◈ 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. Restoration work is in full swing on the walls, 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 teammates Burnout and Bodybag, as well as his alleged former boss, Verdandi, agreed.
That’s why God Hand was still missing.
March from tomorrow.
Although it is now definitely 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, then looked away.
Many people died, many mourners visited, but there was a tomb that was especially crowded.
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 them all.
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.
Now, I can’t be cured 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, saw me approaching and ran over.
Damian has been busy for the past month working as a temporary deputy priest.
“It also doubles as staffing. The Central Church is also said to be 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 into the fortified city. haha… … .”
As Damian said. This is a place that can not be handled unless you are a foolish priest.
In a city that never knows when it will be captured by monsters, it is a position where you have to treat seriously injured people dying every day.
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 try to ask for more comfortable work, you insist on doing the dirty work that others don’t like 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.
“It would be nice if you pushed 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 first came here, when I had my first funeral. I said. You will always die here on the front lines.”
When you first enter Crossroads, when you hold a funeral for soldiers who died in the tutorial. I said this.
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“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 also increasing 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.”
After that, breathe in.
“I promise. Now I will, indeed, use ‘all means’.”
I made up my mind.
“If we can eradicate the monsters and save even one more person… … I will do anything.”
What kind of will did you read in my words?
Some people turned pale, some shook their shoulders, some looked at me with trembling eyes.
Does not matter.
Anyway, we will all soon find out what this means.
And I will force them all to follow me.
“In the future, I hope for your active cooperation on the path forward 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.
Wait, I’m thirsty.
“… … After making many sacrifices, I was able to reach this conclusion.”
I bowed my head.
“For all those who have died in the past year and for all those who will die in the future, I will pay a silent tribute.”
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 fired the cannon.
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 a hill watching the 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, he acted as if he would leave immediately, but Skuld and the elves under his command made a base for the Crossroads and toured 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 for the first time in 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 that 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. Before you leave, can I ask you a small favor?”
Skuld took out a small pouch from his bosom and handed it to me.
“Please pass this on to Belldandi-nee.”
“This… … .”
“These are sunflower seeds grown in the Elven Borough. It is a breed brought from home. Whooping, one in the world?”
Even the queen is carrying seeds in case someone is not of the hamster race. 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 you 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 his deer’s neck, Skuld looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Prince Ash. What caused you to drop your banner, I do not know.”
“… … .”
“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.
“In order to survive, I threw away a lot.”
“… … .”
“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’ll end up living on your stomach. 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, too, bowed in the imperial style and jumped on his 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 gloomy expression throughout the funeral, and 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. In this situation, how do you plan to fight a defensive battle, you don’t share with us… … .”
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 the 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.
“Pu, release me! Free me!”
“What are you doing! Why are we putting these things on our bodies!”
“Help me! Help 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 sturdy iron bars, but surprisingly, the iron bars were strong, so all the prisoners survived.”
I calmly sat down on the chair in front of the prison room.
“If I just rolled my head a little after seeing that scene, I could have defeated the monsters very easily.”
“… … .”
“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 put the human bombs with detonators in a row in a sturdy iron cage and throw them in front of the monsters?”
“… … .”
“Like monkeys trying to lick the flesh inside the shell, the monsters will swarm around the iron cage. 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, this method will be applied… … .”
“Lord.”
Lucas called me heavily.
Turning around, with a pale face, Lucas shook his head heavily.
“… … This is not your master’s way.”
