Chương 64: Brilliant Lord of Light

A familiar man stood behind the parapet of Brighthaven's walls.

"Three weeks, Brighthaven has grown a lot... right guys?" Ann didn't even bat an eye at Eren's comment; her gaze had been fixed on the distant form of the Lord of Light tending to his garden.

"Silvester?" The tall archer was also keeping a close gaze on the Lord of Light during his moment of peace.

"Hey Eren, do you think the Lord of Light is human?"

"I heard there's a rumor going around that he's a Flesh-Shaper." Ann scoffed, tilted her helmet's visor up, and looked at Silvester with a scowl.

"I heard he's a suicidal maniac who wants to be reunited with his true love." Eren's incredulous look was evident even through his helmet's visor.

'The man's practically a saint? Guess gossip just forms more rumors.'

"I have an idea."

"Why don't we ask him?" Ann and Silvester both turned to look at him in unison.

'They were both on board with the idea…'

'So why am I the only one going to ask?' Eren turned to the parapet where his cohort stood watching. The Lord of Light's home was located on a hill that stood in front of Brighthaven.

Two sides of the sprawling town were encompassed by a rushing river that fell off into a beautiful lake below, not to mention the town was built on a plateau, which made it incredibly difficult for even a Dreamer to climb up its side, so unless an army built a bridge over the violent rapids, the only way to approach the town was through its watchdog. Eren took a deep breath before approaching the not-so-steep hill where the Lord of Light resided.

As his feet reached level ground, he witnessed the blind Lord of Light using a stone watering can to water a quaint bed of flowers.

"Sir?" The calm visage of the Lord of Light suddenly jumped, sending water out of the top of his watering can, but the Lord brushed off his startlement and began watering his flowers once again.

"Yes, Eren…?" Eren's eyes widened.

"You know my name?" The Lord of Light kept watering his flowers until a few final drips fell from his waterer.

"I try… want some water?" The Lord of Light's voice sounded like a harmony of angels; every word carried promise.

"Sure…" The Lord of Light started walking towards the rapids, and Eren followed.

'I thought he was going to offer me water?'

"Lord of Light… may I ask a question?" The fine-looking young man scowled for a second.

"Shoot, but don't call me Lord of Light." Eren paused for a few moments, thinking that he might have offended the merciful Lord.

"What should I call you then?" The Lord of Light walked at a measured pace, but despite being taller, Eren had to speed up to catch up with the nebulous hero.

"Call me by my name… June." The sounds of the rapids grew as they approached; it was a pleasing sound to one's ears.

'I think I get why they call him humble and wise.' Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"…"

"Is it true that you are a Fles—are you blind?" The two began to near the rapids, and the sound of gushing water was overpowering up close, but the young man's response still rang out.

"Yes, I am a Flesh-Shaper, and no, I am not blind." A shiver went down Eren's spine.

'He's a Flesh-Shaper?'

'He won't he eat me?'

'Right?' Regardless of whether death was prevalent or not during the tourney simulation, Flesh-Shapers were common boogeymen across several continental cultures; most people never hear of cognizant Flesh-Shapers, only the failures that ravage villages and towns. Eren shoved his reluctance and fear deep into his stomach as he pushed out another question.

"Don't Flesh-Shapers eat people?" The Lord of Light, in all of his aloofness, bent down onto one knee and placed his watering can into the rapids; every second bled into the next, and the silence was unbearable. The Lord of Light slowly lifted the watering can up. It was filled to the brim and spilling out.

"No, I don't eat people."

"…"

"Didn't you say you were thirsty? Take a drink." Eren froze; a million thoughts rushed through his mind.

'He won't push me in, right?' Eren stared at the Lord of Light holding the watering can directly in front of his eyes, despite them being closed. He dropped onto one knee and scooped some water into his hands, being careful not to fall into the rapids and drown, and feeling his back burning, waiting for the Flesh-Shaper behind him to push him in. Eren took a reluctant drink.

'Water does taste better when it's from the source.' The Lord of Light began to slowly walk away, his movements weird as he cupped the overfilled watering can in his hands.

"Any other questions, Eren?" Eren slowly stood up and walked in the same direction as the Lord, but kept his distance in case of a sudden attack. Eren thought and pondered for a while until he had another question.

"Do you get any urges to eat people as a Flesh-Shaper?" The Lord of Light found a pace that was just right enough so as not to spill the overflowing watering can.

"I don't""..."

"Are you referring to the stories about Flesh-Shapers?" Eren winced, expecting a more carnal response.

"Yes, I am referring to the children's tales." The two neared the Lord of Light's tipi, and the sound of rushing water seemed to be a distant hum instead of violent thunder. The Lord of Light took a while to respond.

"Well, Eren, I'm sorry to bore you, but I'm a Nightwalker, and I don't know any tales from this world."

"Do you have any other questions?" Eren trailed behind the Lord of Light up the not-so-steep hill to his homestead.

"There's a rumor going around that you're trying to die to reach your lover?" The Lord of Light jumped for a moment, spilling some of the water that was perfectly balanced on the rim of the watering can. The Lord let out a sigh.

"Pretty much." The Lord carried the stone watering can back over to his flowerbed and started irrigating it once again.

"You're not leaving yet? I'm assuming you have another question or two."

"Rapid fire, if you will." Eren looked at the Lord with an incredulous look before the man specified.

"It's a phrase from my world; it can mean a fast exchange of questions and answers." Eren paused and then asked a question.

"Why are you helping everyone? even mundanes?" The Lord of Light once again shook his watering can empty.

"That's not a rapid fire question."

"Helping is a loose term; to put it plainly, I am an idiot." Eren coughed before the Lord of Light continued.

"I mean, at the start I walked in the open as an easy kill, but everyone was way weaker, and the people I ended up sparing, because I would rather have them kill me and send me back home, ended up flocking and following me instead."

"The few people who could justifiably and convincingly kill me are now working with me."

"So, think of it like this: one day someone from the opposing faction, or shit, even the faction that calls itself mine, one day someone could pop in and slit my throat while I'm sleeping or kill me through combat, and the next could be me cozying up with my girlfriend, going out and eating snacks with her." The Lord of Light's harmonic voice started sounding more peeved.

"I mean, I was in a damn coma for threeish months, and then I learned I couldn't open my eyes anymore since they emitted a blinding light that hurts other people's eyes, and then I had to fight assassins off for a few days while going through rehabilitation to relearn how to move my body, and finally, the day I get to go outside and spend time with the people I love, kablam, apparently the goddamn murder grandpa signed me up for this tournament, which, yeah, it's a great learning experience, but I can't use Flesh-Shaping here.

You wanna have a guess why?" Eren was taken aback; the entire angelic and harrowing imagery that he had built up surrounding the Lord of Light was crumbling. He let out a stuttered answer.

"B-because you don't want people to be scared of you?" The Lord of Light let out a long, defeated groan when setting his watering can on the ground.

"Frankly, I don't care if people are scared of me; being able to fly, or breathe underwater, or run incredibly fast is way cooler than being respected, but here's the thing." The Lord of Light stepped closer and covered his mouth as if he was going to say a secret.

"Gruesome powers are cool, but the real powers that come with Flesh-Shaping can't be used here because bodies disappear and because my lover doesn't like seeing my hurt." The Lord of Light stepped back and said with an exasperated tone.

"I mean, dude, my staple is ripping out spines; sometimes I rip my own spine out and turn that shit into a sword; it's metal as hell. Remember the assassins I just spoke about? I stole their powers and turned them into marketable merch." The Lord of Light sighed.

"Look at me now, Metal Metalson with the super cool body horror powers is now killing his opponents with a pamphlet and occasionally looks at someone." The Lord of Light let out a deep inhale before letting out a longer exhale.

"Any other questions?" Eren's face had long turned pale; the cool, handsome, mysterious elite who sounded like he fell out of a fairy tale had just shattered their entire image willingly to whine.

'Guess he really is human.'

"No… I don't have questions anymore." The Lord of Light let out a sigh and composed himself properly before returning to his usual behavior that warranted the fairy tale imagery.

"Stay if you want to, go if you like, you need something, just ask. I will whine, but I'll try to help."

"I have an appointment with Leonard in a little bit, so I will head into my tent now." The Lord of Light entered his tipi without saying goodbye. Eren had started on his way back to Brighthaven.

'He seems stressed.'