Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyuu no Isekaitan - Volume 1 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

The eleventh day of the seventh month of Imperial Year 1023, ten days after the battle with the ducal army of Lichtein.

Hiro was in the chamber he had been given in Berg Fortress’s central tower. The room was drearily furnished. There was a bed by the window, a full-length mirror to its right, and nothing else. Naturally, he had no personal possessions that might have filled the space. He had arrived from Earth with nothing more than the uniform on his back.

“Hah. It kind of suits me.”

He looked himself over in the mirror, raising a hand to rub at his newly acquired headwear. A large eyepatch—purified with a spirit seal—covered the left side of his reflection’s face. It would take a long time to get used to, but at least it allowed him to live his life without being assailed by constant visual dissonance. The moment he took it off, the world would spin around him like before, and a brain-splitting amount of information would pour into his head.

“It’ll come with time, I guess. I’ve just got to get used to it.”

Once he learned to control Uranos, all would be well. That surely wouldn’t take him too long. It was part of his own body, after all. Besides, he rather liked the grown-up look the eyepatch lent him in the meantime. He folded his arms, lifted his chin, and struck a pose. Perhaps if he called out Excalibur, he’d look even more dashing—

“Hiro! I’m coming in!”

At that moment, a crimson-haired girl flung open the door without even a knock. It would have been worth a complaint or two about respecting his privacy at the best of times, and this was far from the best of times.

“What are you doing?” Liz stopped in the doorway. She’d caught him red-handed.

Hiro flushed bright red. His heart pounded faster. He could feel his cheeks burning. He thrust his arm out to cover his face. “I swear, this isn’t what it looks like!”

“What isn’t?” Liz’s flame-red hair swayed as she cocked her head. It was a charming motion, but Hiro was in no position to appreciate it. He would have made a run for it if he could. Unfortunately, Liz was blocking the door.

“Nothing! Nothing at all! Just, um...it’s kind of hard to explain...”

If only he could have told her he had been possessed by a bout of eighth-grader syndrome, how much easier it would have been.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Oh, whatever, just come with me!” Liz had no patience for his distress. She seized his arm and dragged him out of the room with inhuman might. The end of the corridor rapidly approached, and with it, the spiral staircase to the lower floors.

“Hold on! Where are we going?!”

He wanted to protest that he was only recently out of his sickbed, but he couldn’t—they were already hurtling down the stairs. If he tried to speak, he would bite his tongue.

They flew down the stairwell, out of the central tower, and into the courtyard. The sun was dazzling in the sky, shining hot enough to scorch the earth. Hiro felt sweat bead on his skin.

“Aura’s going back west!” Liz explained. “We have to see her off!”

“Not right this minute! We don’t have to run!”

Aura had been staying at Berg Fortress for a time, both to recover from her injuries and to bury those who had fallen in battle. Sadly, many of her knights’ bodies had never been recovered. With the corpses brutalized and trampled into the mud, it had been hard to tell friend from foe. Still, in spite of her own injuries, she had searched for her men until the sun went down.

The ducal army’s dead had been gathered together and burned. On account of the risk of infection, the Fourth Legion had pitched in to ensure the grim task was completed as quickly as possible. Afterwards, they’d dispersed across the Gurinda Mark to ensure that no remnants of the Lichtein forces remained to make trouble. First Prince Stovell, for his part, had returned to the capital with his imperial guard in tow.

I’ll have to pay him back one day.

Artheus had commanded him to live life as he pleased, and he intended to honor that decree—but not today. He contented himself with knowing he would have his revenge on Stovell in the future. For now, he had somebody he needed to see off with a smile.

“You shouldn’t have bothered,” Aura said. She was seated atop her horse, her right arm in a sling and her face as sullen as ever. At her side was von Spitz, wrapped from head to toe in bandages. Even knowing the severity of his injuries, he made for such a comical sight that it was hard not to laugh.

“Thank you for seeing us off, Your Highness...and Your Highness.” Addressing Hiro by his now-title sounded as though it caused von Spitz physical pain. His face was swathed in bandages, but Hiro could imagine exactly what kind of expression he was making.

“My pleasure,” Liz replied. “It’s been a trying few days, but at least we’re still in one piece.”

“It’s been horrid,” Aura said. “But not fruitless.” She turned to Hiro. “Is your eye doing better?”

Her leaden gaze was probing for something. Hiro tried to laugh it off. “I think so. It’ll probably be a while before it’s fully healed, though.”

Only Liz, Tris, and the doctor knew the truth of what had happened to his eye. As far as anybody else was concerned, he had simply been wounded in battle. Aura should have had no reason to suspect any different, but to feel her gaze drilling into him, it was hard to shake the feeling that she could see right through his lie.

“Really. It’s lucky you weren’t blinded. Does the eyepatch have to be that big?”

“Well, um...you see...about that...”

The eyepatch’s unusual size was necessary to hide the spirit seal within, but he could hardly say that. As he struggled for an excuse, Liz came to his rescue.

“It’s a big wound!” she said. “I mean, a really big one!”

Aura looked him over with concern in her eyes. “Will it scar?”

Hiro forced a smile, trying to suppress a sudden surge of guilt. “Not at all! I’m sure it’ll be fine. It doesn’t hurt or anything. Once it’s healed, I can take this thing off and I’ll be as good as new.”

“I see. I’m glad.” Despite her words, those steel-gray eyes stayed fixed on his eyepatch. The seconds dragged on, but her gaze never wavered. Just as he was starting to wonder if her scrutiny would ever let up, Liz stepped in front of him.

“I’ll write to you, okay?”

“Me too. Once I have everything in order.”

“Time is upon us, my lady,” Spitz interrupted. Behind him, the Knights of the Royal Black stood in formation, their numbers sorely depleted. Both the men and the horses had forgone their full armor, probably due to the heat; the men were dressed in light armor only, while the horses had shed all of theirs. The absent armor was safely stowed in their wagons alongside their water and provisions.

“We should be off. Take care.” With her sleeves flopping, Aura turned her horse towards the front gate. After a few steps, she looked back over her shoulder. Her gaze swept over Hiro. “Until we meet again...Held.”

She did not look back again. She took her place at the head of her knights, and the column gently flowed through the gate.

How strange. The sun was so hot, and yet a sudden chill struck Hiro to the core.

As he stood frozen, Liz clapped him on the back. “Come on! It’s about time you learned to ride!”

That was chilling in its own way. Just like that, he was doomed to spend the rest of his day collecting abrasions beneath a burning sun.

It was two days later that Hiro received a missive from the emperor.