217. Both Way (1)
“The desert frontier refers to this place.”
Amid the scorching sunlight, Heartlocker lifted the fabric of his hat and looked ahead.
A panoramic view of a large city was revealed in front of the camel.
It was really a city, not the small town I had seen so far.
At the center of it, there was even a high castle in the style of the Freya Empire, giving a very different impression.
“Thank you for guiding me.”
“No, no. It’s a place anyone can come to if you follow the main road.”
All roads in the desert lead to this place, to the desert frontier.
And all exchanges between the desert and the West also take place here through the desert frontier.
A huge commercial city built by occupying a huge oasis.
It was an imperial colony, a desert frontier.
From noble mtl dot com.
“Wow… So many people.”
“It is the only city in the desert with a population exceeding 1 million.”
After entering the busy market, Heart Locker had to struggle to find his way through the crowds.
It was definitely different from other desert villages.
Many races, both elves and humans, mingled and roamed the streets, and all the slightly larger roads were crowded with people.
The streets were paved in the imperial style, but most of the houses were desert style.
A city with a mysterious feeling where two cultures are fused.
Heart Locker’s feelings from the foreign city were as follows.
‘It’s a lot of junk.’
It was a city I didn’t really want to live in.
The chaos of the city got even better as we went deeper into the depths.
The proportion of elves decreased and the number of humans increased, and imperial-style houses began to appear one by one here and there.
A wealthy village close to an oasis.
It was the place where the nobility of the desert frontier lived.
“Did you say you were looking for a cathedral?”
“Yes. I heard there is a large church here. I’d like to say a few prayers.”
“You are very faithful.”
The place we wanted to investigate was none other than the cathedral located near the oasis.
The elves were blocking the entry of the cathedral from the west, so the cathedral located here, an imperial territory, became the only cathedral in the desert.
Since it is the place where all believers in the desert gather, the size of the cathedral gradually increased until it became even bigger than Sophia Cathedral in the Papal States.
Because it is a cathedral where humans and elves alike gather, various doctrines are mixed, and the religion here has a rather strange color. In the process, suspicions arose that one of the doctrines that emerged was the root of Asylum.
‘But is it right to send me?’
When I made up my mind to start the investigation, my eyes were bleak.
Hurlocker had no interest or knowledge about religion.
However, where and how to investigate…
It seemed like it would be a very time-consuming task.
“You there! Wait!”
“·······?”
Then an urgent voice came from above his head.
The moment he hurriedly raised his head, the intense sunlight forced Hurt Locker to squint his eyes.
A surprise attack aimed at the backlight.
Hurt Locker hurriedly stepped back and was about to summon his dagger.
“Whoa whoa! Calm down! I just want to ask a question!”
“Question?”
A tall man who sat lightly in front of the Hurt Locker.
Heart Locker, who scanned the ankle first, noticed that he was not a human.
Bronzed skin and long ears.
It was an elf.
“Yes. You know the group you were with just now. Can you tell us where they went?”
“Are you talking about the party? If that person is next to you…”
He is the geek who asked to call himself a traveler.
Hurlocker looked around and was taken aback.
The man who had been talking right beside me just a moment ago had disappeared.
He obviously didn’t feel the footsteps at all?
“Oh no… You ran away.”
“Running away. Are you sure you are a wanted criminal?”
Maybe I am mistaken for a criminal and get involved.
At the possibility of an unexpected crisis, Hut Locker gulped his saliva nervously.
“Ahahahaha. That’s not it. Can I hear what he called himself?”
“I asked to be called a traveler…”
“Then I’m sure. That person is Mine.”
“·······!”
Hurt Locker failed to manage his expression for a moment and opened his mouth.
He was genuinely surprised.
To think that the person who casually accompanied me until now was actually a demon.
Suddenly remembering the hard work of defeating Sandworm, Hurt Locker felt like hiding in his mouse hole.
He only watched quietly from a distance, so I thought he had no fighting skills….
I wondered if wrinkles in front of the chrysalis were what he was saying after seeing this.
“Evil, demon…. Then, if you chase it now-“
“No, I’m late. If that person makes up his mind and runs away, I’ll never chase after him. Rather, would you like to tell him a story?”
“You mean the story?”
“Yes. I’m collecting all the information about Mine, no matter how trivial. If possible, I’d like you to tell me in detail about everything that happened while you were with that person, would you mind? Oh, of course I’ll give you plenty of examples.”
“·······.”
What is Mine Deokhu?
Hurt Locker tutted his tongue and kicked, thinking he had been caught by mistake.
“What are you doing?”
“This is the person who is the chancellor of this place.”
“A chancellor?”
“I’m sorry for the delay. My name is Ataturk. I am assisting Duke Damian in managing the administration of this desert frontier.”
Once again, the Heart Locker’s mouth dropped open in genuine surprise.
A traitor to the elves.
Someone called Iron-Blooded Chancellor was greeting him with a smirk in front of him.
‘This is an opportunity.’
From the beginning, I have been in contact with people in power.
If you use this, you should be able to conduct your investigation quite comfortably.
The investigation seemed to end earlier than expected.
***
Come to think of it, I ordered the intelligence service to investigate Marie’s son.
No matter how little information is available to the general public, it did not take such a long time.
So the Secret Service must have figured out that the son was me, no, Schluss.
The most persuasive thing is that I have been procrastinating until now because I didn’t know when to reveal it.
Boom······!
“Oh, brother. Are you here?”
When I opened the door roughly, Emilia ran out in a hurry.
A face as usual.
As expected, she was like a veteran actress.
“You don’t look well? What happened?”
“No. He must be just tired.”
I wanted to scream right now,
Did you trick me?
Did you hide it on purpose?
But what crime did Emilia have?
It is the head of the Intelligence Bureau who made the decision to kill Marie.
The person who killed him himself had no reason to criticize Emilia since his head had already been blown to pieces.
Yes, if you shout at her, you can see Emilia crying, blowing, and clinging to her saying she’s sorry.
You can stand on her psychological edge and look down on Emilia.
She might then feel her satisfaction as she bestows a salvation called forgiveness.
“Brother. What’s wrong? Ah. I can’t hug you right now… But your clothes are dirty right now…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I didn’t like that.
I didn’t want to make this child difficult in order to fill my self-esteem, to feel a shallow sense of superiority.
He has already gone through countless trials.
That means he deserves to be happy now.
Isn’t revenge enough to make unrequited love continue?
I didn’t want to make Emilia feel guilty anymore.
“Brother…”
“Why are you calling?”
“Don’t be surprised, will you listen? I just found out today-“
“Wait a minute.”
Emilia’s shoulders were shaking slightly.
She was taken aback and fell slightly, clutching Emilia’s shoulder.
Emilia was looking up at me with her frightened expression.
I had a hunch at that time.
I thought it was already too late.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe it… I really didn’t mean to hide it? But you know. My brother asked me to find out before… There’s Marie Ale’s son, you know. That person’s name. , I found out that it was a person named Morgen Ale.”
“·······.”
Emilia glanced at me and said.
Morgen Ale.
Anyway, that must have been Schluss Heinkel’s real name.
“So?”
“Brother… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I was wrong.”
“What are you sorry about?”
“I really didn’t know…”
“No, you don’t have to finish the explanation. Go on.”
“Ah… Ah…”
“Quickly.”
“That…… “
“It’s okay. Take a breath. You can speak slowly.”
“Shu, I think I lived while using the name Schluss Heinkel…”
“I see.”
Emilia’s body was trembling like an aspen tree.
I felt sorry for that, so I carefully stroked Emilia’s hair.
Every time I touched it, that little body trembled.
I thought I would just skip it.
Anyway, Emilia seemed to be having a hard time hiding it all the time.
She seems to have chosen to be comfortable with the words so she ······.
I also didn’t know how to react to this situation because it was so sudden.
Can I just forgive you?
How should I convey that word of forgiveness?
I was able to erase a debt that Emilia could not pay off for the rest of her life.
“I’m sorry oppa… I was wrong. No, I was wrong. I’m really sorry… Really… Really, really… Ah…… Ah, ah… I’m just sorry…”
Emilia knelt down in front of me, her tears flowing endlessly.
What should I do now?
How can I alleviate Emilia’s guilt?
It was the most desperate moment since I came to this world.