Episode 453: We Will Be Blessed (10)
“Berserk.”
“Are you an adventurer?”
After parting ways with the wizards, I looked for Berserk and Crusher. According to their daily pattern, it was afternoon training time, so it was easy to find.
“Is it really that far? “Chief engineer, nothing special.”
“…no!”
But I didn’t know that Sapphire and Lord Zrya would be present during their training session.
I blinked for a moment as I watched Sapphire and Lord Zrya running with Crusher wearing sandbags. Steam is rising from the two people’s bodies due to how much effort they are putting in.
“I thought those two were sleeping.”
“If I sleep all day, my muscles will lose. Is that really true?”
That’s right. I have a history of sleeping for two weeks at a time, and I haven’t lost any muscle, but I guess I’m an exception.
“Still, I think you’re overdoing it.”
“Tsk. “That’s not unreasonable, it’s just that I’m weak.”
No, the target of comparison shouldn’t be us.
Even during the conversation, I caught a glimpse of Berserk doing two-finger handstand push-ups with metal hanging all over his body. No matter how much I thought about it, if I had to choose the abnormality, it seemed to be here, not there.
“So you skipped studying today?”
“Well… something like that.”
In any case, it worked out better. Because Berserk was doing push-ups separately, we were able to talk alone.
“Berserk.”
I had trouble standing so I sat down on a rock near her. The call to open the conversation naturally becomes a subdued voice, perhaps because of the topic that will follow.
Berserk, who was doing pushups, turned his head slightly and looked at me.
“After catching the demon lord… what are you going to do?”
“After catching the devil.”
She lightly applied pressure to her fingers and did a somersault, turning her body half a turn. widely. There is no sound of fabric in the outfit that exposes the skin, despite the cold air.
“I was thinking of attending my sister’s funeral when I come down south.”
“ah.”
Now that I think about it, I completely forgot about that.
I felt a chill running down my spine, while sweat poured down my face. How can someone forget about a funeral? Isn’t this complete disqualification as a human being? All kinds of criticism and criticism are going around in my head.
“But it’s still cold and dry here. “All you see is snow, rocks, and frozen trees.”
“…then.”
“So after I capture the Demon King, I will go further south. Neither a barren snow field nor a bleak sand field. “But the south is not only dense with trees.”
“is it.”
“Yes, it would be better if it were full of flowers, windy but not cold, and sunny.”
“In my personal opinion, the place with a view of the sea is also pretty good. “The coast always hides at least one secret spot.”
“That’s good too. “My sister will be very happy because she has never seen the sea before.”
A place where the blue border of the sea and the open sky can be seen from afar, and the land is full of grass and flowers. Is there really such a place? No, it definitely exists. Because the continent is large and there are so many places that people have not been able to go to.
“…sorry.”
“what?”
“I really wanted to come with you, but I don’t think I can go with you.”
“under. Was it that kind of apology?”
Berserk let out a white breath and a slight laugh at the same time.
“Don’t apologize. You have already given me back the world. You don’t have to apologize to me for anything. “The world you gave me back is a ball that will not be covered by any sin.”
“But…”
You don’t have to be together for the sergeant, but it is a social promise and human duty to be together for the investigation. Of course, Berserk’s family members have already passed away for a while, so the funeral doesn’t have a huge meaning, but still… it’s a funeral.
“The adventurer Norda warrior… means a being accustomed to death and loss. That’s why we don’t go out of our way to commemorate the dead and we don’t even try to remember them.”
“…that’s a sad story.”
“okay. “It’s a sad story.”
Is it because death is familiar and loss is not unfamiliar, so there is no memorial service?
I tried not to hastily express sympathy for their extremely sad yoke. It simply expressed the dry, calm empathy I had hoped for.
“But in other words, it also means that commemoration is not that important to us.”
“…isn’t it you?”
“No, I’m similar too.”
Berserk seemed to appreciate my efforts and raised his eyebrows. It was the moment my gaze became entangled with hers.
“What I was obsessed with was the death of my relatives and its remains, not the issue of what to do with the bodies of my relatives.”
…Her words didn’t resonate well with me. I couldn’t tell if it was because I came from an Eastern culture that places particular importance on things like funerals, or if it was because of modern ethical sensibilities.
“The reason I want to bury my sister in a good place is simply because I traveled around and encountered many cultures and didn’t think they were bad, but I didn’t attach much importance to it. So don’t worry about adventurers. “I would rather you go back to your hometown safely than if you force yourself to attend the funeral.”
However, if you combine her extremely gentle eyes and words, you can see what she is trying to convey.
“…is it.”
“okay.”
Seeing this person say “It’s okay” with his whole body relieved me of my discomfort. Something new and gentle takes over the place where the discomfort has been removed.
“I’ll tell you now, actually, I wasn’t very happy when I first met you. “I wondered if there were people like that.”
“Ahaha! I guess that’s because they fought so hard, right? I understand. “It was immature behavior.”
“…In fact, you were a surprisingly delicate person.”
“delicacy? “If other people hear it, they’ll scream.”
“well. “I don’t think so.”
I recalled what happened on the Hudelen Bridge.
“The surprise attack on that bridge at that time. “It wasn’t a coincidence, right?”
I obviously postponed the sparring, but I didn’t want to wait at the right time, so I attacked with all my might and broke my leg like that. At the same time, I succeeded in hiding the emotions that I couldn’t sort out.
Now that I think about it, I think it wasn’t just a coincidence.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t know if I really don’t remember or if I’m just fussing.”
“I just wanted to fight.”
“…was it the former?”
“What are you talking about? “I said I just wanted to fight.”
“Okay, let’s do it like that.”
I smiled slightly at the truth that had now been revealed. After all, she is a delicate person.
“By the way, you are not the only one who thought that way. “I was also wondering what you were doing.”
“I?”
“Then what was I thinking when I gave him some light advice and saw him immediately understand and do it? “I knew the world was big… but that was the first time I acknowledged that monsters like this also exist.”
“That’s too much of a monster.”
“Oh, I don’t mean the devil. “You probably know.”
“know. “To begin with, I understand that your talent for that field has nothing to do with the devil.”
Anger, Faust, or the Commandments. It must be clear because when they saw me controlling magical power, they showed facial expressions and reactions like ‘What is that…’
“Ah, does this mean I’ve been recognized by you based solely on my abilities? “It’s kind of glorious.”
“Ha, what weight does my recognition have?”
“Well, I think the weight can be found in the name I call you.”
Well no. Berserk doesn’t really like his hometown, so maybe this isn’t a compliment? I regretted saying it for a moment. I didn’t know how Berserk would accept these words.
“Haha ahahaha!”
At that time, Berserk burst into laughter. He laughed so loudly that people who were still walking around the training ground looked this way.
“Right. “This name must be an honor to you.”
“…If you felt bad—”
“Apologies are prohibited.”
“—Hmm.”
I kept my mouth shut. I’m glad it didn’t offend you… but if you’re not allowed to apologize, what can you say now?
“I have never attached much meaning to the titles people give me. But… hearing you say that gives me a different feeling.”
“What… do you feel?”
“I feel like I’m being called this because I’m definitely at the top.”
“…?”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. “I also don’t know how to define this feeling.”
When I tilted my head at the meaningless words, she smiled and placed her hand on the back of my head.
“That’s just it. It’s definitely not a negative thing. Rather, it falls into the pleasant axis.”
“is it…?”
Then I feel a bit relieved.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“I don’t know what the logic is.”
“Because you thought highly of me, I also became rare… Yes. This is it. I also felt properly recognized. So it’s thanks to you.”
“Is that what you meant?”
What does my recognition mean before that??
“Hmm.”
The person who was looking at my face with a playful gaze suddenly stretched out his hand. The hand was directed towards my head.
“I just realized, I’m really young.”
Tuk. My hand touched the top of my head. Perhaps because I wasn’t wearing gloves, I could feel the soft flesh and the hard calluses at the same time.
“This is not my body, so of course—”
“Well, I don’t think your actual age is that old.”
“I’m not particularly like that…”
…Isn’t it? Age and mental age are separate, so is it possible to look young in that sense? But if I look young here, doesn’t that mean I’m young, not that I’m immature?
“…Do I look that immature?”
“hmm? Oh, I didn’t mean that. “When I saw him hanging out with the Heretic Questioner who had a raspberry head and burn marks, I thought he was roughly that age.”
“Hmm.”
I’m older than them. We’re not even one or two years older than each other.
“Are you over thirty?”
“It’s over…”
I became oddly sullen. Then the hand that was gently stroking my hand suddenly became vicious. My head was shaking to the point where I couldn’t resist the recoil.
“You’re so young.”
“You say it as if there is a difference of twenty….”
…is there really that much of a difference? The Sland people age so slowly that it is difficult to judge their age based on their appearance.
“There is a difference of more than ten.”
“I am indeed.”
That’s not enough to say you’re young. I grumbled and Berserk grinned.
“A guy who couldn’t even tell when I caught a deer speaks well.”
“If you say that, isn’t it foul? “Deer hunting is illegal in my area.”
There is no way a ten-year-old would hunt deer in the first place.
“It’s noisy, kid.”
“Are we now going to be downgraded to a baby?”
“Are you dissatisfied? Then don’t drag your feet after breaking up. “If you do that, I’ll take the baby’s tail off again.”
“…That sounds like something I would say.”
I laughed bitterly at the sudden twist on the topic.
After breaking up… huh? It’s hard to react because it hits you so hard. I straightened my messy hair and quieted my voice.
“There’s no way to check in the first place, right?”
“Some things you can know without seeing with your own eyes.”
“That sounds like the words of someone who has mastered something.”
But yeah. I understand that this is her way of saying goodbye. That was also a farewell out of consideration for me.
“I’ll make sure to do that.”
However, I felt embarrassed because I felt like I was only receiving comfort from earlier. This was especially true because the people receiving comfort were older than me.
People say that there is a ten year age difference… but it seems like age cannot be ignored.
“So don’t be too sad either.”
“Ha, don’t worry. “Parting that is not due to death is only a happy thing for me.”
The setting sunset was dazzling for no reason.
* * *
“…Frankenstein?”
And somewhere along that point. Skyla, who was walking with people she was in a relationship with, saw a young man with brown hair walking from the other side of the street and blurted out a word.
It was not a guess based on memory or an inference based on knowledge. It was a intuition based solely on instinct.
“ah.”
Also, the eyes of the young man who saw her widened for a moment and then widened.
“It’s been a while, Elizabeth.”
Skylar’s hands were shaking.