About a week has passed since I visited old Herman’s blacksmith shop.
The feelings of rejection and dark memories that I felt that day gradually dulled and were pushed to a corner of my mind.
After all, time is the answer.
It was only that afternoon that Elric, who was relieved, realized that wasn’t actually the case.
“Armor delivery has arrived!”
Veron came to the mansion.
Elric didn’t know why he felt so sad the moment he saw the child’s face.
“Brother Elric! How you doing?!”
Once recognized, discomfort rarely hides itself.
I began to breathe, bringing memories I didn’t want to recall to the surface again and again.
I tried my best to smile and respond, but it didn’t work.
It shouldn’t be like this, but it was Tyria who replaced Elric.
“Can I see the condition of your armor?”
“Ah yes!”
She folded her hands.
The gently wrapping hand shakes away the dullness.
Elric’s eyes turned to Tyria.
Do you know something? No, I had no clue.
I’m sure that’s the case.
“How is it. “Is the head of the family satisfied?”
Why do they hold hands in such difficult moments, as if they are looking into their inner thoughts?
Elric felt sick to his stomach for no reason.
“… That’s great. Old Man Herman’s skills are unparalleled.”
“Hehehe, my grandfather was very excited. “It’s been a while since I made a full plate.”
“Is that so?”
“yes! Oh, and… .”
Veron hesitated before speaking.
“… Well, you know. Just in case.”
It was a voice filled with earnestness and anticipation.
“If you recruit knight squires, I definitely want to take on the challenge!”
Scarlet eyes burn with dreams.
I held Tyria’s hand even stronger.
Then she said.
“It’s not time to think about that yet. “The direction of operation of the Knights has not been properly determined.”
“iced coffee… Yes? I was so rude… .”
“But if anything ever happens, I will remember your words. “Go today.”
She spoke to Veron in her characteristic clear and quiet voice.
It was a voice that evoked a strange sense of trust, so Veron went back to his dreams.
And just like that, Veron left.
“Let’s go into the office first.”
Elric was led by Tyria’s hand and moved to the office.
*
While moving, Tyria did not ask any questions.
It was the same when I arrived at the office.
Although she let go of the embarrassment of that moment, she immediately began to do her own thing, as if she were not curious about the reason.
Elric looked at her hesitantly.
Should I call it indifference, Elric, who was stung by her indifferent attitude, asked a question.
“Why don’t you ask?”
“What do you mean?”
“… What happened just before that? No, rather, I should first say thank you for taking care of my work.”
“It’s natural. “It’s the territory’s business.”
She said, scanning the documents with her eyes.
“Besides, I don’t want to ask anything that the matriarch hasn’t told me first.”
“Even if I never tell you for the rest of my life?”
What kind of answer do you want to hear by asking this question?
Suddenly, I was in the midst of asking myself such questions.
Tyria’s head was raised.
She was sitting with her back to the window, so her expression was hidden in the shadows.
“Do you have any bad memories with that child?”
“… “That’s not it.”
“Then did you do anything wrong to that child?”
“Not that either.”
“Then it would be something else. “Based on my poor guessing ability, I thought that perhaps another child around that age had a bad relationship with the head of the family.”
It was correct.
Whether she meant it or not.
Elric narrowed his eyes and tried to see her expression more clearly, but it was far from possible.
All Elric could still see was her halo-like appearance with the light pouring in through the window, and the soft touch of her lips.
Those lips spoke.
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“I don’t know how long the head of the family lived.”
Quietly,
“I don’t know whether those years were pain or joy for the head of the family.”
Also, clearly,
“So I won’t be hasty in asking. If it’s sadness, I’ll be picking on the wounds that I haven’t been able to shake off. “I can only hope that if the matriarch brushes it off, she will tell me that something like that happened to me as well.”
Her words gave me a strange sense of trust.
Elric knew.
A simply created tone could not provide that level of trust.
Tyria’s words were sincere.
If you think about it, she always showed sincerity in her dealings with everyone.
That fact resonates with me.
On the skin and into the heart.
Why is it that even though I am grateful, I am not just happy?
When I thought about it, it was funny because it suddenly occurred to me that her kindness was not just special to me.
Even during this time, seeing that such things are bothering me, it seems like my condition is getting very bad.
One thing is certain: her words were comforting.
Maybe this is what I wanted to hear.
Was it a weak feeling that wanted to tell someone about the past years?
Or is it his desire to reveal the past he has been hiding from her?
… No, he might have wanted to ask whether it would be okay for him, who lived by drinking the blood of others, to be here.
Elric’s lips were sweet.
But in the end I couldn’t say it.
The only thing I could do was spit out words.
“… “I once met a child who was exactly that age.”
“Is that so?”
“I only vaguely remember the face, but the distorted expression is clear.”
“What kind of child was he?”
“It was in the West. “That child was a child soldier.”
“It’s rare. “I heard that child soldiers were not conscripted in the Western War.”
“… You can stand on the battlefield if you want. “It’s not a battlefield with enough humanity to stop it at all.”
“Then the child must have fallen into limbo on his own.”
“I assume he went there to avenge his father.”
“Are you dead?”
“exactly. “Where I can see.”
“Is that expression bothering the matriarch?”
“It seems so. So it’s hard to see Veron.”
“I understand if that’s the case.”
Tyria suddenly stood up.
He approached Elric at a hurried pace and wrapped his arms around Elric’s shoulders.
“The battlefield is scary. I don’t know for sure because I haven’t experienced it, but I know for sure that the head of the family knows how cruel it is. “I also understood that it was heartbreaking.”
She had a scent different from the earthy smell of this wheat field-only neighborhood.
“No matter what kind of consolation I offer, my consolation will not have much meaning. So, let me make you a promise instead.”
“What if it’s a promise?”
“Until the head of the family feels that it is no big deal, I will not bother to deal with that child. “If I ever have to deal with you, I will do it for you.”
I laughed out loud, wondering how on earth this was so ridiculous.
At the same time, I felt a sense of stability.
Because it seemed like she really meant to do that.
Even if you don’t know what it is about a person who talks like a weak person and gives you so much comfort, you never know.
At the same time, the thought that comes to mind is that I don’t want to disappoint her by relying on this kindness.
“… Thank you. But you don’t have to.”
“Are you okay?”
“You can’t make a living just doing decent things. “There was one thing I felt while wandering around the continent.”
“What is?”
“If you face anything, it will eventually become dull.”
Elric gently pushed Tyria away.
Now I could see her face.
It was a subtle change, but it was definitely felt.
All her attention is focused on herself.
She was sincerely listening to everything he said.
Even though I don’t know anything.
“Fear grows bigger the more you try to escape. “That was what my friend said.”
“You have a good friend.”
“You’re a friend I don’t deserve. So, even if it means seeing that friend, I will face that child myself.”
It becomes easy once you say it.
No, it might have been easier because it was in front of Tyria.
Even if it was just a shallow desire to impress her, there was nothing much to refute.
“It would be good to bring in a seed engineer. “It would be nice if we could hold the ceremony together on the day of the investiture ceremony.”
In Weibin, he was not Kasha, the battlefield ghost.
Elric wanted to clearly distinguish it.
At least here, he was a lame boy who ran away from home.
He was a fool who could barely find comfort in the width of his wife’s skirt, as they couldn’t even call each other’s names properly.
A ghost who had nightmares of a battlefield did not fit that element.
It must be something that needs to be shaken off.
“I’m sorry for saying something embarrassing.”
Let’s say it with determination.
“If you have concerns, it’s natural to share them.”
The answer came back.
Tyria added a word to that.
“Aren’t we a couple?”
The moment the word ‘couple’ was uttered, it seemed as if Tyria’s clear tone was slightly blurred.
It was quite tickling and enjoyable.
romance, fantasy,
