The Legendary Ruck

The kind man who told me about the statue walked away as I stood there in the plaza.

"Why is there a statue of me…and it doesn't even look like me."

I muttered and thought.

This was clearly the work of Eric and Goran. They had always been pa.s.sionate when it came to friends.h.i.+ps.

They must have felt grateful about my sacrifice in stopping the devils, and they had gotten a little carried away.

"Also, they totally think that I died…"

I said and suddenly realize one other thing.

That kind man had said that it was 10 years ago. So that meant I had been fighting for 10 years.

I don't remember it being that long. Was it some mistake?

I stopped a different person who was pa.s.sing through.

"I'm sorry to disturb you while you're busy. But what year and month is it today?"

There was a moment of shock that was followed by a pleasant smile.

These people were very kind in spite of the tattered clothes I was wearing.

Perhaps they really did have some kind of policy to be kind to outsiders.

"Year 315 of the kingdom era, June 10th."

"Thank you."

"No trouble at all."

The person left.

I fought against the devils in the year 305.

So it really had been 10 years ago.

Could I have been fighting so desperately that my perception of time had become messed up?

No, perhaps it was a side effect of the Marionette spell.

Controlling your own body with magic wasn't exactly business as usual.

And I had done it repeatedly for extended periods of time.

It was not too surprising then, that my perceptions had been affected.

But I didn't really know what the reason was.

In any case, the truth was, that it had been altered.

"…Well, this is troublesome."

I felt a renewed shock.

I looked up and saw the exaggeratedly handsome face of the statue.

When I looked down again, there was a family happily taking a stroll.

The city seemed much nicer and peaceful than it had been 10 years ago.

That made me very happy.

"Ahaha!"

"Don't run here."

"Ahh!"

The child fell. An adorable boy of 3 or 4 years of age.

"Uh, uhhh…wahhhhh!"

"See, that's what happens when you run."

The mother rushed to her crying child.

"Be strong and do not cry."

"Ahhhh….!"

"You will never become like Ruck if you are such a crybaby."

"…Uh…I…won't cry."

"That's a good boy."

The child wiped his tears away and stood up. They held each other's hands and walked away.

"…Don't use me to educate your child."

I muttered to myself without thinking.

I really wasn't anything impressive. I shouldn't be seen as a role model.

I continued to walk as I headed for the Adventurer's guild.

The building for the guild was the same as it was before.

The only difference was that it looked slightly older, as 10 years had pa.s.sed.

"Ah, this makes me happy."

It was somewhat nostalgic. I couldn't help but be happy.

And so I opened the door with a feeling of excitement.

Someone immediately grabbed me by the shoulders.

"You finally came!"

"Hey!"

"Come over here! Then we'll talk!"

Goran had been waiting for me at the Adventurers Guild.

There was white in his hair now, and a few lines on his face that had not been there before.

With Goran's hands still on my shoulders, I was pulled into the back of the building.

"Did you age?"

"Of course I did! It's been 10 years! It's you who hasn't changed enough. If anything, you look younger."

When we entered the back room, Goran put his hands on my shoulders again.

"I'm so glad that you returned alive…"

"Are you crying?"

"N-not at all!"

Goran denied it, but tears were running down his face.

It wasn't just teary eyes. He was sobbing.

I didn't know how to react to such a contradiction.

"Do-don't cry."

They say that men were weak to the tears of women, but I learned that I was also weak to the tears of men.

Even if it was this old man. I felt uncomfortable. Well, maybe it was especially uncomfortable because it was an old man.

I couldn't exactly hug him.

I could only stand there. Apologetically, I put a hand on his shoulder.

It took a while for him to stop crying.

When he was done, he looked a little embarra.s.sed and said,

"…Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine."

And then Goran explained to me.

"I heard from the gatekeeper that someone called Ruck had visited. I knew that if it was really you, you would come to the Adventurer's guild next. And so I was waiting here."

"Well, I'm sorry for making you wait."

"Bah, it's nothing at all."

Right then, tea and snacks were brought into the room.

I took a bite.

It was delicious. The first time I had eaten in 10 years.

"…This is good."

"Is it? What were you eating in that place between our dimensions anyway?"

"I actually didn't eat anything."

"I'm surprised you were able to live like that."

"As for that…"

I told him about Drain Touch.

Goran listened with great interest, but then suddenly turned frantic.

He swiped the snacks from off the table.

"You really haven't eaten in 10 years?"

"Yeah…"

"Isn't it dangerous to eat solids after a long period of fasting?"

"Well, now that you mention it, they do say that…"

"I, I'll have them bring you some rice water."

"I'm fine. I don't know how, but I feel just fine."

I said and tried to persuade him, but Goran was not convinced.

"You survived through so much to come here, I'm not going to let you die over something like this. You will be able to eat plenty of delicious food later."

So saying, he ordered the staff to bring me some rice water.

I was thankful that he felt so concerned.

But the snack had tasted so good, which was too bad.

As the rice water was being prepared, I told Goran about what had happened in the place between our dimensions.

Then I drank some fruit juice that had been brought after the tea.

"The juice is also delicious."

"Right?"

When we were finished talking, the rice water was brought in.

The man carrying it was wearing a mask. He was incredibly suspicious looking.

"Ah, you are finally here. Eric. Ruck's returned to us!"

"Oooh, Ruck! It really is you!"

The man took off his mask. It was the Hero, himself. Eric.

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