617 – 7.5 The season is autumn (6)
Awakening from a hazy dream.
No, this is still a dream. It’s so realistic, it’s just hard to realize that fact.
It was a familiar sight by now.
The endless wilderness was empty without a single bush. The sun sinking toward the horizon creates a dry hue, and countless corpses catch the light, creating a melancholy scene.
I was standing in a daze on this dead ground.
Fragmented memories run amok like migratory birds migrating. Before long, several scenes passed through my mind like fragments.
Senior Elsie has finally found a way to treat those who have become vampires.
The victim’s family and friends expressed their gratitude over and over again. ‘Senior Elsie’ made an excuse that she just couldn’t win against my annoyance, but it didn’t mean that their gratitude was not conveyed.
Particularly, Emma held my hand, even shedding tears.
Thank you for not giving up, and I’m glad you saved Rieri Lupesia’s life.
It was rewarding to play remotely.
I don’t know the detailed principle, but ‘elsie senior’ seems to have figured out a way to break the ‘contract’ with the vampire. Did she say it was fortunate that the subject of the contract died?
If the vampire was alive, it would have been an impossible method.
I unilaterally notify you of the termination of the contract, but no one will remain quiet.
In the end, it was just a means that could not be used in the world where ‘Elsie senior’ lived. Even so, senior Elsie couldn’t hide her pride.
I didn’t even forget what I had to pay.
So I tilted my glass to celebrate. Drinking, drinking, staggering into the room and scratching the saintess enough to leave handprints on her back.
“I see you often.”
My mind, which had been immersed in recollections, suddenly became clear.
That dry tone was nothing more than a man’s exclusive possession. A voice like a wilderness, devoid of interest, interest, or emotion.
My eyes moved slightly behind my back. There, as usual, a man perched on a rock could be seen.
I vomited out a broken breath.
“…… I know.”
“It’s not something to be dismissed as if it’s not such a big deal.”
As her man said that, she stared at me with even more subdued eyes. Like crows foraging in the sky.
“The assimilation rate has increased too much. It’s been like that before, but the last battle was deadly. You took my memories too far.”
It was a story I had always heard.
Hasn’t it been like this since the time we dealt with the corpse giant in the Percus Territory? If this happens, something big might happen.
But I was still fine.
Despite her manly serious tone, it was the reason I could keep my composure.
“Isn’t that bad? You’d be better off alone, but you’ll have someone to talk to. I’m learning some more visions…….”
“I say it again, there is no power without a price. Baby.”
A warning that has been heard again and again.
However, today’s man had a slightly more serious expression. As if it annoyed me that the frequency of my visits had increased.
“Don’t forget that she lost her temper in the last battle. The line between ‘me’ and ‘you’ is gradually blurring.”
“So what?”
“It’s late.”
To my somewhat annoyed question, the man answered like that.
It was an uncompromising statement.
“I can’t stop now. I have no choice but to prepare my heart.”
“What kind of mental preparation?”
“Prepare to pay the price.”
Actually, the man didn’t tell me what the ‘price’ was.
The reason is probably one of two things.
First, even the man didn’t know.
And secondly, even if you knew, you couldn’t speak because of ‘restrictions’.
It was a treatment I was used to so I didn’t have to ask. Even so, there was a lingering lingering feeling that I couldn’t shake off.
A question leaked out of my mouth after a moment of silence.
“…… Did you know?”
“What?”
“The Secret Story of the Hastur Family.”
Instead of snorting at the well-intentioned question, the man slightly turned his gaze to the side. Her man’s pupils blurred as he traced her past.
I didn’t have to wait.
Because the man opened her mouth without hesitation.
“I couldn’t have known.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“You should already know the answer.”
“Still, if you gave me even a small clue…… !”
“Baby.”
At that one word, the heated atmosphere subsided.
The man was still just staring at me with emotionless eyes.
“Information related to the Seven Sins has too much ripple effect. In addition, even if you know the secret history of the Hastur family, what can you do?”
“If Celine finds out about this…….”
“It will hurt.”
The man’s eyes deepened as she spoke softly.
Like an old woman ruminating on her old memories.
“Still, I can get over it. At least if you stay by my side.”
“How do you know that?”
The man did not return any answer. She merely pointed to the sky with a wink.
My gaze naturally followed that direction. There, there were memories that reflected like a blurry image.
A ruthless woman who breaks through the human barrier while holding an ax the size of her body.
A black uniform with an impressive white border told her where she belonged.
Imperial Intelligence.
“Because he was one of my lieutenants.”
It was a bit rougher than now, but I knew it. The fact that the woman in the picture was Celine.
There are few women who are bold enough to smile confidently even in the battlefield.
Come to think of it, it was unfamiliar.
We used to hang out together every day, but it’s already been a while since I saw Celine’s face.
For a while, I couldn’t open my mouth. Waiting, waiting
The question that finally came out was short.
“…… Are you alive?”
“Okay.”
It was an outright avoidance of an answer.
Because he’s a childhood friend, and the man wasn’t cruel enough to not know if my lieutenant was alive or dead.
A dry voice continued.
“Don’t try to depend on too much. Gather the information you need… That’s why you are always a ‘kid’.”
“That bastard’s ‘kid’ sound… ….”
“Or ‘a child’.”
I grumbled at her man’s words, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Child” Would have been better than “Young child”. I didn’t know when I would be called by my first name.
The man recited a tone that crackled like a grain of sand in the desert.
From noble mtl dot com
“Don’t be stubborn. You are responsible for the fate of the world you live in. If you think I’ll be your babysitter forever…….”
“Yes, yes. I know.”
As soon as the nagging showed signs of getting longer, I had no choice but to let go.
How can you worry so much?
It was a characteristic that contrasted with the stark impression. When I waved my hand annoyedly, the man’s gaze softened slightly.
I wouldn’t even notice this if it wasn’t for me.
Looking at the man for a long time, I felt like I knew him. The right story that he is also a human being with blood running through his heart.
Again, I thought it was going well.
There was another reason I came here. There was no reason for her to be slapped on the back by her wife and make her drink too much.
I got to the point without delay.
“I heard that your sister-in-law wants to see you.”
He hesitated.
In the meantime, once shaken, the man’s body stiffens. It was a very rare response, but I kept talking to her so that her man couldn’t escape.
“Today is so sudden, what about tomorrow? Like you said, it’s the fate of your world.”
The man’s gaze slid to her side.
Wasn’t it right just before that? “You must be responsible for the relationship between your world.”
That was true indeed. With this in mind, I decided to keep pushing her man.
“If you are an adult, you should do that. Then I would know that…….”
And then glanced.
My eyes examined the complexion of her man. A face that still doesn’t even show the reverberation of emotions.
Like that, the silence continues.
How many seconds, how many minutes?
At that moment, I was wondering if I should go after the man one more time.
The man’s lips opened slowly.
“…… I hate it.”
You said you were forced to stop.
In the end, I couldn’t help but cry out.
“No, don’t act like a child!”
In the end, it was the moment when she realized that her man was also ‘me’.
**
The eyes of the imperial family are everywhere.
It was a rumor that spread not only in the empire, but throughout the continent. At first glance, it was such a scary story that it seemed like an unfounded rumor. If so, does that mean that no one can avoid the Empire’s eyes?
However, not many doubted the truth of the rumor.
Because it was an empire.
It was the imperial family that led the continent’s largest intelligence organization. Their information was swift and accurate, to the point of rumors that even the Holy Kingdom and the Southern Ten Kingdoms learned about their country’s events later than the Empire.
Therefore, there is no one who is not afraid of the empire’s gaze.
This academy was no exception.
Even in the academy, which has a long history as a neutral zone, there was a hidden branch of the Imperial Intelligence Service. Although it was a place that focused on recruiting talent rather than information gathering or various operations, the Imperial Intelligence Department was nonetheless the Imperial Intelligence Department.
Those who knew of its existence were extremely rare. Of course, about the person who leads the academy branch.
Who knew?
The fact that a woman who was born as a commoner and had mediocre grades was a true blackout at the academy.
AKA ‘The Prom Queen’, Neris Findleston.
She was as cunning as a poisonous snake, and enjoyed deceiving others. That’s why she was able to become the head of the academy branch.
As such, she is now infamous even within the Imperial Intelligence Service.
“I’m crazy… ….”
Pak, her head slumped on her desk in her office, lost in self-reproach.
Several names passed through the mind of the woman who shut her eyes in the dark.
Ian Perkus, Ian Perkus, Ian Perkus.
“Ah, uh, ah… ….”
The day the curse of jealousy overtook the academy.
The dark history of Neris has begun.