Chapter 269
Episode 269: If it exists (7)
Cough.
The time was just about to dawn. I was forced to wake up with a cough. Cluck cluck. I felt a warm sensation in the palm of my hand as I instinctively covered my mouth.
Grumbling. That warmth overflowed between my fingers, too. Fighting. There were blood stains on the old blanket.
ah. It was nice to see it crowded after a long time.
I laughed bitterly as I watched the damage per second increase to a level that my recovery capacity could not handle.
The time has come to leave.
“sorry. “I thought I could stay for a few days.”
I put my camouflage baggage on my shoulder to hide my inventory, put on my cape, and smiled faintly. In my other hand, I hold a bloodstained handkerchief. I had blocked my mouth and nose until just now.
As soon as the news of his departure was announced, the expressions on the faces of Sir Walter and the knight candidates who had gathered together turned dark.
“The time allowed is not that long.”
“…If you go to the temple.”
Oh, that will never happen. It’s straight to death.
I swallowed those words and smiled. Sir Walter trailed off as if he had misunderstood. The same was true for the engineer candidates who heard my situation while talking last night.
The expressions on their faces were very kind, as if they couldn’t stop them and it was a bit awkward to let them go.
“Let’s go get a packed lunch.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Meanwhile, Sir Walter’s wife handed me the lunch box with worried eyes. Then the bag became warm. It was a warmth that would not last long, but would be remembered forever.
“Where are you going now?”
“I don’t know how much time I have left, but… I’m going to see the world as soon as I can. “I’ve already seen what I was aiming for in the first place.”
Still, the acting has to be perfect until the end.
I gazed at Tsetsebaatar beyond the window, full of regret. When I remembered my mother and father, it was easier to capture moisture.
Oh please. I miss you.
“…Or it would be nice to go to Munmund. “It may not be as good as here… but it’s still a city with a knight school.”
It seems like I put too much emotion into it, but what can I do?
I strained my eyes to keep from crying. The liquid that had already accumulated on top of the bent cheek blurred my vision, but somehow I was able to stop it from flowing.
The world was shaking.
“…I wish I had more time.”
In times like this, we need to change our thinking. To shake off my gloom, I recalled the day I spent at Sir Walter’s house.
A noisy, warm evening and a night full of snoring sounds. I’m in a situation where I can’t enjoy it properly and have to break up like I’m being chased. Oh, I’m in big trouble. I became sadder.
“That’s too bad.”
I wrinkled my sore nose and tried to smile. However, when Sir Walter and the knight candidates looked back, their faces were even worse.
“You….”
“You….”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuw of so sad…”
No, I’m holding on without crying, so why are you crying? Why are you crying and running down your nose?
I felt tears welling up in my eyes at the absurdity—is this a good thing? Is that a good thing?—I picked up my handkerchief. Oops. It was full of blood. It was the next moment that I remembered how messed up my handkerchief was.
The handkerchief that had gone up went back down.
“May God bless you….”
“There is no way God would ignore someone like you. “There will definitely be a miracle.”
“Huhhh. Stay healthy…”
If you had God’s protection, it would actually be a problem. The moment the priests bless me -1000! critical! While doing this, you will end up coughing up blood.
I curled my lips, taking their words of good-bye as a joke. Even though I put a lot of effort into trying to explain it away, the truth finally reached me and my eyes became red again.
“If I…”
Going to Münmund doesn’t mean you’ll be able to find your way home in a flash. So, if I can’t go back in the near future and I hate being alone… then…
jingle jingle.
And the bell rang.
“…Everyone, pack your armor and grab your sword.”
It was the first time I had heard a bell sound, and yet it was a bell sound that I knew what it meant.
My hand, which was no longer holding either the longsword or the two-hender, was rolled up and held.
* * *
Before leaving Bemurchen, Deathbringer quietly looked back at the party.
Archmage Deathbringer himself, a talented Inquisitor, Meister. And now the Inquisitor is away for a moment.
How can there be just two more people in the place where two people are missing? Thanks to this, the internal staff has changed, but the total number of staff has remained stagnant. I don’t know if it’s good or bad.
“Can this thing roll?”
However, it is clear that the party’s strength has dropped significantly compared to the number of people maintained. There was worry in the Deathbringer’s eyes.
“Well… Isn’t that something we need to look into gradually?”
The Archmage also responded softly. The ambiguous choice of words, neither positive nor negative, tells us that she, too, is at a loss in this situation.
“There is no one to kill the devil.”
“Ummmm.”
The journey so far has mostly been done with the Inquisitor protecting people and the Demon Knight and Berserk defeating powerful enemies.
Since one person cannot handle everything, roles have been distributed to highlight each person’s strengths.
However, now that the Demon Knight and Berserk have disappeared at the same time, there is no one left to take charge of the powerful enemy. Even if you don’t know it right now, it’s something that will make you cry later.
“Isn’t that what heroes do?”
“…Saen, you can’t do both defense and attack?”
Of course, if there is no one to attack, you can order an Inquisitor. It’s just that her abilities are easier for defense, but it doesn’t mean she’s a person who can’t attack.
However, if that happens, the problem lies in the rear. I don’t know how long the rear can hold out without the warrior’s protection.
“It would be fortunate if only one strong enemy appeared…”
If a situation arises where enemies pour in at the same time like the recent Bemurchen incident, how should we deal with it? Can they hold out while the hero hunts down one enemy after another? What about other people who might get caught up?
…It’s good if you can take the damage and overcome it, but if you fail even after taking the damage, what should you do then?
“…I will try my best too.”
“It would be great if you worked hard.”
“….”
Daniel joined, but he is an ordinary Inquisitor. A person with skills at the level of an ordinary person who cannot catch even a low-level demon in one go and cannot stand up to a giant monster.
Therefore, his presence will not be able to fill the empty space between the two people. As a craftsman, there is nothing to say about a meister who only has some strength but has no fighting talent.
“You can just recruit new people. “The place you’re going now is also for the purpose of bringing people, right?”
“But… I wonder if it would be easy to find someone of that caliber…”
In the end, we need someone with skill. Even if you’re not good at it, you’re half as good as a warrior.
“If people like that were widespread, they would have driven out all the demons a long time ago…”
But how common are people like that?
In Deathbringer’s opinion, the fact that Sannim and the Archmage met the Demon Knight and were able to recruit Berserk was almost a once-in-a-lifetime level of luck. People with that level of skill were rare.
“After all, the temple needs to be filled…”
At that point, he once again criticized the temple’s short-sighted behavior. Do you know how much damage can be reduced by having one demon knight remain in the party? Do they really have any intention of catching the devil? It was that kind of criticism.
“They were originally stupid.”
“Damn it…”
“…I’m still here.”
“What can I do?”
“….”
Daniel, who suddenly heard the temple being criticized, made a shocked face. ‘Is it really right to keep their secrets?’ I felt like I could somehow read his thoughts.
“…I’m glad the agent isn’t here.”
“Even if I had, I would have cursed.”
“….”
However, this time, not only Daniel but even the Deathbringer showed a sour expression. Any way you look at it, it’s a famous piece. Aren’t you just a gangster? It was a moment when Daniel and Deathbringer became of one mind and one mind even though they were in a difficult situation.
“Are you ready?”
Meanwhile, the Inquisitor with a grim expression returned. The eyes, which have turned into rotten leaves, no longer shine.
“Yes, everything is ready.”
“The others.”
“…I finished it too.”
I never thought that Saenim, who was no one else, would have eyes like that. Deathbringer felt like pouring water into his stuffy mouth right now. If possible, the same applies to those eyes.
If only I could wash away the despair in those eyes and bring back the foolish and honest Saenim like before. Even if it meant staying up all night, Deathbringer had the heart to collect the dew at dawn and give it as a gift.
“…Me too. yes.”
However, I know that it is not a feeling that can be washed away just because of that.
Deathbringer quietly affirmed. The Inquisitor, who had glanced at him, turned his head again.
“Then let’s leave.”
The destination is north.
* * *
“You go.”
“…yes?”
“The fact that the bell rang three times means that the demons are not attacking right away, but are crowding in.”
Since they are not attacking right away, there is room to escape. This is even more so considering the long walls that surround the Demon Station and the environment making it difficult to turn around and attack.
“In these cases, merchants who don’t want to get caught up in the fight often gather together and try to escape. “It’s a risky act, so I usually don’t recommend it, but since you don’t have time, there’s nothing you can do.”
If there were a group of merchants gathered there… it would most likely be possible to escape. The cases accumulated so far prove this.
Knight Walter’s expression became serious.
“If you want to leave, move quickly. The moment the demons show signs of advancing, the door will close completely. I do not have time.”
“But…”
Clap.
Meanwhile, while giving advice to the young man, he put on armor and equipped himself with a sword with his wife’s help. Other engineer candidates have almost completed their preparations.
The only people without equipment here are his wife and that sickly young man.
“What are you fussing about? “Maybe you wanted to bury your bones here?”
“That’s not true…”
“Then go quickly. “If it’s not now, no one knows how long the blockade will continue.”
Part of me wants to capture him, shake off everything he’s been hiding, and send him to school… but that would definitely be the case if he just couldn’t control his magic without vomiting blood.
You can’t hold on to someone whose lifespan is diminishing by the minute just by staying alive and breathing. This was even more so because it was a disease—perhaps a constitution—that could not be cured even though he had enough money to purchase magic items.
The best way for that young man is to let him live and do only what he wants to do. Walter held his helmet with that thought in mind.
“And realistically, there’s nothing you can do if you stay here. “The main enemies here are the ghouls and skeletons that came through the sand, and you are a swordsman who is very weak in person-to-person combat.”
Crash. Once the helmet was put on the head, all preparations were completed. Now it’s time to run to the castle walls.
“I really want to tell you more, but… I don’t have time. “You’re an adult, so you can make your own choices, right?”
“….”
“Goodbye. “I wish I could see you again.”
After patting the young man on the shoulder, Walter looked at the knight candidates who had completed their preparations. “Goes!” The young people who had endured training with all their might for days like this had strong eyes. These were eyes that could die and disappear today, tomorrow, or even within a few days.
“I’ll be back, ma’am.”
“Bye.”
However, if possible, I hope they don’t collapse. All the young people living and breathing in this city, including that young man who wants to get involved in the fight and spills his blood no matter what he does.
“…If luck comes without reason.”
And the wind blew.
“It must have been driven by the Lord’s kindness.”
The wheat-colored hair swayed gently, like a time of abundance before the harvest.