The Retired Hero is an Extra

After Caera dashed outside, Kesha was just about to chase behind her, but Jash interrupted her, ordering in a stern tone, "Let her be for 5 minutes."

Five exact minutes later, Kesha disappeared, heading towards Caera.

Taking note of the interactions, Jash smiled wryly.

'Looks like the memories changed me in unexpected ways,' thought Jash, sensing the difference in his speech and actions.

Not minding the small interlude in his unique life, he went back to sit in front of his mirror.

'Haa... I can confirm my hypothesis later on, but what about awakening?'

In the end, the matter of awakening depended on his parents as it was a complex process and would need their supervision as well as resources.

"Normally, there would be no problems with anything..."

"... but I am the one who rejected his awakening and now, after everything happened..."

"... It wouldn't be tough to convince them for awakening. The only problem is when will they allow it?"

Jash thought to himself loudly, hoping to come up with a solution.

He knew better than anyone the protective nature of his mother and he couldn't see any future where she allowed him to awaken right after the curse or dark magic.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Jash tried to come up with a solution, they seemed to have a very high likelihood of failure.

"Whatever. Let it just go with the flow..." muttered Jash helplessly as he stood up to leave his room.

Eventually, he abandoned his search for a solution and made his way to the dining hall, where breakfast time was nearing.

Just as he exited his room, however, his eyes met with a distressed Emma.

"Oh? Emma, what are you doing here?" Jash asked her out of sheer curiosity yet it turned out to be a bad idea.

"I apologize for my oversight, Young Master. It was my fault everything happened. I should've stayed by your side, irrespective of your orders as your safety is my top priority!"

Jash's eyes widened at her speech, yet he almost felt lightheaded as Emma fell to her knees and bowed even more.

"Please punish me for my mistake, Young Master!"

Feeling dizzy at seeing Emma's overreaction, Jash didn't know what to tell her anymore.

'It's not like it is her fault or anything!'

'Bhairav didn't tell me, but I am sure it could've happened sooner or later...'

'There was also a possibility of the memories existing since I was born.'

'Anyways, what do I tell her?'

Unable to come up with a response, Jash stayed quiet, formulating a proper response to give her.

Yet Jash didn't notice how Emma's expression paled with every second of tense silence.

"Emma, get up," said Jash in an authoritative manner, startling Emma, who complied.

"Firstly, it wasn't your fault. Even if you were nearby, it wouldn't have made a difference."

"Even mom or dad would have been helpless in the face of it, let alone you."

"Plus, it's better not to blame yourself since whatever happened didn't happen at the exact time."

Jash said each sentence in a deliberate, slow voice, making sure Emma understood it all.

As he noticed the complicated expression on Emma's face, he added with a tone of finality.

"Emma. Do not brood yourself over it. Just move on. Or you want to keep such an attitude and be negligent in your duties."

Jash turned and walked away, unfazed by the mix of emotions flashing across Emma's face behind him.

...

Finally, Jash arrived at the dining hall, filled with servants roaming around, placing delicious food dishes on the long table.

It had a seating capacity of nine, four on each side and one for the head of the family.

'Damn Nobles! They really remove one seat to show off their authority,' Jash wondered in disbelief.

The memories of a world without nobles or social classes intrigued him to no end.

It even felt better than his own world, but was it really?

Jash didn't know which was better, at least, for now.

'Maybe after I get all the memories...' hoped Jash inwardly as he walked and sat at the table.

He sat nonchalantly in the second seat to the left of the head, ignoring the surprised onlookers.

Jash ignored them as he watched the servants arrange the dishes on the table expertly as if practiced a million times.

'No meat, huh?' Jash noted that despite the number of dishes, not a single one had any kind of meat, be it from livestock rearing or monster meat.

It wasn't much of a surprise to him as he had seen the same thing every single time for as long as he could recall.

'Haa... I really couldn't stand meat... ' A wry smile crossed Jash's lips, recalling when just the sight of it made him sick.

'If I wasn't born in this family, I highly doubt I could even survive...'

Naturally, the food costs were enormous, given the absence of cheaper food—meat—on the table.

Hunters mostly killed and sold off the carcasses of monsters as food, so it was quite readily available over grown food.

'It really would be too scarce, if not for elves and their food choices,' Jash mused inwardly before he senses his surroundings turning eerily silent.

'Hmm?'

Looking around with slightly raised brows, he found the source: his parents and their wide-jawed expression.

They probably didn't expect me,' Jash mused, as he had watched the servants change the dishes here just a few minutes earlier.

For obvious reasons, Jash didn't dine with his family many times.

Still, his parents immediately recovered as they both reached the table, all the while scrutinizing Jash.

'They are probably looking at me to find any aftereffects.' Jash guessed, based on their piercing gaze.

Yet he met their eyes as Sera sat next to him with Carcel opposite to her.

'She is skipping it again?' Jash wondered, noting Caera's absence and his parent's silence over it as the food was served to them.

Unbothered by their strange looks, he dropped a bombshell remark, staring straight into Carcel's eyes.

"Dad, I want to try awakening."