Half-elves Fall in Love

Chapter 348: Hero´s future

After Neia left the room alone, the room became silent, with only me and the flash sword in the room. The silence was a bit heavy for me, though it was only natural that it was quiet since the magic voice barrier was still in place and no sound from the surroundings could come in.

“Just a little bit more……you should have been a little nicer to Neia. You are the only 『Relative』 for Neia”

“I don’t think you would call the sword a relative”

“Don’t be so cryptic. I know that Neia can’t have anyone else in her life who understands her”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Ha?”

The flash sword pauses for a beat.

“Neia followed her like the sun until Faria died. After Faria died, she tried to be a hero like Faria and clung to the image of a hero that the royal family had shown her and that Faria had adhered to, gritting her teeth. ……If only the world had been that kingdom, it would have been fine. Dictatorship has many structural problems, but there is no mistaking it for an effective means by which the powerless and uneducated can live in order and peace”

“……Well, that’s just……”

Foreign enemies and poverty. For a society that is established in a precarious balance, the monarchy itself is not necessarily a bad thing. If the leader is decisive and everyone follows, the performance of the group is guaranteed, even if each individual is stupid or powerless. The same is true of the military. And even if the policy of maintaining order is violent, even if the philosophy is particular, in the end, as long as a ruler is not able to completely satisfy all the needs of the population, there will always be sacrifices. It is only a question of what form of sacrifice is made. However, if the goal is to maintain the 「System」 itself, rather than the 「Group」, then it instantly becomes just an excuse. The path that Neia had been walking since she was a child with the intention of becoming a martyr has been shown to be such a ludicrous, empty state of affairs.

“Even I had no intention of interjecting any thoughts if Neia was to live and die in Kalwin……if there was no other place for humanity but Kalwin. Nothing but history can determine whether the ways of the king are right or wrong”

“And the fact that there’s a world out there changes that, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Kalwin’s peculiar ethics would bring her into conflict with the outside world. So far, so definite, even with the assumptions we’ve made so far. ……And at that time, Neia would have played the role of mediator, protecting Kalwin and appeasing the outside world. As long as there was a cause in Kalwin, it was something someone had to do”

With a small flicker of light, the flash sword cuts off the words. It is as if with a sigh.

“But if the king of Kalwin 『Knew that the outside existed and closed it up』, he could not have Neia take on that role. You understand that, too”

“……We can’t afford mediation, normally”

It is intentionally closed. Mediation is extra care. Not to mention that Neia is not given such authority, there is a high risk that Neia, who shakes national ideas, will be sacrificed as a traitor’s delusion if she is not good at it. But if so. What should Neia do, having believed in such a Kalwin and having taken on the pain and suffering herself?

“……Neia, has nowhere to go, doesn’t she……?”

“That’s what I mean. Neia, as she is now, can neither live nor die. She can only drown in the vortex of history that will begin……in that country without being able to believe in reality or denounce it”

“If only you knew that much!”

“What do you expect from me, Andy Smithson? Do you want to be closer to Neia?”

“……You can do that. You’re the guardian of the herp”

“I also told you I’m not a guardian. ……Can you imagine what it would mean for me to be there for you, for Neia to trust me? What will be left there?”

“Thats”

“A girl who could only live as a hero, denied that role, denied that authority, believing only in the last remaining sword in her hand, chasing the illusion of a hero until the end. ……Do you want such a future for Neia, Andy Smithson?”

The tone of the flash sword was only indifferent.

“I think we should cut off such a future. The past heroes have not died happily, but……at least they went to their deaths with the pride, 『They had fought for the future of humanity』. Neia lived a braver life than any of us and now even that is no longer allowed”

“…………”

“The next era must come. And I think that the next age should be the age when a kind and sad girl like Neia can laugh happily from the bottom of her heart……”

“……Flash sword”

“So I choose to have words with you. Andy Smithson. You are not the 44th heir to Grans Leyland”

The flash sword glows.

“I choose you for my own purpose, the first and the last. I wish you the courage to end her life of being a hero”

He will make me take on a role that is too heavy for me.

“……Did you have that in mind right from the start?”

“Vaguely, yes. ……I think the courage to protect Neia from despair must come not from the strength of one’s own strength, but from something more human”

“It may just be a skepticism, though”

‘If I can put my life on the line for it, I’ll call it courage”

————————————————

I walk around the mansion looking for Neia. I thought that she would not have left the mansion, since she was in the shadow of Rainer Exeliza here in Rennesto, but it was hard to find her. I walked around three times and thought that maybe she had gone to Queen Flare. Then I peeked into the workshop in the garden and found her clutching her knees, staring into the light of a lamp.

“Neia”

“……Smithson, san”

Neia’s face, illuminated by the orange light, was more fragile than any expression I had ever seen on her face.

“I’ve been looking for you”

“……I told you to leave me alone”

“I missed it”

I said quietly and sat down next to Neia.

“……What about the flash sword? I don’t want it stolen”

“I’m leaving it with Maia”

“………… It’s a bold thing to do, isn’t it? You’re like a dragon slayer”

“Maia is not very responsive to dragon slayers, she’s still young”

Neia shut up, burying her mouth in her kneecaps. I shut up, too and waited for Neia to speak up.

“……You are a soldier, aren’t you, Smithson-san? I’ve heard that you have a saga of fighting many powerful enemies”

“Well, yeah”

I dare not make the usual denials such as 「That’s because of Dianne-san and Laila」. I’m sure Neia isn’t so dull that she won’t understand if you don’t tell her that.

“……Why were you able to fight? ……Can you fight? You stood up to even that Orn. Even I was really scared”

“Maybe because I’m a man”

“……I don’t know what that means”

“How could Neia fight when she was afraid?”

“……Because I’m a hero”

“I don’t get it”

“A hero is like that. ……A hero has no choice but to live and die like that. There is no place to run, there is no choice but to fight. If you want to live, you have to win”

“Then I’m just like you”

I said comfortably. The truth is, there are plenty of reasons to fight and to stand up for yourself from time to time.

“……If that’s the case, then maybe I was born a hero. I couldn’t have lived this way very well if I hadn’t been bound by the reality of being brave……and if I hadn’t lost Faria”

“…………”

“Hero……there were so many times when I really wished I wasn’t a hero. I have a lot of nightmares……and I boast that I can sleep anywhere, but the truth is that I’m afraid that if I sleep on the same pillow, I’ll have the same dreams”

Neia was trying to talk herself out of her weakness. It seemed like a complaint, a stress that was finally released because of the denial of what being a hero was all about.

“……So, maybe……I’m not worthy of being a hero. I became a hero because Faria liked me and the royal family approved of me, but the flash sword is really……”

……I guess she is doubting everything and being negative. She is trying to think that even her longtime partner, Flash Sword, doesn’t trust her.

“Flash sword? ……I’m sure it said. Neia is not a good fit for a hero”

It didn’t really say that. I’m totally expanding on that.

“…………”

As expected, Neia became depressed. This is the kind of thing I say out loud because I want her to deny it.

“It said Neia should be happier and smiling. She doesn’t belong to the kind of heroes who live up to expectations, fight, kill and one day die as they are”

“……That’s impossible”

“Is it impossible?”

“Yes”

I hugged Neia as hard as I could.

“!?”

“Neia. Kiss”

“Wh……Wh, What……”

“Turn around. Close your eyes. Nobody’s looking at you”

“……T, That, the flow of the story now……”

“It’s fine. ……If you don’t plan to smile happily at someone else, I’ll give it a try. You really can’t make a face like that”

“……Th, at……”

“I mean, I don’t want a superlative like you to tell me to just stand by and watch untouched until you die in tatters. I’m the replacement approved by the flash sword. If it’s lips or tits you don’t plan on letting me suck, let me suck them”

“……Nku, n……”

Neia makes a variety of faces at my aggressive seduction. Still, in the end, she closes her eyes and puts her lips on me. ……Neia’s lips, which I tasted for the first time, are as soft as I imagined.

“……A, Are you ready for this……?”

With her eyes open, Neia touches her lips with a feeling that her actions are a little unbelievable, wandering her gaze and repairing.

“I’d really like to do more”

“…………”

“I’m not going to do it right now”

“Eh”

I loosen the arm that has been holding Neia so forcefully.

“I can’t afford to mislead your first experience with excuses like being depressed or having a gap in your heart. I’ll hit on Neia again sometime when she’s feeling better”

“……What’s the point of doing that?”

“Look, Neia”

I moved my face close to Neia’s and……whispered into her ear so that she was deliberately breathing on me.

“I’m going to make you smile and say, 『Thank you for letting me have a baby』”

“……!?”

“I decided a while ago. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen”

That’s my answer to the expectations of the flash sword.

“So be prepared. After you retire as a hero, you’re going to raise my children in Polka”

“D, Don’t be so selfish……nnn”

Finally, give Neia a long kiss. I put my hand on her chest, but I wasn’t blown away.

- ToC -