SRS 145

Harto awoke to the cold air of dawn. Zed lay fast asleep beside him. By the light of the moon seeping through the window, Harto quietly looked at Zed’s handsome face.

His straight nose and the long shadows cast by his eyelashes over his closed eyes stood out. The Adam’s apple moving beneath his tightly closed lips and strong jawline was a feature Harto particularly loved. The harsh demeanor he’d displayed while cornering the Seeker was nowhere to be seen; his face, oblivious to the world, was as defenseless and gentle as a child’s.

Squeak.

After gazing at him for quite some time, Harto slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to wake Zed, and headed toward the annex.

Whoosh.

Spi appeared silently over his shoulder, illuminating the ground beneath Harto’s feet.

“Haa…”

As he stepped outside the annex, a white puff of breath scattered into the air. Harto took a brief breath of the cold air before turning his gaze away.

Under the bluish moonlight, he saw the snowman he’d made with Zed that morning. Crunching softly through the snow, Harto approached and straightened the slightly melted, crooked twig arms, then adjusted the nose and eyes to look just right.

“Pit…!”

Just then, he heard a brief signal from Spi. When he turned his head, a snow fairy that had appeared out of nowhere. It circled around Harto like a butterfly. Whenever he reached out to touch [stolen content]it in wonder, the snow fairy deftly dodged him and flew off somewhere, as if beckoning him to follow.

As he shifted his gaze to follow it, he saw the Seeker standing like a ghost not far away.

“Ah…!”

Harto froze in place, his entire body stiffened. Spi, too, grew twice as wary as usual, flaring its flames to twice their normal size. Despite their reactions, the Seeker paid them no mind and spoke in a calm voice.

“Don’t worry. I won’t come any closer. I just want to have a brief conversation.”

The Seeker still was suspicious in many ways, but he didn’t seem to harbor any malice. However, if Zed found out about the Seeker’s presence, this time things might truly turn dangerous.

“It’s fine. I’ve suppressed my presence as much as possible so he won’t notice.”

The Seeker spoke softly, as he saw right through Harto’s concerns.

“…What do you want to talk to me about?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Harto stroked Spi to calm the elemental down before asking. The Seeker stared silently at Harto for a long time before finally speaking.

“Inside you… there is a heart that does not belong to you.”

“……!”

“But strangely enough, you still remain ‘yourself.’”

As Harto, unable to grasp the meaning, wore a confused expression, the Seeker looked at him with eyes filled with compassion. Those eyes were clearer and gentler than he had expected.

‘Ah… This person knows my true identity.’

Realization suddenly dawned on him, and a heavy weight settled in the pit of his stomach. Harto managed to ask in a trembling voice.

“By any chance… does Zed know who I am…?”

At that question, the Seeker offered a small smile.

“The concerns you have and the concerns he has are different. But in the end, they might be the same. After all, fate will not change. However, if the truth is revealed, that fate might lead to a slightly different conclusion.”

They were enigmatic words that couldn’t be understood all at once. Confused, Harto asked again with a feeling of desperation.

“Then… what should I do?”

The Seeker slowly raised his hand and pointed to Harto’s chest.

“Follow your heart.”

With those words, the Seeker vanished into the darkness as if he had never been there in the first place.

***

“One more day…?”

Harto’s eyes widened at the news that came as soon as morning broke. He was sitting next to Zed, having breakfast.

“Yes. We’ve got plenty of time now, don’t we? There’s no real rush, so I thought it’d be best to stay in Etheria one more day.”

“Well… did Allen and Leon agree to that too? And Ser?”

“Yes, everyone seemed fine with it.”

If everyone agreed, Harto couldn’t really argue. But for some reason, he felt a desire to meet them in person to confirm it.

“Well, I’ll finish this and head down to the main building.”

“No one’ll be there if you go down today.”

Harto tilted his head at Zed’s assertion.

“They went down to the nearby market early this morning. I guess Allen must have been nagging them about the alcohol.”

“Oh, when? They’re already gone?”

“Yes, they left a little while ago.”

“I wanted to go too… but they didn’t even tell me…”

Zed chuckled softly as he watched Harto mumble with a hint of disappointment.

“You were sleeping so soundly, I couldn’t wake you. We pushed ourselves too hard yesterday.”

“Huh? Uh… well, that’s true, but…”

As the memory of last night’s passion came flooding back, Harto’s face instantly turned red. Zed, finding him adorable, playfully poked his nose with his fingertip.

“Or maybe we could go out for a bit just the two of us tonight?”

“Really? Yes, sure!”

Seeing Harto’s mood lift instantly and his face light up with a bright Read onsmile, Zed brought out a plate he’d been hiding.

“There’s dessert too.”

It was a gorgeous dessert: a freshly baked tart piled high with fresh strawberries. Seeing the sweet syrup glistening as it dripped down the whipped cream, Harto picked up his fork with delight.

Zed watched him with a smile playing on his lips. But as Harto focused on eating, the smile slowly faded from Zed’s face.

Soon, Zed’s expression hardened into a blank stare. His eyes, fixed on Harto, were now filled with a deep, unfathomable anguish, completely different from just moments before.

***

Zed stepped out of the annex with an empty tray in his hands. He saw Ser standing outside the door with an anxious expression.

“Talk to me.”

“Go ahead.”

Zed replied curtly and began descending the stairs leading to the dining hall. Ser followed behind him and continued speaking urgently.

“I don’t know what you discussed with that ‘Seeker.’ But this isn’t a problem that will be solved by keeping your mouth shut. As you know, we can’t keep living like this. If it’s going to come out eventually, it’s better to just….”

“Leave for the Abundant Land.”

Ser’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

“…What did you say?”

“You joined us in the first place to help seal the fragment. I’m saying we don’t need your help anymore.”

Ser was speechless with disbelief. It felt like he was being ruthlessly discarded the moment he was no longer useful. He felt angry and ashamed.

“What about Allen and Leon? Why don’t you tell them to pack their bags and leave right now, too?”

“If you’d do that for me, I’d be grateful.”

“You, you really…!”

As Ser’s face flushed red with anger, Zed suddenly placed his hand on Ser’s head and closed his eyes. Caught off guard by this unexpected action, Ser froze in place.

“W-what are you doing?!”

Ser roughly swatted Zed’s hand away belatedly. Zed opened his eyes slowly, as if nothing had happened. He stared at Ser with cold, piercing eyes.

“Are you actually believing what that Seeker spouted?”

“What…?”

“I’m asking if you’re blindly trusting the ramblings of some drunk who was just spouting nonsense, just because he guessed your past correctly.”

“H-how did you….”

Ser was horrified. Last night, he had met with the Seeker in private at a secret tavern in Etheria and heard the relevant story. As he realized that Zed had read his memories through his actions just moments ago, he was overcome with panic.

“Hah… You really do have incredible abilities… So, you’re Prince Ares….”

Ser let out a self-deprecating laugh, muttered to himself, and then stared at Zed.

“I don’t know about Allen and Leon. I went to see that guy myself and heard it directly.”

“I know.”

“A fragment of the Demon God is embedded inside Harto’s body. It’s the ‘heart’.”

Before Zed could interrupt him or walk away, Ser spoke without even pausing for breath.

“Even if the other two don’t know, don’t you think Harto himself should [Read on]at least be aware of it?”

“……”

“Yes, I don’t know much about the two of you. Maybe I’m meddling rashly without even knowing the full story. But Zed, you already know that simply forcing Harto to stay by your side isn’t going to solve anything…”

Ser tried to persuade him, pointing out that what Zed was doing would ultimately backfire. But Zed didn’t react. Feeling as if he were hitting a brick wall, Ser finally raised his voice.

“This is a matter of life and death for Harto!”

“That’s exactly why, that’s why…!”

As if he could take no more, Zed shouted just as loudly as Ser. The moment he saw Zed’s face, twisted in agony, Ser felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

“Ser, you’re right… Harto’s life is at stake. So are we supposed to sacrifice Harto as that bastard’s suggested? Are you telling me to just go along with that nonsense about sacrificing Harto for the sake of the world?!”

Zed vented his fury at Ser. In his eyes, a deep sorrow and excruciating pain, so profound they were almost impossible to fathom, swirled.

“Th-that…”

Ser couldn’t find the words to reply. He was, after all, someone who had always been indifferent to the affairs of others. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt for meddling in a matter that wasn’t his concern, but he couldn’t just turn a blind eye to this. Perhaps he was projecting his own unfulfilled longing onto the happiness of these two people, a happiness born of wholehearted devotion to one another, a happiness he himself had never known.

But peace built on the denial of truth is nothing more than a house of cards. He knew better [stolen content]than anyone, through his own painful experience, that it would ultimately lead to an even greater catastrophe.

Ser closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again.

“But… Zed. You saw it yourself. That thing inside Harto…”

Ser couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence and bit his lip. Zed glared at the hesitant Ser and muttered in a low voice.

“…What exactly did you see?”

Ser swallowed dryly. Though overwhelmed by the pressure radiating from Zed’s gaze, he could not turn away from the truth he had faced.

“Alchemy… isn’t simply the art of crafting magical spells and breaking seals. To fully control a subject, one must first have a deep understanding of its essence.”

Ser looked into Zed’s eyes as he spoke in a trembling voice.

“The Demon King’s Essence… Zed, it’s not just a simple curse like you think.”