107 – Until I can’t hear the sound
While Eunbyeol takes care of Hyena.
Me and Yuri talked about how to handle this.
Process Anyway, Mina is dead, and this quest is over.
But that doesn’t mean all the stories are over like in a fairy tale book.
There are still many people left in Haeundae.
They must continue to live.
“The leader of the organization was actually holding hands with the enemy. It wouldn’t be strange if the organization collapsed if it was revealed normally.”
“…I guess so.”
Mina’s presence in this town was very strong.
Now that such a leader is dead, chaos is unavoidable.
How much more, in fact, everyone was being deceived, and some were even sacrificed for the maintenance of the village?
Some people might understand.
It may be passed as a slight shock.
However, there will be distrust between people.
When it gets bigger, it gets out of control.
Not to mention the collapse of the village, a fight between people might happen again.
“I have to stop that somehow.”
We chose to kill Mina.
In vain, no matter what the circumstances.
That behavior is unacceptable and unforgivable.
We cannot avoid responsibility for our choices.
At least, like Mina did, she has a duty to keep the village and its people from collapsing.
“Honestly, I don’t think I should reveal all of this.”
“……I agree with you too. It’s too harsh a truth for everyone to accept right away.”
Yuri and I agreed on that idea.
Neither of them said it openly, but Hye-na’s presence was great in that choice.
Even though it ended with her own hand, Mina is still a precious little sister to her Hyena.
I don’t know if the current Hyena can withstand the situation where Mina becomes a villain and she is hated by everyone.
In the worst case, a person may appear who takes out her feelings of betrayal and anger toward Mina towards her Hyena.
The Hyena we know would gladly accept even that.
I decided it was best to prevent that possibility from the beginning.
…Ironic.
After killing Mina, who sacrificed her other person for her older sister.
Now, for the sake of Hye-na, she is trying to hide the fact from everyone.
We are no different from Mina in her essence.
In the end, the people who are dear to you are the most important.
It’s just that for us, the line is a little further inside.
Anyway, we decided to cover up Mina’s actions.
Just as Lancelot died and the quest was over, making up the story was easy.
We were investigating the quest separately.
In the meantime, a fight broke out with Lancelot.
As a result, Mina and Noh Kyung-Woo unfortunately died.
I roughly decided to go with that scenario.
Once we decided, we immediately told the villagers about it.
At this sudden news, the villagers, especially Eunbyeol, were shocked.
“It’s too much! Why, why did you leave me out…!”
She looked quite betrayed by the fact that she had kept it a secret from herself.
She was genuinely angry, arguing with us, and denying that there was no way Mina would die like that.
But she eventually accepted Mina’s death.
There were not many people who could continue to argue after seeing Hye-na’s face as if she was about to die.
“A leader like that… ….”
“We just leaned on our own. I was still a child.”
“…Fighting for the village until the end…. How are you going to pay off this debt…….”
Everyone didn’t doubt what we said at all.
In a way, it was natural.
Everyone knows that Hyena and Mina are sisters.
Mina couldn’t have guessed that she was doing something like that.
Even if it felt a little strange.
It would have been difficult to say such a thing in front of her older sister Hyena.
Anyway, despite this shocking news, people moved quickly.
You cannot be immersed in shock and sadness.
Some people are worried about the future, but there are things that need to be done before that.
The people unanimously decided to hold Mina’s funeral with those who had died.
It’s just at the point where the quest has just finished, so it’s a little while, but I have time.
From noble mtl dot com
We’ve lost a valuable leader, but there won’t be a fight with that terrible monster for a while.
It’s okay to take a breather for now.
On the contrary, it would be difficult to endure otherwise.
What Mina did like that remained a secret between us.
‘Is this what it is?’
I felt remorse for the fact that I didn’t feel any remorse.
The small stone in my chest rolled slightly and then stopped.
I’d be lying if I said nothing, but I can’t help it.
Right now, we can’t help but take care of Hye-na, who is grieving the loss of her sister.
In the end, yes, yes.
You have no choice but to choose between the important and the less important.
Because we are not gods.
****
“…Some people want me to be the next leader.”
“Isn’t that a good story?”
At the end of Eunbyeol, such an answer came out.
After Mina and Noh Kyung-Woo, she has excellent fighting skills and is Eun-Byeol who was involved in work a lot.
Rather, leaving Eunbyeol alone, I wonder who will do it.
Of course, if it’s just a fight, the kids, including me, would be better.
We still have the feeling that we are outsiders.
It’s like the difference between the people who built the village from the beginning and the people who joined in the middle.
Thanks to Mina, she quickly melted into the group.
The villagers also treated us awkwardly.
Right now, even us, we have not completely assimilated into this village.
And with this incident, I probably won’t be able to do that forever.
Actually, I naturally thought that Eunbyeol would succeed Mina.
Actually, Eunbyeol shook her head from side to side.
“She doesn’t have the confidence to do things like Mina and her older sister.”
“Let me tell you. We won’t no, i can’t You don’t deserve it.”
“I know that, but… ….”
Eunbyeol let out a deep sigh.
It was something I didn’t want to do.
Well, I understand that feeling.
Eunbyeol was still young, and her older sister died while working as her leader.
It would be confusing if I took many lives before I could escape from that sadness.
She probably feels the burden of the fact that she has no choice but to take care of herself.
“Couldn’t you just do it? If it’s Jihoon oppa or Yuri unnie, no one will say anything, even if they’re scared.”
“That level of people only look at dictators because they are afraid of force? Say something that makes sense.”
A group has power just because it is a majority.
Those who have already watched Minara as a proper leader.
Those who have even survived the war cannot listen to what others have to say because they are afraid of the fist in front of them.
I don’t know if I really set an example for a few people.
Me and Yuri have no intention of going that far.
In the first place, we are not the people who need to lead that way.
‘To be honest, I want to get away from you as much as possible with Hye-na right now.’
What we are bound to here is responsibility to the end.
As I said before, I have neither the right nor the thought to become the village leader.
Did you read that kind of heart?
Eunbyeol lowered her head.
“Don’t be too pressured. We can help too.”
“……My mother was a yogurt salesperson.”
Eunbyeol suddenly brought up her story.
She didn’t bother to ask and listened quietly.
“You died trying to protect me from zombies. It was Mina unnie who picked me up when I was at a loss by her mother’s corpse.”
“… ….”
“It was a bit difficult at first, but we all worked together to gather people, warn them, and work together to overcome the quest. Before we knew it, there were people all around us, and we even made a village like this.”
“… ….”
“It’s all Mina and her sister did. If she hadn’t had a sister, I would have died. There is not one or two such people. Mina unnie…Is the only leader in our village. There’s no way anyone can replace her sister!”
“……That’s right.”
As if I was filled with emotions, Eunbyeol cried sadly in my arms.
As if she had lost her real family.
“Huh! Black! Why did my sister, who worked so hard, have to die! I miss Mina unnie…!”
“……That’s right.”
I quietly patted Eunbyul on the shoulder.
She couldn’t think of the right words to return.
If more people can be saved, is it okay to ignore the deaths of a few?
I don’t know.
At least, that wasn’t something that a person like me who didn’t have the heart to sacrifice could do.
On the one hand, I was a little relieved.
If there are many people in this town who think like this.
Even without Mina, the village won’t collapse.
In vain, even if that belief is not the truth.
****
The preparations for the funeral proceeded quite quickly.
Actually, even a funeral is not a big deal.
I just collect the belongings of the dead.
It is just a place to commemorate lightly in front of it.
No black clothes, no proper burial procedures.
The bodies of the two were buried in a nearby village grave.
After digging the land, the villagers took turns burying the soil again.
It took quite a while, but everyone did a good job.
As soon as I asked that, night came, and the people celebrated the end of the war with a funeral and had a hearty meal after a long time.
By the way, I provided the coins to buy the food.
Well, there’s no particular reason.
Maybe it was because I was in a pretty sentimental state too.
Or maybe it was because I remembered Mina’s words of taking good care of me.
Well, she said that all she asked for was her own sister until the very end.
Still, the villagers sincerely mourned Mina’s death.
It was a child’s suggestion to set off the firecrackers.
Still, there were quite a few firecrackers left for play, probably because it was near the sea.
When the time comes, people will launch it into the sky.
It is like a farewell ceremony for people who live in perdition.
‘The atmosphere is uncomfortable.’
I wasn’t the only one who thought that way.
Both Yuri and Eunbyeol seemed slightly uncomfortable.
If Mina had really been sacrificed like that, she would have been able to comfortably share in her sorrow.
We couldn’t do that.
Rather than that, my mind was focused on something else.
“……What are you doing?”
“Ah, Jihoon.”
Hyena was sitting on the beach alone, blankly looking at the sea.
It was night, so I couldn’t see anything.
All you can hear is the starlight floating in the night sky and the sound of the lapping waves.
Though that alone was quite tasteful.
“Eunbyeol was worried. Are you sick of that?”
“……It’s okay. Is not it.”
Actually, Eunbyeol was worried the other way.
Isn’t Hyena making an extreme choice because she can’t overcome her guilt?
But I didn’t think Hye-na would.
I just intuitively felt that.
Of course, it will take a long time to clear her mind.
Those scars will probably never be erased for the rest of my life.
Still, if she were Hyena, she wouldn’t make that choice.
“It feels like yesterday when I swam here. It happened like this.”
“……That’s right.”
“It was great back then. It’s okay if everyone just laughs happily.”
I sat next to Hye-na in silence.
We looked at the night sea for a long time like that.
“When I was still young.”
“Yes.”
“Mina said while giving me her conch shell as a gift. They say it contains the sound of the sea. She said that the one she gave me specially included the sounds of fish, seagulls, and turtles.”
“It’s a cute story.”
“Could there be human laughter in it?”
“Because this is the world. Maybe if you look for something like that?
Hye-na smiled sadly.
We focused on the sound of the waves again.
Somehow, it seemed that the sound sounded different from what I had heard before.
-Pyong!
At that moment, I heard the sound of firecrackers going up in the distance.
A yellow beam of light soared into the sky and went bang! Exploded to make a sound.
One, two, three.
The number of firecrackers is gradually increasing.
The night sky was filled with firecrackers before I knew it.
It was a pretty sight.
Suddenly, Hyena held my hand.
Sobbing was heard mixed with the sound of firecrackers.
We sat there silently like that.
Until you can no longer hear the sound of firecrackers.
[The skill conditions for the job ‘Heroine’ have been met!]
[Acquired the skill ‘Sentence Movement’!]
[Obtained the text of the bound item ‘I can see the comments of the perishing novel’!]