn’t the same as the world in the Yo-Ma Great War?
This meant that the hero Leo Arpeta and his friend Bernard Garcia still existed, but he now understood that what they actually experienced was somewhat different from the game.
The final conclusion that Evan didn’t really know.
“I won’t tell you who it’s from. Rather, I’ll just teach you.”
“Teach me what?”
“Whatever’s in the letter.”
“….”
“Aya, yaya.”
Bernard pinched Evan’s cheek. In fact, Evan had avoided him as many times as he could; he knew that Bernard would end up spraining him without any measures, so he decided to let him do it, nevertheless.
“Be prepared for tomorrow’s class, kid.”
“I just wanted to help with my Grandpa’s love business and hear about his old days… But I was unfortunate.”
Bernard was stunned by these words and asked Evan, “What the hell do you want to hear about my past for? Why do you want to know about me so much, eh?”
“I’m just curious, Grandpa.”
“All right, boy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Bernard grinned, ruffled Evan’s hair, then left.
Shine and Belois, familiar with Bernard’s relationship with Evan, approached Evan only after Bernard had left.
“Where were the noble etiquettes?”
“We don’t have to stick to them, at least not now.”
“But how did Master Evan know?”
“I was just lucky.”
“…This might be fun.”
“Damn it!”
Arisha had arrived at the conclusion that it was fun again. She seemed to be thinking about Bernard when, in fact, their meeting wouldn’t be a good thing at all.
Evan, who had already anticipated how Arisha would react, spoke with disgust.
“If you start saying that in front of Grandpa Bernard, as you’ve repeatedly said in front of all of us, don’t do it, because it’s really a big deal. My Grandpa should never be messed with.”
“That’s right, Lady Arisha. Bernard-nim is the one who saved all the people in this city from the past epidemic. You may never want to get on his bad side or… You may end up turning the whole city into your enemies,” Shine warned her in an even more serious tone as he thought Evan’s warning was weak.
What was unexpected was Arisha’s reaction. She nodded as if she wasn’t worried at all.
“I don’t think so. That Grandpa didn’t look like that kind of a person at all.”
There was always a sense of personal space and distance between people. It didn’t matter whether it was the first time you met someone or a close relative or friend of yours; people always met at a certain distance.
Arisha also possessed a keen sense and knew how to measure the distance between two people while talking. Because of that, she knew right away that Evan was afraid of her.
“Even Master Evan puts himself at a distance, and I will never let others approach him beyond that.”
“Yes, I’m glad you want to help. In the meantime, why don’t you distance yourself from me?”
“So what did Grandpa Bernard say in the end?”
“He didn’t tell me anything.”
Evan refused to answer Arisha just as Bernard had done. Arisha felt sad and said that it wasn’t funny, but Evan didn’t care.
Meanwhile, Bernard Garcia, who had returned to his quarters, laughed again as he remembered what his disciple had said before.
“The first thought that came to his mind was a love letter, hahaha! There are some things he doesn’t really know after all.”
However, he still thought that Evan would be surprised to know who actually sent him the letter.
“Let me first turn on the lamp.”
He sat down on a chair and exhaled. Some memories from the past came rushing to him as he held the envelope.
Bernard never sought romance at any time and/or under any circumstances. He was overwhelmed by an excessive sense of responsibility at the time, so he could not focus on anything else. Bernard’s relationship with everyone he had met at that time was indeed fateful and extremely dramatic, but at the same time, it never evolved into a personal one.
‘There were many good women… ‘
Bernard didn’t allow anyone to contact him except Leo. After he had stopped exploring, he hid his identity and concealed his activities.
Compared to those times, it was much more dangerous now. In fact, Evan came into his mind more than he thought, and Bernard was surprised.
“Moreover, if I was younger, I would have also thought it to be a love letter. The more I think about it, the funnier it is.”
Leo was the only one who recognized Bernard’s face, and he couldn’t get any letters from anyone other than Leo…
The man who had sent a letter to him was indeed Leo Arpeta, the great hero, who had disappeared in the great crisis that struck the world decades ago. However, it was still ridiculous for Evan to have thought of it as a love letter.
Bernard laughed again when he thought of Evan. It had been a long time since his only best friend, Leo, had contacted him too.
The last letter he received from him was five years ago. Bernard then proceeded to open the letter.
The first phrase was this.
[I’ve missed you for so long. I’d like to meet you.]
“Leo, what is this shit!”
Bernard’s whole body got goosebumps. Evan’s voice, asking if it was a love letter, overlapping the first sentence of the letter, further amplified the disgust.
Of course, the love letter stated that the sender was a man.
There was no law against it, but Bernard and Leo were both heterosexual. …At least until the moment they last saw each other.
He was curious about what the hell he meant to convey by writing such a sentence, so he decided to read the later part.
[Are you surprised? Please do not burn the letter just yet. It’s not my fault. That’s what Iloin wrote.]
As Bernard looked at it carefully, the handwriting of the first sentence was different from the second sentence. It was not Leo’s handwriting as far as he could remember.
If Leo wasn’t really making an elaborate joke, then it was written by someone else… Who was Iloin? Bernard remembered and realized he knew her well. She was one of his strongest colleagues, and they were together until the end, a quick-death incident.
‘But why is this woman with Leo? Didn’t he say that he would return to his hometown after separating?’
To be more precise, she suggested to Bernard to go on one more adventure together.
Bernard, who was so exhausted at the time and wanted to put everything down, neatly refused her offer, and when she realized she couldn’t convince him after all, she left.
But why was she now suddenly writing to him? Moreover, it seemed that only she would make such a nasty joke instead of Leo. It seemed to Bernard that he had misjudged people.
He frowned and read the rest of the letter.
[I met Iloin while pursuing the traces of darkness. She, too, was on the move alone. So we joined forces…]
“…Ha, this guy. It’s still good to hear that he’s using his talent.”
[Decades have passed since I decided on my lifelong partner, and suddenly there was a beautiful woman with me (She was a very beautiful woman at the time).]
A faint smile appeared on Bernard’s mouth, reminiscent of his friend.
[By the way, Iloin is really awesome. You’ll know she’s amazing when you meet her. Oh, and Bernard, how did you reveal your real name and settle in the city? You were already well known, to begin with, but honestly, when I first heard the story, I thought you were someone else.]
“I never thought it would have been like this…”
Bernard was reminiscent of the day he first came to the city. He lived in a mountain village when he suddenly realized that it was sad to live with a pseudonym and a fake face until his death. He was convinced that no one would recognize him anyway because he was living under a pseudonym, so when he finally revealed his real name and real face, Evan found him.
‘If it’s alchemy that you really don’t know about, please promise that you will work with me for at least five years.’
Evan was really confident, and without any explanation, he had shown him a new potion out of nowhere. He seemed to realize the dream Bernard had vaguely imagined.
It was similar to the time when he was caught up with Leo Arpeta in the old days. It could be said that the circumstances were different than before. When Bernard thought about it, it made him laugh. After all, he really didn’t know how all of this had transpired.
Thanks to that, however, they were able to quickly avert the disaster that eventually struck the whole country. At least Bernard had no regrets about it.
“I met a guy who looks very similar to you, Leo. You’ll be surprised when you meet him too. Moreover, he is a very strong child. He has already risen to the ranks of strong warriors, and his mind is even sharper. You will like him very, very much.”
Bernard muttered to himself, unknowing of the smile that had appeared on his lips. Then he realized something was written on the back of the letter too.
[Anyways, I’m very glad and happy that you’re finally going to settle in one place. Still, I wanted to meet and discuss something with you in person. It’s quite serious.]
“…Wait, what?”
[By the time this letter will arrive, I will be nearby. I’m coming soon, Bernard. It’s really important, so we really can’t wait. Moreover, Iloin also wants to see you.]
“What!?”
Bernard stood up from his seat.
‘Leo Arpeta is here!? He has arrived!?’
Bernard, feeling arrogant momentarily, instinctively filled up his pockets with important things and stood up… But then he sank back into his seat.
‘You’re finally going to settle in one place.’
‘God, I can’t. I can’t move because I am bound by other people.’
“Huh, hahaha,” Bernard laughed in vain. Leo Arpeta’s judgment was really good.
He couldn’t move, so he had no choice but to wait for Leo Arpeta to come, with his wife, Aria Arpeta, and Iloin, who was once a colleague.
This was the reason why he told Evan to be prepared for tomorrow’s class.