The Final Protectors

Unknown Decay Part 2

The loosely-closed guest room opened. The dazed Evan followed Aldo out of the room, his left brain thinking, “I walked the streets with Karlos as brothers”, while his right thought, “I eavesdropped with Archbishop Aldo”. These torrents of thoughts were all over the place, but unfortunately, they had no philosophical value—all they did was create short-lived sparks in his mind.

The good thing was that both Jel and Aldo ignored this unlucky child who had such “extraordinary experiences” in unison.

Aldo told Jel with sincerity, “Thank you for taking care of him.”

“No, this is what I ought to do.” Jel invited him to take a seat and said, “We are related, aren’t we?”

Aldo sat himself down on the couch. He clearly was unused to the overly soft cushion, looking no better than Karlos bouncing himself on it his first time—Jel felt as if the Archbishop had very reluctantly placed his respectable buttocks on the blade of a knife. His actions were stiff and careful, and his elegant straight back displayed a rigidity no different from someone with half their body paralyzed.

Yet… Alright, whether it was his rigidity or his meticulous adjustment of sitting posture, he appeared composed and collected. If you did not observe carefully, you would have thought he was at ease.

Karlos, you natural-born country bumpkin…

In the beginning, both the garden statue or Aldo himself had given Jel the feeling of a deep-rooted melancholy and coldness. Of someone concerned with nothing but willfully protecting his tiny tomb. As if another person’s breathing was the source of noise.

But now that Jel saw this person again, he discovered with astonishment that Aldo seemed to have shed his stone shell. The new body that came out of it looked no different from before. But his aura was world’s apart, as though he had turned into someone else entirely.

He was polite but not meek. Though his words were as soft as a whisper, the command, control and dominance could not be missed. But it did not evoke disdain. Instead, it felt natural, a matter of course.

…It was certainly a matter of course. There was no one else in the world who succeeded doing what this man had accomplished. And it was impossible for any person in this whole world to do what this man had accomplished.

Even his efforts to adjust to the couch made Jel very distinctly feel that he was the commander in the war with the Black Robes a thousand years ago. That very resolute man who would never retreat.

Aldo settled down, gaze gentle on Jel’s house corridor. He suddenly chuckled, “Mike is a good child. He reminds me of Karlos when he was younger. Everyone else heading to class walked properly. Only he slid down the handrails by the staircase. Wherever he was, laughter could be found. Everyone loved him.”

“His unique charm, right?” Jel asked.

Aldo’s eyes softened in reminiscence. In the next moment, he turned. “I heard that you’ll be departing to Sellute with some interns?”

“Yes, that is where my parents are.” Jel said, “Oh, if you’re worried that Karl might…”

“No, I’m not worried about him.” Aldo smiled. “Although he agrees he doesn’t quite follow orders, he’s not utterly unreasonable. He’s just used to doing things by himself, and not as a team. Moreover, he knows his limits very well, and would almost never cause trouble for others. In the rare instances he does take it too far, it’s after he has judged that it wouldn’t pose an issue.”

Jel felt his teeth hurt. From the eyes of someone grown up in the modern day, these two were too awkward with each other. Beneath every word lurked an implication of their complete understanding of each other, but their relationship had to be so impossible to be unraveled—if they were friends, they should just beat each other up… Of course, they can’t do it like the previous instance in the Temple; they still had to protect public amenities. If one got a blue eye and the other lost two teeth, they can still be good friends afterwards. If they were romantically involved, then they could just find a place to give into impulses, get on with each other for the night, and get rid of the problems and all that. If it worked out, they can continue like that. If it didn’t, they can break it off, easy.

So, Jel glanced at him, and sincerely asked, “Your distinguished self, how do you feel about him…”

“I love him,” Aldo answered unhesitantly.

Struck by such unexpected honesty, Jel was momentarily unsure of how to respond.

“To the extent that you cannot fathom.” Aldo then quietly added word by word, “Until the very day I breathe my last, and my soul scatters.”

Even if Jel did not watch soap operas like Karlos did, he still found the Archbishop’s expression—vacant but with a bitter sweetness to it—to be heartrending.

This… was a hard problem.

Jel contemplated and lowered his voice to speak somewhat unconfidently, “Actually, I think Karlos puts a lot of weight on his relationships. I think he will sense your feelings.”

Aldo’s lips curled feebly, and with a soft voice, he replied, “Thank you.”

“No, no, I’m only saying the truth.” From his gaze, Jel could actually see the hope of a drowning man grabbing for his lifeline, and momentarily found a great weight on his shoulders. “As you know, our stories always express feelings that transcend death and millennia. They sound very wonderful, even if everyone thinks that they’re all… Err, okay, I’m just saying, if it happens to you, then it’s absolutely real…”

Ugh. Jel thought, I do not look like a relationship consultant at all, so what bullshit am I saying?

Aldo slowly turned to the bright green plants outside the window, and murmured seemingly lost in thought, “If he refuses to forgive me…”

The remaining words dissipated in a sigh, but it only made Jel’s imagination run wild. Jel even had the feeling that if Karlos refused to “forgive” this person for whatever reason, then his life would lose all its color, and that he might as well die… In truth, Jel thought back to Archbishop Aldo’s way of life before this, and grew certain that his conjecture was right.

So, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Then… If there’s anything I can help with, do not hesitate and ask me.”

“I do, in fact, have a presumptuous request to make of you.” Aldo turned back to him.

Jel blinked, suddenly feeling as though he had fallen into a trap. But he couldn’t quite take back what he had already said. “Yes, ask away.”

“Could I stay at your place for a while?” Aldo asked heartfeltly. “Perhaps a guest room. A storage room is fine as well. It does not matter, as long as I can… be a little closer to him.”

Oh, look at that, will you? He had already given up the entire Underground Palace to move to a small residence in Mid-mountains range in the State of Salla, and all he asked for was a guest room—or even a storage room!—Jel thought, what else could he possibly say?

So, he could only agree. “I do have a few more guest rooms, if you wouldn’t mind…”

Aldo graced him with a perfect smile. “Thank you. I will move tomorrow.”

Jel, “…”

Oi, oi, this was really just a trap, right?

Jel suddenly felt apologetic to Karlos. Even after the Archbishop had left for a long while, the strange feeling still remained… as though he had sold off his ancestor that he was so proud of.

Christ! What in the world is going on? Jel thought in pain. Word said that a person’s intelligence could jump and fall to eight to twenty different points in their life[1]. The intern he was teaching must have been too stupid, and caused his IQ to recently showing signs of dropping!

“Evan,” Jel said, “Before we set off to Sellute, I hope you’ll complete all the homework I gave you, or do you want to experience Instructor Margarett’s personal coaching when you’re there?”

Evan held his head and scuttled away—But what use was there, Mr. Gerado? Some innocent people must be sacrificed for the things certain people needed to do.

Come, sweetheart, just rest in peace.

Karlos was still unaware that he had had his price negotiated and was already boxed up and ready for the transaction.

He happily played with Lily and Mike the whole day, and was even contracted with the same disease as Jel’s nephew, “Junk Food Obsession Illness”.

Interesting toys, joyful colors, and a process of dirtying themselves with grease by using fingers as utensils—to hell with all table etiquette in the world! Being among the lively crowd and smelling the fragrance of bread, meat and ice cream truly stimulated appetites.

They ate MacDonald’s, and under Mike’s urging, they made the extra trip to KFC to buy a big family bucket for takeaway. The only spy, Lily, had been bribed by a Hello Kitty toy that was almost as tall as her, and thus agreed on a compromise with these idiotic men that she very much looked down on.

They happily returned home, but Jel and Evan escaped after a quick hello. Karlos mistakenly thought that since it was the little intern’s first official work trip with his instructor, he was a bundle of nerves and had to prepare himself. So Karlos did not pay attention, but he completely did not expect that the both of them were actually feeling guilt and could not feign innocence to face their friend that they hid a secret from.

Yet, in this short-lived quietness and joy, this particularly long night had only just begun.

Karlos coaxed Mike and Lily to bed and even sternly taught the two kids: eating on the bed was extremely discourteous, and was a bad habit.

Then, without any remorse, he went upstairs with a drumstick—these damn unfair adults always think they had a right to exempt themselves. It was truly too despicable.

Right in the middle of the night, Karlos who had been on the bed suddenly jolted awake. Many years of living with danger gave him a swift reaction speed. He managed to only snatch the clothes by the bed and the greatsword occasionally by his side at lightning speed before he was enveloped in white light. He did not even manage to reach for his shoes.

After a moment, the white light dissipated, leaving only the lamp light’s glow. There were still traces of someone on the bed and a comic book borrowed from Mike. And a chocolate wrapper peaked out from under the pillow… as well as a chicken bone that was cleaner than if it was gnawed by a fox.

The man there had vanished into thin air.

The author has something to say:

So sorry, I was so full from dinner that an unexpected plot development happened…

Translator Note:

 [1] The team has never actually heard of this expression before, but we tried translating it to the best of our ability