CH 35

"Come on, wake up."

"Ugh... ah..."

Aston woke up to find a blonde woman with blue eyes looking down at him.

He felt a throbbing pain across his face.

It seems that he has been unconscious for some time.

"Oh my God..."

"This is the second time I've met you, I came here to arrest a monster. How dare you run away from me last time?"

"Oh, yeah..."

I believe it was a woman named Krishna, the deputy commander of the Kings Guard.

Aston sat up in slow motion.

"Zenos, is it...?"

"I met him on the way here and heard about it. It is a miracle that no one was killed in a disaster of this scale. You'll have to be grateful to Zenos for the rest of your life."

"...Yeah, I guess."

Aston mumbles quietly, holding his sore cheek.

Krishna pointed his magic gun at Aston.

"Aston Beringal. You will be arrested on numerous charges, including attempted murder, evading arrest, falsifying evidence, ordering revenge, indiscriminate assault, and destroying property. You will be punished accordingly. And of course, you will tell me everything you know about the mastermind."

Krishna shot a quick glare at Aston's body.

"I'd add indecent exposure to the list.

"......?"

In the process of being healed, a large part of the clothing was torn off, and only a small portion remained.

"Oh god..."

Then I realized.

My beloved sword, a treasure from the underground labyrinth, is gone.

I'm pretty sure it was always on my hip.

"Oh, Zenos has a message for you.『While you were unconscious, I confiscated the sword. It's a treasure from the underground labyrinth, so it will fetch a lot of money if it is sold. It should be enough to cover the cost of the collapsed houses' Or rather, it's the one I obtained in the first place, so don't worry about returning it』thief.'"

"... haha!"

Aston smiled weakly.

Everything.

Really, I've lost everything.

I've done so much to to be stripped of everything. I'll probably be stripped of my adventurer's card too.

My position, my companions, my fortune, everything I've built up over years, it's all gone.

"What are you so shocked about? It's all your own fault."

"Yeah, I know..."

There's nothing more I can do.

In fact, maybe I never had anything at all to begin with.

I told him everything I had to say, and then...

"......?"

I suddenly realized something.

There was something in my clenched left hand.

I slowly opened my fingers and there it was, an old gold coin.

"Oh, by the way, I have another message for you from Mr. Zenos. 『 That's a handout. Don't ever get involved with me again.』"

"............"

Aston stared at the gold coin in disbelief.

The message the gold coin conveyed was a declaration of eternal separation from Zenos.

It may not even have any more meaning than that.

But--

"Zeno...s......"

I've lost everything.

Everything was slipping away from my filthy hands.

But there is a man who has proven that a single gold coin can change your life.

Aston clutched the gold coin tightly and cowered in place.

"Uhhhh... ohhhhh......" [TL: *crying sfx*]

Krishna looked at the trembling man and shrugged his shoulders.

"You're a big guy, don't cry like that. You're about to cry for real. My interrogations are as tough as a demon's."

= - =

"Well, the Kings Guard is on the move..."

In the distance, on top of a hill, 'The Guide' quietly muttered.

I'm sure that the government has always been indifferent to what goes on in the slums.

The Kingdom of Hades, known as the Kingdom of the Sun, has been shining its brilliant light on the surrounding countries.　

However, too much light also casts a dark shadow on the land beneath its feet.

In such a country, something is beginning to change little by little.

At the center of it all is surely a healer in a derelict corner of the city.

"You are a very interesting person. I'd like to get to know you a little better, though..."

This man, Aston, will be the one who will leak the information about our hideout.

I didn't expect him to survive, so I wasn't that cautious.

I''ll have to hide quietly for a while, or leave the country.

I'm going to have to destroy all the research I've been working on.

"I'll never forget you, Zenos."

'The Guide' murmured lowly under his gray cloak and turned himself around.

= - =

"Oh My God...."

At that time, Zenos was strolling through the destroyed city walking like a zombie.

In the middle of the night, he healed hundreds of people, assisted in fighting golems, and finally regenerated people while fighting himself.

"I think I'm going to collapse from overwork..."

The fatigue that washed over me like a wave made it difficult for me to reach the clinic.

"Teacher, are you okay?"

"Zenos, you look very pale."

"You're walking more and more abnormally. I'll give you a hand."

The people with me looked at me with concern.

"I'm fine. You guys must be tired. I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"......"

The three of them looked at each other, nodded and clutched Zenos by the shoulders.

"Hey, you guys!"

"We're always indebted to you, Teacher."

"It's only natural. Linga would rather be closer to you than this."

"I won't let you get away with this, Linga."

Zenos lets out a weak sigh.

"...... can't be helped. I guess I'll just have to accept their advice once in a while."

Zenos finally arrived at the clinic, being carried by the three of them.

"It's good to know you're okay. You're a stubborn one."

When he opened the door, he saw that Carmilla was cross-legged on the bed."

"I'm glad you're not dead."

" Indeed. I was hoping for some peace and quiet."

"Carmilla, I know you say that, but You've been wandering around the house all day worrying about Zenos' late return."

"You idiot, Lili. That's a lie. How is that even possible?"

"Heh..."

"What's that look on your face?"

"Lili was worried when she heard from Carmilla, but she knew that Zenos would come back."

Lili came up to me with a big smile on her face as she placed a cup of tea on a tray.

She handed me the cup and said in a loud voice.

"Welcome back, Zenos."

"......."

Zenos blinked a few times, then nodded slowly.

Then he looked around at everyone, smiled and said

"Yeah, I'm back."