Epilogue [after]: A Boy Named Ren Ashton (Part one)

A week and a few days passed, before Roy and Mireille came to Clausel.

When they saw Ren again, they hugged him tightly and for a while shed tears of joy at their reunion.

They stayed at Lessard’s residence for a few days.

Thanks to this, Ren was able to hear about the situation in the village.

First, as he had heard from Lessard, there were no casualties among the villagers.

However, he couldn’t be honestly happy because of the number of knights who had been killed.

In addition, several houses were destroyed by Little Boars and other monsters, and many villagers, like the Ashtons, lost their homes.

However, thanks to the full cooperation of the Clausel family, reconstruction went smoothly.

Roy and Mireille also seem to be devoting their days to the reconstruction efforts.

That’s why they both also mentioned that they must return to the village soon.

It would be a problem if there was no one to lead the village in the midst of reconstruction.

Ren knew this, but he still felt lonely.

"---- In the meantime, I brought some of the stuff that was left unburned, so if anything is missing, send me a letter."

The day they were leaving.

Unfortunately, Ren still couldn't stand up well, so he saw them off from his bed.

“Thank you. But did you bring any luggage?"

“Various things. I've brought the things that were left unburned in your room and other things that were safe. I also bought a few changes of clothes and stuff. I put it all in a wooden box over there, so you can take a look at it when you get better.”

The wooden box, Roy said, was in a corner of the room Ren was resting in.

“I also got a blank book from Grandma Rigg.”

“A blank book?”

"You want to see it?”

“Since it’s here, I might as well see it.”

I nodded my head in agreement, even though there was no point in looking at a blank book.

Then, Roy opened the wooden box and brought out a book. It had a leather cover all in jet black, and inside was a blank book, just as he had said.

He places it on the desk next to the bed where Ren lay.

“It's a leftover from the book that Grandma Rigg used to write down the recipes for her medicine and she was wondering if you'd like to use it as a diary.”

“Heh..... might be a good idea. I've got a lot of free time on my hands, so it's perfect.”

"Well, I'm thinking that an autobiography might be a good idea, too.”

Ren was puzzled when he heard the word "autobiography".

In this world, autobiographies of the seven heroes seem to be very popular, and that thought flashed through Ren's mind.

“I haven't lived a life that would allow me to write an autobiography." 

“Hahaha! From my point of view, you’re a great hero, too!”

Licia, Lessard and Weiss also praise Ren a lot.

“I’m embarrassed.”

“I’m proud of you. You are the pride of Mireille and I.”

The two of them patted Ren's head many times.

But the family time would soon come to an end.

Today is the day they return to the village.

If they didn’t leave before nightfall, their plans would be disrupted.

“ ---- Mireille."

“I'm sorry to leave you, but I have to go.”

Their faces showed a slight sadness.

“..... Dad, mom. Thank you so much for coming, even though it was hard.”

Ren's face was also sad, but they both smiled brightly when they heard his words.

“Don't be silly. It's for our son's sake, of course.”

“Your dad is right. And since the baron provided horses and escorts for the trip here and back, we had no trouble at all getting here.”

“I'll be back as soon as my body heals!”

The two laughed once more when Ren told them that.

"That's all well and good, but now that you're here, you might as well explore Clausel and spread the word of your findings.”

They hugged him one last time and left the mansion with a few tears in their eyes.

(I'm so glad you two are okay.)

Ren forced himself to stand up and looked out the window until the horse carrying them was out of sight.

Eventually, he lay down on his bed, overcome by the pain and exhaustion that rushed in.

He remained in the same position, looking sideways at the desk and at the black-covered book.

“..... autobiography, huh.”

When he uttered those words.

“May I come in?』\

There was a knock at the door, followed by Licia's voice.

He answered and she immediately stepped in.

“Did you have a good conversation with your parents?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you so much for your help on this occasion. I heard that you even provided horses and an escort for my parents.”

“Don't worry about it. My dad and I owe you a debt of gratitude that we can’t repay."

Licia said so, but she also apologized and thanked Ren's parents.

Naturally, they panicked and stopped her, but Licia still kept her head down, which bothered them.

But I guess she couldn't help it.

Thanks to Ren, the entire Clausel family had been saved.

“And how are you feeling today?”

“I think I'm feeling much better.”

“I'm glad you're feeling better.”

Then they were both silent.

Licia sat on the bed where Ren was resting, her back to him and her hair swaying in the wind.

(That magic sword......)

I have often thought about this since I heard that Licia has a magic stone in her body.

That magic sword was powerful. Too powerful.

That may be why Ren Ashton in the game, who somehow learned of its existence, killed Licia and absorbed the magic stone in order to obtain that magic sword.

There were other uncontrollable circumstances.

The first time I saw the game, I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend of mine who was a fan of the game.

It was a scene from the game The Legend of the Seven Heroes.

“Re--- Ren! What have you done?”

“............”

The scene is one in which the protagonist is stunned as he looks out over the podium of the Imperial Academy of Military Arts' grand auditorium.

Ahead of him, to which the protagonist rushes, Ren Ashton stands holding the body of Licia Clausel, who is bleeding from the chest.

The scene reveals her death through her general weakness.

“It’s just as you’ve seen. I killed her.”

Ren Ashton's cold voice reaches the protagonist's ears.

He couldn’t see the expression on his face because of the darkness.

(Didn’t he disappear somewhere with the body soon after that?)

As Ren was secretly thinking about this, Licia suddenly found the black book on the desk.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter