105 – Report on the Fall of Kindness (15)
As Cain approached, Lily relaxed and sat down. She sobbed and cried, covering her face with her hands. Seeing the long scars on Lily’s back, Cain clenched her fists.
But before he could say anything, Maria shook her head and pointed to her neck. Cain tore off the sleeve and wrapped it roughly around her neck.
“Everyone… “
Cain was so thirsty that he could not speak for long. She said, “Let’s go. Hurry.”
Lily stood up, wiping her tears with her palms. The three walked unsteadily toward the village entrance. Sometimes, when someone was about to fall, two other people quickly caught them. I somehow walked forward, looking to the side and ahead, but didn’t look back.
On the outskirts of town. The fence was still intact, and Brother Henry’s cabin was also intact. Cain, sword drawn, entered first. There was no one. The backyard was also empty. Even the luggage bags that Cain, Lily, and Maria had left behind were still there.
I lit a fire in the kitchen oven, put wine in a pot, and boiled it. While I was moving it little by little to another bowl to cool, I found some medicinal ingredients that could be used as an ointment in Henry’s cupboard.
While Cain moved into the kitchen without her noticing, Maria took off Lily’s top. She was there to heal the wounds inflicted by Roberta’s arrow. Even though she was grazed, the wound was long and she would have a hard time moving for a while.
I poured cooled wine little by little to disinfect it and then applied a bandage with ointment. Lily only occasionally twitched her body and did not let out a single moan. Maria, adjusting her bandages, placed a light hand on her Lily’s shoulder.
“It’s okay to hurt. “Don’t force yourself to endure it.”
“… Sorry.”
Maria said no more. Lily took her change of clothes out of her gym bag and put them on.
“Cain. Come in.”
But Cain was lingering in the kitchen doorway.
“Over there. Lily. I’m sorry… “Can you walk?”
“Yes. No problem.”
“Then…” Can you just check where the horse went? Don’t leave the backyard. “It’s a bit scary to think about going out there on foot.”
She smiled and left, as if telling Lily not to worry. Cain tried to take her own wand, but it was of little use to her as it was a bit short for Lily’s height. After Lily closed the door and went out, Cain entered her cabin and untied the cloth around her neck.
“Hey… on your neck… “
Maria’s eyes wavered. Cain shook her head.
“Hurry up and bandage me before Lily comes. You? “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Lily blocked everything.”
“Leather strap.”
“What?”
“Leather strap. “How much is left?”
“Why do you care?”
“Maria. “Go back to Magdeburg.”
Maria, who looked at Cain blankly for a moment, suddenly got angry.
“… Did I hear wrong? Yes?”
“Maria. It’s true that this work is important, but I don’t want to do it if it takes up your life. I’m going to give Lily some time off too. Rest of it… “
Instead of answering, Mary poured disinfectant wine down Cain’s neck.
Cain gritted his teeth as the pain felt as intense as if a heated iron had been pressed to her neck. I don’t know what the knight of her scabbard did, but it seems he didn’t completely heal her wounds.
“The rest? What about the rest, you’re going to do it all yourself? Didn’t you get hit on the head somewhere in the vacant lot? What are you doing alone? I was wondering if all three of us could rush in, but you want to go alone? “Over there?”
Although her words were harsh, Mary carefully applied ointment and wrapped her bandage around Cain’s neck.
“What do you mean by going through all this trouble and somehow getting the job done? Go back? Then I’ll cut off one of your hands and go back!”
“That’s not what I meant. I am… “
“Then you quit too! I heard you decided to retire after this job anyway? Stop it now! “Is there no one in the empire other than you?”
“I can’t do that.”
Before Maria fired back, Cain quickly responded.
“The Knight of the Sheath is watching me. Same goes for me. I used to wonder why he showed up everywhere we went, but now I know. It’s because of me.
He moves as if he wants someone to watch. Doesn’t even think about hiding his behavior. As if he had some grand reason. Please… Like traitors.
Traitors move like that to show people that they are right and to convey their message.”
“What do you want to say?”
“That guy is moving as if he wants to see me. So there is no need for him to involve you as well.”
Maria, who was embarrassed, was silent for a moment. She curled her lips, thought hard, and nodded her head a couple of times.
“I understand. “What does it mean?”
Cain was relieved. Her relaxed breath flowed out.
“… Thank you.”
“Thank you.” Maria, who seemed to be smiling slightly, opened her eyes wide.
“I know that means you’re crazy! Hey, you crazy guy! Are you saying that now? “How did her head spin when she got stabbed in the neck?”
The door opened with a bang. Lily stood in the doorway and wheezed.
“On the neck… “What’s on your neck?”
“No, I…” “
“What happened to your neck! Who are you. “Who did that!”
“… I.”
“You’re crazy.”
Maria muttered.
* * * * *
The horses were gathered by the stream near the canyon. She seemed a little wary when she smelled alcohol from Cain and the others, but she soon calmed down when I comforted her by rubbing her back and neck.
But she did not go out into the canyon. If I encountered the thugs blocking my path in the canyon again, I would be in trouble for one reason or another.
Because of that, the party decided to find another way. If it wasn’t a path for people, I decided to at least find a path for animals.
Not a good choice.
The day is drawing to a close. Even in an ordinary forest, it is difficult to find your way in the dark, much less stealth in a dense black forest.
But Cain did not slow down her steps.
While searching for the road, the three saw the devastation of Berta Village. The sight of uprooted trees lying over a deep pit was reminiscent of a corpse pit.
The trees literally ‘ran ahead’, creating furrows like fields in various parts of the forest and village. It is a furrow large enough to plant a tree.
I didn’t want to sleep in a place like that.
There is also a more reasonable reason. If it were a deserted place like the Black Forest at night, there would be no bandits either. The calculation was that if they were going to rob people, they would block the mountain path where people travel, not the path where animals like this could travel.
Soon, neither the devastation of the village nor the dug-up dirt could be seen. What you see are trees and birds with sparkling eyes. And they are rising stars.
Suddenly, something black appeared. It is a watchtower made of stone. Although it was half destroyed, it didn’t seem like a big problem for spending the night.
The horses were hitched and a bonfire was lit on the stone floor of the watchtower. I chewed dried fruit and beef jerky and drank cider from a bucket. I spread leaves on the stone floor and spread a blanket, and it was quite soft.
“Are you okay?”
In Cain’s opinion, Lily could hardly lie down. Perhaps because her back was injured, lying down seemed very uncomfortable.
“It’s okay.”
Every time I moved my body slightly, I could see that I was in pain. Cain opened her pocket where she had saved it. She saw three round packets of medicine wrapped in white paper.
One is salt. Both are tranquilizers. Cain peeled one of them and gently touched the tip of it with her tongue. It seems to be a medicine as it has a bitter taste.
Cain broke her medicine into three pieces. She thought it would be better to eat a little bit than to eat the whole thing.
“What is it?”
“What I brought from Emmaus. Stabilizator. Boiled Asas grass. It has a slight anesthetic effect and helps you sleep well… “
Lily was not willing to hold out her hand. Cain let out a small sigh.
“It’s because it’s not used in the Empire, but the medicine itself is also frequently used by Western pagans, so there shouldn’t be any problem. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but… “It’s not like it shows illusions, it’s because it’s used for surgery or medicine.”
Maria, who was listening, rolled her eyes.
“Then eat one too. Give me one too. “Let’s all eat together.”
“… “Who will be on watch?”
In response to Cain’s question, Mary closed her eyes and prayed.
“If something goes wrong, it’s okay because God told me to take responsibility for everything. You eat first. “A guy who wants to send everyone home and go off on his own gives him an anesthetic, but what kind of person would take that straight away?”
“Yes?”
Lily woke up suddenly. Cain sighed again.
“Maria. Please.”
“It’s noisy. Let’s take one pill at a time and hear what our suicide attempter is thinking.”
In the end, everyone took one of the broken pills. Maybe it was because I split the pills, but I didn’t suddenly feel drowsy. However, it was clear that my heart was slowly relaxing and my breathing was becoming smoother.
The three people talked about what happened during the day. The reason I put a knife to my throat. When I opened my eyes, I saw a knight with a scabbard. The fight with the villagers… Even the campfire held its breath at the bizarre story.
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The night deepened, and the conversation ended.
“Cain.”
Maria stretched out her legs.
“Why?”
“I’m not going back. No matter what you say. If it’s uncomfortable to go together, I’ll go alone. “Because I have enough qualifications and reasons to do so.”
“But…” “
Maria gave a harsh look. Cain swallowed her words because she didn’t want to make Lily worry.
“If you really look at it, it has something to do with my roots. Why did my life become like this? Why am I like this… “Has it become a body?”
Mary snapped her fingers and lit up a ray of sacred fire.
“You could be more comfortable.”
“I decide where to spend my life in a meaningful way.”
Maria remained silent after those words.
“I don’t like it either.”
Lily whispered.
“He said this because he didn’t want to see me and Maria getting hurt. I understand. But, if you say so… There is no reason why you have to do it, Cain.”
“I told you. The sheathed knight… “
“I don’t care about what that guy says.”
There was a strange coolness in Lily’s words.
“Because you are like this, you have to be like this.” Because it is like that, it has to be like that. No. I hate that word. I am… “You don’t know how I became a Valkyria at such a young age.”
Even Cain didn’t know that much. Director Bernays may know. Cain never asked Lily about her past, a story Lily never answered.
“My father hated my mother. She said she was worse in many ways than her former wife, who died young. He said that I was created because of just one night of fun.
But because I had too many eyes to see, I inherited the family name Brünnhild. When I think about it now, I think they gave me that name to cause me pain.
Since childhood, I have never received proper training. Instead, I had to become a fighting partner for knights my age. ‘Brünnhild must bear it.’ That’s what my father always said.”
It was my first time hearing this story. And, I thought I knew why I was hearing it for the first time.