〈 Episode 64 〉The East Targets the West 10

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I could not keep her locked up. Like a bird, I thought, she should soar and soar and soar, gliding gently through the world. But.

'By necessity.'

I can't let her go. Does she know my character well? If so, she knows that necessity is the reason I can't let go of her. If she knows that...

"She'll keep trying to be what I need.

That's how life works. We can become desperate at any time to be needed by someone. As a parent, as a child, and later as a child's parent, remembering the time that passed, for the sake of the child. That's how desperate people live.

"Ah.

The soft chords of drunks and minstrels drift in. A hollow sound from a guitar, a pounding percussion, and a woman's sad, but somewhat decent, music drifted into my ears.

"Looks like a gig."

With Elisha's words, the chatter of the bar begins to die down, as does the music. As we all stand together, listening to the songs, watching the night sky, and letting the alcohol wash over us, I lean my head into her arms for a moment.

"...I'm glad."

"For what."

"Because you needed me."

Slowly, she lifts a thin hand and strokes my hair.

"It's selfish."

"For someone who says that, you don't sound selfish."

Her dandelion scent intoxicates me, makes me think, and makes me stop thinking. Perhaps it's emotional magic, but her hands do more than any magic to stop the cacophony of my mind, to slowly intoxicate me with her drink, her song, her scent.

"I want to stop."

"You can stop."

I know I don't mean it. Elisha will know that I will keep pushing forward, relentlessly, no matter how much I have to sell, no matter how much I have to shed, for the title of revenge...and in the end, for Noel, for the one thing that will make him whole. That is.

"Even if it's murder.

Even if I am stained by the horror that eats away at me, I will not stop, I will move forward, I will look at her and say.

[the gift you gave me].

What she gave me was not a ring, not death, not love, not mana, but a single, gigantic foreign sensation, woven together. I want to hand it to her, and it cannot be summed up in a single, abbreviated word: love.

"Ha."

A deep sigh filled the room, and then the woman's bright voice filled the air again. Stroking her smooth cheek, I closed my eyes lazily.

"I..."

I wasn't sure what to say, what kind of debt I owed her. Slowly, I let the idea of just getting out of there come out.

"I'm a pickpocket... or something."

It was a bad life, the one where you acted out to escape your shackles, but that's what you ended up doing.

"It's okay."

I loved the way her soft hands seemed to read my thoughts, making me dizzy with a dance of liquor, and I drifted off to sleep, dreaming the happiest dreams I'd had in a long time.

.

[Tir.］

Noel, she was holding my hand. Dressed in the same white dress she wore the last time we visited my home, she held my hand as we walked slowly through the fields.

[Yes.]

I muster up the courage to answer her, and she smiles, tightening her grip on my hand and not letting go.

[Let's go.]

Her voice draws me in, and I walk slowly to the spot, catching her hair in the breeze. Her hair is white and shiny, and her eyes are violet, and I feel like I'm going on an outing.

[Isn't she pretty?]

I follow her gaze, my eyes following hers, to the countless blue stars that dot the sky. I smile when she says she wants to show me. As if I were a child, traveling on a happy journey with her.

[I'll be waiting for you.]

I say confidently, feeling the way I did at the time.

[Yeah.]

I hope she's...happy.

.

"Ah."

I wake up slowly, feeling the dawn breaking. I take a long, cold breath, and realize that it's fall, with winter just around the corner.

"Cold.

Summer is gone. The chill of the air, longing for the warmth of the sun, will soon overwhelm the world.

"..."

I look in the mirror and realize that my eyes are purple.

"Why?!

Panicked, I looked away and then back at my eyes.

'Brown again...'

My eyes were brown again. For a moment I think I'm mistaken, then I look around.

"The inn.

I must have collapsed in Elisha's arms. Apparently, she couldn't carry me home, so she called for help and brought me to an inn.

"But... the bedspread looks a little big, doesn't it?

The raised bedspread was large enough to fit a person.

"Ah, it's Elisa.

She was my lover, the kind of person I wouldn't mind sleeping next to.

"Elisa, wake up."

My voice cracked slightly, and I slowly lifted her covers.

"...."

I was speechless for a moment. It wasn't Elisa, with her blond hair and red eyes, who was sleeping soundly...

"Ser...Hen...?"

I couldn't say anything because it was her again, the red-headed one, and she was sleeping soundly in her bed in her underwear.

"Hey..."

My voice trembled, and I tried to calm myself.

"What the hell did I do...drunkenly...

The chances of that are slim. It's not like there are normal people around Sergen, and even I have Elisha, and this is something that can't be described, can't exist.

'Possibility...yes, consider the possibility.'

I try to organize my thoughts as best I can, to deny the reality of what is happening.

"Please...come up with a possibility that I can understand, brain!

Panicked, I clench my fists and think.

"...Hmph..."

I hear her humming.

"Wait...should I get out of here first...

If only before she wakes up...if only Serghen were sober enough to realize that this whole affair is over. I'm dressed to the nines, but my clothes are organized...

"Organized?

It was just Sergen and me here, so... who organized these clothes...

'Sergen...?

There's only one possibility, which is that she came into the inn with me while still in her right mind and organized my clothes.

'Then... there's a good chance she'll remember me if I run away.

The possibility that she and I entered the inn together in a drunken stupor is shattered.

"Why?!

I don't understand. What the hell was Elisa doing?!

'No, I can't blame her, because I'm the one who lost my mind...'

'No, I can't blame her, for it was my own fault that I lost my senses, for I was drunk with the song and the atmosphere, and I couldn't say anything foolish about losing my senses, and she was not a common woman, but the darling of Count Sirtus. To have slept with her...

'It would be a crime, wouldn't it?

It would be a great wrong, something I dare not do.

Rustle!

The bed lifts for a moment. I barely swallowed through a nervous gulp.

"You're awake...

Unfortunately, my assumption is correct.

"Are you awake?"

"...Excuse me...Sergen?"

She looks up at me, half-awake, her body covered by the quilt.

"Ask."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Don't you remember?"

I gave her a look that said please don't ask me such horrible questions.

"I'm kidding. If you were that out of it, you wouldn't remember."

"Where is Elisha?!"

"You wake up looking for your lover instead of your boss, I'm sorry to hear that."

"...For now..."

That was important to me. What was Elisa doing? There was no reason for her to leave me in this state in the first place.

"She said she had an urgent matter, and asked me to send for you."

"I see...but why didn't you go back to the mansion..."

"Of course not. He was too drunk to walk all the way back to the mansion, so he asked me to sleep with him anyway, since it's a bed for two."

He's right. But that was the problem.

"Did you...take off his clothes?"

"Ent's threads are a good defense, tough as nails, but uncomfortable to sleep in. You must have been tired from the slaughter, and I thought it best to remove them for a good night's sleep."

She slowly pulled the covers off and stood up. I turn my head quickly. Before I do, I feel like I've unintentionally caught a glimpse of her half-naked body.

"Don't worry. I've long since learned not to blame you for passing out at the bar after a slaughter."

She grabs her hair and ties it back. Once it's in a ponytail, she turns to look at me.

"...Sergen?"

"What is it?"

"Are you...dressed?"

"Do you realize it is impolite to ask a lady such a question?"

"It's early in the morning...isn't it cold, so..."

"Don't worry about me, but isn't it the same for you, Tir, to be in your underwear?"

I realized that I had been showing my half-naked body as well.

"Sin, I'm sorry!"

I hastily walked over to the open clothes and tried to pull them on.

"Anyway, a lot of this makes sense under the circumstances, but it's what happens next that's the problem."

"What?"

I asked, trying to quickly pull on my pants.

"Uh, can you, uh, put your clothes on first!"

I turn to look at her, but she's proudly showing me her bra. I turn my head away in horror.

"Oh, it seems a little wrong that I'm the only one who's seen you in your underwear, so I'm showing it to you like this, is that wrong?"

"Of course it is!"

I decided to play it straight and take a defensive approach.

"I have been rude in my inability to judge for myself, but I need not feel obliged to you, Sergeant, for that! And you have a high calling, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. However, since you are my escort, I have judged it acceptable."

"No! I beg your pardon... no... what..."

I can't quite organize my thoughts.

"You're a quick thinker and a strategist in times of war, but in times like this, you're like a child."

"In a situation like this with Sergen, anyone would be."

"Is it because of my status? Or is it because I am a fierce woman, like a frightening orc?"

"Definitely the former, please, spare my life!"

"...Hmm, so that's what I was talking about earlier. If it finally became known that you and Young Ae were sleeping together...it wouldn't be good."

"Yes. So, we should avoid as much damage as possible, shouldn't we?"

I barely met Sergen's eyes. Not to read her intentions, but to see if she was being selfless, and I couldn't help but marvel at the sinister look in her eyes.

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