"Had I... been saved?"
Although the somewhat balding middle-aged man had pulled him up from beneath the cliff, Milo was still sitting limply on the ground, his legs too weak to stand, his face full of disbelief.
He had actually survived something like that???
The fear he had not had time to process while falling from the cliff now erupted all at once. Though he had already been rescued, Milo was drenched in cold sweat from the lingering terror.
At last, after quite some time, Milo's heart calmed down from the brink of death. Once he regained his senses, he immediately looked at the middle-aged man who had saved his life, bowed deeply, and offered his most heartfelt thanks.
"All right, all right."
Himmel stepped forward and pulled the bowing young man upright, then advised him, "You need to be more careful on your future travels, especially as an adventurer traveling alone like you."
But when he saw the young man's face, Himmel paused slightly.
"I feel like I've seen your face somewhere before."
"What a coincidence, mister. I feel the same way," Milo said.
"And I just remembered—you look a lot like the statue of Hero Himmel. Even the Hero's Sword in your hand is exactly the same."
"Of course it is."
As he spoke, Himmel ran a hand through his already thinning hair, struck a pose, and said, "Because I am—"
"But there are still differences between you and the Hero's statue. The statue of the Hero is taller and more handsome than you, and his hair isn't as... as sparse as yours."
The corner of Himmel's eye twitched, and his fists tightened.
This young adventurer really was unlikeable.
But Himmel was no longer the spirited young man who had set out to defeat the Demon King. At fifty-five, he had gained the composure of an adult.
So Himmel shook his head and smiled helplessly.
Then, in an instant, he rapped Milo on the head with a knuckle, leaving a bright red mark.
"Hiss—"
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
Milo clutched his head with both hands, covering the "red envelope" bestowed upon him by the "balding mister," and looked at Himmel with a deeply wronged expression.
"Mister, I was only telling the truth."
"Kid, everyone grows old. Once you're older, you'll experience the pain of hair loss too."
"Huh?"
The middle-aged man's words left Milo stunned. In that dazed moment, a plausible guess surfaced in his mind.
"Mister, you can't really be Hero Himmel, can you?"
"It's me."
Milo:!!!
"Y-You really are Hero Himmel! It is such an honor to meet you, Hero! I grew up listening to your stories! I remember every battle you fought and every monster you defeated!!!"
Milo circled around Himmel, practically bursting with excitement.
In the Northern Countries, where the struggle against Demons was at its fiercest, people's homes were often destroyed by Demons and monsters.
To endure the despair in their lives, the people living there needed hope all the more.
Thus, the heroic deeds of adventurers became a remedy against the despair people felt when facing savage Demons. By worshipping heroes, they resisted their fear of monsters.
And Hero Himmel, who had successfully defeated the Demon King, was undoubtedly the most popular figure in the Northern Countries. Every new generation of Warriors admired Himmel and regarded him as their most beloved idol.
That admiration had even grown so powerful that the rulers of the Empire had come to fear it.
"Grew up listening to my stories..."
Himmel murmured Milo's words, a trace of loneliness flashing through his eyes.
"That makes sense. It has already been thirty years since we defeated the Demon King. Time really does pass quickly."
"But to her, that time may have been nothing more than an insignificant number."
Thinking of that figure from his memories, the loneliness in Himmel's eyes deepened.
But when he remembered how, within Paradise Transfer Magic, she had returned from the future and closed her eyes to accept his love, the loneliness in his gaze faded away.
With his short life, he could not give eternal love to her, one of the long-lived races. Being able to feel the feelings she had sent from the future across the river of time was already enough.
Standing nearby, Milo watched his idol's expression change again and again, feeling utterly confused.
But wanting to travel alongside his idol, he bravely voiced his wish.
"Lord Himmel, my destination is the Volpen Basin in the Central Countries. Are we headed the same way? If so, could we travel together?"
The young man's words interrupted Himmel's recollections. No longer thinking of the Elf Mage from his memories, Himmel nodded to Milo and said,
"My destination is the Holy City—Hutrall. The Volpen Basin is more or less on the way."
"But boy, can you keep up with my pace?"
"If I can travel with you, then even if I run my legs off, I'll stay right behind you."
"Not a bad resolve."
Himmel nodded. Then, with a flicker of his figure, he had already moved far ahead.
"Hero! Wait for me!"
At that moment, Milo only wanted to slap his earlier self. Why had he boasted for no reason? Then he spread his legs and sprinted toward Himmel with all his strength.
Night, Huyvia Mountain Range—mountain cabin.
As a public rest stop in the Tick Region, reaching this place meant that more than half of the mountain-crossing journey was complete.
After being completely left in the dust by Hero Himmel all the way there, Milo finally staggered into the mountain cabin on aching legs. The moment he pushed open the wooden door, he collapsed stiffly onto the floor.
Meanwhile, Hero Himmel, who had arrived "one" step earlier, had already used a firestarter to light the campfire inside the cabin. By the fireplace, he had unexpectedly found salted fish and vegetables left behind by the previous guest.
Himmel stepped forward and sniffed them a few times, finding that the ingredients were still fairly fresh and perfectly safe to eat.
"What luck."
As he remarked on their fortune, Himmel began preparing the ingredients, sincerely thanking the previous guest in his heart.
Before long, the aroma of food rose from above the campfire. Milo, who had been exhausted to the point of collapsing, recovered a little strength and supported himself as he moved to the fire. With tears glistening in his eager eyes, he looked at his idol.
"Please wait a little longer. Since I added mushrooms to the soup, it needs to simmer a while more."
"Mhm, mhm."
Hearing that his idol had prepared a portion for him, Milo hurriedly nodded in agreement.
During the final wait, Milo suddenly thought of something and asked Himmel,
"Hero, I heard that after successfully defeating the Demon King, you spent most of your time living in the Holy City—Hutrall. Did you come to the Northern Countries this time because of something important?"
Yet faced with the question from his junior, Himmel, who was always warm toward others, shook his head rather than answer directly.
"Sorry, I can't give you a detailed answer to that."
"If I had to put it simply, there is an important matter I once promised a companion that now shows signs of being resolved in the Northern Countries."
"And this time, I came to retrieve that sign."
Before you continue