770 – 9. Not a single day goes by without this (19)
I dream of a snowy field again.
It was difficult to find a single flower in the land abandoned by God. Only coniferous forests and rough-touch moss are widely distributed, blocking humanity like a curtain.
This is a place where warm beings must hold their breath.
The extreme cold was a disaster in itself. In the land of death, where you can’t help but lose body heat little by little even between inhaling and exhaling, I was filling up my glass.
As the glass fills, the rich aroma of liquor spreads out. It may not have been that expensive, but it didn’t smell good.
“You’re from the academy, right?”
It was funny.
Several people who could not survive the cold tonight would lose their lives. At this time, there are victims on the front lines every second, and there is no way to stop the world that is heading toward destruction.
Sharing a drink by relying on the shadow of the fire.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but ask this question. It was not only because academic ties were effective in opening up conversation, but also because the image of the woman that remained in my memories was fixed at that time.
‘Yurdina’s Cheap’.
Yes, it was definitely called that. Despite her brilliant talent, I remembered that she was particularly despised due to her origins as a woman and the existence of ‘Delphine Jurdina’.
Why? I still couldn’t forget the shadowy face I saw one day.
He pretends like nothing is wrong, but the lonely look in his eyes appears from time to time.
I guess it was because I was a coward. If only I had the courage to talk to you even once, or if I was prepared to extend my hand.
Now I was finally carrying out my age-old duty.
“I don’t know if you remember, but I also graduated from the Academy. I saw your face a few times while I was in school…….”
“Why did you call me?”
A chilly voice suitable for the North.
Despite my friendly tone, the tone of the woman who downed her strong drink was cold. The blue eyes looking at me glowed dimly.
“If you have something to say, please tell it to the commander separately. “If you want to sell memories, turn around and leave right away.”
I did not respond carelessly to that barbed language.
Instead, he simply pushed the glass filled with alcohol to the other side and poured another glass of alcohol.
The woman didn’t even snort when she saw me doing that. With a tired look on her face, she simply opened the leather canteen she carried in her hand and poured the contents down her gullet.
I could tell just by smelling it.
The canteen she always carries around is full of cheap alcohol.
“There is no need for a glass…” ….”
“Have you ever heard of a ‘crow’?”
The woman stopped talking at my unexpected question. Those eyes had a strange charm that made it impossible to dismiss him as a simple drunk.
When I look at the empty pupils, I wonder if I’m drunk, but sometimes I get this feeling as if an eerie light is piercing my heart.
It seemed like I could understand why her northern soldiers hated her. Since her presence alone causes an unknown tension in her, she is bound to be displeased.
Of course, I was an exception.
Because I had already competed alone with countless talented people. Furthermore, she hasn’t lived a prosperous life to the point where she’s scared now.
I have experienced countless terrible things. So even if it ends up being a bit more horrifying, it won’t change anything.
In the end, the woman tilted the canteen instead of answering. Gulp, gulp. The strong smell of her liquor rises with the shadow of a crackling fire.
“Humanity is cornered. The era of discussing whether one is a monk or a family is over. To live. “We must mobilize all the capabilities we have accumulated so far.”
Despite my persuasion, the woman did not show even the slightest interest. She had a gloomy look on her face and just took another sip of her drink.
“This is our last remaining hope. For this purpose, His Majesty the Dragon King is working hard, and those who are moving under his special orders…….”
“So it’s a ‘crow.'”
It was a sensation filled with the smell of alcohol.
A blush appears on the cheeks, the end of the sentence becomes sluggish. All signs pointed to the fact that the woman was nothing more than a drunkard.
But why is there no wavering in that tone?
“Like a crow collecting shiny objects in its nest, will you try to find treasure in a pile of trash?”
“This is the only chance left for humanity.”
“After the battle, it even resembled a crow, even trying to peck at the corpse… “I wonder how many corpses other than me would have tried to eat them.”
Mockery and criticism.
I heard that she doesn’t have a good personality to begin with, but I also heard that she doesn’t put malice in her expression itself. It seems that his tongue has become sharper than during his academy days.
I first tried to appease the woman.
“You’re eating a corpse, I swear I’ll do my best to make sure the ghost sword doesn’t end up like that…” ….”
“Secret Kingdom’s Secret Jutsu.”
Gulp, gulp.
These words were uttered right after pouring the remaining alcohol in her canteen onto her tongue. While I narrowed her eyebrows slightly because I couldn’t understand the true meaning, her woman’s words continued without interruption.
“That’s the way you hold your drinking glass. Her grasping, fingers pressed deep into her… This is the characteristic of Seongguk Vision Jujutsu practitioners. “I enjoy using the direction of force to hit or pull the enemy.”
My lips opened and closed repeatedly. I have to say something, but the woman’s blue eyes are glaring at me with a hazy light.
“When pouring alcohol into a glass, he removed the bottle without dropping a single drop of alcohol. Highly skilled cutting… Are you an imperial swordsman? When I sat down, I couldn’t even feel a presence, let alone a sound. Is this the ‘magical fusion’ of the Einhorn family?”
“That’s… ….”
“The sequence of panicking and scanning vital points is also unique. Uva, wrist, heart… Could this be the archery technique used by the sorcerers of the southern kingdoms? In addition, the Great Witch’s ‘Cohesion and Solve’, the Lupermion family’s ‘Super Cohesion’, and even the ‘Swordsmanship’ used only by mayfly mercenaries… ….”
The corners of the mouth of the depressed-looking woman twitched for the first time.
Huh.
A weak smile that is unclear to whom it is directed. Was it an illusion? I felt like it was self-deprecation.
Her voice smelled of alcohol.
“Do you want to die?”
The face of the woman who asked that question resembled a worn sword.
Because he couldn’t laugh or cry, his slightly distorted face only conveyed his depressed feelings. As I faced those empty eyes, I suddenly thought.
That question may not be asked of me.
That was the last bit of emotion her woman showed. After tipping her canteen once again to shake off the remaining alcohol, the girl with a gloomy face, as always, was left behind.
“I guess it would be good. If you want to die, die alone on your own terms…….”
“I heard that Heavenly Sword Mountain (天劍山) burned down.”
One moment.
The woman’s hand, which was about to fill her empty canteen with alcohol, suddenly stopped. Instead, her deep blue pupils stare at me.
It was a clear murderous intent.
The drunken atmosphere that existed before has long since disappeared. In an instant, the lighting in the entire area disappears, and the blue flame that remains as two dots burns my vision.
My body began to shake against my will. A killing energy so refined that the body feels and reacts to death before reason.
Nevertheless, I tried to maintain a calm tone.
“The Yurdina family was also wiped out. From the monks to the family…….”
Tap.
The woman put down the bottle of alcohol on the table. That small noise pierced my eardrums like a piece of glass.
There was still no answer. Nonetheless, I had to intuitively realize this.
The next word is important.
It was not a topic that could be brought up as a casual joke. ‘Recluse’ and ‘Family’ were both groups to which one could dedicate one’s life.
Nevertheless, the woman in front of me was unable to protect any of them.
How miserable it must have been. There would be no one anywhere who could understand the woman’s feelings.
Except for only one.
“So are you looking for a place to die?”
Rupture.
For the first time, the woman’s eyebrows narrowed. Although she was only at a minor level, it was clear that she felt her embarrassment.
“Didn’t you ask me just now? “Do you want to die?”
“That’s for you…” ….”
“I want to die.”
It was a confession.
Revealing my true feelings for the first time, I snatched the glass of alcohol from the table.
And one drink in one go.
The strong drink burns the esophagus and goes down. So much so that an unpleasant scent mingled with the sound of my breath being held.
“…… “Isn’t it the same for you?”
A rude question that omits even the honorific title ‘ghost sword.’
But the woman did not blame me. She looked at me blankly for a while, and finally let out a faint sigh.
“No way, you too…” ….”
There is no recluse, no clan.
The two loners drank all night like that. The woman’s attitude was still extremely cold.
“…… “Let me take a look.”
In the end, I was able to get her woman’s permission. In the end, she had a very indifferent face.
As the ‘Grand Instructor’ of the ‘Sword Circle’, it was a rare opportunity for her to take on students, so she would not have been able to do much.
That night, we got drunk and talked about all kinds of things.
“Now that I think about it, do you know what?”
“…… ?”
“The fact that I am one year my senior at the academy.”
On my farmland street, a woman said, “Ha,” And suppressed a laugh.
“You can call me whatever you want.”
“Yes?”
“I’m one year your senior, so you don’t have to speak informally or not…” “It means you can do whatever you want.”
I even stopped talking.
After that, they said, “What are you going to do?”
“Who would you most like to kill? Well, of course… ….”
Yes, I was drunk and talked about random things.
“My sister.”
She chewed the name of her enemy, whom she once loved.
**
“Was the training rewarding?”
This was the greeting Seria gave me the next morning.
I had just woken up from meditation and groaned in a dazed state. Perhaps because I had delved into the depths of my unconscious and came back up, my head was pounding and the boundary between dreams and reality was vague.
Could it be that I was looking into my memories all night long?
“No, wait a minute…” Why is it morning already?”
“It seems like it was worthwhile.”
As she stammered and let out her voice, Ceria, who had already cleared her place and stood up, spoke like this.
“These are the characteristics of the meditation method learned in ‘Sword Circle.’ “Because it descends so deeply into the stage of delusion, it becomes a state similar to sleep.”
Is that why you were immersed in it until morning?
I had no choice but to swallow a laugh.
“Then shouldn’t I just meditate instead of falling asleep?”
“It consumes more stamina than you can imagine… “Even if you only reach the ‘instructor’ level, it becomes bearable.”
So, Seria and I returned to her dorm, having a small conversation. Although the topic itself was limited to training, I decided to take comfort in the fact that they were no longer avoiding me.
The strange thing happened after we arrived at the accommodation.
“Ian… ….”
Sien’s guard knight, Sir Irene, came to visit me on a rare occasion and told me a story.
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“My younger sister came to visit.”
News that was difficult for me to even imagine.
Time continued to pass, and troubles were coming along with it.