Episode 130. Summer Vacation (2)
Wide road.
Gray buildings lined up at regular intervals, as if measured by a ruler.
“This is… the Republic.”
Iris looked around with her eyes sparkling with interest.
As expected from a republic called the land of technology, each building was tall and neatly built compared to the buildings of the Holy Land.
‘It feels a bit bleak because everything is so similar.’
Iris followed Dale’s footsteps, swallowing the thoughts that came to her mind.
“Did Mr. Dale live in a place like this when he was young?”
“no.”
He shook his head softly at Iris, who had come close enough for their shoulders to touch.
Actually, so much time has passed that I barely remember my days at the orphanage.
“Where I was was much more rural.”
“is it so?”
“Yeah. There’s no warp gate, so it’ll take a few days to get there from here.”
“Hmm. That’s too bad.”
“what?”
“Haha. I was wondering if I could get some pictures of Dale when he was little if I went to the daycare he went to.”
Iris, with her eyes sparkling and a sinister smile somewhere.
“What are you going to do with pictures of me when I was young?”
“Well… Oh, boy! How can I say such embarrassing things with my own mouth?”
“no.”
What on earth were you trying to do?
When I looked at Iris with an anxious expression, she smiled faintly.
He sighed and turned his head towards Berald.
“Is your house nearby?”
“No. My house is a bit outside the city by train.”
“Then, I guess I should go towards the station first.”
“Hehehe. Follow me.”
Berold walked ahead briskly and headed toward the train station.
As we took the train out to the outskirts of the city, the landscape filled with a forest of gray buildings gradually began to change into fields.
I think I rode the train for about an hour.
“Just get off at this station.”
As we followed Berald outside, we were struck by a quiet rural landscape that made it hard to believe that it was the same country as the Republic we had first seen.
“Even if you just go a little outside the city, there’s quite a difference.”
“Hehehe. Aren’t they all the same, whether it’s a holy country or an empire?”
“That’s true.”
“Okay, it’s just a little bit this way, so follow me.”
As we walked along the deserted country road following Berald, a large mansion soon appeared.
“This is our home.”
Even though it was a branch house, it was different in scale from the other houses in the vicinity, as expected from the Ryu family’s mansion.
“I’m here!”
As Berold shouted in a loud voice, a middle-aged woman with a warm expression came out hurriedly.
“Oh my~ Master Berald, are you here?”
“Ahem. Didn’t I tell you not to call me Master?”
“Haha. That can’t be. Are the people behind you your friends?”
“exactly.”
A middle-aged woman turned to us and bowed politely.
“Nice to meet you, heroes. My name is Anna, and I am in charge of the household affairs of this mansion.”
“This is Dale.”
“It’s Iris.”
After exchanging brief greetings, we followed Anna to the reception room.
The spacious mansion was so quiet that it felt almost desolate, as if there were no other servants besides Anna.
“If you stay here for a moment, I’ll bring you something to drink.”
“Oh, before that, I will go see my father first.”
“…Elderly?”
Anna’s expression darkened.
Berold nodded with a bitter smile.
“… The old man is currently in the bedroom on the second floor.”
Anna bowed her head and stepped back carefully.
“Follow me.”
Berold walked up to the second floor with heavy steps.
Berold, who had passed through the long hallway and reached the innermost room, stopped in front of the door and closed his eyes tightly.
“Phew.”
Berold took a moment to catch his breath and slowly knocked on the door as if he had made up his mind.
“Wow~? Is it lunch time already?”
An innocent voice coming from inside.
However, the voice was not that of a child, but a deep, low-pitched adult voice.
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“I will go in.”
“Huh? Wow! It’s a big brother!”
As soon as I opened the door, what I saw was a middle-aged man with a similar size to Berold.
He was lying in bed, but as soon as he saw Berold’s face, a bright smile appeared, he jumped up and ran over to him.
“Hehehe! Long time no see! How have you been?”
A middle-aged man looking at Berald with a bright smile.
Berold chewed his lip and clenched his fists to break them.
“…father.”
“Huh? I’m not your father. My name is Gilbert.”
Gilbert tilts his head with his finger in his mouth.
“… … .”
Berold lowered his head as he looked at his father.
He opened his mouth in a trembling voice, as if trying to suppress the thorns of boiling passion.
“… Yes, Gilbert.”
“Yeah! I’m Gilbert! Nice to meet you! Woof… What was your name, hyung?”
“I am….”
I start to repeat the self-introduction that I have probably repeated several times.
“… Berold. Berold Ryuyo.”
“Oh, right! Berold! It was Berold! Hehe. I told you before, but I forgot.”
“… It’s okay.”
Berold placed a careful hand on Gilbert’s shoulder.
His hand on my shoulder trembled.
“I will teach you again and again… again and again.”
“Hehehe! As expected, the big brother is kind!”
Gilbert nodded with a bright smile.
“Are you feeling better? Does anything hurt?”
“Ugh… Sometimes it hurts here.”
Gilbert pointed towards the area near Jeongsu-ri with a sullen expression.
“It feels like they’re poking me with a needle or something.”
“…Is it still like that now?”
“No, not now.”
Gilbert smiled bashfully at Berold.
“I guess it’s because I met my brother.”
“… … .”
Berold’s eyes twitched slightly.
“But hyung… who are those people behind me?”
Gilbert’s gaze turned to us, who were waiting outside the door.
“… … .”
“… … .”
When we were looking at each other, not knowing what to say in response.
“Didn’t you say that you sometimes have a headache? These are the doctors who came to treat it.”
“Doctor?”
Gilbert steps back with a startled expression at the word doctor.
“I hate doctors… They always make me take medicine that tastes bad!”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen this time.”
“…really?”
“I promise on my name.”
Berold smiled reassuringly.
Gilbert, who had been backing away, approached hesitantly.
“Okay. Okay… Oh, but what was your name, hyung?”
“It’s Berold.”
“Oh, right. Hehe. I forgot again.”
Gilbert came to me and said that.
“Then, Doctor, what should I be doing?”
“…Please lie down on the bed for now.”
“huh!”
Gilbert ran to the bed, covered himself with the blanket, and lay down.
“Ah… I suddenly feel sleepy when I lie down.”
Gilbert, who had been mumbling in a languid voice less than ten seconds after lying down on the bed, soon fell asleep snoring.
“Phew.”
After confirming that Gilbert was asleep, Berold sighed deeply and turned his head towards us.
“This is my father’s condition right now.”
“…Mr. Berold.”
Iris looked at Berold with sad eyes.
“I heard about it, but… I didn’t know it would be this serious.”
“… You must have had a hard time.”
Yuren and Camilla also looked at Gilbert, who had fallen asleep on the bed, with complicated expressions.
“Let me check the condition first.”
Iris crouched down next to the bed and placed her hand on Gilbert’s forehead.
Woof woof woof.
A pure white glow flowed from her hand and seeped into Gilbert’s forehead.
Her once blue eyes turned rainbow colored.
“Haa, haa.”
After a while.
Iris exhaled sharply, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“Oh, how is it? How’s your father?”
Berold asked with a very nervous expression.
“You have been directly wounded by the stigmata themselves.”
“stigma?”
“Yes. The stigmata given by the Seven Gods are imbued with not only magical powers, but also a part of the soul and spirit. Mr. Gilbert, those stigmata are currently damaged.”
“Then, there is no way to fix it?”
Berold’s expression hardened.
Iris opened her mouth and removed her hand from Gilbert’s forehead.
“Right now, my strength alone isn’t enough.”
“ah….”
Berold lets out a soft sigh.
“but.”
“…but?”
“If there is a sacrifice, a cure may be possible.”
“A sacrifice?”
“Are you talking about magic stones or magic tools?”
Before Iris could answer, I opened my mouth.
“The effects of sacred magic can be amplified by offering sacrifices.”
“That’s right. As Mr. Dale said, if you have a sacrifice, you can use stronger healing magic.”
“So, does that mean I can cure my father if I just get the magic stone?”
“Just because you can try, doesn’t mean I can guarantee you that you can fix it. And…”
Iris continued with a dark expression.
“You’ll probably need at least a higher level magic stone.”
“ah….”
Berold lets out a soft sigh.
Unlike the mid- and low-grade magic stones that could be mass-produced, high-grade magic stones and above could only be obtained by hunting purely demonic creatures.
That too, a hand greater than the arm of an arm.
“A high-level magic stone….”
Berold sighed deeply, resting his hand on his forehead.
It wasn’t easy to catch the eight-eyed demon, and even if you caught it, there was no guarantee that it would come out.
However, if you were to buy them with money, each high-grade magic stone would cost millions of gold.
The support money from my parents was woefully inadequate.
“under.”
at that time.
A soft laugh escaped my lips.
“…older brother?”
“I didn’t know it would continue like this.”
“What does that mean?”
I smirked at Berold, who was tilting his head.
“Didn’t I say we should go on a ruins exploration this summer vacation?”
“That’s true….”
“You can get it there. A high-level magic stone.”
“… … !”
Berald’s eyes opened wide.
* * *
After the exploration of the ruins to obtain the high-grade magic stone was decided, one problem arose.
“Hmm. You said you were going to the Iron Canyon, right?”
“huh.”
“There’s no warp gate to get there… of course, and there’s no other means of transportation, so you’ll probably need a horse-drawn vehicle or something.”
Yuren makes an awkward expression.
“I don’t have a driver’s license… Does Dale have one?”
“no.”
I knew how to drive a motorcycle, but I didn’t have a license.
“Iris and Camilla?”
“I don’t have a driver’s license yet….”
“I don’t have any either.”
“Yeah. There’s no Berold either?”
“exactly.”
ha.
A sigh escaped Yuren’s mouth.
A situation where there is not even a horse-drawn carriage, let alone a licensed person.
“Then I guess I’ll have to walk…? It seems like it’ll be quite a distance.”
“I have something in mind for that.”
“You thought about it?”
I turned on the Hero Watch and raised the corners of my mouth.
“Just wait, you’ll find out tomorrow.”
And the next day.
Booooooooooooo!
Early morning.
A heavy engine noise echoed in front of the mansion.
The door of a sleek black sedan opened and a blond handsome man wearing sunglasses walked out.
“Ah, Dale! I brought the magic wagon like you asked!”
Juliet, who noticed me, waved with a bright smile.
