Chapter 38 – Oblique Lines (3)
“I met a monster that uses a scroll, you mean…?”
Stion confirms again.
Russ nodded his head once.
“Under…”
Stion sighed.
After hearing the story, I thought that there must have been something that the three women could not help.
Who would have predicted that?
I had nothing to say other than that it was just bad luck.
After hearing the story, I didn’t want to scold them any more.
Only anger that had no place to go festered inside him.
Stion looked at his brother, who was soundly asleep.
It was pale.
Even a breathing corpse was unbelievable.
“…Is it lack of blood?”
She couldn’t look at it for a long time, so she looked away and asked, and this time Bien answered.
“…Yes.”
“Have you found a blood recipient yet?”
“Starchis… Blood is so special.”
Stion quickly rolled up his forearm.
“Check me out too.”
Bien swallowed her saliva.
Her saintess next to her took out her red jewel-encrusted jewelery from her pocket.
This ornament indicates the type of blood a person has by color.
When a gem is placed on a person’s body, it changes color.
People of the same color can transfuse blood, but not if they are of a different color.
Starch was white.
Bien begged.
It is possible if it is this man who is his brother.
May white come out of this man too.
He gently placed the jewel on his forearm.
-Sreuk
The color of the gem changes.
It was bright blue.
The three women who eagerly look at the jewelry fall into the pit of despair again.
Bien bowed her head.
She handed over the trinkets.
Stion realized that his blood wasn’t working in that reaction.
“..Steon, check us out too.”
A sound came from outside the door.
They were the party members of the party ‘Aid’.
Everyone rolled their arms, and Bien approached and checked each one.
There was not a single white one.
“…No one is here?”
“Starches are white..”
When Stion let out her heavy sigh and Bien stayed still with her arms and head stretched out, ‘Sira’, the manager of the party ‘Aid’, opened her mouth.
“Steon. There is only one way to save Starchis.”
Russ, Lily, Vienne, and even Stion pricked up their ears.
“… What.”
Stion looked at Seira.
It was a voice that seemed determined to do anything.
“.. But it might be a bit difficult.”
“It doesn’t matter, tell me.”
Seira glanced at the Aid party members.
As if sorry
“We have to enter the dungeon. As long as we can go and get some vampire blood, that’s fine.”
“Vampire?”
“Vampire’s blood can be transfused to anyone. It’s an A-class monster, but if I can catch one, I can transfuse it to Starchis.”
Vampires are one of the top level monsters even in Class A.
It’s difficult to find, and it’s dangerous to fight, so it’s one of the quests that even A-rank parties avoid.
That’s why there wasn’t much information known about the by-products from that monster.
Asked Russ.
“Th-But… If that happens, wouldn’t Starchis also become a vampire?”
Seira shook her head.
“It’s okay as long as you purify the blood. The problem now is how to catch the vampire and… How long Starchis will last until then.”
Lily, who had already been told by Stachis that her time was running out, was not so excited about her hopes that it was her vampire blood.
I heard that it takes more than 4 days for an A-class monster on average.
It is also limited to monsters with strong destructive power of stopping intelligence, and those with high intelligence like vampires and those who even use minions will take longer.
I didn’t think I could make it in time at all.
“We’re fine, Stion. Let’s go catch him. It’s dangerous, but… If you’re a vampire, you’ve had the experience of catching him a while ago.”
A woman from the party helped Stion decide.
But Stion had other thoughts.
“Saira, did we catch a vampire recently?”
“… The since month I caught it must have changed twice.”
Puzzled by the question, Seira replied.
Stion narrowed her eyes and blinked at her.
“… No. Perhaps…”
“Stion?”
Stion turned abruptly to her door.
“Guys, I have a place to go.”
“Stion?! So what about dungeons?”
“Maybe you don’t have to go in. Everyone is going back to their homes. I’ll talk to you again if I need you.”
Before leaving, he paused, then turned his head slightly to talk to Russ, Vienne and Lily.
“…Until you come back, please take care of my brother. No matter what you say or do, until I come back.”
And then he left in an instant.
****
Ade’s party members disappeared after Stion.
As many people left at once, silence came.
The two saints who were still in the room looked at each other carefully, trying to figure out what to do.
Bien moved first.
She returned her jewel-encrusted ornaments to a saint and put her hands together in front of Stachis’ bedside.
“Bien..? What are you doing.”
“I have to help Starchis survive.”
Then he memorized prayers and energized them.
It was just a life-sustaining treatment that did nothing to improve the patient’s condition, but Bien continued to memorize prayers.
The two saints who had been standing at a distance followed Vienne and acted in the same way.
Both Russ and Lily came to the hospital bed.
“…It’s Chis.”
Russ said to Stachis, who did not open his eyes.
Words did not come out as if a huge stone was blocking his throat.
I didn’t know what to say.
No matter what I said, it seemed like it would be too painful if it turned out to be a goodbye.
But if I could just talk a little and he could hear me, if it bought me a little more time, I’d gladly do it.
He swallows the stone that blocks his throat by swallowing his saliva.
“..Chis, thank you.”
Starchis inhaled and exhaled in an unchanging, feeble breath.
“Again, I got your help.”
Russ remembered Starchis blocking the demonic sword in front of him.
Tears run down her eyes.
“I should have been standing next to you… I… “
It was Russ who felt like trash while talking.
Starchis must protect Russ, and Russ must protect Starchis.
Starchis did his job well, but Russ didn’t.
I vacated his side of him, being stunned by the magic of the scroll.
In return, Starchis was kept in the line of fire.
Everything seemed to be Russ’ fault.
Tears are dripping down.
If he had thanked him once, this time he tried to apologize, but Russ kept his mouth shut.
I didn’t want to say anything negative about the current situation.
I wanted to tell you things that Starches can do their best.
“Chiss, we finally completed our B-class request. We’ve been dreaming of this moment for a long time… It’s all thanks to you. So wake up soon huh? We should have a party to celebrate.”
She wanted to speak in an excited voice with as much energy as possible, but it was not as easy as she thought.
Seeing Russ struggling, Lily took over.
“Yes, Staches. Please wake up quickly.”
She remembered as she spoke.
The demonic sword that Stachis blocked, without him, the sword would have stabbed him.
The direction of the sword was like that.
Captain Monkey seemed to be resentful of being hit by Lily the whole time, and he had been aiming for her.
“And… Thank you.”
Lily couldn’t find anything else to say.
“.. Thank you.. Thank you..”
Starchis, who taught me about love.
Starchis, who saved her life several times.
… And I quietly recall the image of him when he collapsed.
-‘Cold..’
Lily clenched her fists.
It was Starchis, who said it was cold.
However, he was cold all the time until he passed out because he couldn’t activate that simple magic once.
If he can’t wake up like this… He’ll die in the cold.
That burning soul disappeared in the cold because it couldn’t even provide that simple one warm-up.
Blood flowed from Lily’s fists her.
“Thank you… Hehe…”
I’m so sorry that it felt like my heart was going to break.
“I’m sorry… So sorry…”
“Lily…!”
Bien scolded Lily while she was praying.
I didn’t want Lily to say anything negative.
“By the way…! By the way…!”
Lily eventually breaks down.
“I couldn’t even share my warmth with Starchis..! Ugh.. Black! He collapsed from the cold… Heuuuuu…”
She could not return it to the man who always shared warmth with her.
Even Russ and Vienne were speechless because they felt like they would cry.
“Ah.. Starchis..!”
Lily leans over Stachis.
I ask him while using magic to convey soft and cozy warmth.
“Starchis… What were you trying to say before you collapsed… ?”
– Drip-tuk.
Her tears gently fall on Stachis’ face her.
It was Stachis who called them before they fell,
-‘…Bien…Russ…Lily sister…-‘
Squeeze out the last bit of strength and talk to Starchis.
I didn’t want to hear it, so I covered his mouth mercilessly.
Because I was so scared
But covering his mouth, he didn’t change anything.
He still fell down and couldn’t get up.
Now, what he was going to say, that made me very curious.
“… Please wake up and let me know… Starchis…”
What did you want to say
Perhaps the grown-up Stachis was expecting his own death and was trying to leave a will.
Thank you sorry? It was fun?
What were the words he was trying to convey after giving up even walking at the end?
If he didn’t wake up like this, he seemed to regret it for the rest of his life.
It was the same with Vienne and Russ.
I regretted not hearing his last words before he collapsed.
****
Two guards stood in front of Stion.
“Stop! What business are you?”
“Tell Hiannisty that Stion, the leader of the party ‘Aid’, has come to visit.”
“.. Stion?”
A guard who becomes visibly alert upon hearing his name.
It was no secret that the Niceties and Aid had a good relationship.
One guard nodded at another.
The guards who received the signal ran to the mansion in the distance.
Stion was in a hurry.
“… I know the permit hasn’t been issued yet, but it’s urgent, so can you let me in?”
“… Yes?”
The guard became noticeably more polite when he learned that the man in front was Stion.
Even so, the sense of intimidation was different because Stion was a person who had obtained the same rights as a nobleman purely through his fighting ability.
“It’s really urgent.”
Stion clenched his fists to control his heart.
The guard’s flesh was shaking, but he didn’t want to let go of the head of the house, Hiannisti, who had always been good to him.
“…Please observe the procedure.”
“You know what I can break through if I want?”
“Oh that..”
The guard swallows his saliva.
“Make a decision quickly… I don’t think it will be long before my patience runs out.”
The guard turns his head at the sound coming from the mansion in the distance.
His performance His has come.
The guard who had run to the mansion was returning.
A man followed behind him.
Quality that can be seen from a distance.
It was Hiannisti.
When he saw him, Stion calmed down a bit.
The head of the family personally dragged herself to meet him.
Hiannisty approached and patted the guard on the shoulder her, who was sweating coldly.
“… What are you doing all this way.”
Hian opened the gate himself and asked.
He thought that there must be an urgent reason for Stion to visit him alone, so he set aside other things and ran.
“I’m here to ask you something.”
Stion said to Hiannisti.
Hiannisti saw the nervousness hidden beneath Stion’s stiff face in her.
“Shall we talk as we go in?”
Hiannisti extended her arm to guide him into the mansion.
Stion nodded and walked towards the mansion.
I heard a guard whispering behind me.
-‘I think I’m peeing…’
-‘.. What?’
The two of them entered the mansion by walking a short or long road.
Several servants bowed to them.
The situation seemed serious, so no one said anything.
“So, Stion. Tell me your business.”
A man with low-pitched charisma. Hian asked seriously while holding the weight.
– Udang-tang-tang!
A loud noise interrupts their conversation.
-‘Miss!! Miss! Come back!’
-‘There’s a guest, Elsaine!’
Stion turns his head at the sound.
‘Elsaine?’
He focused on the name he had heard in an unusual situation.
-‘What if it’s an important guest…!’
– ‘This is the person I saw once before. It’s okay, Elsaine!’
“This… My… !”
Hiannisti is restless. The weight he had been holding on to was gone again.
A cute woman with pink hair and pink eyes appeared on the stairs.
After that, a maid hurriedly followed.
Hian sighs and frowns.
In addition to his wrinkled face her, the face of the maid called El Jain also becomes teary-eyed.
Rose Nisty didn’t care at all.
She greets Stion brightly.
“Hello! See you again?”
“Okay. Nice to meet you.”
“Rose! Get back soon! An important guest..!”
Hiannisti scolds him warmly.
However, it seemed to Stion that she wanted to hide Rose from herself rather than wanting to send Rose away to be consider of him.
Rose ignored her father’s words to her.
“You are alone today. Where is your brother? It was Starchis..?”
Climbing down the stairs neatly, I ask Stion.
Stion comes to his senses her when he hears the name Stachis from her mouth her.
Stion looked at Hiannisty.
“Hian… Actually, that’s why I came here. By any chance, where is the vampire blood I delivered last month?”
