Chapter 173: Funeral (5)

Humming a tune as we crossed the mountain ridge, an imposing fortress welcomed us beyond the shaggy mane. Before the funeral, people hiding their desires were passing through the checkpoint, managing their expressions. At the gate, a priest was blessing those entering by sprinkling holy water before the funeral, and a large cross was hung before the gate in the name of Saint Alexander.

We confirmed this sight at the end of the procession and clicked our tongues. We thought we might be able to watch the funeral, but seeing the state of the gate, it seemed we wouldn’t even be able to get in. Unaware, a villager who came out to do business took off his upper garment upon hearing they’d sprinkle holy water, and was being stubborn, asking for it to be sprinkled on his horse too.

Merchants and nobles alike, upon hearing they’d sprinkle holy water, offered their bodies or reached out their hands without complaint to receive the blessing. Before the holy water, there was no distinction between noble and commoner; only demons and humans were distinguished. Being obvious demons, we stood at the end of the line and could only scratch our heads.

Taffy looked at the cross and asked with an anxious face.

“Evan. What do we do?”

“At night, we’ll just have to climb over the wall.”

No matter how much I use holy water during sex, there was no way I could endure having it sprinkled all over my body like that. I reassured Taffy by stroking her head and turned my horse.

Near the wall lived many people who farmed outside the walls. We borrowed a shabby barn from a farm and lay back leisurely, waiting for the stars. The straw bales cooled down, and the horses lowered their heads. The pigs slept, buried deep into each other’s flesh, and I looked up at the stars and said.

“The stars are pretty tonight.”

“No. 5. He would have liked them.”

Taffy seemed to know what I was trying to say without me saying it. She nodded and said what I was going to say for me. I held her hand tightly and went outside through the window. In the fields, except for the scarecrows, there was no one seeing us.

The outskirts of the capital were like the eastern pasturelands, full of scenic views and warm hospitality, but there were no night watchmen patrolling, and the torches hung on every street were being extinguished by someone in this savage neighborhood. We leaned on the savage side of the city and crept up stealthily in the shadows.

On the wall, soldiers were staring straight ahead with blank expressions. People waiting for tomorrow’s entry were staring blankly at the wall, or gazing at the particularly pretty stars, chatting amongst themselves. In the quiet night, the low voices spoken spread in all directions, reaching the middle of the wall and our ears too.

“Where are you from?”

“We came from the west. We wanted to show the nobles the magic tools we developed this time.”

“Ho ho, this person is saying something that could cause big trouble. Didn’t you come for the funeral? It’s to commemorate the sacrifice of our hero Fabian.”

“Doesn’t everyone just say that on the surface? Who cares if the guys living in the north die or not?”

“Of course, no one cares. But you should at least say things differently. Watch your words. If you speak so openly, they won’t even buy the items the nobles want to buy.”

Taffy looked down at the gate. I stroked her head and whispered lowly.

“Taffy. We came to pay respects to No. 5 today.”

Taffy only after hearing those words obediently turned her body. I didn’t need to bother with those guys one by one. Today wasn’t about satisfying my selfish sense of justice. Today I had come to the capital to send off my family.

After crossing the wall, we found an empty house and spent the night. Taffy stayed up all night with open eyes, while I slept soundly and then headed towards the funeral hall. At the funeral hall, priests with bright smiles were stationed from the entrance. Taffy and I confirmed, as expected, that we couldn’t enter the funeral hall with dignity, and started looking for another way.

The place where the funeral was held was fortunately not a church. Because Fabian had not been a church member during his life, his wishes were respected, and the funeral was being held in another building in the square. It was said to be a multi-purpose building run by a hero’s relative, and the man loitering near the main entrance of the funeral hall, grinning ear to ear, seemed to be the owner.

He would look around and smile, but when someone approached to talk about the funeral, he would put on a sad face, revealing a shadow on his face.

“Yes. Thank you for coming. We must not forget the hero’s sacrifice.”

Then, turning his head again, he would sigh deeply or crack jokes to his family. Although it was a joke thrown out in a low voice, we, lurking in the back alleys with our sharp hearing, could clearly hear that impudent voice.

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that Wolf listened to me. Huh? Now our building is a tourist attraction too. There’s a statue of the hero Fabian next door, and we held Fabian’s funeral here. Tourists will come in droves!”

Taffy looked displeased seeing that, and I had to calm her down once again. Soothing Taffy felt like gripping the leash of a fierce dog and playing tug-of-war.

“Taffy. Don’t be like that. Doesn’t he at least pretend to be sad? Huh? We came to see off our No. 5, do we have to spill blood like that?”

“What I imagined. It wasn’t like this. Evan? What about you?”

“To be honest, I didn’t think this either.”

It was a complex feeling. An indescribable complexity consumed my mind. The only fortunate thing was that since the funeral hall wasn’t a church, it was easy to infiltrate anywhere. I said to Taffy.

“Let’s just quickly see Fabian’s funeral and leave. We can climb up the railing here and hide for a few days.”

Originally, I had planned to pick up a girl in the capital after the funeral. But seeing the atmosphere of the capital, I lost all motivation and didn’t want to stay any longer. Taffy nodded in agreement, and we looked up at the top of the building and kicked off the ground.

The building was very tall and had many empty rooms. Taffy and I combined our strength, carefully climbed up the railing, and then moved around inside as if we were building staff. Then, we found a secluded, quiet room and hid ourselves. Taffy stole a calendar from somewhere and hung it on the wall.

Until the funeral, we spent our time chatting casually or gagging each other and having sex. Taffy stole food for me to eat, and I, for the hungry Taffy, gave her my cock or put my semen into her pussy.

When the servants came in, saying they heard rats squeaking, we were hanging from the ceiling, thrusting our hips. Right before the funeral, when the servants were bustling around, saying they were doing a major cleaning, we hid in the gaps of the roof and had sex once again.

Thus, the funeral was just around the corner. We changed into the clothes we brought, and slipped out of the room. Moving quickly so people wouldn’t notice, we moved to a spot where the funeral was clearly visible. The guests sat solemnly, and the ornate glass coffin was closed.

“Tsk……”

Taffy whimpered, and I felt disgusted again upon seeing Fabian’s face. The funeral proceeded according to the solemn order. Wolf, Alexander, Mobius. The members of the hero’s party walked out one by one and laid down flowers. Wolf’s face was pale, and his eyes were full of sadness.

Although I didn’t like heroes, at this moment, I felt like I could empathize with the emotions he must have felt.

Alexander shed tears as he laid down the flowers.

“Fabian. I’m sorry. Huh? Live well there!”

He staggered as if his legs gave out before the coffin, and was led away, supported by other priests.

It was strange to feel that there was still humanity left in him, despite hearing he was a fat and greedy human. Taffy also widened her eyes in surprise, watched Alexander, and nodded.

Mobius was as dry a person as the rumors suggested. He placed his flowers without a word, pulled his hat down low, and returned to his seat. When the hero’s party finished offering flowers, the MC called out the next order.

“The next order is from the North…”

And then the MC shut his mouth. Because the funeral hall door burst open. A murmur swept through the funeral hall like a wave, starting from the back. Along with the people’s commotion, the clicking footsteps echoed on the marble floor.

Both I and Taffy frowned and confirmed the uninvited guest. Who on earth could be bursting through that main gate and barging into the hero’s funeral? While we squinted to figure out her identity, one of the nobles muttered.

“An elf? Or not an elf?”

“An elf? Why would people who rarely interacted with the human kingdom come here?”

“Perhaps the hero summoned them?”

The personnel guarding the inside of the funeral hall cautiously approached the elf. The elf didn’t even glance at them, as if it was natural they wouldn’t stop her. Just as the soldiers reluctantly reached out, Alexander spoke.

“Don’t stop her.”

Although it was a low voice, it contained divine power, and a strong resonance was felt. Both I and Taffy winced momentarily from the unpleasantness that pierced our ears, twitching our eyebrows in displeasure.

Saint Alexander’s words carried authority.

The people could only watch in silence as the elf offered flowers.

The elf turned and faced Wolf. Wolf said nothing and didn’t even look at the elf. The elf continued to stare at Wolf, her face contorting as she began to sob.

But Wolf said nothing.

In the silence, it seemed the two had a conversation more profound than ever before.

The elf turned again and disappeared towards the exit, her slightly forceful stride clearly expressing her emotions.

Mobius and Alexander looked at Wolf with reproachful eyes. Wolf just shook his head and stared at the floor.

“Uh… Next is from the family of hero Wolf…”

The funeral continued. I erased the elf from my memory and focused on the funeral.

It was time to send off No. 5.