Carb Sears (R) 116

Chapter 116 – Along the Alley.

“I just thought I was going to lose Sasha forever.”

De Valin continued, quenching his throat with a cheap drink. Sasha, the daughter who has become his life at some point. Even though she wanted to forget everything with alcohol, she kept coming to mind. It was a memory that I do not want to forget, even if I forget everything with alcohol.

“Then how about your mother?”

He smiled as he looked at Medea, who asked what happened to her mother, even though he couldn’t hide his regret. How could he not laugh when there was evidence in front of him that Sasha’s life wasn’t all about tragedy.

“I can’t even remember how many years have passed since then.”

It was worth it. He lost his one and only daughter, and despite the fact that he could not make much money, he always spent his days on poisonous cheap alcohol. At the time, Yeongji was so chaotic that no one cared about the safety of others. The monsters attacked from time to time, but the knights who had to go out and kill the monsters and protect the territory only commanded the conscripted soldiers in a safe place, never came forward directly, and the line portraits were endless.

By the time those who remained had tips, such incidents had decreased, but the tyranny of the knights did not disappear. Since the owner of the territory was like that, there was no way that the vassals who followed him would be fine. On the contrary, they were more terrifying to the people of the territory than the lord. Those who spoke the right words disappeared without a mouse or a bird knowing, and most of the chivalrous ones died. It was only a shush about who did it, but those who knew it knew.

“Kuhh, damn you guys.”

The voices of those who could not stand their anger at the bar.

“Again! That knight came to rape his wife again without getting tired of it!”

Voices of those who mourn.

“It can’t be helped. We have no power.”

The voices of those who gave up were together. Only at times like this, he was able to carefully intervene in this place.

“This tavern has also grown a lot of people.”

As he muttered as he watched them shed tears, the person drinking with him on the other side nodded his head.

“You always do it a lot.”

He was a shoemaker. She was one of the few people who remembered his daughter, and even as de Valin tried to forget her Sasha, he remembered her while drinking with him. They drank in silence, knowing each other about it. It was such a difficult and painful time. I thought that day would be no different.

“Hey! Listen! The lord’s neck is caught in the gate!”

Bang! Everyone’s eyes were focused on the loud sound of the door banging and the man’s cry as he opened the bar and broke in.

“Go talk nonsense elsewhere.”
“Did you want to kill the lord enough to see such a fantasy?”
“Who wouldn’t want that?”

However, their response was lukewarm. Isn’t it worth it? Decades were enough to wear them out. Those who became the lord of this land were corrupt but not incompetent, so if they showed signs of rebellion, they were immediately purged, and even the uprisings caused by the territories were thoroughly stopped and killed. Who would believe that someone rebelled and killed such a person without any sign?

“It’s because these people are real! If you don’t believe me, see for yourself! Many people have already gathered at the gates!”

Then, seeing him leave so quickly, they got up from their seats and headed for the castle, even though they did not readily believe it.

“Do you think that statement is true?”
“I have no choice but to check it myself, right?”

While chatting with a friend, they walked to the gate and found that a large crowd had already settled there. From then on, I thought it might be true, but it wasn’t long before I knew what he said was the truth. They could see the lord’s neck, which was not at the top of the gate for all to see, but was tied with a rope and hung a little lower. The rebellion was real. And when more people came to hear the news.

Everyone was astonished when the gates of the castle, which had always been seen as tightly closed, were opened and the figures of those who rebelled were revealed. At first, few people recognized the leader, but it gradually spread and reached everyone’s ears.

“For it was none other than Aeolus, your father, who rebelled.”
“Oh my God. That means…”

Yes, the lord, who was tyrannical and exploitative, met his end at the hands of his own son, not anyone else. Who could have imagined? That such a person would meet his end at best overnight to his son. So Aiolus became the new lord. However, everyone did not have time to even enjoy the joy of being freed from the violence of the former lord. He had to be terrified at the heartlessness of the man who even killed his own father to become a lord. But that time didn’t last long either.

Aiolus abolished all the evil practices of his father, and purged and banned the dissolute life, extortion, and tyranny of the knights. He also reduced the excessive taxes imposed on the territories and improved them one by one. The reason why the fear of him was reduced decisively was that he returned many of the women who were taken by his father back to their families. Besides that, many things have changed. But still he couldn’t be more pleased.

Everyone’s daughter or wife is back. It was because his daughter showed no sign of returning to him. It seemed that his suffering would continue until the end of his life.

“Dad.”

If that voice hadn’t been heard.

“…Sasha?”

It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time, but always remembered. When he suddenly raised his head, what he could see was his daughter, who would now be called a woman rather than a girl.

“Sasha. Sasha! Why, why now!”

He wept bitterly without even having time to rejoice. His daughter, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, couldn’t even hug him because of his small body. She was so grown up that it was like being held in her daughter’s arms, but his daughter hugged him face-to-face.

“I’m sorry, Dad. Actually, I wanted to see you again for a long time. I was afraid and couldn’t come.”
“No. No. It’s my fault. If only I could have protected you then!”

By the time he finally calmed down.

“Sasha, are you still there?”

He blinked at the voice of a strange man outside calling for his daughter. I felt like tears welled up just thinking about it. At that voice, she smiled mischievously as if she remembered.

“That’s right! It’s okay to come in!”

And it was Aeolus who came in. Just as expected. The reason Sasha came looking for him was to announce the news of her marriage to him. She was afraid that she would not be accepted, but she said that she had come because she wanted to let her know at least this fact. She was delighted with him, but it was absurd. He thought he had finally got her daughter back, but it turned out that some bastard had snatched her daughter. That is also the one who became the new lord. Thanks to this, he was able to watch their wedding even though he was a green dwarf.

One day, he came with a boat called by Sasha. She was the reason she asked him to name her child. Even though the doctor said giving birth to a child was dangerous, he finally named her granddaughter after seeing her daughter happily contemplating a name for her child. Although she suffered from the birth of her daughter, she still loved her as a mother until the day my daughter was 5 years old. Although his daughter was short-lived, she left behind beautiful memories.

“”””…””””

After the story, silence filled the bookstore. His long story still remained and seemed to envelop them. Then, through the door Devalin had left open, he found sunlight lingering in a scarlet light before he knew it, and opened his mouth.

“It’s late. Security around here isn’t that good, so you’d better go back quickly.”
“Oh, yes. I can’t help it.”

Mediah nodded, perhaps seeing the light. She did so, and as they rose from their seats, she left the bookstore feeling sorry for Usher, realizing that she had almost forgotten, she held out the book to him.

“How much is this?”
“Hmm? Most of the books here are picked up anyway. Just give me 65 fairy tales.”
“Then it’s 5 iron battles? Here.”

He quickly laughed as he watched Usher leave the iron coin and follow the other child with a book. It was belatedly that I remembered what kind of book it was. When he sat down, thinking that a boy couldn’t help it. Now he heard the voice of the child he thought had really left.

“Can I come over here again next time?”

There was Medea, who left the door slightly open and asked him.

“Come over anytime.”

The bookstore found a customer again.

“I never thought that such a situation would have happened to my father and mother.”

After leaving the bookstore, Mediah muttered something, but they didn’t say anything. Because they couldn’t imagine that there would be such a side to Aiolos, who they thought would be just cold. Ludmilla also seemed to be thinking about something. Usher was envious of them. As they walked slowly, they were standing at the corner of the road coming out of the alley, even though some time had passed. The moment I barely wanted to get out of the alley, I heard Mediah’s words.

“…The map has changed.”
“What?”

They were surprised to see the map Mediah was holding.

“Really.”
“Is there anywhere else to go?”

The shape of the rune engraved on the map was the same, but the location was definitely changed.

“What should I do?”

At Medea’s question, they looked at each other. The rune engraved on the map pointed to an alley farther back than where it was originally engraved. It was late, and it was clear that there were fewer people in the back alley. It might be better to go back now.

“Let’s go.”

Belka was the first to speak.

“Eh? Even if it’s that easy to decide…”
“Don’t you know when I’ll be able to come here again?”
“Because it’s still far from sunset.”

Usher and Lyudmila also thought it best to go to the newly marked place on the map. It was because the afterglow of the story still remained, holding onto them and not letting them go. It would have been more refreshing to follow the trail to the end. They went back to the alley. Devalin’s Bookstore was unheard of. Because I decided to come back next time.

“But why do you get to places that don’t seem to be the road the more you go here? Are you sure?”

However, even after the excitement, they questioned the road that didn’t seem like a road that seemed to be getting more and more difficult. We came to a dead end, but we found stairs that looked like they were really made of small bricks, climbed them up and climbed the railings, and saw that they were walking on some roof or passing over a large pipe. There was nothing I couldn’t do if I went, but the feeling of walking on a wrong road was somehow enjoyable, but that’s why I doubted whether I was really going the right way.

“I think it’s strange too, but if you look at the location marked on this map, you can’t see any roads other than here?”

You can’t blame the map, so they moved on. It’s definitely not a road, but pipes, boards, and bricks arranged as if they were made to pass there made it like a road. How much further did he go by following those traces, jumping from roof to roof, and climbing a tightrope along the wall? Suddenly, a tunnel appeared in front of them.

“What kind of tunnel is this place?”

It was a tunnel that I really couldn’t figure out why it was in this place. This territory wasn’t as tall as a mountain, but it was like a slightly high hill, so it didn’t seem really strange, but it seemed that the road leading to this tunnel had already been blocked a long time ago.

“…You have to go in here, right?”
“It’s just that the mark on the map is right here.”
“Look up there too.”

On top of the tunnel, there were letters that I thought were letters, but I couldn’t figure out what they were saying. It looks like he’s talking openly about going in.

“Doesn’t it look too dark inside?”
“I can’t see anything.”

The darkness within made them slow down their steps. Still, since they had come this far, they couldn’t give up, so they decided to hold each other’s hands and enter the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, nothing could be seen.

“Hey, are you guys there?”

I heard Lyudmila’s anxiously trembling voice.

“Here. He’s holding hands with Mediah.”

Usher understood Lyudmilla, who sometimes said the same thing. If we didn’t talk to each other like that, it felt like we were alone, apart from each other. She held her hand, but she couldn’t tell how anxious she was as she could only hold her hand on one side of her. She, too, was holding Belka’s and Mediah’s hands until they were sweating. Then, at last, the light shone on them.