episode_0102

Time passes and flows again. There may be some who wish for time to pass, and there may be others who look forward to it not passing.

Regardless of their will, time moves forward steadily, ignoring their earnestness.

Spurr-!

The hot sun is still beating down on Leria Village, and cicadas are chirping so loudly that it echoes throughout the village.

The paperwork that needed to be processed today was completed quickly. Cerise relieves her sore body from sitting for long periods of time with simple stretching.

Pudduk-

“…Hmm.”

Today was a day when I didn’t receive requests, which happens once a week, so I didn’t have anything to do.

Seris didn’t want to rest even for a single day, but she had no choice because the remaining mercenary members had their own lives, and they all insisted that Seris rest.

What should I do from now on? Seris began to think deeply.

From the beginning, there was nothing that could be called a hobby. It was just swinging the sword and training.

And… I didn’t really want to eat or sleep. At some point, I wasn’t tired even if I didn’t sleep, and I wasn’t hungry even if I didn’t eat.

However, it was difficult to go out on a quest alone and face the sad expressions the mercenaries would make. I gave up long ago.

“……”

Well then, shall we go for a short walk? I’ve been busy these days, so I’ve been to Leria Village less often, so it’s been quite a while since I haven’t looked back.

Seris stood up, cast a sad look at Director Venice’s chair for a moment, and then left the office.

“Ah, Vice Captain Seris.”

“…Yes.”

“Are you going out for a walk? You chose well. The fact that the vice-captain was stuck in the office was a bit… ”

“….Yes.”

Seris gave a small answer to the mercenary members who spoke to her with a bright smile, then came out of the base and looked at the training ground.

Kang-! Kang-!

“A little faster! You can do it-!”

“Ugh-!”

“Kk… ! Have you become a little sharper?”

“Haha. Good luck then!”

Even though the heat is blazing and there is not a single breeze, so sweat flows like a waterfall, the mercenary members train with smiles on their faces.

“…….”

Seris watches them training and laughing without saying a word. I look at their burning passion.

How… can you smile? Have you… forgotten the leader? Did you send the leader away…?

….how?

I… I’m still in pain and pain every day. It hurts so much… I can’t even smile.

Every night I deny that the leader has left, and I hate myself…

-uh? It’s the vice-captain!

-Vice-captain!

-Vice-captain also came here…!

“….Ugh!”

Seris couldn’t bear to look at that, so she shook off the mercenaries who were talking to her and left the village.

Because it seemed like his own irresponsible and one-sided hatred and anger would be directed even at them. I was disgusted with myself for feeling resentful when I looked at their smiles even for a moment.

Seris sighed and began to slowly walk around the village.

Leria Village, which was originally prosperous, developed further and many people gathered due to word of mouth from the Scar mercenaries.

At first, there were countless people who came simply out of curiosity about the Scar mercenaries, and there were countless others who settled in the beautiful and neat village of Leria.

And just like that, there are countless people wandering around the square in Leria Village. Mercenaries, mercenary dreamers, ordinary people, merchants, etc.

-…omg! This is vice-captain Seris…!

-Wow… You’re really the vice-captain Seris, right?

-….gulp. He really is an incredibly strong person…

-that’s interesting. I don’t usually come out to town.

They all looked at Seris, who had started walking around the square, and gave them different looks.

For some it is awe, for others it is a sense of struggle, for others it is motivation.

Seris still hasn’t gotten used to the expectations and favorable gaze toward her. Isn’t it no different from an animal trapped in a cage and watched?

Seris walked away, trying to ignore the whispers and gazes directed at her, and stopped in front of a very familiar and memorable place.

-King chicken skewers.-

“Welcome~ This is delicious and flavorful chicken skewers!”

Still a savory and sweet smell. The smell stopped people passing by, but it also brought back memories that were even sweeter than the sweet sauce to Ceris.

“……”

A moment that could be called my first date with the leader… The moment I was young and bought just one chicken skewer and licked the part that the leader ate…

Seris smiled without realizing it. Because that smell reminded me of the moments I had with the leader back then.

“Welcome… Wow! Vice-captain Seris…?!”

“….Yes. Could you please give me just one chicken skewer?”

“Yes…yes! please wait for a moment! I’ll make it the most delicious one in no time…!”

Grumble – Chiik.

The owner, who was handed three fairy tales, quickly made chicken skewers without losing his smile, even though he was sweating profusely from the hot heat and the even hotter flame magic.

“Wo…here it is! Please enjoy it…!”

“…Thank you…”

“”!!!!!!!!””

It’s not uncommon for Seris, vice-captain of the legendary Scar mercenary group, to come to Leria Village and even buy chicken skewers from a small street vendor?!

-…what?! The chicken skewers that Vice-Captain Seris ate?!

-Move! I’m going to eat it too!

-Give me three chicken skewers… no, five!!

-Now…please wait a moment!!

Passersby with wide eyes as they passed by on the street all began to line up in front of the chicken skewer street vendor, and the owner, Coog, smiled happily.

Yum.

Seris got out of there, walked down a deserted alley, and took a bite of chicken skewers.

Sweet sauce and juicy chicken. The harmony of the two was absolutely fantastic… I couldn’t say it was fantastic, but it was delicious enough.

“…delicious…yes. Still..”

The chicken skewers still taste the same. It was so sweet and delicious.

***

Seris was still walking around Leria Village. These were the places I walked with the leader to fit the mercenary group’s armor.

Before purchasing the mithril armor that I still use well, all the armor stores that the leader had visited were closed and replaced by other stores.

And, it would be most appropriate to say that the ‘Battle of Spin’, which was chosen with the director’s foresight, is currently crowded with people.

Obviously, the spin workshop that I visited with the manager at that time was a shabby workshop that was falling apart, but now it is as large as a sophisticated and huge mansion.

Spin, a workshop that operated alone, eventually became a workshop boasting products of the highest perfection and quality in the entire empire, with craftsmen and geniuses from all over the continent coming together.

We’ve made a name for ourselves thanks to the mithril armor and various artifacts we’ve been using up until now, right?

“So…so you’re saying I can’t make a reservation right now?”

“Sorry, but the earliest reservation is… 1 year and 2 months later. Would you like to make a reservation?”

“Yes…yes! Please at least do that…”

In the distance, I can see what appears to be a mercenary with a puzzled expression, and Spin, whom I haven’t seen in a long time.

When I look at that image, the memory comes again. I remember visiting the spin workshop with the leader.

Crackle-crackle-

‘My… he’s my leader…!’

“Hee…heeek-!”

I also remember the actions I did at that time.

Pisik-

okay. At that time, I felt like Spin’s behavior was flirting with the leader, so I got angry without realizing it.

Well… it was unpleasant at the time. When I think about it now, even that situation made me feel happy.

And after leaving the spin workshop, my steps naturally headed towards the steel mine.

However, no matter how Seris was, she could not set foot in a mine that paid goods directly to the empire’s best workshop.

Still, it was okay. Because going in wasn’t the purpose.

Just looking at that figure. Just recalling the memory of defeating the Mithril Golem with the leader was enough. Hitting a solid body with a pickaxe… was very exhilarating.

“…Let’s go back.”

okay. I think this is enough to change my mood. Now it’s time to go back to my…our base.

Seris slowly walks towards the base. She seemed to think that she felt better and that she was happy because she remembered her memories with the leader.

Instead, I remembered the days with the leader, and tried to ignore the feeling that I was going to burst into tears at any moment.

***

As she walked, reminiscing about the happy days, Seris had already arrived right in front of the mercenary group’s base.

Before my eyes, I see a space that is familiar and still nostalgic. Now just past this open entrance is our training ground…

“….Don’t cry, you bastard…!”

“Kuhk… no matter how much I want to ignore him, no matter how much I want to let him go… I think of the leader every day…!”

Stop.

Beyond the small stone wall, the tearful voices of mercenary members begin to be heard. Seris, who was about to go in and apologize to the mercenary members, stopped on the spot.

” That’s right… Is it okay for us to laugh and talk like this… Because of that thought, I never felt at ease… ”

“”……..””

Birong was particularly emotional. Everyone fell silent at his tear-filled voice.

The passion and laughter they showed before leaving the base disappeared everywhere, leaving only sadness and silence.

Wow!

“…Hey, you bastard-!”

“Ker…Ker gasp-!”

And then. As Hans’ voice is heard, the sound of someone hitting the body and falling to the ground can be heard.

…This is the incident where Hans hit Birong and he collapsed. As vice-captain, I must stop it…

I couldn’t move my body at all.

And that moment. Cerise’s eyes began to shake greatly as she heard Hans’ voice.

“Me too… We too…! I couldn’t forget the leader…! How could I forget-!”

-He was the one who lifted our lives up from the insignificance, the one who provided us with everything we could live for, and the pillar for all of us…

And as soon as those words rang out, tears began to flow from the eyes of the mercenary members who had been holding back their tears.

Proud mercenary members of the Empire’s strongest mercenary group, the Scar mercenary group. They have no fear or defeat.

Because of only one person’s empty seat, it was still painful and painful. Therefore, only sad cries echoed in the large training hall.

And between them, Hans began to talk, his voice shaking.

“…How could I forget. The leader’s sacrifice and hard work…”

“Black…Ugh…”

“But…! so that…! We have to laugh! What would the leader think if he saw this shape and this body!!”

The mercenary members who heard that cry, as well as the eyes of Seris, who was leaning against the wall and shedding tears, opened wide.

The leader doesn’t want us to sit down and be sad. Therefore, we must move forward with a smile while remembering the hard work and sacrifice.

“Ugh…Ugh….Ugh…”

Inaudible and invisible to anyone. Seris sat alone against the wall and sobbed.

I… I thought they were just living their lives forgetting about the leader.

I thought that laughter, those jokes that were always overused… were just for my own mood.

It wasn’t everything.

They still missed the leader and felt pain just like he did. Aren’t even strong adult men, even veterans who have crossed the line of fire, crying like this?

The reason they laughed and joked was not for themselves, but to move forward.

To remember and maintain everything the leader left behind. To never forget the smile and warmth you left until the end.

No matter how sad, difficult, and exhausted it is. I just laughed it off and shook it off.

“Ugh…Ugh… I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

Seris sat down like that. I apologized and apologized again.

They would be no different from themselves. Unlike themselves, who only left scars on the leader, they lost their pillar overnight…

I was so resentful of myself for trampling on their hearts and belittling them for the sake of my own feelings.

Just like that, due to the empty seat of one person who left.

Everyone in the Empire’s strongest mercenary group, the Scar mercenaries, cried out.

Some may say that it was only one place, but that place was everything to them, and it was like a light that brightened everyone’s future.

I think of the empty space that is so big and therefore so painful. Thinking back to Director Venice’s last smile and words…

He just cried like a child.