637 – 8. Will (11)
Dream or reality.
I walk the road again with a hazy mind. I had no idea how long it had been like this. As soon as my vision cleared, I was walking through a dry desert.
A place that was once a symbol of abundance.
I could see a withered mountain beyond the collapsed walls. Although my eyesight is enhanced beyond compare to ordinary people, there were few mountains high enough to be seen from this distance.
What’s more, the mountain that leads up to the lofty castle wall.
The name of that mountain is ‘Ciendel’, and it was once a sacred place called the center of the kingdom.
“It’s been a while.”
It was a beautiful tone, like water droplets rolling on a tray.
My eyes went blankly to the epicenter. Right next to me, the profile of the woman walking with her arms behind her back was very beautiful. To the point where it doesn’t fit in such a cruel era.
Reddish-brown hair and light green eyes in turn struck the field of vision like a brush. I was able to regain the freedom of her tongue only after the image of her woman was slowly imprinted deep in my mind as if her paint was spreading.
“…… What?”
“It’s been a while since I took a walk with you, right? I don’t think it’s been since my freshman year at the academy.”
Yes, it was.
The fragmented and floating sense of reality awakened my consciousness as they matched one by one. I was on my way to her mission with this woman now.
I kept my mouth shut for a while at the old ties her woman brought out. She thought she had already forgotten, but the past that reminded her of an alumni who had appeared in a few years was by no means a beautiful memory.
After hesitantly pursed his lips for a while.
I was able to speak only after my tongue slightly moistened my lips. I pretended to be as nonchalant as possible and asked what I was curious about.
“How did you survive?”
A straightforward question.
After spitting it out, I felt like Oops. It was because I thought it was an overly considerate remark.
But she didn’t bother blaming my mistake.
Just smiled and asked me back.
“When are you talking about? Academy, or ‘Eternal Life School’?”
It was only then that I remembered a fact I had forgotten.
The life crisis the opponent experienced was not once. Like me, all survivors of this era must survive through a few twists and turns.
It was a moment when the careless question became doubly rude.
A voice that had lost its composure for the first time in a long time leaked out of my mouth.
“No, I… only… ….”
Seeing my flustered appearance, she burst out laughing, saying, “A woman is a woman.”
It was a warm laugh that evoked nostalgia from school days.
Aren’t you like a child embarrassed in front of older people?
Aware of my own pathetic sigh, a light sigh leaked from my mouth. In fact, it was as if what I had to say had been decided a long time ago.
“…… Sorry.”
“Huh?”
My old friend, Emma, tilted her head at my sudden apology.
The look on my face made me wonder why I was apologizing. So I had to confess my past sins again.
“When you’re having a hard time, because you can’t do anything… I heard He was bitten by a demon and fell into a coma.”
“Aha, that time.”
Emma’s pupils, who were arguing like that, slightly turned to the front. Instead of making eye contact with me, he seemed to want to dig into my memories.
My mouth kept spewing out old guilt.
“I heard you can’t do anything. I thought I could use an expensive sacrifice… Sorry, I couldn’t do anything.”
After finally finishing the old apology, my head naturally lowered slightly.
Emma was silent for a while after seeing this. She just mumbled and tapped my lips a few times with her index finger.
The silence was not long.
“It’s okay.”
It was an absurdly cool answer.
When I turned my bewildered gaze upward, there was a woman with her eyes closed and her chin propped up, her drooling.
“Ummm, actually it’s not Ian’s fault, is it? It was an accident that happened by chance, and you couldn’t have prepared a sacrifice worth 10,000 gold for your circumstances… Do you really need to apologize?”
“But it was also true that I neglected you.”
“So, even if they say it’s okay.”
Saying that, Emma let go of her laughter. Like she does everything.
“You weren’t the only one, were you? Best of all, I was cured.”
“But… ….”
“Mister Percus, are you still the same?”
It was an exquisitely striking voice.
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut and wait for Emma’s next words. A kind smile hung over the woman’s face. She had a smile that went well with her unique warm eyes.
“Still pretending to be nice… I don’t have to do that anymore, alas.”
It was a word that left a strange aftertaste.
But before I could ask, Emma took another step and started leading the way.
“…… Of course, I don’t hate it.”
The woman who cut me off like that brought up a new topic of her own. It was not a story of memories from a few years ago, but a story about the mission facing right now.
“So? What are we supposed to do here? Now that I have received the down payment, I want to be clear about my goal.”
I hesitated for a while and stopped in place.
In the end, I had no choice but to catch up behind Emma with a sigh. Because it was impossible to leave Emma who was ahead of her like this.
It’s time to recap the missions given to me by my lord.
“Investigate the remaining contamination of the holy city of Ciendel, collect information on the new Seven Sins, and check the remaining forces of the Count of Rhodes who were dispatched as reinforcements.”
“And even taking care of your failing body?”
It was a useless addition.
I replied by shaking my head slightly.
“No need. It’s your highness’ useless worries.”
“Ah, what are you talking about? And I’m a paid worker. Of course, the employer’s orders should take precedence, right?”
That was not wrong.
Emma’s employer was the princess, so my opinion was only a secondary consideration. I wasn’t stupid enough to not know this.
I had no choice but to put on a sullen expression at Emma’s attitude as she sneaked up next to me and tried to think about it.
“And at first glance, you understand? Your body, to the extent that it is not normal… Why are you pushing yourself so hard? I heard you’re already strong enough.”
There was a slight mischief in the woman’s face as she leaned her upper body toward me with her hands behind her back. Are you seriously asking, or do you just want to faithfully understand the employer’s requests?
I clicked my tongue and turned my head more violently. Of course, that didn’t stop Emma’s barrage of questions.
“I heard you asked for a few more visions a while ago? You might die then This is some serious advice…….”
“Nothing.”
It was a casually spoken word.
The tone was soaked with sloppy sadness, and I had to put on an uncomfortable expression like a child whose feelings were revealed. Emma, too, must have noticed the sincerity in that short answer.
Because I immediately shut my mouth and started to carefully examine my face.
I couldn’t muster up the courage to tell a lie in front of clear light green eyes. Instead, I continued to answer with a sigh while avoiding my eyes until the end.
“Because I don’t want to lose anything anymore.”
And silence.
How many seconds had passed, the tone of a woman who said ‘heheheh’ penetrated the awkward space.
The moment I thought that the light green eyes had narrowed a bit.
“Ian.”
Hook, the woman’s face gets closer and then moves away. I could feel her slender fingers gently caressing my cheek.
Emma immediately smiled. Both her eyes and mouth are drawn in arcs, a smile that is hard to read.
“You are quite arrogant.”
After that, the conversation continued infrequently for a while.
I didn’t know what to say, and it was because Emma seemed in good spirits that she hummed her own tune.
There was no reason to have a conversation with a boring human like me. That would ruin your mood.
It was when I was walking like that.
“Please help!”
A cry for help came from somewhere. In fact, I had been noticing the presence for a long time, but it might be an enemy trap, so they were cautiously approaching.
There are two people in total.
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One was lying on the ground, breathing only faintly, and the other, holding on to the corpse or her man, who was nothing like her, was screaming her whale.
The faces of the two men were beyond words. A large lump-like tumor was growing on her face, and other bumpy bumps were visible all over her body. And the dingy ooze that constantly flows from there.
At least her man, who was sitting on the ground, got better.
The man who was lying down and breathing hard didn’t even look human. Four or five tumors filled his face, making it difficult to distinguish his eyes, nose and mouth, and parts of his body swelled up like balloons, making it look like it was on the verge of bursting.
Above all, from the lifeless, crumbly white hair to the tiny wrinkles.
It was a typical symptom of ‘contamination’.
I asked without letting go of my guard.
“What is it?”
“My brother, my brother is dying… Please help me. Please!”
A desperate voice that doesn’t even detect a handful of lies.
In the past, I would have let my guard down at this point. However, times have long since become cruel.
“It has been a long time since Ciendel was ‘polluted’. But how can you guys be alive?”
“Because there was a potion!”
The man, relatively intact, shouted as if vomiting her blood.
“We are brothers who used to stay in Chengdu and sell potions! However, ‘the incident’ happened… We managed to survive with supplies stored in the middle of hell. But at this rate, the supplies will run out, so I left the castle a while ago…… !”
Water droplets dripped from the eyes of the screaming younger brother. It was cloudy tears mixed with dark red ooze.
“They met armed soldiers and took all their belongings! Not only us, but all the supplies of the remaining residents of the Chengdu were being plundered!”
Hmm, I swallowed my saliva and fell into trouble.
To believe or not.
To be honest, I was confident that I could break through at least a few traps by myself. But now I have a target to escort.
I couldn’t help but consider what if.
Unexpectedly, there was someone else who would end my conflict.
Tak, because the sound of the woman taking her steps without hesitation resounded.