Chapter 97 – 97 – Who Are You and Me?
Six-year-old Tena was a child who cried whenever he fell and hit his knee. Twelve-year-old Thena was crying and blowing while holding her hand, saying that she wanted us to become stronger together.
Where did the innocent and tender warrior from back then go? I don’t know, but it seems like you’ve changed a lot.
He even said there was no need to worry about me.
“So how long do you plan on staying like this, Monica?”
“Until our lovely porter calms down.”
If you live or die, you should be happy. If you received help, be grateful. Even though there was a mess, we should be glad that we are all safe and without any serious injuries.
But my face was wrinkled. For reasons that even I can’t pinpoint.
A wrinkled face has side effects. It spreads worry to the people around you, making people whisper and ask why that guy is so sick.
There are also advantages. It is the softest substance in the world I know, the function of being enveloped and comforted by the glory and blessing of being alive.
As she is held in the arms of her infinitely loving sister, her hands automatically rise to her breasts, pressing her cheeks. The sister who was crouching in the corner like a loner, climbing on top of me and showing me kindness, smiled as if she was tickled and accepted the pampering until the end.
Eshen, who was quietly watching, stuck his head between us.
And she glared at me, who was on the verge of attaining Buddhahood while wrapped in her chest. Just like me, with your face scrunched up.
“Baby. Your face is melting like fondue cheese. Are your breasts that good?”
“Too.”
“I don’t know why I can’t live or die. I should try touching it too.”
Soon the number of kneading hands increased to four. The sister, who was embarrassed for a moment but left us alone, then pinched Eshen’s cheek as if telling him to take it in moderation.
Eshen pulled her head away with a sinister look on his face.
“I think I know why you like it.”
“I’m glad you feel better. Shall we go listen to Thena’s briefing now?”
As soon as I heard Tena’s name, my face automatically crumpled again. The sister giggled, probably thinking it was an extension of her pampering, and hugged me tightly again.
In the feeling of having the whole world, I decided to forget about honey. Although it wasn’t easy.
“Can we stay like this just a little longer?”
“Good. Actually, I wanted to do that too. I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but put your worries aside, Tan.”
Because of anxiety. Concern.
Since I have to respond to the call of the party’s commander, Thena Everlight, by 12 o’clock, it seems impossible to let go of her worries.
It’s been 10 years since you abandoned me.
To me who doesn’t want to talk about my regrets, you, who have grown strong, actually draw a line. Saying you don’t need me anymore
How should I treat you?
———–
An unprecedented situation in which half of a country’s palaces collapsed. Linden was confused.
Fortunately, there were no innocent deaths. This is thanks to the Paladins of Mithras, who did not underestimate the danger of Guntur, and evacuated people in the vicinity in advance, thinking that an enemy might enter the castle. Even the remaining security forces ran away the moment they saw Rod revealing his dragon form.
There is only one person missing, but Linden’s officials don’t seem worried. Barbo Lindborg, who had a lot of blood running down his body, which was not appropriate for his position, did not seem to have much interest in getting his subordinates on his side.
‘Wow, I’m so glad. ‘It could have been much worse.’ If it were me, I would have said that. It’s like asking if there’s half water left in the cup.
“There was luck in the midst of a disaster. But luck won’t last forever.”
However, the blue-gold hero Tena Everlight, standing in front of the unfolded map of the battlefield, assessed the situation in a voice full of pensiveness. He said there was only half of water left in the cup.
It’s just strange. It was the opposite when it was just the two of us. Your mouth always attached reckless and cheerful words to the stem of a situation like a wreath, and it was always my job to tear it down with worrying and dark words.
The party members gathered in the temporary barracks rented by the Linden Army focused on Thena’s lips and nodded her head seriously. Unlike me, everyone seemed familiar with Tena like that.
“It is the second largest cave on record so far. If left as is, Linden’s country will be devastated, and many people will lose their hometowns and lives.”
“I guess so.”
Lenny sighed and put her sharpened knife back at her waist.
“I’m tired and dying, but it’s better for us to die than for people to die. We’re ready, Thena.”
“No. Our party is taking a break from the battle. No matter how many special combatants and top-notch assistants we have, it is great enough that only nine people achieved this much. We neutralized a large demon cave and fought hard against the demon lord. Peel.”
The expressions of the party members, who had been proud of the praise, hardened at the end of Tena’s words.
I also closed my eyes tightly. She certainly said that as Thena poked her Gunter’s arm. ‘I found it, demon lord.’ I guess I didn’t hear it wrong.
“Yeah, I still wanted to ask. The devil? The head of Mithras? What do you mean?”
Eshen, stretched out on the sofa, tilted his head. Flor Rica, who had a miserable expression on her face, also bit her lip and spoke.
“Even though his thoughts were so distorted that he was excommunicated, Gunther Waldenhardt was a believer. Still, a person who converted to religion is the devil?”
“Everyone must have seen him place his hand on the floor and summon Demon Gul.”
The pale-skinned porter opened his mouth. I reflexively snapped at him.
“Excuse me, who are you?”
“Oh my, I haven’t said hello yet? I’m sorry for not being in a hurry. My name is Erinak. I’m Erinak Sophon. You’re ‘Lan’ Bantai, right?”
He suddenly extended his hand to me. The small hands holding his face are callused. I feel like the experience is beyond my own.
I tend to like people like that, but…
“I’ve heard a lot about you. Let’s do well together as porters in the future.”
I think it’s hard to like this guy. The crescent-shaped eyes are as if they are mocking me, which is unpleasant.
What are you doing well in the future? There’s nothing I want to do with you.
Nidroga turned towards Erinac and raised his hand.
“Could it be that the fact that Thena was running around without giving us any explanation had something to do with Gunther being the Demon Lord?”
“It should be said to be a ‘part’ of the Demon King, actually.”
Erinak let go of my shaking hand and turned halfway around, as if trying to catch her, and winked at Tena.
As Thena nodded her head, Erinak opened her bag, which she had placed down on the side of her barracks. She then took out several sheets of paper and scattered them on the briefing table for everyone to see.
It was a portrait of several people. It was also a portrait of a person.
Black clothes with golden embroidery symbolizing the rank of the parish priest. Leather clothes like a thief. Armor like a general. Some people are naked, and others have their skin peeled off and look like corpses.
And they all had the face of Gunther Waldenhardt on them. Erinak, who was watching us at a loss for words, shrugged as if she expected us to be surprised.
“I believe everyone knows how accurate the [Place Memory] Aptitude picture is.”
“Of course I know. The reporters of one solar magazine drew the lower half of our porter’s body exactly like that and spread it around the world.”
Isilun looked at the barracks ceiling with sad eyes.
Tenaga Sare, who was sipping tea, stopped by and cleared her throat, and Erinak turned her eyes towards me in contemplation.
Now that I see it, it’s harder to bear a sympathetic gaze than a polite smiling face. I think I’m going to stab those eyeballs out with my finger.
“I see. Anyway, these are not made-up pictures. They are the same people that my colleague in the ‘organization’ I belong to, a person with aptitude for [Place Memory], Discovered in various places in the world. Except for the person named Gunther. “Almost everyone was involved in shadowy, underworld work.”
“Twins? Clones?”
“You can think of them as twins, you can think of them as clones, or you can think of them as paramecium propagated by binary fission. They are all right to some extent, but at the same time they are wrong to some extent.”
Erinak placed her hand on one of her paintings and stroked the head of her egg with her thumb, something that had remained the same even as her job and lifestyle changed.
“It’s not just that this person doesn’t have the hair that even parameciums have. These are some kind of fragments created when some scary being was crushed by the warrior’s sword. The fundamentals, way of thinking, personality, and purpose are the same, but they each move with their own memories and ego. “
“The demon lords, divided into many people, are invading our world in various forms.”
“That’s right. As you know, the Demon Lord is the pinnacle of all demons and at the same time the most powerful demon. I believe that you can fully understand the gravity of the matter. Your party leader probably didn’t want to get you involved until he was sure. “I trust you will generously understand that I have not shown my face for the past three months.”
“My desire to not get involved with you has not changed even after Gunter’s identity became clear. I don’t want my colleagues to get hurt because of this.”
Morgan looked surprised at Tena’s words.
“Respected party leader, whom I’m meeting for the first time today, are you really saying that you’re going to catch so many demon lords by yourself? Then, what on earth did you create for this party full of limited express vehicles?”
“It’s nice to meet you too. Morgan Tomko, renowned member of the Countess’s Handguns, has joined our party. I am not belittling the fighting prowess of my comrades.”
It wasn’t until he became polite that he spoke smoothly. Tena’s mouth closed as if she was struggling.
With everyone watching, Thena finished her long thought and blurted out one word.
“I am an orphan.”
“···To?”
I laughed out loud.
It seemed that there were some parts that had not changed over time. The despairing expression that gave me trouble several times as a child was still there.
I’m not saying things like that because I’m an idiot. What Tena said is close to the core of the problem.
It’s close to the point and far from understanding, so it’s just a matter of forcing the reasoning on others.
Tena, who was looking around for someone who could fill in her lack of speech, soon fixed her eyes on Erinak. Erinak scratched her head as if troubled and looked at us.
“Well, what Ms. Tena said. So…”
“If something goes wrong, we’re not the only ones who get hurt. The other person is the one who placed the soul of a monster on her daughter in her dragon’s nest and tried to slaughter her dragons.”
I translated Tena’s words so that they were easier to understand. As she stared at Thena.
“It wasn’t that the Lord was away, and that he was just holding on. He even had a powerful monster possess the Lord’s daughter, Nidroga. Think about what someone like that could do to our family. Villena’s father is already a scary person. “I almost got into trouble.”
Villena, who was cleaning her glasses, nodded her head with a somber look on her face.
Fortunately, Villena’s father, Mr. Torpedo Nitro, was found in time as a result of a search by the Paladins and Linden Army led by Garam Taiga. He is now recovering his strength by sleeping cleanly after being treated by his sister.
But she was definitely close to death. If Garam, who stopped in front of the cave, had not stopped the paladins, saying ‘there was a suspicious smell’, everyone would probably have turned into corpses together.
“They said they connected the core of the golem containing mana to the fuse of the explosive. They used the door of the room in the cave where my father was trapped as the switch for the bomb.”
“That’s exactly what could happen to any of our families. Thena, on the other hand, has no connections. Unlike the rest of us, she is less susceptible to retaliation. Did I explain this correctly, Thena?”
Thena blinked her eyes a few times as she looked in Morgan’s direction. That was all her former colleague’s reaction was. She is extremely stingy.
On the other hand, Eri Nak had a cheerful expression on her face, as if the blockage inside her had been cleared.
“That’s right. God, do you know how frustrating it was to go around with this person? He’s like a cutter who can cut into stone no matter what type of monster he is, well-“
“That’s it. Ran is right. So I have to say something important.”
Thena raised her hand to stop Erinak from complaining. She then looked around at the frozen party members with uncertain eyes.
Her sister whispered softly. “Don’t do that.”
But Thena smiled weakly.
“As the leader of the party, I declare that I will expel Thena Everlight from the Special Monster Extermination and Elimination Team party. The reason is that she has put the party in unnecessary danger.”
“···Is that possible? You fire yourself?”
“Then who are you telling me to dress up?”
“It’s possible. I make the rules. I have the right people. Take care of the party, vice-captain.”
“Don’t do this. I don’t want to do that. Where are you going to leave us?”
Neña cried and tightly squeezed her Thena’s arm. Perhaps because it was an unexpected situation, Thena’s shoulders flinched.
“···What you experienced in the Demon Cave this time is probably retaliation for chasing after a fragment named Gunther. The other fragments of the Demon King probably also vaguely noticed what happened. If they move together with you, they will do the same. “Threats to one’s life will happen every day.”
Tena’s face gradually hardened. She was trying to smile, but it didn’t seem to be working.
She soon became as pretty as a velvet doll, but her lifeless lips spoke words she did not want to hear.
“I’m sorry. It all happened because I was weak.”
‘Tan Bhan Thai. You don’t need it anymore. ‘Don’t follow me.’
‘What do you mean, I’m carrying you and you shouldn’t follow me? Don’t scare me, just hold on a little longer. What you see over there is a village. After meeting the healers, let’s go straight to the restaurant. I asked for a lot of carrots and chicken in the soup and ate it until I was full. Therefore-‘
‘It’s not you. ‘It’s not your fault.’
I remember clearly. The sobbing voice of a fourteen-year-old porter who was walking unsteadily carrying a blood-covered Thena.
The voice that seemed to be comforting me came from the dying person on my back.
‘It’s because I’m weak.’
I can feel Eshen’s gaze. He’s looking at me as if I’m asking why.
But I could hardly escape the panic. As I was struggling to breathe, I suddenly felt the lack of oxygen and was starting to get scared.
“Let’s not give a fuck, Thena.”
The inhalation that had been blocked fills the lungs again. The sister quickly helped me up as I almost collapsed.
As soon as her Thena’s eyes suddenly turned to me, her Eshen snapped her fingers and turned Thena’s eyes to her.
“Look over here and talk.”
“Saw.”
“What do you think the hero party exists for? Wasn’t it created when the hero was sick of fighting alone and gathered together other beggars willing to die with him?”
“It may be a rough expression, but it’s true. It’s a tradition that started when the first warrior invited those who would stand on the front lines together.”
“If you’re going to treat us like trash that you can’t even die with, then get rid of us. They’ll understand and say, ‘Oh, you look like we’re a piece of shit.’ But you’re afraid of us getting hurt, so you can’t take us with you? That hurts my pride a lot. How about this? .”
Her Eshen nudged her neck, and then Thena stepped in front of her and stood within touching distance of her nose.
“Let’s take the party leader position and show up. If I win, TENA Everlight’s expulsion will be cancelled.”
“That sounds absolutely ridiculous.”
As Morgan muttered, Eshen flashed his middle finger. The corner of Tena’s mouth twitched as if she was about to laugh.
“Okay. What if you lose?”
“I risked my life and broke two legs so you can’t go to catch the demon lord.”
She bared her teeth. The sister who was massaging her shoulders while I was trying to catch my breath suddenly blurted out something like a thought.
“I won’t add your legs either.”
Thena blinked her eyes a few times, then she looked back at the other party members.
Now I see that everyone is smiling like conspirators.
“Let’s not do this.”
“If Eshen extends, I will do it. Get ready to search.”
“I don’t like it. You make an expression like you’re carrying the world on your own.”
“Hey guys, it seems like everyone doesn’t know what the ‘Demon King’ can do.”
Thena’s companion on her secret mission, porter Erinak, raised her hands. As if to tell everyone to calm down.
“The ‘organization’ on our side that was investigating him in the first place is mostly made up of people who have already lost their families to this guy. There are already many people who will help you, hero, without worrying about those around you. Why don’t you think twice? ?”
“Tenna is my family.”
I stood up and said.
Tena showed a lively reaction like a human for the first time today. Ignoring the confused look in her eyes, I spoke as if I was chewing each word and spitting it out.
“They are my family.”
