The Supreme Hero’s Younger Brother

Blood…?

"Ludric, you…" Rye was in disbelief, "Are you sick? Does any of your teammate knows?"

"No, I'm not sick. This is the first time…" Ludric was also surprised by the blood.

Rye frowned, "Do you want me to check your body?"

Ludric nodded, "Yes, please."

As a hero, he couldn't afford to get sick. Not to mention, their current mission was the main objective of everything they've done in the past years. If the person destined to slay the demon lord got sick…

Rye cast the spell to scan Ludric's body, but he didn't find anything wrong. All his organs were healthy and working properly. There were no signs of virus infection or demonic corruption. No curse either. More like, his body was much healthier than average humans.

"I cannot find anything wrong," Rye finished checking, "You should go to a doctor for a check-up. I am not a medical expert."

Ludric swiftly wore his armor and sword back, "We're in the capital city, aren't we? I'll go get checked now. You can wait here. We'll go back to Randahal together after I'm done."

"…Okay."

Ludric paused his step and went back to Rye, "I'm sorry for this. Are you okay waiting for me here? Our talk earlier–"

"It's fine. Just go," Rye pushed Ludric to the door, "I understand you were sincere. We can continue later. This is more urgent."

"I'll return soon." Ludric promised and hurried away.

Rye closed the door and sighed.

What is up with today? Isn't it too chaotic?

Ludric returned an hour later. He went to get checked at their family doctor's clinic and was told that he was completely fine. He just coughed too violently that it caused a small injury in his throat. It was completely healed by a simple healing spell.

The two of them promptly returned to Randahal town where they were staying using Ludric's teleportation spell.

"Rye, do you…have any plan for tomorrow?" Ludric hesitantly asked.

"No?"

"Then…would you mind if you…spend it with me?"

"…"

"We can talk more slowly. I…also want to catch up with all the things I don't know about you. Once we resume our journey, I'm afraid I won't have many opportunities like this again," the more Ludric talked, the more he lose his confidence, "No, never mind. Forget I said anything. You'd want to spend it with Aerindel anyway, right?"

"I haven't said anything yet," Rye stopped Ludric from running away, "I just…need some time to get used to your sudden change of attitude. After all, I'm the prime witness of your ability to hide your second face."

Ludric lowered his head, "I'm aware that I'm not that trustworthy of a person."

"It does make one wonder which of you is the real one. I always thought the side of you towards me was the real you."

"I also don't know myself. I just be whoever everyone wants me to be."

"And you are doing a great job on that," Rye opened the chapel door, "Let's go back."

"…" Ludric followed behind him in silence.

Rye fixed his glasses, "We should wake up early tomorrow if we want to talk everything out."

"!" Ludric caught up to Rye, "You mean…?"

"If we do not clear everything up, it will be awkward between us. That will be worse than our previous relationship. Not to mention that we need to cooperate in the mission for a decent period of time."

As they planned, they woke up early the next day. They always woke up early on their journey so they didn't have any trouble with it. But instead of eating breakfast with everyone, they went out to eat at a breakfast cafe.

Rye started by telling Ludric how his life went after Ludric left the house to uphold his duty as a hero. He explained how he also left the house and lived with Godford at the old city library. Nobody ever used that library anymore because the new one has been built a long time ago. The clerk also didn't mind since they helped out with the cleaning and book arranging.

The minimum age to enter the academy was 15 years old. Of course, both Rye and Godford couldn't afford it. They didn't really mind not going to the academy since they have the library clerk as their teacher. Although he couldn't do combat, he was competent in general knowledge and an expert in magic.

Other than learning, they also did part-time jobs at a pub and delivering goods for the merchants. Godford quit the part-time job at the pub because he kept dropping stuff and focused on delivery while he himself quit the delivery job because it required too much physical power and focused on his work at the pub. He was taught cooking and alcohol blending by the owner after half a year working there.

He then applied for a history teaching certificate while Godford applied for a mathematics teaching certificate. It was hard to believe that someone who looked like Godford taught math, but he was indeed good at it since he was taught not only by the library clerk but also by his senior at his part-time job. He has enough experience in the field.

The library clerk passed away a month after they got accepted by the academy they were working at. His grandson took over the job afterward.

After that, nothing really happened. He just wakes up, goes to work, collects and reads books in his free time, drinks with Godford when they feel like it, and gets ready for the next day. But that monotone everyday life was what he always dreamed of. He was satisfied.

"And so, let me ask you," Rye concluded his story, "Why did you kick me out of the academy to join you guys? You and your teammates do not seem to be very satisfied with it. Was it the king's order?"

"No, it was mine." Ludric looked away guiltily.

"Without their consent?"

"They always agree to my every decision."

"So why did you decide as such?"

"When I finally see you again after 6 years and found you all grown up…I can't get myself to leave you again. I want to mend things with you, but I needed to leave for the south. In an impulse, I just…"

"After what happened the night before?"

"Exactly because of what happened the night before. If you really did form a contract with a demon, there was nobody to blame but me. I was mad at myself, but I lashed it out to you," Ludric looked at Rye anxiously, "When I said I was going to kill you, I didn't mean any of that. I…I trained myself to treat you badly when we were little, so it just came out like that. I couldn't help but yell at you if I want to speak to you. When I realized that habit still stayed until now, I refrained myself from talking to you until I could erase it."

"Why…would you train yourself to treat me badly?" Rye really couldn't understand the motive behind Ludric's action towards him. To go such length…

"I wanted you to hate me."

"Huh…?"

"But all I did is instilled fear in you. I realized how stupid what I did was. Why did I assume you would hate me if I hurt you physically? You didn't even hate our parents who treated you as non-existent."

"So you beating up Godford is also–"

"No, I just normally hate him." Ludric straightforwardly refuted.

Rye, "…"

Was that why he always got beaten up twice as hard?

"But why did you want me to hate you?"

"Because…" Ludric straightened his back, "That's because, Rye, I–hk!"

He choked again just like last night. Rye hurriedly offered him a glass of water.

Once the coughing ended, he thought in silence.

"Ludric, are you sure the doctor said you are fine?" Rye was genuinely worried.

Ludric nodded, "I'm fine, don't worry."

"You were saying?" Rye signaled Ludric to resume.

Ludric shook his head, "I'm sorry, I think…I am not allowed tell you."

"?"

What does Ludric means by 'he thinks'?

"Solistus must've known of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I tried to tell you, I choked just like earlier. The more I forced it, the more violent it became like yesterday," Ludric looked at Rye in relief, "He must've forbid me to tell you."

"…Why are you relieved about that?"

"I was afraid that I will slip it out one day," Ludric smiled apologetically at Rye, "I'm sorry. I was thinking to tell you now because I don't want to hide anything from you, but it seems like I can't."

"Is it something that bad?"

"Yes, it's a great sin," Ludric didn't deny it, "But I guess Solistus thinks that you're better off not knowing."

"If that is so…" Rye was a bit doubtful but he didn't push it.

So, Solistus cared that much about his supreme hero's private life?

Beloved by god indeed.