#1 Homecoming (4)
Elric had a dream.
It was a dream of cutting down soldiers on the muddy ground full of blood.
The smell of blood and the stench of rotting corpses mixed together, paralyzing your sense of smell. The shouts of the soldiers are deafening. The field of view is black and white.
As he frantically swung his sword and barely moved forward, the flames of the magicians, the archers, and the matchlock troops fired all at once, blackening his vision.
It looked like a huge monster with its mouth wide open.
Elric stared blankly at the sight, and at the very end… .
“Huh… !”
woke up from a dream
Elric jumped out of bed and looked around.
A desk, a bed, a knight’s armor set, and a model sword hanging on the wall portrayed a sense of tranquility.
It wasn’t a battlefield. It’s a quiet room, where you don’t feel the clamor of the West at all. Elric’s childhood room, where everything is exactly as he remembers it.
‘… Yes, I came back to my hometown.’
Stuttering, Elric reached out.
This is because even though he knew that there were no enemies here, his tension was not relieved.
The body is soaked in a cold sweat. My heart was beating like crazy, and my keen senses were sensing everything, even the sound of birds outside the window.
‘Sword, sword… .’
It was a mental illness.
Growing up on the battlefield and steeped in the madness, Elric suffered from an illness that made it impossible to take the sword out of his bosom even for a moment.
With a clicking sound, I found the dagger on the cupboard next to the bed.
Elric held the dagger in his arms and took a deep breath.
Only then was the heartbeat returning.
That was the moment.
– Bocchan, did you cough?
Aldio said from outside the door.
Elric has regained a full sense of realism to his voice.
“… Yes, I just woke up.”
A chirping bird sounded lightly.
*
It was an undeserved luxury.
Elric, who had come in too late the night before and went straight to the bedroom, felt awkward in the morning at the mansion.
When I said I wanted to wash in cold water, the cold water was immediately poured out.
After washing and coming out, the clothes were ready, but the fabric was so soft that I didn’t even think I was wearing it. On the battlefield, clothes are torn every time, so wearing something like a mat is inevitable.
Elric buttoned up his shirt and tightened his tie.
Looking in the mirror, I couldn’t see the slightest trace of the sword demon Kasha.
It was foreign for some reason, so Elric smiled.
‘It doesn’t suit me.’
When I was young, I think I heard a lot of people say that my smile was really pretty, but looking at it like this, it was too artificial. This is probably why there was nothing to laugh about on the battlefield.
His expression hardened.
Elric looked away from the mirror and reached for his cane.
When I left the room, Rdio was waiting.
“Let’s start with dinner.”
“Please guide me.”
Aldio smiled and moved on.
It was immediately after the question was asked.
“But how did you draw the legs?”
I’ve been looking at my knees since yesterday, and now it seems like I’m asking that question.
Elric was evasive.
“I rolled down a steep hill and was stamped on a rock. I was careless.”
How can you say that a bullet got stuck between your knees on the battlefield?
It will take time, but it will eventually heal.
I didn’t want to cause any concern.
“Hey… You are still in trouble.”
“Stop talking about troublemakers. You feel like a child.”
After laughing and joking around, it was a restaurant before I knew it.
With a click, Elric’s steps stopped the moment the door opened.
“Did you cough?”
There were passengers in the restaurant, which was not very large.
It was a woman with hair reminiscent of golden wheat, drooping eyes, and red lips standing alone amid white skin.
Elric later remembered that Tyria was living here.
Not being able to remember it even after seeing it yesterday was quite mindless.
“Good morning.”
Elric gave an awkward greeting and headed to the table.
Maybe it’s because I woke up, but my knees are sore. Even if you try to adjust your expression, it won’t be like your heart.
It was the moment when I barely pulled a chair and sat down.
From noble mtl dot com
Elric realized that her eyes were on his knees.
“Oh, never mind. It’s not a big injury.”
How ugly it would be if he even whined like a child when he returned from being sick.
Elric put his hands on his knees and looked away from her.
“… is that so.”
Tyria sat down.
Meal came soon.
Eggs, soft bread, and three slices of bacon.
It was a meal to remember. It was a simple and light meal tailored to his father’s taste.
It’s just ironic that the owner of this menu isn’t here.
With a clatter, Elric raised his fork and knife.
Only then did Tyria pick up the tableware.
Elric continued to eat and watched her movements.
She was amazingly quiet. Glass bowls and iron utensils were used, but there was not the slightest rattling sound, and the action of cutting and dipping something and moving it to the front of the mouth was elegant.
Opening his mouth small, he splits his food quietly and swallows without making any sound of chewing, which was also a stark contrast to Elric.
It became a habit to scoop up soil-stained emergency food on the battlefield, and Elric forgot all the table etiquette he had learned.
In an instant, Tyria’s eyes met.
Elric startled and turned his head to his plate.
Then, thinking ‘Why am I avoiding my eyes?’, I cleared my throat and raised my head.
She was still staring at Elric.
Elric had his signature fake smile.
“Why?”
“… no. nothing.”
Her gaze went down again.
It was an inconvenient meal.
Still sitting at the same table, thinking that this might not be too affectionate, Elric carefully opened his mouth.
“Are you going to look at the wheat field again today?”
“… yes.”
“Uhm, I guess.”
Tyria’s index finger curled slightly.
Perhaps it was a nuisance, Elric regretted opening his mouth.
‘You stupid bastard.’
You opened your mouth again and made the same mistake.
My stomach got bloated. If I sit like this any longer, I’ll end up sifting through all my food.
Elric took a quick shot of half the bread, a piece of bacon, and a fry, then opened his mouth wide and shoveled it in at once.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood up.
“I feel like that. Sukks museugh heseu.”
i will go Enjoy your meal.
It was the most casual greeting possible.
I didn’t know if that meaning would have been conveyed. I didn’t even have time to think about it.
Elric hurriedly left with his cane.
Click, Tyria’s mouth opened only after the door closed.
“… Yes, have a nice day.”
It was a very small voice.
A faint smile appeared on her lips that I couldn’t tell if I looked closely, then disappeared without a trace.
*
After the meal, the mansion was busy.
Elric exchanged greetings with the employees under the guidance of Aldio.
Among them were those who existed in Elric’s memory, and those who had been replaced by others.
Those who hadn’t seen each other in a while welcomed Elric.
Elric was so grateful.
How broad their hearts are for them to welcome such an impudent idiot who left without a word and did not even come to his father’s funeral.
Every hug they gave me, without exception, worried about my knees.
Elric reassured them, “You’ll be well soon,” but no one believed his words.
‘Was I such an unreliable child… .’
Elric, who looked back on the past, soon admitted it.
Elric Portman was the name of Elric Portman, so I had to admit this part.
The maid, who giggled at Elric’s refusal to answer, continued asking.
“Hey… Then, young boy! Are you completely back now?”
“haha… .”
Elric smiled shyly.
This is because the policy has not yet been decided.
I have a knee injury, so I’ll be here for a while, but well… With what kind of face would he pretend to be the owner of this place?
Coming to Yubin was purely an accident caused by a combination of homesickness and various things.
Needless to say, on the day he injured his knee and left the battlefield, he heard the news of his father’s death at a bar he stopped by.
If this place was going well without him, he didn’t want to come in and cause trouble.
will return with a high probability.
“young master?”
“Um, talk about that later. I have somewhere to go.”
“Ahh, it’s okay. Yes, it doesn’t matter once you arrive. Ho Ho! I’m going to have to make it grand for dinner tonight.”
Leaving behind the laughter of the maid, Elric spoke to Aldion.
“Then let’s go soon.”
“Yes, please get into the carriage.”
In front of me was a wagon just the right size for riding alone.
Elric fiddled with the dagger in his bosom.
It was something I did as a habit whenever I felt unsteady.
After a while, he limped to the floor and limped toward the carriage.
The place he was heading to was his father’s grave.