chapter 27
27 – Boundary (5)
Suddenly the sky lost its temper.
Grumbling. Thud. A cry of rage turned into thunder.
The sun sighed as it looked at the dark clouds.
Looks like today is not the day. As the sunlight retreated a couple of steps, the world soon became dark.
Clouds poured rain into the darkness. It was heavy rain.
Am I being greedy because it’s been a long time since it rained? The dirt on the floor greedily craved water.
The soil that drank water naturally turned into mud. The soggy mud stuck to our feet. Like regret.
The power consumed with each step increased. I feel like my stamina is draining away.
To make matters worse, the rain-soaked clothes quickly became heavy.
The rainwater wasn’t that cold, but it was still at the level of ‘that’s still the case’.
Rain accompanied by wind. If you keep getting hit like this, you will quickly lose body heat.
If you caught a cold in a place like this, there was no medicine.
Sirien already looked like he was having a hard time.
“Ha, ha… …. Ugh!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Thank you. “Thanks to you, I didn’t get hurt.”
“We’re almost there. Let’s hold on for a little while.”
Sirien barely caught himself from falling.
Stumbling means that you are distracted. It was proof that he had reached his physical limit.
We chose to go back as soon as it rained. It was a good choice.
The destination was a cave I saw while passing by.
The cave seemed large enough to be used as a base. It seemed like I would have to spend the day stuck in that cave today.
It might have been a good thing. It would be a more cozy campsite than under a rock or tree.
It wasn’t a bad idea to finish the day early and stock up on stamina.
As I continued walking, I saw the cliff from earlier. It would be a distance of about 10 to 20 minutes to arrive.
But Sirien’s condition was a problem. Her breathing had already become difficult, and now her lips were trembling.
It was clear that if I continued like this, I would suffer from hypothermia. I had to hurry up a little bit more.
“When I go in, I need to start a fire right away. “Is it very cold?”
“Chame, I can bear it.”
“Watch your step there!”
“Ugh!”
Was I too anxious? Sirien broke her foot on her descent.
Although she quickly regained her posture, it looked like she was in quite a bit of pain as I was touching her ankles.
If this happens, there is nothing we can do.
“I can’t do it. “Get on your back.”
“Huh?”
“Get on your back. “It would be faster for me to carry you and walk than to move with your injured foot.”
During this trip, I maintained my stamina to the point that it was almost obsessive.
It would have been difficult if I was exhausted when I met the monster.
Sirien’s physical condition was of course important, but it was also important for me to maintain a condition where I could fight.
Still, shouldn’t we consider it an emergency now?
I can’t make Sirien walk any more.
I lifted the backpack I was wearing with my hand and crouched down.
The shadow behind him hesitated, but quickly surrendered when he waved his hand as if urging him on.
The girl’s body overlapped mine.
It wasn’t that heavy. I didn’t eat anything properly, but I became more active, so I guess I lost weight.
I felt sick to my stomach thinking that this already skinny guy had become even skinnier.
I didn’t want to get exposed to more rain, so I covered myself with a coat.
A little warmth. As our bodies touched each other, it felt a little warmer.
Sirien could clearly feel her breasts swelling and shrinking with each breath she took.
Now, a calmer breath reached the back of my neck.
“Maybe I’m heavy…… ?”
“Not much.”
“Sorry. “It’s because of me.”
“What? “I can tell you this, I can handle it well enough.”
The voice was close. It had been a while since I heard Sirien’s voice so close.
The skin that touched me was quite cold. It wasn’t the time for warmth or anything.
I hurriedly put her on her feet.
“Razen has carried me like this before. I remember?”
“What if you get hurt while trying to secretly leave the castle?”
“Yes.”
Minor chatter. The whisper-like tone tickled me.
I guess it means I have some spare time.
“It was my right ankle back then too. “You cried a lot because you were in pain.”
“It was a time when there were a lot of tears.”
“That’s right. “She can no longer cry as much as she could then.”
Sirien said he knew a field where fireflies come out at night, so I agreed to help him when he asked me to secretly go there.
The result was a huge failure. I couldn’t escape properly and had to come back crying.
At that time, it seemed like he probably got hurt while climbing over a wall.
“Do you know that I was scolded to death at that time?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. You ended up eating your ankles while helping a girl run away from home. Was I safe? “I just ran around the military parade ground for a few days wearing armor.”
“Phew. I should have seen that. “I guess I didn’t see it because I was scolded by my mom.”
Now, most of Sirien’s favorite stories remain in the past.
When she was in the castle. She remembers Sirien running around the castle energetically, and she and Therion having accidents every day.
What Sirien said a while ago never left her mind. She said
I’m the only one she can trust.
I am the only person left in the world with whom I can share the memories of that time.
Even if we leave this damn forest, nothing will change.
My situation is not different.
What was the specific relationship between Sirien and Razen in the novel?
It was clear that they cherished each other. The moment Rajen died on the battlefield, Sirien almost went berserk.
She abandoned her calm, defensive attitude and began to use her forces very aggressively.
It’s as if he doesn’t think about the future at all anymore. A suicide attack was carried out solely to kill one more enemy.
She didn’t last very long because Razen, who had been in charge of the tip of her spear, was gone.
The picture described seemed like a close relationship, or it seemed like a simple military-lord relationship.
At least on the surface, it did not violate the relationship between knight and lord.
This is a novel that is indifferent to villains. There was very little that could be trusted about us.
Whatever it is, it’s up to me.
The arm wrapped around my neck somehow bothered me.
“Ah, it has arrived. Thank you. Now I can move on my own. “You can drop me off.”
“Then can you help me start the fire? “I’ll collect the firewood.”
“Yes. “The flint shouldn’t be wet.”
“I packed it in a leather pouch, so it’ll be okay.”
The inside of the cave I entered was cozier than I expected.
Contrary to the preconceived notion that the cave would be damp, the inside was full of dry leaves, dirt, and tree branches.
Should I say that it is more like a wide cavity than a cave?
It wasn’t that deep, so there wasn’t a good place for the enemy to hide. Thanks to this, the trouble of searching inside was saved.
I picked up some tree branches from the pile of fallen leaves.
Tak. Widely. The flint sparked in Sirien’s hand.
At first, it took a year just to start a fire, but now I can start it skillfully.
“Ah, it’s stuck.”
Sirien and I huddled together in front of the fire to warm her body.
Once I avoided the rain, the endless rain seemed quite charming.
It felt like looking out a large, round window like in a castle.
It’s a castle.
Count Roxen must be curled up in the castle by now, right?
If there was a chase team, I think it would have come nearby. Won’t this rain erase our traces?
It may be an optimistic thought, but I don’t think having expectations is necessarily a bad thing.
Just don’t neglect preparation.
Whether we are lucky or not.
They will come soon.
* * *
After warming up a bit, Sirien quickly fell asleep.
It’s still early for night. It was no use sleeping together, so I decided to swing my sword alone.
Strong man. Was it also because I was moved by seeing a sword master I didn’t know?
I wanted to check my swordsmanship like this at least once.
Since I didn’t have enough time, the only opportunity was now.
‘It’s a little faster, but it’s faster. The connection has become much smoother.’
Days of countless battles. It felt like my experiences were engraved on my body as much as the scars.
The experience of being beaten in real combat served as a lubricant.
Even if you start with the same movement, you can now continue with other movements. The crisis I had to overcome through improvisation made my movements more fluid.
The speed increased because the sword felt light. I’m not sure if I’m just getting used to the weight of the new sword or if my body has grown.
‘Well, you’ll understand that when you swing the sword more.’
The blade, which had turned scarlet in the light, moved roughly.
Should this be considered a disadvantage? The movement grew. It took a lot of strength.
It seemed like it was because I only dealt with huge guys recently. Since you have to have overwhelming tenacity, you must have developed bad habits.
Whatever it was, it was not good to make a habit of using a sword.
However, the change in swordsmanship style could not be dismissed as only a bad change.
It’s not like I can no longer use a sword that focuses on sophisticated techniques like before.
Only a little of the excessive force was removed.
The aggressiveness of the sword has definitely increased.
Am I starting to resemble Rajen in the novel? We will eventually be walking the same path.
Luckily, there was a lot of description about Rajen’s battle.
– Count Bertus’ sword skills were still the same. A sword that seems to howl ferociously. A monster that was both lightning-like and animal-like, gnawing at everything around it, bared its fangs.
– An onslaught came from the jet black sword. Razen Bertus stuck to his fierce sword, focusing only on attacks. He did not stop his advance even for a moment, tearing away his fired magic and shattering the solid divinity from the front. A fierce killing intent flooded the entire battlefield.
After swinging the sword for a while, sweat was forming.
I put down the sword with satisfaction. He has definitely grown faster than when he was at the castle.
It seemed like I could see the path to the next level.
Once you find your way, all that remains is running.
The destination was clear. I also know the possibility.
All that was needed was time.