Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 33: Last Days in Ceotha (4)

Rylan stepped out of the carriage and took a breath, looking to his left, straight at Cantavega’s main gate. Behind him, Sarah also left the carriage to stand by his side. He looked at the guards. They were staring straight at him as if they were looking at a celebrity, giddy as they could be.

Well, I guess that isn’t too far from the truth.

Rylan knew he was likely a well-known figure in Ceotha, after the stories about him had spread. This was especially true in the case of Cantavega, his hometown. It was almost strange to know that he, who had been Cantavega’s greatest source of shame, had become the town’s pride. Rylan’s chest was filled with various emotions.

I’ve damaged this town and its people too much.

For five years, he’d fed Evenon’s machine and made the town actively worse. Had he really redeemed himself by killing the man?

“Thank you for coming with me, my lord,” Sarah said from the side, dragging him out of his thoughts. Rylan looked at her. She was smiling brightly at him, making him smile back.

“Of course I came along,” he replied. “I need to make sure everyone is going to be safe, including you. There was no way I wouldn’t have come.”

Her smile became a bit brighter.

“I know.”

For a second, they only looked into each other’s eyes before Rylan looked at the town’s entrance again.

“Alright, let’s go. I’m sure your family will be excited to see you after so long.”

Together, they started walking toward the town’s entrance. After one of the guards hurriedly waved his hands at the others and shouted, the gate opened. On the other side, Rast Vaard stood in wait. Rylan approached him and extended his hand when he was close enough.

“It’s good to see you again, Rast. I’m sorry my father didn’t come, I’m sure he would be pleased to see you,” he said.

Rast smiled and shook his hand firmly.

“It’s fine. Based on the letters Calan sent me, he won’t be able to stay in Cantavega, but someone else will replace him as the town’s protector. That’s got to be enough for me. Of course, staying far away from a man who’s done so much for this town isn’t ideal, but it is the way things are,” Rast replied. “Thank you for teaching my son.”

Rylan smiled back and nodded.

“Yeah, Cantavega will be protected, even if it’s not by Father. Calan is a good student.”

Rast tilted his head, the look in his eyes a bit strange.

“…It’s still a bit odd to hear you say that. I never thought you’d become an Academy professor so quickly, or at all.”

Rylan shrugged as he let go of the man’s hand.

“Life’s full of surprises.”

Rast chuckled and looked at Sarah, who was standing beside Rylan.

“I’m glad you’re here, too, Sarah. It’s been a while. We’ve already told everyone in your family to prepare for your arrival. They’re waiting for you.”

Rylan nodded to himself. As expected, his letter about their purpose in heading to Cantavega had arrived, and Rast had read it. It was the best he’d been able to do, given that Rast didn’t own a Communication Crystal. At least things had worked out well.

Sarah smiled at Rast and bowed slightly.

“Thank you, Town Head,” she said.

Rast turned around and started leading Rylan and Sarah into the town. The two of them followed them and entered the main road. Rylan looked around. People lined the road’s sides, with a few even sitting on top of the houses’ roofs. Once he took a few steps inside the town, he saw several people light up almost at the same time.

“Rylan is here!” one of them shouted. He was an adult man with brown hair and a matching beard.

The crowd erupted in cheering. Rylan blinked, a bit taken aback. From teenagers to adults, they all shouted his name.

“Rylan! Thank you for getting rid of Evenon!” he heard a person shout.

“Good work getting first place in the Academy tournament!” another yelled.

Most of the others followed suit, complimenting him for his achievements, with a higher number of them only thanking him for killing Evenon and helping dismantle everything the man had built. However, not all of them seemed happy. Rylan scanned the crowd. He could see a few people scoffing or frowning at him.

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Of course. There’s no way everyone would celebrate my arrival after everything I put this town through.

It was a bit of a bitter realization, but it was reality. From the beginning, he’d never expected to be appreciated in his hometown. This welcome was grand enough. Had they decided he’d redeemed himself after dealing with Evenon and not causing trouble for over a year? Or had they come to admire him because of his victory against the imperial Mages? He didn’t know, but it didn’t feel bad.

“This is the part where you smile and wave, young master,” Sarah said from the side, snapping him out of his daze.

He grinned at her and followed her advice, waving at the crowd. The cheering got a bit louder.

“I’m sorry, Rylan. I didn’t want to tell them to disperse. A lot of people here have forgiven you, even if it wasn’t everyone,” Rast said as he looked over his shoulder.

Rylan nodded at him.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s surprising, but I’m not against it,” he replied.

They continued to make their way through the town, followed by some of the crowd. At the same time, Rast’s guards stepped inside the road, making sure everyone kept a safe distance from Rylan’s and Sarah’s positions. Finally, after walking for a while, they arrived in front of Sarah’s family’s house. Rylan looked at it.

The brick walls in the shape of a rectangle had been painted white, and there was a small garden in front of the wooden door. The brownish-red roof was tidy and created a cover for the area in front of the door, helping create the small porch. The scent of the garden’s flowers drifted in the wind to reach Rylan, making him smile. Behind the window next to the door, he could see three little faces peering through it. Two boys and one girl, all of them blonde, with the girl’s hair being a bit darker. The oldest-looking boy appeared to be ten years old, with the others looking younger. Once they locked eyes with Rylan, they all frowned almost at the same time and stepped back from the window.

Rylan took a breath.

Here we go.

He looked at Sarah, who was staring at the house, looking a bit dazed.

“It’s a nice place,” he said.

She blinked and turned to look at him, smiling.

“I managed to make it a bit nicer after the lord increased my salary at your request,” she replied.

She started walking toward the door. Once she reached it, she opened it carefully. Almost immediately afterward, her little sister dashed from inside the house and hugged her waist.

“Sarah!” the little girl exclaimed. Then, she started to sob.

Sarah smiled warmly, her eyes looking a bit concerned, and kneeled down, then hugged her sister.

“Don’t cry, Amanda. I’m here. I’m sorry it took so long,” she said. Her voice was steady, but Rylan could tell she was about to cry, as well.

He looked into the house. One of her brothers also ran out to hug her, but the ten-year-old only stared at Rylan from inside the house with outright hostility. Rylan avoided his gaze, scratching the back of his head. What was he supposed to say? He’d put Sarah through hell for years. There was no reason to expect her siblings, who’d had close contact with her for all that time, to even like him. He nodded at the boy, but there was no response. The boy looked away and walked closer to Sarah.

“Welcome home, Sis,” he said in a low tone. Sarah raised her head and smiled at him. Rylan could see the tears dripping down her chin.

“I’m here,” she repeated. “We’ve come to get you three. We’ll be going somewhere else, now.”

The two siblings holding her took a step back, still crying. The ten-year-old, Elliot, frowned and looked at Rylan.

“With him?” he asked, his tone becoming sharper almost instantly.

Sarah smiled sadly at him and stood up, then walked closer to him and pulled him into her embrace.

“I’ll explain everything on the day. We need to leave quickly, so let’s go. I promise nothing bad will happen. Rylan isn’t that kind of person anymore.”

Elliot scoffed in her arms and leaned backward, throwing another venomous look at Rylan.

“Not that person anymore?” he repeated, his voice dripping with hostility. “Are you serious?”

Sarah grabbed his shoulder.

“Elliot. I promise. In time, you’ll understand it, too. Come on, we need to leave. Rylan followed me here to protect us.”

Elliot frowned. Rylan took a step forward.

“There’s something I’d like to say, if I may,” he said loudly, making Sarah look at him. Her eyes were a bit red as she wiped the tears close to the edges. In her gaze, he couldn’t feel any of the blatant coldness from just after he remembered his past life. It was what gave him the strength to keep talking. “To all of your siblings, I mean.”

The little boy, Andy, and the little girl, Laura, looked at him, then ran around Sarah to hide behind her legs, peeking from behind their cover. Rylan threw them a bittersweet smile. They were still too young to truly know what he’d put Sarah through, unlike Elliot. He looked at the boy. With all of them in his view, he suddenly bowed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know that after everything I’ve done, my words probably don’t mean anything to you. But I still have to say I’m sorry. None of it will repeat itself. Sarah is a dear friend whom I’ll never turn my back on.”

Silence. Rylan could hear Rast shift his weight behind him. Still, he didn’t move from his bowing position. It was the least he could say to Sarah’s family – the people he’d directly implicated by treating her badly.

“It’s alright, my lord,” he could hear her say. “I know you’ve changed. They’ll understand in due time. Please, rise.”

Rylan raised his body and looked at the people in front of him. Elliot was still frowning at him, and Andy and Laura were still hiding behind Sarah, but the look in Elliot’s eyes had changed a bit. The difference wasn’t significant, but Rylan was glad it was there.

“Fine,” Elliot suddenly said. “We’ll go. But I’ll never forgive you if you do anything else again.”

Rylan nodded at him.

“Of course.”

The boy looked at Sarah and nodded, making her smile at him. She grabbed Laura’s and Andy’s hands and walked out of the porch toward Rylan, followed closely by Elliot. Rylan watched them approach with complicated emotions.

It’s too early to expect Elliot to forgive me, but I’m glad I apologized.

He couldn’t hope that he would be forgiven, but he’d already done what he could. The three of them walked past him as Sarah looked over her shoulder at him.

“Please lead the way, my lord,” she said.

Rylan grinned and nodded, then walked ahead of her toward Rast, who had been waiting for them to finish.

Now, it was time for them to return to Caer Rhelon and start the journey to Mar.