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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Chapter 2 Meeting the Past (2)
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“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing, I just suddenly felt a chill.”
“Hmm?”
Sei-an and Jeron were currently making their way past Mount Huebes, heading for Abli Village, the first settlement they would encounter.
Suddenly, Sei-an paused, his hand on the reins, as if struck by a sudden chill. Jeron chuckled, offering a teasing remark.
“Looks like someone’s holding a grudge against you.”
“……”
Sei-an couldn’t utter a single word in response to Jeron’s comment.
Even he felt that he had left too many people behind who would resent him for embarking on this journey. From Lucian to Prince Idis.
And…
‘Pike must be pretty resentful too.’
Sei-an had left without saying a word about heading to Juist Academy, fearing that Pike, who had grown very fond of him, would cry upon learning she wouldn’t see him for a long time.
Thinking that Pike must be incredibly resentful of him right now, Sei-an let out a short sigh inwardly.
“There it is.”
Meanwhile, Abli Village, where they planned to rest for the day, began to appear in the distance.
Jeron spurred his horse on, picking up speed towards it, and Sei-an quickly followed behind him.
“Welcome.”
“Welcome to Abli Village.”
As the two arrived at the village entrance, the soldiers guarding it greeted Sei-an and Jeron warmly.
Not only was it an unavoidable stop after crossing Mount Huebes, but since it took half a day to traverse the mountain, most travelers had no choice but to rest here for a day.
As a result, it had become a village frequently visited by travelers, and the soldiers, too, seemed to have naturally lost any aversion to outsiders.
“Huh?”
However, as Jeron passed through the gate, feeling good after receiving the soldiers’ greetings, he looked around in confusion when Sei-an, who should have been beside him, was nowhere to be seen.
“What are you doing over there?”
He approached Sei-an, who had stopped outside the gate instead of entering, and spoke.
“What are you staring at so blankly?”
Sei-an’s expression was subtly hardened as he silently gazed past the village entrance at the sky stretching out beyond it.
Jeron followed his gaze to the sky but couldn’t find anything particularly unusual.
The clear, cloudless weather showed no signs of rain.
“…It’s nothing.”
“……?”
A moment later, Sei-an belatedly answered Jeron’s question and, as if nothing had happened, spurred his horse into the village.
Jeron, tilting his head in confusion once more, soon followed behind him.
“……”
As Sei-an moved deeper into the village, step by step, he glanced around for a moment, then looked up again at the sky where the sun was beginning to set.
More precisely, Sei-an was looking at extremely familiar presences, appearing one by one as if to obscure the clear sky.
They were Grim Reapers, guiding the souls of the dead.
“……”
Children playing in the streets, parents looking lovingly at those children, men heading to the pub with friends after a hard day’s work.
‘Are all of them going to die?’
Seeing the Grim Reapers gathering around the numerous people in the village, Sei-an’s expression began to harden even further.
***
“Hey, what’s been up with you since earlier?”
As expected of a village frequented by travelers, the inns where they could rest were built just as splendidly as those in other cities.
Sei-an and Jeron entered the cleanest-looking of the inns and took a seat in the dining area to eat first.
“Are you really not feeling well?”
Jeron kept tilting his head, watching Sei-an, who hadn’t uttered a single word since entering the village and seemed lost in deep thought.
He was already a man of few words, but Sei-an was even quieter than usual today.
“……”
However, Sei-an still remained silent in response to Jeron’s questions, simply observing the guests who had come into the inn.
Just as he had seen outside the village, numerous Grim Reapers were circling, waiting for the souls they were meant to take.
“Do we really have to stay in this village tonight?”
“Hmm?”
Still gazing at the Grim Reapers, Sei-an quietly spoke to Jeron. He wanted to leave this place before getting entangled in something troublesome.
“The sun has already set, and the next village is half a day’s journey away. It’ll be hard to find a place to sleep outside if we leave this village now.”
“……”
Jeron couldn’t understand why Sei-an suddenly wanted to leave the village, but he explained that it would be impossible to depart now.
Sei-an, too, said nothing further on the matter, simply closing his lips tightly.
If he were alone, he would have just left, but he had no intention of causing trouble for Jeron because of himself.
“……? Why are you getting up? You’ve barely eaten.”
A moment later, Jeron subtly furrowed his brow, watching Sei-an stand up from his seat without finishing his meal. He began to worry that Sei-an might genuinely be unwell.
“I’m going to get some fresh air for a bit.”
“Oh? Then I’ll come with you.”
At Sei-an’s mention of getting some air, Jeron also stood up, offering to go with him.
“No, it’s fine. I have something to think about alone, so I’ll go by myself.”
“……”
But at Sei-an’s polite refusal, Jeron couldn’t follow him as he headed outside alone.
“What on earth is going on?”
Jeron had no choice but to tilt his head in confusion once more, watching Sei-an.
“……”
Meanwhile, Sei-an, having stepped out of the inn, stood for a moment, observing the village enveloped in deep twilight after the sun had already set.
The village was incredibly peaceful. It wasn't a very large village, but perhaps because of that, the bonds between the people seemed strong. He could see villagers chatting amiably with the soldiers patrolling the streets, and a young couple preparing food to give to an elderly person living alone next door.
‘What on earth is going to happen?’
Observing these scenes, Sei-an slowly began to walk, wandering through the village.
Sei-an couldn’t even guess what could possibly happen in such a peaceful village to draw so many Grim Reapers.
Stop!
“Tsk! It’s got nothing to do with me…”
Then, Sei-an suddenly halted. It had just occurred to him that there was no reason for him to care so much about this village.
Although he knew many people would die, he felt no need to take responsibility, as it wasn’t his doing.
He just needed to wake up early tomorrow morning and leave this place quickly.
“Haa.”
Sei-an let out a short sigh, wondering when he had started caring about other people’s business enough to feel such frustration.
Tap… tap…
“……?”
However, just as Sei-an was about to turn around to head back to the inn, he felt an unfamiliar tap on his waist and turned his head.
Finding nothing in his sight, Sei-an tilted his head and lowered his gaze. Only then did he see the being that had tapped his waist.
“…What is it?”
“Here.”
Standing there was a little girl who looked to be about seven years old, gazing up at him.
Her hair was neatly tied into pigtails, and she wore such an adorable smile that anyone passing by would be tempted to pat her head.
“What’s that?”
“A candy.”
“……? Why are you giving this to me?”
Sei-an looked at the child, who was holding out a small candy wrapped in pretty paper, with a bewildered expression.
“Because you look sad.”
“……”
“When Mei gets scolded by Mommy and feels sad, eating this makes her not sad anymore.”
“……”
Listening to the child’s answer, Sei-an was momentarily speechless.
I look sad?
Into Sei-an’s momentarily stunned hand, the child firmly placed the candy she was holding, beaming a wide smile.
“Mei, what are you doing over there?”
Then, from a distance, a voice that seemed to be the child’s mother called out for her to come quickly. The child waved to Sei-an, then quickly ran and embraced her mother.
“……”
Sei-an couldn’t easily tear his eyes away from the child as she disappeared from the spot with her mother.
Sei-an gazed at them until they faded from view, and then he saw the presence that was unfailingly accompanying the child.
It was the Grim Reaper.
“They’re all going to die within a few days…”
Sei-an, who had been staring at the spot until the child was out of sight, then quietly muttered to himself and looked at the candy clutched in his hand again.
“……”
A moment later, Sei-an began to walk again, but not in the direction of the inn. Instead, he started exploring the village once more.
***
“Oh dear… I must have come too far.”
Sei-an, who had been looking around for anything unusual in the village, soon found himself confused about the way back to the inn.
It wasn't a very large village, but for Sei-an, who could even get lost inside his own house, the paths felt larger than the imperial capital.
“I knew it.”
“……!”
Just then, someone quietly approached his side and spoke. It was Jeron.
“How did you know to come here?”
“Know to come? I followed you.”
“……”
Worried about Sei-an, who had no sense of direction whatsoever, Jeron had secretly followed him when he left the inn.
Normally, he would have sensed Jeron’s presence, but Sei-an had been so preoccupied by the Grim Reapers constantly appearing around him that he hadn’t even noticed Jeron.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s head back. It’s already very late.”
“Yes.”
As Jeron said, it was already very late, and it was hard to find anyone walking the streets. Sei-an nodded at Jeron’s words and headed back to the inn with him.
“Hmm?”
As Sei-an followed Jeron, he became puzzled by Jeron leading him through narrow alleyways.
Although he wasn’t good with directions, he remembered not having come through these particular alleys.
“Ah, this way is a shortcut.”
As if understanding Sei-an’s confusion, Jeron chuckled and briefly explained it to him.
“You seem to know this village well.”
From Jeron’s answer, Sei-an realized that he knew more about this village than he had expected.
Unless he had lived here for a long time, he wouldn’t know every alley and shortcut.
“I’ve stopped by this village often for commissions.”
“……”
In response to Sei-an’s remark, Jeron explained briefly once more and continued walking.
Sei-an, too, asked no further questions and quietly followed behind him.
“But seriously, what’s going on?”
Then Jeron began to ask Sei-an why he had been exploring the village.
He hadn’t understood why Sei-an had been so intently observing the village while he quietly followed him earlier.
“It’s nothing.”
“Hmm.”
“But there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Oh? To me?”
“Yes.”
“Sure, ask anything.”
“Do you happen to have a family?”
“…Family?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Jeron paused for a moment, turning his gaze to Sei-an, surprised by the sudden question about his family.
“I did, once.”
“Did?”
“My whole family passed away.”
“I see. They must have passed away on the same day.”
“…How did you know that?”
“Just a guess.”
“Yes, they all died on the same day in an accident when I was young. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“I was just curious. My apologies if it was out of line.”
“Heh! It’s fine. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Jeron chuckled at Sei-an’s apology and started walking again, thinking what an interesting fellow he was.
Normally, when someone asks such a question and hears that a family has all died, the common reaction is to look flustered or apologetic. But Sei-an merely nodded with an utterly nonchalant expression.
However, rather than being offended by that reaction, Jeron found it so typical of Sei-an that he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“……”
Meanwhile, watching Jeron walk ahead, Sei-an once again sank into deep thought.
