The Man Who Remained — His Second Life Began with a Humble Bow of Apology. - Chapter 54: A Village of Mixed Blood (Part 1).

A Village of Mixed Blood (Part 1).

The first thing the boy saw when he woke up in an unfamiliar place was his mother’s face, peering down at him with a worried expression.

What left an even stronger impression on him was how that expression instantly softened into a look of relief.

He felt as though he had been having a bad dream.
A very unpleasant, terrifying dream.
As he thought about that, the pain coursing through his body – the bruises from being beaten and the strain from having been forced to run so desperately – reminded him that it hadn’t been a dream at all.

Panicking, the boy quickly sat up and looked around.

His mother was there, his father was there, and his older sister was there. All of his family was together.

To him, that felt like a miracle.
He understood, more deeply than anything, that this was something special – so much so that he didn’t even care that he was in a place he didn’t recognize.

“You’re awake. Does your body feel okay?”

With that gentle voice, a man the boy didn’t know came closer to him.
No – it wasn’t that he didn’t know him. This was the last face he had seen before losing consciousness.

“Um… I…”

Unsure of what had happened, the boy tried to find the words to ask. Seeing this, the man gently placed his large hand on the boy’s head – a gesture so reassuring and kind.

“It’s okay. You’re… safe now.”

The man’s calm, warm voice, and the looks of relief on his family’s faces told the boy that these words were true.
That’s why he understood – this man had made everything right again.

“…Big brother, are you a wizard?”

The man looked momentarily surprised, then smiled softly.

“Maybe I am. But I didn’t save this village with magic.”

“Then… who did?”

“You did. You ran with all your might, even though you were scared, and you found me… That was your magic. You called for help. That’s why I made it in time. That’s why… you did so well.”

The boy didn’t understand why he was being praised. He didn’t understand – but finally, he felt truly safe.

And that was why.

Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes. It was because he finally felt safe… that he could finally cry.

The tears streamed down his cheeks, falling drop by drop without end, until eventually he began sobbing loudly, clinging to the man as he wept himself to sleep.

Stepping out of the tent prepared for the boy’s family, Cross surveyed the village.

There were no words for the devastation he saw. Most of the buildings had been burned and destroyed. The fields were completely ruined.
Bloodstains still remained everywhere, and the injured villagers were working together to clean it all up.

At the very least, everyone agreed that the traces of blood needed to be erased before nightfall – so the children wouldn’t be frightened.

“You know… I think living an ordinary life is something amazing.”

Cross spoke quietly to Ellie, who stood beside him.

“Amazing… sir?”

“Yeah. People say ‘just live a normal life’ so easily, but that ‘normal’ really means ‘normally happy’, right? Everyone being happy like it’s nothing special – isn’t that incredible? … Even though… even though happiness can be destroyed so easily like this.”

Lovers, spouses, parents, siblings, friends, even strangers. All of them work together to build their happiness.
Savoring the joy of doing the same things each day, smiling together with others.

That’s what ‘ordinary’ was. The world Cross had always yearned for.

Because he knew that something like ‘ordinary’ was just an illusion that didn’t exist anywhere, he craved it all the more deeply – it was his dream.

“But thanks to you moving so quickly, Cross, the damage was far less than it could have been. That’s undoubtedly because of—”

Ellie spoke softly, trying to comfort him, but she couldn’t finish her sentence. She could tell just by looking at his face – that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

It was a tiny village of only thirty adults and ten children.
An unofficial settlement, created secretly without the kingdom’s permission.
And yet, attacked by thirteen bandits in a planned raid, only three villagers had died.

That was nothing short of miraculous.

Cross and Ellie had protected a village that would otherwise have been wiped out. There was no reason anyone could blame him. If anything, he should be praised.

But the expression on Cross’ face showed he was blaming himself. It showed he could not accept what had happened.

Without a word, he began walking. There was no need to ask where he was headed.

Ellie knew, at least in part, of Cross’ history as a human. How harsh his journey had been, and how extraordinary at the same time.

But even knowing it in her head, she had never been able to reconcile that knowledge with the Cross she saw before her. To her, he was like the sun – always bright, always looking forward, dazzling to behold.

That was why… seeing him like this made her heart ache.

She didn’t understand what he had done.
At first, Cross had chased down one of the raiders pursuing the boy, pinned him to the ground, and pressed a dagger against his hand as if to nail him there.

At first, the monster had shouted threats like “That hurts, bastard!” or “I’ll kill you!” But the moment Cross did something, it let out an ear-piercing scream.

A scream so horrific it was hard to imagine what kind of pain could produce such a sound.

Ellie didn’t know what he had done. All she knew was – it was undoubtedly torture.

He efficiently extracted everything he needed: the enemy’s numbers, their objectives, the situation. Then, with quiet finality, he ended the creature’s life.

After that, Cross eliminated each of the attackers, one by one. Ellie barely needed to help.
In fact, she was more useful during the rescue and support of the villagers afterward.

That was how swift, how practiced Cross’ killing was. For someone so awkward and lacking in natural talent, it was almost unfitting how adept he was – at this.

As she walked behind Cross, who trudged along looking dejected, Ellie spoke.

“Only three. That’s truly an incredible outcome. Killing a hundred or two hundred is easy – but saving even one life is far more difficult. Cross, you should hold your head high.”

“But… those three were irreplaceable to someone.”

He stopped walking. He was standing before the graves.

When they had finished rescuing the villagers, before even giving their thanks, the people had asked Cross to help them bury their dead.

He didn’t feel slighted by that. If anything, it showed how strong the bonds between these villagers were.

Perhaps these three had been especially important to them. Thinking that, the sight of these graves felt like a reproach to him.

If only you had been stronger, you could have saved them all.

That’s what Cross felt these graves were saying – not to anyone else, but to himself.

“…Something’s odd,” Ellie murmured softly.

“…What is?” Cross asked.

“I just wonder… why are these graves here?”

“What do you mean…?”

He didn’t understand either. At first, he thought it was just their custom, but he couldn’t see any other graves nearby.
And this was the center of the village – the main square.
It seemed odd to place graves right in the middle of a thoroughfare.

“…The other graves seem to be elsewhere. Why these here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s part of some funeral rite they’ll do—”

Grab.

Cross felt something wrap around his ankle, cutting his words short. Looking down with a chill of dread, he saw a hand.

A hand reaching out from beneath the grave, clutching his ankle.

Seeing that, Cross—

“G-Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

He let out a scream so pathetic that no one would ever believe he was the hero who had saved the village, drawing the attention of all around.

As Cross screamed, the ground beneath the grave began to bulge and rise with bubbling noises.
And then… an old man emerged.

It was the very same old man Cross had buried earlier.

Holding another of the deceased – a young man – under his arm, the old man crawled up out of the earth. He gently laid the sleeping youth down beside him and let out a long sigh.

“Phew… resurrection sure takes it out of an old man. Hmm? Who might you young folk be? New arrivals?”

Despite the old man’s carefree chuckle, Cross was frozen with fear, his face pale and trembling for all to see.

“…Ah. I see. Cross, you really are different after all,” Ellie murmured quietly.

The values of life and death between monsters and humans were completely different.
Unlike humans, many monster races had long lifespans, and some – like this old man – could even come back to life.

Cross, however, still thought like a human. Knowing that, Ellie could understand his shock.

“And so, who might this fine young screamer be, then?” the old man asked cheerfully, glancing around.

“Someone’s child?”

From afar, a villager spoke quietly.

“He is… the savior of our village.”

“W-What…”

The old man trembled slightly, then bowed his head low.

“We may have nothing here, but to us, it is home. Thank you… thank you for protecting it.”

“H-Hey, please… you don’t need to do that. Lift your head—”

“Well, since you say so, I will.” The old man stood up easily and laughed cheerfully once more.

“…Ah! That means, then… the casualties this time are…” Cross said, realization dawning.

“Mm? Ah. Only one in the end. Truly fortunate, we are,” the old man replied with a smile.

“Wait… but resurrection…?”

The old man gazed down at the remaining grave, his expression distant and thoughtful.

“He gave up… no, he wasn’t the type to give up. I think… he was simply… satisfied with his life.”

Saying that, he gently patted the grave.

“Were you… close to him, old man…?” Cross asked.

“In a small village like this, we’re all close. Now then, sleeping in the dirt doesn’t suit an old man. I think I’ll find somewhere proper to nap – maybe while the young folks work,” he said with a laugh, then wandered off.

“…Thank you, old man… and you too, young man. For coming back to life. And… I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

Cross whispered, cleaning up around the remaining grave and placing his hands together in prayer.

“…Ellie. I have a favor to ask.”

His expression was serious – almost pleading.
Seeing that face, there was no way Ellie could refuse.

“Yes. Anything. I swear I will support you with all my strength.”

“I know it’ll delay our mission, but… I want to stay here a little longer.”

“May I ask why?”

“This place is so damaged… they need help to rebuild. Even if it’s just two weeks… at the very least, I want to help them for a week.”

Ellie thought for a moment, considering their upcoming plans.

“…There is no problem. Of course. That suits you far better, after all.”

Yes – it was far more like her master to use his hands to help people without thinking of efficiency or calculation, rather than to kill efficiently for someone’s sake.

Knowing that Cross was someone who could smile for others – that was what made Ellie smile warmly in return.