Ending Maker - SIDE STORY 32

SS 32 - Lucas Hræsvelgr (2)

Lucas did the second dance with Kajsa.

It was a natural flow as though it had been decided from the beginning.

When Lucas danced with Kajsa, Scarlet danced with Count Hræsvelgr. And when the third dance song began, Lucas faced Scarlet who said.

“Still, I’m the older one.”

They were only a year apart, but anyway.

Scarlet shrugged and said in passing before she held the hand of Lucas.

“I shouldn’t have refused then.”

Lucas paused for a moment because he could not immediately understand what she meant, but it was only for a moment.

He realized that she was talking about the founding anniversary ball back then.

“Because I didn’t know that this young master would grow up to be this handsome.”

Scarlet spoke to herself and slowly began the third dance with Lucas whose cheeks were blushing.

***

The party continued until late into the night.

And as with this kind of party, the middle part became an exchange meeting for nobles who had gathered under the pretext of a birthday celebration, rather than continuing to be an actual birthday celebration.

Therefore, Lucas did not feel too guilty when he sneaked out of the banquet hall.

“Is here okay?”

“Why? Isn’t this place good? I don’t think anyone will come here.”

Scarlet smiled and looked around.

Lucas, Kajsa, and Scarlet.

The three were inside an indoor drill hall only used by the direct descendants of the Hræsvelgr family.

“Hmm. So this is what a northern drill hall looks like.”

Kajsa had already been invited to the mansions of quite a few northern families such as the Bayer and Hræsvelgr families, but it was the first time she had entered an indoor drill hall.

“Is it very different from the south?”

“Yes, first of all. The drill hall is seldom indoors in the south.”

Kajsa responded to the question of Scarlet and began to put down in a suitable place the things she had brought.

“Lucas, spread it over there.”

“Yes, that place is nice.”

“Okay.”

Upon receiving the orders of the two women, Lucas spread out a mat he had brought onto the floor of the drill hall that was illuminated by the moonlight, while Kajsa and Scarlet arranged on the mat the food and drinks they took from the basket they had brought.

“And this cannot be left out.”

Most of the food were taken from the banquet hall, but not this.

Scarlet smiled and laid out a round and small chocolate cake, while Kajsa put on the cake a candle that no one knew where she took out from.

The three had been traveling together for the past three years, so the two moved in perfect harmony.

“Happy birthday.”

“Congratulations, Lucas.”

“Thank you.”

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After the candle on the small cake was blown, Kajsa and Scarlet clapped their hands to congratulate him on his birthday again.

Lucas thought that it was like they were playing house – no, they were indeed playing house, but a bright smile was still on his face.

‘I’m sorry.’

I’m grateful to everyone who attended today’s party.

But I prefer this kind of simple celebration.

Still, thank you all for attending.

In his mind, Lucas briefly apologized and thanked the people who attended the party, and looked at Scarlet and Kajsa again. The two were filling the glasses of each other.

They obviously did not forget to fill the glass of Lucas too.

“Drink, drink. We’re going to drink to the very end today.”

“Yet you’re the first one to pass out.”

Scarlet laughed and Kajsa blushed in protest.

“Isn’t it weird that you two beat me in drinking?”

Because Kajsa had the blood of a divine creature flowing in her veins.

Her detoxification ability was excellent, so she had never lost a drinking bet in her hometown.

“Lucas has reached the horizon, but Scarlet is strange.”

“What strange? I’m just a strong drinker. And what does being on the horizon have to do with being strong in drinking?”

Kajsa was speechless at the reasonable remark of Scarlet, and pouted before she raised her glass first like always.

“Anyway, cheers!”

“Cheers.”

Lucas and Scarlet quickly raised their glasses so that Kajsa would not be embarrassed for being the only one to raise her glass.

“Kya, this is good. This is delicious.”

“Yes, yes. But before we get drunk, let’s take out our presents first.”

Scarlet patted Kajsa on the back as if to appease a child, and pulled out from the basket two items they had prepared in advance.

One belonged to Scarlet and the other belonged to Kajsa.

“Here’s my birthday present for you.”

“Mine too.”

The color of the wrapping paper differed, with one in red and one in blue, but the gifts had the same size and weight.

“Thank you.”

Lucas thanked them and Kajsa said with a mischievous smile.

“Hurry up and open it.”

“May I?”

“Of course.”

Kajsa was the first to speak, but Scarlet was the last.

With the permission of the two women, Lucas opened the wrappers with the excitement of a child, showing to Scarlet and Kajsa what they had expected.

His bright smile.

“The new book of Biltwein the Hero!”

The new book of Biltwein the Hero that was released after three years.

He was originally going to go to the bookstore and buy it today, but had to postpone it to tomorrow because his father caught him.

The presents of Kajsa and Scarlet were both the new book of Biltwein the Hero.

The two had both given the same gift, but the gift givers and the recipient only had smiles on their faces.

“Mine is for appreciation.”

“Mine is for reading.”

Because the two knew that Lucas would buy five copies of the same book.

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Lucas was delighted as he hugged the books, and the other two smiled again.

“Now, now, let’s drink since we’ve given our presents. Today will be the day I’ll defeat you both.”

“As if that’s going to happen.”

Scarlet giggled and refilled the glasses of Kajsa and Lucas with alcohol, and the three began their drinking party.

Several hours passed.

Dawn.

A time where the sun and the moons hid.

So the world was only dyed with one color.

Kajsa hugged the empty bottle and fell asleep on the thigh of Scarlet.

Scarlet stroked the hair of Kajsa.

“Lucas.”

“Yes, Scarlet.”

“Do you like that story that much?”

“Yes, I like it a lot.”

Although they were not fully wasted like Kajsa, Lucas and Scarlet were also drunk.

And because of that, there was a more honest smile on the face of Lucas.

He spoke words he would not usually say.

“I like it a lot, but… this volume is quite special.”

“Is it because it’s a new volume after three years?”

“There’s that, but…”

The words of Lucas trailed off as he gently stroked the cover of the book instead of giving the answer right away.

And the silently watching Scarlet realized it at some point.

What Lucas meant by quite special.

“As expected, Scarlet is smart.”

They were not at a level where they could communicate with the eyes like Jude and Cordelia, but they could figure out if they got the correct answer or not from their gazes.

Lucas opened the book and said, touching the words on the first page.

“Yes, it’s a new volume in a true sense since… it has never been published in our past lives.”

Three years ago.

Countless lives in the past were helplessly lost in the face of the disasters that began with the kidnapping of the children from the 12 northern families.

“The author must have also been affected by the chaos. No, even if they were safe… the world was not peaceful enough for such a hero story to be published into a book and be distributed again.”

But not anymore.

The Sälen Kingdom did not perish, and the empire also survived.

Pleiades had a future again.

That was why a new book came out.

One of the evidence that Jude and Cordelia had saved the world.

Lucas raised his head and looked at Scarlet.

Perhaps because of drunkenness, he brought out a few more words that he would normally not say out loud.

“I… wanted to be… like Biltwein.”

It was his childhood dream.

No, he actually still dreamed of it.

A strong, wonderful, and invincible hero.

A being who brought hope and one whom you could trust and rely on anytime and anywhere.

A ray of light that led people even in the darkness.

Lucas knew such people.

Jude and Cordelia.

The true heroes who saved the entire Pleiades after the wild lands and the Sälen Kingdom.

Not Lucas.

Lucas was different from the two.

He was upset when Landius made Jude his disciple.

He had fought against Jude who had become incredibly strong after traveling in the wild lands.

When he lost by an overwhelming gap, he pretended to accept his defeat in front of Jude. He was determined to work even harder when he saw the match of his father.

But that was not all.

That night, he hid under his blanket and burst into tears.

He was surprised and confused by the absurd gap, and suddenly felt so humbled that he did not know what to do, so he was upset and cried like a child.

A sense of inferiority.

That he could not help but feel.

He attended the Banquet of Swords in the royal capital.

As expected, Jude and Cordelia appeared there.

And Jude became the center of the Banquet of Swords.

Lucas could not receive the sword strikes of First Sword and lost, but Jude blocked it. First Sword became serious in that short time.

He congratulated Jude.

But he cried deep inside.

Lucas was not the main character.

He was not even a hero.

He was the second fiddle.

A supporting role who only existed to illuminate the main character.

But he did not show his feelings.

He tried to accept it.

He watched Jude and Cordelia stop the plot in the founding anniversary ball and thought.

People went on different paths in the first place.

So there was no need to feel inferior.

It was not an acknowledgment.

It was just an excuse at the bitterness he felt in his defeat.

He was amazed to see the fights of Jude that only appeared in hero stories. So he applauded and praised Jude.

Because that was the job of the supporting role.

Everything felt pointless.

What if he just hated Jude and Cordelia?

Then perhaps he would feel a bit more comfortable.

But he could not do that in the end.

Because Jude and Cordelia were genuinely good people.

Jude continued to call Lucas his rival.

It was not mockery. He trusted the swordsman named Lucas more than Lucas himself.

On the night of the Banquet of Swords, he called Lucas, saying that they would enter a dungeon book.

It was not just that time.

If there was something they could do together, and if there was a chance for Lucas to grow, the two would reach out to him without asking for anything in return.

So how could he hate them?

“So… that’s why I just swung my sword.”

He quietly moved forward.

Towards that invisible horizon.

As Scarlet silently listened to the confession of Lucas, she smiled.

“What do you mean? Your dream has already come true.”

“Eh?”

“You’ve become Biltwein.”

Lucas tilted his head at her words.

After moving to the side of Lucas, Scarlet took out a book from the basket and turned the page.

“I read it too. Biltwein the Hero.”

Because it was something he seriously liked.

So she wondered what kind of story it was.

It was his favorite book, so she wanted to like it together.

Scarlet omitted that backstory, and slowly continued her words.

“A person who always moves forward without giving up. A person who doesn’t hate other people. A person who is really good and pure like the sun.”

Each time Scarlet spoke, the expression of Lucas darkened.

No matter how much he thought about it, he believed that he was not that person.

Thus, Scarlet smiled.

“Remember the fight at the Red Gate?”

“I remember.”

The fight where Jude defeated First Sword.

But Scarlet remembered differently.

“You saved Elune that day.”

She was not the only one.

There was also Scarlet and Kajsa. And everyone at the Red Gate that day.

“But Jude-”

“Yes, Jude defeated First Sword. But if it wasn’t for you, if you hadn’t been able to stop First Sword… we would have all been dead by the time Jude came.”

Scarlet smiled again.

She flipped through the pages and then pointed to an illustration.

It was a scene where Biltwein was holding a sword and fighting against a huge dragon.

“It was a fight that could not be won. One could not even compare their power objectively. But Biltwein stepped forward. Because he had to protect the people. Just like you who faced First Sword.”

The face of Lucas heated up.

Scarlet grinned and spoke again.

“It’s not just that day.”

The day of the founding anniversary ball.

Lucas saved those who were at the ball.

He confronted the monsters without a proper weapon.

He did not hesitate to travel to the wild lands.

To protect the people there, he willingly headed to a place infested with demonic monsters from Hell.

If Lucas was not there.

If Lucas had not been there at that time.

“But there’s something else that I think is really amazing.”

Lucas did not hate Jude.

He was engulfed by his sense of inferiority, but did not suffer from ugly jealousy.

Instead of being broken or causing violence around him, he honed himself.

He accepted the good intentions of Jude and Cordelia without misunderstanding it. He returned their pure goodwill.

“And you moved forward.”

Even in the darkness without a single light, he silently and plainly moved his way.

“I always thought about it in my past lives.”

What is this guy?

Why isn’t he frustrated?

Why doesn’t he give up?

Why doesn’t he get corrupted?

Lucas was never corrupted unless when a demon was forced into his soul.

No, even if he was forced to become a demonic human, he always regained his human mind in the end.

‘Maybe that’s why I was drawn to him.’

To that pure soul.

That single ray of light shining white in the darkness.

The face of Lucas was flushed red. Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.

“And you know what? This is the most important reason…”

The words of Scarlet was cut off as she blushed and smiled. She whispered into the ear of Lucas.

“There’s no way that the person I like isn’t the main character, right?”

The protagonist in the story of Scarlet Viper was Scarlet.

And the cool and handsome male protagonist whom Scarlet loved had always been Lucas.

‘I must be drunk.’

Embarrassed at her own words, she coughed and hugged the neck of Lucas.

She hesitated for a moment, but soon kissed the cheeks of Lucas shyly.

“Once again, happy birthday.”

My Biltwein.

My hero.

And it was then.

The sun rose from afar.

The glory of the morning came through the window and illuminated the body of Lucas.

“Wow.”

Scarlet exclaimed and giggled like a fool while Lucas brightly smiled.

***

And the next morning.

At a time when Kajsa was still asleep and Scarlet slept late.

Lucas stared at the new volume of Biltwein the Hero.

He thought while touching the illustration of Biltwein that was drawn on one side of the page.

Biltwein.

A completely invincible hero.

A light of hope who led everyone without ever giving up.

Scarlet called Lucas as Biltwein, but he did not share her thoughts.

Lucas could not be a hero like Biltwein.

But even so.

A smile spread across the face of Lucas.

Turning the page, Lucas thought as he read the book that was resumed after three years.

‘I want to be Biltwein.’

Even if it was impossible now, he would reach it one day, just like when he reached the horizon.

Lucas flipped the page.

As always, he silently moved forward.

***

“Did you see the new sales! Amazing! Absolutely awesome! Good heavens!”

Despite the praise from the publishing house staff, the man did not show any significant response.

No, he actually showed a reaction, but there was no way for the staff to find out.

Because the man was wearing a black mask that covered his entire face.

He was a writer who always wore a mask in every meeting despite not being in a masquerade.

He was thought of as crazy, but there were a lot of crazy people in this field in the first place.

So instead of paying attention to such trivial stuff, the publishing house staff put the really important thing in their mouth.

“Mister Author, that’s why… when will the next volume be released…”

It was the first new volume in three years.

It would be too much if the next one got released after three years again. The popularity of Biltwein the Hero would soar again only if the next volume was released after a short time.

When the publishing house staff gazed at him desperately, the man in a black mask answered in a low voice.

“Soon.”

“Ooooh…”

Soon.

Hopefully, that soon would not be three years later.

If it was soon, perhaps it would be in a few months.

No, about a year was enough.

“Then let’s stop here today.”

As the man in the black mask stood up from his seat, the publishing house staff hurriedly followed him and bowed.

“Have a good day.”

The man in the black mask raised his hand instead of answering, and took off his mask as soon as he left the publishing house.

Since he used simple cognitive impairment magic, no one witnessed the man removing his mask.

And he walked for another ten minutes.

“Hey, Kamael.”

Kamael had a faint smile as he saw the huge man and the beautiful woman sitting next to him at the meeting place, and those who looked at the two with curiosity.

“Biltwein.”

“Huh? What wine?”

Oops. I muttered without realizing it, but he heard it?

But instead of panicking, Kamael spoke with a calm expression.

“I said Landius.”

“Anyway, sit down. Because the cakes here are really good.”

Kamael pretended as if he could not resist the urging of Lena and hurried his steps, while Landius, who was the Biltwein of not only Kamael but also of all the heroes of Paragon, burst into laughter again.

-THE END-