93 – Cooperation (2)
***
Herman Lionelta.
A man who was once loved by many and called the incarnation of the saint Telmere, but is now called a fallen saint among angels and demons, his life is filled with tragedies that can safely be called cheap.
Erman’s first memory in life is the scene of a sewage flowing with sewage located underground in Darkana, the capital of Lyriam.
A dark basement without a single ray of sunlight.
The final home of shabby-looking scoundrels and retired mercenaries who lost their arms or legs while living on a knife-and-eat diet.
The reason why Erman’s life began in a place that could safely be called the destination of life was simple.
This is because an unknown prostitute, Erman’s biological mother, abandoned him in the sewer. Without even removing the umbilical cord.
If he had been a normal child, he would have died before even starting his miserable life.
However, Erman was a very lucky child. No, maybe I was just unlucky.
Anyway.
Erman, buried in the filth of a dirty sewer and floating underground, was saved by the hands of a retired mercenary and saved his life.
He, whose hair was gray and one of his legs was limp, took very good care of his newborn baby, whom he had rescued from the sewage.
I dragged my uncomfortable body and washed the baby with water from a clean stream to prevent him from getting sick.
He gave up his pride, which he had not given up on since he was a mercenary, and begged for milk.
No one knows why the nameless mercenary cared for Erman, a complete stranger, with such sincerity.
It may have been out of charity, such as sympathy for a fellow soldier, or it may have been an intention to raise the child and sell it to a slave trader to earn money for treatment of his leg.
Anyway, he raised his child in the sewer with great care. Although he was barely a scrap of cloth, I picked up a set of clothes and gave them all to him.
The name Erman was also given to the child. In the language of the northern nomadic peoples, it was a name that meant ‘one who escapes arrows.’
… ….
Time passed like running water.
After that, the strange combination of a baby and a mercenary was surprisingly maintained without any problems. Erman, who was a baby, thought of him as his father.
However, by the time Erman started to walk and learned that the name of the place where he lived was ‘Sewer’.
The lame mercenary passed away.
It was not a plausible death, such as an epidemic outbreak or a sacrifice of one’s own body to save Erman in danger.
On a cold winter day, he drank a bottle of strong rum that had flowed into the sewer, went to bed, and froze to death.
And that was the first death Erman witnessed in his life. The miserable and vain end of a life.
From that day on, Ehrman set one goal for himself. He said he would get out of this putrid filth filled sewer. Even if I die, I want to at least have a meaningful death.
Fortunately, for an orphan who had no money, he was very intelligent.
He was not exactly good, but had extraordinary qualities that could safely be called a genius.
He managed to learn how to write using nothing but torn pieces of newspaper lying around on the streets, and when he was seven years old, he was so beloved that he received a gift from Wang Cho, who was said to be a powerful figure in the sewer industry.
The item he received as a gift at that time was an old and worn Bible.
It was of little use to Wang Cho, who had dark eyes. However, Erman was extremely happy when he received the gift.
It was not a joy that came from academic enthusiasm or the like of being able to study more. Who in the world feels happy while studying?
The reason Erman liked the gift so much was because of the ‘illustrations’ drawn in the Bible.
Among the Biblical illustrations known to have been hand-drawn by Telmir, the first saint, there was a picture depicting an angel.
Tafnel, the angel of faith, Raynel, the angel of punishment, Zifnel, the angel of lovingkindness, and Lionelta, the angel of death.
For others, it is just a portrait of a great being. It was nothing more or less than that, but it had a special meaning to Erman.
‘…… Mom.’
At the time, in the Kingdom of Lyriam, which accepted the religion [Telmere] As its state religion, orphans were often called this.
‘Child of an angel.’
It was to comfort the wounds of poor people who lost their parents when they were babies. ‘You are not abandoned by your parents. Because you are children of angels, you have just gone through slightly more difficult trials than others.’
However, even the sewer rats that lived on corpses in the sewers knew that it was just a rumor.
Clever Erman couldn’t have known that either.
But still, he endlessly looked at the angel depicted in the Bible.
Crouched in a corner of a cold, hungry, dirty, and dark gutter, he thought that his mother, an angel, would come to save him someday.
I used to have such vain delusions.
I knew that an angel who was nobler and nobler than any other being in the world had no reason to care about a slob like me.
… ….
Time passed again.
The boy, who had nothing other than the name Erman, still used the sewer as his home to go begging.
10 Years old. Although the others were at an age where they could enter the academy and receive basic education, Erman was still a beggar.
His miserable life just went round and round like a treadmill without any changes. He felt like there would be no salvation.
However, God made the world very fair.
Just as there is a saying that even a rat’s hole will have its day of sunshine, opportunity eventually came to him as an orphan from the sewer.
‘You are the child of an angel who can read and write. Would you like to work under me as a servant?’
The old gentleman who introduced himself as the head butler appeared in front of Erman, who was walking around the streets begging as usual, and handed him a silver coin and made a suggestion.
I will feed you and put you to sleep, so why not work as a servant for a noble family?
Hearing his words, Erman nodded desperately. It seemed as if a ray of hope had finally come down to his life of despair.
‘If you have any luggage to bring, bring it now. ‘Once you become a servant, you can’t go outside without permission.’
‘Okay! Please wait for a moment!’
‘Wait a minute, just in case, come with me…’ … !’
When the old gentleman told him to pack his bags, Erman remembered the Bible he had left in a corner of the sewer and quickly ran away.
I heard an old gentleman behind me telling me to go with him because it might be dangerous, but he just ran like crazy.
Because I wanted to get away from the dirty and smelly sewer as soon as possible.
Of course, it would have been possible to leave the old Bible in the sewer and follow the old gentleman, but Erman simply could not do that.
The Bible was like his mother to him.
‘Ha… ha….’
I arrived at the sewer after traveling such a long, long way without stopping for a moment.
Now, if you just take the Bible that was kept there, this beggar life will finally end.
Erman, who lost his senses due to such thoughts, walked towards the Bible in the distance, without even caring about his eyes, and slowly stretched out his hand.
Without even realizing that a club was flying from behind his back.
Bah!
One blow was enough to crush the skinny little boy’s skull.
‘…… !’
Ermann fell to the floor, feeling such pain that he couldn’t even scream.
A large silver coin, sparkling even in the dark, slipped through his limp hands.
‘Silver, it’s a silver coin. After all, it was a silver coin!’
An unpleasant voice flowing into my ears.
The man’s small exclamation, which made a harsh hissing sound, perhaps because his throat was full of phlegm, woke Erman to his senses.
‘… ….’
He forcibly lifted his eyelids, stained with the blood that flowed from his head.
The sewage beggar who hit him was mumbling something while looking at the silver coin that had fallen on the floor.
What the hell… How did he notice that he was holding a silver coin? He was clearly holding it in his hand.
…… Ah.
Even in a situation where his head was broken and blood was flowing, his brilliant mind was able to come up with an answer on its own. A child’s small hand could not properly cover the large silver coin.
And one of the scum in the sewer saw it. The beggar-like orphan was holding a silver coin in his hand, which was enough to make his eyes roll.
‘…… ‘Stupid Erman.’
After understanding the situation, Erman quietly spit out his self-deprecating words.
The beggar who had picked up the silver coins was slowly approaching him with the club in his hand raised. He didn’t seem to have any intention of saving his life.
In the world of beggars, murder was not a big crime.
So, there is no need to save the life of the person who stole the money.
‘… ….’
He was so excited about being able to escape his misfortune that he did something foolish.
Although he had natural intelligence and talent, in the end, Erman was just a child.
‘Don’t hold grudges. ‘Because the dragonflies are fierce.’
The beggar said as he raised his club with all his might towards Erman, who had fallen on the cold floor.
Like Erman, he had a gaunt appearance with skin sticking to his bones due to not being able to eat proper food, but he was still a mature man. A tattoo visible behind the grime-covered sleeve of his clothes revealed that he had once been a mercenary.
‘… Uh… grave.’
There is no possibility of survival.
So Erman gave up resisting.
Instead, he squeezed his last remaining strength and stretched out his hand.
Thinking of the Bible hidden among the piles of stones in the distance.
Replaying in my mind the beautiful brown-haired angel depicted there.
I said just one word quietly. Even though I know very well how outrageous it is.
‘…… Mom.’
With those words, Erman closed his eyes tightly. Although he ended up dying a much more insignificant death than he originally thought, he wanted to have a happy dream at least in his last moments.
‘What, what are you doing!’
──!
So he did not see that scene.
The sight of a beggar who was swinging a club at himself being burned alive and instantly reduced to ashes.
The sight of the dirty sewage sewage being completely purified.
Lastly, an angel with brown hair flying toward me through a dark basement where not a single light shines.
He didn’t see it. Even though the future he wanted so much has arrived.
***
“Whether it was then or now, Erman, that kid hasn’t changed.”
Lionelta, who was standing in front of the window and quietly looking out, raised her voice a little.
“What do you mean?”
Julius narrowed his eyes and tilted his head at Lionel Ta’s words, which were difficult to understand. The black tea on the table had already become cold.
“She still has her eyes closed.”
In response to Julius’ words, Lionel Tha waved her hand once. The cold black tea started bubbling on its own.
“Close your eyes…” ….”
“He didn’t see the sight he wanted so much. “Because he gave up in the face of death.”
You seem like a fool.
Lionel Ta Erman clicked his tongue as if he did not like her.
As I was talking about the past, some parts of it that I didn’t like bothered me.
“This guy has been so crazy since he was young. “Maybe that’s why he keeps drawing conclusions and acting on his own.”
“For sure. “Mr. Erman was a bit self-indulgent.”
Julius nodded his head, staring at the black tea that had stopped boiling and had begun to melt in the teacup.
Then, she quietly got up from her seat and walked towards Lionel Ta’s side.
“I understand. In most situations, Ehrmann’s judgment is accurate. “The problem is that what happened then and now is not the famous ‘majority situation.'”
“That’s quite poignant. “Wasn’t Lionelta on Erman’s side?”
“When did I say I was on his side? “I just want to save my son.”
hahahaha─
As Julius stood next to him, Lionelta glanced at him and then let out a deep sigh.
His shoulders slumped and his expression became somber, just like a mother would when she heard the news that her son had been in a serious accident.
“… ….”
Julius, who was very familiar with the scene, simply nodded his head in silence.
During her childhood, she often did this to Emily when she returned to church after wandering around town.
In times like this, the best thing to do was just nod his head and keep his mouth shut.
Lionel Tha, who had sighed for a moment, opened his mouth again, looking a little strangely at Julius, who was nodding his head in perfect rhythm without any error.
“I should have corrected that bad habit a long time ago. “I was not of sound mind, so I raised the child incorrectly.”
“Are you of unsound mind?”
…… Ah.
From Noble mtl dot com
Julius, who tilted his head for a moment at the words that came out of her mouth, soon realized the meaning of Lionel Ta’s words.
That’s it in a nutshell.
She hates the adorable Cecil. It’s natural for my mind to be strange.
Die───!
Outside the window, Cecil was still struggling against the holy sword.
He lifted the holy sword in the form of a fainted girl and folded her body in half.
aaagh——!
Nerondir’s waist was bent like a bow. Now she might no longer be a sword.
“I understand. “It’s impossible to hate Cecil with a sober mind.”
“What nonsense, Julius?”
Lionel Ta frowned at her arrogance as she glanced at Julius, who was making strange noises. She slowly widened her distance as if she had met a degenerate.
“I’ll say it again, it’s completely normal to hate that crazy b*tch. Do you like women who put people aside just because they are women?”
“The Holy Sword needs to be scolded a bit. And as a man, I think he should know how to turn a blind eye to a woman getting rid of her nemesis.”
“It’s nice that we got to know each other well. “These crazy guys get along really well with each other.”
“So, what does it mean to be of unsound mind?”
Julius opened her mouth to face Lionel Ta, who was looking at her with wide eyes, as if she was completely fed up with it.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find anything strange about Lionelta other than her dislike of Cecil.
“It’s literally like that. My mind is extremely unstable. To be precise, the spirits of Lionel, the Angel of Death, and the Demon of Beginnings are constantly clashing with each other.”
Lionelta tapped my temple and said. His true name as a devil had an unpleasant pronunciation that was difficult to express in words.
“Why is that like that?”
“He ate a living angel alive and fused with it. There was nothing he could do about his strong spirit. So I was constantly walking a tightrope between two personalities.”
“…… Her.”
“Anyway, I, who was in a state of insanity, really raised Erman without any hesitation. “To be precise, it was because Lionel’s personality was extremely soft.”
“For that matter, you grew up really well.”
“Is this person who was raised properly causing this trouble just because of his daughter?”
“… ….”
Julius was speechless at Lionelta’s words.
I thought about it carefully. This is because I realized once again that, apart from being good, the man named Erman really had an outgoing personality.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I was raised particularly well.”
“Do you really need to say that clearly to me, your mother?”
“… ….”
Are you oblivious, or are you intentionally being lazy?
Lionelta, disgusted with Julius, who casually spouted out words that could be called vulgar murder, took a step back from him.
Pure white skin touched the wall that contained a pleasant chill.
“… She was abandoned by her biological mother immediately after birth. The princess who had promised to live happily ever after returned as a cold corpse. “Her daughter, whom she raised with great care, died at the moment when she should have been happiest, and her granddaughter, whom she considered her last hope, committed suicide before my eyes.”
“… ….”
“Ermann, who faced such misfortunes one after another, developed a confirmation bias. “My bad habits came out again.”
“If it’s a habit….”
“‘No matter how you move on, the ending is the same.’ Everything is headed towards misfortune as if it were preordained harmony. “She started thinking like that.”
As if I was a child. Just as she turned a blind eye to the beggar wielding her club.
Saying that, she gently closed her eyes. Julius likewise closed her eyes.
No matter where I looked, all I could see was black darkness.
It is obvious.