◈ 385. [Side Story] Funeral (5)
It was as Evangeline said. The people of Crossroads were strong and the city’s restoration was swift.
After about a month has passed since the end of the defense battle.
The bodies of the goblins were removed without leaving a trace, and their blood was washed clean.
The residents who returned began to lead their lives as before. The city walls are in full swing and the city has regained its usual vibrancy.
… but.
Some wounds cannot be erased forever.
Imperial year 650. the last day of February.
When exactly one year passes after I fall into this world. It was on this day that the funeral was held.
And coincidentally, this day was also the day to commemorate the soldiers who died in the Black Spider Corps during the tutorial stage.
“… .”
West of Crossroads. grave site.
I swallowed my words as I looked around at the people who had gathered like a cloud.
The bodies were all placed in the graves. Priests sprinkled holy water over the tombs and blessed the dead for their afterlife.
Amidst the choir’s funeral song. People shed tears in front of the graves of each person they had lost.
“… .”
Lily watched this scene from afar.
God Hand hasn’t made a tomb yet. Because Lily, his lover, wished so.
His colleagues, Burnout and Bodybag, and his former boss, Verdandi, agreed.
That’s why God Hand was still missing.
March from tomorrow.
Even though it was spring, Lily was still waiting for God Hand to return.
Behind her, Burnout and Body Bag stood idly together, looking down at the grave site.
I glanced at the three of them, then averted my gaze.
Many people died and many mourners visited, but there was a particularly crowded tomb.
It was Marherita’s.
Is there anyone here in the city who has not passed through her hands?
From mild colds to serious bony wounds, Marherita was the one who healed everyone.
Suddenly, my left arm throbbed. I squeezed my left arm with my right hand.
Her hand that put a cast on this arm is still good.
I can never be treated by her again.
“I’m going to apply for the dispatch of a new priest to the Central Church.”
Damian, who was standing next to Marherita’s grave and saw me approaching, ran over and said,
Damian has been busy for the past month working as a temporary deputy priest.
“It also doubles as staffing. The Central Church is also in chaos due to the civil war of the princes, so I don’t know if it will be properly appointed… … .”
“… .”
“I don’t know if there will be any foolish priests who will step foot in the fortress city. haha… .”
As Damian said. This is a place that can not be handled unless you are a foolish priest.
It is a position where you have to treat seriously injured people who die every day in a city that is not sure when it will be captured by monsters.
Marherita was a very foolish person.
Despite pouring out complaints with his mouth, he never ran away and fought against death in the temple.
I will miss that foolishness.
I quietly tousled Damian’s curly hair. Come to think of it, you are foolish as well.
“Please suffer a little more until the next priest comes.”
“Suffering. I don’t think so at all. but… .”
Damian laughed sadly at Marherita’s grave.
“I think Marherita was a really great person. Even with the help of other priests, I only make mistakes, but how did Marherita-sama handle so many tasks by herself… … .”
“… .”
Only after losing it do you realize its value. Foolishly, as always.
Besides that, we visited the tombs of other heroes and soldiers. Everyone was crowded with mourners, but there was a particularly empty place.
It was in front of the tomb of the lepers.
Thorkel stood alone in front of the empty tomb.
Me and Damian quietly approached and meditated in front of the tomb.
Thorkell took one glance at us, bowed to me, then lowered his head again and closed his eyes.
“Mr. Thorkel… After that, you take care of the temple’s chores on your own.”
Damian said as he left the tomb of the lepers.
“Even if I tried to ask for a more comfortable job, you insist on doing the dirty work that others don’t want to do… Of course, I’m grateful that the temple is busy, but a little more… … .”
There was a hint of sadness in Damian’s voice.
“You might as well push yourself less… .”
“… .”
That would be a way to alleviate his own sadness.
So I decided not to stop him. We headed to the next tomb.
After visiting all the newly created tombs and expressing their condolences, the sun was already in mid-heaven.
The funeral was over, and it was my turn to speak for the last time, and I stepped onto the podium.
Thousands of gazes flew like arrows and stuck to me tightly.
I caught my breath and opened my mouth.
“When I was first assigned here and had my first funeral. I said. You will always die here on the front lines.”
When you first enter Crossroads and hold a funeral for soldiers who died in the tutorial. I said this.
“But your death is expensive. So I will try to save you as much as possible. I will do whatever it takes to save you and eat you, so don’t die easily.”
After listing the words I said then, I looked back at the grave site.
“Even though I boasted so much, a year has passed… The tomb continues to grow.”
“… .”
“The invasion of the monsters is getting stronger and the damage on our side is growing out of control like wildfire.”
People swallowed dry saliva. I clenched my fists.
“At the last funeral I said. We will use all available means to crush their aggression.”
“… .”
“Even though I boasted so much, I wonder if I really used all the means at my disposal… I have a question.”
breathe in after
“I promise. Now I really will use ‘all means’.”
I made up my mind.
“If I could exterminate the monsters and save even one more person… I will do anything.”
What kind of will did you read in my words?
Some of them turned pale, some shook their shoulders, some looked at me with trembling eyes.
Does not matter.
We’ll all soon find out what this means anyway.
And I will force them all to follow me.
“I look forward to your active cooperation in the future for me and for the monster front here.”
I turned my head and looked at the gravestone.
It was a tombstone honoring those who died during the tutorial stage.
I turned my head again and saw the new tombstones this time.
I repeated the names of the dead in my mind.
I’m thirsty for a second.
“… I was able to come to this conclusion only after making many sacrifices.”
I bowed my head.
“I will pay a silent tribute to all those who have died in the past year and all those who will die in the future, whose death has become a milestone for the monster front.”
Thousands of people bowed their heads in unison.
After a brief moment of silence, I nodded and went down the podium.
Lucas, who was waiting by the artillery barrage, waved his arm, and the artillerymen set the cannon on fire.
pop! pop! Pervert!
The sound of gunfire honoring the dead resounded emptyly over the grave site.
Another funeral ended like this.
***
“I was expecting Crossroads’ funeral speech to be moving.”
I was standing on top of a hill watching people disperse, when I heard a voice next to me.
“This speech is not moving, but… It’s bloody.”
“… queen.”
Approaching was an elf woman wearing a crown of white twigs and with diamond-shaped tear points.
It was Skuld, the elven queen.
I smirked.
“I thought you were going back to the borough right away. You are staying for quite some time.”
Just a month ago, they acted as if they were going to leave right away, and then Skuld and the elves under his command used the Crossroads as a base to tour the area.
There was no reason to stop it, so I left it alone, but it’s a little ridiculous.
Skuld shrugged his shoulders calmly.
“I left the district after a hundred years. You can get a little bit of outside air. That outing is now over, but… … I am going back soon.”
“You seem to be busy traveling to and from the surrounding city-states. Did you get the results you were hoping for?”
“It was a small achievement, but the biggest goal was not achieved. This outing isn’t going very well.”
Her biggest goal is… … would you say me
It seems she was trying to do something based on the banner and cause I put up. It became something that hadn’t happened since I broke that banner.
“Oh. Can I ask you a small favor before you leave?”
Skuld took out a small pouch from his bosom and handed it to me.
“Please pass this on to Belldandy.”
“This… .”
“These are sunflower seeds grown in the Elven Borough. It is a breed brought from home. Whooping, one in heaven?”
Even the queen is carrying seeds in case someone is not of the hamster species. I took it without a word.
“… It doesn’t matter if the Holy Grail is real or a bluff. Whether it exists or not, the Fairy Kingdom has already been destroyed and the World Tree is dead anyway.”
Skuld sighed lightly.
“I just want my sister to admit that reality and come back to me.”
“… .”
“Please pass this along with the seed. Come to the borough anytime. I’ll be waiting for my sister.”
“Let’s do that.”
Skuld’s subordinate elves brought the deer. After stroking the deer’s neck, Skuld looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Prince Ash. I don’t know what caused you to drop your banner.”
“… .”
“But I know that breaking the banner you pursue is as painful as breaking your own heart.”
I glanced at her.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I did.”
Skuld gave an empty smile.
“Because I threw away a lot to survive.”
“… .”
“Breaking the flag is very difficult at first, but after that it becomes so easy. Because it’s already broken.”
Skuld’s long fingers went up to the center of his own chest.
“Once you start compromising, you will bend endlessly. In the end, you’re going to live with your face down. like me.”
“… .”
“Last advice. Even if you give up everything and compromise with everything, keep a strong will in your heart. Without it, people will not live even if they live.”
Her advice was sincere and appropriate, but it was too late.
I already broke
My flagstaff is already torn to pieces. I have already made up my mind to abandon it.
I greeted them formally without answering. Skuld also bowed in the imperial style and quickly climbed the deer.
Watching the backs of the elves moving away, I turned around.
Now it was my turn to do what I had to do.
***
I took Lucas and the soldiers and headed to downtown Crossroads.
Lucas had a dark expression throughout the funeral, but as soon as he joined me, he spoke in a worried tone.
“Lord. The next defense is coming soon… … However, the restoration of the forward base, let alone the walls of the Crossroads, has yet to be completed.”
“… .”
“Most of the teleport gates installed in the path of the monsters have been destroyed. Because of this, guerrilla tactics are also difficult to use. Didn’t you share with us how you plan to fight a defensive battle in this situation… … .”
It has already been over a month since the last defensive battle.
next stage soon However, the repair of the defense facilities was not completed, and the healing of wounded soldiers was not finished. Recruitment of new soldiers is also slow.
Even in this situation, I’m calm, so it’s only natural for Lucas to be concerned.
“Don’t worry, Lucas.”
I smiled.
“I have something prepared. right here.”
“here is… ?”
The place where I stopped walking was a place where the entrance was blocked by a thick iron grate.
It was the Cross Road Central Prison. The guards guarding the entrance split left and right to make their way.
Lucas looked around the prison with a puzzled look.
“Have you prepared anything? In this prison… … ?”
“okay.”
I went ahead and went inside. Lucas cautiously followed me.
And most not in jail. Standing in front of the large jade room, Lucas’ eyes widened.
“Free Pooh! Free me!”
“What are you doing! Why are we putting these things on our bodies!”
“Help me! Please save me, Your Highness! please!”
Four prisoners were tied up screaming.
These were the four Aegis Task Force agents captured during the last Task Force infiltration.
A large amount of explosives were connected to their tightly bound bodies, along with an explosive device containing magical power cores.
“Do you know where the goblins flocked next to the temple during this goblin invasion?”
“no way… .”
“okay. It was a prison here. A bunch of goblins rushed in to kill these prisoners hiding inside the strong iron bars, but surprisingly, all the prisoners survived because the iron bars were strong.”
I calmly sat down on the chair in front of the prison room.
“Looking at that scene, I thought I could easily defeat the monsters if I just rolled my head a bit.”
“… .”
“The basic behavior of monsters is simple. Attack the nearest human being.”
I stretched out my legs and kicked the iron bars of the prison room with my foot. Prisoners screamed and fell to the floor.
“Then what if we load human bombs with detonators in a sturdy iron cage and throw them in front of a group of monsters?”
“… .”
“Monsters will swarm around the iron cage, like monkeys trying to lick the flesh inside the shell. Just then bang!”
I pretended to explode a bomb with my hands.
“It’s a huge blow to those who flocked like ants. Totally efficient.”
“… .”
“It’s not just this. This is just a very primitive trap, and if this test succeeds, we’ll apply this method… … .”
“Lord.”
Lucas called me heavily.
Turning around, Lucas shook his head heavily with a pale face.
“… This is not your master’s way.”
