chapter 24
24 – 7. Promise (1)
“Is this only one child?”
“… I apologize, Your Majesty.”
The emperor looked at the young boy standing in front of him.
For a child of this age, it is only natural that emotions change easily.
The boy in front of me didn’t show any expression.
Dead eyes, eyes that have lost their vitality.
Seeing what looked like a corpse, the emperor shuddered slightly.
‘It’s all because Jim is immoral. Please blame me.’
He quickly responded to the warnings of the demons who had fled.
But that time was too short, and there were too many things to prepare for.
Tragedy eventually began in a situation where they were not even half prepared.
And the result is full of horror and bitterness.
A road to hell was coming to the empire.
“your majesty. What will this child do?”
“Send them to an orphanage. You should expect it to grow well there.”
At the Emperor’s melancholy voice, everyone else bowed their heads.
“… .”
Looking at the completely ruined castle, the emperor bit his lip.
The pouring demon beasts, the demonic scenes that open every day.
No matter how powerful an empire is, it cannot wage an all-out war every day.
The demons are helping as much as they can, but they hit the limit right away.
The beautiful land of the empire is being ruthlessly violated.
To the extent that even the emperor of the empire had to go to the battlefield like this.
The current war situation was working too unfavorably.
The servants told themselves that there was no need for this.
In this crisis situation, the situation does not get better by preserving one’s body.
Those guys aren’t the ones who want to be surrendered.
It’s not about negotiating and getting financial gain.
I’m just trying to devour the last human with my snout.
So, you have to go out and fight.
Where would an empire be without its people?
Where would the emperor be without the people?
“Come on, let’s move. Where did the request for reinforcements come from?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s a three-hour ride on horseback from here… .”
At that very moment, someone intervened in front of the emperor.
Chaeeng!-
visor!-
At the same time, the knights nearby drew their swords in unison.
And whatever stood in front of him, even if it was a god.
It emits a life-threatening plan to slash for the sake of its lord.
“stop.”
The emperor stopped the knights and led the horse forward.
multiple, multiple -.
“… .”
Standing there was the boy who had been saved by the emperor a while ago.
“Why is that?”
“… .”
“Yeah man! Doesn’t His Majesty go to Xinjiang!”
“Stop it.”
After stopping the knights once more, the emperor dismounted.
Then the knights also got off their horses all at once.
He begins to be wary of the boy who blocks the front of his lord.
“What is your name?”
The emperor asked the boy.
But there was no answer coming back.
“Does it have no name?”
“… Adele.”
“Adele. That’s a good name. If not, Adele. Can you tell me why you are blocking my way?”
“… I want to fight.”
“You want to fight?”
Then the emperor finally knew.
Through the dead eyes of that boy named Adele.
That terrible living and burning anger are hidden.
It means that it contains the horror of those who lost everything to hell.
“I understand what you mean. but you are too young You are for the future, not for the present. This fight is not for the little ones. live Live for later.”
“… .”
Despite the emperor’s wishes, Adele did not step aside.
Snow that has sunk deeply sinks to an unknown end.
If you leave it here, you will be looking for the Witchbeast by yourself.
Noticing this, the emperor let out a deep sigh.
“That guy is gear nose!”
The knights lined up behind them were enraged once again.
It wasn’t enough that he dared to stand in the way of the emperor, and even made him breathe.
Even if you twist your neck right away, you won’t have anything to say.
“Leave it. What can I do? All of this is that Jim is immoral.”
“your majesty!”
“Because that young thing was separated from his family and made him have eyes like that. This body is a sinner.”
The emperor approached Adele.
Then, he carefully reached out his hand and stroked his hair.
“Do you really want to fight?”
Nodding-.
“It is a battle that no human being can overcome. To overcome a monster, you must first become a monster. I don’t want to leave that up to you. I don’t want to see you regret it later.”
“… .”
“Do you have the confidence not to resent me? The burden, the you of the past.”
Nodding-.
“ha.”
The emperor sighed once more.
Words like that come out of the mouth of this little thing.
Once again, in the face of this devastating tragedy, my heart breaks.
I want to dry it, but I have to dry it.
The reason why you can’t do that is because you are the biggest sinner.
It must be because he is a sinner who cannot even be stopped.
“… okay. How can I tell you not to take revenge? I feel like the living will go crazy if I don’t do that, and I’m afraid I’ll die. So what you do is revenge. How can you stop that?”
If they had said they would avenge their parents, they would have told them to live even more.
Even if they were caught by force, they would have sent them to an orphanage.
However, this child has gone beyond that.
Not for the dead, but because I couldn’t stand it myself.
Because I can’t become a person without releasing this anger.
“Take it.”
The emperor held out the sword from his saddle to Adele.
The knights opened their mouths wide in amazement.
It was like he didn’t care about that.
“… .”
Adele accepted the sword the emperor held out.
It must be too big and heavy for a young boy to handle.
While enduring it, he looked at the emperor.
Now, like asking if I can wield this.
“okay. With that sword, until my heart is empty. wield it and wield it again Until that anger, that hatred, is all gone. Until you finally feel that you want to live as a human being.”
I’m going to end this damn war on my own.
While thinking that I don’t want these children to come out again.
The Emperor patted Adele on the shoulder slowly.
“You are my first wolf.”
* * *
The endless monsters gradually decreased.
The frequency of indiscriminately generated magic mirrors has also decreased.
Although the world was still fighting hell.
The fear of destruction like before has been greatly reduced.
Now is the time for people, not monsters, to fight.
So, Adele finally let go of the ‘killing’ sword.
It was decided that this was enough.
“What are you doing, Adele?”
“… .”
So, in this current situation, Adele was even more embarrassed.
“Come on. I don’t have much time.”
Originally, it would have been a very leisurely time.
But since I went to the imperial banquet.
To be precise, after receiving congratulations from the emperor and princess.
All of a sudden, all kinds of nobles were sneaking in.
Thanks to that, let alone the family knights.
He was busy sending the guests back to the top of the leg.
Even so, there are people who really hope to meet.
Even as a Lichtenauer, meeting is not a loss.
A meeting with them was scheduled for lunch.
Because of this, the remaining free time was only an hour.
“Honestly, I am not confident.”
He just killed and swung his sword to kill.
However, Shien wants to grab the sword to protect it.
They had very different, very different paths.
The reason for holding the sword in the first place and the reason for swinging it are different.
Even if you teach, you can’t have a good influence.
“Once again, I am not one to teach anyone.”
“So what?”
“Anyway, show me how to wield a sword. Or just clashing swords is all.”
“That is enough. Whatever it is, it helps me.”
Help, help, that sounds so strange.
When he swung his sword, he always killed.
It feels so strange to be able to help someone with it.
“For now, how about sharing the sword with me lightly?”
“… Lightly, you mean?”
“yes. I want to know exactly my level.”
Adele nodded, and Shien immediately grabbed the wooden sword.
Although I can’t say my skills are outstanding.
Still, as the daughter of Lichtenauer, she learned the basics long ago.
It was thanks to this swordsmanship that he managed to survive from the Witchbeast in the past.
I don’t even dream of winning.
However, I hope I don’t just hear criticism telling me to give up.
“I’m coming, Adele.”
It was the moment when Shien finished speaking and just stepped off.
f*ck!-
Toutuk!-
“… ?”
Blink -.
what just happened
Shien couldn’t accept it easily.
It felt like something was flying right in front of my eyes.
I can’t seem to see it correctly.
I wasn’t even aware of what was coming.
“ah.”
Adele sighs and backs away hastily.
Only then did Shien become aware of the situation.
Adele’s wooden sword flew right in front of her eyes.
If you came in a little more, you would have been priced as it is.
And the wooden sword in his hand flew away.
“I’m sorry, Shien-nim.”
“to? Ahh… .”
My body reacted reflexively.
Adele has not only fought against the Witchbeast so far.
Sometimes I can’t overcome the fear of death.
In sympathy with him, he punished those who gave up being human.
It was a sword that cut through monsters, humans, regardless.
That murderous sword still dwells in my body.
Like now, even a very simple attack can harm the opponent.
Trying to find an instinctive path was proof of that.
“It is like this. I am not suited for this kind of work.”
Even a wooden sword is threatening enough.
Moreover, it can cause fatal head or neck injuries.
His poisonous sword, if it weren’t for hell.
It would have been best to never use it.
“Oh no! “Wait a minute, Adele.”
Shien also sensed what Adele was thinking.
Didn’t the voice, facial expression, everything turn dark?
You shouldn’t even ask Shien to give up here.
You should give a positive answer as much as possible.
That way, this man won’t go back to hell himself.
“This isn’t bad either. Not like that.”
“… Not bad. What are you talking about?”
“You know how slow my sword is. So, rather, it is an advantage for me.”
“… ?”
It’s a sight I don’t understand well.
All he did was attack, but that was an advantage.
“Don’t worry, try one more time. I’ll try to avoid it this time or not miss the wooden sword!”
Grabbing a wooden sword from a distance.
He looks at Sien standing in front of him again.
“… .”
My heart tickled a little. What is this sensation?
It was the first time Adele felt it.
“… With that said, let’s go again.”
At that moment, something happened that Shien knew but Adele didn’t.
A little bit of bright energy appeared in his eyes for a moment.