〈 Chapter 28 〉 Hyacinth

*

Creak.

The old inn’s floor creaked.

I thought fixing the strange-sounding door would be enough, but maybe rebuilding the entire place would be faster.

Fortunately, the innkeeper was still dozing at the counter.

‘If I just open the door carefully…’

And then the moment I opened the inn’s door.

“Allen?”

Standing there was Weiss.

She was holding a basket in one hand.

‘Has she returned already?’

This was my chance to escape while Weiss had gone shopping.

But before I could even escape, I was caught.

“I told you to stay in the room. You’re still not fully recovered, really…”

She pointed at my arm.

It was strapped up with a splint and wrapped in cloth.

It was the price I paid for recklessly swinging my sword in the fight against the Demon King.

“I was just… thinking of getting a bit of fresh air.”

I scratched my head with my good left arm and laughed.

Weiss tilted her head.

“Miss Weiss?”

“You’re really sound asleep, Mister. In that case…”

She smiled.

“I’ll act like I didn’t see anything. But you shouldn’t do anything dangerous.”

I nodded.

“Of course.”

*

“Phew…”

It felt good to finally be outside after a long time.

Of course, I had been busy inside, checking future plans and practicing Wind’s Power, but I couldn’t stand the stiffness in my whole body.

‘Then I should do what I need to do.’

I discreetly pulled a flower out of my inventory when no one was watching.

The white flower had faded and lost its original vibrancy; it was the one Finn had discarded in the flowerbed.

When I returned to the village, there were hardly any intact flowers left, so I had managed to save just one to put in my inventory.

‘Where was it again?’

There had definitely been a girl selling flowers at one side of the town plaza.

As I turned to look around, I finally spotted her.

I approached the girl while holding the wilted flower.

“Allen? What’s up?”

The girl gave me a puzzled look as I walked to her stall and examined the flowers.

“You never usually care for flowers. What’s going on?”

“I just, uh, have a flower I’m looking for.”

But there were no flowers like the one I had on her stall.

Reluctantly, I showed her the flower.

“Do you know anything about this flower?”

“Oh? Hyacinth?”

It seemed the name of the flower was Hyacinth.

But then the girl asked an unexpected question.

“How do you have that flower?”

Unsure of how to respond, I decided to tell the truth.

“It was lying around on the grass by the open space.”

She sighed.

“Ugh. That Mister must have failed after all?”

“Failed?”

“No, no. There was a guy who bought all the flowers not too long ago.”

It was probably Finn.

“Does that mean this flower isn’t being sold anymore?”

At my words, the girl’s expression grew a bit stern.

“Well, it’s kind of a complicated situation.”

“What’s the situation?”

“…”

The girl didn’t seem willing to share.

I eventually pulled a few coins from my pocket.

“Will this do?”

“Uh, okay?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s not an important situation, but to go this far…”

It was pretty important to me.

I offered the coins to the hesitating girl.

Reluctantly, she took them and smiled.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s actually forbidden by the adults.”

She pointed somewhere.

That was near the barrier.

“This flower only blooms on the hill near the northern barrier of the village.”

Near the barrier. It wouldn’t be dangerous to me, at least outside the barrier.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

I expressed my gratitude.

Then just as I was about to hurry off to find the flower.

“But are you planning to go pick it?”

The girl’s sharp question caught me off guard.

Even though I was being treated like an adult these days, it seemed risky for others who didn’t know my combat ability to approach near the barrier.

Especially if Weiss or the innkeeper found out, it might not just end with me getting scolded.

Suddenly, I recalled Weiss’s words from earlier when I left the inn.

“I’ll act like I didn’t see anything. But you shouldn’t do anything dangerous.”

My conscience pricked me.

‘In the worst case, maybe confinement.’

But I couldn’t give up.

It was something I absolutely had to do.

“Will this work?”

I offered the girl another coin.

She took it with a satisfied expression.

Her attitude had completely changed from when she had been hesitant before.

“Since I got a good one, I’ll tell you one more thing. This flower blooms only during the transition from winter to spring, okay? I think it’ll all wilt before spring arrives. So I recommend hurrying.”

That information didn’t seem particularly useful.

I was planning to go right away, anyway.

‘It’s still chilly, so it shouldn’t have wilted yet.’

*

‘This is more vague than I expected.’

To the north of the village, below the hill near the barrier.

It was quite an obscure location reference.

I thought I might be able to find the flower if it was clumped together enough, but that was not the case.

‘I need to hurry…’

After searching for about two hours, the sun began to set.

I figured I would get scolded by the innkeeper anyway, but it would be a little easier if I returned before dinner time to avoid too much of Weiss’s scolding.

‘Should I just give up for today?’

I had such thoughts for a moment, but then shook my head.

If I went back today, I didn’t know when I might be able to come out again.

By then, the flowers would have already wilted.

‘I’ll find it no matter what.’

I used Wind’s Power.

After practicing diligently for a while in my room, I had finally reached B-rank due to my precocious effectiveness.

And with that ability, I could somewhat apply Wind’s Power to my legs as well.

‘Still, it’s not familiar yet.’

Though I could now apply it, I hadn’t had enough experience to test it.

The only experience I had was getting scolded by Weiss a few times from spinning around the cramped room and falling over.

‘Fast!’

With the sensation of wind wrapping around my feet, my steps became incredibly light.

I soon found myself running up the hill at a speed faster than usual.

I felt like I could catch up to the speed I had when I was a track athlete in real life.

‘Just a little more, a little more…’

As I stubbornly ramped up my speed a bit more, problems started to arise with using Wind’s Power, since I still wasn’t used to it.

As a result, I was violently flung off the ground as I continued running.

‘Oh no, Weiss is definitely going to scold me for this.’

It was clear I would get scolded when I returned covered in dirt.

What mattered more than the pain I felt right now was that.

While I was enthusiastically rolling on the ground.

‘Huh?’

I suddenly caught a glimpse of something white in my inverted view.

‘I found it!’

Ignoring the fallen position, I quickly got up and dashed toward the white flowers I had just seen.

It was indeed the flower I had been looking for.

‘Was it called Hyacinth?’

It hadn’t wilted yet.

The moment I saw the blooming Hyacinth, I couldn’t help but recall.

‘This flower…’

Resembled Weiss.

I realized the strange sense of discomfort I had felt while looking at the wilted Hyacinth.

Finn must have thought of Weiss when he saw the Hyacinth as well.

But in the end, he couldn’t deliver the flower to her.

Instead, he had succeeded in protecting Weiss with his life.

Originally, my plan had been to ambush the Demon King using Night’s Shadow and finish him off in the Demon King form as my trump card, but that plan had fallen through. If Finn hadn’t stopped the Demon King’s movements with his own will, I wouldn’t have had the chance to kill the Demon King.

“Finn…”

I held the white Hyacinth tightly and gazed beyond the hill.

To him, who had died without leaving even a corpse beyond the barrier, I said.

“I will pass on your heart.”

*

Screek.

When I opened the door to the inn, no one was at the counter.

‘Thank goodness. Did they step out?’

Just as I felt relieved and walked in.

“Allen.”

A chilling voice called my name.

Turning my head, I saw the innkeeper sitting on the sofa.

Next to him, Weiss wore an awkward smile.

“Where have you been?”

“I was feeling cooped up, so I stepped out for a bit of fresh air?”

“Not even the God of Wind would be out for half a day just for fresh air.”

Well, I did have Wind’s Power…

“Uh? What’s that flower?”

At that moment, Weiss noticed the flower in my hand.

“Isn’t that a Hyacinth?”

She instantly stood up and approached me.

Her eyes were completely fixed on the flower.

“Do you know this flower?”

“Of course. It’s one of the few flowers that bloomed in my hometown. I had no idea I could find it here.”

I hadn’t known it was a flower from Weiss’s hometown.

Thinking about it, the north side of the village was close to the Ice Valley.

“But where did you get this?”

“Oh, this is from the village…”

Unconsciously, I was about to say ‘from the northern hillside of the village,’ but I corrected myself.

“…I met Finn in the village.”

“Finn?”

Weiss’s eyes widened.

“I was actually worried since I hadn’t seen him around lately… Did he seem okay?”

I nodded.

I felt guilty, but what I was about to say was a lie.

A necessary lie for Weiss and Finn.

‘I can’t reveal to Weiss that another Weiss in the form of the Demon King killed Finn. So…’

I gave the command.

‘Don’t make a sad face. Smile.’

<Trait [Absolute Obedience] is activated.>

I felt the corners of my mouth lift.

Good. I started my lie.

“Recently, he went out beyond the barrier looking for relics. He found a pretty good relic, it seems. He said he’s planning to sell it in the metropolitan city and use the money to set up a stall there.”

From start to finish.

It was all fabricated.

Yet, Weiss seemed to believe my words without suspicion.

‘Is she really the same Weiss as the Demon King? She’s just as gullible as Finn.’

Well, if she wants to believe it, that works for me.

I held out the flower to her.

“This is for you from Finn.”

“Finn… is still in the village, right?”

“No, he handed me this flower and left the village right away.”

I handed the flower to her.

“Please take it.”

As Weiss accepted the Hyacinth, her hands trembled.

“Is it okay for me to accept this flower? I… I still haven’t given back my bracelet, and I haven’t been able to repay the person who saved me. Yet, I feel like I’ve hurt him…”

She had to accept it.

Finn hadn’t received any wounds.

On the contrary, he…

“Finn asked me to give you this flower along with his message.”

This time, what I said was the truth.

After all, that was what the flower’s language said.

<White Hyacinth>

Category: Other

Type: Flower

Description: A flower that blooms while overcoming the cold. It blooms mainly from late winter to early spring and announces the arrival of spring. Its fragrance is also remarkable, filling the room with just one bloom. The flower’s language is…

“I was happy to love you freely.”

Finn undoubtedly loved Weiss until his last moment.

I had to convey that fact to Weiss.

It was the only thing I could do for Finn, who had sacrificed himself.

I had prepared this flower for that.

Weiss must absolutely receive this flower.

“Finn…”

She finally accepted the flower and held it tightly in her hands.

Tears flowed from her eyes.

‘That’s enough.’

My lips were still smiling due to the effect of Absolute Obedience.

Yet, something warm dripped down my cheek.

*