CH 131

Strange. This is not possible. I have been to many other worlds, and even before the first round, including the time when I was living in the gruesome days of suffering due to the conspiracy of God…., there has never been a time when a Hero ceased to be a Hero.

But right now, I certainly didn’t feel any sign of being a Hero from the boy running away in front of me. What is this.—-!?

“Ed? What’s wrong? Is that child the Hero?”

“Y-yeah…he should have been….”

“? What do you mean?”

“…I don’t now.”

I barely managed to squeeze out a reply to Tia. I really don’t know…. But I certainly want to know why, but I can’t just ramble on in the middle of the street like this, especially when the people around us are giving us the look that says,” there’s a stranger here”.

“….Fine. Let’s just walk.”

Tia pulled my hand somewhat forcefully as I stood there, unable to recover from the shock. As I walked away, Tia spoke to me not with her voice but with her mind.

[Have you calmed down? Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?]

[No, I am not sleepy…]

[Oh, Really? But once you go to sleep, you will naturally calm down, right? And over here, it’s okay to sing to your heart’s content.]

[Haha, well if you were walking around town singing lullabies, you would definitely look like a weirdo.]

By having a silly conversation, my heart, which had been boiling with surprise, gradually quieted down. I let out one big breath and spoke to Tia normally, smiling at my own pettiness.

“Thank you. I’m fine now.”

“Thank goodness. About what’s going on…Should I ask now or is it better to ask later?”

“I’ll tell you now. There’s very little I can explain. You are right, the kid who just came in was supposed to be the Hero, but …… apparently he’s not the Hero now.”

“So, what about now? Does that mean you’re going to become a hero from now on?”

“Well, who knows…”

I was frustrated that I could only reply brusquely. To begin with, when I jumped into another world, there was always a Hero there from the beginning. I have never seen the moment when someone becomes or ceases to be a Hero, and based on the {Records Of The Hero’s Story} and the verification with Reil before this, a Hero was a Hero until death. ……!?

(Wait, die? Don’t tell me the Hero is going to die and be replaced?)

I put my hand over my mouth and stifled my voice at the prospect that came to mind. Forcing myself to swallow and suppress a feeling of disgust bordering on heartburn, I forcefully pulled on Tia’s hand and walked into the shadows nearby.

“Hey, Ed!? What’s wrong!?”

“I’m sorry, Tia. Wait a minute. Manifest [Akashic Compass].”

The Demon King’s power banishment skill responded exactly to my whisper. Then I visited the location of the Hero, and what I saw there was not that boy, but ……

“The Elder!? What, the Elder is the Hero?”

“…I see, I see.”

Beside Tia’s astonishment, I was convinced of one fact. It was true that I had never met that elder person in the village before. I just thought it was because he was not interested in me that I had never met him. …

“Calm down and listen, Tia. That elder… will probably die within two months.”

“…. what’s that supposed to mean?”

“As I told you last night, it took me two months to get into this village on my first round. And when we met here two months later, that boy was definitely the Hero. So I think that during those two months, that Elder died and the Hero was replaced.”

“That’s…..?!”

At my words, Tia looked startled. But it was only for a moment, and soon she grabbed my shoulders and rocked my body.

“Ah, But if we know that, we can help him right!? Hey, Hey Ed?”

“Oh, oh!? Yes, that’s right. If he dies from external factors, there is a possibility that he can be saved, but…”

“But?”

“…When I came to this village, I didn’t feel that anyone had died in an incident or accident. I was thinking that maybe he had died of old age. Considering that, I thought maybe he died because of old age …”

“…………………… yeah.”

Tia’s hands, which had been gripping my shoulders, slowly weakened.

No matter how many memories I have of the past, I can’t do anything about people’s life expectancy. Even so, if it was 10 or 20 years in the future, I may be able to extend it somewhat by having them change their lifestyle, but when it comes to the life expectancy of an old man who will die in two months, there really was no way to do anything about it.

“I, see. Right… It’s quite presumptuous to think that we can extend someone’s lifespan.”

“I understand that your feelings are heavy now. The most we can do is to be a little concerned about him and tell the village head about it, okay?. But if we are too specific, they might suspect that we did something. …”

“……………………”

I want to do something, but I can’t do anything. Tia’s expression was distorted by this bitterness, but I also didn’t know what to say to her.

“…… at least.”

“Hmm?”

“At the very least, I want to make the Elder happy. What’s the best way to do that?”

“Well, I guess you’d have to ask him?”

""

“Fufu, that’s right! Hey Ed, from now—”

“I know. Let’s just call it part of the investigation and go talk to the Elder.”

“Yay! That’s my Ed!”

Tia’s face lit up and she jumped on me, hugging my neck. I caught her and spun around, setting her down at a brightly lit alleyway and we started walking. Fortunately, the Elder was a well-known person, and we could easily find the house by asking people nearby.

“Hello! Are you there, Elder?”

“Hohoho! I’m coming!”

A quiet house with a slightly different structure from the others, located somewhat far from the hustle and bustle of the city. When Tia called out to him at the entrance, the Elder came out of the house with energetic steps. Well, from the looks of it, I don’t think it’s going to take two months, but then again, it’s really easy for people to die.

“Hohoho, if it isn’t the young lady from yesterday? What brings you to this old place?”

“Yes! I wanted to ask you about the spirit tree, this village, and many other things.”

“Ho! Certainly, Certainly. I’ll talk to you as much as you want if it’s okay with you. Come on, don’t just stand there, go over to …… or better yet, go over there.”

The Elder, who seemed to be trying to invite us into his house, unexpectedly walked out of the house. We followed the elder as he walked, and just halfway around the house, we were struck by the strange sight.

“Is this… are the inside and outside of the house connected?”

""

“Hoho. This is called a bench. You can open the door and you are connected to the outside, and if you sit like this, you can easily drink tea while looking out. So I sit here sometimes.”

“I-I see”

I sat down on a wooden bench that seemed to grow out of the house. Tia was sitting right next to me, patting the surface of the bench with a nostalgic look on her face.

“Wow, I haven’t seen this ages.”

“Was it rare even where you lived?”

“There isn’t much of it, you know. See, there’s only a door separating the inside and outside of the house, so quite a bit of air comes in. Some people like it because it has a certain elegance to it, but most of them are old people.”

“Heh.”

“Hoho, that’s right. As we get older, it becomes more and more difficult to go outside, so we want to feel the outside while staying at home. Here, have some tea. It’s hot, so don’t burn yourself.”

“Thank you, Elder.”

“Thank you.”

We thanked the elder, who returned with a steaming ceramic cup on a thin wooden tray, and reached for it. After letting the steaming cup cool, we drank it, and the savory flavor, different from that of black tea or herbal tea, filled our mouths.