Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside - Volume 11 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

Growth

Three days came and went after we returned from vacation.

“No one’s coming.”

I was slumped on the counter in the apothecary.

Back to reality.

The shop had been closed for a week, but hardly anyone had been inconvenienced.

“It’s like they didn’t even notice we were closed,” I grumbled.

“Haha, Zoltan in summer really is hopeless,” Rit answered.

There was no way to make any sales. Clinics weren’t buying anything except medicine for heat-related issues. People in Zoltan were too lazy to even see the doctor.

“Here.” Rit brought me a cup of cold water. I downed it in one gulp. It was nice and cool, the perfect thing for a hot day.

“Maybe we should go on another trip.”

Rit laughed. “Another trip already?”

I was seriously considering just shutting down business completely during this season. However, before I could commit to the idea, the bell on the door jingled and sang its tune.

“Hello, Big Brother.”

“Hi, Ruti.”

In stepped my sister. She’d been working at her plantation since we got back. I guess she’d finished taking care of the responsibilities she’d missed.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Ruti said.

“Oh yeah?”

Whatever Ruti had on her mind was obviously more important than any shop work.

I stood up immediately.

“Should I make some tea? We can talk in the back,” I suggested.

“No, outside is better.”

“Outside…”

Does this involve physical activity?

Rit and I glanced at each other.

The three of us moved to the yard.

“You put in a lot of work on the island,” I praised, hoping a cheerful remark might ease what I suspected was going to be a tense discussion.

Ruti had been the key to defeating Eremite. She’d thought to let the woman’s prophecy play out so she’d have no choice but to accept Tanta’s determination when it failed. Ruti had been great at devising strategies as the Hero, but she’d struggled when it came to people’s feelings. Fortunately, that seemed to be a thing of the past.

“I’m proud of you,” I said.

“Thanks… I did my best.” Ruti smiled bashfully. However, her expression quickly turned serious again.

“Brother, I’ve gained access to another New Truth skill.”

“What?”

New Truth was an irregular blessing Ruti had developed. It didn’t grant skills when its level increased. Previously, it didn’t seem to have any skills except for Ruler, the one that appeared with the blessing itself.

“A new skill… What sort is it?” I asked.

“I suggested talking outside because I thought a demonstration would be easier.” Ruti turned to Rit. “Rit, try to hit me with magic.”

“Huh?!”

“You can go all out if you want.”

“I believe you, but…I’ll go with a weaker one.”

Rit and I were both surprised, but we could tell that Ruti wasn’t joking.

Rit formed a seal before her left hand.

“Spirits of fire, gather at my fingers and be my blade! Fire Arrow!”

A burning arrow launched from Rit’s palm. The simple spell could be cast with a level 1 blessing. Ruti could evade it easily, yet she didn’t. She made no attempt to stop it at all.

“Ruti?!” I cried, worried.

The arrow slammed right into her.

I blinked in disbelief. “The magic dispersed! But you didn’t use any skills or spells!”

The arrow disappeared right before making contact.

“Wait, a skill activated… Some kind of auto-triggering ability?”

For just an instant, I saw something like black haze covering Ruti’s body. It must have intercepted Rit’s magic.

“This is New Truth’s second skill, Ruler’s Garb. It nullifies all types of magic and energy attacks.”

“Nullifies. It doesn’t just reduce damage?” I questioned.

“Mhm, nullifies.”

“So it’s sort of like Antimagic, but it also negates energy-based attacks.”

Antimagic was an advanced spell only accessible to higher-tier mage and cleric blessings. Inside its field, all magic lost potency, forcing those within to resort to fighting with their bodies or normal weapons. Not even the caster was immune to its effects, and since those who used it possessed spell-focused Divine Blessings, it was a somewhat paradoxical ability.

Although powerful, it cost a tremendous amount of magic power to maintain. Even someone with Ares’s strength could only maintain a field for around a minute. Antimagic was a powerful spell, but challenging to use in equal measure.

However, Ruti shook her head.

“No.” Ruti created a magical light in the palm of her hand.

“You don’t mean…”

“Mhm, this skill only nullifies my opponent’s magic. It is automatically invoked, always active, and doesn’t use up any magic power.”

“That’s absurd!”

It was cheating. A skill like this would make every magic caster in the world fall into despair. Support spells and enchanted weapons were magic, too, after all. They’d be rendered worthless when they got close to Ruti, like anything else. Even non-casters would have to fight Ruti without any magical boosts at all.

“That’s way too strong!” Rit, who used spirit magic, understood just how absurd Ruti’s skill was better than I did.

This was a different sort of strength than that of the Hero’s powerful skills.

“Ruler’s Garb, huh?” I whispered.

There was meaning in a skill’s name. The skills created by Demis tended to be self-explanatory, but what was Ruler’s Garb supposed to mean?

The first skill Ruti had gained, Ruler, had a kind of mastery over Divine Blessings. I’d assumed that was where the name came from. However, Ruler’s Garb suggested a different interpretation.

What if Ruler is a reference to this New Truth?

“I guess it’s too early to tell.”

I shook my head. There was a more immediate question anyway.

“Ruti, do you know what you did to unlock that skill?”

“Mhm.” Ruti put her hand on her chest. “When I was playing with you in the water and smiled from the bottom of my heart, and when I decided that I would beat Eremite… Making memories on the island released the skill.”

Ruti’s expression was tranquil as she recalled our time on the island.

This was unprecedented. A blessing had grown without death. This was completely different from every other Divine Blessing in existence.

“The blessing is growing as you grow,” I said, amazed.

A blessing that grew in connection with a person. A blessing that affirmed a person’s way of living. I could scarcely believe such a thing existed.

Living was difficult without the power of Divine Blessings. They made it possible to defeat giant, fearsome monsters and to make things like weapons, homes, and food. All living creatures killed each other to develop their blessings. Such was the world that Demis desired. However, New Truth broke those rules. If every person had a blessing like New Truth, one that grew alongside them, there would be far less conflict.

“We’d have a world where no one would object to living how you pleased instead of being subservient to your Divine Blessing. People would be really free.”

A world where people became stronger as they grew and developed personally.

Something the Asura demon Gajasura said crossed my mind.

“If you ask us, all the creatures dominated by their blessings are the bizarre ones.”

Was this how things had originally been?

Was Ruti awakening New Truth something more important than the battle with the demon lord’s army?

“Big Brother…”

Ruti looked concerned.

Don’t get scared. If you get scared, that will just make Ruti worry, won’t it? She’s not the Hero immune to fear anymore. She’s a normal girl.

Whatever secrets New Truth held, it wouldn’t change the fact that I would always protect Ruti.

This summer’s memories were irreplaceable, and the same would be true of autumn, winter, next spring, and next summer. We’d have a lot of great times together.

That was my hope and the reason I fought.