Crowe smiled thinly and shifted his gaze to the upper right corner.


'Well, it's not customary for the beast race to count their age. I've forgotten my exact age too, but I've certainly lived two hundred years.


I'm blindsided.
You used half of it to learn the ancient language.
That's an unparalleled persistence.
It's something I can't do very well.
I mean, why aren't you dead?


'No, the aging process started fifty years after my sister was killed, so about two hundred and fifty years? No. Three hundred years? Anyway, my bizarre mother is the reason I've lived this long.


Strange: .......
I don't think it's a very good idea, but I don't think it's a word for his mother.
I mean, I'm sure Crowe himself is mostly bizarre.
Is it genetic?


"Do you normally take the Elixir of Immortality by mistake? Because of that, the old lady is still alive and I've doubled my life expectancy. ...... He's the source of all this.


After saying this, Crow slumped over and leaned back against the back of the sofa.
...... Are you drunk?
He's more talkative than usual, and he's telling me all sorts of old stories.
It's the same phenomenon as the old men on the construction site when they're drunk.


'Is it because your mother took an immortality potion that has kept you alive for so long?'


Crow nodded at the question with vague eyes.


'Yeah. Because the strange old lady took that drug before she gave birth to me, it affected me in my stomach. In other words, it was that guy's fault.


It seems that such a species was the reason why Crowe lived for an awfully long time among the beast race.
But even though his life span had been doubled, wasn't it about time for him to live?


''I can't die until I avenge my sister's death, but I'm still tired of living. I can't wait for it to be over.


The words that came out of Crowe's mouth surprised me.
Does it mean that he wants to end, in other words, that he wants to die?
Or does it mean that you want to stop living a life that feeds on vengeance?

The Japanese have a longer life span than people in other countries, but even so, not many people live for a century.
I myself haven't even lived a tenth of Crowe's life, so it's impossible for me to guess how he feels.
Let's talk to ...... Amelia about it.

As I was thinking about this, before I knew it, Crowe was sinking into the sofa and breathing in his sleep.
The face is very calm, not very calm, not very much, but it's not a face that wants to die.


''If you can, just leave her alone, please.


When I heard a voice, I turned around and saw Ziel-san standing there with a blanket in his arms.
I had a hint of him, but he was still close by.


'What kind of relationship does Mr. Giel have with Crow?'


I ask Giel, who gently drapes the blanket over Crowe.
Mr. Giel smiles in annoyance and sits down on the white couch across from me.


'You know this guy used to take an apprentice, right?'


I nodded at that.
We were talking about it just a few moments ago.


'One of those disciples was my mother. Of course, she's dead now.


I quietly opened my eyes.

After Crow stepped down from the front line, it seems that each country wanted to somehow pass on the skills of the first heroes that Crow had acquired to their own people, so they sent them to Crow.
Of course, the human race was no exception.
Crowe did not refuse.
His vengeance was beginning to fade, and he was beginning to age, and he had a lot of free time on his hands.
And Giel's mother, as an example, had broken her spirit.


'My father was an adventurer, you see, and he was gone when I was very young, so my mother had to raise me by a woman's hand.


I was reminded of my mother.
A frail mother.


'It was Mr. Crow who raised me after my mother had a mental breakdown. He recommended me for the Order and called me back when he heard that I was forced to quit the Order.


Mr. Gilles sighed and looked tenderly at Crow's sleeping face.
It was a compassionate look in his eyes, as if he were looking at his old father, and I was enchanted by such a scene, like a picture.


'He's definitely a benefactor and father to me. I don't hate my mother one bit. She's just clumsy.

'It's been this short time, but I understand a bit of it. So what do you want Crow to do?


You can tell from the owner of the hotel that Crowe is a tsundere, a righteous man who can't let someone in trouble get away with it.
It's a bit twisted for a friend of justice, though.
But what's the point of talking to me about it?


'Will you let him do what he wants? As you can imagine, we're running out of time.

I don't want to get caught up in ...... anymore.


I'm not a righteous man, and I'm not a good man.
It's true that Crow saved my life and Mr. Ziel helped me leave the castle, but I have my own agenda.
I just want to go home.
That's all I'm asking for.
As long as I have Amelia and the night and all my classmates together when I'm supposed to come, that's all that matters.
And the key to getting home is in the Demon King's Castle, or Castle Latice.
We were called to this world in the hope of defeating the Demon King at Castle Laitis.
The one used for this purpose is very similar to the magic square used by Mahro.


''Yeah, I know. I know that you guys are acting for that and that you want to head to the Demon King's Castle.

Then go to .......

'We'll be on our way. I understand that you promised to pick up the elves along the way if they were on the way.


I wanted to stick my tongue out at myself in the past.
I didn't know that the words I said back then were going to choke me like this.


''Besides, won't it take this person to reach the Demon King's Castle in the Demon Clan territory? I've never been there, but I hear I'm terribly lost. Besides, I don't trust that demoness as a guide.


Indeed, it might be necessary for Crow to have the experience of having been to the Demon Tribe territory.
After all, the Demon Race territory was different from the Elf Race territory and the Beast Race territory, where you didn't know what was out there.
A guide would be needed.
It's not a bad idea to ingratiate yourself with Crow for that.


''Right. But it's not that easy.''


What Crowe asked me to do was ...... for me.
As I fell silent, Giel stood up and tapped me on the shoulder.


'That's all I'm trying to say. This man could die at any moment, so make your decision sooner rather than later.


In the room where Gilles was gone, I listened to Crow's sleep and looked out at the night skyline.
It didn't matter that I was alone in my worries, the city was still as glittering and beautiful as ever.