Chapter. 14. One Empire, Three Legends (17)
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The professor stared at the back of his colleague, who was as motionless as a stone statue, biting the human neck with fresh blood dripping from it.
I grinned all day today and got on with my work in a cheerful manner.
Actually, it wasn’t that pleasant on the inside.
Probably everyone was like that. Everyone could have offered a word of congratulation or consolation, but all they could do was stare quietly at Borka, who was holding his enemy’s head in his mouth.
Hyde opened his mouth as he looked at Lucilla, whose lips were trembling in the sudden silence, and the others who were suppressing their emotions as if they were swallowing their breath.
[I was wondering where your personality of constantly making jokes came from. Have you seen this often?]
‘I’ve seen it every day since I was seventeen. Losing someone and blaming someone. Take revenge. Laugh and cry. And die. In a place where such things are repeated dozens of times a day, a person who deeply accepts each and every emotion is likely to get caught up in it. Just laugh it off. ‘Pretend it’s fun, pretend it’s a joke.’
Tears seem to contain many emotions. Laughter can also contain many emotions.
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….In my memories, my children resembled their mother more than me. Dahlia was too much for me. A woman who is confident, beautiful, and even stronger than me. If those merchants hadn’t poisoned him, he wouldn’t have been so easily defeated.
Spiritual energy is a special talent that only a few among our species can use. Depending on the size of your talent, you can exert great power with a small lifespan. Some people burn half of their remaining lives to gain the strength of an ordinary knight, while others burn the time they had to take a nap to tear a castle wall to pieces.
Although it may be weak, I also inherited some of that talent. I was given a choice. You have the choice of living for two years as a great warrior or living for 200 years as a powerless forest dweller.
….If you look like my wife, I can see that you would have incredible talent and strong legs, unlike me, who is physically blessed with talent smaller than that of a firefly. He must be stronger than me and have a beautiful mane.
But I know what those kids don’t know. I know that the moment I lose, those children will face all the truth and despair of my past, so I must win.
Hehehe. A scholar somewhere said, ‘If you don’t have talent, spend more time.’ He said. This cannot be true.
So… I hope you won’t be too upset about what happens to me from now on. Everything is my choice. I just wish I could face it as usual, as if nothing happened. It wasn’t your group, always full of screaming and laughter.
I’m not that good at it, but… I’ll tell you an interesting story.
Do you know what? Leader. It’s been a long time since I called you boss.
Wolves live in packs. Serving someone is the same as accepting them as the leader of their group.
Although it was the first time I said I would serve you out of my mouth at Wuthering Heights, I guess I’ve liked you for a long time since I’ve been calling you captain without even knowing it. You can’t believe I’m wagging my tail before I even understand it with my head. That doesn’t really look like a dog.
….Thank you for leading me into your group, Captain. It was warm and reassuring.
.
.
.
.
Don’t forget. No matter what I look like, it was a choice I made because I wanted to.
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So, when I saw Borka on his knees missing an arm, his fur tangled in blood and oil, and the lively werewolf body rapidly deteriorating, I pretended not to notice. In fact, he acted like a more excited person.
Because no one can know the extent of the memories he has carried over the past 15 years. It was to respect and accept the meaning that I had to solve it alone.
The contents of the will were delivered through message magic when colleagues scattered throughout the city gathered in front of the Colosseum. Everyone was very shaken, especially Lucilla.
In the end, our group followed that ‘will’ and moved around cheerfully and noisily as if nothing had happened.
“…It was a lot of hard work. “I tried to leave you alone until the end, but I couldn’t stand it any longer.”
As I moved forward among the stern-faced group, Borka, who had cut off the enemy’s neck with his teeth, raised his head and turned around.
“Thank you for listening to my selfish excuses. This was a duty that must be fulfilled as the head of a tribe that went to the secrets, and it was the punishment that had to be paid by a foolish werewolf named Borka, who trusted those who should not be trusted and violated long-established rules to welcome strangers. ”
“so. I achieved the revenge I had been cherishing for 15 years. How are you feeling?”
“…I don’t know. “I really… don’t know.”
The professor nodded at the empty voice of Borca, who was lifting the Marquis’s hand, who couldn’t even close his eyes.
I have seen so many people like that. There were people who shed tears of blood because they lacked the ability to take revenge, and there were also people who shed tears of blood because nothing changed even after achieving revenge.
And there were many people whose object of revenge died in vain at the hands of someone and consumed themselves with the lost flames that were cored deep in their hearts.
[Because revenge is a personal domain.]
‘There must have been a better way. I wish I had more time. I wish there were at least one less entangled force. If it weren’t for such an urgent situation that Borka’s children would die if they got their hands on the contract before us. Maybe I could persuade him and step on each one of them step by step and then let him enjoy his duty.’
However, when told that one of the two children was sick, Borka did not even compromise. He was already planning to go to that arena, and in order not to let him die in vain, we had no choice but to keep pace with his strides.
As a result, Borca’s self-destructive revenge built up over 15 years of anger and regret could not be relieved. Don’t let the result end there due to my lack of ability. All I had to do was organize the surroundings so that that guy’s choice could have a happy ending and intervene before the fire burned out.
“It’s a strange…feeling. I’ve been sharpening my toenails for 15 years hoping for this moment… but it’s a lot different than I imagined. “I don’t know how… my heart feels so empty.”
When the silence was broken and the werewolf’s mouth opened. What his voice contained was neither joy nor anger, but only emptiness.
“of course. What you have lost and your enemies. It’s obvious when you think about which of the two is more valuable to you. Because the moment of revenge is short? Because it ended so simply and in vain? It turns out that that guy is immortal, so if he comes back to life infinitely and kills you a hundred or two hundred times over and over again, do you think all the emotions that are stuck inside you will disappear?”
“….”
“No, right? It has to be that way. Because values cannot be compared. Because your family and your life are much more meaningful to you than the suffering of your enemies. These kinds of feelings cannot be resolved. I’m sorry, but the anger and guilt you’ve been living with will haunt you for the rest of your life. Revenge may be a short-term avoidance, but every time you face a memory, your emotions will rise like bitter water. The moment you sank your teeth into the back of his neck, you realized it without even realizing it. That this is not the end point. That you have to carry that burden forever.”
So there is no end to revenge. Even if you tear apart countless enemies, it is nothing compared to what you have lost. No matter how much you try to accumulate supply and demand on multiple scales, the weight of what you have lost is overwhelmingly heavy.
Borka, who heard the professor’s story, looked blankly at the supply of enemies in his hand. The Marquis’ eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe the moment of death. His wife died at the hands of this man, and his tribe members disappeared in a gruesome manner. If you ask me if I regret this moment, I will say I absolutely do not.
but. Kill the Marquis. Killing the 2nd prince served by the Marquis. Kill the empress who gave the order. Even if you kill all the nobles, all the minions, all the knights, and even their squires involved in the matter, what if these feelings and regrets remain the same? What if only the empty scent of blood passes by like now?
“What are you thinking like that?”
“…I’m afraid. This feeling has now lost its direction. “Knowing that it will not go outward but will forever remain in my heart.”
He was afraid. Like a debtor facing a debt that can never be repaid. Like Sisyphus looking at a falling rock, Borka faced the guilt he would have to carry forever and began to fear the rest of his life.
And there was a hand that roughly raised the werewolf.
“I know that feeling well, but that’s it. wake up. “It’s not over yet.”
“So… you’re saying that even if you know the end, you have to kill your enemies until the end?”
“Not that, you idiot. “I don’t think it was a vengeful junk food that brought you back from being stuck in the gutter for the past 15 years.”
The professor picked up the cult potion that he had previously put in his subspace pocket and poured the entire potion on Borka’s head. It couldn’t regenerate a severed arm like that, but it could stop the bleeding and instantly heal broken thighs and knees.
“kids. Your child, to whom you have now given back freedom with your own hands. By the looks of it, I’m not qualified yet~ I couldn’t even say hello to you, right? “You have enough qualifications at this level, so go say hello and talk about what’s been missed.”
I forgot. No, I didn’t forget it, but I intentionally tried to push it out of my memory because I wasn’t prepared for life after now. Because he originally planned to burn everything he had left here and disappear. I tried not to think about what would happen after that.
But now. Thanks to his colleagues who abandoned his request at the last moment, werewolf Borka’s life was postponed a little longer and he was now able to embrace in his heart a sight he had never seen in his dreams.
The children return to the forest and the one-armed werewolf next to them.
While Borka was speechless due to the indescribable scenery. The professor picked up what he needed from the contract that had lost its strength and had become an ordinary piece of paper and handed it over to Borka.
“good. We’ll take care of the rest as per the original plan. “You mind your own business.”
“….that.”
“Did you understand correctly? Just mind your own business. From now on.”
As the professor emphasized his words again, Borka’s eyes, which were looking at the contract he had accepted, turned to the professor.
“From now on, our group will only choose rough and dangerous places to travel to. As much as everyone is busy taking care of themselves, a helpless werewolf who is old, decrepit, stubborn, and even lost an arm can become nothing more than a burden. “No one will regret it, right?”
“okay. As you said in that letter, we will set out for the empire ‘as if nothing had happened’.”
“Honestly, that guy is so big that it was a bit cramped when we walked together.”
“Me too… I’m so uncomfortable! I did…ugh! When the moon rises, it makes noise all night long….Ugh! Because I couldn’t sleep… there’s no such thing as borca… ugh! None… even if it disappears! “Rather… rather…”
Borka had to grit his teeth as he saw the group of people each expressing their discomfort. A group of people who were captured by the cult and forced to join. It was a short period of time, about 7 months, but there was never a single moment that was not difficult, and the werewolf’s strong liver fell and rose repeatedly due to the chaos that occurred every three days to the point of causing motion sickness.
“He’s a bit blunt, but he’s not stupid. You understand, right? “Is this enough?”
Those colleagues. When he lost everything and was about to give up on life, his group that had led him this far was now trying to send him away. I ‘pretend nothing’s wrong’ because I know he owes me a debt of gratitude. To make even the step of leaving lighter.
“Leader. But…”
“15 years, Borka 15 years.” Not only has it been 15 years for you, but it has also been 15 years for your two children. There’s no need to be here anymore. “I trust you will make the right decision.”
It was a warm invitation and the gentlest banishment. The Professor, Lucilla, Ottman, Aldrich Notum, and Idrasil. Because I know how good Borka is and how he does his best to give back what he has received.
It was to be considerate of colleagues who might be able to live together for as much time as was lost even if they sacrificed the rest of their lives. So that he can go without any burden. So that I can finally find peace after 15 years of pain.
The peaceful faces of two old wizards. A noble girl with her eyes wide open and her mouth clenched in tears. As always, the elf has a calm and quiet smile, and the troll shakes his head with innocent eyes.
That bluntness mixed with warmth.
Borka put down the head he was holding in his hand. And he held out his only remaining hand.
“…I won’t forget. “Forever, until the moment I die.”
“He’s a person I find difficult to forget.”
One by one. Some people smiled at the werewolf’s actions of taking the time to shake hands, as if he would not forget the smell of the touch even though he was tired. With a kind smile that shows understanding. In the end, I burst out crying and jumped into his blood-soaked arms. By wetting the embrace with tears and blessings for the future.
“Goodbye Borka. “Goodbye…let’s go…”
Sent a colleague who had not long left to live. We’ll probably never meet again. The last look at the back of a colleague who, if we meet someday, will sprinkle alcohol in front of the tombstone and talk about old times.
Kaduk. Rustle.
The werewolf, who cherished all those emotions, turned toward the stairs. Only the sound of stepping on fallen pieces of stone filled the space between them as they walked away. The moment that blood-soaked back disappears down the stairs. The sad cries of a little girl permeated them.
The professor smiled in satisfaction as he saw what Borka had left behind.
“….We won. “You trash bastard.”
The Marquis’s head was rolling around on the dusty floor. In Borca’s hands, instead of receiving the enemy, there was only a contract that had lost its power.
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