Incompatible Interspecies Wives chapter 217

217 – Berg(4)

The long eulogy ended, and finally the last phase of the funeral proceeded.

The members carried Berg’s boat and headed towards the lake inside the forest.

Ner followed the boat, weeping as if she might collapse.

Sien walked, swallowing his sobs and shedding tears.

Arwin quietly moved, carrying the bow that Berg had gifted her.

They walked for some time, finally arriving at the lake.

The members placed Berg’s boat on the lake and shed their tears one last time.

Everyone bid farewell to Berg in their own way.

Even the prank-loving Shaun was now just tearfully apologizing to him in sorrow.

“I’m sorry, Captain… I should’ve done more…”

His comrades had to tear him away from Berg, who he couldn’t let go of while shaking his fists.

Gale stood next to Berg’s body and offered a flower.

Then, he took his sword out and laid it on Berg’s body.

“…Do you remember when I kept nagging that your sword was too long?… This is my prepared gift for you. I hope it serves you well on the other side.”

He said with a bitter smile, hiding his sorrow.

“…Farewell, Berg. You were the most special person I’ve ever met.”

As Berg had requested in his will, Baran, who had been supporting his family, came forward, but collapsed by Berg’s side.

“Kuk…”

Trembling, he covered his face for a while.

Although he tried to hide it from everyone, it was all too easy to know that he was shedding tears.

“…I pray you find peace on the other side. Thank you for everything.”

After everyone said their farewells, only Sien, Ner, and Arwin were left.

Everyone who had gathered to commemorate Berg took turns, looking at each other and gave way to each other.

Anyway, it was Arwin’s role to light the fire to Berg’s pyre.

As she had learned archery from Berg, she had asked to take care of his last rites.

So, there was no need for the rest to be there.

His wives would also have their own last stories to tell.

The troupe members retreated to the forest and left the place.

In the end, only three people remained to watch over his last moments.

“….Ah, ah…”

When everyone had left, Sien could reveal the pain she had been hiding.

Approaching Berg’s side, she touched his cheek.

He had always been with her throughout her life.

Even now, she couldn’t believe this was goodbye.

She couldn’t get a grip on her helplessness.

Sien whispered.

“…If only I hadn’t been so selfish, promising to love you…”

She stroked the cheek of the man she loved and said,

“…Could I have saved you…?”

Regret already lingered.

“Could I have gone to the battlefield with you…protect you…?”

What would have been the right choice?

Should we not have shared love with Berg?

She couldn’t erase the thought of feeling responsible for Berg’s death because she couldn’t protect him.

It hurt as if her greed had taken his life.

It may have been the curse of Hera, the religion she abandoned.

She caressed him and whispered.

“I’m not…I’m not ready to let you go…”

She did not want to let him go, but he was her hero who she had to send away.

-Thump…

Someone got on the boat.

-Shuffle…shuffle…

Neru, stepping on the flowers, lay next to Berg.

Laying her arm under him, she closed her eyes quietly.

Her body trembled intermittently with the endless tears.

“…Sniff…sob…sniff…”

She let out all her strength as she lay next to Berg.

“…Lady Ner?”

To Sien’s question, Neru answered with her eyes closed.

“…I don’t want to live anymore.”

“…”

“…I want to…sob…be with Berg.”

Neru’s tail covered Berg.

It seemed like an effort to share warmth with him until the end.

Sien could not help but shed tears at her frail gesture.

Everyone was going through the same level of pain.

Sien couldn’t tell her to get off of Neru.

She couldn’t tell her not to give up her life.

For she understood her feelings well enough.

Cien might have made the same decision even without the child onboard.

…Or maybe not. Even now, making this choice, they might not follow it after the child is born.

– Flick.

“…Put it down.”

However, there was a person who said those words all too easily.

Arwin, who had been quiet until now, uttered those words as he laid down his bow.

Nel did not respond to him.

“Please, put it down.”

Arwin asked again.

– Swish, swish.

Nel shook her head with her eyes closed.

“Nel.”

Then, Arwin’s voice rang out much more strongly than before.

A blue light bloomed from her.

Cien looked at Arwin.

The light that always burst out whenever Silphrien recited a powerful spell was shining now.

“Put it down. Just for a moment.”

– Thud…

So Arwin boarded the ship as well.

Nel opened her eyes at the change occurring within Arwin.

Only then did Arwin start letting the tears he had been hiding flow.

“I’ll…try to save you. Stay with me.”

– Whoosh..!

At the same time, something sprang out from Arwin’s body.

Something emitting a white light.

Cien could quickly tell what it was.

It was a vessel of life.

Silphrien had cherished his own life vessel, so he knew better than anyone else.

If there was one difference, it would be the color.

Silphrien’s life vessel had shone with a yellow light.

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It was proof that they could live up to 800 years.

However, Arwin’s Lifespan Vessel shone even brighter, a brilliant white light.

It was easy to see why the elves would be envious of such a talent.

Rumor had it that Arwin could live for more than a thousand years.

Ner silently sat up.

He quietly observed Arwin’s actions.

Arwin, in Ner’s stead, climbed atop Berg’s body.

Tears streaming down her face, Arwin spoke to Berg.

“…It was a lifespan meant for you, anyway.”

Arwin clasped Berg’s hand tightly.

“…But now that you’ve left… this long lifespan is nothing but a curse, a burden.”

-Thump… Thump…

“I don’t have the confidence to endure this curse for a thousand years. The anguish that awaits me every day will be more painful than the torture by the World Tree… I don’t want to live that life.”

Arwin smiled after saying this.

“…So, I will try giving you my life just once. If there’s no change after that… I’ll follow you.”

It seemed like Arwin was trying with a nothing-to-lose attitude.

If they were going to die together anyway, it looked like this was her way of taking a chance.

Arwin’s eyes started to emit a blue light.

Arwin placed both of her hands on Berg’s chest.

She overlapped the torn World Tree leaf of Berg and the leaf hanging on her own neck.

She then began to murmur something.

The exposed Lifespan Vessel started to vibrate.

“Ah…!”

As if pain followed, Arwin let out a moan.

However, the determination in her eyes as she looked down at Berg did not weaken in the slightest.

“Come back, Berg. I… can’t live without you.”

Cien and Ner silently watched Arwin’s actions.

Believing that Arwin didn’t feel sorrow was nothing but a misconception.

She was more hurt than anyone and struggling more than anyone.

The elf, who held lifespan as the most important thing, was willing to sacrifice all of it.

She was the most talented among the elves.

She was also the noble of an elf family.

And yet, she chose to devote herself to saving Bergen, a short-lived species.

Forsaking all that she could have experienced over a long period.

All that she could have become.

Sacrificing herself for the sake of saving Bergen and giving up everything.

The vibration in Arwen’s life vessel became more turbid.

Now, instead of a white light, it emitted a yellowish hue.

With that brief sacrifice, Arwen had given up 200 years of her life.

“…Please, wake up. Wake up, I beg you. I can give you my life… Just wake up.”

But Arwen continued to whisper to Bergen with an unchanging gaze.

She seemed to have no intention of giving up.

Sien and Ner also looked at Bergen.

Selfishly, they hoped to see some change in him.

Arwen’s life vessel became even more turbid.

Orange… and then red.

Her lifespan decreased exponentially.

“Ugh…! Please… open your eyes…!!”

But Arwen didn’t care about her life vessel; she only looked down at Bergen.

Bergen kept his eyes closed.

.

.

.

-Clang!

“…Huh?”

In the middle of my bitter conversation with Adam, the chain that had been holding my ankle began to move.

Adam also looked surprised and stared at the chain.

Neither of us understood what was happening.

But as always, Adam was quick to judge.

“Berg, listen carefully.”

He grabbed my face in an instant and said,

“…From now on, live as you wish.”

He didn’t care why or how this was happening.

It just seemed important that my soul, connected to my body, was returning.

“…Huh?”

But as always, slower than Adam, I could only give a dumbfounded response.

Adam continued to me,

“Don’t live for me. That’s not what I wanted.”

“…”

“…I had lost my younger siblings and wanted to change the reputation of our race. If I didn’t do that, there was nowhere to place the blame. I felt like I was going crazy.”

Adam looked straight at me and went on.

“…But now, you’re my sibling. So my dream that formed from losing my siblings doesn’t matter anymore. There’s no need to chase such a foolish dream.”

My ankle is pulled deeply.

Without a chance to be flustered, one of my feet begins to melt into the ground.

“…Brother…!”

“Please, live happily. Don’t think about any obligations. Seeing you suffer…is too hard for me.”

Then, one leg was sucked into the ground.

Even I could tell that a massive change was happening.

I also knew that I was returning to this world.

I was once again placed in a situation of parting with Adam.

This time, even my torso disappeared into the ground.

There were hundreds of words that I couldn’t say as my brother faced death.

It was the same now.

There were countless words I wanted to say, but I didn’t know what to say.

“Adam… I…!”

-Thud!

At that moment, my body was pulled in, and even my mouth sank beneath the ground.

I tried to say something, but nothing reached him.

Would I be unable to say what I wanted to say again?

But, undeterred, Adam came over laughing and said.

“…Berg, I know there’s a lot you want to say.”

Soon, a few people appeared around him.

People with the appearance of young children.

One boy and two girls.

With their resemblance to Adam, I could tell they were his siblings.

Adam spoke to me with an expression that seemed to have found peace.

“But let’s save the unfinished stories for later.”

Adam showed a smile.

“Live happily and for a long time, and then…tell me about your life.”

My body was being pulled in even more.

Lastly, Adam told me.

“…See you later, Berg.”

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.

.

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Arwin’s life vessel had completely lost its light.

The vessel that used to emit a bright white light had now turned black.

But Arwin, unchanging, placed her hand on Berg’s chest.

Berg, motionless, but she never gave up.

-Tick…

Then a crack began to form in the black vessel of life.

With a small sound like shattering glass, the life vessel dissolved into the air and disappeared.

The color drained from Arwin’s once shining blue eyes.

“…Ha…Ha…”

She gave everything she could, but Berg didn’t come back.

Arwin began to let out a bitter laugh.

She expected it, but it was extremely painful.

Perhaps she had been acting stubbornly through all the pain because she held onto a vain hope that by transferring the life force, he might come back to life.

But now, it was a situation where I had to face reality.

I had to accept the fact that I could never see Berg and smile again.

“…Ah… Ah…”

Arwin, with empty eyes, weakly shed tears and collapsed onto Berg’s body.

How happy would I be if his strong body embraced me?

I couldn’t believe that this reality was now something I couldn’t hope for.

Ner and Sien began to lose hope at Arwin’s reaction and started crying once again.

“…Berg…”

Arwin belatedly made up his mind to die.

Of course… I didn’t have the strength to live without Berg.

-Thump… Thump…

Arwin’s heart was beating fiercely.

His body was throbbing in reaction to this insane reality.

The heartbeat resounded in his ears without mercy.

-Thump… Thud… Thump… Thud…

“….?”

But soon, he realized that his heart was beating irregularly.

The irregular heartbeat was running more forcefully and intensely than anyone else’s.

“………Huh…?”

Could it be that I misheard?

Arwin focused and pressed his ear firmly against Berg’s chest.

Her long ears were pressed against his chest.

-Thump…! Thump…! Thump…!

But without a doubt, the sound of life was returning to Berg’s heart.

Arwin quickly sat upright and looked down at Berg again.

Then, Berg’s chest suddenly inflated.

“Gah!”

The sound of him taking a deep breath echoed.

Ner, Sien, and Arwin were stunned at Berg’s visible response.

“Cough! Cough…!”

Before long, Berg began to cough and cautiously opened his eyes.

“…What’s going on?”

Blinking, he soon discovered his wives lying next to him.

For a while, they all silently gazed at each other in the silence.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Finally, Berg spoke.

“….I’m sorry.”