Chapter 533 – Words of Good Will.
“What do you mean? How could your father…”
“Yes, to be exact, I asked Verdi for it.”
Pirika carefully reached out her hand and gently stroked his cheek. Usher stood up and faced the girl.
“Tell me. What happened?”
“Ha, this is against the rules.”
As he held her small body tightly in his arms and whispered in her ear, Pirika blushed and cautiously opened her mouth.
“Do you remember the magic book that Usher brought along a long time ago?”
“If it’s a magic book… Is that really it?”
Usher thought for a moment and remembered a book that was in his backpack. It happened to be a magic book that had been with him ever since he lived in the forest countryside.
“That’s it.”
As the girl smiled and spoke as if she had read his thoughts, Usher opened his mouth with a mixed feeling.
“I have that, but…”
“If we have that, we’ll be able to find out more details about what happened to Usher’s dad.”
“But it was just one of those books that were widely available.”
“Yes, because it was disguised like that.”
For a moment, Usher felt like his heart was pounding. In fact, how many times will he throw away that spell book? Because he used to suffer from the urge to.
Because it kept reminding me of my past self, when I wasted time clinging to magic that I couldn’t even learn, let alone use.
However, Usher could not throw away his magic book.
“Leave the carriage in the stable and the magic book will be there.”
However, upon entering Ephesus, the carriage and Hildis Viny, including most of the luggage, had been left separately, so it was necessary to bring them back.
“I’ll be back for a bit…”
She was anxious to leave Pirika alone, but she was not in a good condition to take her around, so she planned to go quickly, but Usher did not finish her sentence.
“No. I want to go with Usher.”
Because the girl hugged his body and puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“But Pirika, your body will still hurt.”
“But Usher, you can’t go alone.”
For some reason, when Pirika was troubled by her stubbornness, she spoke up.
“More than anything, there is a place you must go.”
Usher looked down at her pure white hair for a moment and sighed.
“… If it hurts, be sure to tell me.”
“Yes.”
So Usher hugged the girl and stood up from her seat.
-Clap, click, click
“Are you going?”
As he and Pirika approached the entrance of the inn, Quixote, who was sitting on a chair, spoke to him. When I glanced at him, an empty liquor bottle and the strong smell of alcohol passed his nose.
“Ooh, the smell of alcohol.”
Pirika hid under his cloak like a rabbit startled by the smell and buried her face.
“Drinking in the morning doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Ha, please take a look. This is my first drink in 10 years.”
“Still, it’s better to drink it in moderation.”
There were already dozens of empty bottles under the table.
“… I guess so.”
As I watched him snoring with his heavy head lowered as if there was nothing he could do, I heard the sound of trudging footsteps.
“He told me to take off my helmet at the inn.”
The owner of those footsteps was Liza, the owner of the inn. Usher opened her mouth as she watched her carefully remove Srekihort’s helmet.
“There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“What are you curious about?”
Lisa paused, as if she hadn’t expected Usher to speak to her, and then she calmly looked back at him.
“Why are helmets not allowed in this inn?”
Usher checked to see if other stores in Parsiphenia had rules like this, but only this inn seemed particularly sensitive to knights wearing helmets.
“… Okay, I guess I should tell you.”
Lisa opened her mouth, closed it, hesitated, then seemed to have decided and told the story.
“I am. I was once a member of the party that supported Minos.”
“But you are my mother’s friend…”
“Hehe, yes. That’s why I regret it even more.”
With a bitter look on her face, Liza leaned on the table where Kihort had fallen and brushed down the helmet she had taken off from him with trembling hands.
“I believed that he would really enrich this country.”
Although her husband tried to persuade her several times, Riza did not listen to her.
“I always thought that friends and politics were separate things.”
They thought they would understand someday, but their relationship grew so far apart without them realizing it.
“I was just dreaming.”
Lisa was happy with her happiness with her beloved husband. So, she believed that if a better world came, her son, whom she loved, would also be happy.
“… I didn’t even know how foolish that thought was.”
Lisa closed her eyes and remembered that day, tears forming at the corners of her crinkled eyes. That day was the same as usual. Sunny weather as always. A refreshing morning starting with pleasant sunlight.
“A letter? Was it from Percy?”
A letter arrived at Lisa’s house as she was preparing breakfast. It wasn’t that strange. Her son had suddenly become a gallant knight and was working for the country.
Although her husband passed away early due to illness, the fruit that resembles him still remains by her side. She could be said to be the driving force of Lisa’s life.
Heheung♪”
After finishing her household chores early in the morning, Lisa was about to leisurely read the letter her son sent while drinking fragrant tea. As she slowly read the letter, she realized something strange.
“… What is it?”
It wasn’t my son’s handwriting. Her son’s handwriting was so bad that it was difficult to recognize him unless he was an acquaintance. But isn’t this letter full of dry words, as if they were stamped with a stamp?
-Tararak
The teacup she put down made a strange noise as it trembled, but she didn’t have time to pay attention.
“It doesn’t make sense. It can’t be like that! It can’t be like that!!”
The contents of the letter were as follows.
‘I would like to express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family as my son passed away due to a long-term illness.’
It was truly a ridiculous story.
“Please open the door! Please open the door! My son was sick! This is ridiculous!!!”
Her son was her only joy after losing her husband. Even if she had a small cold, she cared for it with utmost care in case it became a serious illness, and she visited her doctor from time to time and had regular check-ups.
“For security reasons, access to civilians cannot be permitted.”
“I am that child’s mother! At least let me identify the body!”
“This is confidential.”
“It’s not something that can be resolved by saying it’s confidential!!!”
She went to visit the knights where her son worked several times, but she always returned with the same disappointment.
“Are you human!? Give me my son! Give me him!!”
“No matter what, civilians are not allowed access.”
A dry voice was all that rang out from beyond the knight’s helmet. She visited the knights for days and years, but she could not get any information about her son.
Then one day.
-Tararang
“… Not open for business.”
Lisa lay face down on her counter as she weakly answered someone who opened the inn’s door. It’s been a long time since she stopped doing housework and managing the inn, and only the accumulating dust became her friend.
“… It’s my son’s keepsake.”
“Huh?! What…!”
She heard him when Lisa belatedly raised her head. She forgot what she was going to say. His right arm was empty, and his left foot was replaced by an old wooden stick.
“You… Back then.”
It was my first time seeing her face, but I recognized her by her voice. He was the gatekeeper who stopped him from visiting the Order over and over again over the years.
He held out to her old, twisted, faded dog tags. It was Lisa’s last request after giving up and giving up, but it was also rejected as confidential.
“I told you this too late. I’m sorry.”
The one who brought it was a knight who was in complete disrepair. Hidden beneath the helmet, which seemed so strong and cold, was the appearance of a very shabby man.
-Kikigeek, trudge, kikigeek, trudge
So he handed over his son’s belongings and left the tavern without a word. Only then did Lisa realize. She wondered what she had been deceived by Minos’ words and sweet dreams.
What did they mean when they said that the power of the knights was the power to oppress the people? But by the time I realized its true meaning, it was too late.
Because there was no one left for her to open her mouth for herself.
“…”
Usher was unable to say anything as Lisa spoke with tears falling as if confessing her sins.
“Always keep it in mind.”
Liza stammered, holding on to the helmet she was holding as if it would distort it, as if squeezing her throat, which was clogged with tears.
“The helmet is definitely an object that protects oneself, but it is also a cruel object that prevents one from even being able to see the tears of one’s beloved son.”
She cried quietly for a long time without making a single sound.
