EP7. Epilogue – Blue Sky
There is no freedom for the hound dog.
Only carries out the master’s will. That’s why hunting dogs envy wolves that roam freely.
「Hound dog. Don’t forget your mission.”
He looked at the note with only one sentence written on it. The man’s expression, looking at the note, was cold.
“Hey. What are you doing there?”
“…It’s nothing.”
The mercenary who talked to him who was in the corner looked at him with a mysterious expression. In the end, the mercenary gave the gray-haired man one piece of advice.
“Of course, I understand that it is difficult to mix because we come from different backgrounds, but there is nothing good about being alone like that.”
“Yes. All right.”
“····· Tsk. Your skills are really good.”
The mercenary clicked his tongue once when he saw the newly joined young man. He gestured to get up and said.
“What are you doing? Are you just going to say yes and finish it?”
“·······.”
In the end, I led the gray-haired young man who got up from his seat and the two of them headed to the place where their comrades were. As they walked, the mercenary questioned him.
“What did you say your name was?”
“Hector. This is Hector.”
“Yes. Hector. The reason I came to the kingdom is… The country I lived in must be destroyed. Is not it?”
“·······.”
From noble mtl dot com.
It was a very sensitive question, so I decided to just ignore it even if the young man named Hector answered with silence. The reason why he asked the question in the first place was not because he was really curious, but because he wanted to have a conversation somehow, he immediately raised another topic.
“When I glanced at him, his sword skills were unusual.”
“Yes.”
The mercenary started to get frustrated when the conversation didn’t continue no matter what he asked. Nonetheless, he continued to speak.
“…Is it called the Republic now? Do you have any regrets about your hometown?”
“Because my hometown is not a republic.”
“····Hmm. Family or close friends left behind?”
“There is no such thing.”
With just this short conversation, the mercenary realized that this young man named Hector was not just an introvert who didn’t talk around. Although I don’t know the details, the mercenary sincerely gave me some sympathy for the young man’s life, which was not going to be smooth.
“I like to make a family. Having a place to return to supports life.”
“····Is it good for a mercenary to have regrets in life?”
“It may not be good for mercenaries, but it is good for people.”
“·······.”
Is this gray-haired young man realizing something? I don’t know what that is, but the mercenary continued.
“There must be at least one hope in a difficult and harsh world. Wouldn’t that make it taste better?”
“I don’t think so.”
“The kids called you a bloodthirsty wolf. Of course, I know that your country has always been at war, but you should be interested in the other side besides fighting.”
“Yes.”
Hearing Hector’s answer, the mercenary smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
“I had a lot of trouble with this mission. The next mission is going to the city, so it should be a little better.”
“What are you going to the city for? Was there even a war?”
“No. It’s not a war… Are you sure it was attacked by a group of monsters?”
The mercenary tried to remember the vague name he had heard from the captain. He pondered and finally came up with a name.
“Yes. It must have been the city of Laes.”
“····Laes.”
Hector murmured the name of his next destination.
“Well, monster, don’t worry because he was a professional in our mercenary corps. Rather, let’s go. The kids are waiting.”
“Yes.”
Hector carefully put the note he was holding in one hand into his pocket and followed the mercenary ahead.
***
When sad things happen, I always remember that the sky was dark. It was one of the reasons Shawn didn’t like rainy days.
The sky was clear. As if nothing sad had ever happened.
Hector’s funeral is over. The rain fell a little lower than the sky in the name of tears.
It is no exaggeration to say that Hector, the leader of the Silent Wolf, is the most well-known figure in Laes. Many people have been helped by him. So many people mourned his death.
The culprit was never found. It was a chaotic situation where the barriers had just disappeared and the soldiers were all mixed up without distinguishing between friend and foe. All eyes were on the woman who declared the end of the war.
However, since the arrow passed right through Hector’s heart, there were opinions that it would be more reasonable to assume that it was a sniping of Hector rather than simply shooting indiscriminately to attack the enemy.
What does it mean now? Because the dead don’t come back. Thus, the Laes Civil War ended with the deaths of two instigators and a wolf.
“Mr. Gania.”
“Huh? Why? Do you still have something to say? You said goodbye long ago.”
Gania treated Sean in a lively tone. But Sean’s expression didn’t seem to ease easily. The sight was quite unusual. Contrary to popular belief, many things were the opposite situation.
The expression of the two was like that, and the position of the two was like that.
It wasn’t the boy who was being said goodbye. It means that Shawn wasn’t the one trying to leave Laes right now. The one leaving is Gania. And the silent wolf. Their decision came very suddenly.
“I understand why the captain joined the war. It turns out that the baron threatened with the silent wolf. Maybe I owed something to the baron in the past.”
“Actually, I am in the same situation right now. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was helped by the merchant bastard. After all, it’s the same as being in debt to the owner of a new city.”
“If I stay in this city, I don’t know if the same situation will happen again. I thought about it a lot, but I thought it would be better to just leave the city. I don’t think there are any more monsters left anyway.”
“Now I must lead the Silent Wolf.”
Gania said it like it was no big deal, but Sean could see how much effort it must have taken for her to make that decision. Because her love for this city was real.
“What if leaving is the wrong choice? When this happens again, then…”
Gania smiled and answered Sean’s question.
“It’s okay. Because I have someone I can trust.”
Sean couldn’t hold Gania any further than that.
“What do you think? Is it a bit like blatantly ignoring people in front of you?”
“Ah… It’s nothing. It was just a wild idea.”
Gania, who was saying goodbye at the entrance of the city, smiled softly at the boy in front of her. Soon she stroked the boy’s head and said.
“Thank you. Without you and Levy, she would be in big trouble.”
“····Is that so? If I had done a little better, maybe…”
Sean couldn’t hold himself back. He suddenly felt a warm, moist feeling on his cheek.
Sean, unable to comprehend what had happened, stared blankly at Gania.
“Shaun. I’m lucky to have met you. ····Thank you. Prince.”
“Oops…!”
“hahahaha. After all, this kind of thing suits my sister.”
His face flushed red, and Sean turned his head to the side at the unfamiliar pain in his lower back.
Levi, who was next to him, glared at Sean disapprovingly, pinched her around the waist, and murmured.
“Shaun. Why are you so haggard…?”
“What is Hebalduck! It’s just because I’m flustered…!?”
The two of them starting to quarrel, in a way, had a sweet feeling, so Gania burst into laughter as she called out to Levi.
“Levy. You are doing well too.”
“····Sister. You have to be careful…”
“It’s not to the point where I go around getting beaten up. And you’d better be careful, right?”
“Yes? Me?”
As Levy floats her question mark with her bewildered expression, Gania whispers in the girl’s ear with a grumpy smile.
“If you do something wrong, another woman might snatch Sean first?”
“What are you talking about! It can’t be… No, I’m not like that!”
“No, what? Everyone already knows.”
“····Really? You know everything?”
When Levy hesitated, Gania nodded her head and seemed to have forgotten to add.
“Oh, Sean doesn’t seem to know.”
“········.”
“Hee hee. I’m kidding. Anyway, what I’m saying is that you should approach it more aggressively.”
“····Actively. Yes.”
Gania said goodbye to her cute girl with such helpful advice. Meanwhile, Shawn was saying goodbye to another person.
“Congratulations. You entered the silent wolf you want.”
“Sure. I never dreamed that it would turn out like this. . . . No, did it happen in a dream?”
Shaun laughed lightly at the sight of Cren adding nonsensical words. A man named Kren has always felt this way. Would it be too much to say that she makes people’s hearts cozy with her lightness? Come to think of it, Cren was the first bond she encountered on her journey. As she thought so, her parting with him came anew.
“I hope we can meet again.”
“You guys are leaving right away, aren’t you? You may meet sooner than you think. It would be awkward if we met too early again.”
“hahahaha. I really don’t know if that’s the case.”
Kren said she joked as she usually did, but calmed her demeanor when she realized that the time of separation was really near. He revealed her sincerity, which he had not been able to convey until now, right in front of the breakup.
“Thank you very much. Both of you Without you, let alone my dream, dying to the bandits would have been the end of my life.”
“Mr. Cren…”
“I have a feeling that when we meet again, you guys will be at an even higher level than now.”
Before Shawn had time to open his mouth, Kren continued speaking, revealing her aspirations.
“Even though I’m just a trainee right now, someday I’ll proudly become a part of the Silent Wolf. So that I am not ashamed of being with you.”
“Yes. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“I’m sure Mr. Kren can do it!”
After Sean and Levy’s reply, Kren felt her emotions surge for some reason. Trying to put in a reaction that wasn’t her own, she cracked a joke that made Kren even more smirking.
“Don’t you know if it will be three, not two, the next time we meet?”
“Yes? Three?”
“If Sean had to choose between his son and his daughter?”
“Hmm, I guess I have a daughter…. What are you talking about!?”
Sean, who was shouting in anger, soon smiled bitterly when he saw Kren’s sly smile. After Sean and Kren said goodbye, there was a final goodbye. Greetings from two sisters.
“Always take care of yourself.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be unbalanced, eat evenly.”
“What kind of kid am I?”
“Don’t go to bed too late.”
“It’s just nagging.”
Kania held her sister in her arms. Embarrassed, Gania said, hugged by her smaller sister rather than herself.
“Why, why? In front of all the kids…”
“You must come back safely without getting hurt. Got it?”
“・・・・Yes. I will definitely come back.”
“Gania. Love you.”
She didn’t know what Kania’s expression would be under her head. Only because she had only two left of the two sisters. For leaving one of her family members behind. Gania knows why her own sister shows her affection so much.
She said at the end she was about to leave with a smile on her face.
She hugged Kania tightly and answered with a trembling voice.
“・・・・Yes. I love you too.”
Gania slipped from her arms, rubbing her reddened eyes with her hands. She forced the corners of her mouth up to hide her tears. She waved her hand vigorously and said goodbye to everyone one last time.
“Until we return someday, bye everyone!”
Goodbye. Laes, my hometown.
***
The city is on fire, and people’s screams leak out everywhere. In a city that must have been peaceful, where it was devastated by mad monsters.
“Sister. What about mom and dad?”
“…Will be waiting for us in a safe place.”
“Where is the safe place?”
Even Kania, who was walking ahead of her while holding her sister’s hand, did not know where the safe place was. She did know one thing, however, that at least it doesn’t seem easy to find a safe place in Laes now.
Anxiety has overtaken Kania as to whether her sister’s parents are safe or not. But the more she did, the more she told her brother of her hopeful encouragement with a bright expression. It’s like she’s talking to herself.
“Gania. No need to worry. We are going to a safe place now.”
“To the place where there are no monsters?”
“・・・・Yes. To a place where there are no monsters.”
Daily life in the city was completely shattered due to a horde of monsters that came without any warning. It was a very difficult environment for the two young and fragile girls to endure. Kania did not give up.
In the end, suffering is just a small trial if you overcome it.
Like the words of a great adventurer she has longed for. Even now, when there seems to be nothing but despair, if you overcome it, it’s just a small ordeal.
“Kuuu!”
“Ah…”
In that case. If that’s true.
Is this monster appearing in front of me just an ordeal that will pass?
Maybe not. That’s because the condition attached to it, ‘if you overcome it’, is now just a vain delusion.
There is no way a girl who has just lived an ordinary life can overcome such a monster.
But Kania did not give up. She couldn’t give up. Because Kania has her sister, Gania, who holds her own hand tightly. She had to overcome Kania.
“Gania. Hide behind your sister.”
“····It’s a monster. Sister.”
“No problem. My sister will defeat that monster.”
“Really?”
Kania picked up a stick of wood that had fallen around her, and confidently answered her sister’s question.
From noble mtl dot com.
“Of course not. Because you are a great adventurer.”
A fight that can’t be won. A battle without a win. The girl, who was sure to be crushed by the monster’s breath, did not back down.
Her brother, who watched her, had a vague memory of the time, but only her sister’s small back remained vivid in Gania’s mind.
What happened after that? Perhaps Kania rushed first. She can’t remember how the monster reacted.
The memories that remain are the monster that fell at one point and the man with gray hair standing in front of Gania.
The first words he uttered were still as vivid and clear as if they were yesterday.
“The sky is filthy blue.”
That was the first meeting between Hector and the sisters.
***
“Sister Gania. Sister Gania!”
“…It’s noisy, so please speak quietly.”
“Oh yes. Sorry. Sister.”
Gania let out a sigh and hung out with Kren. Since she’s still a probationary guy, she decides to let go of her little cheeky attitude.
“So what made my ears hurt?”
“No big deal, just curious where we are going now.”
When asked where the silent wolf left her hometown to go, Gania answered with a cold attitude without hesitation.
“There is nothing in particular.”
“Yes?”
“We will wander around and find work. We will find out later whether we will settle down like in Laes or continue to wander.”
“…Isn’t that too rough?”
His question wasn’t exactly wrong. Hearing her words, Gania let out a laugh at the memory of her that came to her mind. She said she too, because she had asked Hector a similar question before.
‘Why did the captain stay in this city?’
‘Just.’
‘····Yes?’
‘It just happened that way.’
The secret story of the birth of the Silent Wolf, the strongest mercenary group in Laes, was quite absurd. That’s why the current choice wouldn’t be bad.
“Cren. Wolves are originally nomads.”
“I don’t understand, so is there any profound meaning in that statement?”
“Of course. It just means to keep your mouth shut.”
“Aha.”
How long has it been since you left the city? By the time her figure of Laes was disappearing to the other side of her, her refreshing wind enveloped her and passed by. Gania casually looked up at the sky.
“The sky is so filthy blue.”
In the clear and blue sky, as if to say not to have any worries.
A cloud resembling a wolf bloomed.