Bam- bam bam- bam bam- bam bam-
(Just imagine there was a 20th Century Fox Intro playing in the background.)
The high quality built-in stereo system, which did not require magic to function, made sure that sound and music can be delivered in high consistency and clarity throughout the whole 3-story building (Promotion of the Sekka Tech's products was non intentional). The meticulous founder of the museum, Clopeh Sekka, will make sure that the Henituse Museum which was located in the capital of Roan was well equipped with his smart and convenient inventions.
Yes, Clopeh was the best person in charge to manage and organize the documentary and collection related to Cale and friends. In addition, Alberu was the one fully funding the construction and maintenance of the building since the hard working party was extremely thrilled about the idea of seeing their history being exhibited, especially the children of averaging ten years old (You know there were lots of Cale simps in the novel). So, Cale really had no reason to continue his objection against the museum proposal since Clopeh had offered all the donations and entrance fee to be transferred into Cale's party collective fund as the royalty payment.
On the ground floor, the white hair knight wearing a silver formal suit was standing in the center of the crowd.
"Our honored guests, welcome to the opening ceremony of our very first Henituse Museum!"
The event had invited 40 guests comprising a mix of humans, dark beings, and beast people. Befitting the concept of the museum, where the legends of uniting all races and species were being exhibited. Limited people were invited today to check the security system of the museum.
Clopeh, the organizer of the event had begun the ceremony with a speech. The dashing knight of the Paerun Kingdom had captivated the audience with his charisma and stage presence. Every pair of eyes were focusing on Clopeh. Nobody would have known that this person was the same lunatic, who had been crazily worshipping Cale as his god.
"To those who are unable to join us in the museum today, do not worry. Live recording of the whole museum tour will be broadcasted throughout the whole continent for you to join us online!"
He raised his hands toward the live video recorders that were hovering in the air, capturing every angle of the event in the room. The video recorders were made in a way that none of the magic devices or magic was capable to record or copy the live content being broadcasted (Clopeh's strategy for advertising the museum).
"And for those in the room, you'll be given a directory map and a token of the museum as souvenirs. There are refreshments on every floor, do help yourselves. Now, let us start our little tour with the famous battle in the Henituse territory!"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
After ending his speech, the temporary staff employed from the mercenary guild were distributing the souvenirs to the guests. Clopeh then professionally guide the crowd toward a first section as he started the storytelling of a legend to his audience.
"This is the starting point of the journey for our great heroes of Roan. The large scale war against the Northern Alliance's Wywern knights brigade! Those legendary wyverns were controlled by the great knights brigade of Paerun. After the Henituse won the war, they are a great addition to our legendary heroes, the Cale's Party! The short version of the battle, highlighting all the main scenes will be played shortly. Enjoy."
Ironically, the first section was the defeat of Clopeh. But he amazingly introduced the whole legend in an exciting tone. True to his title, the top worshipper who was proud of every achievement of his god. The audience was attentively listening to Clopeh with occasional nodding and exclamation as they watched the video being played.
"Well, not too bad huh. The audience seems to be satisfied with the tour. He might be a little bit loose in the head- burp- but he is sure capable when needed- burp. Where do you get such a reliable worker-burp. Hehe..."
Bud was holding a glass of wine in his hand, most probably not his first glass. He nudged Cale's elbow as he was complimenting Clopeh. Cale just snorted in response.
- He's right, Cale. This is great. Oh my, look at that brilliant silver shield!
- I remember this one. It was tough but we still won in the end.
- Ooh haha! So, this is how the shield initially looked like. Hey Cale, if my fiery red thunderbolts were there, won't it be epic?
- We can easily smash them with spear rocks.
- Or swipe them away with a tsunami! Hahahaha.
His ancient powers were taking turns talking in his mind. Cale can only sighed as he shook his head limply.
'Tsk! Listen to these guys. I'll never get to rest with them around.'
"Young master, your hair is well styled today."
Ron remarked with his benign smile while the cats rushed into Cale's arms to claim the compliments.
"Grandpa Ron has taught us well nya"
"We have successfully tied braids nya"
Mary and Rosalyn peeked at the red twin braids that were revealed at both sides before uniting at the back of the head into a ponytail. They nodded in agreement to Ron's remark.
- You're looking good today human. Just slightly lower than this great and mighty dragon. But you're as handsome as my right paw today!
Raon had stayed invisible as usual since dragon worshippers, the elves were present. When Cale tried to say something to the children, he noticed the vice captain of the Henituse knights brigade at the back of the crowd. He was looking straight at Cale with a sly smirk. Cale frowned at the sight.
"Cale-nim, should I check it out?"
Choi Han was already touching the hilt of his sword while Ron was peering at Hilsman with suspicion. Both were especially fast to catch on abnormal situations. Most importantly, they made the safety of their family as their top priority and they will not hesitate to strike down any enemy in sight.
"Ron, bring the group around the building to check if there's any uninvited guests inside. Choi Han and Raon will follow me."
"I understand, young master. Please alert us if the situation changes."
Cale nodded as he passed the cats to Ron. At the same time, the suspicious Hilsman had quietly moved away from the main hall, heading toward the balcony at the back of the room. Cale looked at the white hair knight, who was staring at the direction where the fake Hilsman had left for, before turning around to meet Cale's gaze. Clopeh then gave him a knowingly nod. As expected, Clopeh was useful at critical moments. After giving Clopeh the heads-up, Cale quickly walked toward the balcony with Choi Han and Raon following closely behind.
Tap, tap.
The balcony's door was left widely open. Cale entered the balcony to meet Hilsman, who was leisurely leaning against the rails as he looked back at Cale.
"Hi, young master-nim. I'm surprised that you're following this loyal vice captain of yours. Do you like me that much?"
Cale's brows furrowed at the cheeky tone. Choi Han's sword was already half way out of its scabbard while Raon's mana was spreading around his body, readily to be used for attack or defense.
"I hope you're here to return the money that you've stolen from me, Mr. Imposter."
Cale was getting irritated by this fake Hilsman, whose hair had slowly changed back to their original red color as he smiled toward Cale. The air temperature around Cale started to rise and he undid the top button of his shirt.
"Wow, I'm impressed. Just like last time, you're not even one bit curious about me or what I've done. You haven't asked Deruth about me?"
- Human, don't worry! Hilsman is with papa on the top floor.
'Raon is truly amazing. He knows exactly what to do by now.'
Cale felt reassured with his reliable allies by his sides. He spoke to the fake Hilsman again as he reached into his spatial pocket to touch the red diary and listened to the younger version of Jour Thames voice.
- Hello again cutie! Ohh? This man feels familiar to me! Is he one of the Thames? I think I can recognize him if I can see his real appearance. I know every Thames of my time!
'Hmmm... Should I try to unmask him then.'
"Why are you here and can you stop impersonating my family?"
Instead of answering Cale, the fake Hilsman asked another question.
"Cale Henituse, do you think that you came into this world due to a series of misfortunes and coincidences, or was it because of the interference from the gods?"
The three of them went stiff at that question as Raon spoke into Cale's mind.
- Human, why is he suddenly talking about gods? Is he the same as the crazy Clopeh?
Whirlwinds started to spin around Cale, reflecting the shift in his current mood. He felt restlessness. Those damn gods, and now even the hunters and other greater beings were coming after him one by one. Choi Han unsheathed his sword in response to Cale's action.
Fake Hilsman just slightly shook his head in sympathy as he looked at their wary reactions. He then spoke in a gentle voice to Cale.
"Who are you?"
This was the question that had been directed to Cale in the past by the World Tree and also the White Star. Ever since he had confided his secrets to Raon and Choi Han, he no longer felt conflicted to this question. But somehow, this time, the question had created a new conflict within Cale.
'Who am I?'
The fake Hilsman took a step forward and lightly pushed away the tip of the sword that was pointing at him. He spoke again without looking away from Cale.
"Aren't you curious about your origin of birth?"
Raon and Choi Han gasped at that question while Cale's whirlwinds had subsided as his mind was spinning quickly at the last three words, "origin of birth".
"Not about your newly gained life, not about your life back on earth. Way back before that. Before any variables or interference occurred, who were you?"
Cale had always thought that when people asked about his identity, it was about his identity of Kim Rok Soo. But now, this man was asking about his identity of his origin. The body and life that was stolen by the White Star ever since he was born into this world. Cale had known about this fact not long ago but he had ignored it for a while since there were other more pressing issues and he was contented with his current life and family.
After meeting and talking with the original Cale Henituse, he had finally accepted his new life as Cale Henituse and feeling the need to learn more about this life and family of his. He had only recently started to investigate about the Thames family. But now that he thought about it, he felt chills down his spine. What exactly was the identity that was being stolen from him?
- H-human? Are you alright?
"Cale-nim..."
Cale felt tired all of a sudden. He brushed his face with his hands. Those secrets were usually deemed as useless information by him. But this one was the one that he needed to further investigate. The scariest part was that this fake Hilsman knew much more about him than himself.
"Hah. Why? Is my origin of birth that important to you? If you know about something, why don't you just spit it out."
"Hahahahaha. As blunt as usual, huh. At first, I thought that you're really similar to Jour. But after observing you for some times, you look more like him. Hmm, interesting."
That man did not reveal the "him" that Cale had looked like. He then continued in a serious tone as he whispered to Cale.
"Do not trust anyone before you find out about your real identity. Don't trust the Crossman and the Choi too much either. Question about every detail. Trust only the truth. Seek them by yourself, the big picture will eventually reveal itself. You're on the right track so far."
The man pointed toward his red hair and Cale's before winking at him. A sly smirk crept across his face as he saw Cale's eyes sparkled for a moment. He was sure that Cale had figured out pretty much about the clue to his origin of birth.
'The Thames.'
The last body that the White Star had reincarnated into had red hair like Cale as well. The White Star, who had been living for over 1,000 years would not just pick any vessel for his reincarnation. He needed to find a body with a large and sturdy plate that can hold all the ancient powers of the ancient White Star that he had collected. And it will be easy for him to find a strong body since he had access to the Mercenaries Guild Directory in the Eastern continent.
The fake Hilsman had retreated back to the rails, preparing to leave.
"Well then, have fun completing the puzzle. Bye for now."
He waved toward Cale, Choi Han and the still invisible Raon. Choi Han sprinted forward while Raon tried to shoot a mana arrow at that departing man but Cale quickly stopped them at once when he heard the Super Rock's voice.
- Cale, be careful. That person is really strong. The power surrounding him is something not from this world.
A red diamond-shaped portal appeared and the man stepped into it before he disappeared along with the portal. Cale heard Raon's voice as the balcony went quiet.
"Human, w-what's that portal? It's not the teleportation magic circle or spell. I've never seen that before. But don't worry, human. I'm smart, I just need to learn about it!"
"Fuu-"
Cale's eyes regained their colors as he finished recording the whole encounter with the fake Hilsman. He had experienced a battle with hunters during the trial in the sealed god temple where he had met Choi Jung Gun.
"Cale-nim, is he a hunter?"
Cale turned to look at Choi Han who was putting the sword back to its scabbard. Raon was tilting his head at him as he waited for the answer.
"I don't know. But he's definitely one of the Thames and he know more than us do. Most importantly, he's really strong."
'Even Super Rock was cautious toward him.'
Choi Han and Raon looked at each other and they seemed to have made up something in their minds as they nodded with grim expression to each other. Cale did not notice what they were doing as he was buttoning up his shirt while assessing the record of the conversation just now.
"Oh human, grandpa Ron says no rats are found. They are heading back to the event now."
"Raon, tell them to enjoy the event and we'll meet them at the final section of the exhibition later."
"Alright human."
"Cale-nim, are we going to somewhere else right now?"
"I need to give a call to Alberu first."
In a soundproofed room that was reserved for conference meeting, Cale was sitting in front of an orb with Choi Han standing behind him and Raon flying at his back.
- Congrats, how's the opening ceremony goe-
Alberu noticed the heavy atmosphere and the dark room that the trio were video calling in right now.
- Erm, did something happened?
"Hyung."
- Y-yeah? Just tell me what you need, dongsaeng.
Whenever Cale voluntarily called him "hyung", it meant business related topics.
"Please arrange a meeting for me with His Majesty."
- W-what? Is it urgent? What's going on?
As the transfer of throne was coming soon, Alberu wanted to avoid as much conflicts with Zed Crossman as possible. But if Cale had a valid reason, he was willing to help him. He quietly listened to the whole story with the fake Hilsman. Cale did not hide anything as Alberu was one of the people who had known all of his secrets.
- Hah... Dongsaeng, it is possible to set up a meeting for you. But I think it'll be hard to make the king talk. Well, I'll work on it. Give me some time.
"Thank you. The opening ceremony is fabulous. Clopeh is doing a good job."
Cale's official smile had returned. Alberu still felt iffy about the whole situation but he did not want to burden Cale with any additional concerns. He just chuckled at Cale's remarks.
- Oh, the Endable event is in two days time. We'll depart from my room.
The alliance between Alberu and Cale with Duke Fredo had not made public yet. So, they need to make their visitation to the Endable Kingdom confidential.
"Sure. We'll see you then."
Click!
The call was short and it ended without any unwanted compliments this time round. But none of them were complaining. The heavy atmosphere was broken by the youngest child in the room.
"Human! Let's hurry back to the event. Clopeh is showing the final battle in the sealed god temple! I've missed out the fight between you and the White Star, I wanna see it!"
Choi Han gulped nervously at that excited child. While Cale was rather relaxed. He patted Choi Han shoulder and told him not to worry.
"Don't you know, Clopeh is really good at editing video too."
Choi Han and Raon had a big question mark above their heads but they still obediently followed Cale to the third floor without any further questions.
"This is where the human killed the white thing noona!"
"That's right, we get to watch it this time nya."
Mary and Rosalyn were still worried about how well the video was edited. But they were reassured after seeing Ron still have his benign smile on his face. The group was relieved that only the invited were able to watch this limited edition video recording. If not, they can't imagine how Toonka or Jack will react.
- Human, the video has started!
The crowd was watching the intense battle where Cale had suddenly pulled out a red book while the White Star had a red burning sword in his hand. They were awed by all the ancient powers clashing at each others. Cale in the video suddenly took out a small dagger, then a bright red light covered the whole screen.
- Wait, what's going on? Human, what's that blinding light? It's not the thunderbolts.
"Cale-nim, that, that's..."
'Of course it's not. It's the editing skill of Clopeh.'
Cale was satisfied with Clopeh's work as a wide grin appeared on his face. There was thrilling background music being added to the video too. Even Choi Han seemed to have found it unbelievable to have that unsightly scene being completely edited out.
"That's the power of our legendary Cale-nim, who is the only one can hold a sword that is capable to end the life of the evil White Star."
Cale face-palmed at Clopeh's comment. The video ended when the temple was shaking at a high magnitude that the inner walls were crumbling down. Clopeh then ended the walkthrough with a final statement.
"For those who are interested in the complete takeover of the sealed god temple battle, stay tune to our upcoming events at the Henituse Museum. These limited edition videos will only be exhibited at certain times. Hope you guys have an enjoyable tour. Please proceed to the Main Hall B on the second floor for the dinner banquet."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
- Human! I think the museum is going to earn lots of money with Clopeh managing it!
Cale can only sigh at Raon's thought while he can't help but to applaud Clopeh's effort and skills. And so, the Henituse Museum that was going to be one of the universal treasures that was well known across different worlds and timelines, had successfully concluded their opening ceremony today.
***
Next: The Endable Field Trip with Bob
***
A/N: This chapter includes some hypothetical theories of the original novel's plot. As most of the readers are interested in the original Cale Henituse's life before he exchanged body with Kim Rok Soo, I am more interested in the original Kim Rok Soo who was being born in "The Birth of a Hero" world before his body was stolen by the White Star. I just feel like the red hair characteristic that is shared between the White Star, Cale, and the Thames are not merely coincidence.
Some following chapters might be focusing on this imaginary plot of KRS's origin of birth while some will focus on original Cale's life. But most of them will still be the parodies of TotCF. But I'm sure that avid readers of TotCF will be able to differentiate canon bits from fictional parts.
Hope you guys have fun reading it. And please do share your opinions or theories of TotCF if you like. I'm really curious about different readers' perspectives.