After that, when I walked into the living room, I saw Grace and Jacob still explaining things to Alice. Ethefelis, on the other hand, looked like she was about to fall asleep—listening to the same explanation over and over was basically a lullaby.
Jacob was starting to lose his patience.
"Alice, like I said, Karen doesn't like drawing attention."
"How can something as great as defeating the Demon King be hidden?! What achievement could possibly be greater than that?!"
"There is one," Grace said. "Mr. Karen hunted down Samidoride."
"Samidoride? Who's that?"
"Alice, you don't know the "Black Flame Dragon" Samidoride?!"
"I don't. So it was a dragon? But it was just a dragon—how could that possibly compare to the Demon King?"
"Samidoride was a dragon that lived for over four thousand years. The Demon King doesn't even come close."
"That's way too exaggerated."
"It's true. My father personally saw the age recorded in the magic core."
"Even if you're not lying, it still feels like you are."
I couldn't listen anymore. If this continued, it would never end, so I decided to step in.
"Alice, everything Grace said is true."
"Mr. Karen! I see, I understand now!"
The moment Alice heard my voice, she stood up and immediately accepted my testimony. As a result, Grace looked unhappy.
"What is this supposed to mean?! All the dozens of things I said don't even compare to a single sentence from Mr. Karen."
I completely agreed—and was also deeply troubled. Alice's problem was serious and beyond saving. I waved my hand to comfort Grace.
"Don't be discouraged. This isn't your fault. Alright, everyone sit down properly. I'm going to tell a story."
"Mr. Karen, what kind of story? Is it a love story between the Brave and the Saintess?!"
As soon as Alice heard the word "story," she jumped straight to a plot that had absolutely nothing to do with me. There was no way I'd tell something like that—was I supposed to dig my own grave?
Jacob, Grace, and Ethefelis immediately shot her down.
"Definitely not."
"Absolutely not."
"Same."
"Eh—then do you all know what kind of story it is?"
Once Alice heard it wasn't that kind of story, she instantly lost interest. Her thought process was painfully easy to understand. She probably loved those kinds of tales.
Seeing her like that was honestly annoying, so as I walked toward the single sofa, I urged her on.
"Alice, hurry up and sit down. Then close your mouth and quietly listen until I'm done."
"Yes!"
As soon as I sat down, I took out the ancient book about the Eleventh Brave, opened it to the first page, and began.
The story was roughly about how the Goddess of Fate granted Henry/Allen—and the other Braves even greater power, once again ordering them to defeat the Demon King.
After the death of Henry/Allen's close friend, he made up his mind. When he finally found the Demon King, he saw the other ten Braves there. He secretly intervened but never revealed his identity.
After that, he returned to their homeland together with the other Braves, then went on to challenge a dungeon. There, alone, he encountered the Goddess of Fate again and was given another mission—to have the other Braves establish nations.
After completing that task, he left, changed his name, and set off on a new journey. He met the love of his life and, in the end, put down roots in his homeland.
"I'm done. What do you all think?"
I closed the book and asked for everyone's thoughts. Grace was the first to speak, looking utterly incredulous.
"T-this story is almost entirely made up, right? An Eleventh Brave… that has to be just a fantasy, right? Isn't that so, Mr. Karen?"
"Grace, you saw plant magic this morning. Did that look fake to you?"
"N-no… it didn't. But this is too outrageous. It completely overturns everything we learned in history…"
Grace's tone was hesitant. She had witnessed it, yet she didn't want to believe it. That was understandable—over two thousand years of history had just been flipped upside down, along with the realization that great figures had ugly sides.
Jacob and Ethefelis, however, accepted it surprisingly quickly.
"So the story about the First Brave conquering the dungeon was fake, the founding of nations was arranged by the Goddess of Fate, and the Eleventh Brave was the true messenger."
"Scary."
"But Karen, why wasn't this Allen recorded anywhere?"
"The book mentions that one of the female Braves fell in love with Allen, but he didn't return her feelings and left behind only a note before disappearing. The Braves were busy with state affairs and couldn't search for him personally, though they might have sent others. But Allen even changed his name to avoid being found, so they probably never located him. In the end, the ten Braves were likely angry about his actions and buried his existence."
"I see. That's plausible. Then does that village really exist? Wait—if you have this book, that means…"
"Yes. I was born in that village."
Jacob was sharp. Meanwhile, Alice was completely lost.
"What are you all talking about? This is just a story, right? Why are you speaking as if it's real?"
It seemed Alice had never once considered that this could be real history. She probably joined the conversation only after seeing how serious we were.
And since I had never told Alice about ancient magic or derived magic, it made sense that she'd think it was just a story.
"This is real. Everything in that book is true. The magic you used this morning was ancient magic."
Because I was the Brave, Alice was inclined to believe me. But hearing my outright confirmation left her frozen in shock—the impact of the truth was simply too much.
After a while, Alice finally exploded, her movements growing exaggerated.
"T-this is unbelievable! Why would Fatelis favor this Brave so much?! He was just a gloomy person—how could someone like that become a Brave?!"
A gloomy person couldn't be a Brave? Sure, Braves with bright personalities were more suitable and more beloved. Then I pointed at myself and asked her,
"Are you talking about me?"
I considered myself fairly gloomy and passive—at least without memories and knowledge from my previous life. Back then, I would've been completely at others' mercy.
"I-I'm not! I didn't mean that! Mr, Karen couldn't possibly be like him!"
Alice waved her hands frantically and shouted in denial. I knew she meant no harm, but that was still how I felt.
"I actually think I'm very similar to him."
I agreed with Henry/Allen's way of thinking. I could easily see myself making the same choices. And honestly, I respected the kind of person he was—sharp, decisive, and never dragging things out.
Then Jacob seized the chance to tease Alice.
"Alice, he might be Karen's ancestor, you know."
"E-eh… EH?!"
Alice was clearly flustered. Jacob's prank was a success. Whether Henry/Allen was actually my ancestor, I didn't know. All I knew was that I probably looked a lot like him—something a certain black chimpanzee had already confirmed.