Chapter 145 - Learning

"Are you actually serious? Are they really still thinking about me after all these years?" Yuki asked as he couldn't believe what he had heard. It had been so long since he had moved away due to his mother losing her job that he had even forgotten the names of his old friends. It was like a reawakening, he couldn't imagine all the fun things he would be able to do with them once they had met up again. Yuki imagined all the hundreds of hours to days to weeks to months and to years he would be able to spend with the one group of people that didn't turn their back on him. They were the most loyal individuals Yuki had ever met. 

"I can assure you that they are looking for you. Nothing can escape my knowledge," Zero replied. 

"If you're the one saying it, I have no choice but to believe you. Could you tell me more about them though? I want to learn a bit more before we eventually meet up," said Yuki. 

"Why not visit them yourself? It would be better for you to just talk to them now since your life seems to be at its peak right now," Zero suggested even though he knew the reasoning why Yuki didn't want to do so. 

"That would be too risky. They would wonder how I was able to find them myself and ask a lot of questions about how I, a solo dungeon clearer managed to get so powerful. They would eventually find out that I'm doing something screechy. To add on to that, they would also soon hear about my battle with the 3 kingdoms. I mean, it's one of the most bamboozling things to happen. It was like a cartoon or comic where the villain kills a whole army on his own just to be defeated by some random guy who's supposed to be the destined hero of the world. News such as that never manage to stay a secret for too long," Yuki replied. 

"You do make a good point. I can see why you would want to avoid going directly to them," Zero replied. 

"Hey Zero. I have another question. You keep asking me these random questions but it seems like you already know the answer to them. That would make sense too since you're supposed to be able to know everything. So why do you bother asking me in the first place?" Yuki asked. 

"Well to be perfectly honest with you. I don't ask these questions for my own knowledge. It's for  them," said Zero.

"Who are you talking about-" Yuki said before he was cut off. 

"That makes perfect sense. Back to what I was saying about my friends from the past. I'm just glad that they're alive. I can't wait until I meet them once again," said Yuki. 

"If that'll be all, I shall take my leave," said Zero before going quiet. 

Yuki couldn't put his finger on it but he felt somewhat strange. It was as if for a mere moment someone had interfered with his concinouns. Yuki's body subconsciously shook as he got goosebumps for no reason. Something was definitely off. However, as he continued to think that, Yuki completely forgot what he was going to do. In an instant, Yuki went back to just being happy that he would see his old comrades soon.

"Wait. I was gonna ask Zero another thing. How could I forget," Yuki said to himself. 

"Hey Zero... I forgot to ask you something," Yuki said in his head, which called back Zero to answer him. 

"I am at your service," Zero replied. 

"I just want to ask something which I've had on my mind since I was a kid. I've always wanted to know this information but couldn't get it from anywhere since very few people knew about it and even those who knew about it weren't people I could turn to," said Yuki. 

"You should already know what I'm thinking about but I still want to say it. What happened to my father?" Yuki asked. 

"Are you sure you want to learn the truth about him? It seems you are not yet ready for it; however if you choose to learn about it, I'll have no choice but to tell you," said Zero.

"Yes I am. I've decided that I'll need to accept any information which you inform me of. It doesn't matter that much anyway since my life has gone well now. Even though it would've been better if he was present in my life before, things happened and now I've gotten over him," Yuki replied. 

"If you say so then I'll just tell you. Your father wasn't that much of a good person. He got into narcotics at a young age and had been fooling around when he met your mother. Without thinking, he impregnated her and left, never to be seen again. It was probably a good thing that he had left in the first place. Having a person such as that would've only impacted your life for the worse. To make it worse, if he was forced to stay with your mother, he would've resented you more because you were the cause of his life going downhill. Even if you choose to not believe that his disappearance was a good thing, you can't lie to me or yourself," Zero explained. 

"I see..." said Yuki. He hadn't been expecting much from his father since he was a dead beat but Yuki's father still managed to disappoint even when the bar was set so low. It was hard to believe that a single person was so useless and hopeless. However, the harsh reality of it was that it wasn't only Yuki who was a victim of people such as his father. Many other people would leave their wives or girlfriends once they found out about them being pregnant to avoid having to settle down and burden the responsibility of caring for another person other than themselves. 

"So what's he up to now? That really can't be the end of his life right? He must've awoken from his delusions and started improving his life for the better... right?" Yuki asked as he tried to come up with an excuse to not be disappointed by his father. He had waited so long to learn about him and now, all you learned was that his father was a scumbag and a disappointment. 

"I'm sorry to tell you that Yuki. That was why I suggested this topic for another day. It was much too soon for you to learn about him. You shouldn't concern yourself with him now. Just focus on yourself, after all, your friends will come and contact you soon," Zero tried to make Yuki forget about his dad. 

"It's fine. I'm not actually hurt by the information. Just a little disappointed. Human life is so short yet he chose to waste every precious moment of it fooling around. He couldn't even clean up after the messes he himself created. He just sounds like an overgrown baby to me. However, I do wish to learn one last thing about him. What is he like in this world? Is he a drug addict now as well?" Yuki asked as he prepared for the worse. 

"Your father really hasn't changed from the way he used to be. He's still the same lazy man he used to be. In truth, you have to give him credit because he tried to change for the better. At one point, he tried to quit his habits of being a lazy bum and try to hunt monsters. However, that mission only lasted for barely a week. Once he realized how tiring it was, he went back to drinking all day. To make it even worse, he had access to more money which he had earned in his one week of monster hunting," Zero replied. 

"It really does look like he's a disappointment. I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, thank you for being so helpful. I'm glad you were able to provide me with the information I sought," said Yuki as he sighed. 

"It's my honour to serve you at any time and any place," said Zero before going silent. 

...

Once Yuki was left alone. He was able to get a chance to finally absorb all the information he had learned from Zero. Although he was subconsciously disappointed beyond belief at his father, he didn't think about him too much. Afterall, he had something to look forward to in the near future. To add on to that, he had the life he always wanted with Marcell and Elpis. It wasn't a time where Yuki could be sad. He couldn't allow himself to feel that way.

...

The next morning, Yuki woke up with a smile and got himself ready for a day with Marcell. He would go to work in the morning and come home in the evening to be greeted with Elpis and her daughter. Yuki couldn't possibly ask for something better. Life was so good for him, he began to eventually suppress his desire to go back to dungeons.