What is a Man?

XII. Hero

Summary: A series of somewhat disconnected oneshots that explore the alternate universe life of Hans, formerly known as The White Star of ancient legends. Ancient White Star Hans, Dark!Hans AU.

XII. Hero

"Why thank you. You're a real hero, young man," the old lady croaked. Her grey hair was tucked into a bun, but some wispy strands had escaped. She smiled up at him.

Hans gave her a stiff smile in response. "Why thank you. I hope you have a great day, Madam." Being called a hero felt fundamentally wrong. The lady could not see the blood of thousands that stained his hands and soul.

—

Hans wondered what Cale was hiding. There were the flashy outfits and delinquent behavior. Cale often went to town and pretended to be drunk despite being perfectly sober. These were the actions of someone afraid of forming real connections, or perhaps, of someone with a plan.

Hans had not had the fortune of meeting Countess Henituse before she passed. And he regretted that, if only because he felt that she held a large piece to this puzzle.

Then, suddenly, Cale Henituse changed, and the puzzle grew swiftly in magnitude.

Hans pinpointed the day that abnormalities started, as the day Cale Henituse first said he enjoyed the food he was given. This snowballed into other things, such as an oft occurring poker face, a more deadpan attitude towards Hans' remarks, and a subtle fear of Ron, his personal assistant.

Choi Han arrived the next day. He was also a big question mark. Hans recognized him as the kid he had found in the Forest of Darkness. Choi Han was also apparently a swordmaster. He had left Harris Village after everyone there died to Arm; however, that meant Hans had no idea how Choi Han acted in Harris Village because there were no witnesses alive to gossip or tell any stories. Hans was, additionally, unable to track how Choi Han had ended up in that forest, or any of the young man's past.

Cale quickly picked up the cats and Raon, then sent Choi Han to... get Lock of the Wolf Tribe and Princess Rosalyn of Breck Kingdom. The past and movements of these five people were far easier to trace. The cats were Mutants. They had left their tribe and managed to sneak their way to the Henituse Territory, living as street children. Raon was an egg that had been stolen from the Dragon Lord, Sherrit. He was supposed to have been killed, but someone had saved him, and he ended up being sold to Venion Stan as a toy. Lock was a Wolf Tribe member, and one of the last of his kind after Arm attacked them. Princess Rosalyn was an aspiring mage and had runaway from her home.

Stopping the terrorist attack in the Roan Kingdom's capital seemed to throw Cale into the spotlight. Afterwards, he made alliances with the Roan Kingdom's Crown Prince Alberu, the Jungle's Queen Litana, the Whipper Kingdom's Toonka, the Paerun Kingdom's Wyvern Knight Clopeh, the golden dragon Eruhaben, etc. Frankly, the sheer amount of power Cale Henituse gained in two years was rather absurd.

It was...almost like he knew what was going to happen. Or, he was simply that good at plotting. All of this seemed strange to Hans, who had at least a front row seat—or knew someone who did—to most of the goings on.

—

"Young Master Silver Shield!"

"Commander-nim!"

"Young Master Henituse-nim!"

Cale winced. He plastered a smile on and waved to the cheering crowd as he walked past. "I'm not a hero," he muttered to himself in quiet protest.

Laughter bubbled up inside of Hans' chest. He clapped a hand over his mouth, paused to let out a fake cough, and then continued after the young master.