It wasn't his fault?

Then what did Kaelus mean?

Alaric felt confused.

It was as if the two of them didn't belong to the same world.

But then again, the King's mood after hearing those words had indeed witnessed a change.

It had become better.

It felt like Alaric had just been freed from one of the shackles.

Stepping out of the darkness, and taking a step closer to the light.

Without giving Alaric a chance to react, Kaelus continued:

"Dix, what do you think is a must-have in war?"

This time, it was a question.

"What is it?" Alaric asked vaguely.

There were many answers to that question, but he couldn't think of the correct one.

Smiling pleasantly, Kaelus replied:

"It's sacrifice."

"..."

"In war, sacrifice is inevitable. We have to sacrifice, and accept it in order to achieve greater things."

"This…"

"It's like that time. In that final battle, many people sacrificed, but in return, we won, and obtained the peace that humanity has always longed for."

Kaelus interrupted.

"Besides, there's one thing you've misunderstood, Dix."

Hearing this, The King couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"..."

Kaelus didn't reply, but just closed his eyes, as if recalling some distant memory.

***

The night before the final battle, the battle that would decide the fate of the world, Kaelus decided to take a walk.

He wanted to see everything if he really died tomorrow.

But at that moment, Kaelus accidentally overheard a conversation between two soldiers.

"...So we're going to the battlefield tomorrow?"

One soldier asked, his voice sounding a little worried, and scared.

But, there was absolutely no regret.

"So what?"

The other asked indifferently.

"Hey, what do you think the chances are that we'll die?"

"How many?"

The person smiled.

"I don't know, but it's at least about 90%."

"Sigh. Shit… I still have a lot of things to do… And I also want to return to my wife, children, and family."

Hiding in a bush, Kaelus could of course hear that conversation clearly.

And of course, since they were in the same situation, Kaelus understood the soldier's feelings.

After all, who didn't value their lives?

"You… regret it? If you want to desert, if you want to escape, now is the best time."

He was right.

Right now, there was no one guarding this place.

Moreover, the Seven Heroes never said that they couldn't desert if they didn't want to join the battle.

Taking a sip of wine, Kaelus muttered:

"So we're going to lose a soldier?"

However, the soldier's answer was completely out of Kaelus's expectations.

"Run away? Never."

***

"In that battle, everyone was scared and worried as they knew that they would all die, but they never and will never regret that choice."

"…"

Alaric stood rooted to the spot, surprised by Kaelus' story.

"You want to know why, my friend?"

Why?

That was the answer that The King wanted to know the most at the moment.

Nothing could be more important than that.

Why didn't they desert?

Weren't humans afraid of death, especially when their enemies were demons?

Or was it because they were madmen?

"Yes…"

Feeling a headache from the answers that kept popping up in his mind, Alaric gently nodded.

"Partly because they wanted to protect their families as well as humanity."

That was a reasonable answer.

Given the love of family, it was understandable that they would accept the sacrifice.

But… partly?

"If that's the case, then what's the other reason?"

Kaelus smiled, as if he had been waiting for this opportunity.

"…Because of you, Dix."

"Me?"

The King pointed to himself.

At this moment, he felt so confused.

It felt like his head could explode at any moment.

"You may not know, Dix, but back then, before the Seven Heroes appeared, most of the world was plunged into despair."

Yes.

That period of time could be considered the darkest period of humanity.

Because at that time, the demon race was only one step away from taking over human territory, pushing all of humanity into the abyss of hopelessness.

"They had all lost their vitality and will to fight, so they were prepared to be slain by the demons. But… that was until you appeared, Dix."

"…Me?"

"Because of you, the world was able to regain its will to fight, even more fiercely than before."

"…"

"You gave them hope, Dix. You were their light."

A person who was slowly dying of hunger would regard a moldy loaf of bread as a delicacy.

Those who were in despair would try to cling to one last hope, no matter how small it might be.

"They accepted to follow you, because they believed that you could truly change this world."

"…"

Alaric's body trembled slightly.

"And you really saved the world."

"..."

The King had thought that he was the one who had caused their deaths.

The King had thought that he had forced the soldiers to obey unconditionally.

The King had thought that all those dead soldiers hated him.

"They never hated or despised you, Dix."

And now… he knew that those thoughts were not true?

"It feels so… relieved."

It was as if Alaric had been completely liberated.

Kaelus placed a hand on the King's shoulder.

"Do you remember the first time we met, Dix?"

He might forget, but Kaelus would always remember.

"If it weren't for you, my life would have been a real shit. And the other five would have been the same."

If it weren't for Dix's presence, the six of them would be nothing but unknowns.

The rot of society.

But, Dix appeared.

Pulling them out of the quagmire.

Guiding them, pulling them step by step towards the light.

"To us, you are not only a friend, but also a hope."

That's why they elected Dix as their captain.

That's why the six of them, and all the soldiers, were willing to follow Dix's orders.

Even die for him.

They all trusted Dix.

"And the truth has been proven, we did not put our trust in the wrong person."

Kaelus smiled, then tightly grasped Alaric's trembling hand.

"So, Dix…"

Then, without hesitation, Kaelus pulled The King towards himself, pulling him towards the light.

Dip… Drip… Drip…

Tears rolled down Alaric's cheeks and fell on the last line.

Making it a little blurry.

— Don't feel sorry or anything, my friend. This isn't your fault. And, don't run away, it's humiliating. You're our hero, our hope, our peace, after all. Hehe.

"…Thank you."

As if all his strength had left him, Alaric collapsed.

"Thank you… Kaelus… Thank you… everyone."

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