The Hero’s Brother Is Bound To Be Depressed

257 – Humanity

When I came to my senses and opened my eyes, I unconsciously screamed at the wrinkled face of an old man right in front of me.

“Wow!”

“Ugh!”

The old man who had screamed like me relaxed, frowned, and suddenly hit me on the forehead with his palm.

match-!

“Why does this crazy guy scream as soon as he wakes up?”

I answered, dumbfounded, at the sight of the old man narrowing his eyes and speaking as if he was pitiful.

“No, is there anyone who wouldn’t be surprised to see a face like that as soon as they open their eyes?”

match-!

I was so angry at the old man hitting my forehead again that I tried to get up, but the old man swung his cane and magically bound me so that I could not move. When I looked at him with a puzzled expression, the old man smiled.

“Stay still. I’m still not sure that you’re not the devil in disguise. “It will have to stay like this until it is thoroughly checked by sprinkling holy water on it.”

“No, who on earth are you doing this? And why is everyone calling me the devil? “Anyone can see that he is a human being!”

When I asked that question, the old man scratched his temple with his cane. For some reason, his seemingly relaxed behavior got on my nerves.

“huh? Well, it’s our first time meeting, so it’s safe to say we don’t know. I am Conrad. “He is called the orchestrator of the world.”

I, who was secretly using my magic power to escape the restraints, stopped resisting when I heard those words.

“Conrad… ? “Are you really saying that you are the Archmage, the Attuner?”

I suddenly felt like I was seeing something like dignity in the old man that I had never seen before. Looking at it again, the wrinkles seem a bit cool and the behavior seems relaxed. Also a great wizard.

Conrad nodded in response to my question and tapped my forehead with his cane.

“Isn’t it natural why people suspect you of being the devil? Because the person who died came back alive and well.”

“W-what?”

As I was looking at Conrad, wondering what kind of nonsense this was, someone opened the door and came in. Then, without saying a word, he came to the side of the bed and immediately poured water on my face.

Having been suddenly water tortured while tied up, I looked at the person who had sprinkled water on me with dumbfounded eyes. He is a person with a sharp, snake-like appearance. Why is this person here?

“… Raelan?”

“huh? “I didn’t know you knew me.”

I spoke in an irritated voice as Raelan repeatedly pressed the tip of the bottle on my cheek as if curious.

“How could you not know? Please, can someone explain in detail what this is? No, just… “Please call Roel.”

It would be more convenient to listen to Roel’s excessive explanation than to talk to these crazy people. Raelan, who heard what I said, put away the bottle that was pressing his cheek with a strange look in his eyes and asked.

“… Why are you so eager to meet Roel? Is there some voice in my head telling me to meet Roel?”

I sighed and said as Raelan and Konrad looked at my expression sharply.

“What is that… I just said this because I thought it would be a good idea to meet Roel and get an explanation of the situation. There is no such thing as a voice ringing in my head. “It’s clean.”

After I finished speaking, Raelan and Konrad exchanged glances with me lying on the bed. Raelan said, casually placing the empty bottle he was holding on my stomach.

“Seeing as it doesn’t react to the holy water containing the saint’s power, I don’t think it’s a devil in disguise. As Roel said, it is most likely a person.”

“surely… Even when I checked with magic, I couldn’t find any problems. “I’m not skilled enough to put Roel in danger.”

At Conrad’s answer, I joined the conversation with a sigh.

“You haven’t forgotten that I’m lying under your chin, right? “I can hear everything.”

Two people’s eyes fell on my face at my words. Raelan, who was looking at me blankly, asked.

“Why were you in that place?”

“… “I don’t understand the question.”

Raelan frowned and spoke again, probably thinking my answer was stupid.

“I heard it from Ilya. He was alone, without any magical camouflage device. Why were you doing that in that place? Was it to attract the chaos bug? Or was there another reason?”

Raelan asked me as if I was being interrogated, but unfortunately I couldn’t give a proper answer. A magical camouflage device? What is a chaos bug again? Could this be the name of the bug that attacked me? I feel frustrated because I feel like a stupid person.

“I don’t know what a magic camouflage device is… And is Chaos Bug the name of that giant bug?”

Raelan shrugged his shoulders at my annoyed question. And then the corners of his mouth elongated. Seeing that made me feel uneasy.

Raelan asked.

“How old are you?”

“… “I’m twenty years old.”

The corners of Raelan’s mouth seemed to raise slightly at my answer.

“So what month is it now?”

“Isn’t it December…? ?”

Winter vacation begins at the end of November, and we are not even halfway through December. So I’m still 20 years old. But perhaps my answer was different from what he expected, and unlike before, Raelan asked with a strange expression on his face.

“… “Not in July?”

This time, I frowned at Raelan’s question. Suddenly it’s July? Looking at the thick clothes Konrad and Raelan are wearing, it must be winter.

“Then do you have any memories from August until now?”

“That’s natural.”

At my immediate answer, Raelan snorted and shook his head.

“No, you can’t do that. When you recall a memory in your head, is the time sequence jumbled up, or are you remembering it from someone else’s perspective? “Something must feel out of place.”

I felt like I wanted to refute Raelan’s belief that I was lying.

I said mockingly.

“Not at all. Why would someone who knows what I did in the first place ask that? “If you can’t remember, you can ask Navier.”

“… Do you know Navier? “I heard she’s never even talked to me.”

It was only then that I could sense something strange about Raelan’s reaction. The Raelan I know is a man who likes to wear a black suit, which reveals his cold and calculating personality. But now, it was a thick coat with traces of being stitched several times and a fur vest underneath.

Can a person change like this in a few days? When I think about it, Ilya’s appearance was also different from the last time I remembered it. I asked with a trembling voice, wondering if it could be possible.

“… “What year is it?”

Raelan answered my question with his eyes shining.

“It is February 13th, year 627 of the imperial calendar.”

“627, ha… .”

The empire that unified the continent continued the imperial power it had used before unification. If now is the year 627 of the imperial calendar as Raelan said… There was only one correct answer. The place I was in was December 622, imperial calendar. In other words, I have arrived five years into the future.

I wondered if time travel was possible with space magic, but I had to figure out the situation first. After rolling her eyes for a moment, Raelan twitched one corner of her mouth.

“It seems like you noticed something strange.”

Even though I was hit on the head, I maintained a calm expression, pretending that nothing had happened.

“Rather than a feeling of discomfort… “I realized what was going on.”

“Oh, then can you explain?”

In response to Raelan’s question, I decided to go strong. He spoke in a deliberately sarcastic tone.

“You forced me to tie me to the bed like this, then waterboarded me, and then you asked me to explain myself without even a single apology?”

“Then you’re going to speak only if I manually adjust your crooked mouth?”

Conrad put his cane to my mouth and threatened me, but I responded with a sly expression.

“First, let’s release the restraints. Isn’t that basic? It turns out I’m not a devil, and my skills aren’t dangerous either. “If you say that, you’re not really afraid, right?”

Conrad, whose face was distorted, glared at me for a moment and waved his cane. As the magic oppressing his body disappeared, I lifted my hand and pushed back the wet bangs that were bothering me. Raelan said as he wiped the moisture off his face with his hand.

“I’ll take you to Roel.”

Conrad stopped Raelan like that.

“Hey, wait a minute. This guy isn’t completely safe yet. “Having him meet Roel could have been a trap in itself.”

Raelan shook his head at the sight of Conrad remaining wary of me until the end.

“Anyway, my lord will want to hear the explanation in person. “They’re already waiting outside the door.”

When Conrad and I turned towards the door, the door opened as if we had been waiting, and Roel gave a small wave.

“Ross, it’s been a while.”

Roel’s voice was full of longing, and I felt embarrassed and scratched my ears. If this were five years in the future, Roel would have defeated the Demon King and saved the world.

Five years later, Roel had not changed. His handsome face was still the same, and his heavy presence was still there. So, did Roel eventually reach a happy ending as intended? A smile formed on my face without me realizing it with satisfaction.

I slowly raised my hand to say hello, and Roel approached me with a happy smile. As I looked at Roel, I felt a sense of discomfort. And soon I was able to realize the identity of the feeling of discomfort. Roel had an empty spot where his left arm should have been. The smile on my face disappeared in an instant.

“brother… ?”

Roel noticed that my gaze was focused on the missing left arm and smiled mischievously as if it was nothing.

“Now you look a little more humane, right?”

I couldn’t laugh at that joke at all. Roel becoming one-armed was a variable that was not mentioned anywhere at the end of the novel.