224. Confession, cenotaph, return home
#224
The Black Man left Aurora Skal leaving behind silence and questions. People who had finally become speechless were talking about him.
“Woof! Uweeeek!”
“What a strange friend. “If you were so strong why didn’t you do anything back then?”
“To blow his head off alive….”
The screaming woman and the goatee-bearded man still had her eyes brightly open. The sight was so horrific that people could hardly touch the corpse even in the bloody smell that made their heads hurt. Only after Ronan and his party recovered the body did the full-scale cleanup begin.
“good. If you hit three you throw. “One two… three!”
“Sigh!”
With Didican’s slogan the three people let go of their hands at the same time. A sack tied with chains was thrown into the sea at night.
with a plop! The sack which created a small splash disappeared from sight within a few seconds. Adeshan asked with concern in his voice.
“It won’t come to mind right?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. “It’s because it contains a lot of ore that disrupts magic tracking.”
Didican hesitated. After discussion they decided to throw the bodies of the two gangsters into the sea at night.
It was a man in black who killed the two but Drahavie was a man who would not have cared much about who killed his subordinates. In many ways it was best to pretend not to know that no matter how well the body was recovered and the circumstances explained everyone would be responsible. Didican said.
“great job. “You don’t have to help me but I really appreciate it.”
“….”
Ronan didn’t answer. His mind was always filled with thoughts about the black man. He was strong but he couldn’t figure out who he was.
‘What are you really doing?’
Looking at what it was doing it seemed very likely that it was a dragon. However at the time of his first encounter he was unable to understand the phenomenon whose intense presence he was the only one who noticed.
In fact Adeshan and Didikan still mistook his species for humans. Since I couldn’t feel any sparkling mana I didn’t think he was a member of the church. Didican who had been waiting asked again.
“Ronan?”
“…okay. “You worked hard too.”
Ronan who belatedly looked back at Didi Khan nodded his head. It seemed like a problem he probably needed to think about a little more deeply. I was really taken aback by the comment that I was interested.
“Umm… Drajaviera.”
Didican was looking at the night sea with a worried expression. Although he had made the best choice he seemed to be afraid of de la Javier’s retaliation. Ronan said patting his back.
“Relax your expression. “I will tell Navardose.”
“…Are you sure you have a connection to the Mother of Fire?”
“That’s a secret.”
Ronan grinned instead of confirming. If things didn’t seem to work out it would be resolved somehow even if you reported it to the emperor or used Dawn’s authority. He’s a criminal anyway so what?
Time on the sea passed quickly. The polar lights which had been burning with fierce force were slowly fading away. The central hall I returned to after getting some fresh air was neatly cleaned up.
It was barely dawning when Katan called them. The bustling scene of her workshop had not changed from when I first met her.
The blue fire was still raging and the craftsmen were still doing their job. Katan’s eyes widened when he heard what happened in the hall.
“What is it the green fangs come and do something crazy? “Did something like that happen?”
“…It must have been quite loud?”
“I usually can’t hear anything when I concentrate. I’ll have to take a look. “For now I’ve sharpened all the swords.”
It was an incredible amount of concentration. Catan held out La Mancha who had finished grooming her. Ronan took her sword and pulled at her hilt. Slurp-! The elegant sword body still appeared.
“…There is not as dramatic a change as I thought.”
Ronan who was examining his sword closely opened his mouth. The color of polar light was visible along the thin blade but it was faint enough to be attributed to my mood. Katan flicked his index finger left and right and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk it will be different when it actually goes into action. “You lack faith.”
“I hope so.”
“You’ll be so surprised that you’ll wonder if this is my weapon? “Here take the girl’s too.”
“Ah thank you.”
Ade Shan she picked up a whip and a crossbow. As expected with La Mancha there was no significant change in appearance alone. Catan who had been teasing her held out a bundle of arrows to her.
“Now this too.”
“Is this…?”
“I just made it the way I felt like it. I like pretty girls. “There isn’t much so it would be better to use it when appropriate.”
Katan said it was a crossbow specially made for Adeshan. The surface of the arrowhead illuminated by polar light sparkled in mysterious colors. Adeshan holding the crossbow bowed and greeted.
“thank you. “I will use it sparingly.”
“How can they be so polite? If your boyfriend is bothering you tell him. “This sister will scold you.”
“…yes.”
Adeshan who hesitated nodded. Ronan ultimately failed to notice her positive meaning. She sent them off saying that Katan would send the rest of her equipment as soon as it was completed.
“Then goodbye heroes. “I’ll come again when I stop by in the north.”
“I am indebted to you.”
Ronan and Adeshan took to the runway again. Everyone I met while passing by expressed their gratitude.
As most of them gave out gifts one by one their already large backpacks became even more bulky. Didican who guided the two people to the runway asked to shake hands.
“There were a lot of things going on but it was fun. “It seems like it’s always noisy when I’m with you.”
“I know. Next time try making some cool inventions.”
“Haha I’m already making something. “My sister-in-law is also healthy.”
“You’re my sister-in-law. that…!”
Adeshan’s face lit up. Didican ran away and returned to the blacksmith shop. The excuse was that there was a mountain of work to do.
“You’re gone.”
“…huh.”
The runway where Didican left fell into silence. The two people and the soft sound of the soft Griffon waves were all that remained.
Ronan and Adeshan leaned against the griffon side by side and looked at the sky. No one urged us to leave. The sky was slowly brightening with starlight like afterimages embroidered on it.
‘ah.’
Adeshan realized late that Didikan’s early departure was to give them alone time. She crossed her hands and feet for no reason and opened her mouth first.
“…Thank you for that. “For blocking the candlestick.”
“It was something I had to do. “You can’t hurt your pretty face.”
“Ah haha….”
Adeshan scratched her cheek after being told she was pretty. No matter how many times I heard these words I couldn’t seem to get used to them. After a short conversation silence came again.
Well I guess I should say it now right? Ronan was about to talk about the relationship between the two that he had been thinking about all along.
“Ronan.”
“yes?”
“i like you. many.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who was measuring the timing. As she turned her head she saw Ade Shan’s face staring at her.
“me too.”
Ronan answered. At the same time he grabbed Adeshan’s face with both hands and kissed her. The feeling of the two lips touching and squishing together wasn’t bad. Before long his mouth dropped.
“I like it a lot too.”
“Tell me one more time.”
“I said I like it.”
In our narrowed field of vision we could only see each other. The two people’s faces were getting closer again. A girl’s voice echoed in their heads.
[Hmm…I can’t believe I saw something like this as soon as I woke up. I’m thrilled.]
“Aaaah!”
“What is the plague?”
My field of vision widened again. The two people hastily put their faces back and looked around like criminals. The runway was empty. Ronan frowned at the voice that gave her a sense of déjà vu.
“…Rin?”
I remembered. It was clearly the voice of the Holy Sword Rin. It was the first she had heard since she had been to Farzan.
Has she gotten her powers back? Ronan shook La Mancha as if waking up a sleeping person.
“Hey are you awake?”
-Pyyok.
But no answer came back. The Gryphon which had been sitting still flapped. The sullen expression on his face seemed to urge him to leave now that he had seen everything.
‘What the fuck happened?’
He couldn’t understand. Adeshan who did not know about Lin was looking at Ronan with bewildered eyes.
An awkward silence fell between the two. Ronan who was scratching the back of his head opened his mouth.
“Let’s go first.”
“That’s right.”
It was unfortunate but there was nothing she could do as the atmosphere was broken. As soon as the two people got on board the Griffon took off and turned south. Aurora Scal which was getting smaller and smaller in the brightening world finally became a small white dot and disappeared from sight.
****
“Instructor we are here.”
“hmm. “It arrived sooner than expected.”
The wooden door opened. Nabirose spotted the two people and put down his drink. She was sitting in front of the inn’s fireplace drinking warm mead.
“It didn’t take long because the weather was nice. The gryphon was parked outside. “Ugh I’m hungry.”
“Here please give me some water and two bowls of reindeer stew.”
She said Adeshan ordered water and food for her. They arrived in Warsaw Margrave just before daybreak. After taking a good rest at Aurora Skal the Gryphon flew to its destination without stopping even once.
“Huh?”
Ronan approached Nabirose and raised his eyebrows. A fluffy arctic fox was sitting across from her. When she entered the inn she was invisible due to the angle. The two people’s eyes widened.
“Professor Secret?”
“It was a lot of hard work. “You guys.”
It was our first reunion since we parted ways from Rundalian. He came up to the table held Ronan’s hand and shook it. Ronan asked.
“When did you come?”
“It’s this morning. “He did something really unbelievable.”
He was speaking in a voice that almost sounded like he was crying. He is a good if cynical person but he seemed quite moved.
“The curse of Tukan Plateau is almost gone. “It will take some time to detoxify the hatred that has built up but I am still hearing laughter little by little.”
Secret told him about what happened during Ronan’s absence. Although it was a short time there were many changes.
Barka’s curse disappeared and the conflicts between beasts and humans that occurred everywhere also subsided. The concept of peace forgotten for a long time was once again coming to the surface.
Marya’s Caravel ship just turned into the islands last night. Jaifa was doing her best to clean up her younger brother’s poop.
“Barca must have been operating in secret for a very long time. However thanks to Zaipa’s influence public sentiment is quickly returning.”
“That’s a good thing. “What about Jager?”
“There was a funeral three days ago. “It’s the first time I’ve seen so many beastmen gathered since Night of the Fangs.”
Jager’s funeral was held on a grand scale. Jaifa did not bother to reveal the fact that he was Barca’s puppet. It was a reward for the courage he showed at the end of his life.
The Shinsuin Union was not immediately disbanded. Zaifa who had temporarily taken over as head was helping them restore the messed up north.
In the end Zaifa’s goal was to turn them into a force to confront Nebula Clazie. I opened his mouth with a butterfly that emptied the glass in one go.
“It would be nice not to think nonsense. “At that point I really have no choice but to kill you.”
“It’ll probably be okay.”
Ronan said with confidence. He remembered Jaifa’s voice thanking him. Jaifa who came back after finishing work would become a more reliable ally than anyone else. Secret said.
“I plan to stay in the North a little longer. There might be a curse that hasn’t been lifted yet. But don’t go back in the fall.”
“autumn? Oh right. “Usually it’s summer now.”
After being in the North for over a month I lost my sense of the seasons. The four people who were talking about various things stood up. Now it was time to return to the system. Suddenly Adeshan tapped Nabirose’s shoulder.
“Hey instructor can I go somewhere with Ronan for a moment?”
“It doesn’t matter. “Just make sure the carriage arrives on time.”
“thank you.”
Adeshan smiled brightly. Ronan tilted his head at the unexpected action.
“What where are you going?”
“I want to show you something. “It really only takes a moment.”
“What?”
She walked out of her inn holding Ronan’s hand. Secret who was watching the two people smiled in satisfaction.
“Hehe youth. “It must have been a very arduous schedule.”
“The more barren the environment the more love blooms. “You don’t know how long I waited to see that.”
Nabi Rose laughed. You could tell the progress of their relationship just by looking at the airflow between them. I liked it even more because they were now of similar height.
After leaving the inn Ronan and Adeshan slowly walked towards the north of the city. The blue sky was so beautiful that it almost seemed like it was falling.
Perhaps because it was a city that served as a fortress most of the buildings were made of solid stone. Adeshan suddenly stopped on the side of the road and picked a few wild flowers blooming next to the mailbox.
“Why flowers?”
“Everyone liked it. “I heard you like the hardiness of blooming anywhere… so take a few of them too.”
“Hmm?”
Ronan who suddenly took the flower shrugged his eyebrows. As they continued walking they stopped at the top of a hill.
Because the altitude was quite high the panoramic view of Barça and the unexplored land beyond the walls were visible at a glance. A cenotaph to commemorate the fallen stood tall there. Adeshan who was looking at the memorial stone opened his mouth.
“mom. I’m here. “Are you okay too?”
“This is…”
The rock jutting into the sky was light gray like her eyes. The high and spacious surface was filled with the names of soldiers who died during the Night of the Fangs.
“You can only see it from a distance. “My mom and her brothers are all listed on the top row.”
Adeshan extended his index finger and pointed near the top of the memorial stone. Ronan twitched her lip. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Don’t be so serious. “I just came to say hello.”
“…I’ll try my best.”
“I’m a little embarrassed but it’s my first time dating a girl… My mom and brothers told me to bring my girlfriend back when I was alive…”
Adeshan bowed his head. The ears sticking out from her hair were as red as hot iron. Ronan nodded slowly.
“That’s good. “It’s my first time too.”
“What really?”
“yes. “Shame on you.”
“lie. “You’re doing it to reassure me.”
“I wish I was lying too… okay. Don’t make that face. Anyway the first time is important.”
Ronan soothed her as she opened her eyes. I felt like I needed to be more careful with my tongue in front of this person from now on. They placed the wild flowers they had picked in advance in front of the memorial stone.
“If it continues like this won’t it soon be blown away by the wind?”
“are you okay. “If you stay still you won’t be able to sprout.”
“Yes of course.”
Ronan nodded her head. That was right. If she stayed stagnant forever she couldn’t move forward. The two people holding hands stood in front of the memorial for a long time.
They returned home around noon. As time passed and latitudes decreased the earth regained its seasons and people’s clothing became lighter. The three arrived at Phileon Academy two days before the end of summer vacation.
“It’s been a while.”
Ronan took a deep breath from her. The warm smell of grass seeped into my lungs. The song of cicadas was echoing in the still green campus.
