Nia and Rio's home wasn't very far from the Last Round.
Deep inside Graverock Block.
It was a rundown tenement building reached by turning twice off the main street and passing through a narrow alley between low buildings.
It was shabby... but still better than the room Kael had lived in on the Underground Level.
At least water didn't drip from the ceiling, and there was no sound of bugs crawling through cracks in the walls. It even had a lock on the door.
Nia cautiously opened the door.
"C-Come on in...."
Her voice was still quiet.
Having no other choice, Kael stepped inside their home.
A cramped room, a small combined living room and kitchen, a worn dining table, and a low storage cabinet.
And a few cooking utensils hanging on the wall.
It looked as though they possessed only the bare necessities.
Most of the items were old, and several pieces of furniture showed signs of repair.
Still, with no dust in the air, it was clear Nia kept it clean every day.
Rio leaned forward in his wheelchair.
"Hyung! I'll show you my room!"
Nia spoke hastily.
"Rio, it's late... You shouldn't keep bothering our guest like that...."
"It's fine."
Nia flinched at Kael's words.
"...Is it really alright?"
"Yeah."
At that, Rio's face lit up instantly.
"This way!"
Nia let out a quiet sigh and pushed the wheelchair.
A small room.
As the door opened, Kael paused for a moment.
The room was so cramped that a single bed and a small desk filled it almost completely.
And one entire wall was filled with books.
Though most were old or had torn covers, there was an impressive variety.
Kael silently gazed at them.
Books.
It was the first time he had seen such objects since falling into this place.
On the Underground Level, paper itself was rare.
On the Underground Level, leaving a record meant either scribbles on walls or distorted rumors circulating in someone's head.
Yet inside this small room, there were books.
Quite a lot of them, at that.
Kael felt a faint sense of wonder stir within him.
Lately, more and more things he had never seen before were appearing around him.
'I heard they have things like electronic books on the Surface Level.'
Kael thought as he looked at the bookshelf.
Rin had mentioned it once.
Most people here read text through terminals.
She had said they connected to the network to search for information, view documents, and read news and novels.
In that regard, Rio's room was completely different.
Because every single one was a paper book.
Kael asked where so many books had come from.
"Where did you get all these books?"
Rio replied with a somewhat proud look on his face.
"A lot of them were thrown away in the nearby trash dump."
"The trash dump?"
"Yes. People tossed them out. Some are torn, and some are missing pages, but I can still read them."
Nia quietly chimed in.
"Rio loves books. Whenever he spots thrown-away ones, he picks them up somehow...."
"Noona fixed a lot of them for me!"
Rio grinned.
"She taped up the torn parts, dried the wet ones, and rebound the covers."
Nia slightly flattened her ears as if embarrassed.
"It was nothing, really...."
Kael looked back at the bookshelf, then at Rio.
"Do you like books that much?"
Rio immediately nodded.
"Yeah!"
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in his answer.
"When I read, I can go somewhere else without having to step outside. Since my legs are like this, I can't go far."
He gently touched the blanket resting on his lap.
"Still, inside books, I can go anywhere. Towering cities, the ocean, forests, even outer space."
Kael said nothing.
Rio maneuvered his wheelchair closer to the bookshelf.
"And there are lots of Hero stories too!"
He pulled out a book.
A thin, half-torn picture book.
On the cover, a figure clad in a black cape stood atop a tall building.
"This is a story about a Hero who punishes villains every night. By day, he's just an ordinary person, but at night, he puts on a mask and saves people."
Rio looked at Kael with sparkling eyes.
"He's a lot like you, isn't he, Hyung?"
"No."
"He is, though."
Nia spoke softly.
"Rio... you shouldn't put our guest on the spot like that...."
"Ah, right."
Even so, Rio excitedly pulled out another book and began explaining it.
"This one is about a detective with a mechanical arm. This one is about a knight who flies in the sky. And this one is about a hunter who hunts monsters."
Kael merely listened to his words in silence.
Rio offered a brief explanation each time he took out a book.
Some books were missing half their contents, while others lacked an ending. Even so, Rio eagerly explained as much as he knew.
Kael looked around the room while listening to the stories.
Then, a worn book on the very bottom shelf caught his eye.
The cover depicted a young man wielding a sword and a monster wearing a black crown.
Behind the young man was light, and behind the monster was a burning castle.
Without realizing it, Kael reached out and pulled the book out.
A book with a weathered cover and frayed corners.
The title was simple.
[The Hero and the Demon King]
Kael hesitated to open the book.
Just then, Rio saw Kael holding the book and smiled brightly.
"Hyung, are you interested in that book?"
Kael didn't answer, but Rio spoke in an excited voice.
"That's my favorite story!"
"Your favorite?"
"Yes! It's a story where the Hero defeats the Demon King alongside his companions. It's so cool."
At Rio's words, Kael opened the book.
The story was simple.
An era where the Demon King of darkness threatened the world.
A Hero is chosen, gathers companions, and heads toward the Demon King's Castle.
They endure trials and fight the final battle, ultimately slaying the Demon King.
The Hero in the illustrations shone brilliantly.
Shining armor and a sword raised high.
And a brightly smiling face.
Behind him stood his companions.
An archer, a Saintess, a Magician.
All of them were smiling.
On the final page, set against the backdrop of the crumbling Demon King's Castle, was an illustration of the Hero being cheered on by the people.
The closing line was brief.
The Hero defeated the Demon King, and peace returned to the world once more.
And they all lived happily ever after.
The End.
Kael stared at that sentence for a long while.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Those words began to endlessly echo in his mind.
"...."
As an old scent slowly crept up, memories of the past resurfaced.
A hall of black marble, blood and bones, a shattered throne, the ragged breathing of the Demon King.
And Leon's shout.
The moment he was left behind at the very end.
- Run!
- Make sure you catch up.
- Don't order me around.
He looked down at the illustration in the book.
The Magician in the picture stood behind the Hero, smiling.
As if he had survived alongside them until the very end, receiving cheers on the final page.
The scene felt beautiful, yet cruel.
Rio spoke without noticing Kael's expression.
"Cool, right? I like how everyone's smiling together in the end. Because there's nothing sad about it."
"...."
Kael slowly turned the page.
Nowhere was there any mention of the one left behind.
Even though he knew that was only natural.
"And they all lived happily ever after," huh.
When Kael closed the book, Rio asked cautiously.
"Do you like this story too, Hyung?"
Kael paused to think for a moment before speaking.
His tone was calm.
"It's not bad."
At his words, Rio's face brightened.
"Right?!"
Kael looked at the book once more.
The Hero and the Demon King.
Perhaps similar stories existed in every world.
The wicked fall, the righteous smile, and in the end, people find peace.
While those left behind in the aftermath are usually omitted from the tale.
Kael slid the book back onto the shelf.
Carefully.
Rio said, his voice still brimming with excitement.
"Hyung, can't you tell me your story later? Like how a Hero fights, what kind of villains you've met, things like that."
Flustered, Nia grabbed Rio's shoulder.
"Rio, you can't keep doing that...."
Kael looked at Rio for a moment, then spoke quietly.
"I'm not good at telling stories."
"Even so!"
"Instead."
Rio's eyes sparkled.
Kael spoke as he looked at the bookshelf.
"I'll borrow some books later."
Rio blinked blankly for a second, then smiled brightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll recommend some to you! There are so many!"
Watching them, Nia let out a breath, looking somewhat relieved.
Looking around once more, Kael noticed something strange.
The books in one corner were covered in dust.
Stories about Magicians.
An Archmage chanting spells atop a brilliant tower.
A circuit Magus defending a city.
A hero defeating monsters while glowing with an ACU.
Such were the titles.
Kael asked quietly.
"You don't read those?"
His gaze turned toward the books Kael pointed to.
And his expression quickly hardened.
"I don't really like those."
His once cheerful voice dropped slightly, and seeing this, Nia's ears drooped a little.
"Rio...."
Rio pressed his lips tightly together and gripped the handles of his wheelchair.
"I hate stories with Magicians."
Kael looked at him.
"Why?"
Rio couldn't answer right away.
As the room fell silent, Nia placed a hand on Rio's shoulder.
"You don't have to talk about it...."
Rio shook his head, however.
"Because what I hate is what I hate."
He glared at the worn Magician picture books tucked in the corner of the bookshelf.
"Magicians look so cool in books. Sparkling, flying through the sky, and saving people."
"...."
"But real Magicians aren't like that."
Kael said nothing.
Rio crumpled the blanket on his lap with his fingers.
"Those people think that having power means they can do whatever they want. People go flying with a flick of their finger, and everyone gets scared when their circuits glow."
Nia's hand trembled slightly on Rio's shoulder.
"Rio...."
"Toph was like that too."
At the mention of that name, Nia's face turned pale.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Toph.
It was the name Mira had mentioned.
The leader of the Black Ring and a 6th-tier Magician.
Rio gritted his teeth.
"Dad and Mom were killed by him too."
The air in the room settled heavily.
At those words, Nia bowed her head.
Even so, Rio continued speaking.
"Ever since, the bastards who picked on us were all people like that. People who bragged about having an ACU implanted and using magic."
He stared at the books with Magicians depicted on them in the corner of the shelf.
"That's why I hate them."
His voice had grown quieter, but it remained clear.
"Things like Magicians."
"...."
Rio looked up at Kael.
"You're not a Magician, right, Hyung?"
Startled by his sudden question, Nia looked at Rio.
"Rio, you shouldn't ask things like that...."
But Rio was completely serious.
Even Kael could be sure of that.
For it was the look of someone desperately hoping that the person he admired wasn't the same kind as those he despised.
Kael was silent for a moment.
To be completely honest, he was a Magician.
And not just an ordinary Magician, but an Archmage.
However, by the standards of this world, he had no ACU and wasn't a registered Magician.
He looked into Rio's eyes, then answered curtly.
"By this city's standards... no."
Rio seemed to find those words a bit strange, but his expression soon turned relieved.
"I knew it."
He smiled brightly.
"You look different from those people, Hyung."
Nia couldn't say a word, and Kael offered no further explanation.
..
..
Once Rio fell asleep, Nia laid her younger brother down on the bed with utmost care.
She covered him with a blanket and gently brushed the ears atop his head.
Standing by the doorway, Kael watched the scene.
Nia looked down at the sleeping Rio for a while before slowly turning her head.
"...Today."
Her voice was still quiet.
"Thank you so very much."
Kael looked at her.
Nia kept her head bowed, her hands clasped over the hem of her apron.
"It was nothing."
"No, it wasn't."
Nia shook her head slightly.
"To us... it wasn't just nothing."
Kael didn't answer.
After hesitating for a moment, Nia spoke with immense caution.
"You said your name was... Mr. Kael, right?"
"...!"
Kael's eyes wavered slightly.
He was wearing a mask, and he had even disguised his voice.
There should have been no reason for his identity to be discovered.
Kael gazed at Nia for a moment before asking.
"How did you know?"
Nia flinched at the question and lowered her gaze as if bashful.
"Th-That's...."
She fiddled with the corner of her apron with her fingertips.
"I-I have a pretty sharp nose...."
"A scent?"
Nia nodded faintly.
"Yes...."
Her voice grew fainter and fainter.
"You had the same scent... as when I saw you at the Last Round earlier today."
Kael fell silent for a moment.
He had paid attention to everything for his disguise, but he hadn't considered scent.
Beastkin.
Especially a fox beastkin.
It was only natural for a race with such an acute sense of smell.
Kael let out a brief breath.
"I see."
"I-I'm sorry... I didn't try to find out on purpose...."
Nia lowered her head even further.
"I just... happened to notice...."
"It's nothing to apologize for."
Kael pondered for a moment, then spoke quietly.
"Then I have a favor to ask."
Nia's ears pricked up slightly.
"Yes?"
"Keep this a secret."
Nia looked up at Kael.
"Even from Rio?"
When Nia asked cautiously, Kael glanced at Rio for a moment, then nodded.
"Especially from Rio."
Nia pressed her lips together slightly.
Though she didn't fully understand what he meant, she seemed to have grasped it to some degree.
Without asking any further, she simply nodded quietly.
"Understood."
Kael looked at her.
"Thank you."
Nia's ears twitched very faintly.
"N-No... I'm the one who should be grateful...."
She bowed her head once more.
Kael turned toward the door.
"Lock the door before you sleep."
"Yes...."
As he left the room, Nia's soft voice reached him again from behind.
"Mr. Kael."
Kael stopped in his tracks.
"What is it?"
Nia hesitated for a long while before speaking.
"Rio... really likes you."
"It seemed that way."
"So...."
Nia couldn't finish her sentence.
Her expression suggested she wanted to say more, but she ultimately swallowed her words.
Instead, she spoke in a very quiet voice.
"...Please be careful."