639 – 8. Last Will (13)
I was familiar with the girl looking down at me with a sullen expression.
The 5th Princess of the Empire, Shien.
Her complexion was pale because she had suffered so much.
I wasn’t in a position to worry about anyone right now.
Stumbling around, I struggled to grasp the current situation.
“I, how faint was I?”
“About eight hours.”
The answer came from somewhere other than the princess.
There, a middle-aged man dressed in a stylish uniform was seated. However, his facial expression was just the same.
Who could upset him so much?
The guardian of the imperial family and the only three master swordsmiths on the continent were middle-aged. There would be only a handful of beings on the continent who would care about him.
I never thought I would be one of them.
First of all, I decided to take comfort in the fact that the loss of time was not as great as before.
“Then, let’s start over.”
Staggering, forcibly raising my upper body, I turned my sulking shoulders. It felt as if the dislocated bone fragments were crunching and fitting together.
Of course it must be an illusion.
A body that has reached a high expert level will not rust no matter how much training is stopped. It was because I was influenced by ‘image’.
There was no chance of fatal muscle loss from lying down for a long time.
In other words, it meant that it didn’t matter if he returned to training anytime as long as his wounds were cured.
Even so, the reaction of the swordsman and the princess was lukewarm.
“No matter how many times I faint, as long as I can practice imagery… ….”
“I can’t.”
A word mixed with a sigh and despair.
My eyes naturally turn to the epicenter. The swordsman leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky. Covering my skin with one hand.
“As soon as I pulled up the image, the inside was twisted and I vomited blood. Don’t you know what that means? It means that your image is twisted beyond imagination. I wonder how the hell could that be!”
That voice contained not only self-reproach, but also a slight resentment.
As if asking why didn’t I say something like this?
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut and avert my gaze. Clear tears were dripping from the eyes of Shien, who sat guarding my bedside.
“What happened, huh? The body that was fine before suddenly collapsed! What can you do to your imagery that can cause such a drastic change!”
There was a scene that suddenly came to mind after hearing the swordsman’s rebuke.
When dealing with a vampire.
I experienced the sensation of being assimilated with the ‘me’ of the future. The power I was able to generate at the time was at a level that was never possible with my own power alone.
Was it then?
Borrowing power, handing over the body to the future ‘me’, and digging into memories in the past.
The image is distorted.
Such a conclusion had to be drawn naturally.
“So, are you saying that training is impossible?”
“Yes, you bastard… of course!”
The swordsman sighed as if he was frustrated and began to explain.
“Once the imagery is embodied, it can point out what needs to be developed… But when you faint as soon as you raise your image, how can I help you with your practice? Even if the images were materialized, they would be so jumbled up that you wouldn’t know what to pick out.”
“I see.”
It was like a death sentence.
Even the last number left to me was erased. I don’t know if there is another way left, but at least it was hard to deny the fact that the possibility of death was closer to me than before.
Am I going to die like this?
No way, me?
You still have so much to do?
The swordsman continued to talk even while I was silent and sentimental.
“First of all, all of your missions are cancelled. I can’t even say that I’m entrusting you with the Seven Sins… I’m in charge of the academy. For the time being, you should devise a plan to extend your lifespan even for a few more days while purifying yourself here. In the meantime, I’ll find a way somehow.”
“Yes, yes… ….”
It was then that the two trembling hands grabbed mine.
The owner of this warmth, needless to say, was Shien.
The girl was trembling and shedding her tears. As if she couldn’t accept the fact that I was going to die.
The empty eyes do not face me and fall to the ground.
“We, let’s take a little break. Sir Ian. Yes? It’s because I’ve been doing too much for so long. If you take a little break, no… Keep resting and you will definitely be fine! If you do, the imperial family will find a way…….”
“How do you mean to find the number?”
I didn’t say it with someone in mind.
It was an answer that either of the two of us here could have given anyway. However, since the princess was practically in a state of mental and physical loss right now, it was obvious where her answer would come from.
“It’s about competing for hourly wages. Of course, I’ll have to contact the madman of the Seongguk or the old woman in the Great Forest.”
“Then, Saint Lucia and Elsie-senpai will also know.”
“Everything you know… Is that all? If necessary, we should spread intelligence to the influential families of the whole continent, starting with the Yurdina family! Do you think treating an unprecedented patient like you is an easy task?!”
It wasn’t even worth listening to anymore.
I shook my head and forced my screaming body to move. Then, the hand of the princess who held my hand grew stronger.
“Lee, Sir Ian… ….”
With unfocused eyes, he slowly shook his head.
“Go, don’t go…” Please… You could die.”
“There is no way to survive just by sitting quietly.”
“A little bit, huh… at least a little bit.”
It was a tearful plea.
I couldn’t bear to see Sien shedding tears, so I slightly averted my gaze. Nevertheless, Shien’s earnest plea continued.
“I’m with you, even just a little… please… Until you find a way to survive…….”
“Your Highness the Princess.”
Despite my low calling, the princess struggled to make eye contact with me. It seemed that he wanted to eliminate all possibility of being persuaded by me.
It was useless.
“Why am I dying? I’ve been told that I might die, I’ve heard it many times. So am I dead?”
“Still, black… That, though…….”
“I was hiding it on purpose because I didn’t want to worry unnecessarily. For the rest of the time, I’ll take care of it.”
While doing so, I removed the hand of the princess who was holding mine secretly. The princess didn’t seem to want to let go of my hand, but she couldn’t overcome my strength because her hands were shaking so much.
After a while, my eyes met in the air.
“Please keep my story a secret for a while.”
“What nonsense? Didn’t you hear In order to increase your chances of surviving even a little, it’s not enough even if we all rush together!”
“What are the odds that I will live? I’ll be honest.”
It was then.
The swordsmith’s objection, which had been shouting in a heated voice all the time, was cut off.
At my question, the swordsman had no choice but to swallow his saliva and turn his head.
“30%? 20? If not… 10%?”
There was no positive answer until the end.
The probability is less than that.
I let out a sigh and put my last request into my mouth.
“Please keep it a secret. I still have a lot of work to do, but if I worry unnecessarily, I might end up paralyzed… Most of all, you know me. That you’ve been doing well so far.”
Yes.
The thing I was most afraid of was the situation where I was unable to move.
Selene turned the Alpenhauser family and the imperial family into enemies. After some time, Emma writes a will to me, and I am the only person who can stop all of this.
At any rate, it was a time when I was desperate for physical freedom.
“I will not disappoint you. Also, just in case, if you tell the people I mentioned earlier… You will die. Enough then.”
That half-joking, half-serious warning was the last one.
I took such a precarious step and left the hospital room where only the sound of crying was left behind.
And a few seconds later.
Boom!
“Goyan bastard!”
From noble mtl dot com
I heard the sound of the swordsmith venting his remaining anger, but I had no intention of turning away.
Destination?
There was nothing in particular. But it will be fine.
Fate is calling me.
As always.
I hurried my steps in a daze.
Without knowing where the end would lead.
*
“Goyan bastard! It’s a matter of my life, but you’re stubborn until the end? If I tell you, will you die? He’ll die even if you don’t tell him!”
“Hey, great-grandfather…….”
Sian called for my great-grandfather with tears streaming down his face. There was an earnest desire in that voice, but what to do?
Even the world’s greatest swordsman couldn’t manipulate people’s minds.
He just declared it in a fit of rage.
“One week!”
Whoop, whoop, the rough breathing subsides. The swordsman was also a martial artist who had trained his mind and body for over a hundred years.
There was no way I couldn’t calm down my feelings. However, just before that, the extreme situation that Ian might die just excited him.
As he regained his composure, a carefully chewed oath flowed from his mouth.
“I can’t wait any longer… What if you still want to die? Where do I win or do I win? I will break all of them, whether it be a sword or a club, and send you to the hospital!”
What should I do?
There was only one question floating around in Shien’s white head. The girl thought as she chewed on all the fingernails on her hands with the shaded eyes disappearing.
Don’t die.
It was the first ‘real thing’ I discovered in my life. She was a treasure she had chosen for herself, and she was the one she wished she could stay by his side like moonlight. Now I have the confidence to stand next to him, but I’m going to die?
It was an overly brutal ending.
It wasn’t just because of Sien’s love. In the meantime, he has completed his mission with all his might, treated others with goodwill, and saved countless people.
But the price is only this?
No.
Ian was so pitiful that I couldn’t stand it. Shien had a hard time accepting the sudden breakup, to the extent that he would be willing to pluck out his eyes and offer them up.
Can’t I get it somehow?
The clear brain immediately started calculating. The results weren’t very good though.
I can’t do it alone.
Impossible was nothing. Human thought existed to turn the impossible into the possible. If it is impossible, remove the cause of the impossibility.
Yes, unless I am alone.
But Ian just declared it. If I told this to those who ‘said before’, I would die.
Thus, Saint and Archwitch are excluded from the options.
Saint and Elsie? It was one of the people Ian had mentioned directly. The same was true of the Yurdina family, and unless Ian was an idiot, there was no way he would accept such an expedient for the reason that ‘I didn’t mention it earlier’.
In short, there was one important point.
A person who will not deny Ian’s purpose, even if informed. Moreover, it was better if he had extensive knowledge of magic, witchcraft, and mythology. If you have a good head, even better.
Who is that?
Thousands of biographical dictionaries unfold in my head. In Shien’s mind, who was repeating such anguish, a certain person suddenly came to mind like a revelation from God.
Yes, that person!
Shien’s body jumped up as if it had been struck by lightning.
The destination has now been decided.
The only task left was to tell the truth.