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“What do you want to talk about?”

I asked, looking straight at Arjen. We weren’t close enough for small talk.

“You saved her.”

Arjen said without context. I frowned and scratched my head. I didn’t want to ask what he was talking about.

“Because I could.”

“You’ve never been one to be so simple and straightforward.”

Arjen stared at me. Whenever he looked at me, he either frowned or squinted. But for once, he looked directly into my eyes without any prejudice.

“It seems you’ve changed.”

“I may have, but who am I to say so.”

I replied bluntly. Arjen tilted his head toward the grass in the garden, seemingly unconcerned with my tone. His unkempt black hair blew in the breeze.

“There were a few things I wanted to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

He looked into the sky and sat in silence for a few minutes. I sat on another bench nearby, looking down at Bactins. We could’ve been mistaken as two old men reminiscing the past.

“How did you stop them?”

“What?”

Even in the original, he talked in a weird way where he said something without any context. Arjen lifted his head again and looked at me. His eyes seemed to insist that I understood what he was discussing. ‘This guy should really learn how to talk to people.’

“The Doomsday Cultists. How did you hold off so many people alone?”

I could tell what Arjen was feeling. Disbelief and confusion. His eyes locked onto mine. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for answers or trying to trap me. ‘Should I tell him the truth?’

“…It turns out the townspeople are more interested in me.”

‘If Arjen were in that situation, what would he have done?’ I squinted and looked at Arjen. What would have happened if I had killed the child? Perhaps even the father, who was still sane, would have gone mad. The fact that an outsider killed someone from the town would have made it impossible for us to turn their hearts from the cultists. Of course, he could have easily captured the cultists with his abilities, but sacrifices were inevitable.

If he were in my place, I doubt Iris would’ve been given a chance to cure the child.

“How did you grab all their attention?”

“…It’s nothing to brag about, and I don’t want to go into detail.”

Arjen turned away from me and stared off into space for a moment.

“I suppose they resent you, but I don’t believe you and the party deserved it. It was up to the Kingdom to deal with the aftermath, but they suffered greatly in the Kraken War.”

His toes dug into the grass.

“They had to save their manpower for the Evernode campaign. In that regard, they did their best. Even now, they are making progress at rebuilding the city.”

His voice was cold as he spoke.

“We shouldn’t be the target of their resentment. They chose their downfall when they sided with the cultists instead of moving.”

Arjen’s words were mechanical and rational. However, I couldn’t fault him for it. I followed his story in the novel. I knew why he did what he did, but it didn’t mean I agreed.

“If the way to save these people is to embrace resentment, I’m willing to take it all. Anyways, Iris was the one to save them in the end.”

I deliberately kept my involvement to a minimum this time. If Iris had told the truth, I didn’t know how people would have reacted. All I could do was accept their resentment.

“…Redemption is such a sweet word.”

Arjen said in a bitter, hollow voice.

“A man despairs when he realizes his path to salvation was an illusion. Only then he realizes that such things do not exist.”

“Until I face that darkness, I will save the people. Even if I know it will come someday, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Arjen ran his hands through his hair and looked down at the ground. I looked at the sky and watched the clouds drift by, floating away high in the sky.

“…It seems we will never be compatible.”

“That I can agree with.”

There was no anger in Arjen’s voice. I slowly lowered my gaze from the sky and watched as he bowed his head.

“The only thing that matters to me is the people. Most think it is enough to protect their world. That’s why the people of this ruined city aligned with the doomsday cult and prayed to the evil gods. They were waiting for the end because their world was already destroyed.”

Arjen turned his head to the port city as it shone in the orange light of dawn.

“If Iris had been touched, I would’ve drawn my sword and killed everyone there. I would be similar to them as my world had been hurt. I’m sure Bishop Andrei would’ve done the same.”

Once again, Arjen and I locked eyes. I opened my mouth to speak.

“And I would have tried to stop the two of you, no matter what.”

“The kindness you give to the world is what’s left over after you’ve protected your world. That’s how we all live.”

Arjen said in a firm voice.

“Do you think a man who would defend another’s world when his own is unstable?”

Arjen shook his head.

“They can’t. You could hold a sword to my throat, but I wouldn’t change my answer.

I leaned back in my seat, and Arjen leaned forward.

“Elroy, you are a dangerous person.”

Little by little, his emotion showed in his words.

“If we had listened to you then, we might have stopped the Kraken, I can’t deny that, but someone in our party would have died.”

Arjen clenched his fists.

“…I could not let that happen. I’m not omnipotent, so I distinguish between what’s mine and protect it with my heart.”

Arjen placed his finger on the sand and traced a circle.

“When we deny the possibility of redemption, we hand ourselves into destruction. Someone has to believe in it. Someone has to do it so the Disasters don’t consume the world. Someone must be stupid enough to hope and believe they can save everyone.”

I looked Arjen straight in the eye as we both stood up.

“Someone has to protect everyone’s worlds since they couldn’t do it alone.”

“That’s a literally stupid ideal.”

Suddenly, our swords clashed at the same time. I looked at Arjen’s face.

“I guess I won’t be able to help you after all.”

“I’m the one who kicked you out. I don’t need your help.”

Arjen’s eyebrows rose, surprised with my confidence, then his face crumpled again. Frustration and confusion. I read those emotions in Arjen’s eyes. We locked swords for a moment, and Arjen spoke first.

“I guess you weren’t all talk after all.”

“We could spar until you believe in me.”

Arjen lunged at me again. His sword was too fast, too precise, too crafty. It was heavy to parry, and dodging it would cost me a tempo. I parried, matching the tip of my blade with his, and deflected the attack.

“…!”.

The swords let out a piercing cry as they intertwined like snakes. I was expressionless, and the corners of Arjen’s mouth twisted slightly. I gripped the hilt of my Holy Sword with both hands and slashed downward. He didn’t try to block but slashed downward, aiming for my head.

I dodged and turned my body to the opposite side to evade Arjen’s attack. I noticed when Arjen’s body was open, his arm swung widely, always ready to retract. I pushed my shoulder forward to prevent it and destabilize Arjen’s balance.

“Not yet.”

A dull pain in my arm. Arjen immediately lifted his knee to take a shot at my body.

“…!”

It seemed he expected to win with that.

Arjen staggered backward, and I raised my arms. Arjen was off-balance, but he parried my attack perfectly, and what followed was a pure sword fight without aura or mana.

I will lose.

I could never beat Arjen in a duel. Skill, experience, split-second judgment, reaction time, speed. In every way but strength, I was being eaten by Arjen. I slowly lost ground as he punished minor mistakes.

Arjen’s sword and mine collided and came to a halt. A bead of sweat dripped from my forehead. His face was still contorted. He saw my expression, and he dropped his sword arm.

“…?”

I asked with my eyes, but Arjen ignored my gaze as he returned his sword to its sheath.

“It just occurred to me that the very fact that I’m fighting you is contradictory.”

Arjen said, then he turned, walking toward the church. I watched his back and sighed. I realized that I would have to deal with him again someday.

(Don’t take his words too much to heart, Elroy.)

The Holy Sword spoke soothingly as I stood there in a daze.

(You are not alone.)

I nodded heavily at her words. ‘How could I be when I have you?’ I smirked and stroked the hilt of my sword.

(…I wasn’t talking about myself.)

She spoke in a quiet voice, and I smiled bitterly. I sank back into my chair. Too many things had happened in the last two days that differed from those in Evernode. I closed my eyes, opened them, and looked up at the sky again. The drifting clouds were nowhere to be seen.

I knew I wouldn’t forget my conversation with Arjen for a long time.