TYND 70

TL: Motokare

When Theon sat down beside the blankets, it twitched. 

Scree…!

The blanket rippled for a moment before a weasel popped out. That made Theon flinched automatically, but it wasn’t Rothy, but the real weasel, Chi-chi. 

Chi-chi scurried over and gently bit Theon’s finger. Then, with the finger still in its mouth, it whimpered and tried to pull it along to under the blankets. Sliding his finger free from Chi-chi’s mouth, Theon stroked its tiny head, signalling he understood what it was trying to do. The weasel felt warm to the touch since it’d been under the blankets with Rothy for a while. 

Scree……

 The clever Chi-chi, leaving the rest to Theon, crawled over to the pillow and began grooming its fur intently. 

“Rothy.”

“……”

A miserable sniffling sound could be heard from under the covers. Theon picked up the whole bundle, blankets included, and hugged it to his chest.

“What’s making you so sad?”

“……”

“I decided to take you along.”

“……”

“We’re going to save those children. They won’t suffer; they’ll be free. You can be sad if our plan fails. There’ll be plenty of time for sorrow then.”

Even as he said it, he doubted it’d bring much comfort. 

I should’ve asked Chungnip for some advice on how to console someone.

Clumsy at consoling another, the archduke simply patted the blankets gently. Rothy had been in this state for days, so he couldn’t bring himself to scold him for sneaking off to meet Naran Daisy. How could he be angry with a child who tried to bury himself in the ground even when being hugged? 

“But……”

After a long silence, a tearful voice emerged from beneath the blankets. 

“Those children were kidnapped because of me…”

Rothy was the type of person who’d blame himself even if a child clear across Araxys on the Eastern Continent was subjected to living magic stone experimentations.

“It was the same back then. Because I was a success, Master couldn’t give up creating a second living magic stone, so he kept experimenting on other children. If I’d failed, those children wouldn’t have died.”

“……”

“And now it’s happening again. Master predicted this would happen and tried to take me with him when he died, but I told him I didn’t want to die…”

“……”

“That’s why this is happening now. Because of me… Because I’m alive. I should’ve wanted to die, but because I wanted to live, I ended up making others suffer… I should’ve died… why did I even want to live…?”

“……”

“The world’s full of awful people but I’m the worst of it all…”

The words, punctuated by intermittent hiccups, stabbed Theon’s chest deeply. At that moment, he was positive that even having an arm or leg cut off wouldn’t have hurt this much. 

“Rothy.”

He peeled back the blankets, and Rothy burrowed into his arms as if he’d been waiting for it. Theon held the feverish body close and cradled those tear-stained cheeks in his palms. Rothy’s emerald-green eyes looking up at him were filled with guilt, pain, and sorrow. 

Clear droplets of tears continued to form and fall. By tomorrow, the corners of his eyes would definitely be stinging and sore. Theon didn’t trust his hands to be gentle enough, so he used the piece of cloth Ultje had left behind to carefully wipe Rothy’s eyes instead.

“It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of those who took one look at you and decided they want to create living magic stones.”

“But I made them greedy by being alive…”

“The ones who became greedy are the bad ones.”

“But since they’re more bad people in the world, I should’ve been more careful…”

“There aren’t that many good people in the world. If anything, there are more bad ones than good.”

Was that something he shouldn’t have said? He regretted what he’d said that day. Wondering what words would make Rothy’s pain disappear, he gently patted his small back and asked, 

“Rothy, what did the emperor say when he first met you?”

“Dierm he…”

“Did he covet you?”

“……”

“Did seeing you awaken his greed and make him order the gathering of orphans for experiments?”

“No…”

“He protected you from PLEIN. He also didn’t confine you to the imperial palace.”

“That’s true…”

Theon had always thought the emperor was too weak. He sometimes found him pathetic and often worried that his nature was too gentle to lead this great nation. But right now, in his moment…

That weakness became a weapon of goodness. 

To Rothy, who even blamed himself for the greed of evil humans… Theon could only offer him the example of a really decent man known as Dierm Addir Halphaeus Zibiah.

“What about Chungnip? Zey? Ultje and Xeon? House Falsen’s retainers and servants? Did they become greedy for you after they learn the truth about you?”

Rothy shook his head.

“No… when they found out, they prayed to Seará for me… asking Seará to protect me…”

“Exactly. That’s what ordinary good people are like.”

“……”

“It’s true there are many bad people in the world, but there are just as many good ones as well.”

“But you said that there are more bad people than good people.”

“Now that I think about it, I was wrong. So, let me take back what I’d said.”

Theon freely admitted his mistake. 

“When an Aura Controller swings a sword, an entire village can be reduced to ruins in a single night. One fourth-grade mage can turn a fertile land into a swamp with just a single spell. If they’ve bad intentions, the world would quickly fall into chaos.”

“……”

“But an Aura Controller can also take up a sword to protect villages from fiends, and a fourth-grade mage can also cast spells to turn swamps into fertile land. And so… it’s because good people outnumber the bad that this world maintains itself.”

Theon hadn’t intended to deliver a speech. He simply wanted to comfort Rothy. But somewhere in the middle of it all, he realised something for himself. Peace was like a piece of delicate glasswork. If the one holding it decided to crush it, it’d shatter easily. But there were more people who wanted to protect that glass than those who wanted to destroy it. That was why order could be maintained for thousands of years. So… in reality, there really were more ordinary, decent people in the world.

He’d always known that. He definitely knew it, but somehow, only now did he realise it anew. 

“I’m glad… that there are more good people in the world.”

Rothy blinked up at him, the action causing crystal clear teardrops to fall in quick succession. Theon wiped away Rothy’s tears before continuing.

“Yes. So what I want to say is… those who look at you and feel greed is simply a bad person. It’s not your fault. They’re simply bad. The everyday ordinary people who don’t covet you when they see you are good.”

“……”

“It’s not your fault. Do you understand, Rothy?”

Rothy gave a small nod. The murk in his eyes that was clouded with sorrow began to clear. 

“Theon…”

Rothy buried his face in Theon’s chest. As he held Rothy close while stroking the boy’s hair, he could feel his clothes getting damp. Thanks to Theon’s steady comforting, Rothy began to calm down. But Theon himself was far from calm. On the other hand, he noticed goosebumps rising on his forearms.

There are more good people in the world…

For someone who’d just realised such a warm truth, his insides burnt like fire, and his mind was frighteningly cold. A child like Rothy, who should’ve spent a lifetime laughing, innocent and free, had been made to say something like, ‘I should’ve died’.

The world Rothy lives in doesn’t need people like that.

Murderous intent toward Ken Bane and the Mandate turned his vision blood-red. It was fortunate that Rothy couldn’t see his face.

A few days later, an appointment was set with Tsudeyfa, the guildmaster of Bluetri. Theon didn’t want to bring Rothy along to this meeting due to Tsudeyfa’s perversions. Even he, who’d spent fifteen years on the battlefield, had heard the rumours about the man’s twisted sexual tastes.

His perversion, in a word, was a fetish for mages.

“The size of my cock’s proportional to the other party’s magic ability. Can’t get hard for someone who doesn’t know magic. For third-grade or higher, it gets painfully stiff and erect, and for fifth-grade or higher, even my asshole twitches. Ah, I wish Lord Yolone Sirin would fuck me senseless. Let’s make this into a song and spread it so it reaches his ears!”

The song he created spread so widely that even Theon had heard it. He’d no intention of bringing Rothy to a lunatic who got hard based on how powerful a mage was. But Rothy wanted to be part of this rescue operation from beginning to end. It was only by actively taking part that the guilt inside him would fade.

So, for Rothy’s peace of mind, he’d to let him come along. 

They travelled to the southern regions of the Empire using the warp system. From there, they went overland to the territory of Premia, where Bluetri’s headquarters were located.

“The South’s seriously hot. I’m sweating just standing still.”

“The perfect weather for training through sweat!”

Under the blazing sun, Zey and Xeon each had their own reactions. Next to them, Theon and Rothy were also showing equally different reactions. 

“Theon, look over there. There are so many strange flowers. The roadside’s full of blooms. There are flowers everywhere.”

“Indeed.”

“People are walking around with their arms and legs bare… maybe it’s because this place is hot. It’s really fascinating.”

“Rothy, you mustn’t bare yourself like that.”

“Mmhm, I won’t. My arms and legs are skinny like fish bones and unsightly, so I don’t expose them.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

The saying about the North being reserved and the South being lewd didn’t exist for nothing. Southern people wore revealing clothes, and they also didn’t hesitate to touch each other when out on the streets. Even now, those winking at Theon and trying to seduce him came in all ages and sexes. Hadn’t Rothy already picked up the word ‘fucking’ back at the academy? Just thinking that this innocent boy would learn something strange here in the South set his nerves on edge.