Chapter 70: Epilogue: Winners’ History

“Humanity’s history is a series of toil, hard work, and triumph. We progressed to unimaginable heights, were then brought down by the arrogant God, and together, we fought back for our freedom. The heroes of that battle will forever be etched in our records as the ones who led humanity back to where it belonged. And those heroes are…”

“Hah…” A loud yawn interrupts what I can only assume is an inspiring history lesson. Well, I expect no less from mere commoners, but to even disrespect the glory of our old forefathers like this, as a descendant of one of those heroes, I can’t hope to forgive them…

No, no, calm down, Phillip. Remember, you’re supposed to be representing the Royal family in this friendly exchange.

I take a deep breath to calm myself, letting out a smile at my own generosity. I am an affable fellow after all if I do say so myself.

Unfortunately, the teacher inside that classroom doesn’t seem to be the type.

“Oda Nobuyuki, can you be serious for once in your life?” Her voice echoes through the hallways. However... Oda? Isn’t that one of the heroes’ families as well? Does this class have a descendant like me?

“Meh, it’s always the same thing over and over again,” another voice sounds – one of a typical rebellious teenage girl, sour and bored. Best not to deal with such people.

Well, I’ve dawdled enough. It’s time for me to make my appearance.

I reach for the door. However, before I can even touch the handle, the door has already slammed itself open, hitting me straight in the face. And while I’m still seeing stars, I’m quickly taken off the ground, followed by a hasty voice:

“Oh, perfect! You’ll do for a hostage!”

Hostage? Is this some kind of kidnapping scheme? Am I going to be sold for ransom? Or worse, work as some kind of slave in a foreign land? I don’t want that!

“Unhand me, you fiend!” I squirm around as much as I can. However, the kidnapper’s arms are as tough as an iron bar.

“Man, for a guy, you’re really weak. Have you been eating well in that fancy palace of yours?” Answering me is the familiar voice I’ve just heard a few seconds ago.

I turn my gaze upward to have a look at the perpetrator. Even though the dazzling sun has obstructed some of my view, I can still imagine an incredibly pretty girl as her golden locks flutter in the wind. Although, that pretty face is misplaced with a personality I can only describe as hard to handle, judging by the little interaction I’ve seen from her.

To my surprise, her athletic abilities are top-notch. In only a few minutes, she has completely cut off the teachers chasing her and left the school grounds entirely, all while princess carrying me – which, by the way, is completely humiliating, especially with a person of my status.

But in the end, she still has to drop me somewhere, and that “somewhere” is a scenic hill at the back of the school.

“Ah, freedom at last!” The girl gleefully stretches out.

“Skipping school is bad, you know,” I interject.

“Oh, please. Like you’ve never skipped school before, Princey.”

“You… know me?”

“Man, are you stupid or what?”

“S-Stupid? How rude!”

“Of course, dumb-dumb,” the girl giggles at my exclamation. “Your face is already plastered all over the world. A descendant of one of those ‘ancient heroes’, and the current First Prince of England, Phillip Peng-Bedryant. To be honest, it’s a surprise you managed to make it here without all the press following you.”

“Well, aren’t you well-versed in information.”

“Not like I wanted to,” with a solemn look on her face, the girl answers as she gazes far beyond the horizon. “Hero this, hero that. It’s a tale thousands of years ago, why can’t they just let it go already?”

“Oh, right… You’re also like me, huh? Oda… Nobuyuki, isn’t it?”

“Yup. Although I prefer if people call me Yuki.”

“How come?”

“First of all, Nobuyuki isn’t even a girl’s name. It’s the name of one of our even more ancient ancestors. And second of all, the ‘Nobu’ part just reminds me of him.”

“Him? You mean the hero of old, Oda Petoro? But I thought…”

“He was called ‘Katsu’? Well, the full name was once Fujiwara Nobukatsu, so… you know what I mean.”

“… Miss Oda…”

“I told you, Yuki is fine.”

“I don’t call strangers by their nicknames,” I answer. “Why do you hate the heroes so much?”

“… You know, I almost felt bad for calling you dumb-dumb. But now, not so much.”

“Hey!”

“Then riddle me this: why do you people adore them so much?”

“That’s a weird question. They were the ones to set the foundation for us to grow like we are today. I don’t see a reason why…”

“It’s a tale over two thousand years ago,” Oda firmly shakes her head. “2022, to be exact. We even named this era after them – R.H, or Rebirth of Humanity. But how much of it is even true, when information nowadays can be manipulated with just a click on the screen?”

“But that doesn’t even make sense! What good would that information even do nowadays for people to lie about it?”

“Easy, Princey. It’s called…”

“Winners’ history,” another voice interrupts our conversation, causing both of us to have goosebumps.

Turning around to see a bespectacled young man around our age, if not a few years older, with black hair and the same kind of clothing as Oda, the latter asks:

“Who are you supposed to be?”

“Me? I’m just a passerby,” answers the man, pointing towards the school. “Came to take a look at this place one last time.”

“You mean our school? Now that you mentioned it, that’s an Aoba uniform you’re wearing, right? Are you an alumnus?”

“… You could say that,” the man lets out a smile. “After all these years, this place really hasn’t changed, huh?”

“You sound like an old man, Senpai,” his speech patterns send Oda on a giggling spree, while I have to try my hardest not to do the same. “How old are you anyway?”

“Much older than you think,” a playful wink comes from the man. “But I digress. What are you two doing here outside the school anyway? Aren’t classes still in session?”

“Eh, it was boring, so I skipped school,” Oda shrugs at the question, then points to me. “Meanwhile Princey here was supposed to be in an exchange program, but I dragged him away.”

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“Speaking of which,” I add. “I still haven’t had you make up for that little incident, Miss Oda.”

“Oh, please. It’s not like you care about lessons enough to be mad.”

“More than you, at least.”

“But you’re still dumb as a brick though.”

“What did you say?”

To our surprise, our bickering sends the man to a burst of uncontrollable laughter, and the sound of him wheezing out of control as he wipes his tears of joy sends both of us to a fluster.

“What are you laughing at?” We both sound at the same time.

“Ah! Don’t repeat after me!” Once again, as if we’re psychics.

“Dang it!”

“Man, you two really sound like some people I know,” the man, still not done laughing, comments. “Makes a great couple though.”

“We are not a couple! Stop copying me!”

“Well, I’ll let you two lovebirds here to finish your story. It’s time for me to go,” waving us goodbye, the man leaves the scene. However, I stop him at just the right moment:

“Hold on. Earlier, you said something about ‘winners’ history’. What do you mean by that?”

“You have quite the thick skin, being able to change the subject like that,” a light chuckle comes out of the man once more. “But I guess I can explain a bit. In short, it’s the fact that history is recorded by the winners, in an attempt to make them look better than they were to the latter generation. Just some dumb pride of the humans of old though, nothing to do with us.”

“So then… were all of those things we were taught…”

“Oh, no, they’re all true,” the man reassures me for a second, before shattering my hopes again. “Just not in the light you might think of.”   

“What do you mean?”

“I mean those events really happened, but it’s not because they had some kind of noble reason to set out on their quest. That entire string of history was just a series of human egos clashing with one another, nothing more, nothing less.”

“See,” Oda lightly pats my shoulder with a beaming smile. “I told you so.”

“You seem to be the odd one out of the bunch though. Oda, right?” The man comments.

“I prefer Yuki, but that’s right. I always thought those heroes were nothing special. All they did was to set unprecedented pressure on their offspring.”

“I see what you mean,” the man nods in agreement. “But hey, you can only live with the cards you’ve been dealt. Instead of complaining about it, why not outshine those dastardly heroes?”

“Huh… I’ve never thought about it that way.”

“Who’s the dumb one now?” I can’t resist my chance of payback.

“Petty blow there Princey,” Oda retaliates by sticking out her tongue with a frown.

“Well, time for me to leave for real now,” the man, seeing us arguing again, turns around once more. “Bye, you two.”

“Oh, wait a minute!” Oda, as if realizing an important detail, exclaims. “What’s your name, Senpai?”

“The name’s Ryuuro. Kuroshi Ryuuro. Unlike you two, however, I’m just a nobody,” the man, not turning around, waves goodbye at us.

The name, however, causes me to ponder.

“Kuroshi Ryuuro… I feel like I’ve heard that name before…”

“I didn’t think Princey would be able to remember things,” Oda lets out a chuckle.

“I can remember if I try!”

“Yeah, right. Did you remember what he was wearing?”

“Didn’t you say it was your school’s uniform?” I ask.

“No, not that. On his neck,” Oda shakes her head. “There was a cross. Crystal clear, too. I’ve never seen anything like it. Wonder where he got that from.”

“Eh, probably a diamond or something. Not that it really matters.”

“Spoken like a true rich kid.”

“I am a rich kid,” I let out a sigh. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to school.”

Before I could take another step, Oda once again sweeps me off my feet and carries me off the hill into the bustling streets.

“H-Hey!”

“Come on, don’t be such a stickler! We’re skipping classes anyway, so why not have some fun?”

“I’m not here to have fun!”

“Well, you should be!”

“Unhand me, Oda!”

“Call me Yuki and I’ll reconsider!”

“Okay, okay, Yuki!”

“Too late, you called me Yuki, so we’re friends now! And friends stick by each other’s side!”

“Dang it!” 

I exclaim, but I can’t help but form a light smile on my face, as I come to appreciate this peaceful world we’re living in once more.

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