Chapter 383: The Story After (15) [Side Story, Part 15]

It was a confession of feeling. It was a proposal. It was, in every sense, a request for marriage.

Ketal fell silent, and in that quiet, Arkemis felt her heart race so violently it almost hurt.

Why... isn’t he saying anything?

she wondered.

Does he not like me?

Is he searching for words to turn me down?

Arkemis wondered if she had spoken too soon. She questioned whether she should have waited, gathered more moments of intimacy, shared more feelings, and only then asked. Her thoughts tangled into a tight knot, and she trembled as she forced herself to speak.

“Do... you not like it?” she whispered.

“No,” Ketal said. “That is not it.”

The thoughts in his mind, however, were not what she feared.

“No...,” he repeated softly.

He was in shock. The first emotion that rose when he heard Arkemis’s words was not surprise or joy or even embarrassment. It was fear, followed by hesitation and a deep, instinctive resistance.

I felt fear? And doubt?

he wondered.

A being from the fantasy world he loved had asked for a deeper bond with him. The realization of his own reaction shook him.

Why do I feel this way?

Ketal sank into thought, tracing the answer back through his own heart, and soon he understood.

He had always wanted the beings of this fantasy world to accept him. He wanted to stand beside them not as an outsider, but as one of their own. Up until now, his stance had always been a passive one. He had been waiting for the people of this world to reach out their hands to him.

However, Arkemis’s confession was different. This time, he was not the one being chosen. He had to choose. He had to answer that confession and step forward himself.

The fantasy he had admired so much was not simply reaching out to embrace him. This time, he was being asked to embrace it in return. That simple reversal stirred a primal resistance in him.

Am I ready to walk beside these people as one of them?

he thought.

He was not. To him, fantasy had always been a dazzling jewel. Just being near it had been enough. Just walking alongside it had been happiness beyond measure. Deep down, he had always drawn a line between himself and the world he loved, setting fantasy above himself as something shining and distant.

“

Haha...,

” Ketal murmured. The realization pulled a dry laugh from his throat.

He had worshipped this world for so long, gazed at it with such longing, and now that fantasy itself had taken a step toward him, his first instinct was to pull back. It was a strange irony.

So that is how it is. All this time, I still had not fully accepted it,

he thought.

“Ketal...?” Arkemis said.

She watched him with a worried expression. He had looked troubled one moment, then suddenly seemed oddly clear, as if something heavy had clicked into place. She had no idea what to make of it.

“Arkemis,” Ketal said.

“Y-yes?”

“I do not really understand love,” he said. “More precisely, I suppose it would be fair to say that feeling has faded in me.”

He had lived for a long time—a span of years so long even he could not properly measure it, wandering the White Snowfield while barely holding on to his sense of self. He had sustained his mind with nothing but his longing for fantasy. In comparison, every other emotion had worn thin and faded a long time ago.

“Your feelings are something I am deeply grateful for,” he continued. “But I am not ready to accept them completely.”

“I see...” Arkemis felt her heart drop like a stone. For a moment, she thought he was rejecting her.

Then he spoke again, and her eyes flew wide.

“So, for a while, I may not be able to give you everything you want,” he said. “I will do my best. I will try to revive those feelings in myself.”

“W-what?” she stammered.

“If you can accept that,” he said quietly, “then I will gladly accept you.”

Arkemis could not open her eyes any wider if she tried. Then joy flooded across her face.

“Thank you, Ketal!” she cried.

“I am the one who should be thankful,” he replied.

Arkemis had accepted him as Ketal, not as an idealized hero, not as a distant symbol, but as a single flawed person. That was a grace he did not take lightly.

“Then... is it all right?” she asked him.

“Yes,” he said. “It is all right.”

Ketal placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Arkemis rose slowly, her movements clumsy and almost frantic, yet she still managed to close her eyes with deliberate care. Their bodies leaned toward one another, and the distance between them finally disappeared.

***

“Hm,” Ketal murmured.

The next day, he opened his eyes in a soft bed. When he pushed himself up, he saw Arkemis lying beside him.

“Mmm... Ketal...,” she mumbled in her sleep. She was talking in her dreams, calling his name.

Ketal let out a quiet chuckle. Waking up to find someone lying at his side brought with it a strange sense of completeness.

So this is family

, he thought.

Arkemis was now his family. When he let that simple truth sink in, her brown hair and finely sculpted features seemed different from usual. She felt closer, somehow.

He rose from the bed and headed for the kitchen. By the time he had nearly finished preparing a simple meal, Arkemis shuffled in, rubbing at her eyes.

“Ketal. You are awake?” she asked him.

“Yes,” he said. “How do you feel?”

“I feel fine. A little awkward, but fine,” she said, then laughed softly. “Hehe.”

Her smile was bright and unguarded, full of happiness. At long last, she had gained a family. The wish she had carried in her heart for as long as she could remember had finally come true.

After they finished eating, someone knocked on the door. When they stepped outside, Karin was waiting for them.

“Judging by your expressions, I take it everything went well,” Karin said. “Congratulations, Arkemis. Ketal.”

“Thank you, but Your Majesty... was this not a little too obvious?” Arkemis asked her

“So you were the one who built this house,” Ketal said, looking at Karin.

“Was it not a good thing for both of you?” Karin replied with a small smile.

Her plan had worked perfectly. Internally, she sang in satisfaction, but she kept her face composed as she spoke.

“Allow me to congratulate you on forming this bond,” she said. “Will you be holding a ceremony?”

“I do not think it is really necessary,” Arkemis said. “Ketal does not seem like the type who would want that kind of fuss.”

In her mind, it did not suit his temperament. He disliked bothersome formalities, and a wedding ceremony sounded exactly like the sort of thing he would avoid.

However, Ketal shook his head.

“No,” he said. “I would like one.”

“Really?” Arkemis asked him, startled.

“It will be troublesome, as you say,” he admitted. “But I believe it is something I need to do.”

Ketal wanted to belong to this world in a true and lasting way, and he needed to put down roots to do so. This ceremony would become an oath, a declaration that he was choosing to live here as a part of this world’s story.

Karin understood immediately and nodded.

“I see,” she said. “In that case, where would you like to hold it?”

“In Barcan Estate,” Ketal replied after a brief pause. “That would be best.”

It was the first human land he had ever set foot in, the place where his journey into this fantasy had truly begun. It felt right to him that the ceremony be held there, and Karin agreed at once.

After that, time became busy. People from all over came one after another to offer their congratulations.

The first to arrive was the Tower Master.

“So you are getting married,” the Tower Master said. “I was sure you would spend your entire life wandering the world alone.”

“That would not have been a bad life either,” Ketal said. “But if I chose that path, I could never say that I had truly taken root in this world.”

“I see. So that is what this means to you.” The Tower Master understood immediately. He clicked his tongue softly and continued, “It is a good thing to have a place to return to, and someone who will welcome you there. I created the Mage Tower for that very reason. Do not neglect your partner.”

“Thank you for the advice,” Ketal said. “I will do my best.”

“Then I offer you my heartfelt congratulations,” the Tower Master said. “I suspected you carried many worries. I hope this decision becomes a place of rest for you.”

Next came Helia, Saintess of the Sun God. She studied Ketal with a complex look in her eyes.

“So you are getting married,” she said. “And your partner is a High Elf.”

“Yes,” Ketal replied. “Is that a problem?”

“No. Not a problem,” Helia said. “Simply... significant.”

With the Empire shattered, three powers now dominated the continent: the Mage Tower, the Church of the Sun God, and the Church of the Earth Goddess.

In such a delicate balance, Ketal forming kinship with the elves would tilt the scales sharply. The elves would gain an overwhelming advantage and would very likely become the single most influential force on the continent.

So the High Elf Queen has beaten me to it,

Helia thought.

She, too, had been quietly preparing to draw Ketal closer. Her first choice had been Aquaz, the Sun God’s inquisitor, who already had a strong connection to him.

However, that plan had been neatly outmaneuvered. Her tongue tasted bitter, yet the matter was already decided. She composed her thoughts and spoke with sincerity.

“Congratulations, Ketal,” she said. “You are more than deserving of happiness. As one of this world’s people, I hope you live your life to the fullest.”

“Thank you,” Ketal replied with a gentle smile.

After Helia came Milayna. She looked him over with an expression of wonder and murmured, “So you really are marrying Arkemis. No, that’s not the important part. You really are getting

married

at all. I honestly never imagined this.”

“I feel the same,” Ketal said.

“Even so, I should be happy for my friend,” Milayna said. “Please do not make her cry.”

“You do not need to worry,” Ketal replied. “I will give it everything I have.”

“Then congratulations, Ketal,” she said. “Now that I think about it... we have known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”

“We have,” he agreed.

They had first met in the White Snowfield, then crossed paths again in the Kingdom of Denian. From there, their connection had continued to deepen, step by step, all the way to this moment.

“Thank you,” Ketal said, bowing his head slightly. “You made it much easier for me to adapt to the Outside.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Milayna replied. “If not for you, I would have been killed by those assassins long ago.”

“I almost forgot that even happened,” he said.

There had been a time when assassins infiltrated the kingdom to target her. If he had not dealt with them in advance, she would not be standing here today. The memory already felt like something from a distant past.

They exchanged a small, shared laugh.

“Well then,” Milayna said.

“I look forward to our friendship from here on as well,” Ketal replied.

Milayna bowed politely and withdrew.

The next visitor, however, was someone he had not expected at all.

“Elene?” Ketal said, his eyes widening.

“It has been a while, Ketal,” she said softly. “Elene Mavroch Lutein, Queen of the Lutein Kingdom, offers her greetings.”

Elene, whose body has been replaced by Nano, bowed with impeccable form, every motion precise and graceful.

“Have you been well?” Ketal asked her.

“There have been problems, of course,” Elene answered. “But I have managed well enough. You, on the other hand, look happy.”

“I am happy,” Ketal said. He smiled without reservation. “And you? How do you feel?”

“I am not happy,” Elene said at once, not hesitating. She was no longer human. Strictly speaking, she could no longer even be called Elene.

Everything about her had been replaced. By all rights, she was little more than a false copy built atop a vanished soul.

“But I am not unhappy either,” she added.

She had accepted herself.

“Ketal,” she said. “You once told me something. If I could not find an answer, then I could set a goal instead. If I achieved enough to earn a reward I could accept, that would be enough.”

“Now that you say it, I remember,” he replied.

“I do not know if this counts as a reward,” Elene said. “But as I am now, I believe I can say this to you.”

Her clear, translucent eyes met his.

“You are a being of this world,” she said. “Do not doubt that.”

Ketal had no words. For a moment, his voice deserted him. A princess who was no longer human, who might not even be truly alive, had acknowledged his existence, and the feeling that rose within him was strange and almost indescribable.

After a quiet pause, he finally spoke.

“Thank you,” he said. “I will remember that.”

“I wish you happiness,” Elene replied.

She bowed deeply and left.

Many more followed after her, beginning with Marseria, the first elf he had ever met. The thief and the paladin who had once formed a party with him arrived as well, along with Priestess Hayes and Swordmaster Kain. Countless others joined them, and together all the bonds he had forged in this fantasy world gathered to bless his wedding.

At last, the day of the ceremony arrived. Ketal traveled to Barcan Estate and greeted the lord with a bright expression.

“Luke Barcan,” he said. “It has been a while.”

Luke, lord of Barkan Estate, regarded him with an odd look.

“It has,” Luke said. “I can hardly believe it. The world truly is unpredictable.”

The barbarian who had once appeared at his small frontier domain had gone on to shake the entire continent and stand as a hero. Luke let out a small laugh and stepped aside.

“Welcome,” he said. “Would you like to see the bride?”

“Please,” Ketal replied.

He stepped into the grand and ornate hall and headed toward the bridal chamber. Inside, Arkemis waited in a dress of flowing fabric and subtle brilliance. She beamed as soon as she saw him.

“Ketal! You are here. How do I look?” she asked him.

She spun in place, and the hem of her dress flared outward in a ripple of light. The sight struck him with a sudden wave of emotion, and feelings he could not fully name welled up and pressed against his chest. Before he realized it, he crossed the room and gathered her into his arms.

“K-Ketal? Is everything okay?” Arkemis said, her face turning bright red.

“It is nothing,” he said. “I am just... happy.”

This happiness was different from the joy he had always felt when he looked out at the fantasy he loved. This was fullness, a sense of being complete, as though roots had grown from his feet and anchored him firmly into the world.

Arkemis floundered for a moment, flustered, then slowly wrapped her arms around him in return.

“It is almost time,” she whispered.

“Then we should go,” Ketal said.

He stepped back and held out his hand, and Arkemis took it. Ketal smiled. This place was no longer just a fantasy to him. It had become his world. He would live here, put down roots, build a family, and raise children. His bloodline would walk across this world, leaving their footprints wherever they went.

He would become, in the truest sense, one of this world’s people. Ketal, an outsider from Earth and barbarian of the White Snowfield, at last became, in every way that mattered, a true part of this world.