Book 17 Chapter 8
She, who died as a human,
Beyond Faint Love and Farewell (3)
- You didn't even know how to use magic, and you've been bending and shooting just by instinct until now? You're truly amazing!
Aena was the entirety of the happiness that resided in Kiese's childhood.
Without Aena, happiness couldn't be discussed, and no one else had brought happiness apart from Aena.
Aena had taught him everything from how to use magic to the secrets of [Folding Bow Break], so at first, she was more like a teacher than a friend.
- It's nothing amazing, just this much…
- It is amazing! You learn in a day or two what takes talented folks in our archery school years to grasp, don't you? I guarantee you, you'll become incredibly famous later. You might even leave your name for eternity in future generations.
Those were happy times.
It was also the first time he was glad that his skill in cooking game on the spot had been honed, because he hated eating at home due to his father.
Suddenly, that horizon of happy memories began to crumble, broken by an uninvited voice.
- I know your sad love story well, as this Aena told it to me every night while I lay on her lap.
That was definitely Aena.
He knew it was a spirit of the dead.
The fact that Aena had died, though immensely painful, was already an accepted reality.
‘Even if she's a spirit of the dead…’
How could he stand by and watch her be used by such a fellow? Could he allow her to be defiled even in death?
“……”
Kiese approached Rin.
This was the largest stone building in the ruined village.
Kiese, who had rested while making the grave, was on solitary night watch, while the other three, accumulated with fatigue, were fast asleep.
- Kill the kid in your party and bring me the rosary tied to their arm. Then I'll let you enjoy the honeymoon you never had.
That whisper felt less like a whisper and more like a violent shove from behind…
Kiese gripped his hand tightly.
After much deliberation, he extended his powerfully raised hand towards Rin's left arm to tear off the rosary, but stopped, dizzy from the pungent smell of blood that pierced his nose.
‘No…’
It was Kiese's own blood smell.
It was the metallic scent of blood that burst forth because he had bitten his own lips until they bled, until he came to his senses.
‘If I deceive my comrade like this, how would I be any different from that bastard who deceived us and killed Aena back then?’
Rin, this guy is sleeping soundly because he completely trusts me.
‘I know well that I am not a good person, and cannot be a good person.’
However, he tried not to become like all the scum he had seen in the world.
Like his father.
And like that noble.
Kiese never hit others while drunk, nor did he ever deceive someone to gain an advantage in his entire life.
- With this lovely Aena right here. I am now in <Simila>. I'll wait there for exactly three days.
With the hand he had extended towards the rosary, Kiese properly re-covered Rin with the blanket she had kicked off, and clenched his fist in resolve.
‘Yes, it's better this way…’
A journey that began in search of a place to die in the first place…
Kill that sorcerer…
Grant peace to Aena's ghost, who is being used by that sorcerer, and then die…
‘In the end, I'll give my heart to Aena's arrow, and there, on that day… end the life I couldn't finish by dying with Aena…’
* * *
The next day, Rin was the first to wake up.
As usual, following the dean's teachings, he always completed training to activate the Jujyeol (magic circle) through magic meditation at dawn.
By the time the meditation ended, dawn was breaking, but Kiese still hadn't appeared.
[~(ㅂ-ㅂ)~]
The only clue to his last whereabouts was the large emoticon drawn on the dirt ground of the village square!
“He didn't run away because of Freide, did he?”
Rin came to that conclusion.
Lista, who woke up and realized the situation in the morning, also nodded with a serious expression.
“Yes, Freide did say some harsh things yesterday…”
Freide, being lambasted by her comrades from the morning, shouted fiercely.
“Hey, what did I do?! Is Kiese some kind of angsty teenager? Getting hurt by a single word and running away? He probably went off to find some good booze! Pfft!”
Then Rin and Lista blinked their eyes in bewilderment.
“Oh, well… the probability of that being true converges to 99.9%.”
“Really! Sorry, Freide!”
Freide trembled her fist.
She couldn't tell if these guys were genuinely teasing her or just messing around, which made her even more furious…
“No, no. Lord Kiese headed alone to <Simila> late last night.”
The one who said that was a person who could be considered a complete third party.
He was kneeling before the grave Rin had made, with his hands clasped, and it was strange that no one had noticed his presence until now.
However, once he was perceived, his noble holy spirit could be sensed.
“Huh?”
“You are… Shepherd Shuan?”
He was a familiar face to Rin and Lista, so as they blinked their eyes, Freide tidied her clothes and ran over, extending her hand.
“Oh my, a handsome man exactly to my taste! I am Freide, the Dragon Priestess. I'm single, and I don't currently have a boyfriend!”
“Wow, what a real piece of trash…”
“Shut up! Do you think a handsome man like this just falls out of the sky while you're sleeping? You have to seize the opportunity! A handsome man belongs to a courageous woman!”
In that lively atmosphere, Shuan awkwardly smiled and was about to take Freide's hand to stand up, when Freide's expression suddenly changed.
“A shepherd? What are you? I've never seen you before. You have such a strong holy spirit at such a young age, there's no way I wouldn't know you.”
“……?”
“You might have easily fooled the simpletons in our party, but you'll never fool me. Come on, I like to treat handsome men sadistically, you know? You'd better tell me the truth before I make you regret it.”
The heat of flames surged from Freide's hand.
She could use a 1-star spell without any incantation.
Rin sighed, “Ehh…”
“Wow, what a truly crazy piece of trash.”
“Rin, shush! No matter how true it is, you need to know when and where to say it!”
“You guys shut up, seriously! Pipi, make them close their mouths!”
Pipi spread her wings of flame and soared magnificently!
“Aargh, Pipi, sorry! Don't peck my forehead! Ouch!”
Pipi struck Rin's forehead with her beak at high speed! A master!
“Pipi, sorry! Stop it! We were wrong!”
Pipi struck Lista's crown with her beak at high speed! A crazy master!
“Kyoooot!”
Unable to bear watching that absurd catastrophe, the chivalrous hero, Sval, rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward!
Sval's punch and Pipi's kick clashed, scattering snowflakes and flames in the air! Like a song of ice and fire, to put it metaphorically!
Amidst the commotion, Shuan, whose hand was still tightly held by Freide, opened his mouth.
“So you're curious about my identity. As expected, Lady Freide, you have sharp insight.”
“Oh yeah, that's what happens when you're constantly deceived by handsome men. It's called experience points.”
“In that case, I'll reveal my identity specifically to Lady Freide. Discreetly.”
“Discreetly?”
“Information about my identity… may or may not be in chapter 17, verses 2 and 7, and chapter 19, verse 3 of 『Shurigan's Ecclesiastes』. I have my reasons for not being able to say it directly, so could you please understand?”
For a moment, Freide tilted her head, wondering what she had just heard.
“????????”
Then Shuan smiled brightly.
“Ah, if you happen to need a bible, I can lend you the one I carry. Of course, it's not free; I'd appreciate it if you could give me one silver coin to read one verse. That money will be put to good use for aiding the poor.”
Freide returned Shuan's smile. Then she placed her fists on either side of Shuan's head and twisted them madly! A crazy master!
“Seriously, why are all the men around me just crazy guys with weird concepts?! A wizard who babbles about being [the strongest] at every turn, an archer who uses emoticons, and now what? It may or may not be in the Bible?”
“Ugh, argh! It hurts, it really hurts, Lady Freide! Please save me!”
“Freide, this isn't the time for this! Kiese went to <Simila>, didn't he? Stop joking around and let's hurry on our journey!”
Lista suddenly placed a hand on Freide's shoulder and nodded with an utterly noble gaze. But that was only for a moment.
“So, please make Pipi stop now! It feels like the hero's party expedition might end here!”
She urgently revealed her true feelings!
Rin was running away from Pipi, and Sval was already knocked out, face down on the ground!
If even Rin fell now, Lista would clearly be the next target!
“Pipi, come here.”
Pipi, who had been performing a 'super-speed beak attack (master!)' on Rin's crown, suddenly completely stopped her movements.
She immediately folded her fiery wings and, now utterly innocent, returned to Freide and perched on her shoulder.
Freide released Shuan and affectionately stroked Pipi's head with her hand.
“Well done, Pipi. To pass judgment on those naughty ones. As expected, I only have Pipi.”
“Pipi only has Freide, has, has.”
“Aw, so cute~.”
Shuan, freed from pain thanks to Pipi, wiped his sideburns, tearing up slightly.
“Do you trust me now?”
“Yes, it's true that your identity is unknown, but I could clearly tell you're not involved with the abyss. Because I can see the texture of the soul of anyone I touch.”
“Oh, you… Lady Freide can do that too.”
Lady Freide too?
What, this guy… does he mean someone else can use it, or that he himself can use it?
“I learned this from the Fire Dragon Bel'dakidun. There shouldn't be anyone else who can use it besides me, right?”
Shuan, who was dusting off his backside and standing up, smiled a smile that was somehow… difficult to fathom its meaning… no, difficult to gauge the depth of its emotion.
“Of course, that's how it is now, but the era a thousand years ago was different.”
That emotion seemed to be a type that could be simply described as 'longing' or, more profoundly, as 'nostalgia for home' (망향감).
* * *
<Simila> was a center for pasture farming, a kind of relief organization that lent agricultural tools and livestock to the surrounding villages.
Of course, being a castle, it was formally surrounded by walls, and within the castle, a residence was provided for the managing witch to stay.
That <Simila> was engulfed in suffocating poison, and the nearby pastures were not merely withered but completely rotted, with no sign of life.
[He's here.]
Within the World Tree's barrier spread by Baekchang Palace, Kiese entered <Simila>.
The 'boy' was sitting arrogantly on the main wooden floor of the residence, and Aena stood beside him, expressionless.
Naturally, a scene formed where Kiese looked up at them, and when the 'boy' extended his hand, Kiese responded by firing an arrow.
[Oh, oh my.]
The 'boy' sighed as if he couldn't possibly understand, and as if he was deeply disappointed.
[It seems your lover now prefers other pretty girls over you. What should we do, Aena?]
The 'boy' did nothing.
[It seems he thinks you're just a doll with no emotions or soul. Tell him your rage yourself.]
It wasn't the 'boy' who intercepted Kiese's arrow, but Aena, who stood beside him.
‘Don't profane Aena…’
It was then, as Kiese, in a furious rage, tried to nock a new arrow.
“Kiese… why are you aiming your bow at me…?”
The voice…
A voice that had been utterly impossible to recall clearly, even amidst any haze of intoxication…
That voice, which he had missed and longed for so intensely it tore his heart apart, was now clearly audible…
“Am I not precious to you anymore…? Are you infatuated with other women…? How, after only a dozen years…!”