Chapter 70

Cecilia, who was handling guild office work as usual today, couldn’t believe her ears.

It wasn’t surprising that Raul showed up, but the words he uttered were another story.

“…I want you to come with me.”

“Excuse me?!”

“I’ll return in a week, so I hope you’ll be properly prepared by then. You can let the people around you know. The more people who know, the better.”

“W-W-Wait a minute! This is too sudden…!”

“Isn’t this the kind of thing we can talk about, given our relationship…?”

Kyle, with an annoyed expression, quickly covered his superior’s mouth. To be precise, it was more like shutting the door to prevent a disaster.

“Our fool… I mean, Raul, has a bit of a… unique way of speaking. I apologize on his behalf. He’s always been a bit… peculiar.”

Kyle, one of the few who could interpret Raul’s words, bowed repeatedly in apology.

“Actually, Raul’s birthday is coming up, and he wanted to host a meal to celebrate his inauguration. But this twisted-tongue guy just had to say it in the most bizarre way…”

“Sigh. It’s fine. I already knew the lord was a bit… unique.”

Cecilia couldn’t fully understand his way of speaking, but she knew he was quite eccentric.

His attitude had earned him many enemies, but his unique personality had also earned him the respect of most villagers.

The village elders appreciated that he greeted ordinary elders like a commoner, the adults liked that he helped people despite being a noble, and the village children were all captivated by the combat skills he taught.

“By the way, it’s his birthday? I should prepare a small gift.”

“No need. I didn’t call you here to receive gifts.”

The original purpose was to deceive the demons, after all. Though Raul genuinely wanted to treat the villagers to a meal, he didn’t care much about his birthday.

‘Birthday? If you have time to care about such trivial things, you should read another page of a book.’

His mother’s teachings had influenced him, but his natural disposition also made him indifferent to birthdays. What meaning could a date that merely shared the number of his birth have?

The only ones who remembered his birthday were his father and friends. Though his father, wary of his mother’s disapproval, couldn’t give lavish gifts.

For Raul, birthdays were just an excuse to see his friends. Their gifts were usually alcohol or old books, and the Empress occasionally gave him rare but useless items like whale gallstones.

“If there’s anything you want, I could get something similar…”

“It’s fine. I no longer desire material things.”

Despite growing up under his mother’s hatred, Raul had lived a materially comfortable life. To him, things were either easily obtainable or utterly unattainable. There was no reason to obsess over them.

To him, everything was either fruit within reach or stars in the sky. There was no need to strain to grasp them.

“Besides, it no longer holds any meaning…”

“Huh…?”

“Ah! This guy’s spouting nonsense again after a good breakfast. We’ll take our leave now, hahaha…!”

Afraid that Raul might reveal his limited lifespan, Kyle once again covered his mouth.

“W-We’ll be going now.”

“…”

As Cecilia watched Raul being dragged away, she felt a slight unease.

Too small and faint to name, but undeniably present—a tiny sense of unease.

The Raul she saw had eyes that seemed to have given up on something. Or rather, eyes that showed both resignation and determination.

They were the same eyes her father had shown her for the last time—sad eyes that had shielded the family with farming tools against the demons.

“Lord Raul…”

What planted doubt in Cecilia wasn’t Raul’s wretched mouth, but his sorrowful eyes.

Along with the doubt sprouted a faint pity and an unnamed red favor.

“…Sigh, but that’s still an overstep.”

Though the person in question would likely deny those feelings.

—

“Have you lost your mind?! Why don’t you just advertise it?!”

Kyle grabbed Raul by the collar and shook him. Though disrespectful for a subordinate, Raul’s slip-up could have been disastrous.

“Sorry.”

“You, who usually keeps your mouth shut so well… Sigh.”

“With so little time left, I guess I’ve become more emotional. How foolish.”

“……I’ll clean up the mess. That woman might have caught on.”

Raul sighed as he watched Kyle head back to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Why had he said such a thing? Perhaps it was a lament. A mix of regret for a life stripped of desires and resentment toward his mother, the cause of it all.

All Raul desired was the annihilation of the Demon King and his forces. Or perhaps even that was a wish born out of duty. What Raul truly wanted was simply to breathe.

With nothing clear in his heart, he could only sigh repeatedly to soothe his unease.

“…I’m so tired.”

At the familiar voice, Raul turned his head.

“Camilla.”

“I’m the one who should be tired, so why do you look so dead?”

Camilla ruffled Raul’s hair.

“Just kidding. You’ve been through a lot too.”

“Camilla. If I hadn’t lost control back then, your brother might have…”

“Don’t bring ‘what ifs’ into someone’s death. My brother is dead, and that’s all there is to it.”

Camilla pinched Raul’s cheek, correcting his misguided words.

If Layla was Raul’s other half, Camilla was the one who could embrace him.

“…Camilla.”

“Yeah. Say anything.”

“It seems you’ve been struggling too, so there’s no need to act tough. You’ve gained a bit of weight from skipping training.”

Of course, there were also statements that couldn’t be embraced.

As Camilla choked Raul, the two felt a strange sense of relief. It was comforting that despite everything, they were still the same.

That’s why they envied each other. Camilla envied Raul for remaining himself after losing his only brother, and Raul envied Camilla for staying composed despite her secrets being exposed.

—

About five minutes later, Camilla released Raul and put on a somewhat serious expression.

“…I heard bits and pieces from Penelope on the way here.”

“About the Queen?”

“Yeah. It’s not certain yet, but if that damn lizard is really here…!”

Seeing Camilla emit a fiercer aura than ever, Raul couldn’t help but take a step back.

“I’ll cut off her head and make a trophy out of it.”

Camilla, along with Layla and the other heroes, hated the Dragon Queen.

All five of them had been brutally defeated by her. If she had killed them, it would have been one thing, but the Dragon Queen had whimsically spared them multiple times.

Of course, each time she spared them, she took one of their belongings. Cloaks, necklaces, emblems, flags, even rings—she took them all as spoils of victory.

The shame of being defeated yet spared, and then having items taken like a child, made it unnatural not to hate her.

“I’ll shove a spear between that lizard’s legs…!”

“A passing child might hear you.”

“…I can’t sleep thinking about that bitch.”

“Then think of me instead.”

Raul, considering himself a boring man, recommended himself.

Just as reading dry, dull books made one sleepy, he suggested she think of him.

“Thinking of your mouth will only keep me awake more…”

Raul sighed at the unintended reverse effect.

He felt pathetic, realizing he was worth less than a mere old book, and hadn’t expected his way of speaking to provoke such anger.

“Anyway, is there anything you want for your birthday?”

“You know better than anyone that I’m not interested in such things. I don’t care much for material possessions.”

“Look at you, talking like you’re full.”

“The birthday party is just a setup for the deception, after all.”

Camilla ran her index finger along Raul’s jaw as he spoke so monotonously.

“I’ll prepare the best gift for you.”

“Just not cooking, please.”

“Should I cook you instead?”

—

Meanwhile, a purple-haired pharmacist watched the scene from afar, licking her lips.

“…How cute.”

She washed her white feet in the flowing water, muttering to herself.

“I want to cure that illness of yours completely.”

She smiled coldly as she gazed at the clean water.

“I’ll look forward to it too. Your birthday.”