5 Chapter 5 - Funeral Flower

[The most beautiful flowers are those before they wilt.]

The night is long and harsh. Beneath the darkened gleam of the moonlight, Rein set off to carry out his order. Accompanied by no more than thirty lads on his side. The assailing party brings with them some of the most valuable war equipment on a supply wagon. To the eye of the storm they march. To the heart of the calamity they march.

The objective is to intercept the dragon on the Great Valley of Promise and lure it step by step to Endel, the capital city of Edessia, where the king and his army awaits. They have to arrive before the dragon does, so they can set up the equipment in the best possible place to heighten up the success rate of their plan.

It was roughly one and a half hour before their expected time of arrival, considering the horse breed of Edessia cavalry regiment is one of that which the kingdom is most proud of. Lieutenant Eris, one of the thirty who were personally hand-picked by the lord commander bring her horse closer to him. Her long golden hair is blown away by the night wind, gently rubbing Rein on his face.

" Do you like it? I use a jasmine-scented hair oil today. "

" Hora..! Hora..! Hora..! Come on, you can smell it as much as you want. "

Eris whipping her hair into Rein, but sadly he didn't budge nor reply. His eyes stay fierce and his gaze sternly looking up the path ahead. Nothing can distract him, for all that matters to him is no other than the fulfillment of the mission.

" Ugh, how rude of you to ignore such a beautiful lady! "

" If you have so much time to spare, then I highly advise you to fill up these gems, lieutenant. "

Rein took up a satchel full of empty magic gems from his waist and hand it out to Eris, she accepts it even though she is mumbling and muttering to herself. Few minutes have passed, as she is pouring her magic into each gem one by one, Rein suddenly calls out her name out of nowhere.

" ...Eris. "

" Huh? D-Did you just called my name?"

"Thank you for accepting this dire request, even when you didn't have to. "

Eris turns speechless. Eyes are the mirror of the soul they said, and right now her bright blue eyes are bursting with tears. She is happy beyond words. Years they have known each other, but this is the first time she heard him called out only for her name without any title or courtesy prefix. Rein glances a little at her, and he too is dumbfounded.

" W-What's wrong? Am I forcing you too much? It's okay then, I'll take the gems back. "

" Aaah... Look at what you've done, lord commander. "

" I never imagined that a man like you could be so harsh on a woman "

" Oh my, how heartless. What a poor girl. "

The others behind them apparently listening to their little chit chat, but their gags made Rein feels even bitter. He sharply glanced at them and they quickly looked away and pretending, whistling or scratching their beard.

Eris tries to talk but she is sobbing and blowing her nose out, so Rein couldn't hear clearly what she is saying. He decided to bring his horse closer and took his satchel back. He also handed out and offered his leather costrel which she drank all empty.

After quite a while, right before they are about to reach the destined place of encounter, Eris with her rosy-blushing face, kisses her own fingers and then used those same fingers to softly touches Rein's cheek.

" What are you doing? "

" Rein... we are about to face a danger that no one has ever faced before, right? "

" ...Yes, we are. "

" Yet, it's so strange that I don't feel scared at all. "

Eris reaching for her pocket, trying to take something out. It's a pair of small-rounded candy with a handle stick. She took his hand open and gave both of the candies to Rein.

" ...Once this is all over, let's have it together. "

" I truly appreciate this gift... but I don't handle sweets that good "

" Don't worry, I know. I'll eat both of them...

and uh... "

She blushes so hard she couldn't finish her sentences. Yet behind her she can hear the others whispering courage 'You won't ever get any chance like this!', 'Go on, tell him!'. Because they all know, for it's pretty clear to them that the lady is madly in love with Rein. As for Rein himself, he doesn't pay much attention to such that he deemed trivial, for he is a man who upheld his duty more than anything.

With all the supports and secret cheers, Eris finally mustered up enough courage to boldly confess her love. She stopped her horse, which surprises Rein, and end up for the party being halt... on an uphill road.

" a-and... Rein! "

" Yes? "

" Y-You and I are going to m-m-marry after this all ends! "

" .....Okay. "

Everyone cheers and rejoices to the newly engaged couple, but some certain others would be much happier if they were to stop on flat ground first, before celebrating this moment of happiness. That certain others are none other than the ones who are responsible for the wagons and carts. They are currently suffering by every second holding the supply so it won't roll down the hill.

" W-Well.. th-that's great to... hear...! B-But cant we just.. get this done... first!? "

" Ah! My apologies! Keep forward guys! "

The assailing party continues their march. Due to the unexpected confession, they are high in morale. They are happily chatting with others, some of them were congratulating the lieutenant and the lord commander, whilst some other sings and playing instruments. Their festivity is truly the opposite of the chaos that looms upon the kingdom's darkest hour.

They arrived at their respective destination. Great Valley of Promise is a vast valley that stretched from the border of Endel until the northeast most of Edessia. It mostly consists of numerous cliffs and slopes that have a quite number of trees in a certain part of it, which is a perfect spot to install heavy weaponry to set up an ambush. There are also a small lake and few rivers that are quite shallow, quite dependable to replenish the diminished supply, be it water or food.

The assailing party is divided into five teams with each team consist of six-person that is stationed in five different posts. Each of these teams has only one job, ensuring the dragon moves to the next post, no matter the cost.

The lord commander and the most capable fighters are in the last line of the post. Their task is the hardest, for they have to keep the dragon busy until the outpost in the borderline of Endel gives them the signal to retreat. When they are busy setting up everything, Ludwig, one of the party members which also a friend of the lord commander, came up before him. They discussed the plan around the bonfire.

" Hey, Rein. What makes you think that the dragon would fall into our ambush? "

" According to our intel, the dragon is wickedly intelligent enough to move from a highly dense populated to another, before finally went for Endel as his ultimate supper. "

Rein laid out a map of Edessia, drawing rough sketches about the dragon's possible next move and what should they do to gain control of the situation.

" It first came from the northmost of Edessia, burning the nearest village to the ground. Then it moves to the city of Arlem in the Dukedom of Trissala, and again, leaving nothing but ashes. Our source said that it went east afterward straight through this part, entering the territory of the Dukedom of Malfred. "

" I see... so its next destination must be... "

" That's right, it would be Ormouth, The City of Knowledge, where the Grand Library resides. "

In the middle of his explanation, Eris came with two mugs on her hands. Looking at the bloomy situation and the faint smell of romance in the air, Ludwig smiled and taking his leave.

" Alright alright, I get it already. The point is, we shouldn't let the Grand Library get destroyed as they are currently doing the research on the dragon, so we pull the dragon over to the south. Now if you please excuse me...

and uh, if you're going to do it don't be too noisy! Ahaha! "

" ...Uh yeah sure...? What in the world are you... "

Rein doesn't understand what it means. But he had no time to put much of a thought to it as Eris already sits beside him, offering him a drink while still blushing. It's approximately thirty minutes before the showdown, so they still have quite plenty of time to rest.

" Rein... Do you... really mean it? "

" Hm? What are you referring to? "

" A-Ah! Y-You know... I was being a bit pushy back then, so maybe I was just forcing you to- "

" ...Eris. "

Rein deeply stares at Eris. He gently holds her hand, it is at this moment that he finally realized for the first time about how soft is the skin of the other gender is. It's softer than silk and feels so frail as if he could accidentally snap it in two had he not being careful.

" You see, I uh... I'm not sure if I would ever be good enough for you. But I myself don't mind... "

It's as if the time has frozen still for Eris. She has never even dreamed of being held by the love of her life. Half-consciously listened to what Rein has to say, Eris accidentally dropped the mug off her hands. Rein swiftly catch the mug and drink it on the part where Eris's lips had previously touched.

" I don't mind spending the rest of my life with you. "

Eris cries. Her tears are of the most joy, even twillers, a mana-luminescent friendly forest fairy that glows in the dark, starting to gather around her, picking up her blissful tears for its sweet taste. Rein then slowly hugged her, but with strength like his, a little click means suffocating.

" U-Ugh... R-Rein... I-I can't... breath... "

" Ah. I'm sorry. "

Eris was out of air with her face still crying, Rein cracks a little laugh for the first time in a long time. Seeing his smiling face, Eris couldn't hold but to jump off to be at his side. They found joy in the most leaden hours, an oasis in the middle of a sea of sand, a warmth in the middle of a tundra. In the crackling bonfire and the faint glow of the twillers, they immersed themselves in love and affection.

" We're going to stay like this forever. "

" ...Since we have a very important duty to fulfill, I honestly think that it is not doable. "

" Oh, shut up! Just let me love you. "

Yet the world has never been a place where every wish comes true. Behind the darkest cloud of the night, the eminence of destruction has finally found its most wanted.