216 – Berg (3)
I slowly opened my eyes.
“…?”
The blue sky, the expansive meadow surrounding me, the river crossing the plain.
My favorite landscape was laid before my eyes.
Blinking, I sat up.
I couldn’t even remember what I was doing due to the overwhelming sense of peace I felt.
When was the last time I felt such serenity?
During the plague problem.
The farming issue.
The theft problem.
The problem with my brother Adam.
The endless hardships caused by the Krund problem.
“…ah.”
As I sat there, the memories came flooding back.
I could even recall what my last memory was.
Killing Krund and closing my own eyes.
It was not a dream but a reality that had definitely existed.
“…”
I looked around.
Only then did it seem like I could understand where I was.
It felt like I had met death and crossed over to the other side.
“………………Sigh.”
The first thing to escape my lips was a deep sigh.
I stayed still for a long time, with my hand on my face.
I had messed up things big time.
I had successfully defeated Krund, but I couldn’t keep my promise to the ones I cherished the most.
The promise to return to Sien, Ner, and Arwin.
I couldn’t even fathom how sad and heartbroken they would feel as they had sent me off believing in me.
I felt like going crazy in my apology.
“…”
I got up from where I was sitting.
I felt like I should at least look around first.
-Clank!
However, some chain grabbed my ankle and didn’t let go.
“…?”
I belatedly realized that the chain was connected to the ground.
“…What is this?”
“You haven’t had your funeral yet.”
Someone answered me.
I turned my head at the sound.
“That’s why your soul is still tied to your body.”
“………..”
My entire body stiffened as I faced the person.
“…Why are you here already, dummy?”
He asked me with a stern expression.
“…Brother?”
As soon as Adam saw me, he let out a sigh with a deeply furrowed expression.
He scratched his head and bit his lip repeatedly.
“…Ah, I’m going crazy, seriously.”
The feeling of happiness was only for a moment.
I could feel that he was extremely angry.
He asked again, digesting his anger.
“…Why did you come so early?”
“…”
I had nothing to say.
It had been a long time since I had received such a feeling.
It had been almost 10 years since I was last scolded by Adam.
But I couldn’t easily refute his words.
In the end, I stuck out my tongue and smirked.
That was the only answer I could give.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
But Adam’s anger didn’t seem to be appeased.
As he sat hunched over, touching his face constantly, he said,
“…It’s my fault again, isn’t it?”
“…?”
I blinked and mulled over his words.
I asked him, full of doubt.
“Why is it your fault?”
– Thud… Thud…
As he began to shed tears, he spoke.
“…I should have been more clear in my words.”
“…What?”
“Berg, why… did you live for me…?”
“…”
As my brother said, to some extent, I had been maintaining that way of life for Adam’s sake.
The mercenary group my brother left behind. The will he left behind.
Stagpin, which would have been my brother’s territory.
There was definitely a part of me that lived that way for Adam’s sake.
“…It was my brother who left the will. I believe it.”
“… That’s not what I meant when I said that.”
“…”
Of course, I too realized it just before I faced death.
From Noble mtl dot com
My brother would have wanted me to live for myself.
That was not the meaning behind his will.
Only when I was in the same situation did I realize the truth.
“I should have been more clear.”
Adam whispered once again.
“…”
I knew that my brother didn’t want it that way either.
The only words he could have squeezed out with his last strength were that he believed in me.
So there was no need for him to blame himself.
If anything, it was my fault for not understanding his intentions.
But seeing Adam blaming himself so much, I threw a familiar joke at him for the first time in a while.
“…That’s right. Be a little more straightforward. It was difficult because of that.”
“…”
In the end, Adam let out a powerless laugh at my words.
He tried to calm down the tears he had shed.
Sighing as if blaming himself, he let out another sigh.
“…I’m sorry, Berg.”
Like me thinking of my late brother, Adam had thought of me as he died.
Now it had become a choice that could no longer be fixed.
I let out a small laugh.
Even though it was not a situation to laugh when thinking about the wives left behind, there was also a sense of emptiness, so there was no choice but to be like this.
“…Forget it, it’s all over now.”
I tried to cover up the sad story indifferently.
Adam scratched his head and sat down next to me.
“…Sigh.”
Since I couldn’t leave this place right away due to the chain anyway, I took my seat.
After a long silence, he slowly opened the conversation.
“…I’ve been watching all along, Berg.”
“…”
Adam eventually broke the atmosphere and asked me.
“…Have you been well?”
****
Berg’s funeral proceeded steadily.
The entire village changed into black clothes.
There was no joy in the victory of the war.
It was decided that Berg and the other members’ funerals would be held separately.
In the end, because Berg was a nobleman, it was decided that a noble funeral would be held.
With many tools he could use in the afterlife placed on the boat, it was decided that the body would be cremated on the boat in a nearby lake.
For that reason, Sien quietly prepared many tools to be put on top of Berg’s boat.
His clothes. His weapons. His armor. A small amount of coins.
Sien couldn’t stop the tears flowing as she took care of each item.
Although she knew she had to be strong because of Berg’s child on the boat… it was impossible.
From the beginning, Berg’s existence had supported her all this time.
She could live because Berg had been protecting her since she was ten years old.
Even when she became a Holy Maiden and went to the battlefield, she could bear it with the thought that Berg existed somewhere.
But now, without Berg, even if the world were peaceful, she was afraid.
She didn’t know how to live a life without Berg.
– Knock knock.
As she prepared like that, someone approached her.
When she looked to the side, Gael was looking at her.
He seemed to have aged over five years in an instant because of this incident.
Despite the fresh wounds on his body, he didn’t seem to feel any pain.
“Are you… ready?”
“…………….No.”
At Cien’s words, Gale tightly closed his eyes.
It seemed as if he realized he had misspoken.
“…The funeral is about to begin.”
He speaks.
‘Funeral.’
Countless funerals that had taken place until now suddenly seemed overwhelmingly frightening with Berg as the subject.
Although he was not ready to let go of him at all, everything was proceeding in order.
In the end, Cien nodded his head and stood up from his seat.
He picked up his prepared belongings and began to walk.
.
.
.
.
When crossing through a forest, a vast lake begins to unfold.
As it was difficult to hold a funeral in such a narrow space, the funeral ceremony began in the area in front of the forest.
The sound of weeping rang out from all around.
It seemed to show the love Berg had received from the citizens of Stoukvin.
Several other races were also present at this funeral.
They were the refugees who had fled to Stoukvin.
After paying tribute to Berg in their own way, each presented a flower to the boat where Berg lay.
Berg’s boat was already filled with flowers.
The items Cien had placed were covered by the flowers to the point they were not visible.
She clenched her teeth and held back her tears.
If Berg wanted her to be strong…it seemed she had to be at this moment.
However, she didn’t know how much longer she could endure.
Without Berg, it seemed all too easy for her to lose her balance.
Sien looked around.
Ner was in front of Berg’s boat, covering her face as she shed endless tears.
Through her tears, Sien could see how deep Ner’s feelings were for Berg.
Ner cried so much, it seemed like she might cry herself to death.
Sien certainly felt the same sorrow, but… the racial trait was evident.
As a Ner who could only love one person for a lifetime, the shock was undoubtedly greater.
Sien turned her head once more.
…There was Arwin.
“…”
She stood rigid, strangely showing no emotion whatsoever.
…Her expression was stiff, standing still.
A kind of determination seemed to be in her eyes.
“…”
Perhaps Arwin had known about Berg’s death from before.
She was the one who had received the World Tree leaf.
She must have known about what happened to Berg first.
Perhaps that’s why she was coping with the grieving process more strongly.
Or, maybe she couldn’t feel any emotion about Berg’s death at all.
…Whatever it was, Sien had no time for contemplation.
It was too hard for him to understand Arwin’s sorrow.