352. Later story (6)
“…I see. long time no see.”
Hien also smiled softly.
“I was grateful that they willingly guided me at that time.”
“you’re welcome.”
There’s no way I can refuse if you say that in the first place.
Hien recalled his first meeting with the old man in front of him. A conversation with an old man with a swollen liver who calmly entered the demon castle and spoke to the demons casually.
***
When a flock of unidentified crows struck the tent, Hien sensed Deonhardt’s death and left. In fact, I had no hesitation in my actions because I wanted to leave from the moment he pointed the blade at my neck.
Not only did I not have the confidence to stop his death, but I also didn’t have the confidence to watch it with my eyes open.
Ed and Ben, who had been watching for a moment to see if the two high-ranking demons would stop them, were blocked by a flock of crows, and their priority was to approach Deonhardt, so they ignored Hien even though they knew he was quietly leaving.
So, the place Hien headed to after escaping from the uncomfortable space was none other than the warehouse of former 5th Corps Commander Oel.
‘…I don’t know much about human culture.’
In the past, when I gave the flowers that were blooming on top of the ‘grave’ to Deon, I heard a separate comment from Ed. It was only then that I found out. The death of one’s own people and the human culture of dealing with the body.
‘Daeon is a human.’
Therefore, his body should also be sent according to human culture.
Oel, who is very curious, has always shown a keen interest in the human world, so there might be at least one piece of data related to this in the warehouse somewhere.
Sincerely grateful to Dernivan for completely preserving the former corps commander’s warehouse, Hien busily searched the warehouse.
Then, I found a book that caught my eye and reached out.
“This is…”
…an illustrated book containing information about plants in the human world. I have to take care of it first.
Coincidentally, there is also a book related to the funeral culture of the human world next to it. Hien, who had the plant book at his side, picked it up.
At that time, I heard a voice from behind me.
“This is surprising. “I never thought there would be a demon interested in that field.”
“…!”
“I was so rude. “You must have been very surprised.”
Infinitely polite voice and attitude.
This must be the devil’s castle. Surprisingly, when I turned around, there was a ‘human’ standing there. Hien quietly clenched his fists and opened his mouth as if nothing had happened.
“who…?”
“This old man is called Remember. “I came to pick up the body of someone precious.”
I’m too attached to it to pretend not to know.
A faint sadness can be felt in the bitterly muttering voice. Since it didn’t seem like an enemy, Hien relaxed his tense body, leaving only the bare minimum guard.
“If it’s precious…?”
“I think you probably know it well. “Isn’t that why you found such a book here?”
“…Oh no way.”
“yes.”
Deon Hardt.
“There is a suitable place for his grave.”
“….”
“Could you please guide me to where the body is?”
***
Thanks to you, I was able to build Deon’s tomb. Hien smiled brightly.
“Rather, we should be thankful for this one. Thanks to you, we were able to build a tomb in the most suitable location for Deon.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Remember smiled softly at his sincere words. For a moment, his gaze glanced somewhere.
“…Someone else is coming too…”
Everyone could see Ben, who was walking from a distance, spot Remember and stop.
They will also need to have their own conversation, so they should avoid this place this time. Remember took a step back after stopping for a moment.
“This old man will only be a distraction if he stays, so I’ll just go.”
He passes by Ben, giving him a light greeting, and slides down the mountain. Ed, who was watching the back disappear from sight in an instant, turned his gaze to Ben.
“So, how are those crazy… Lofty guys doing?”
Ben’s main job became watching over the Lofty Knights. I went to check on them every time I was away, so it was probably the same this time as well.
As expected, the calm answer came back.
“I can’t be sure because I only watched from afar, but he seemed healthy. “Now you’re raising a child.”
“Thank goodness. But why… are you trying to pack your bags?”
“They said they were going to Esperanes.”
I don’t know if I can chase it, but I’ll have to give it a try first.
Ben muttered as he scribbled down on a piece of paper the preparations needed to cross the mountain range.
Esperanes is a place with particularly strict security due to its terrain, so whatever I try to do, it will be difficult and annoying for me as a demon. I know that very well, but I have no intention of giving up. They were an unavoidable exception to Deon, who tried not to cherish anything or leave regrets behind anything.
As an incompetent doctor who lost a patient in charge, he had to take care of ‘Lofty’.
“I won’t be able to see you for quite some time.”
“Of course.”
But no matter how hard it is or how long you won’t see each other, Ed won’t stop you.
Taking care of Lofty as if he were a gravekeeper is the only atonement Ben can make.
As soon as he heard the news of the ‘Lofty’ mercenary group, he moved to find them, and the attending doctor, who left the room periodically after that, prepared to leave in silence with the meaning of watching on the sidelines.
“Not only because they used the name ‘Lofty’, but because they are good at making enemies, I feel uneasy if I leave them alone. “I can’t help it.”
In fact, we have no choice but to be confident because we have already personally blocked several subversive movements against them.
Ben shakes his head as if he has a headache. At the same time, Ed, who was watching the scene with a faint smile, quietly opened his mouth and gave a delayed answer.
“okay. “It’s none of my business what you do, but I hope you live to see me again.”
“…Do you think I am walking into some kind of limbo?”
He grumbles in words, but since I know what he was thinking, I can’t say anything sincerely.
They’ve already lost so many people that they probably don’t want to lose even me, who is their one of few ties to these friendly demons. Therefore, Ben, who had kissed his lips several times, chose to turn his head instead of continuing.
…Well, I guess it’s okay since there’s a guy who came over to the human world to chase Ed alone.
“I’m here.”
“Aga.”
On the day when the borders were closed one by one, the incubus, who seemed to sense something, ran to the Demon King’s Castle and crossed over to the human world with them, smiling and waving. Ed’s expression relaxed a little when he saw him.
“I heard you went to the devil’s tomb.”
“There’s nothing I can do.”
“That’s what I have to do. “I recommend finding another job.”
“I want to help you?”
“….”
Hien, who was observing the situation, joined the conversation.
“I’m thinking of growing flowers around the grave here. How about doing it together? “You’ve often come to the Demon King’s Castle as a garden assistant, so I think you’ll do well.”
“okay. “That would be better.”
“okay? “Then why not?”
The brief disagreement was quickly resolved. Meanwhile, Ben, who had put the prepared list of supplies in his arms, stood up.
Since it wasn’t like we were breaking up forever and we weren’t unfamiliar enough to need a big goodbye, he immediately turned his back and moved on without hesitation.
‘I guess I can just pack my bags and leave.’
The destination is the destination, and the hardships are already clear, so I wonder if there is any useful information. What information did I know about Esperanes?
Oh yeah. Although it’s not useful, I have some interesting information. Ben chuckled as he recalled information that was completely ineffective.
‘I heard there’s a tree in Esperanes that grants wishes.’
…Let’s at least pray for Lofty’s health.
***
The old man, once a capable shaman, had lived in agony ever since Deon Hart and Dan last visited the village.
[You are the one who made me like this.]
…I always heard voices. It was no use covering my ears because it was coming from inside my head.
The biggest mistake made by an old man who became senile in the aftermath of seeing shocking information. It didn’t seem to get tired and kept repeating curses at every moment.
[I won’t kill you. You must live to see me fulfill your prophecy.]
Sometimes I think I even had hallucinations. I saw a young man pretending to be friendly, rolling his eyes and letting out a sharp voice.
Daily life was impossible.
The words themselves are breathtaking, but I can’t get his eyes out of my head.
[So, live your whole life in guilt.]
In the end, the old man, who lived according to his curse and watched the prophecy come true, lost his life under the weight of guilt only after seeing the end.
The cause of death was suicide.
***
[In Esperanes, there is a tree that grants wishes.]
‘Death’ took a step forward, pondering the rumors that had been spreading for some time.
He knows the identity of the tree. The person who planted it knew it, and the person who spread the rumor also knew it.
If we leave the first case aside and look at the last two cases, they are the same person.
‘A human being who read the will of the world and moved accordingly.’
Death, who had wanted to have a face-to-face conversation at least once, realized that someone around the person was calling him and went straight to the other person.
The space changes with just one step. He calmly walked out from the middle of a flock of crows in a completely different place and made eye contact with a woman holding a dead old man.
Against the background of tense silence, glances were exchanged, and the gaze of death lowered for a moment before landing on the person who had stopped breathing.
“…A capable shaman has died—”
The eyes rose again and looked at the woman as if they were going to tear them apart.
“There is a capable shaman left.”
Even though there was no special intention, his gaze and voice were truly eerie.
An uneasy feeling of fear that one cannot help but feel because one is a living being. Shaman Ran endured this patiently and opened his mouth towards death.
“Have you come to take away my grandmother’s soul?”
“For now, yes.”
I would like to have a conversation with that person even more, but this isn’t entirely wrong.
Death, ignoring his wary gaze, approached quickly and took the old man’s soul as if to show off. Contrary to the expectation that he would try to stop or delay the time, the shaman chose not to go against providence and just watched with bitter eyes.
The silence that came again disappeared as death opened its mouth.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Please tell me.”
“Did you know the identity of ‘it’?”
Although I roughly know it, I’ve always wanted to ask it directly.
As expected, the answer came right away.
“Yes, to a certain extent.”
She knew that the sapling of the ‘wish-granting tree’ was a device prepared by the world to give birth to a god.
A world that has become mature and stable gives birth to a god, and in the past, a world that was close to completion gave a seed to the fairies. It was soon moved to a demon gardener, and from the demon gardener to Deon Hart, it eventually became a sapling and settled in Esperanes under the hands of a shaman.
Death nodded.
“…Well, I guess that’s why they spread such ‘rumours’.”
Human faith becomes the fertilizer and foundation for the birth of God. The rumor about the ‘wish-granting tree’ would be a great foundation.
What on earth do you hope to please the world? He narrowed his eyes and studied her, but there was nothing to be gained from her calm expression.
In the end, even though there were still places to visit, I had to turn around without much benefit.
after.
A shaman who gained considerable authority from the world was born.
His skills were such that he could deceive the sight of death and hide, so it was the beginning of a terrible game of tag.
***
A being stepped into the tomb, where no one was present, including Remember, Edna Ben Hien, and even Eigar.
Moving silently, Inyoung reaches out and picks up the untitled book in front of Deon Hardt’s tombstone. I thought I was flipping through the book, but soon the sound of snickering and laughing filled the space.
“It’s poor.”
Perhaps because it wasn’t written by Deon Hardt himself, there are a lot of fabrications and loopholes to make it more plausible.
Even the content is heavy from beginning to end…
“Who would watch something like this?”
Death touched the cover of the book with his finger.
“Well… ‘Deon Hardt’ is a special person to me, so I’ll try to correct it just this time.”
A pen appeared at his fingertips.
Because the person carrying out the editing work is a being who knows the lives of all living creatures on this earth, the pen that touched the book moved without a hitch.
“It would be better to go light in the beginning.”
Since most of the main character’s life consists of tragedy, the only part that can be written lightly is in the beginning. It would be a good idea to modify it so that you can pick up the book as lightly as possible and without any burden.
“It would be better to choose a light title.”
Anyway, this is a book in the form of a ‘novel’. If it’s a novel, it should have a title that catches people’s attention. What can we do if we don’t even have a title?
The light title and initial content should encourage people who have already skipped the first chapter to continue reading the next chapter.
Death, who scribbled his pen a few more times after that, put the book back down with a satisfied look on his face, as if he had finished editing. A lighter voice spread throughout the space.
“This way, someone will remember you without distortion.”
This would have been enough compensation for the soul that impressed me until the end.
“Then I look forward to seeing you again someday.”
Death turns his back and leaves without any regrets.
In the quiet space again, only one book was placed. On the cover, with an author and title that had never been seen before, was written:
[I am not that kind of talent]
[Author: re-mem-be-r]
