The Supreme Hero’s Younger Brother

Ludric opened his eyes to see he was in his guest room. Next to his bed were his three teammates and Nandia.

"Ludric, you're awake!" Nandia cried in relief.

"How are you feeling?" Rosetta asked.

"What happened?" Ludric propped his body up.

"We don't exactly understand either. Rye trapped you in a ball of mass dark energy when it suddenly exploded from the inside and you fell unconscious," Desmund said.

"You've been in a coma for 3 days," Lilith added.

Rye entered the room with a tray of food and set them down on the bedside table, "I'm sorry, I went a bit overboard."

"You call that a bit??" Nandia looked at Rye incredulously.

"When you got affected by the chaotic energy in our previous fight with the archdemon, I couldn't think of any other method to defeat you," Rye honestly said, "after all, you wouldn't use any magic except for your physical enhancement since you know my skill."

Ludric sat up and stared at Rye, "You can use both light and dark attributes?"

"…" Rye fixed his glasses, "It's…complicated to explain."

"Does it have anything to do with you meeting the elven king?" Ludric guessed, "light attribute can only be wielded by elves, isn't that right?"

Everybody in the room was surprised. Rye has been meeting with the elven king? Ludric hasn't even seen him yet.

"Wait, you're a half-elf?" Nandia thought of a possibility, "could you actually be an illegitimate child?"

Rye couldn't help but be baffled, "Princess Nandia, your imagination is indeed too colorful."

Ludric, "…"

He almost thought that too if it wasn't for the fact Rye looked like their father. Who could blame anyone for suspecting as such? When Rye stood next to Aerindel and Freanor his beauty wasn't inferior at all.

Of course, that was only Ludric's personal opinion.

Nandia's reason was simply because Rye didn't look similar to Ludric at all. She never met their parents after all. Not to mention their scandal before.

Of course, that scandal was only in Nandia's head.

"Then, what did you discuss with the elven king?" Rosetta asked.

"I cannot divulge that matter."

The rest of them turned to look at Crow, but the shadow also shook his head. There was a barrier surrounding the room that prevented him from entering or eavesdropping. His king also told him to let it be, so he obediently waited outside.

Seeing that Rye didn't intend to speak more about the topic, he promptly changed it, "Rye, can that chaotic energy can also affect the demon lord?"

"Yes," Rye confidently answered.

It affected Der'ete, a god. Certainly, it would also work on the demon lord.

"Do you think you can develop a concrete spell to use it?"

"I can think of some ways, but unless you have a dark attribute you won't be able to use it."

"It's not a problem. We have you and that's enough."

"O-Oh…" Rye felt awkward from the compliment.

Octavian complimenting him was one thing, but hearing it from Ludric made him feel weird all over.

"What's with that reaction?" Desmund frowned.

"Nothing," Rye fixed his perfectly fine glasses, "do you need me to heal you, Ludric? You're already stable enough for healing spells."

"Even if he is, I should be the one who heals him. Not you with your absurd healing spell," Nandia interjected.

"Ah, you're right," Rye stood up, "Then, I'll be–"

"Yes," Ludric hurriedly said, "can you heal me, Rye?"

Nandia, "…"

The rest, "…"

Because of the previous unforgettable dinner, they couldn't help but look at Ludric's actions differently.

"Your spell improved my natural healing speed," Ludric quickly added seeing everybody's suspicious gaze at him.

It wasn't a lie though.

Since he wasn't lying, Rye didn't suspect anything. He sat back down and hovered a hand above Ludric's chest.

"Maybe because your metabolism is stimulated by the spell. I'll ask Ash to check if it's a good thing or not," Rye cast the spell and Ludric's complexion swiftly went back to normal, "it's done."

He has scheduled a tour with Aerindel, so he didn't linger for long. He wanted to visit all 4 tribes of the elves. Adnadan told him that each tribe has its own specialty because of the blessing bestowed by Muriel to their ancestors.

Ludric watched Rye leave with hidden regret. He thought he could use this opportunity to have Rye nurse him back to health. But being worried about by his brother was good enough.

He remembered that when they were kids Rye would silently cry while treating his wounds when he got injured from protecting him. Unfortunately for him, Rye was now powerful enough to fix him almost instantly with only a spell.

He must be possessed by a demon to do something so stupid back then. Why did Rye have to suffer because of his own taboo?

Sooner or later, he must let go of his feelings. But with Rye becoming more and more vibrant, it was hard to do so currently.

At the very least, he shouldn't get in the way of Rye finding his own partner. Aerindel actually wasn't a bad person. His status was also befitting. Though he couldn't help but feel his brother was still out of Aerindel's league.

In terms of strength, only he himself was on par with his brother.

Ludric shook the thought off his head.

No, no, no. He couldn't marry his brother. His goal now was to erase his feelings and find a worthy, perfect partner for Rye.

The people around Ludric's bed saw him deep in thought until his eyebrows were tightly furrowed. They quickly assumed that he was thinking about developing new spells to defeat the demon lord.

As expected of the Supreme Hero.

"Ludric, let us help you," Rosetta said.

"Yeah, we can think of some ideas together," Desmund determinedly said.

"Don't carry the burden by yourself," Lilith nodded.

"M-Me too!" Nandia chimed in.

Ludric looked at them in doubt.

They would help him find a partner for Rye? Why?

–––

–

A couple of days later, Ny'ar tribe's coronation was commenced at night. Since the archbishop was suffering from a troublesome situation, another bishop replaced his task.

From the previous tour, Rye knew that Ny'ar tribe specialized in music. They were the best bards in the elven territory and the experts could also be more powerful than the human bards he knew.

The coronation required the coronated chief-to-be to offer a song to the Lune Vein. If it lit up from their song, it was a sign of Muriel's approval.

Once the sun has set. A parade of people from Ny'ar tribe walked their way to the temple with the chosen chief candidate leading in front. All of them played an instrument, vibrating the forest and air around them with their enchanting and mystical music.

When they arrived, they were slightly caught off guard by the gold on the floor which they remembered wasn't there before. They quickly focused back on the procession and walked into the hall.

In front of their eyes was the magnificent Lune Vein they longed to see so much. Half of them had never seen Lune Vein before since they were born in the period of the previous chief and not everyone could enter the temple deep enough to catch a glimpse of it.

It was as they were told. The leaves were the blue of the moonlight while the silver was more majestic than gold. The tree was tall and lush, becoming the only light source in the room. They couldn't imagine how beautiful it would be once it accepted their chief to his official position.

On one side of the hall were the bishops and temple members. On the other side were the famous prince, Prince Aerindel, and the saint he brought over once the other day.

The Ny'ar people became more solemn in the procession, not wanting any errors. When it was time to play the music, the chief stepped forward and started playing his flute in front of the platform stairs.

Halfway through the song, the tree lit up and it got brighter and brighter until the end of it. The bishop officially bestowed him the title of Chief Tribe and everything ended smoothly that night.

After the Ny'ar tribe went home, Rye dispelled the illusion barrier he cast surrounding the tree.

"Thank you very much, Saint Rye," the bishop nodded gratefully at Rye, "we wouldn't know what to do without your help."

The priests at his side also lowered their heads in gratitude.

"It is not a problem, Bishop. I should be the one who thank you for letting me, an outsider, watch this ceremony," Rye nodded in return.

"Let us serve you dinner for tonight, Saint Rye."

Rye and Aerindel looked at each other and accepted the offer. They wanted to ask more details about how the Lune Vein became withered, so it was a good opportunity to have a long chat with the bishop.

As they followed the bishop towards the dining hall, a pair of malignant eyes followed Rye's figure with thick resentment.