The silence in the canyon was absolute, thick with dust and the fading heat of the slain drake. Roland's question hung in the air, unanswered. Before Kaito could even form a thought, a new presence dominated the space.
From the high canyon rim, a figure dropped. It was not a fall; it was a descent, a controlled, powerful plunge that ended with a soft impact that barely disturbed the ashen ground. He landed between Kaito and the drake's corpse, a silhouette of polished silver and unwavering purpose. As the dust settled, the details became clear: the masterfully crafted silverite armor, the glowing runes, the earnest, handsome face.
It was Kaelen. The Hero. The weakest of the seven, but a living legend all the same.
Roland's eyes widened, all thoughts of Kaito's impossible wall forgotten. He immediately snapped to a formal, respectful stance, his spear held vertically. "Sir Kaelen!" Borin, ever the steadfast shield, simply lowered his head in a deep, silent nod of deference. The presence of a Hero commanded that kind of reaction; it was as natural as breathing.
Kaelen's gaze was not on them. It was fixed on Kaito, who was still crouched by the cured travelers, looking every bit like a startled child caught doing something he shouldn't. Kaelen's blue eyes, sharp with a Hero's perceptive clarity, took in the entire scene: the sheer, impossibly smooth granite wall that defied all known earth magic, the dissipating violet energy of the drake, and the civilians who were, indeed, "fixed."
He had seen the raw, unthinking power. He had seen the frantic, almost naive focus on healing. The two images did not reconcile.
"The wall," Kaelen stated, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable weight of authority. He didn't ask; he simply put the anomaly into the open. His eyes then shifted to the travelers. "And the corruption. Purged." He finally looked at Roland and Borin. "Your timing was fortunate. This creature was beyond a standard Magma Drake."
He was giving them an out, a way to process what they had seen by focusing on the mutated monster he had just cleanly dispatched.
Roland, seizing the lifeline, nodded vigorously. "Aye, Sir! A nasty piece of work. We were on our way to clear a nest of them. Our thanks for the assist." He glanced at Kaito, his expression now a complex mix of gratitude and deep, deep confusion. "And... yours, kid. That wall saved their lives."
But Kaelen's attention had returned to Kaito. The Hero took a single step forward, his presence not threatening, but intensely focused, like a scholar examining a rare artifact.
"You are the one they call the pacification specialist," Kaelen said. It wasn't a question. "Your methods are… unorthodox." His gaze flickered to the Leviathan Staff, then back to Kaito's wide, uncertain eyes. "The land is sick. And you seem to be the only one with the cure. I would know why."
The question was simple, but it held the weight of a kingdom. Kaito, the 20-day-old slime in a man-suit, stared up at the legendary Hero, his mind a blank slate of panic. He had no grand story, no noble purpose to recite. All he had was the truth he could never tell, and the terrifying understanding that the most important person in the region was now looking directly at him, waiting for an answer.
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Kaelen's question was simple, yet it felt like a cage closing around him. "The land is sick. And you seem to be the only one with the cure. I would know why."
Kaito's mind, young and simple, scrambled for an answer. He couldn't explain the boundless adoption, the axiomatic truth of his existence. All he had were the facts [Sage] had given him to survive in this world.
"I... I can feel the sickness," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. He gestured vaguely at the air, the ground, the now-purified travelers. "It's like a bad taste. I just... know how to make it clean." It was the most honest answer he could give without revealing everything. He could feel it, and he did know how to cleanse it, instinctively, the way a body knows how to heal a wound.
Roland, recovering from the shock of Kaelen's sudden appearance, stepped forward, his natural gregariousness reasserting itself. "Sir Kaelen, the kid's methods are... unorthodox, I'll give you that. But he gets results. That wall saved lives today." He clapped a heavy hand on Kaito's shoulder, making him flinch. "A bit jumpy, and his people skills need work, but his heart's in the right place."
Kaelen's gaze didn't waver from Kaito. The Hero saw the raw power in the wall, but he also saw the genuine, unfeigned fear and confusion in the young man's eyes. It wasn't the look of a schemer or a infiltrator. It was the look of a child who had been thrust into a situation far beyond his understanding.
"The 'how' is a question for another time," Kaelen said, his tone shifting from interrogation to command. "For now, the 'what' is enough. You have a talent this Barony desperately needs." He looked at the cured travelers, who were now being helped to their feet by a sobered Borin. "Your actions here have saved lives and stabilized a region. That is what matters."
He turned to leave, his silverite armor gleaming in the hazy light. But he paused, glancing back over his shoulder, his final words meant for Kaito alone, though everyone heard them.
"Continue your work. But know that you are not unseen. The land's sickness is a threat to the entire kingdom. Your unique skills place you on the front line of a war you may not fully understand. Be ready."
With that, the Hero vanished as swiftly as he had appeared, leaving Kaito standing between the grateful A-ranks and the people he had saved, the weight of a hero's attention now added to the Castellan's and the mage's. He was just a child who wanted to help, but the world kept insisting on making him a soldier.