“Unbelievable.”
At the bottom of the well, Krishna, her treatment complete, simply uttered in a daze.
Her gouged-out side and his blown-off left arm were completely healed.
Opening and closing her fingers several times, she repeated the same word again, her voice a mixture of admiration and astonishment.
“Unbelievable…”
Eventually, her blue eyes turned to the man sitting wearily beside her.
“This astounding healing magic… Was Zenos-shi the ‘Mediator’ all along?”
Translator’s Note
The suffix -shi is a formal honorific, similar to “Mr.” but used in more formal or respectful contexts. Zenos is being addressed with respect.
“No, I told you that. Listen to people for once.”
“B-But, it’s simply unbelievable. To master not only protective magic but healing magic as well, it’s unthinkable by the standards of magic studies.”
“That’s why I said, I haven’t mastered it, and healing, protection, and ability enhancement are all about strengthening the body’s functions, so the basics are the same, right?”
“I don’t understand it at all. Wait, you can use ability enhancement magic too?”
Zofia, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, spoke from the side.
“It doesn’t matter, <Stone Rose>. Whether you believe it or not, what happened before your eyes is the truth. Maybe that rock-hard head of yours, like your stone, has softened up a bit.”
“I-I suppose that might be the case…”
Krishna closed her mouth for a while, then bowed her head towards Zofia.
“…I apologize. In this matter, I was wrong. You were right.”
“What’s this? It’s throwing me off. Did you hit your head or something?”
“I didn’t hit my head, but my arm was blown off, and it was restored. It changes a person, at least a little.”
The Vice-Captain of the Imperial Guard said, a little sadly.
“I was not a perfect hero… I realized that someone like Zenos-shi is a perfect hero.”
“Hey, what makes me a perfect hero?”
Zenos scratched his head.
“When I was a kid, I barely survived by scavenging for scraps, I didn’t receive a proper education, I had a terrible time in an adventurer party, and I don’t even have a license…”
“I-I’m sorry! It seems I stepped on a strange landmine.”
To the bewildered Krishna, Zenos exhaled shallowly and said.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect hero. Anyone who fights for something is bound to get hurt. That’s why there are healers like me.”
“Zenos-shi…”
“Well, it’s just something I heard from someone else.”
Zenos slowly looked back.
“But, no matter how hurt you are, no matter how battered you become, I think you’re definitely a hero to them.”
“To them…?”
Behind the iron bars, the blindfolded children looked around anxiously.
Because of the sudden silence, the girl in front said fearfully.
“H-Hey, what happened? That person, what happened to the hero of justice?”
“…!”
Krishna’s blue eyes widened, and her trembling lips moved.
“B-But, in the end, I didn’t do anything…”
“You were the first to act. Amidst uncertain information, you defied the authority of the nobility, thinking there might be children waiting, and stepped into the darkness. We were just along for the ride. You’re the only hero in this incident.”
“Me… I, am…”
Krishna staggered to her feet and approached the iron bars.
“E-Everyone, you’re safe. I’m all right. I’ll rescue you soon, so please wait just a little longer.”
A cheer erupted from the children. With cries of “Thank you, hero!”, Krishna closed her eyes tightly and pressed her chest.
“Was my mother… like that too…?”
“…?”
“I always thought of my mother as a pitiful victim. But… but, my mother always delivered food she painstakingly cooked to the children of the slums with a sparkle in her eyes…”
“…That’s right. Just like you’ve become a hero to these children now, I’m sure she was a hero to someone.”
“Ah,” Krishna groaned.
He had always, always strived to be a perfect hero.
But…
That’s right.
That’s how it was.
“My mother was… clumsy, a scatterbrain, hot-tempered, forgetful, and full of weaknesses. And yet… and yet, she was certainly…”
Still gripping the hand placed on her chest, Krishna squeezed out the words.
“She was undoubtedly my hero.”
A single teardrop spilled from the corner of her blue eye. Tears overflowed one after another, soaking into the dry ground.
Zofia, leaning against the wall, listened to the outside of the well and shrugged slightly.
“Sensei, the Imperial Guard will be here soon, they’ve caught wind of the commotion.”
“Yeah, time for this shadow-dweller to slip away.”
Zenos followed Zofia and looked back at Krishna.
“Well then, the rest is your job. I’m counting on you, hero. Come pay the money properly later.”
“W-Wait just a moment.”
Krishna hurriedly wiped his tears and called out to Zenos and Zofia.
“Please tell me one thing. Why did you come to help me?”
He said he had been quite rude. There was no reason for them to go to such lengths and risk so much.
Zofia and Zenos stopped and looked at each other.
“I told him to leave you alone, but Sensei insisted. He said to take him to Lord Calendore’s mansion because he would pay a danger allowance. I dislike you, but I can’t say no when Sensei asks.”
“Zenos-shi did? Why would Zenos-shi…?”
Gazed at directly by Krishna, Zenos answered quietly.
“…Lodging fees.”
“Eh?”
“You said you’d pay a fee when I lent you the bed, right? It was a lot of stress, and I couldn’t take other customers during that time. I’ve decided to collect the compensation for my services in full. If you went and died recklessly, I wouldn’t be able to collect. Along with the treatment fee from earlier, pay up properly, every last coin.”
“…”
Krishna blinked her blue eyes rapidly.
To collect lodging fees. To go to such lengths, and come to a heavily guarded noble’s mansion in the special district.
No matter how you look at it, it couldn’t possibly be worth it.
She couldn’t tell how serious Zenos was, but this must be the kind of man he is.
“Fuh…”
A sigh unintentionally escaped her lips.
“Fufu… haha… hahahaha.”
Unintentionally, breaths kept leaking from the back of her throat. Zenos and Zofia looked at her, somewhat surprised.
“…What? You can laugh, can’t you?”
“—!”
Krishna stood dumbfounded, her hand covering her mouth.
She had stopped laughing since the day her mother died. At first, she couldn’t laugh because of her anger and sadness. After becoming an Imperial Guard, she thought she didn’t have time to laugh until she had exterminated all the villains.
And so, somewhere along the way, she had forgotten how to laugh.
“I see… I… was laughing just now…”
“Well, your smile is pretty awkward.”
“It’s even more unsettling now.”
At their teasing, Krishna retorted with a pout.
“I-It can’t be helped. It’s been a long time since I laughed. My clumsy smile is one of my only— no…”
Krishna wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and continued, her lips curving into a gentle smile.
“It’s one of my many weaknesses.”
A/N: The Krishna arc is scheduled to conclude in one more chapter (an epilogue-like story).