EP1. Epilogue – 9th Birthday
Today is the two’s birthday.
Starting today, Sean and Levy will both turn 9 years old.
Last night Sean and Levy stayed in a secret place all night and returned to town in the morning.
It was the first time I had seen Sean all night, so as soon as I got home he fell asleep.
Levi says she has decided to stay at the chief’s house from tonight, so she will stay at home for now.
She probably slept like she did herself. Maybe she’s still sleeping.
Looking out the window, it seemed that it was about a late lunch.
Sean sat down for a while, woke up a bit, and went over to Levi’s house for lunch, and he decided to talk.
So Sean sat still for a while.
At that time, someone knocked on Shawn’s door.
‘Who are you?’
Sean didn’t think there was anyone worth visiting at this time.
‘If it were Levy, she would have come right away?’
“I want to go in and talk for a while. Are you okay?”
A voice came from outside. It was a voice that Sean had apparently heard, but he couldn’t remember exactly whose voice it was.
First of all, Sean decided to open the door. Anyway, the familiar voice means you’re a villager.
“Wait a minute.”
Sean walked straight to the door and opened it.
And what I saw was a tall man with a sturdy build.
Shawn, who had not yet woken up, mistook Luke for a moment when he first saw his size.
But when he thought about it, he couldn’t have. Luke won’t be able to come home.
Shaun took a closer look at the man.
He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a leather cape.
The face slightly exposed under the pressed hat gave off a cold and blunt impression.
Only then did Sean recognize the man who visited his house.
Tightened.
Why did Uncle Joe come to Shawn’s house?
I thought I would know the answer to that question if I thought about it a little. Because he made a mistake
He must have come to blame himself after hearing that Luke lost his life because of him.
Obviously thanks to Levy’s comfort yesterday, Sean decided he wouldn’t blame himself anymore.
Even if the uncle blames himself, curses him, and despises him, he himself will not be able to do anything.
Because it’s natural.
Sean couldn’t even imagine what Joe would do now. What are the thoughts of a father who has lost his son to the cause?
If it was Sean himself, he would have punched first. And he must have spat. Lastly, he will tell you never to fool around in his eyes again and get out of this town.
But Joe didn’t. He said calmly.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yes? Oh, yes, . . . It’s okay.”
“Okay, so that’s going to be a bit long, so I think you might as well sit down for a while. Is that okay?”
“Yes, come to work.”
Sean was momentarily taken aback by Joe’s attitude, which was completely different from what he thought, but then calmly led Joe into his house.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, there is no need. Rather, have a little conversation. Have a seat.”
“Yes.”
Are you trying to scold yourself? If not, what the hell am I supposed to talk to him about?
The appearance of Sean’s Joe seemed to jumbled up in his head.
As Shawn sat down, Joe immediately started talking.
“Yes, I heard all about it from Epinel yesterday.”
Epinel, it was the village chief.
“What happened that day, and how the child died.”
“·····.”
“Actually, I tried to listen to you directly, but I heard you weren’t in a situation to talk right after you woke up. I heard that he left the village after that.”
“…That’s it,”
“Just one question. Did you see the end of that child with your own eyes?”
“…No, when I went it was already…”
“Yes, I understand. Let me tell you the point.”
“…The body?”
“Yes, I will tell you why I came to your house.”
With that, Joe laid down the inside of his cloak, strapped to his back, on the table.
It was a sword. A cheap sword that Luke bought.
“Do you know this sword?”
“That is… Luke’s sword. I bought it when the peddler came.”
“Hmm, yes. Then do you know why my son bought this sword?”
For a moment, Sean stopped answering. Why the hell are you asking this?
Sean couldn’t fathom the purpose of his conversation with Joe.
“···That, that,···brother bought it himself.”
“Keep talking.”
“····My older brother wanted to be an adventurer. So, I bought this myself. Even if the old man opposes it, I will keep reminding myself while looking at this sword…”
As Sean finished, Joe paused for a moment, unable to answer for the first time.
Then he picked up the sword. Joe with the sword said nothing.
Shawn was sitting across from him, so he couldn’t tell exactly, but Joe seemed to be looking at his own reflection in the blade.
Just like Luke did.
After looking at the sword for a while, Joe put it down and said in an unchanging voice.
“Okay, thank you for telling me. Shawn.”
That was something Sean didn’t expect at all. Thank you.
He was expecting and accepting that he would be cursed at and severely beaten.
I never thought that Joe would say thank you to himself.
Joe went on to say whether or not he knew what Sean was thinking.
“I had no idea Luke was having those dreams. Even until the moment the child dies.”
Joe’s voice was still steady, but for some reason Sean seemed to see deep sadness in his words.
“Shaun, I also heard that you practiced hunting with my son.”
Those words made Shawn wonder if the thing was finally here. He remembered a conversation earlier when Sean said he wanted to learn to hunt.
He clearly said that hunting is not allowed, but he will definitely scold himself for saying that this happened while learning to hunt with his son.
But Joe’s words were something Shawn hadn’t even thought about.
“Shawn, don’t you want to be an adventurer? I mean, do you want to go out of town?”
Sean couldn’t answer that question for a moment. Because it was something he never expected.
But as he slowly thought of the answer to that question, Shawn remembered him. That this question had already been asked to Sean once.
That too, at the man’s house in front of him.
Yes. Shawn had been asked the same question by Luke at Luke’s house.
At that time, Sean didn’t answer Luke’s question. But Luke took it as a denial.
And Sean was also unclean at heart.
Because there was something more precious than an adventurer.
And that preciousness has grown much more now that time has passed.
From noble mtl dot com.
So, unlike the last time, I was able to answer the question clearly this time.
“No. I will live forever in this town. Because the most precious thing to me is in this town.”
At that, Joe said with a small smile that kept Sean out of sight.
“Looks like you know now.”
“Yes?”
“Why did my son like you so much, why did he only tell you about his dreams?”
“·····.”
“You are better than me.”
Sean made no reply to that. Sean just decided to focus on cooling the heat in his face.
Joe didn’t pay much attention to Sean’s behavior and continued.
“Yes. I knew your meaning well. Then I will make a suggestion.”
“A suggestion?”
“Learn to hunt under me. And follow me and become a hunter.”
“Yes!? No, but you did that the other day. Until I grow up…”
That reminded Joe. Come to think of it, this boy said the other day that he wanted to learn hunting from him.
“Yes. Come to think of it, I said that.”
“Ah…”
I said it for nothing. Thought Sean. Joe seems to have forgotten that time, but he was in a situation where he couldn’t learn hunting that he could learn because of horses.
But Joe said it calmly, as if it had nothing to do with it.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Yes? But···.”
“From what I can see, you are already bigger than last time.”
“·····.”
“So you want to learn to hunt?”
“···Yes! I want to learn to hunt!”
“Yes. Then come to the lunch hut tomorrow. I’ll start right away.”
With those words, Joe stood up straight away.
Sean said urgently.
“Oh, you should take this!”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The sword is yours now. The fact that Luke only told you about it and showed you the sword means that only you deserve it.”
As if Joe had nothing more to do, he immediately turned around and headed out.
Just before Joe opened the door and left, Shawn stopped him.
“Uncle!”
“Hmm? Anything else to say?”
The look in Joe’s eyes as he looked back was as cold and blunt as the first time he saw him.
Sean hesitated for a moment. Should I say something or just say nothing.
But it’s better to try and regret it than regret not doing it.
Sean said carefully to Joe.
“… That, Luke hyung is…”
As Sean started to speak, Joe stopped and waited without saying anything.
“Luke asked me to have dinner with the three of us when Mr. Even if the old man opposes adventurers, he will like me. So, why is that…”
As expected, I didn’t want to do it. That wasn’t what he meant to say. Perhaps it was because he was nervous when he spoke, but he made himself feel like an idiot.
In the end, Sean couldn’t make eye contact with Joe and said with his head down.
“That, Luke said, he said he looked like him. And again…”
Luke said he was asking for Mr. He looks blunt, but he’s actually soft-hearted. Is it really
···Uncle. I think the older brother liked the uncle a lot.
But Sean couldn’t utter the last words and just swallowed them in his stomach. What was he saying?
Sean was silent for a long time after all. I hope the uncle responds to anything.
What the hell are you trying to say?
But Joe didn’t say anything.
Sean raised his lowered head slowly. And he looked at Joe.
Joe.
He was smiling.
“Yes. Thanks for letting me know. Let’s just go.”
Just like that, Joe turned around and headed outside.
It must have been a mistake, but warm dew seemed to be forming around those blunt and cold eyes.
Joe paused before pulling his body out completely, turning around and saying softly.
“…Even if not three, it wouldn’t be bad to have dinner with the two of us sometime.”
The door closed before Sean could react.
Shawn thought.
The first time I saw Uncle Joe’s smile.
I think he looks a lot like Luke.
***
After talking with Joe, Shawn, who had been absent-minded for a while, came to his senses and left the house.
Then he headed to Levi’s house right next door.
The conversation with Joe took some time, but today is his and Levy’s birthday.
No matter how tired you are, it’s okay to eat a simple lunch.
Actually, the conversation with Joe has been longer than expected, so it’s already closer to dinner than lunch.
With that thought in mind, Sean stood in front of Levy’s house.
“Levy! Are you at home I’m here, open the door!”
Sean called Levy several times to see if he hadn’t heard, but there was no answer from inside the house.
‘Are you still sleeping? Or has it already gone to the chief’s house?’
While thinking so, Shawn pulled the door of the house.
The door was unlocked and opened smoothly.
“What? I see you are at home When you sleep, you have to lock the door.”
Taking that to himself, Shawn entered Levy’s house.
The first floor of Levy’s house was a shop, and the second floor was divided into a house where Levi and his uncle lived.
Of course, Paul headed to the castle of the lord, so the shop was closed for a while, and the first floor was deserted. Sean went straight up to the second floor. And he stood in front of Levi’s door.
“Levy? I’m here, are you awake?”
I did not hear any answer from inside the room.
Sean thought for a moment about waiting for Levy, but he decided it would be better if he just went in and woke Levy up.
‘Since a lot of time has already passed, sleeping this much is enough.’
Sean opened Levy’s door. Sean’s prediction was half right and half wrong.
Levi was in her room. But she wasn’t sleeping. Levi was sitting at his desk.
‘What are you doing?’
Levy was sitting at his desk with his back turned, so Sean couldn’t see what Levy was doing.
“… Levi?”
As Sean called, Levy slowly turned around.
“Ah! Shawn!”
“Levi, there was no answer when I called that, what the hell were you doing…”
Sean couldn’t finish talking.
Because he found something strange. Something Sean couldn’t have expected.
Levy was facing Shawn with one hand outstretched. And on the desk behind Levi was a burnt magic book.
And on top of Levy’s open palm.
A small flame was burning in the air.
Levy the day she turned 9 herself. She
She used magic.