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＜ 20. In the Name of Father (1) ＞
The season when the ground that had been frozen all winter melts and all kinds of weeds and wild flowers bloom in the nameless hill. The glow of the setting sun, entangled in the clouds, streamed red so as to make my eyes sore .
Just before sinking into the gloomy darkness, the time when the fading sun shines its last rays. The shadow of a man walking back to the village along the trail stretched like an open blackout .
He was a man with a good build, enough to make even the most confident of his physique give up. My swollen muscles were still shaking, and cold sweat was sticking to my forehead .
However, I couldn’t see the tiredness on the man’s face even after washing my eyes. On the contrary, a face filled with only a smile full of happiness. The reason must have had something to do with the heavy money bag that made a grinding sound every time I took a step .
The man was on his way home after a few months. It was because he had heard rumors that he could receive high wages from the port of Levos and left and lived there alone for a while .
Indeed, the rumors were true. Because of the absolute shortage of manpower, employers did not hesitate to pay him high wages .
Horrible rumors circulated that a war would break out soon, that all the men living here had already been drafted, and that what they were carrying was war supplies, but they seemed to have nothing to do with them. His mind was filled only with the thought of returning home with his wages and meeting his wife and daughter .
The intensity of labor was by no means low, but when the day came to return like this, I felt relieved. The man looked at the red field beside the trail and picked an armful of freshly bloomed dandelions as if he had an idea. Dandelion was his wife’s favorite flower .
The village where the man lived was famous for having a lot of dandelions blooming. I was born and raised in the village, so I’m tired of it now, but my wife couldn’t hide her smile like a bright girl whenever she saw dandelions. When I thought of the smile she would be happy to receive this flower, my steps became lighter and seemed to float away .
Then, before I knew it, I arrived at the entrance of the village, in front of the house. The man knocked on the door with a trembling heart .
With a creak, the sound of the door being carefully opened, the woman he had been wanting to see appeared .
“ Who are you… Bruno ?”
“ I’m back, honey .”
A wife in her arms without saying anything. Every time I felt the cold sea breeze, I missed this warmth. Bruno also hugged and comforted his wife. A hug as long as the time we couldn’t see each other .
“ I have something to give you. here .”
After a while, when his wife barely got out of his arms, Bruno held out the dandelion he had picked. After accepting it, the wife’s face brightened, but soon changed to a mischievous smile .
“ It’s a strange coincidence. Coincidentally, I also had something to give you. Come in, Bruno .”
As soon as Bruno entered, he immediately recognized the gift his wife had prepared for him. Bruno’s face brightens even more. On the table was a pile of hard-boiled eggs with steaming vegetable soup .
“ How did you know I was coming and prepared such a delicacy ?”
“ Last time I fixed Mrs. Melissa’s clothes, and today she gave me a bunch of eggs as a thank you. I heard you’d be back around this time, so I cooked it in advance, but I couldn’t believe it would be today. You are blessed to eat, Bruno .”
Bruno swallowed. I was starving all the way to the village, but it was hard to bear it because my favorite food was right in front of me .
But instead of rushing to the table immediately, Bruno looked around and tilted his head. The one person who should have been in the house was not home .
his daughter, Nina .
“ Hmm? Where did Nina go? It’s been a while since we’ve been here, so we should have a meal together .”
“I will. My dad came back after a few months, and I wonder where he went, won .”
“ When did you leave the house ?”
“ I left in the morning and never came back. I’ve been enjoying hanging out with my friends in the neighborhood lately, but I’m worried that I’ve gone too far .”
thump thump, thump .
At that moment, an aggressive knock on the door was heard. Two people making puzzled faces at the same time. Bruno winked that he would go out and opened the door .
In front of the door stood a man whose empty words could not make a good impression. The corner of the eyes soaring upward, and the drooping mouth on the contrary. Because the bangs were completely hollow, the frown on the forehead stood out. Upon seeing the angry face, Bruno couldn’t help but reflexively frown .
‘ Giorgio …’
Bruno had good relations with everyone in town, except for this man. Giorgio runs the largest store in town, and is notorious for monopolizing essential necessities and being corrupt .
In my heart, I wanted to shut up right away, but I couldn’t. If I ignored him, I could have trouble preparing my daily necessities tomorrow, and above all, because Giorgio was holding his daughter, Nina, with his left arm .
“ What is it, Mr. Giorgio ?”
“ Oh, long time no see, Bruno. You came just fine Do you know what your daughter has done ?”
“… Let go of that arm for now and talk .”
However, Giorgio ignored Bruno’s words and rather raised the hand holding Nina’s arm higher .
“ Ouch !”
“ This girl stole money from our store. I can’t let it go until I get paid .”
Bruno looked at his daughter in amazement. It was a pity that these were the first words he said after reuniting with his daughter after a few months, but there was nothing he could do .
“ Is that true, Nina? Did you really steal the money ?”
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Nina shook her head, looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment. Then Giorgio shouted .
“ Where are you blatantly lying! There is a testimony that I saw you hanging out in front of our store for a long time, but cover it up !”
When I heard that, I understood what was going on. Giorgio couldn’t find the culprit, but he was putting a dump to make up for the damage right away. Crying, a thick and sticky anger surged up inside Bruno .
” So… you didn’t witness the theft, did you ?”
“ No, there is no doubt! There was no one else to steal from our store but this girl !”
I wanted to strangle Giorgio right away, but if I did, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Bruno managed to resist the urge and told Giorgio that he would compensate him for the lost money .
Giorgio smiled meanly and then let go of Nina’s arm. Snatching the money Bruno was handing over, he mumbled a few words and turned around and left .
“I ’m going to teach you straight up not to touch other people’s things. Where did you pick up an orphan with no roots? Making people tired …”
After Giorgio left, a heavy silence fell over the Bruno family. Bruno put his hand on the shoulder of his crying daughter .
“ Come on, Nina. Let’s eat dinner first .”
“ No, I really didn’t steal! Why doesn’t Dad believe me? Is it because I picked you up ?”
” Nina, that’s not it …”
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Nina shook off Bruno’s hand and ran away. Bruno stares at his back in awe. The sun had already set and the surroundings were starting to get dark .
Bruno let out a deep sigh and looked back at his wife .
“ Honey, take care of Nina .”
“ What about you?”
“ I’ll talk to Mr. Giorgio once more and come back .”
Seeing Bruno’s expression, his wife felt uneasy intuition and dissuaded him .
” Don’t be reckless, Bruno .”
“ Don’t worry. Because nothing will happen .”
Soon after, the wife hurriedly ran after Nina, who had disappeared. Bruno looked at it for a while, then covered his face with both hands and washed his face dry .
With his hands down, Bruno’s eyes revealed a certain determined will. Marco calmly looked around. On one side of the yard, just in time, there was a two-handed hammer that had been brought for tools earlier .
Without hesitation, Bruno picked up the hammer and walked slowly towards Giorgio’s shop .
*
“ Why are you back, Bruno ?”
Giorgio asked, stiffening his body with tension. Anyone would have been able to do that if they saw the big man with shiny eyes and holding a large two-handed hammer .
But Bruno did something unexpected. He pulled out a heavy money bag and threw it at Giorgio. He spoke in a calm voice that seemed to be different from his appearance .
“… I made such a mistake, but I came back because I was worried that I only returned the amount I had suffered. Just get the money .”
“ Oh, was that the reason? If that’s the case, well …”
Giorgio looked more relieved. Even the amount already covered by the dump was more than the money lost, but there was no reason to refuse to bring more money on its own .
“ Hum-hum, I apologize for speaking harshly to your daughter earlier. It was because of the emotion of the moment, so please be generous with your understanding .”
“…”
However, when he checked the amount of money in his pocket, Giorgio’s face hardened .
“ Eh, isn’t this too much, Bruno ?”
“ Ah, don’t worry too much about it .”
Bruno strikes his hand once and raises his two-handed hammer high .
“… That includes the price of this damn store and your hair .”
Without hesitation, he started destroying everything in the store .
Kwa-ang !
Kwa-ang !
damn –
Earthen bowls and sacks of groceries were broken or crushed, and shelves and display cases were mercilessly damaged. Debris splashed everywhere and a loud noise was heard incessantly. Giorgio, terrified, could not even make a sound and just watched the scene as white as a sheet of paper .
devil. The appearance of Bruno destroying everything was literally close to a demon. The ancient berserkers, who are said to have ripped off the enemy’s neck and drank the blood that gushed there, must have looked like that when fighting .
Giorgio realized at some point. It wasn’t the time to be like this. If Bruno breaks everything, the next target is …
bang – !
… because it will be you .
Seeing the hammer head hit the wall right in front of him, Giorgio fainted. Bruno looked down at him with a fierce gaze, then raised the hammer again and prepared to strike it down .
This time… so as not to miss .
A huge hammer rushed at Giorgio’s head without hesitation. A heavy impact sound resounded soon after .
bang – !
*
Marco woke up from a long sleep and barely regained consciousness. My head was still spinning and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. He calmly reflected on what had happened to him .
‘ A gigantic monster covered in goat bones… No, wait, is that… Arpan? ···I was fighting it anyway, but something pulled me to the floor ···.’
Due to the shock of the reverse summoning, Marco lost consciousness and wandered in a dream for a while. Of course, the content of the dream was not a very good memory, so the mood was even more disturbed. I tried to cope with my own feelings, but it was never easy to deal with it .
‘ But… if I go back then, I’ll probably act the same way .’
Marco ended up striking Giorgio in the foot instead of the head. Giorgio, who came to his senses, ran wild, but did not dare to attack Marco. I had to give the wages I worked for a few months as treatment and compensation expenses, but .
Fortunately, the neighbors who usually looked down on Giorgio, like Marco, were able to help him and put a stop to his mouth. However, for Marco, who intended to make his wife and daughter happy, he couldn’t help but feel some guilt .
‘ Come to think of it, Andrea… I asked if there was any impressive incident related to the hammer .’
He missed the opportunity to speak, but he thought it was because of what happened at that time that he became good at handling the hammer in the dungeon. Other than this incident, there was nothing particularly related to the hammer in his life .
Concentrating on his thoughts, Marco looked at the field where the sunset was setting. This was the landscape in the card. I didn’t notice it when I first came in, but judging from the profusion of dandelions, it seemed that the place was modeled after the fields in his hometown .
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Naturally, memories of the past were bound to come to mind. Beyond thoughts of his wife who loved dandelions, thoughts spread to Nina. Marco still couldn’t believe this miraculous encounter in the dungeon .
While in the rift, Marco noticed that Tricia had a strange feeling after hearing about his past .
He asked Emilia’s understanding and went after Trisha and Andrea, who left to talk for a while. And there, he overheard that Trisha was his daughter, Nina .
‘ Then he is… really my father ?’
‘ It’s very likely. You know better, but all the conditions match except for the time zone …?’
At that moment, Marco wanted to run away immediately. There were so many things I wanted to say and so many things I wanted to hear. However, Tricia’s words that followed interrupted his impulse .
’ But if I die as Mr. Marco’s daughter… Nina, Mr. Marco will surely sit there and never get up again. forever .’
Saying that you will think of yourself and will not reveal your identity. Hearing those words, my hotly heated head cooled down .
Even after hearing such words, I couldn’t come forward and pretend to know Trisha. Because it dishonors Trisha’s will, who thought of Marco before her own feelings .
‘ But someday… there will be a chance to reveal the truth and face each other .’
Marco smiled bitterly. It was still far off when that would happen. Then, all of a sudden, I was worried about how the group would fight the monster. First of all, there will be a future only if you overcome that monster well …
Being confined in a prison called Cadra made me feel resentful at times like this. However, Marco quickly erased that feeling. I’ve already thought about it countless times here, and I realized a long time ago that it was useless .
All he could do was persevere. Fortunately, it was a field I was quite confident in. Because he had endured a brutal war, endured a grueling slave life, and was enduring a life in a dreadful dungeon .
Marco waited for Andrea to summon him for such a long time .
＜ 20. In the name of the father (1) ＞ end