1. The first letter (1)
it’s a strange dream
The scene at sunset was dark and drenched in blood. A crow that digs through the rotting ground with its beak, a limp corpse. This place, where even the sound was on its deathbed, was a dried up cross-section of hell.
In the meantime, the man was crying.
The filth from the pile of corpses stained his hands. Still, he did not stop. A black and white world where there is no sound and only the muddy touch resonates.
Twilight was setting, and the gray color of the world had lost its brightness. Then the man got up. In a short time, less than a few minutes perceptually, he seemed to have aged by several years.
He looked up at the dark sky. For a long time, he staggered to me.
The face was unrecognizable as it was hidden by the falling darkness. Only fragments of emotions burning like embers could be seen between the eyes.
Original reading, hatred, and regret.
The moment the man passed by me standing tall, a sound was born for the first time in the world.
“… … Delphirem.”
A thump, a sound thrown out. However, in my ears, accustomed to silence for a long time, it was a voice that pierced like thunder.
Startled by that dry chanting, my gaze turned to the side. There, blazing golden eyes.
“Delphirem is coming.”
Like chewing and spitting, he was talking to me.
It was around this time that I woke up panting.
My heart thumped like a live fish that had just landed on board, and I pushed my eyelids up.
I could feel the sweet smell from my sharp breath, and even the pillowcases were wet with cold sweat. Waking up from a nightmare was always such an unpleasant sensation.
Whoa, I let out a long breath and washed my face, only then did my breathing subside. It was a vivid dream. That made it even more unpleasant.
And ‘Delphirem’, yes. It’s Delphirem.
I fumbled through the contents of the nightmare as if removing fish thorns, and then I picked it up and laughed.
It was a name that only appeared in the creation myth of the main religion. The first traitor of mankind, the source of all sins. And the lord of Manma.
Did Professor Levi-Strauss lecture on mythology leave a deep impression on you?
I smiled bitterly and brushed off the afterglow of the dream. Then, he raised his upper body to avoid the damp sheets.
The room, neither narrow nor wide, was dark and silent. It was a familiar sight by now. It was a dormitory for nobles who entered the academy, where they had been living for three years already.
If the prestige of the family had been greater, I would have been able to use a spacious and luxurious room, but unfortunately I was only the second son of a country viscount.
In other words, paying the expensive academy’s tuition was a game where you had to be sensitive. I couldn’t afford to stay in a more expensive dormitory.
After sitting there blankly for a while, my head started pounding. It was because I drank too much last night.
It feels like a heavy rock is pressing down on your brain. Unpleasant thirst welled up, and I stumbled around to examine the tabletop near my bedside table.
Light and heat returned to the room with a thump. The magic lamp installed in the dormitory was not very expensive, but there was no problem securing a dim view.
I was about to drink water from the canteen I always keep on the table, but I hesitated for a moment.
It was a strange feeling of discomfort. Nothing has changed, but it feels like something has changed. Shaking my head, I was able to quickly find out the cause.
The calendar was over. There must have still been three more days left in the month of the pipa, but it is already the month of the bow. He must have been quite drunk last night.
As I tried to ruminate on the vague memories of last night for a moment, my movements stopped for the second time. It was because, as I was about to shake my head, a strange object suddenly caught in the corner of my field of vision.
It was a letter. It was a letter from an aristocrat with a refined handwriting on luxurious paper, and anyone could see it. So I had to fall into an even more unknown feeling.
Has anyone sent me a letter? Also, even if it was, I don’t remember receiving a letter.
My hand naturally held the letter. The words ‘Ian Perkus’ on the first line indicated that the addressee of this article was not mistaken.
Then there was only one way to solve the riddle.
Soon, my eyes began to read the neat handwriting down quickly.
—-
To. Dear, to my Ian Percus
Well, who doesn’t like spring?
This is what I heard recently in the downtown area of Arankot. He was an elderly gentleman who was well-dressed, and his dignified speech and restrained manners left an impression.
Looking back, wouldn’t he have worked for a prestigious aristocratic family?
He said that he became a wanderer last winter, but his warm smile was as warm as the sunlight in spring. It must be because winter is over.
Whenever that happens, I think of what we have accomplished. To protect the world and become a hero.
I thought it was an absurd story from a fairy tale I read as a child, but the fact that our names were engraved on one page of the book is still strange to me.
It’s all thanks to you. No, as you said, it might be thanks to all of us.
I got used to life in Arankot. I was worried about what would happen to me when I crossed the vast desert with endless sand, but in the end, this place is also inhabited.
The sun is warm, and the sea is shining with clear light. Have you heard the old saying, ‘If you look with the eyes of a fairy, you will see hidden treasures’? That’s what it says.
And writing a letter to you has become an important part of my day.
At first, I felt a bit puzzled by the request to send a letter once a month. Hey, it’s Ian, right? You always smiled silently, but I felt my heart pounding a little because I wanted to be lonely at the thought of sending my beloved far away.
But, as always, excitement seems to be mine. Letters are sent once every two days, but replies come back once a week.
Of course, I think that work in Jedo can be busy. I am not a woman who is not so generous that she cannot understand how heavy the burden you are carrying is. Because I watched from the closest place to you. Pain, sorrow, and even suffering.
As a fiancée, it’s embarrassing to not be able to support your lover in such a busy and difficult time. I am deeply reflecting on that.
However, protecting Arancot, one of the three major trade ports of the Empire and a strategic point that protects the west coast of the continent, is also a duty that must be shouldered as a nobleman of the Empire.
Ian, you know. That the aftermath of last winter has not yet gone.
Even so, I always find time to write to you. I hope you know a little bit about my burning heart.
I miss Ian especially tonight. The moon of the bow comes before you know it, and the stars are studded in the sky like that night, dancing in a group dance.
It was during the hunting festival held in the month of the bow that our relationship deepened. For me, who always suffered from an inferiority complex, the memory of that day still remains as a thrilling memory.
Come to think of it, that year’s hunting festival had a lot of toxic incidents. It all started when Emma from the Faculty of Alchemy went to gather materials and was attacked by a mysterious beast and found unconscious. I should have noticed then.
It was like that when a group of magical beasts ambush you during the practice class of the Swordsmanship Department. What would have happened if I hadn’t acted quickly at that time? Still no one cares
At that time, we thought that the forest was going to be the stage for the hunting festival, so we were deliberately neglecting the proliferation of monsters. It was a student-like complacency. I heard that there was an uproar in the Ministry of Education at the time.
No matter how much I think about it, I think it was President Delemore’s mistake to enforce that year’s hunting festival.
However, there is a feeling of gratitude to the President in the corner of my heart. Since that day, there has been an opportunity for our relationship to deepen.
In addition, I won the hunting festival for the first time. I wondered what would happen when I ran into the monster, but thanks to you, I was able to escape.
Looking back, I still have doubts. How did you know that monster’s weakness was its horns?
Every time I ask a question, he just smiles and says, ‘There is such a thing’, and even after 7 years, it remains an unsolved mystery.
Even after defeating the monsters, there were sudden attacks, but somehow we were the ones who took over the supply of the monsters. And now, I’m rather grateful for the raid that day.
Because I was able to win the first time. Even though I benefited from you and other friends, the memory of that day remains as a turning point in my life.
And since that day I became even more interested in you, and in many ways the event of that day became a precious moment in my life. Until then, I never even thought that I would become a lover with you.
The moon is already waning. The letter should be shortened. It was a fun night to bring back precious memories with you.
The dry winter has passed, and the mournful spring has arrived. The last snow of winter has long since disappeared, but my heart still thinking of you doesn’t melt even in the spring sun.
I can’t wait to see you again tonight, Ian.
No, brother Ian.
I will pray that I can meet my brother even in my dreams.
P.S. 1: I recently heard of a visit by a female cat from the Holy Land to the islands. I’m sorry for the old woman, but I expect that even if the female cat attacks, my brother will not betray his trust with me. By the way, since I joined Arankot, I have never eaten alone with a man. then.
From. Thinking of you tonight too, from sepia.
In the 571st year of the Imperial calendar, on the fifth day of the Bow Month.
—-
After reading the letter for several minutes, I was silent for a moment.
It was a long letter. There were no expressions that violated vocabulary or etiquette, and the neat handwriting made it clear that it was written with great care.
However, when I received the letter full of sincerity, there was only one reaction I would show.
“… … What nonsense are you talking about?”
As if I was dumbfounded, I swallowed a blank laugh and crumpled up the letter. It was just an unknown story from beginning to end.
hunting? It was the biggest event of the academy held in the month of the bow. However, this is an event held at the end of the month, and so far only plans have been announced. How could I know what happened that day?
The name ‘Sepia’ was also strange. It seems to be referring to ‘sepia flower’, but unfortunately, no one around me had such a name or nickname.
Above all, what bothers me the most about this letter is the date on the last line.
My gaze returned to the calendar on the table. On the background where the shape of the bow was drawn translucently, the number symbolizing the year was written.
Year 564 of the Imperial Era.
If so, this letter becomes a story that flew from the future seven years later. It was nonsense.
I was about to crumple the letter with that thought in mind, but there was a spot that suddenly caught my eye, so I stiffened my body.
It was the unread part of the letter. There, a phrase was scrawled in an alien handwriting for anyone to see.
‘If we cannot protect the future, the world will perish.’
The phrase contained regret and resentment that I had squeezed into it, so I had no choice but to stare blankly at the writing for a moment.
At first glance, a scene from a nightmare passes by. The one who stared at me with burning golden eyes.
But for a moment, it was only a moment. I soon regained my senses and crumpled up the letter. And throw it into the trash can a little away from the bed.
With a pop, the ball of paper that was once a letter went into the trash can.
Confirming that, I gulped down the remaining water in the canteen and went back to bed. without knowing anything
From the moment I received that letter, my life had already changed irrevocably.
👻💀
Wonder how he’ll confirm it’s legitimacy…