Episode 255 Life expectancy, an irresistible fate
A soldier guarding the castle gate spoke.
“I heard that monsters attacked even in front of the village this time? That must have been a pretty big deal.”
“Don’t talk. They say that there are as many as a hundred wounded.”
“If you put in the guild’s request, that’s all I’ve said. It’s a good thing we weren’t drafted.”
“Hey, don’t go anywhere and say things like that. Those called soldiers will only be criticized for avoiding battle.”
“ha ha ha. Got it. Anyway, security has gotten pretty tight these days. Did something happen to the citadel?”
“…a vampire.”
“A vampire?”
The man tilted his head as if he didn’t know why and asked, and the man continued.
“Speak of Dhampir. There have been signs of it before, but this is the first time they’ve been active. It seems the lord is getting into a lot of trouble thanks to that.”
“If it’s a dhampir… you mean that half-blood?”
Dhampir.
A half-vampire, so to speak.
It was difficult to deal with because he learned high-ranking magic or swordsmanship and attacked while using his followers.
The soldier’s complexion hardened at once.
“Then shouldn’t it be like this? Shouldn’t you be avoiding yourself first?”
“How can we, mere soldiers, pull ourselves out? All I can do is pray that you will be safe today.”
“Keuk… There must have been a reason for the sudden increase in troops.”
Then, while I was grumbling, one of the soldiers standing next to me silently threw a word.
“I don’t understand why the vampire, who had been quiet until now, started moving…”
The first man smiled and replied to his muttering that sounded like he was talking to himself.
“ha ha ha. Maybe you’re looking for someone. Since a dhampir has half human blood mixed in, maybe he is looking for his parents.”
“Keukkeuk. That makes sense.”
Unlike the soldiers who laughed lightly, the polite soldier still looked like he was struggling.
‘It would be nice if it was really just that.’
* * *
On the way back, Ray stopped by the adventurer’s guild to tell him he had completed it, and returned home with a reward.
Jingling the pocket containing the silver coins, he sits at his desk and thinks.
“Erythema the centrifugal ring will need to be checked one more time, but it will eventually be resolved…. What is left now is about the elder.”
Ira and the elders spent a lot of time together.
That’s why the shock she received must have been great.
Whatever it is, it’s because I’ve seen it since I was a kid.
As Ray was contemplating the elder’s affairs, he heard a knock outside the door.
Knock- Knock-
“Brother, it’s me.”
“It’s okay to come in.”
When permission is granted, the door opens.
“You haven’t been home for days.”
“I have to work soon.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Even though you know your own body condition well.”
When I smiled at Lacia’s words, she stepped back as if resigned.
“Anyway, please refrain from doing anything dangerous. If you need to make a decision, please call me.”
“I will consider it.”
“I won’t go back unless you promise me.”
I can feel the firm will from the lips of the dammun.
Finally, when Ray nodded, he said with a smile.
“As I always say, you need to think more about yourself. Even if I tell you this, in the end you won’t listen.”
Lacia quietly left the room after saying that one word.
After she disappeared, Ray, who was left alone, murmured.
“No matter how much you think about it, you’re too mature for your age… Maybe…”
Isn’t it the same case as you?
His expression toward the door was quite stiff.
‘There’s no need to doubt it.’
* * * When
the morning sun was shining through the window, I walked out into the yard.
He was working on Lacia’s swordsmanship and magic every morning.
The mana rod also directly helped with the design and even improved it, so if you look at the amount of horse power, it has already exceeded a certain level.
The little girl greets them with a wooden sword the size of her own.
“Did you sleep well, brother.”
Seeing that his clothes are soaked in sweat and his hair is scattered, it seems that he practiced alone from early morning.
Ray greeted her.
“You’ve been proud since morning like this.”
“Because I’m your older brother’s sister.”
Blue eyes that look exactly like her are looking straight at you.
He smiled as he picked up the wooden sword lying on the grass.
“Let’s start lightly with sparring today. If you want, you can use mana like before.”
“But…”
“It’s okay.”
As she shook her head and affirmed, Lacia grabbed her wooden sword.
After thinking for a moment, she lowered her head.
“Then I’d like to ask you.”
“You can come anytime.”
As she slowly raised her sword and spoke, her complexion changed in an instant.
The gentle demeanor from before had disappeared, and only the traces of the sword distracted the surroundings.
In an instant, twenty sword spirits were drawn and then shattered again.
Pan-!
Numerous sword strikes collapsed with the sound of exploding air.
Ray took a step behind Lacia, who stepped back to relieve the reaction.
I dug in for a moment and stabbed the wooden sword straight into my elbow.
It was an exquisite position that anyone else would have exclaimed in admiration.
However, she turned the handle of her sword around and leisurely blocked the sword.
percussion—! Tak-tak-tak!
Several blows followed, and the wooden swords intertwined with each other and began to struggle.
Then Ray looked at her and said quietly.
“Achievements at such a young age are great. It’s like watching my childhood.”
At those meaningful words, Lacia cut off the sword facing her.
“Because I’m your older brother’s sister.”
The same words come back.
But this time Ray didn’t back down either.
“It seems like you learned it somewhere before you learned it from me. I don’t think my father or mother taught me that…”
Lacia shook her head as she spoke in a calm voice.
“No way.”
“I used magic that I had never learned before.”
“I just saw it in the book.”
Cooking and cooking goes well.
However, she doesn’t know, the answer has already come out in the conversation just now.
Ray read all the books in the house.
And I am remembering them all.
The corners of his mouth went up slightly as he faced Lacia and the sword.
‘Among them, there is no book that contains the magic you used.’
It was at that moment that the wooden sword he was holding cut cleanly.
* * *
After lunch, when we arrived at the Elf Village, a well-mannered boy was sitting on the fence waiting for us.
“You’re here…”
“Yes. How are you?”
“…it keeps tickling me.”
“Since dead skin cells are occurring, there is nothing you can do about it. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Ray bent down and looked at the boy’s erythema.
The shape of the centrifugal ring gradually faded and the color also faded.
Exfoliation continued to occur and the edges of the erythema protruded convexly like scars, but this was proof that it was being treated well.
‘There is no need to increase the dosage. If I keep going like this, I’ll be cured.’
At first, I thought it might be an unknown disease that I don’t know about, but it’s fortunate that it’s a milder disease than expected.
All that was left was to see if there were any other patients.
Deciding to visit the boy’s house at least once, he fixed his backpack and set off.
After a light greeting with the boy, as I was heading towards Aira’s house, a commotion started from the entrance of the village.
“Hurry!”
“Send a message to Aira-sama right now! Everyone else is waiting!”
A few guard elves who were on guard hurriedly ran somewhere.
When the normally relaxed village suddenly turned noisy in an instant, he approached them without hiding his doubts.
Ray pretended to know the elves who stood guard.
“What happen?”
“…The human helper elder has collapsed.”
Despite the shocking words, his complexion did not change much.
“How long has it been?”
“We just got this news. I don’t know when the elder collapsed.”
Concern was evident in the shaded expression on his face.
As a result, Ray’s steps toward the village gradually accelerated.
* * *
“Mmmmm…”
A moan escaped the elder’s mouth.
As for the complexion, it is pale and bloodless.
Just looking at her lying down, she looks like a corpse with only her breath attached.
Are you saying the time has come?
The sound of breathing leaking here and there seemed like a sign that life was dying out.
The elder, who had been lying still, opened his heavy mouth.
“I think it’s time to go back to Mana…”
Aira nodded at the elder’s weak voice.
“The Elder has lived for hundreds of years. And I must have had tens of thousands of experiences. I hope there will be no free time left in that life.”
“What kind of lingering will there be in this old age… But… I feel uncomfortable leaving Lady Aira alone again…” He
says with a lonely smile on his face.
“You are worrying for nothing.”
“Slowly… let go. It is a nuisance to those waiting outside.”
From earlier, Aira had been pouring mana without a break, but the elder’s body, which seemed to be empty, only let it out.
Even if I continued to do meaningless acts like this, the fixed lifespan would not change.
Finally, she nodded her head with difficulty.
The Elder knows best what that means.
The elder, who lay down and closed his eyes, seemed to be waiting for something.
After a while, Aira opens her mouth.
“…are you ready?”
“…yes.”
“Whoa…”
With a small sigh, her arms are placed over the elder’s body.
Blue mana gathers around and plays a resonant sound.
Ung-ung-ung—
As the soft energy embraced the elder, Aira’s voice echoed through the room.
“Since the body started with mana, it should end with mana. The body becomes soil and stays in nature forever, and the will will remain in the heart. Please reap the children of nature as we perform a sacred ceremony from long ago here.”
At the end of that voice, the elder’s body shuddered like a leaf swaying in the ripples.
“It’s been fun…”
When the elder’s body, which had been turning into mana, left no trace of it before.
She slumped on the elder’s bed.
