In an old chapel hidden away behind the roads and buildings of a kingdom, a couple entered with interlocked hands. They wore identical white robes with a pair of golden eyes. One smiled tenderly at his bespectacled lover who eagerly led him out of the chapel.

He let his lover guide him to a small library not far from there and listened to him retelling the things he experienced there in his childhood. His lover showed him a collection of his favorite books and he accepted them to be read back at their home later.

Next, his lover wanted to roam around the street. After the demon invasion was finally over, the kingdom rebuilt both its internal and external system and architecture under the rule of its new king. The buildings were stronger and the streets were wider. The people slowly but surely regained their normal lives back and without the force of evil haunting them, they gradually prospered better than in their previous state.

Their home has any ingredients his lover could ask for since he usually cooked for them. Both of them didn't need to eat, but they liked the quality time they spent when eating 3 meals a day together. He would eat his lover's cooking anytime.

But even so, it was understandable that his lover missed his hometown's food. They visited several stalls on the street where his lover gave him several snacks to try. It wasn't as good as what his lover cooked, but he was happy to know what kind of taste his lover's favorite food has.

Their visuals attracted the people's eyes all around them, but one was too happy to notice while the other was too busy watching his lover having fun. The radiance his lover emitted made those who saw him unknowingly smile along, even stopping a quarrel between a seller and his customer.

The next place they visited was the academy his lover used to teach. The academy was currently on holiday, so it was almost empty inside except for some teachers on duty and the gardeners taking care of the plants. The two of them were easily let in with the guard thinking they were someone from the temple with an important status.

They went to the chapel on the east side of the academy. For him, it was the place where he first 'introduced' his existence to his lover though his lover thought he was a ghost. His lover already knew by now that it was actually him and was now laughing in embarrassment thinking of that moment.

He couldn't help it and pecked his lover on his lips. His lover looked at him in surprise and faintly blushed. Even after this long, his lover was still bashful with every little touch he gave. How could his lover be so adorable?

He took out the teaching robe his lover gave to him that day, surprising his lover once more. His lover didn't think that he still kept it. Of course, he did. It was the first gift they exchanged with one other.

The headmaster of the academy passed by the area and saw the two people walking out of the chapel from afar. He froze in his track for a short while before he quickly chased after their figure. But when he reached where he just saw them, they were already gone.

There was no way, right? That person had gone missing for 20 years with no trace. Of course, before any evidence of his death was found he still believed that his friend was still alive somewhere, but it was impossible for him to not age, right?

The two figures he chased were now heading to the royal cemetery. The taller man accompanied his lover finding 3 particular tombstones and grew some flowers for them. Reading the name of the last tombstone, his face turned unpleasant. His lover comforted him with a light touch and a helpless smile.

The man whose name was engraved in the tomb waved their reflection off his mirror. He touched the broken glasses on his desk and glanced out at the pitch-black world.

A group of knights came to commemorate the death of their former captain. Their leader noticed the pair exiting the cemetery and stopped for a moment in doubt. His comrade asked him what was wrong and he shook his head in reply.

There was just no way.

The pair continued their travel to another country by a carriage pulled by white-winged horses. They reached the southern border at nightfall and decided to stay the night. His lover suggested for them to try the bathhouse. He agreed after the sauna was about to close and nobody was inside anymore.

They were offered to try the local cuisine, a tomato pie, by their innkeeper the next morning, but they politely refused. They resumed their journey after a normal breakfast to Vintrigal. Visiting this country, his lover immediately headed for the flying ship tour. They rent a room inside for a night and spent half of their day in total above the sky. When the tour was over, they visited another grave there.

Not only them, the grave had visitors all year round for pilgrimage in the memorial of the hero lying within. Other than his noble sacrifice in fighting the demons, the hero contributed the most to the country's technological advancement in the past, the figure who built the flying ship which was so complex and flawless that the current engineer still couldn't fully understand the mechanism behind it.

His lover looked up at the people flying freely across the sky with their air boards. Among them were a burly man and a short-haired woman speeding faster than the rest. Their skill was unquestionable as they easily curved and flipped between impossible gaps and flew past them. It seems like they were in a hurry to reach their destination.

That afternoon, they left the country to go to the next one. They rested for the night at a wide grass plane in the special chapel he built for his lover. The full moon shone hazily on them, prompting another harmonious night for the two lovers.

Nearing noon the next day, they finally continued towards the dwarven territory. His lover visited his former brother in his home, bringing some food for his former brother to try. His former brother was annoyed by their arrival because they disturbed his sleep, but he accepted the souvenirs nevertheless. Still, he shooed them out after chatting for a few minutes.

They then headed forward to the elven kingdom. When they finally saw the silver Light Tree, the tree swayed gently and snowed down several light orbs to welcome them. It had never done that since the crowning of their current king and all the elves and fairies wondered what was going on.

Only one particular elf knew it was welcoming a special guest. He came out of his small cottage next to the tree to greet their visitors. He wasn’t surprised seeing the bespectacled man didn’t age at all. In all fairness, he also hadn’t aged at all either.

As his lover talked, he looked up at the roof of the small cottage. A beautiful spirit sat there watching them with a smile. Seeing that he was looking at him, the spirit lowered his head in a polite greeting.

The elven king came to ask the guardian of the Light Tree about what has just happened and stumbled upon the two guests. His eyes widened seeing the bespectacled man and hurried across the bridge. He wanted to give the bespectacled man a tight hug, but a murderous pressure came from the man next to him. He immediately took several steps back.

His friend showed him his marriage ring with the man and explained that they were married. The two of them caught up with one another for a long time and so he offered them to stay the night.

They accepted the offer and retreated to their room after the dinner banquet. The room only prepared them with a bathtub wide enough for a person, but they didn’t complain and took their bath together. The bespectacled man was rendered helpless by his lover’s teasing and they ended up taking the bath twice.

That day, the elven queen of the bespectacled man's home country received a letter from her brother about the arrival of her husband’s brother. She wanted to inform her husband, but he was currently out of the country for diplomatic matters. She could only entrust a letter she wrote to their royal mage for her to deliver to her husband. The royal mage went to where the king was with her lover slash bodyguard, but the king had moved to another place. When they finally reached him it was already too late.

The couple returned back to their home early the next morning. They went to the garden where they loved to lounge together the best and sat on the couch in the roofless gazebo amidst the blooming sunflowers. Above the sunflower garden, were beads of pearls constantly glimmering with colorful translucent lights from reflecting the sun. They hung in the air like droplets of rain being stopped at time and condensed into the most ethereal view.

The long-haired man let his lover sit in front of him and used his torso as a cushion as he leaned to the armrest himself. They leisurely read the books they brought back together until his lover fell asleep tranquilly in his arms. He carefully put the book away and kissed the crown of his lover’s head before joining him in his dream.

Today too, another peaceful day has ended.

--THE END--

K_Jira

Thank you very much for reading 'The Supreme Hero’s Younger Brother' until the end! I hope you enjoyed reading the story and had fun witnessing Rye's journey. It's my first time writing such a long fantasy story with action in it and I'm sorry if there's any mistake or inconsistency that slipped my attention. Really appreciate your thoughts throughout the release and please give a rating or leave a review to let me know your opinion and further improve my writing! Hope to see you in my next story 💕💕