[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go-Chapter 192: Ch : Price of Peace

"Hey Nero, don’t you think that the goddess is becoming too daring? She does not even have her ’weapon’ with her, and she is still trying to challenge my authority in my own domain. What should I do about it?"

Emperor Kaiden’s voice had gone quiet when he asked this question. The space around him suddenly felt unstable, and Nero was quick to reply.

"Ideally, I would tell you to do what you want. But Shuu is involved this time. A single misstep and it can cause trouble for him since his soul is still fragile and recovering. Are you sure you want to take the risk?"

Nero’s words snapped Kaiden out of the daze he was in, and he immediately dropped whatever he had been about to do and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Tsk, you are right. I do want to bash the Goddess’s head in, but now is not the time or the place to do that. It seems I will have to wait a little bit longer to take my revenge."

Nero sighed in relief as he looked at the emperor and made a quick decision.

"I will keep an eye on Lady Canarie. I feel like she’s in a delicate state, and she might do something to Shuu at this rate. And also...maybe you should check up on Shuu yourself. I felt like something was wrong with him, but he won’t tell me what it was."

Nero suggested, and Kaiden nodded.

"I will do that. I will go to Shuu as soon as this paperwork is finished."

Unfortunately, that decision would cost Kaiden dearly, and he did not even know it at the time. The more time he spent buried in paperwork, the more distant he would grow from Shuu-until he was too late to help him.

__________

’It’s all so peaceful. I want to close my eyes and not move. I always want to stay in such a calm place where no one can hurt me.’

Shuu closed his eyes, and his back hit the soft ground. His body relaxed as sleep promised to take his senses over and grant him the relief he desperately needed.

’If this is what you crave, then join the goddess. Isn’t her embrace the most peaceful of all? Being by her side would be a constant bliss unlike anything you have ever felt before.’

The voice whispered like a devil in Shuu’s ears. And unfortunately, he was losing the battle against it.

The more he heard those whispers, the more he wanted to follow them and allow them to consume him. It was also growing stronger by the second, and Shuu was losing the fight against it.

Suddenly, being in the goddess’s embrace and heading for the temple did not sound as bad as before. Maybe he should consider that-

"Shuu, play!"

"Pass the ball!"

The daze was broken by two high-pitched voices asking Shuu to pass them the ball. Their presence pulled him out of the haze he was in, and he blinked as he looked at Caelis and Rin.

The kids quickly ran toward him and clutched at him.

"Shuu, you slow...Still sleepy?"

Caelis asked as he tilted his head to the side and gave Shuu a searching glance. Shuu wanted to hold his gaze, but he somehow found it difficult to do so.

He felt a little...guilty...toward these kids, and something more. But he did not even know why he felt like this...

"Shuu-"

Rin asked as he tugged at Shuu’s clothes as well.

It was far easier for Shuu to hold Rin’s innocent gaze than Caelis’s knowing one, so Shuu turned toward Rin instead. The child’s silver hair was beginning to fade slowly, and brown roots were starting to show, which made Shuu feel a little bad for him.

Rin was Lady Sera’s son, but it was clear that he was not Kaiden’s. His red eyes were fading a little as well, almost as if he were losing his color. But Nero had just told Shuu that it was because the drug used on him was losing its effect.

It would not take long for Rin to return to his normal colors, and that would be best for him physically. But Shuu was not sure about it mentally.

’I will need to protect Rin even more now-’

The ball hit Shuu’s side, and he looked at Caelis, who pretended to be innocent and looked away. But it was clear that he was the one who had thrown the ball at Shuu.

"You little-! Alright, let’s play. All three of us. I will have Rin on my team. Rin, you will help me, right?"

Shuu asked while looking at Rin. The poor kid looked torn between wanting to help Shuu and wanting to stay with Caelis.

"I..."

GASP

"That’s not fair. Rin is mine, like Kaiden is yours. He will stay with me-"

Shuu quickly grabbed Caelis’s cheek and pulled it.

"Don’t say stuff like that in public since it can be misinterpreted. No one can own people since they have their free will. Don’t be a tyrant, Caelis. If you treat people right, then they will treat you right as well."

This was a lesson Caelis needed to learn sooner or later. He should not see people as tools to be used and exploited. Just thinking about it left a bad taste in Shuu’s mouth and made him angry.

It almost felt like he was projecting his own feelings about this situation out loud...but he had never been used like a weapon before, right?

Then why...did he feel so strongly about all this?

’It must be because I was forced to act under the temple and Saintess Rosalyne as ’Lady Shuu’ and do their bidding. That experience must have left deeper wounds than I thought.’

That was the conclusion Shuu reached, and it was the best he could manage with his limited knowledge and no past memories. But a part of him did not feel satisfied with that answer.

But Shuu was healing. With his kids and Kaiden by his side, he felt like he could take on anything and anyone...