An Honesty Too Late, A Vulnerability Too Real

At my remarks, Lucalis glared at me with hawk-like eyes, his teeth bared for the first time in a long while.

“Mega-species are massive and sit at the absolute apex of the food chain. If there is a vast difference in size between them and their target, they won’t even look twice.”

In short, while fighting them was an impossible feat, escaping from them was actually far easier than dealing with medium or small-sized monsters.

“But those things turned around to look over here the exact millisecond the window opened!”

Well… that’s because I throw that window open and beat them up on a daily basis.

“Should I drive them away if you don’t like it? Though they’ll probably just wander back soon anyway.”

“Why?”

I froze mid-breath. My mind instantly became a tangled web of chaotic thoughts. ‘Why?’ Did he mean why didn’t I just slaughter them outright?

I carefully observed Lucalis. He still had his brow deeply furrowed, looking entirely oblivious as to why I wasn’t answering.

A rare cold sweat broke out across my back. How on earth was I supposed to explain and teach this to him? That all life is precious? That trying to blindly kill anything just because it displeases you is a bad idea? To a child born into an imperial family within a strictly stratified caste society?

Just as my thoughts spiraled to that point, Lucalis spoke with a sullen pout.

“Why are they loitering around like that anyway? Tell me the exact reason they’re still lingering nearby even after taking such a beating… What. Why are you smiling? Do you find this funny right now?”

“No. It’s just that you are so deeply admirable and endearing.”

“Wh-What kind of absolute bullshit is that all of a sudden?!”

Ruffling the flustered boy’s hair to praise him, I finally answered his question.

“The reason those creatures stubbornly keep coming back here despite getting beaten by me is because this log cabin sits right on the border separating the territories ruled by those two beasts.”

The boy looked even more bewildered.

“Why would you build a log cabin in a place like that…?”

“You’ve got the cause and effect reversed. My log cabin was here long before those creatures were even born. As they grew into adulthood and fought over land, the boundary naturally formed right around my house.”

Though Lucalis maintained a blank expression, he couldn’t entirely hide the tremor of shock in his eyes.

He had been thoroughly indifferent to the fact that I shared a history with Vanessa. In this world, those who transcended the boundaries of their respective fields naturally lived incredibly long lives and barely aged. But witnessing the entire growth cycle of a mega-species was a completely different matter altogether. The lifespan of a mega-species easily spanned several centuries at the absolute minimum.

“What exact curse did you receive from a god?”

“So you do believe my words.”

“Just answer the question.”

“It’s nothing special.”

“That is not an answer.”

It wasn’t something I couldn’t talk about if pressed, but seeing the boy pry so intensely made me strangely want to avoid giving a straight answer.

“I’ll tell you if you come closer.”

With a twitch of his eyebrow, the child took slow, deliberate steps forward, stopping exactly two paces away from me. Is this enough?

“Closer.”

One more step.

“More.”

Another half-step.

Without warning, I pulled Lucalis into a tight embrace.

His body went rigid with shock, but it was only for a fleeting moment. The second he snapped out of it, the boy began violently struggling to break free.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ow, ow, ow.”

The moment I let out a mock cry of pain, the strength drained from his limbs with staggering speed. I let out a soft chuckle. For this single moment, I decided to be a wicked adult who thoroughly took advantage of a child’s innate kindness.

“You don’t ever have to be afraid of those creatures outside. Your bracelet can ward off beasts far worse than them. Just make sure to be careful around demonic beasts. As I told you before, the charm won’t work on them.”

As I held his tiny frame even tighter, his struggling ceased entirely. Through the flow of mana, the presence of his violently pounding heart resonated within me. It was a powerful, resilient heart, perfectly matching its master. After a long period of hesitation, Lucalis spoke up.

“Did you… truly have a close bond with the former Emperor Vanessa? Is that why you’re being so…”

“Good to you? I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that question.”

“Why?!”

“Because if you hear the answer, you’ll start wanting to trust me.”

Lucalis bit his lower lip hard. He seemed to recall my earlier advice to never trust anyone. I offered him a tender smile.

“So let’s just say I’m doing all this simply because you’re cute.”

“What kind of—!”

“Lucalis.”

Sensing a sudden shift in my tone, Lucalis clamped his mouth shut instantly.

“Luca.”

Smack!

Startled out of his wits, Lucalis recoiled and ripped himself out of my embrace. The arm he struck stung sharply, but thank goodness it wasn’t broken. I waved my hand reassuringly at his alarmed expression.

“Do you hate being called Luca? I won’t call you that if you dislike it.”

“Just… just why are you doing this to me? What is it that you want?!”

Looking at the boy, his scream verging on a desperate plea, I stared at him quietly.

Should I have just told him to trust me? I didn’t know. Human relationships were just like household chores; no matter how hard I tried, I never seemed to get any better at them. Even if I were to live for another two thousand years, it felt like it would always stay this way, a realization that occasionally left me feeling utterly suffocated.

“If you dare spout some utter bullshit about wanting nothing, I will leave this place even if I have to kill you to do it.”

A tempest raged within his fiercely glaring eyes. It was a dense bloodlust and raw pressure that seemed impossible for a child to exude. It was a terrifying aura that would make an ordinary low-to-mid-ranking monster instantly tuck its tail and run, but I merely offered a casual shrug.

“Of course I want something.”

“Spit it out.”

“I want you to live well here.”

Lucalis’s aura exploded. A sharp, piercing malice pricked against my skin.

“I believe I clearly warned you. I will kill you if you speak any more bullshit.”

“Then kill me. I swear upon my mana that I won’t offer a shred of resistance.”

“……!!”

Living a long life didn’t magically grant someone eloquence. In fact, whenever I secluded myself away in some forgotten corner of the world, my social skills degenerated to an infinite degree. Though it usually returned swiftly once I re-entered society and mingled with people, I was currently right in the middle of one of those ‘prolonged periods of isolation.’

I hesitated, weighing the words on the tip of my tongue. Is it truly alright to say this to a child? No matter how rapidly his internal maturity developed, a child was still a child. What if he heard this, felt utterly disappointed, and insisted on leaving?

Sweeping the unanswerable doubts aside, I decided to simply be honest.

“To tell you the truth, I regretted it the moment I met you. Because of you, I ended up looking into news about Vanessa. When I heard she had died, a part of me thought, ‘Ah, so it’s true,’ but I still couldn’t bring myself to fully believe it.”

Vanessa is dead? My precious disciple? There’s no way. To me, she will always be that little girl. Yet, at the end of that endless cycle of denial, a singular, immutable truth always lay in wait: all humans die eventually.

“Once you finally accept it, regret comes rushing in like a tidal wave. ‘I shouldn’t have left her like that. I should have stayed by her side just a little longer.’ I just keep babbling useless, futile words to myself. I am always like this. Always…”

I raised a hand, burying my face in it. I gritted my teeth, violently suppressing the volatile emotions swirling within me.

“I always live in regret.”

No matter how beautiful a conclusion a story reached, it was always the same. As time flowed on, even a tale that was undeniably a happy ending would inevitably warp into a tragedy. It was an unavoidable destiny. As long as I remained a fragile sunfish cursed with immortality, this would be my reality for eternity.

“So, I’m simply trying my absolute hardest to ensure I regret things even a fraction less later on. That is the sole reason I am treating you well. If this explanation is still insufficient… then I have no other cards left to keep you here. If you still can’t accept it, just say the word. I’ll teleport you straight to the Imperial Palace this very instant.”

Lucalis deflated all at once, looking like a punctured balloon. The venom completely vanished from his eyes as he stared at me in blank hollow daze. It was the gaze of a person who had just been forced to accept an unbelievable truth. See, I told you not to trust me. I let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Until you’re ready.”

“Ready?”

“Ready to return to the place where you truly belong.”

“I am ready right now.”

“Are you really?”

“…….”

“Do you truly believe that?”

The boy’s lips parted slightly, but in the end, no answer came. His shoulders slumped downward. It wasn’t a slump born of disappointment, but rather one of utter exhaustion. The muscles that had always been tightly coiled relaxed completely, and the defensive aura he had subconsciously cloaked himself in vanished without a trace.

It worked.

Along with a profound sense of accomplishment, a wave of sheer fatigue washed over my body. The moment I collapsed entirely and slumped toward the floor, an alarmed Lucalis dashed to my side.

“What—What’s wrong with you?!”

“The tension finally left my body, and I have absolutely no strength left…”

“…What is seriously wrong with you?”

The distinct sound of grinding teeth echoed right next to my ear. Chuckling helplessly, I barely managed to lift a hand, intending to stroke his small head… but my hand couldn’t reach. Just as I was about to give up and let my arm drop, my fingertips brushed against incredibly soft hair.

Even though it shouldn’t have reached even if I stretched my arm to its absolute limit.

“Goodness, could there possibly be another child as endearing as you in this entire world?”

I expected him to recoil in absolute disgust and tell me to shut my mouth, but Lucalis threw an entirely unexpected question my way instead.

“What about Emperor Vanessa?”

I sank into a brief silence. Lucalis waited without uttering a single word. He easily could have brushed it off and dropped the subject, but he stubbornly kept his mouth shut, looking absolutely determined to hear an answer. I flashed a bitter smile. I thought I had hidden it perfectly, but it seemed my emotions were entirely transparent to a child.

The answer the boy desired was already set in stone, and there was no other response I could possibly give.

“That child… is no longer here.”

Indeed. Vanessa was gone.

That was his final question. After spending some time recovering my strength on the floor, I unsteadily pushed myself back up to my feet.

“Go and get some rest. Read a book if you’re bored. Once your body is fully recovered, you’ll have an immense amount of things to learn.”

“It looks like you’re the one who needs to rest.”

“It’s not ‘you,’ it’s Jay.”

“…….”

“Come on, try saying it. Jay.”

“I’ll be over by the hammock, so call me if you need anything.”

Lucalis practically fled the room. I scratched the back of my head. I guess it’s still a bit too early. Even so, thinking it was a massive leap forward, I began walking back toward the kitchen when a tiny, barely audible whisper drifted over from behind my back.

“You can call me Luca.”

I tried my absolute hardest to suppress it, but it was physically impossible. I burst into a booming, roaring laughter. Suspended from the ceiling, the hammock shook violently in sheer irritation. Unable to bear it any longer, Lucalis screamed at the top of his lungs for me to stop laughing. When my chuckles persisted, the fairy tale book I had given him to read came flying straight at my head.

“Gasp, wait a minute! If I get hit by something like that, I could literally die!”

The second book, which had been raised high above the hammock, instantly vanished back inside. In its place, a plush cushion—placed there specifically for his comfort—came soaring through the air. What a gentle soul, my Luca. In the beginning, my eyes were drawn to him simply because he carried Vanessa’s bloodline, but now, I found myself deeply loving the boy simply for the beautiful soul he was.

The remainder of that day was objectively wonderful. The atmosphere surrounding Luca was as tranquil as a fresh spring morning, no disastrous incidents occurred, and the hammock swayed back and forth in perfect peace.

The crisis struck only as the sun dipped below the horizon, bringing the evening chill.

“Luca. It’s time for dinner.”

I proudly called out the permitted nickname, but no response came. Don’t tell me he changed his mind already and wants me to go back to calling him Lucalis? But knowing his personality, he would have snapped at me directly. Creeping silently toward the living room, I craned my neck to peek inside.

“Luca?”

Something was undeniably wrong. For a split second, I wondered if he had run away again, but that wasn’t the case. Cast by the long, bleeding rays of the setting sun, his silhouette was clearly visible inside the hammock. Did he fall asleep?

“Luca, you need to eat your food before you—”

The moment I leaned over to look inside the hammock, my entire body froze rigid.

“Luca!”

Lying curled inside was Luca, utterly drenched in a thick sheet of cold sweat, burning up in the throes of a violent, raging fever.