◈ 297. [Side Story] Overwork (2)
The first dream I had was the scene of a familiar chat window.
– brother!
I’ve seen it so many times that I feel like I’m about to memorize it now.
– He’s really great. how did you break this?
The first chat someone entered into my broadcast, which no one paid attention to for half a year.
Even though it was just a knock with a few lines of type without any voice.
It was an intense experience.
It’s like a visitor giving a bouquet of flowers to an uninhabited island where no one visits.
– I’ll enjoy it. Will you broadcast again next time?
So I still dream of this day.
still… I am regretting it.
***
The problem was the dream that followed.
An unfamiliar room, wide and red.
‘I’ is lying on the bed and breathing heavily. My body is hot as if I had a fever, but the air felt on my skin felt like it was freezing.
at that time.
softly.
A cool, soft hand caressed his forehead.
The hand sweeps away the sweaty bangs of ‘I’, and ‘I’ desperately moves my overheated body, which I cannot control properly, and rubs my cheek against the touch.
– Mom… … . don’t go… … .
When a thin sob leaks out of ‘I”s mouth, the owner of the hand whispers warmly.
– are you okay. My lovely Bonheter.
I thought the touch stopped, but I felt the soft touch of slightly dry lips kissing ‘my’ forehead.
– Mom will always be by your side.
‘I’ opens my eyes with difficulty.
Then –
the face of a woman with a kind smile, somewhere haggard. right in front.
The woman laughs and kisses ‘my’ forehead one more time-
– I promise you, Ash.
Said so.
***
Open your eyes suddenly.
“… omg!”
After a while, dry breath drips from the corners of your mouth.
“Heh heh heh… … .”
Fortunately, I see a familiar ceiling.
Crossroads lord’s bedroom. The ceiling is covered with old-fashioned wallpaper (Evangeline painted pink and then restored).
“Ugh… .”
I managed to get my creaking body up, but I felt a heavy sensation on my legs.
what? let’s look down
“Drreung… Pooh… … .”
“Cooooo… .”
For some reason, I found Evangeline and Damian sleeping well with their heads resting on my legs.
‘… What kind of situation is this?’
My legs are numb as if these guys have been cutting for quite some time. I slowly removed my leg.
Evangeline and Damian toss and turn, cut their arms and continue to sleep.
Let’s look out the window. It’s sunset time.
Only then did I get a rough idea of the situation.
‘I must have collapsed earlier.’
After the defensive battle was over, he suddenly collapsed as if fainting.
I’ve been sleeping a little less for the past few days, and I’ve been rolling too hard, so I wonder if my body can’t stand it.
I didn’t think he was such a weak character. My physical stats are low, but… … .
Anyway, that’s why they transported me, who passed out, to the bedroom here, and these two guys, who were attached to me as nurses, were exhausted from the heavy work for the past few days and fell asleep peacefully.
“… .”
I carefully raised my upper body. The wet towel that had been placed on his forehead fell off.
When I put the back of my hand on my forehead, I feel a slight fever. It was painful.
‘Reflection on the unintentional overwork will come first, but before that.’
what was that dream?
Reminds me of an image I saw a while ago.
Obviously, the first dream I had was a dream that I had as a ‘classics virtuoso’.
My guilt often follows me. Debt I shouldered. A familiar nightmare involving a wish I would risk my life to fulfill.
But what about the second dream?
‘That dream is not my memory.’
Chew on a clear image.
Undoubtedly. The detached palace where I stayed when I went to the ecliptic. and… It is the face of the woman I saw in the frame.
Ash’s mother.
In other words, the dream is Ash’s memory.
‘But why… … How could I recall that memory?’
Ash’s mother nursed him when he was ill as a child.
I have never seen or experienced such a scene. However, such a figure appeared openly in my dream.
‘Memories left in this body? or not… .’
or not… what?
I was immersed in my thoughts and looked
around, but
the door opened carefully and Junior and Marherita entered.
The two of them were surprised to see me awake (and the two people stretched out) and hurriedly ran inside.
“Your Highness is conscious!”
“I will check my condition again right away. Come this way… .”
Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious illness, it was just overwork.
“No, you rested well during the festival. Does it make sense to collapse right away like this after a few days of overdoing it?”
When I mumbled, Marherita replied grimly by hanging a pack of what appeared to be sap next to my bed.
“Have you really been resting?”
“uh… ?”
“Your body is honest, Your Highness. The fact that you collapsed from overwork is just the result of the steady accumulation of overwork.”
As Marherita waved her hand, a thin tube made of divine power was connected between the sap pack and my arm. This town doesn’t use injections.
“I guess you must have worked during the festival as well.”
“no… I can’t just play, so of course I took care of the lord’s work… … ?”
To play is to play. In the middle of the day, I took care of the main work and made plans for the future at night. Isn’t this natural
“Since it was like that, fatigue has been accumulating ever since I was appointed here.”
It was Marherita who had been struggling in front of me for the past few months. When I became a patient, I became strict at once.
“I’ve said it over and over again, your body is honest, Your Highness. You collapsed this time because your body sent you a signal. If you overdo it, I will die.”
“Mmmm.”
“If you ignore these signals… Something bigger could happen.”
The saintess’ threat, which was not a threat, was gentlemanly, but it was terrifying. I involuntarily got goosebumps and shook my shoulders.
“For the next three days, put down all your work and take a good rest.”
“what?! Could that be possible?!”
“it’s possible. In fact, I have already told others about it.”
Marherita chined to the side.
“Don’t you have competent subordinates? Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
Evangeline and Damian, who were standing next to my bed, nodded in unison. No, the two of you wipe the saliva from your mouth first!
“majesty. He is an indispensable person here in the city.”
Marherita left my room with only one last word.
“So you have to take care of yourself. Don’t overdo it in the future.”
“… .”
Looking at the back of the saintess as she left the room, I licked my lips bitterly. And I looked around.
“Thank you for taking care of me and taking care of me.”
I said calmly to the party members who were looking at me anxiously.
“But today is the day to organize the defense battle, so I’m sorry but help me.”
“Leave it to me!”
Evangeline said eagerly, rolling her arms. Seeing that they fell asleep on my leg earlier, they look tired too, but let’s share the burden.
“first of all… What about Lucas?”
“Uncle Lucas is arranging the corpses of monsters outside the castle walls! It’s something that needs to be addressed first… … .”
I chuckled. Still, it seems that Lucas is conscious as the acting commander. I know what to do while I’m down.
“Go and help Damian Lucas. Cleaning up the monster’s corpse requires purification of holy power… … Let me know if I woke up.”
“yes!”
“Junior. Go to Lily and get the Artifact Status Check Report. Look at the Artifacts with your own eyes to see if they’re all right. As a wizard, you might be able to do better than me.”
“Leave it to me, Your Highness.”
“Evangeline. You take care of the preparation of the victory banquet and the banquet speech. Because I don’t think I’ll be able to attend the banquet today. request.”
“Oops! I really wanted to do it all!”
As each one took on a task, the three of them hurried out of the room saying they would understand.
Standing in front of the door, the three looked back at me and nodded.
“You need to get some rest, Prince! Don’t really do anything else and have a good time!”
“The report will be delivered tomorrow morning. There will be nothing wrong.”
“Because I will be in charge of the banquet! Senior, take your medicine and sleep well! Got it?!”
I waved my hand at the three of them, who were nagging me word by word, telling them to go away quickly.
The three of them chattered until the end and disappeared after a while.
“… .”
In the barely quiet room, I leaned against the back of the bed and thought with my mouth shut.
Worries about how well the city will function without me. and.
– I promise you, Ash.
… Ash’s mother.
It was about the smile of the second Empress Dustia she saw in her dream.
‘Why?’
she is irrelevant
The country exists and… … As for my purpose toward clearing the game.
however. I had a hunch that I couldn’t explain logically. It was good to say that it was my intuition as a gamer.
It is related.
everything is related
Everything encountered on the way to the true ending is related in some way.
It is no coincidence that I dreamed of her. It’s just that I haven’t found the link yet… … .
“… .”
I ignored Marherita’s advice to get some rest, and frowned in thought.
About all the things I encountered and experienced after I fell into this world.
Trying to find the seemingly invisible link.
***
That night.
The corpses of the Skeleton Corps were scattered from the outpost to the front of the Crossroads Wall, so it took quite a while to collect and incinerate them.
It was the time when the moon was in mid-heaven when Lucas took care of all his business and came to visit Ash.
If Ash was sleeping, I was thinking of just posting the report and going, and if he was awake, I was thinking of asking after him.
So I walked to the front of the manor house with a bundle of reports-
“Oh my.”
At about the same time, the wagon of the Wintersilver Merchants arrived at the entrance of the mansion and stopped.
Serenade pulled herself out of the carriage and smiled awkwardly. Lucas also awkwardly nodded in a cold sweat.
“… Serenade girl.”
“Sir Lucas.”
In a subtle atmosphere, the two exchange greetings.
Both were spherical. They were old friends, but they were never close friends.
In the villa of Empress Dustia 2 when she was young… … Growing up with Ash.
Between the two of them, there was always Ash. The relationship between the two was all from Ash.
Even if there was no such time gap as saying hello after several years, it would have been awkward from the beginning if the two had to meet and say hello separately.
“… You have changed a lot. Serenade girl.”
i.e. in other words.
“The one who was called Wintersilver’s cold sea because of how cold it is. You smile as brightly as spring here. Looking forward to seeing it… … It’s embarrassing.”
“… .”
The days when Ash in the ecliptic was ruined as trash.
The two people who are frozen in each other’s memories of that time.
“You’ve changed a lot too, Sir Lucas.”
clearly.
I don’t get along well.
“To think that the person who was called ‘Bonheiter’s mad dog’ is now a decent knight. It’s amazing.”
Serenade responded softly with a soft smile at Lucas’ bony words.
“No, it’s been a while, so I can’t remember properly. So… Was it ‘a mad dog that bit its master’?”
“… .”
The two stare at each other without speaking.
There is no hostility in his gaze, and his voice is soft.
Whii-i-i
-… … For some reason, it seems like a cold wind blows between the two.
