Chapter 38 – Intermission (Demon King)

Tis a very valuable experience.

I have led many in the past, but never have I raised anyone.

Tis not bad, this feeling as the student fully demonstrates their results and growth.

“Earth’s Fist caught Rebal!”

“Oh, Mr. Rebal!?”

“Rebal fell… now, he’s face down on the floor!”

“P-Powerful… Earth, so strong!”

“What’s going on…a genius like Rebal can’t be left helpless on his hands and knees, right! ?”

Until now, with the crowd’s narrow-minded notion of ‘knowing his nature’ when it came to the child, their subsequent surprised reaction had me burst into laughter.

And above all……

“I, I can’t believe it… that Earth, where did you learn that? When did you learn that?”

“With Hiro… me and… much less, it’s different from Sadiz. How the heck did he…?”

More than anything, the fact that you are incapable of masking your surprise proves my superiority.

Say? Hiro. Mamu.

You do not understand, do you?

What happened to your son and why he gained so much power!

Everything is too much.

Despite the fact that I was completely destroyed by you and become but a spirit, this in a way, still verifies my existence.

『And yet…… tis ironic.』

The moment I uttered so, I recall a little of the past.

Once, when he was close in age to the child of today, it was during one of our battles.

– Bonds of companions who can believe each other – –

The mere recollection of such a curious remark is vexing.

I was frustrated by the dreams of a spoiled child.

However, I must admit that in any form I was defeated still.

After losing, no matter my denial of his words now, I am sour.

–We humans cannot lose! And, we can never overcome the racial wall with the demons!–

Oh, come to think of it, you said that as well.

So, tis been more than ten years since then, what happened?

In the world you gained after defeating me, were you able to realize the sweet jest of the past?

There is no way to know the answer beyond now.

As such, it may be decided with the child.

Yes, your son…. Hiro…

『Huh… Even so, this is also something…. You and I have faced each other on many occasions, but… Now we do not fight each other, we simply do the same thing… I am watching over the same man. And you , who should know your own son better than anyone else, know nothing, and now I know your son better….』

Involuntarily, I looked up at that man in the guest sitting.

He can neither see me, nor can he hear me.

As such, no matter how much I muttered to myself, unless the child is there to hear it, it matters not.

However, I still inadvertently uttered it.

The son of my former nemesis who I guided on a whim.

『The post-war world… I know nothing of the state of this world right now. At least your family does not seem to be faring very well. Rebellion… tis a little difficult to get rid of such with mere words, as you can tell if you look at your son.』

Although he was of my nemesis’ lineage, nevertheless he was permanently connected with the seal that held me and my obsession.

We now share a peculiar relationship, although tis like playing master and pupil, killing time after over ten years was more than enough.

At the beginning, I stopped the child from fighting in a style reminiscent of Hiro.

Not only because I did not care for it, but I also decided it did not suit the child.

However, when I put it into words and said it directly to the child, I was surprised.

When this 15-year-old boy heard, ‘I don’t have the same talent as my father’, he in turn says to me,

–I-it’s not… Somehow, I have a rather pleasant feeling about this! Not like I’m my father’s son……exactly, more like I’m myself! I feel like a curse upon me has been reduced a little bit, and it made me feel better–

He said so in earnest, not in his own way, to me.

–Please, Tre’ainar. Lead me to the right path–

The child would not have noticed it either. At that time, the moment I heard those words, my astonishment was such that my face almost fell out.

『Do you understand? Hiro. People do not easily discard what they have accumulated or have been aiming for. If you put in the effort, pushed forward, and spent all that time on it, you would like to believe that it was not all for naught. To throw it away just by being told such by a person is, in a sense, a denial of the past self.』

Yes, so I made the proposal myself, and informed the child, ‘I don’t have the same talent as my father’, I assumed the child would disagree and turn rebellious.

However, he did not.

『You abandoned your son, did you not? Whatever words may come from your mouth, your focus up to this point, is always rooted to your dream and style. Rather that, I believe that it alleviates the burden… Do you know what that means? Hiro!』

If you were the child, you would realize how little time you and your parents have spent with each other.

And when I consider your attitude toward your son, perhaps there was a desire similar to that of ‘parents and children being connected by their hearts’.

Such could be said as the child’s fighting style was still ‘the same magic sword as his father’.

However, the child has forsaken all that.

At the end of the day, he will not aim to be an Imperial Knight like you. He refuses to follow the path you have taken or the future you have prepared.

Then Hiro. Mamu. What have you left to your son?

『Being so surprised your face says ‘I don’t know what happened’ after only two months of training, does that not really mean your loss here?』

You have defeated me, gained world peace, the right to life of mankind, the future, and you have earned the title of one and only hero.

But at this rate, will you not forfeit the ordinary ‘common happiness’ that is due a person?

『Hmph… so asinine… I never cared in the first place… whatever becomes of your family… Even if you as a married couple were deemed incapable as parents… tis all about the relations with me. I…』

Indeed, seeming that…. why, was I foolish to even consider such…

In the days of more than ten years being sealed, I really did not care that much…. In the days I spent with the child… cravingly I remember so much…

『…… one who despises other races…』

Well, tis not something that can be helped for now.

『My decision to train the child is impulsive, the result of being swept in the flow of events. I… do not intend to act as intermediary between parent and child, right?』

Besides, I have already done so once.

–The first thing you should do is… rather than knowing the power of Hiro as a hero, rather than surpassing Hiro as a hero…. first of all, comprehend the path that Hiro took to become a hero–

I only thought that it would be a factor of the growth of the child, and I would never teach anything.

If you do not face your son and teach him, if the child still does not want to know, it matters not.

I will not meddle.

There is only one thing left to do.

“Gu, Ku… Earth…”

“Oh, you’re quite tough. Even after eating my deadly punch, it wasn’t enough to knock you out.”

The Second Sword Saint rose up.

He must have suffered a great deal of damage, but he most likely reduced the power slightly by twisting his neck just before.

Should we say such agility was as one would expect, or perhaps the child being unable to end it is immature?

Perhaps, the Second Sword Saint is ‘still hiding power’ it seems.

If you do not take him down when the opportunity presents itself, you might come to regret it later, would you not?

However, for the moment, the child still has an overwhelming advantage.

Of course, going by the chatter among the audience, they might have the same recognition of the events.

“He stood up! Rebal’s up!”

“But, are you okay? You were beaten so much….”

“Even so, Earth is so strong…”

“Until now, you were saying that the Son of Hiro and Mamu would lose!”

“I knew that, didn’t I? Young Earth is a man who does it when he does it!”

“Oh, that’s ridiculous!”

“Well, I’ve reconsidered it!”

“Yes, it’s true—“

Ah, even after doing this much… yet they still…

“””””Surely, the son of the hero!!!!”””””

Hiiro… Mamu… Do you not notice now?

The words of praise the crowd send in admiration, and how calm the child’s heart is.

Though he smiles fearlessly at his opponent, his eyebrows twitch slightly at the audience’s remarks, and the reactions pull at the child’s mouth.

So…… Child…… It still seems to be insufficient.

Even with this, it seems the world still does not recognize you.

Then show me more. As my disciple, rouse the crowd.

And the words you most desire. Have them acknowledge ’As expected, he is Earth Lagann’.

I will watch that moment.

Tis one thing I can do now.

After all, I am a master.

Author’s Note

For a moment, I put in a story to make room once. I was going to do it somewhere, but I couldn’t find the timing here.

It was good tomorrow, but today I saw a movie and my tension went up.