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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Meeting the Past (3)
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In the dead of night, when deep darkness had settled and the world was asleep, the streets were empty of human presence. Only a stray cat or two roamed, as if the night belonged solely to them.
Swish...
But then, someone moved swiftly through the darkness, as if parting it.
It was unclear where he was headed, but his steps showed no hesitation. Every movement was agile, guiding him towards his destination without a single falter in the dark.
“......”
A moment later, he arrived at a large well located in the center of the village. It was the source of all drinking and daily-use water for the villagers.
The person who had pierced through the darkness to reach the well seemed to scan his surroundings briefly before slowly pulling something from his pocket.
It was a glass bottle containing a peculiar green liquid.
“......”
He gazed at the bottle for a moment, an expression of hesitation on his face, before slowly opening it and beginning to pour the liquid into the well. Or rather, he was about to.
“May I ask your reason?”
“......!”
If it hadn’t been for someone’s voice at that very moment.
“You…”
He quickly turned his head at the voice of the person who had interrupted him, his eyes widening in surprise as he looked at the newcomer.
“I wish to know why you intend to kill everyone in this village.”
A calm voice, perfectly suited to the deep, moonless night. It was Sei-an.
“Why are you doing this?”
And standing there, staring back at Sei-an with a hardened expression, was the other person.
“Jeron.”
It was Jeron.
“......”
Jeron remained silent for a moment, offering no reply to Sei-an’s question, standing as still as a statue.
Sei-an, too, seemed to have no intention of pressing him for an answer, and said nothing further.
“…How did you know?”
It was Jeron who finally broke the silence. He wondered how Sei-an had known he would do this, and how he had followed him.
“No one would find it strange for someone to notice a person leaving alone in the dead of night.”
This was a lie. Sei-an already knew Jeron would come here.
He had realized that Jeron was the one who would bring death to this village, and had simply waited for him to make his move.
“......”
Sei-an watched Jeron silently for a moment as Jeron let out a long sigh after his words.
Then, in a low voice, he asked Jeron about a fact he had just recalled.
“Is it perhaps because of what happened in this village twenty years ago?”
“......! How do you know that?”
“......”
Seeing Jeron’s surprised expression as he questioned him, Sei-an sighed inwardly.
‘So he was that child.’
It was an event from so long ago that Sei-an had temporarily forgotten it: the fact that he had visited this village twenty years prior.
At that time, an entire family had met their end simultaneously.
Except for one boy. That boy was the very Jeron standing before him now.
“How do you know about that time?!”
“......”
Despite Jeron’s urgent questioning, Sei-an remained silent, his lips pressed firmly together, recalling the events of that time.
Sei-an, who had arrived as a Grim Reaper to guide the deceased souls as he always did, witnessed a family being buried alive by the villagers.
They were the very souls he was meant to guide.
‘They were suffering from an epidemic.’
The family, destined to die at the hands of the villagers, had been infected with an epidemic called ‘Bitudo.’
It was a disease that caused red spots to appear all over the body, followed by gradual rotting of the flesh, leading to death.
Then, as now, if even one person in a village contracted an epidemic, everything would be shut down, and no activity could take place until all the villagers died or the symptoms completely disappeared.
Furthermore, since most of the village’s income depended on travelers’ visits, a rumor of an epidemic meant the end of everything.
Fearing this, the villagers had buried Jeron’s family—the first to fall ill—alive, even though they were not yet dead.
United by the need to conceal this fact before it became known outside, all the villagers committed such a horrific act.
Jeron’s family, sensing their fate, secretly sent their son, Jeron, the only one not infected with Bitudo, out of the village.
They feared the villagers might kill even the uninfected child to erase their sin.
‘But Jeron had witnessed his family dying.’
He was only six years old at the time. Following his parents’ urgent command to escape the village without being seen by others, Jeron used his small body to flee as best he could.
But worried about his ailing mother and father, even at his young age, he secretly returned to the village.
He then witnessed his parents and sister being dragged out of their home by the villagers and buried in the ground.
“......”
At that moment, Sei-an had observed both Jeron and the villagers.
And as always, before they were buried—that is, before they died—he had approached Jeron’s family and asked them for one wish. The wish he heard from them was singular.
“Did you know?”
“What?”
“That when a deceased soul truly desires it, they can sometimes protect the person they wish for their entire life.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“......”
Sei-an had only belatedly recalled his past memory because of the three souls present beside Jeron.
At first, he hadn’t thought much of it and dismissed it.
This was because sometimes, family members who passed away early would remain by their surviving relatives to protect them for life.
Of course, that was only possible with the permission of Shainos, the God of Death.
Sei-an himself, when he was a Grim Reaper, had made such a request to Shainos only once. It was for the three souls now lingering beside Jeron.
Their dying wish to him had been to be able to stay by Jeron’s side, as he had lost his family at such a young age.
Witnessing their unjust deaths, Sei-an had asked Shainos to turn them into guardian souls for Jeron to fulfill their last wish, and now he could still see their souls remaining by Jeron’s side.
“Haven’t you often been told that you’re lucky?”
“......!”
That was the phrase he had heard most often throughout his life.
The words, “You’re lucky.”
People had always said that, seeing him return safely every time, despite the numerous life-threatening moments he’d faced during his commissions.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that even being caught by me like this is a stroke of luck for you.”
“What?”
“Otherwise, you would have had to listen to the wails of the dead for your entire life…”
“......”
Sei-an quietly uttered those words, letting out a short sigh.
“Do you think everything will be easier once you’ve had your revenge?”
“......! How in the world do you know all of this?!”
Jeron’s mind reeled at Sei-an’s words, as if Sei-an knew everything about him.
No one knew about his past.
After witnessing his family’s death with his own eyes and escaping the village for dear life, Jeron had meticulously built up his strength as a mercenary, nurturing his desire for revenge against the villagers.
Then, pondering how to quell this thirst for revenge, he sought a solution and found a way to deal with all the villagers.
A very simple method: poison.
All he had to do was secretly drop this acquired poison into the well that all the villagers used, and it would be over. Everything… everything that had tormented him for so long would finally end.
“Do you truly believe that will be the end?”
“......”
Sei-an continued to speak quietly, observing Jeron.
“A very long time ago, there was a man.”
“......?”
“He had a lover who was more precious to him than his own life.”
Jeron slowly began to listen as Sei-an abruptly started talking about someone.
“But everyone tried to kill her, claiming that this woman, so precious to the man, was a bringer of disaster to others.”
“......!”
“In response, the man began to fight countless people to protect her. But…”
“But what?”
“While the man was momentarily careless, the woman ultimately met her death.”
“......”
“From that moment, the man’s revenge began. He started killing everyone connected to her death.”
“......!”
“Eventually, he succeeded in his revenge, staining the world crimson with blood.”
“......”
“But was he truly happy after his revenge was complete?”
“......”
Jeron couldn’t offer any answer to Sei-an’s question.
“…So what happened to that man?”
“......”
But at Jeron’s quiet question the next moment, it was Sei-an who remained silent for a while.
Then, Sei-an, displaying a bitter smile, replied in a low voice once more.
“Gazing upon the land stained crimson with the blood of countless people, a result of his own making…”
“......”
“He chose death for himself.”
“......!”
Jeron’s expression hardened even further at those words. Sei-an took a step closer to him and spoke.
“I have no intention of stopping you, no matter what choice you make. However, I can tell you one thing for certain.”
“......”
“Revenge will only make things harder for you.”
“......”
Jeron listened to Sei-an’s words, staring at the poison bottle in his hand for a long time without saying anything.
He was confused. It was a desire for revenge he had nursed for a long time, and the image of his family being forcibly buried was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
But Sei-an’s words shook everything. He could no longer tell if revenge was truly what he wanted.
“......?”
But then, someone abruptly extended a hand towards Jeron—it was Sei-an. Jeron looked back at him with a puzzled expression.
“Entrust it to me.”
“What?”
“I will keep that poison.”
“......!”
“Don’t decide right now. Think it over, and if, after much thought, revenge truly is more important than your own happiness, then come find me. I will hand it over without a word.”
“......”
At Sei-an’s words, Jeron stared blankly at him for a moment. Then, a short while later, he let out a chuckle and gently handed the poison bottle in his hand to Sei-an.
“Alright, I’ll leave it with you.”
“Yes, you’ve made a good decision.”
“Heh!”
Jeron couldn’t help but find it strange that he was laughing, even though the revenge he had prepared for so long had ended in such an absurd failure.
“Instead, I’ll give you this.”
“......?”
Sei-an extended his hand again and offered him something.
“Someone once told me this is the best medicine when you’re sad.”
“......”
Jeron took what Sei-an offered and unrolled it, his expression turning blank once more.
“Ha… haha!”
Then he burst into loud laughter. What Sei-an had given him was a small candy wrapped in pretty paper.
Unconsciously, Jeron forgot his current situation and began to laugh heartily.
“Haa…”
Then, stopping his laughter, Jeron let out a long breath before carefully bringing the small candy Sei-an had given him to his mouth.
“......”
Tears began to stream from his eyes, drop by drop. The tears he had held back for so long quietly started to fall.
“Hmph! What a terrible medicine.”
Feeling something that had been hidden for a long time, something that had solidified into a knot, slowly unraveling, Jeron offered a faint smile through his tears.
