It took a long time to get going, but we were finally on our way! Finally, to fulfill Emile's wish to see my real face, my hair and eye color were changed back to normal and the transparent tape around my eyes was removed. It's been over 70 years since then, and there were probably very few people who remembered my face, except for my family. Before we even consider whether they remember me, the question was whether I was still alive.
Sure, there may be paintings left behind, but they weren't portraits painted by artists. They were probably paintings based on memory, with a lot of beautification and exaggeration—Yes, like the beautified versions engraved on coins. In the first place, everyone outside my family thinks of me as "just a normal person who was favored by Celes", so they probably wouldn't even think that I was still living the way I was before. ...They probably think that I was called to heaven at that time and went to Celes... So there's no need for disguises anymore. I disguised myself just in case my family was still alive, but if they could see through me in an instant, there was no point in disguising myself—The tape pulling down the corners of my eyes made my face look stiff, which was a bit annoying.
Then, after letting Emile look at it to his satisfaction, we finally set off for real. Leaving the pharmacy, I passed in front of the head temple—Yep!
Yes, there's no way they'd crush the under-floor storage compartment I'd built. That's why the special potion with unlimited expiration date was probably still hidden there. So, I added a potion in that place. I was sure everyone's bodies were starting to show signs of wear and tear soon. So that they didn't have to endure the pain of kidney stones or other things, and they drank the potions properly.
I could also create a potion of youth. Why not give it to Emile and the others? ...That's not the reason. That was something I shouldn't do. For me, ...and for Emile and the others. Moreover, if those in power find out about this, they wouldn't stay silent. They'd surely come at us with all their might. …Immortality, what a disaster it would be.
Emile said he would confess my identity to everyone after dinner, so I had plenty of time to get out of town by then. Since I came to the store first thing in the morning, I still had plenty of time. So, I decided to go through the central square, through the front of the Great Temple and headed towards the suburbs. Then I continued on eastwards. To the west were the mountains, the Alligot empire, and the sea. To the north was the sea. Heading south, you'd come to the Asheed Kingdom and the sea. Yep, there's no choice but to go east.
Of course, it's not that I couldn't take a sea voyage on the ships of the Alligot Empire, which had apparently become a shipping powerhouse, but it seemed like a lot of work, and traveling to a faraway country in one go was a bit unrefined and a bit disappointing. I also felt like I wanted to retrace the route I took in the past and see it with my own eyes once again as it looked this day. Here, we should take it slow... There was time. We have plenty of time. Both me and Reiko. Yeah, take your time, that's it...
We're light on our feet—we have an item box, and we could make potions so we didn't need water—so we'd travel as a couple. We could walk, but we could only walk at about 70% of the speed of a normal traveler. It would be tiring... Even if there were potions that could overcome it, I didn't like getting blisters on my feet. However, if we were to take a stagecoach we would have to adjust our schedule to suit the occasion, and there would be various problems with us speaking in front of the other passengers. It's not good to talk about something shady in the local language in front of the other passengers, but speaking some suspicious foreign language was out of the question. It would arouse suspicion and speaking in a language that only the two of us understood even though we could speak the local language makes it seem like you're having a secret conversation, and I think it's bad manners. Besides, if we were traveling with other people, we couldn't cook with the ingredients in my item box, and we couldn't use the shower room with the tank containing the cleansing potion. Going on a long journey like that iwas a bit tough for a civilized person who was used to a peaceful life.
That's why……. As I was walking and thinking about these things, Reiko suddenly stopped, so I stopped as well.
…….
………….
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"Kaoru, this is..." (Reiko)
Don't say it.
"Perhaps..." (Reiko)
Don't say it...
Yes, the giant statue of Celes near the entrance to the Great Temple, just as I saw it long ago. Next to it was a statue of a dignified female knight. —Yes, it went without saying that it was a statue of a great hero who saved the country, no, the guardian deity of the continent. And on the opposite side was a statue of a girl with a mean look in her eyes.
"Kaoru's..." (Reiko)
"Don't say that!!!" (Kaoru)
In terms of the composition of the statue, it seemed that Fran had been treated better than me. Well, it's only natural that there would be a difference in treatment between "A simple commoner girl who died in vain because she was merely a little bit fond of the Goddess" and "The savior and guardian deity who saved the entire continent. A high-ranking noble and the wife of His Highness the King's brother, the absolute hero." No, I'm happy that everyone's attention will be focused on the statues of Celes and Fran and the impression of my statue will be diminished, so I have no complaints.
...And so, we continued on in silence. After walking for a while...
"Ah, this is..." (Kaoru)
"What's wrong?" (Reiko)
"Ah, yes, Ed and the horses... it's the stable ranch where I left my partner and comrade's horse, along with his wife and child. It's been a long time since then, but nothing has changed..." (Kaoru)
Even though more than 70 years had passed, it felt like it was just the other day for me, so my memory of it was clear. It's amazing how little its looks had changed in such a long time—wait, oh, I guess the administration building has been rebuilt... And...huh? Is that not a living horse, but a bronze statue or something?
"Can I drop by for a bit?" (Kaoru)
"We have time, so it's fine." (Reiko)
With Reiko's permission, I approached what appeared to be a copper or bronze statue...
"...Ed? And his family...?" (Kaoru)
Yes, standing there, or rather, erected there, was a life-size statue of Ed and his wife and child. There were no statues of Francette's and Roland's horses, probably because they had no connection to the ranch. The Ed family could claim to be from the ranch, so perhaps they were being used for advertising purposes...
Horses' faces all look the same, and Ed was a white horse with no particularly distinctive physical features, so it's difficult to tell the difference between the real person—or the real horse—from a painting or statue, unless you're looking at the real thing. But that didn't matter. This was Ed. It must be a Ed's statue. It's not wrong. ...Because it's Ed...
As I was standing there, lost in thought, a white horse that looked a bit like Ed approached me. And then...
"Could that be... the Goddess, Kaoru-sama...?" (The horse)
"Oh, you know me?" (Kaoru)
I was shocked. How did this horse know me when we were meeting for the first time?
"And you are?" (Kaoru)
"Oh! We can understand each other! Oh! Oh! Oh! As expected, you are the benefactor of my ancestor, the first generation of the Silver race, Ed Silver, the Goddess Kaoru-sama!!" (The horse)
Perhaps it was because he was so moved, but his body was shaking with excitement. It was a mystery—It seemed that the horse was a descendant of Ed. However, did horses have the intelligence and culture to pass on stories of me from generation to generation?
"I am the 12th Ed Silver, and my name is Hanging Eyes, commonly known as Hang." (The horse → Hang)
"Is Ed Silver a title... And somehow, it feels like a name that is malicious towards me..." (Kaoru)
"What?! Not at all! 'Hanging Eyes' is a prestigious name given to the child by the first generation in memory of Kaoru-sama, along with another name!" (Hang)
Ah... Well, I guess Ed couldn't think of any other way to describe me. After all, it's just a horse's vocabulary. ...Damn it! Well, if they gave birth at an average age of 6 years, then that's 12 generations, or 72 years. Maybe my calculations were right...
"Hey Hang, what are you doing?" (Another horse)
Oh no, there's another horse approaching...
"Oh! Kaoru-sama, this is the successor to another venerable name, 'Bad Eyes.' Together with me, he will carry the future of our 'Eyes Clan' on our shoulders!" (Hang)
"I knew it, it would be called something like that!" (Kaoru)
Damn it!
"Other Silver breeds include the Flat Chest and Chestless from the prestigious Chest family, and the Breasted family..." (Hang)
"Shut up!!" (Kaoru)
Damn, that Ed guy! He must have thought he'd been left behind and got angry and started harassing me!! Well, since this was horse language, it's a relief that humans didn't call them by names with that meaning...