The two then put their cups on their lips and downed their drinks simultaneously as if having agreed on it beforehand, lowering their glasses and refilling the cups right after.
Evan then held out a finger and began counting while muttering something to himself, finally completing his calculation a few moments later as he spoke up.
"This is the longest conversation the both of us have had in the past 22 months."
"Wait…that's what you were counting?!"
"Uh…huh."
As Evan hummed a reply, Arnold dwelt on his words and realised it was indeed the truth. Ever since 'Aidos' had informed him of the fact that something went wrong with the previous Second's spell and that the soul of his real brother, Evansen, was lost, he had begun taking distance from Evan.
Evan did not know this, but on that day that Evansen regained the previous Second's memories, Arnold was right out the door, ready to barge in and help his brother fight against the soul of the previous Second, but he was stopped by 'Aidos'.
It was only later that he was informed that the soul of 'Evansen' was lost and 'Evankhell' had taken over the body.
"True…I did begin to distance myself from you at around that time."
"Why though? I'm not asking cus I really care or anything, just to sate my curiosity."
Arnold's brow twitched lightly at Evan's reply, but the young hero continued talking without a care.
"Was it because of my deviancy? Or the because of the engagement that the Duke was trying to put between Laurene and me?
While it's quite obvious that Laurene has the hots for you, I'm not sure if the opposite is true. But…can I assume that it is?"
The elder Eris sibling noticed Evan's action of not calling the Duke 'Father', as the original Evan did during informal settings but he placed that at the back of his mind and asked the more important question.
"Are you trying to turn this into a 'love talk'?"
"Oh wow, you guessed my intentions correctly."
Arnold facepalmed and heaved a sigh while muttering something about how Evan even acted 'the same', reminiscing about how his younger brother acted around him, unlike his typical noble kid attitude he had outside.
On the other hand, Evan appraised Arnold with one eye while the latter was reminiscing.
'I don't know why I didn't notice it before, but there's something 'OFF' about his unique skill tab.'
'Artemisia…what's the real reason why Arnold does not have the Paladin skill?'
Despite his question, Evan received no reply from the goddess, with his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought to himself.
'No answer, huh?
Does she know that that's no different from basically admitting it?'
If only Evan knew that a certain goddess was currently glaring at him, sadly, he was not strong enough, and neither did he possess the necessary cosmic awareness to perceive the goddess' gaze.
Turning towards the banquet hall, Evan gazed at Richard and Myra who were on the dance floor and used his skill once again.
'And Richard too…he gives me the same sense of incongruity…like something is out of place but I can't seem to figure out what.
I'd talk to Laurene about it later.'
With those thoughts, he turned back to Arnold and asked another question.
"Hey Arnold, do you really wanna become the next Duke?"
"Where's this coming from?"
"Nowhere. Just wanted to know what your motivation for getting stronger is?"
"Motivation, huh?"
Arnold gazed at the constellations of the night sky in silence for nearly a minute, before finally giving Evan a reply.
"I just want to fulfil the duty I was saddled with."
"Duty, huh?
Why does that sound like you're talking about a different duty than becoming the next Duke or Prime Minister."
"The duty is not much different, just that the title of the post is.
Besides, why do you speak like it's a given that the next Duke automatically becomes the next Prime Minster?
That's not a position that's to be inherited."
"But the Eris Dukedom has held that position for the past three generations. And in our generation…I don't think any young noble can match up to you and take it from you."
Evan replied as he scanned the hall, taking note of all the young noble children in the hall.
"You really intend to give away that position, huh?"
"Isn't that obvious? Besides, it was yours in the first place, I'm simply giving it back."
'That's what Evansen wanted too.'
He kept the other part of the statement to himself while Arnold cited the reason why he lost said position in the first place.
"The Family Rules state that I cannot become the next head if I don't have 'that' skill."
"Which is very weird considering you're this Evan's full brother."
'This Evan?'
"What if I told you that you not having that skill may be caused by something artificial?"
Evan asked, snapping Arnold out of his thoughts as he pondered on the real reason he did not have the skill and gave a reply.
"Artificial cause?
Can't say I have not thought about that possibility.
But what would whoever is behind it gain by making me lose the successor position?"
"That's what I can't put my finger on…then again, this is only a hypothesis."
The two of them once again wet their throats with some wine, watching the stars in silence until Arnold spoke up.
"Hey, Evan…. you're a 'Hero', right?"
"Yep. The 'Second of the Seven Heroes'."
Evan spoke with the assumption that Arnold had already been briefed by his father, much to the latter's surprise as he didn't expect Evan to tell him everything.
After all, the world only knew Evan was a 'Hero', it wasn't public knowledge that he was the new generation 'Second of the Seven', even though some had already begun theorizing it.
"Why so surprised? Not like you haven't already been briefed on it."
"Yeah. Still didn't expect it though."
"Well…I certainly only intended for people like you who are high up in the nation's hierarchy to know for now, but thanks to a certain necromancer's actions, the whole world has probably found out now, it's pissing me off.
Anyway, why did you ask about that?"
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment before Arnold decided to discard his second thoughts and asked.
"Can you think of anything that would make you take actions unlike that of a Hero, as opposed to your title?"
"There are countless.
Then again, it all depends on what your definition of a 'Hero' is.
If by 'Hero', do you simply mean someone admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, power, noble qualities and such?
Or if you're the type who'd unhesitantly put their life on the line to save, protect, or fight for people.
Someone who can make the decision to sacrifice the select few for the sake of the many? Or the type that only takes action when they are 100% sure of their victory?"
Evan placed a hand on his chin as he spoke about what he felt were the various definitions of a 'Hero'.
"The type who would put their life on the line to save and protect people, people who probably would not thank them and instead act like it's a 'right' for them to be saved?
There are many definitions and types of a 'Hero'.
But one thing is for sure, regardless of the type of 'Hero' you are; you would not just attract the attention of your enemies.
No matter what kind of incident happens, people would turn to you, placing unreasonable expectations on you.
And if you do not show up at the time they want, or meet their absurd expectations, you'd be on the receiving end of their wrath.
It does not matter how many good things you've done, or how many millions you've saved."
Turning to Arnold with his mystic eyes giving off a dull golden glow, Evan asked Arnold in an uncharacteristically serious voice.
"Isn't that enough to make a 'Hero', to turn 'Dark'?"
"…"
"It's enough to make them turn against the very people they once put their lives on the line to save and protect, is it not?
Heroes aren't perfect, it's impossible for them to be able to save everyone and everything. Yet, people seem to ignore this fact, subconsciously or not, and expect them to be able to achieve this impossible feat.
Take the recent Cheverton Undead Crisis for example, did you know that there are people who are hating on me, Duke Cheverton and the others, despite all we did to resolve it?"
Evan dropped his glass back into his inventory before holding out his hand and clenching his fist as he spoke with a scoff.
"Hero…
There are many things that can make them turn to the opposite side, and you don't even need all, just one is enough."
"…And how susceptible to these things are you? What type of 'Hero' are you?"
"To be honest I don't know.
I'm a very contradictory person, you see.
On one end, I'm the type who would not act until I'm sure everything would go my way, but on the other hand, I feel like I may find myself risking my life to save unknown people who I did not know even existed until that occasion…. though the latter has a far lower (near zero) probability of happening."
Evan turned to Arnold and told him about the decision he had made earlier, about how he would not care about the survival of anyone besides the Seven Heroes, and how he was planning to use any means to achieve his goals, even if it meant many would die in the process much to Arnold's shock.
"That's what I told myself the day I gained my Hero title."
This chapter is updat𝓮d by fre(e)webnov(l).com