[Legend of Sun Knight] fic: Coming Home (oneshot)
Title: Coming Home
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 4,755
Summary: Grisia finally returns home. There's a small problem though. His room was destroyed. His room! Set after the main events of V8.
Notes: I have been told by several people that I made them cry with Goodbyes and Hellos. :'D So, have this somewhat fluffier(?), post-canon fic. My cute little oneshot wanted to be over 4.7k words. I don't trust these oneshots anymore. But I still trust them more than my chaptered fics. I love completed stories~.
Coming Home
When the Church of the God of Light came into my sensing range, I felt incomparably touched. It was true that I had previously teleported myself back to cause havoc before, so it wasn't like I had never returned even once this entire time, but now I was returning for good.
Returning home.
Demon King? Adventurer? Master mage? Please. All I want to be is a church hermit! Ahem. I mean, all I want to be is the Sun Knight!
It was to the wild cheers of the citizens that we rode our horses through Leaf Bud City. We were victors returning from our long battle with the "Demon King," whom we had forced to retreat to the Demon King's Castle.
Adair was quite the accomplished actor. Even Earth had agreed. I really did have the best eye for talent. Not only was he a capable vice-captain and an impressive general, he was even a very convincing demon king. He'd led a huge undead army against us, and we'd acted out the battle of the century. It was sure to be recorded in history books.
Wait, history books will detail how the Demon King lost terribly to the Church of the God of Light and had to beat a hasty retreat... Isn't that saying that I was defeated and ran away?!
I nearly froze but consoled myself that I was first and foremost the Sun Knight, while I was only a part-time demon king. Besides, it was Adair who had acted out the losing battle. Still, I was truly a misunderstood demon king. First, I had been wrongfully accused of kidnapping and toying around with Alice. Also, I was blamed for all the property damage and death that Charlotte had caused. Now, I was even going down in history books as the demon king who had been soundly defeated by the Twelve Holy Knights!
Woe is me. So misunderstood.
Sigh. I bet no one else has ever had to orchestrate their own downfall. Sigh. At least, the 38th generation of the Twelve Holy Knights will forever be remembered as the ones who defeated the evil Demon King.
...That's not bad, actually.
While these thoughts tumbled about in my mind, I smiled at the citizens around us, waving my hand. Although my teacher had taught me how to slowly wave my hand to conserve my energy in such occasions, for once, I did not mind waving at a normal speed.
However, that thought didn't last long.
...Ouch, my arm hurts.
My arm grew sore quicker than I thought. There hadn't been any need to exert myself physically as the Demon King, not when I had magic at my disposal. Sword training? I definitely had done none of that.
I weighed the pros and the cons of casting a Minor Heal to soothe away the fatigue. If this was the past me, I'd have cast it without a second thought, but it was no longer so simple anymore. I had to carry the Divine Sun Sword with me at all times just to be able to maintain the holy element coloring my hair. A Minor Heal wouldn't be very taxing, as I was still stronger than the average cleric-I'm not saying that I'm a cleric-but it wasn't like I was hurt or anything. My arm was just sore.
Before I could make my decision, warm healing light settled over my arm. Startled, I glanced over to see Storm casually finish casting the spell. He shrugged and said, "It looked tiring to me, seeing you wave your hand so much."
He would know about how tiring repeated actions could get with how much he'd had to wink since we'd entered the city.
"Thanks," I replied. My arm felt much better.
As we spoke, his horse somehow moved closer and was now side-to-side with mine. Storm even patted me on the shoulder. "No problem."
...Just because your eyes are tired doesn't mean you have to seek me out to carry out your teacher's advice on how to avoid winking!
Still, I didn't urge my horse away and let Storm continue to chat with me about random stuff. The king's reaction. Who would greet us first. Having actual, edible food to eat. At that last topic, I could not help imagining having entire blueberry pies to myself, personally made by Ice. The stuff my demon king subordinates had prepared or acquired for me just wasn't the same.
Not long ago, no one would have dared to pat me on the shoulder or chat my ear off. Storm was totally dragging me down to rest his eyes, but I didn't even mind.
After arriving at the Church, I really wanted to rush to my room right away. Although the Demon King's Castle was vast and heavily decorated, it had nothing on my cozy little room. One was breathtakingly beautiful and spacious, yet so spacious that it felt empty and cold, while the other was simple and familiar. It was home. If possible, I just wanted to hole up in my room and not reappear for at least an entire week.
But I had to greet the king first. After the holy knights and clerics at the entrance welcomed us-what do you know, the first person to greet us at the door was Elaro-I brought Storm and Stone along with me to see the king at the palace. The king actually fussed over me quite a lot. If it wasn't because he was the king and I was the Sun Knight, I'd have cracked a joke right then and there about whether or not he was my mom. All the while hiding the barb in praises of the God of Light, of course.
Usually, I was insolent enough to do so, but I'd really been away for a long time and had caused these people all sorts of headaches. I'll be good and cut them some slack.
I was sure he appreciated it much more when I called him an overbearing older brother rather than a mom. The princess seemed rather unhappy at that though, which was completely uncalled for. I'm not going to steal her older brother from her! Not even if he offered!
There was official business the king had to discuss with me now that I was back, but he instructed me to return at a later date for his orders. Elijah saw us out.
"It's good to have you back," he said at the door. "No one can replace you."
If I used farsight right at this moment, I'd probably see a heartfelt expression on his all-purpose handsome face. Thankfully, I was blind, so I didn't need to grow agitated over his appearance and could feel touched by his words without feeling irked. Even Elijah, the companion who was the least close with me, wanted me back.
I commented, "If I hadn't returned, you could have taken the Sun Knight position."
He immediately exclaimed, "Nothing of the sort! I was only standing in for you so that you would be able to return with no problems..."
To the side, Storm, who knew me better, was snickering. Even Stone was smiling. Elijah fell silent, realizing that I had been joking.
He smiled ruefully. "I walked right into that one."
It was indeed his fault for not knowing me better. I couldn't help pulling his leg a bit, especially when I recalled the fury I'd felt seeing him take my place at the table. But it was also thanks to him that I could return without people suspecting why the Sun Knight had been absent this entire time.
"Why was it you?" Of all people... Why was it you? Was there no holy knight who could take on the task instead, so we had to have a royal knight take my place?
"I..." Elijah looked around the corridor, perhaps checking to see if it was clear. He also looked behind him to make sure. Then, he lowered his voice and said, "I was merely returning a favor. And although I chose to remain here, I was still once a part of all of you."
In the end, he smiled a bit wistfully and said, "May the God of Light guide your return."
Perhaps if things had been different, he would have remained one of my Twelve Holy Knights.
Damn, I'm really tempted to steal Elijah back from the king!
After that, I still couldn't return to my room, since it was dinner time, and I was starving.
Dinner was quite an event. Our meals usually weren't very extravagant, but given that it was the first day of our return, the kitchens had gone all out without being stingy. I took a single bite and couldn't help the emotion coursing through me.
I was truly back. I'd missed this. I'd missed everything. It just hadn't been the same in the Demon King's Castle, where I took my meals alone, or with people who hated my guts or only tolerated me. The Cathedral of the Shadow God had provided me everything I could have wished for, from riches to knowledge to good food, but they hadn't been able to provide me a sense of home.
As I ate, Blaze kept piling more food on my plate, something about how I looked too thin. To the side, Leaf happily sprinkled seasoning on his food and even lent me a jar. More like, highly recommended it to me. Usually, I might've felt exasperated by their antics, but at the moment, I just felt pampered.
When it was time for dessert, I eagerly awaited the plates being brought out. I even tried to observe Ice's expression, hoping he'd give me some kind of hint about the desserts, but he wasn't paying attention at all.
It was too late that I realized that he probably hadn't had time to make anything.
What the kitchen staff brought out was pie all right, but it was apple pie. Why apple pie? Do they still think I like apples? But it's been so long since I went to ask them for apples to make wine!
Earth remarked, "W-wow, it's so n-nice of them to prepare your f-favorite dessert on our f-first night back!"
"Indeed, it is very thoughtful of them," I said, not rising to his bait. In fact, I even thought it a bit nostalgic, hearing his annoying digs.
I liked desserts of all kinds, but apple flavored ones weren't particularly my favorite because of the staff's misperception and how often they made apple desserts because of it. Still, I took a slice.
I finished it off fairly quickly and took another slice. Earth blinked.
Closing my mouth around my fork, I could not help feeling emotional over the taste of apples and cinnamon. Damn, I'd missed even this annoying taste. I thought I'd grown sick of the taste, but this really tasted like home.
Cloud seemed to like the apple pie too. He actually appeared to take a tiny slice when I hadn't been able to sense him this entire time. Metal had to help Moon grab a slice. It was getting a bit too sad seeing Moon trying to serve himself a piece and missing the plate entirely. Meanwhile, Roland couldn't seem to decide if he should take a slice or not.
I smiled, polishing off the rest of my pie.
Only after getting dragged this way and that by my commitments was I finally able to head toward my room, my haven. I'd dreamed of my bed, of my many jars that I'd accumulated over the years, of my wine cellar with all my hard work, of being surrounded by familiar walls...
So, you couldn't blame me when I broke the rules just a bit by hastening my steps, but not so much that my clothes would be completely messed up. My room!
However, when I turned the corner to where all of our rooms were, I was hit by a cold dose of reality.
There was a gaping hole in the ceiling of my room. A huge, gaping hole. Some birds were even perched on the uneven edges of the destroyed ceiling, huddling together for warmth. Dear God of Light, the bottles are all broken! My... my essential oils. My jars of ingredients... Sob...
Judgment followed after me at a slower pace. When he reached where I stood frozen in shock at the end of the corridor, he made no comment. I couldn't even make myself take a single step more. I'd already seen enough.
And dammit, Judgment, stop silently judging me!
Because I did remember. I just hadn't wanted to think about it. And maybe, a part of me had hoped that the damage wasn't as bad as my wild imagination had supplied, or that they'd have rebuilt and fixed everything by now.
I did remember. I was the one who had blasted the roof of my own room. I hadn't really thought much of it then. But Judgment had been furious about it.
"My room," I whispered, horrified. It was damaged way more than anywhere else.
Judgment gave me a nudge and walked forward. I could only follow behind him. The door had been blasted into pieces, with only the bottom right half still attached to the hinges, so Judgment only had to step to the side of it to enter. It was a bit of a wasted action. Even the walls were crumbling, so there really wasn't any need to use the door.
But I forced myself to step over the remnants of the door, and entered. I'd already seen what was left of my room, but standing inside of it made it even more devastating.
There was definitely no bed left to laze around in, only a fixture that was broken in half and some feathers that had survived the ordeal. My cabinet was in pieces, smashed by the ceiling that had fallen on top of it. The room smelled of lavender, even with the gaping hole in the ceiling, because of all the smashed bottles. The only good piece of news was that the wine cellar seemed to be intact. My teacher would probably kill me if it wasn't. Imagine that, all of his hard work and the hard work of all the Sun Knights before him, gone because I hadn't wanted to use the door to leave, and even when I'd left, I'd wanted to redecorate by tossing out two dark blades!
"How..." I squeezed out. How could it be this bad?
Judgment explained, "You let out a lot of dark element when you flew through the roof with Elaro. Not only did the dark element damage your room, the ceiling also fell and destroyed many things. The dark blades caused even more damage. We were busy with battle preparations, so no one has been able to fix anything yet. Sorry."
Still as much of a tapeworm as ever. I don't even need to finish asking my question!
But it seemed that I needed to get back into shape with figuring Judgment out. Judgment was actually feeling apologetic and not angry. He had been so furious then...
Standing here, I could understand why. This was home. This was where I belonged. Yet I had blasted it apart, destroying my path of return. I'd torn our bonds with my own hands, laughing in their faces. Taunting them. Screaming at them. Wanting them to know how futile everything was. Yet wishing they would continue to chase after me. To never give up on me. I had been full of contradictions that even I hadn't understood myself.
"Lesus, there's nothing you need to be sorry for," I said. "I should be the one saying sorry."
I'd been such an annoying bastard, yet they hadn't given up on me.
I blinked my eyes. The wrecked room was really hitting me hard. I had been too close to losing everything that mattered.
Judgment clasped me on the shoulder. "That's all in the past now."
"Hey," I complained right away. "I comforted you saying that it's not your fault. Yet you took my apology just like that! So is it all my fault?"
"Of course," he replied without any hesitation.
I pouted. Lesus, you really have become too sly!
"But all that matters is that you're here now." He gestured at my room. "I know you're feeling depressed by the wreckage, but we can clean this up. We'll rebuild your room."
It was as if he was saying, It's okay. You can return.
Although I had been the very person to destroy my own room, I was still allowed to return. I still had a home.
Just how blessed am I?
...but where am I going to sleep tonight?
There was a slight problem. My room was uninhabitable. I had no place to sleep for the night. Make that several nights. Who knows how long it'll take to fix the ceiling and clear away the damage?
"Maybe I'll go room with Roland..." I mumbled. Roland didn't need to sleep, so he probably wouldn't mind giving me his bed. On top of that, he was a death monarch, so if I lost control of the dark element in my sleep, he would be able to protect himself and stop me. Or, I could teleport to my room in the Demon King's Castle, but just thinking about it made me frown.
Judgment suddenly said, "You can room with me."
I nearly jumped in shock at the suggestion. "What?"
Are you trying to scare me to death? Me? Room with you? Thanks, but I don't want to have to wake up at the crack of dawn, and I don't want you watching my every action!
Judgment gave a nod at the wall between our rooms. "I'm right next door, and you can head over through that hole in the wall if you don't want to use my door. You can still enter from your own room."
It was true. There was a hole in the wall between our rooms. Dear God of Light, I put a hole in Judgment's wall!
He raised an eyebrow. "That settles it, right?"
When I didn't say anything, he added on, "Actually, several of the others are also rooming together. A lot of our ceilings need fixing. Also, let me remind you that you're back in Leaf Bud City. The seal is very strong. You won't harm a hair on me. So don't even doubt yourself. That would be just an excuse."
You're implying that I have no other choice, right?
"I guess..." I said weakly, not wanting him to keep dwelling on the damage I'd caused, especially that hole in his wall. Who knows if he'll suddenly decide to be angry about it?
We haphazardly boarded up the walls to the corridor and borrowed a door from the Blaze Knight Platoon to replace my broken door, just so that people walking by wouldn't know that I wasn't in my own room. Blaze had loudly offered his own room, claiming that he could sleep on the floor, but I was suspicious as the whether he'd kick the bedposts in his sleep, thinking he was kicking doors, and end up knocking me to the floor. Then, I found out that Cloud was already rooming with him. Thanks, but three's a crowd, even if one can't be seen half the time.
After replacing the door, Judgment left to return to his room. I stayed back for a moment, alone in my room.
My feet moved forward. I bent down to pick up a shard and placed it to the side, thinking to make a pile. This was a piece of a tiny jar, the first jar my teacher had ever given to me, a jar of lavender essence. While I'd used what was inside of it, I'd kept the jar in my drawer ever since I was eleven.
Some things really couldn't be replaced.
I opened the lopsided closet, trying to figure out which clothes I could still salvage. The first official uniform I'd worn since becoming the Sun Knight was in a sad state. Some of the other outfits were in better shape, but none had escaped undamaged. I had a lot of mending to do.
I blanched. What should I wear tonight then?
The Pope had given me a few outfits to wear on the battlefield, but now that I was back, I had been looking forward to a fresh change of clothes. Maybe I really should teleport to the Demon King's Castle. I have plenty of clothes there... but they're all black or some other dreary color. That won't do.
Sighing, I headed to Leaf's room to borrow some clothes from him. Cloud was also close to my height, but even though he was supposedly rooming with Blaze, I doubted that I would find him so easily.
After washing up, I took one of the outfits that was the least damaged, hoping I could fix it before sleeping. Then, I walked over to the hole in the wall and said, "Knock, knock."
"Come on in," Judgment responded.
I stepped through the hole, having to bend slightly. Judgment's room was as clean as always. His bed was neatly made, his table clear of random things, and all of his clothes properly hung in his closet.
He'd changed out of his robes and was now wearing a sleeveless garment, which was a lot less confining than his daytime outfit. He had some papers in his hands. Paperwork, already? We just returned!
But who knew, maybe it was leftover paperwork. I plopped myself down on a chair, trying to ignore the fact that there was actually a small hole in Judgment's ceiling. Even his ceiling hadn't gone undamaged. It wasn't nearly as bad as the gaping hole in mine, but there was a hole. It had already been boarded up, but that didn't hide the fact that it was there.
I distracted myself with sewing, closing up the rips in the outfit and using another shirt as material.
While doing so, I sneaked glances at Judgment using my sensing ability, trying to see if he'd admonish me over his ceiling. He seems pretty focused on his work.
Well, if he's not going to bring it up, I won't either. I already have enough I need to replace... Sob... this is going to cost so much...
I had to get new clothes. Replace all of my jars. Buy facial mask ingredients from scratch. Get new furniture. Just thinking about all of that made my heart hurt. I was really tempted to teleport to the Demon King's Castle and snatch some gems to sell. Surely Scarlet would help me out, and Adair won't stop me even if he's currently the stand-in?
Judgment looked over. "I don't recommend it."
I stilled. "You don't even know what I'm thinking!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you thinking about how much everything will cost? I suspect you might want to abuse your position and abscond with some money."
"...It was just a wild fantasy," I said. He looked like he didn't believe me. I muttered, "Besides, it's mine anyway."
Judgment shook his head, as if he didn't know what to do with me. But even his exasperation at the moment was something I welcomed wholeheartedly. It was comforting, being able to talk with him like this, especially since it felt like ages since our last heart-to-heart. The bathroom must miss us a lot.
"I'm done," he said, straightening his papers. "How about you?"
I gave a nod, placing the outfit to the side. It still wasn't perfect, but I could finish mending it tomorrow. I needed some other supplies.
He moved to blow out the candles.
I suspected that darkness settled over the room, but it didn't make a difference to me. Judgment moved toward the bed. I stayed rooted to the spot and slowly asked, "Where should I sleep?"
"On the bed, of course."
"Then, what about you?"
"On the bed as well."
"..."
Lesus, I thought you hated sharing a bed! You always complain that we're not children anymore! Are you really Lesus Judgment? But... I'm not going to complain.
I'd really rather have a bed than sleep on the floor, and I wasn't going to kick Lesus out of his own bed. I wasn't that shameless or daring.
I got under the covers, pulling the blankets up. He also got into bed, tugging the blankets over.
"Make sure not to roll around too much. I don't want to wake up without a blanket," he said.
"Make sure you don't snore," I shot back.
He rolled his eyes.
I turned to the side, trying to fall asleep. It was quiet, save for his even breaths and my own. I hoped I didn't snore. A Sun Knight who snores? That would be ridiculously inelegant!
But since no one had ever complained to me about snoring, not during any of the times I'd had to sleep in tents near other people, I tried to convince myself that I obviously wasn't a snorer.
It's too scary to consider that maybe they never told me anything because I'm the Sun Knight and then later, the Demon King, so... I'm just... not going to think about it!
In the rooms around us, the others were either in bed or getting ready for bed. Even Storm. Roland, on the other hand, seemed like he was going to spend the night doing paperwork. He didn't need sleep, after all. All was quiet. Reassured that they were all fine-Leaf even waved back at me-I pulled my sensing ability in.
Lesus shifted. His back bumped into mine. It was warm. He shifted away and said, "Sorry."
I instead turned around, half reaching out...
"Grisia?"
Changing my mind, I shuffled closer, barely touching, but close enough to reassure myself of his presence.
I stayed like that for a long while, listening to his soft breathing, feeling the rise and fall through the slight movement of the blankets.
Then, I whispered, "I'm glad you're not dead," to which he could have shot back that I was cursing him-of course he wasn't dead-but Lesus knew what I meant. He was Lesus, after all. And I was truly glad that he wasn't dead, that he was alive, that I hadn't done the unthinkable and killed him. I couldn't get it out of my head, the sight of him impaled by the Divine Sun Sword.
He hadn't fallen asleep yet. "I'm glad you're back," he responded just as quietly. He leaned back. I took it as permission to snuggle closer. He was actually a fairly good pillow.
"You're really lenient with me today," I added on. He didn't even berate me for any of the damage I'd caused, and he even offered his room without any cajoling from my part. Has Lesus's pushover rate risen without my knowing it?
"You too, Grisia, you've been holding back today."
"Eh? How so?"
He began listing, "You let Storm chat closely with you the entire way. I heard from Stone that you talked fairly amiably with the king. You let Blaze pile food on your plate. You didn't argue with Earth at all. You ate several slices of apple pie-"
"I get it already!" I exclaimed, interrupting him. "Geez, did you have to watch me so closely?"
He shrugged. "I just noticed."
You just... noticed.
I fell silent. He placed a hand on my arm.
"I..." I began to say. I didn't know how to put everything I was feeling into words. Yet when I started, the words came tumbling out. "I... I've been so terrible, but everyone's still treating me the same. It's just been really nostalgic, and I don't want to do anything that could change that. I've missed all of this. I've missed everyone. I've missed you. I..."
He patted me, his tone amused. "You could have passed it off as becoming more responsible and mature."
"Like you would believe that!"
He chuckled and then said two simple words. "Welcome home."
I nodded. There, in the quiet of the night, even though I wasn't in my own room, I knew I was back where I belonged. This place was far less luxurious than a castle, and I even had to share a bed, but everything and everyone that mattered were here.
"I'm home," I said.
I'm home.
the end
The next day, Lesus woke up at the crack of dawn. Grisia immediately regretted rooming with him. ;)
I confess I was trying to write Lesus and Grisia sharing a bed. That was the whole point. But I had to figure out why, and it somehow changed into an actual epilogue to the series. (I do love writing epilogues *has done so for several fandoms*)
There are still some things I didn't manage to touch upon, but hopefully I can. In a different fic, that is. Like, what happened to Awaitsun in the end? And Taylen? How did Adair fare as the stand-in demon king? And all that jazz.
There was something else I was going to include in this fic, until I realized it's not mentioned until the middle part of 39. Oops. So, the king asked to see Grisia later on... and then nothing came out of it. XD;; /just noting it down so I'll remember what I was intending to do with that. :'D
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 4,755
Summary: Grisia finally returns home. There's a small problem though. His room was destroyed. His room! Set after the main events of V8.
Notes: I have been told by several people that I made them cry with Goodbyes and Hellos. :'D So, have this somewhat fluffier(?), post-canon fic. My cute little oneshot wanted to be over 4.7k words. I don't trust these oneshots anymore. But I still trust them more than my chaptered fics. I love completed stories~.
Coming Home
When the Church of the God of Light came into my sensing range, I felt incomparably touched. It was true that I had previously teleported myself back to cause havoc before, so it wasn't like I had never returned even once this entire time, but now I was returning for good.
Returning home.
Demon King? Adventurer? Master mage? Please. All I want to be is a church hermit! Ahem. I mean, all I want to be is the Sun Knight!
It was to the wild cheers of the citizens that we rode our horses through Leaf Bud City. We were victors returning from our long battle with the "Demon King," whom we had forced to retreat to the Demon King's Castle.
Adair was quite the accomplished actor. Even Earth had agreed. I really did have the best eye for talent. Not only was he a capable vice-captain and an impressive general, he was even a very convincing demon king. He'd led a huge undead army against us, and we'd acted out the battle of the century. It was sure to be recorded in history books.
Wait, history books will detail how the Demon King lost terribly to the Church of the God of Light and had to beat a hasty retreat... Isn't that saying that I was defeated and ran away?!
I nearly froze but consoled myself that I was first and foremost the Sun Knight, while I was only a part-time demon king. Besides, it was Adair who had acted out the losing battle. Still, I was truly a misunderstood demon king. First, I had been wrongfully accused of kidnapping and toying around with Alice. Also, I was blamed for all the property damage and death that Charlotte had caused. Now, I was even going down in history books as the demon king who had been soundly defeated by the Twelve Holy Knights!
Woe is me. So misunderstood.
Sigh. I bet no one else has ever had to orchestrate their own downfall. Sigh. At least, the 38th generation of the Twelve Holy Knights will forever be remembered as the ones who defeated the evil Demon King.
...That's not bad, actually.
While these thoughts tumbled about in my mind, I smiled at the citizens around us, waving my hand. Although my teacher had taught me how to slowly wave my hand to conserve my energy in such occasions, for once, I did not mind waving at a normal speed.
However, that thought didn't last long.
...Ouch, my arm hurts.
My arm grew sore quicker than I thought. There hadn't been any need to exert myself physically as the Demon King, not when I had magic at my disposal. Sword training? I definitely had done none of that.
I weighed the pros and the cons of casting a Minor Heal to soothe away the fatigue. If this was the past me, I'd have cast it without a second thought, but it was no longer so simple anymore. I had to carry the Divine Sun Sword with me at all times just to be able to maintain the holy element coloring my hair. A Minor Heal wouldn't be very taxing, as I was still stronger than the average cleric-I'm not saying that I'm a cleric-but it wasn't like I was hurt or anything. My arm was just sore.
Before I could make my decision, warm healing light settled over my arm. Startled, I glanced over to see Storm casually finish casting the spell. He shrugged and said, "It looked tiring to me, seeing you wave your hand so much."
He would know about how tiring repeated actions could get with how much he'd had to wink since we'd entered the city.
"Thanks," I replied. My arm felt much better.
As we spoke, his horse somehow moved closer and was now side-to-side with mine. Storm even patted me on the shoulder. "No problem."
...Just because your eyes are tired doesn't mean you have to seek me out to carry out your teacher's advice on how to avoid winking!
Still, I didn't urge my horse away and let Storm continue to chat with me about random stuff. The king's reaction. Who would greet us first. Having actual, edible food to eat. At that last topic, I could not help imagining having entire blueberry pies to myself, personally made by Ice. The stuff my demon king subordinates had prepared or acquired for me just wasn't the same.
Not long ago, no one would have dared to pat me on the shoulder or chat my ear off. Storm was totally dragging me down to rest his eyes, but I didn't even mind.
After arriving at the Church, I really wanted to rush to my room right away. Although the Demon King's Castle was vast and heavily decorated, it had nothing on my cozy little room. One was breathtakingly beautiful and spacious, yet so spacious that it felt empty and cold, while the other was simple and familiar. It was home. If possible, I just wanted to hole up in my room and not reappear for at least an entire week.
But I had to greet the king first. After the holy knights and clerics at the entrance welcomed us-what do you know, the first person to greet us at the door was Elaro-I brought Storm and Stone along with me to see the king at the palace. The king actually fussed over me quite a lot. If it wasn't because he was the king and I was the Sun Knight, I'd have cracked a joke right then and there about whether or not he was my mom. All the while hiding the barb in praises of the God of Light, of course.
Usually, I was insolent enough to do so, but I'd really been away for a long time and had caused these people all sorts of headaches. I'll be good and cut them some slack.
I was sure he appreciated it much more when I called him an overbearing older brother rather than a mom. The princess seemed rather unhappy at that though, which was completely uncalled for. I'm not going to steal her older brother from her! Not even if he offered!
There was official business the king had to discuss with me now that I was back, but he instructed me to return at a later date for his orders. Elijah saw us out.
"It's good to have you back," he said at the door. "No one can replace you."
If I used farsight right at this moment, I'd probably see a heartfelt expression on his all-purpose handsome face. Thankfully, I was blind, so I didn't need to grow agitated over his appearance and could feel touched by his words without feeling irked. Even Elijah, the companion who was the least close with me, wanted me back.
I commented, "If I hadn't returned, you could have taken the Sun Knight position."
He immediately exclaimed, "Nothing of the sort! I was only standing in for you so that you would be able to return with no problems..."
To the side, Storm, who knew me better, was snickering. Even Stone was smiling. Elijah fell silent, realizing that I had been joking.
He smiled ruefully. "I walked right into that one."
It was indeed his fault for not knowing me better. I couldn't help pulling his leg a bit, especially when I recalled the fury I'd felt seeing him take my place at the table. But it was also thanks to him that I could return without people suspecting why the Sun Knight had been absent this entire time.
"Why was it you?" Of all people... Why was it you? Was there no holy knight who could take on the task instead, so we had to have a royal knight take my place?
"I..." Elijah looked around the corridor, perhaps checking to see if it was clear. He also looked behind him to make sure. Then, he lowered his voice and said, "I was merely returning a favor. And although I chose to remain here, I was still once a part of all of you."
In the end, he smiled a bit wistfully and said, "May the God of Light guide your return."
Perhaps if things had been different, he would have remained one of my Twelve Holy Knights.
Damn, I'm really tempted to steal Elijah back from the king!
After that, I still couldn't return to my room, since it was dinner time, and I was starving.
Dinner was quite an event. Our meals usually weren't very extravagant, but given that it was the first day of our return, the kitchens had gone all out without being stingy. I took a single bite and couldn't help the emotion coursing through me.
I was truly back. I'd missed this. I'd missed everything. It just hadn't been the same in the Demon King's Castle, where I took my meals alone, or with people who hated my guts or only tolerated me. The Cathedral of the Shadow God had provided me everything I could have wished for, from riches to knowledge to good food, but they hadn't been able to provide me a sense of home.
As I ate, Blaze kept piling more food on my plate, something about how I looked too thin. To the side, Leaf happily sprinkled seasoning on his food and even lent me a jar. More like, highly recommended it to me. Usually, I might've felt exasperated by their antics, but at the moment, I just felt pampered.
When it was time for dessert, I eagerly awaited the plates being brought out. I even tried to observe Ice's expression, hoping he'd give me some kind of hint about the desserts, but he wasn't paying attention at all.
It was too late that I realized that he probably hadn't had time to make anything.
What the kitchen staff brought out was pie all right, but it was apple pie. Why apple pie? Do they still think I like apples? But it's been so long since I went to ask them for apples to make wine!
Earth remarked, "W-wow, it's so n-nice of them to prepare your f-favorite dessert on our f-first night back!"
"Indeed, it is very thoughtful of them," I said, not rising to his bait. In fact, I even thought it a bit nostalgic, hearing his annoying digs.
I liked desserts of all kinds, but apple flavored ones weren't particularly my favorite because of the staff's misperception and how often they made apple desserts because of it. Still, I took a slice.
I finished it off fairly quickly and took another slice. Earth blinked.
Closing my mouth around my fork, I could not help feeling emotional over the taste of apples and cinnamon. Damn, I'd missed even this annoying taste. I thought I'd grown sick of the taste, but this really tasted like home.
Cloud seemed to like the apple pie too. He actually appeared to take a tiny slice when I hadn't been able to sense him this entire time. Metal had to help Moon grab a slice. It was getting a bit too sad seeing Moon trying to serve himself a piece and missing the plate entirely. Meanwhile, Roland couldn't seem to decide if he should take a slice or not.
I smiled, polishing off the rest of my pie.
Only after getting dragged this way and that by my commitments was I finally able to head toward my room, my haven. I'd dreamed of my bed, of my many jars that I'd accumulated over the years, of my wine cellar with all my hard work, of being surrounded by familiar walls...
So, you couldn't blame me when I broke the rules just a bit by hastening my steps, but not so much that my clothes would be completely messed up. My room!
However, when I turned the corner to where all of our rooms were, I was hit by a cold dose of reality.
There was a gaping hole in the ceiling of my room. A huge, gaping hole. Some birds were even perched on the uneven edges of the destroyed ceiling, huddling together for warmth. Dear God of Light, the bottles are all broken! My... my essential oils. My jars of ingredients... Sob...
Judgment followed after me at a slower pace. When he reached where I stood frozen in shock at the end of the corridor, he made no comment. I couldn't even make myself take a single step more. I'd already seen enough.
And dammit, Judgment, stop silently judging me!
Because I did remember. I just hadn't wanted to think about it. And maybe, a part of me had hoped that the damage wasn't as bad as my wild imagination had supplied, or that they'd have rebuilt and fixed everything by now.
I did remember. I was the one who had blasted the roof of my own room. I hadn't really thought much of it then. But Judgment had been furious about it.
"My room," I whispered, horrified. It was damaged way more than anywhere else.
Judgment gave me a nudge and walked forward. I could only follow behind him. The door had been blasted into pieces, with only the bottom right half still attached to the hinges, so Judgment only had to step to the side of it to enter. It was a bit of a wasted action. Even the walls were crumbling, so there really wasn't any need to use the door.
But I forced myself to step over the remnants of the door, and entered. I'd already seen what was left of my room, but standing inside of it made it even more devastating.
There was definitely no bed left to laze around in, only a fixture that was broken in half and some feathers that had survived the ordeal. My cabinet was in pieces, smashed by the ceiling that had fallen on top of it. The room smelled of lavender, even with the gaping hole in the ceiling, because of all the smashed bottles. The only good piece of news was that the wine cellar seemed to be intact. My teacher would probably kill me if it wasn't. Imagine that, all of his hard work and the hard work of all the Sun Knights before him, gone because I hadn't wanted to use the door to leave, and even when I'd left, I'd wanted to redecorate by tossing out two dark blades!
"How..." I squeezed out. How could it be this bad?
Judgment explained, "You let out a lot of dark element when you flew through the roof with Elaro. Not only did the dark element damage your room, the ceiling also fell and destroyed many things. The dark blades caused even more damage. We were busy with battle preparations, so no one has been able to fix anything yet. Sorry."
Still as much of a tapeworm as ever. I don't even need to finish asking my question!
But it seemed that I needed to get back into shape with figuring Judgment out. Judgment was actually feeling apologetic and not angry. He had been so furious then...
Standing here, I could understand why. This was home. This was where I belonged. Yet I had blasted it apart, destroying my path of return. I'd torn our bonds with my own hands, laughing in their faces. Taunting them. Screaming at them. Wanting them to know how futile everything was. Yet wishing they would continue to chase after me. To never give up on me. I had been full of contradictions that even I hadn't understood myself.
"Lesus, there's nothing you need to be sorry for," I said. "I should be the one saying sorry."
I'd been such an annoying bastard, yet they hadn't given up on me.
I blinked my eyes. The wrecked room was really hitting me hard. I had been too close to losing everything that mattered.
Judgment clasped me on the shoulder. "That's all in the past now."
"Hey," I complained right away. "I comforted you saying that it's not your fault. Yet you took my apology just like that! So is it all my fault?"
"Of course," he replied without any hesitation.
I pouted. Lesus, you really have become too sly!
"But all that matters is that you're here now." He gestured at my room. "I know you're feeling depressed by the wreckage, but we can clean this up. We'll rebuild your room."
It was as if he was saying, It's okay. You can return.
Although I had been the very person to destroy my own room, I was still allowed to return. I still had a home.
Just how blessed am I?
...but where am I going to sleep tonight?
There was a slight problem. My room was uninhabitable. I had no place to sleep for the night. Make that several nights. Who knows how long it'll take to fix the ceiling and clear away the damage?
"Maybe I'll go room with Roland..." I mumbled. Roland didn't need to sleep, so he probably wouldn't mind giving me his bed. On top of that, he was a death monarch, so if I lost control of the dark element in my sleep, he would be able to protect himself and stop me. Or, I could teleport to my room in the Demon King's Castle, but just thinking about it made me frown.
Judgment suddenly said, "You can room with me."
I nearly jumped in shock at the suggestion. "What?"
Are you trying to scare me to death? Me? Room with you? Thanks, but I don't want to have to wake up at the crack of dawn, and I don't want you watching my every action!
Judgment gave a nod at the wall between our rooms. "I'm right next door, and you can head over through that hole in the wall if you don't want to use my door. You can still enter from your own room."
It was true. There was a hole in the wall between our rooms. Dear God of Light, I put a hole in Judgment's wall!
He raised an eyebrow. "That settles it, right?"
When I didn't say anything, he added on, "Actually, several of the others are also rooming together. A lot of our ceilings need fixing. Also, let me remind you that you're back in Leaf Bud City. The seal is very strong. You won't harm a hair on me. So don't even doubt yourself. That would be just an excuse."
You're implying that I have no other choice, right?
"I guess..." I said weakly, not wanting him to keep dwelling on the damage I'd caused, especially that hole in his wall. Who knows if he'll suddenly decide to be angry about it?
We haphazardly boarded up the walls to the corridor and borrowed a door from the Blaze Knight Platoon to replace my broken door, just so that people walking by wouldn't know that I wasn't in my own room. Blaze had loudly offered his own room, claiming that he could sleep on the floor, but I was suspicious as the whether he'd kick the bedposts in his sleep, thinking he was kicking doors, and end up knocking me to the floor. Then, I found out that Cloud was already rooming with him. Thanks, but three's a crowd, even if one can't be seen half the time.
After replacing the door, Judgment left to return to his room. I stayed back for a moment, alone in my room.
My feet moved forward. I bent down to pick up a shard and placed it to the side, thinking to make a pile. This was a piece of a tiny jar, the first jar my teacher had ever given to me, a jar of lavender essence. While I'd used what was inside of it, I'd kept the jar in my drawer ever since I was eleven.
Some things really couldn't be replaced.
I opened the lopsided closet, trying to figure out which clothes I could still salvage. The first official uniform I'd worn since becoming the Sun Knight was in a sad state. Some of the other outfits were in better shape, but none had escaped undamaged. I had a lot of mending to do.
I blanched. What should I wear tonight then?
The Pope had given me a few outfits to wear on the battlefield, but now that I was back, I had been looking forward to a fresh change of clothes. Maybe I really should teleport to the Demon King's Castle. I have plenty of clothes there... but they're all black or some other dreary color. That won't do.
Sighing, I headed to Leaf's room to borrow some clothes from him. Cloud was also close to my height, but even though he was supposedly rooming with Blaze, I doubted that I would find him so easily.
After washing up, I took one of the outfits that was the least damaged, hoping I could fix it before sleeping. Then, I walked over to the hole in the wall and said, "Knock, knock."
"Come on in," Judgment responded.
I stepped through the hole, having to bend slightly. Judgment's room was as clean as always. His bed was neatly made, his table clear of random things, and all of his clothes properly hung in his closet.
He'd changed out of his robes and was now wearing a sleeveless garment, which was a lot less confining than his daytime outfit. He had some papers in his hands. Paperwork, already? We just returned!
But who knew, maybe it was leftover paperwork. I plopped myself down on a chair, trying to ignore the fact that there was actually a small hole in Judgment's ceiling. Even his ceiling hadn't gone undamaged. It wasn't nearly as bad as the gaping hole in mine, but there was a hole. It had already been boarded up, but that didn't hide the fact that it was there.
I distracted myself with sewing, closing up the rips in the outfit and using another shirt as material.
While doing so, I sneaked glances at Judgment using my sensing ability, trying to see if he'd admonish me over his ceiling. He seems pretty focused on his work.
Well, if he's not going to bring it up, I won't either. I already have enough I need to replace... Sob... this is going to cost so much...
I had to get new clothes. Replace all of my jars. Buy facial mask ingredients from scratch. Get new furniture. Just thinking about all of that made my heart hurt. I was really tempted to teleport to the Demon King's Castle and snatch some gems to sell. Surely Scarlet would help me out, and Adair won't stop me even if he's currently the stand-in?
Judgment looked over. "I don't recommend it."
I stilled. "You don't even know what I'm thinking!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you thinking about how much everything will cost? I suspect you might want to abuse your position and abscond with some money."
"...It was just a wild fantasy," I said. He looked like he didn't believe me. I muttered, "Besides, it's mine anyway."
Judgment shook his head, as if he didn't know what to do with me. But even his exasperation at the moment was something I welcomed wholeheartedly. It was comforting, being able to talk with him like this, especially since it felt like ages since our last heart-to-heart. The bathroom must miss us a lot.
"I'm done," he said, straightening his papers. "How about you?"
I gave a nod, placing the outfit to the side. It still wasn't perfect, but I could finish mending it tomorrow. I needed some other supplies.
He moved to blow out the candles.
I suspected that darkness settled over the room, but it didn't make a difference to me. Judgment moved toward the bed. I stayed rooted to the spot and slowly asked, "Where should I sleep?"
"On the bed, of course."
"Then, what about you?"
"On the bed as well."
"..."
Lesus, I thought you hated sharing a bed! You always complain that we're not children anymore! Are you really Lesus Judgment? But... I'm not going to complain.
I'd really rather have a bed than sleep on the floor, and I wasn't going to kick Lesus out of his own bed. I wasn't that shameless or daring.
I got under the covers, pulling the blankets up. He also got into bed, tugging the blankets over.
"Make sure not to roll around too much. I don't want to wake up without a blanket," he said.
"Make sure you don't snore," I shot back.
He rolled his eyes.
I turned to the side, trying to fall asleep. It was quiet, save for his even breaths and my own. I hoped I didn't snore. A Sun Knight who snores? That would be ridiculously inelegant!
But since no one had ever complained to me about snoring, not during any of the times I'd had to sleep in tents near other people, I tried to convince myself that I obviously wasn't a snorer.
It's too scary to consider that maybe they never told me anything because I'm the Sun Knight and then later, the Demon King, so... I'm just... not going to think about it!
In the rooms around us, the others were either in bed or getting ready for bed. Even Storm. Roland, on the other hand, seemed like he was going to spend the night doing paperwork. He didn't need sleep, after all. All was quiet. Reassured that they were all fine-Leaf even waved back at me-I pulled my sensing ability in.
Lesus shifted. His back bumped into mine. It was warm. He shifted away and said, "Sorry."
I instead turned around, half reaching out...
"Grisia?"
Changing my mind, I shuffled closer, barely touching, but close enough to reassure myself of his presence.
I stayed like that for a long while, listening to his soft breathing, feeling the rise and fall through the slight movement of the blankets.
Then, I whispered, "I'm glad you're not dead," to which he could have shot back that I was cursing him-of course he wasn't dead-but Lesus knew what I meant. He was Lesus, after all. And I was truly glad that he wasn't dead, that he was alive, that I hadn't done the unthinkable and killed him. I couldn't get it out of my head, the sight of him impaled by the Divine Sun Sword.
He hadn't fallen asleep yet. "I'm glad you're back," he responded just as quietly. He leaned back. I took it as permission to snuggle closer. He was actually a fairly good pillow.
"You're really lenient with me today," I added on. He didn't even berate me for any of the damage I'd caused, and he even offered his room without any cajoling from my part. Has Lesus's pushover rate risen without my knowing it?
"You too, Grisia, you've been holding back today."
"Eh? How so?"
He began listing, "You let Storm chat closely with you the entire way. I heard from Stone that you talked fairly amiably with the king. You let Blaze pile food on your plate. You didn't argue with Earth at all. You ate several slices of apple pie-"
"I get it already!" I exclaimed, interrupting him. "Geez, did you have to watch me so closely?"
He shrugged. "I just noticed."
You just... noticed.
I fell silent. He placed a hand on my arm.
"I..." I began to say. I didn't know how to put everything I was feeling into words. Yet when I started, the words came tumbling out. "I... I've been so terrible, but everyone's still treating me the same. It's just been really nostalgic, and I don't want to do anything that could change that. I've missed all of this. I've missed everyone. I've missed you. I..."
He patted me, his tone amused. "You could have passed it off as becoming more responsible and mature."
"Like you would believe that!"
He chuckled and then said two simple words. "Welcome home."
I nodded. There, in the quiet of the night, even though I wasn't in my own room, I knew I was back where I belonged. This place was far less luxurious than a castle, and I even had to share a bed, but everything and everyone that mattered were here.
"I'm home," I said.
I'm home.
the end
The next day, Lesus woke up at the crack of dawn. Grisia immediately regretted rooming with him. ;)
I confess I was trying to write Lesus and Grisia sharing a bed. That was the whole point. But I had to figure out why, and it somehow changed into an actual epilogue to the series. (I do love writing epilogues *has done so for several fandoms*)
There are still some things I didn't manage to touch upon, but hopefully I can. In a different fic, that is. Like, what happened to Awaitsun in the end? And Taylen? How did Adair fare as the stand-in demon king? And all that jazz.
There was something else I was going to include in this fic, until I realized it's not mentioned until the middle part of 39. Oops. So, the king asked to see Grisia later on... and then nothing came out of it. XD;; /just noting it down so I'll remember what I was intending to do with that. :'D