Chapter 1121 – Old and Young
000
Some people value the process rather than the result, and they often focus on the ’cause’ or ‘purpose’ rather than the things that the action causes.
It is inevitable that each person has different values, so Cleon clearly understands that.
In either case, it could be said that Cleon had an opinion closer to theirs.
Nevertheless, if there are things that cannot be forgiven by saying ‘the intentions were good’-
＇Chiikik…!＇
What Emmett was emitting after reading Oldburn’s angry brain waves was now white smoke flowing out of the suit along with flames.
I don’t know what state the old burn inside was in, but judging from where I looked, it didn’t seem like normal discharge.
＂…＂
Cleon was in trouble.
I understand that Kshat clearly said that to help himself.
Both with the head and with the heart.
However, in the end, her remarks were like pouring oil on a fire.
To be more precise, it would be like pouring nitroglycerin on a fire.
To Old Burn, who was already on the verge of becoming angry at the fact that Cleon had touched her granddaughter, the fact she conveyed only doubled, or even squared, the anger.
＂So…＂
And, the voice that slowly flows out of Old Burn’s mouth.
The mechanical sound became more intense than before, and his voice sounded more menacing, perhaps because the sound of the motor running in the suit he was wearing was louder.
“Demon Swordsman Cleon… While I was trapped in her mansion, you stole the heart of her granddaughter… And mixed her body with hers… And not only that, but you were also her cherished friend. He acted ‘all at once’ with Kshat, who was also his squire. Is that what you mean?”
＂Seup…＂
When I said that, Cleon couldn’t help but gasp and say, ‘Seu-eup’.
If you list each word and compose it into a sentence, it is not strange that he appears to be a thief.
Of course, it was entirely his fault that Oldburn was trapped in the mansion.
Since it was led by Fleur, who tried to prevent cooperation with the returnees, it cannot be said that it was all Cleon’s fault.
Putting that aside, what kind of man in the world would embrace a noble girl and her squire at the same time?
Unless it’s a perversion of sexual desire.
[It’s okay~. That’s the Cleon I’ve seen so far~ So that’s our Cleon~]
[This is no comfort at all, Caliburn…]
Up first? Cleon refuted Kali’s words while sighing slightly.
He nodded his head to acknowledge his karma that he had to face now.
＂… Okay.＂
That’s how Cleon answered Oldburn’s question.
“In terms of order, I was first. The young lady participates in it…”
“Well, it’s okay if I don’t explain to it that far!”
Cleon interrupts Kshat, who is trying to add an explanation to Cleon’s words.
But the next moment.
Beep! And if you think that a slightly funny sound rang out.
Next to the foot of where Cleon was standing, something that looked like a beam of light flew out and scratched the ground.
This is the flame that tried to stop Fleur earlier.
Old Burn hung his upper body and only raised his arms to threaten Cleon.
“Okay. You’ve already started, why don’t you tell me until the end? Please listen to me.”
Old Burn speaking in the same voice as before.
“Maybe, I don’t know. If I keep listening like this, the blood vessels in my brain might break, and I might pass out on the spot. Isn’t this an opportunity to defeat it peacefully?”
＂…＂
I feel like I might lose patience halfway and rush towards this direction.
Cleon made eye contact with Kshat, and Kshat nodded as if to say, ‘I don’t know what it is, but I understand.’
And Kshat takes a deep breath and continues talking to Oldburn.
＂Elder. Even your elders will know this well. My lady, your personality has changed greatly between your childhood and now. Of course, there has been no change at all in terms of his kindness… But at some point, he began to wear a mask as if he wanted to cut off from the world.”
That’s right.
Fleur in childhood.
So, about 10 years ago, she was not as introverted as she is now, but rather a lively and bright child who was a bit of a troublemaker.
To the people of her mansion, the woman she is now is like the moon floating in the night sky and quietly illuminating the surroundings.
When she was young, she was a girl like the sun who directly radiated that light and warmed the surroundings.
Not only Kshat, who was saved by that warmth, but Old Burn could not have been forgotten either.
“She doesn’t say that the current lady is wrong. However, she noticed that the young lady smiled extremely less and looked the same as she does now. The reason she can’t show an honest side to the world is because she didn’t just grow up as an adult. Aren’t you also vaguely guessing?”
“Is that why you want to say that I am the reason? Kshat.”
Old Burn was nowhere to be seen, but he wiggled his eyebrows and asked a question to the squire he had raised.
Then, Kshat nods her head, tremblingly overcoming her obedience to him that had been engraved into her body over a long period of time.
“Of course… Of course. It’s as if Fleur is the only family member for the old man. For the young lady, the elderly are her only family. That family is a member of a global terrorist organization. Also, knowing that he was an executive. The young lady felt guilty.”
Even if it is not your fault.
If someone she loved committed a sin, it was natural for Fleur to be ashamed of it, given her kind personality.
A bowed head, a curved waist.
Does she deserve to be proud of herself to someone?
The heart of a girl who was faced with the truth that what she was wearing, what she was eating, and everything she had ever enjoyed was created based on someone else’s pain.
Torn to pieces, the heart that was like the sun gradually lost its heat and light.
Slowly, slowly. It was no different from dying.
She tried to resist in any way she could, but it didn’t seem to have any effect.
＂A time when the old man dismissed the young lady’s feelings as just her ‘rebellious phase’ and did not want to face her properly. All she has to do is leave it to herself, she rants, and what she really wants, the time she spent not thinking about it. Did you ever imagine the loneliness the young lady must have felt?”
However, there were some, like Artis and Miyeom-gong, who were aware of the true problems of the returnees, showed hostility toward them, and cooperated with Fleur.
“And… The one who saved the girl’s fading heart was none other than Cleon. Even without this imprint, I can understand. The young lady’s feelings through this engraving only made her more confident.”
A trustworthy colleague.
The person I met for the first time who I was able to show a little bit of my inner thoughts that I couldn’t reveal to anyone else.
We talked, dreamed of a future like him, and were saved by him.
It was none other than Cleon who once again brought light and warmth back to that sun-like heart.
For several years, she had been reluctant to take off her gas mask in front of others.
How could she deny that she was able to remove the wall that separated her from the world?
That’s why.
Kshat was able to speak confidently.
＂ … I dare say this as the head of the Descartes family. ＂
That was also Kshat’s declaration.
“The old man ignored the lady’s pleas and kept running away… The ‘former’ head of the family has no right to deny the current head of the family and Cleon!”
The sword of the horse, made with a strong will, flies and sticks.
Until Old Burn finished Kshat’s long speech, he could only stand still and listen.
It’s definitely something he told me to do, but I never thought he would really try to convey everything he was thinking from beginning to end.
And the content must have been enough to evoke various emotions in him.
But of course, the most representative emotion is-
“… I made Fleur suffer? “Fleur felt guilty because of me?”
His reaction as if he couldn’t understand.
Why?
He himself knew that what he had done as a returnee was an evil act from a social perspective.
If this evil deed was shameful, the only thing to be ashamed of was oneself.
In order not to pass on that sin to Fleur, I shouldered everything-
And for Fleur, I planned to open a new world.
I thought that was my atonement for creating this world.
That’s why Oldburn must have truly thought that everything he had done so far had nothing to do with Fleur.
The ugly parts of herself would not touch Fleur and defile her.
Her words were all the more so because he loved her with all her heart.
＂Why? Why does that child feel guilty about what I did! That’s a ridiculous idea, something a fool would do! She is not my boss, and she is not responsible for my work!”
A voice mixed with mechanical sounds resonates.
“I am me, and that child is that child. Who gave Fleur such foolish thoughts?”
The moment when he raised his voice loudly as if he wanted an answer from someone.
Boom! The one who flew in with the sound of cutting through the air was Cleon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two.
His fists and strength are strengthened with magic, and the fist he throws with all his might lands in Oldburn’s face.
Due to the impact, Oldburn had no choice but to roll on the ground two or three times.
＂What… Heh…＂
It would have felt like a shock similar to being hit on the head with a sledgehammer, but Emmett’s defensive power kept Oldburn’s head safe even after receiving Cleon’s fist.
[Head armor damage.]
Of course, in return, part of the face guard covering his face was damaged to the point of being torn off.
Old Burn’s bewildered eyes, visible among the falling metal fragments, look at Cleon, who attacked him without using his weapon.
And, the sight of the hand that was holding the fist bleeding from the punch just moments ago.
“Before… You said… I, who have never had a ‘family’, what do I know about your relationship with Fleur…”
Before Old Burn could say anything, Cleon opened his mouth first.
“Ah… Obviously I am. In my memory. I’ve never had a blood family relationship. Maybe it’s all my imagination, maybe I’m in the wrong direction.”
Nevertheless, clearly.
Here and now, there was something Cleon could confidently say to Oldburn.
“Why does Fleur feel guilty about your mistake…? Of course…! Because she loves you…!”
There may be a way to cut off someone else.
I am me, my grandfather is my grandfather.
How convenient it would be to be able to think like that.
But Fleur is too kind for that.
My heart wasn’t broken enough to do that.
＂No matter how much you shout for her sake, no matter how much you turn your eyes away from Fleur’s heart…! That kid still cares about you! I want you to get back on the right path! I hope you make her pay for her sins the fair way!”
I may have to live in prison until I die.
You may have to lose all your current possessions.
Even if that were the case. Even if that happens.
Fleur thought that was okay.
She had made up her mind that even that hardship should be borne by her and her family.
‘Ah, I understand.’
Why was Cleon himself able to deeply sympathize with Fleur’s story?
Cleon was the same as not to look away.
What passes through his mind.
The appearance of the teacher who brought a great disaster to Elesia for his own purposes.
The appearance of Pope Esca, who can now clearly be recognized as having degenerated into a being who sacrifices others.
Yes, Cleon too, because he faced his family’s sins and felt responsibility and pain for them.
Fleur’s words could never be ignored.
But, that alone.
“That’s what I call foolish!!”
Next moment.
Old Burn runs towards Cleon, swinging his fist as well.
Perhaps because the camera attached to his face guard was shattered in the attack a while ago, the trajectory of his fist was easier to read than before.
Cleon barely managed to block the punch with his arm, which still had the recoil from the previous attack.
However, it was a little late to respond to the subsequent knee kick.
Poop!
＂Big…!＂
Blood pours out from Cleon’s mouth.
“That thought is so soft, so kind! I am saying that I will end the world in which such people suffer losses!”
“Then don’t deny it! Her thoughts, her heart! It means you understand too!”
What followed was brutal punching and kicking.
Those who deny the mind and those who affirm it.
Oldburn doesn’t use all the suit’s functions, and Cleon doesn’t use his sword.
This was simply because it deviated from the pattern of battles conducted using ‘force’.
Blood spurted out every time they punched each other.
Kshat bit his lip at the sight, but couldn’t even move from his spot and join the fight with his exhausted body.
＂What Fleur needs is…＂
Old Burn sings in unison.
＂What that child needs…!＂
Cleon argues.
It was not only the horse that was loaded, but also the arms that were thrown back greatly.
Nobles and adventurers.
Old people and young people.
A person who does not understand family even though he or she has a blood-related family.
A person who understands family even though he lost all of his blood-related family.
And.
About a girl’s future.
A person who stands in opposition and confronts.
“It is an ideal world where no one gets hurt anymore!”
“A family that can accept hurts and endure them together!!”
It was at the same time.
The two people’s fists slide into each other’s arms at the same time, as if crossing each other’s arms.
Bang!
The shock.
Each person’s fists exploded as they entered each other’s faces.
A fist full of frustration towards the other person who does not understand.
Not only Cleon but also Oldburn spit out blood.
It was as if time had stopped, as they received each other’s fists.
