episode_0189

Chapter 6 Episode 45 – Loss 2

“Hurry, quickly, this way!”

A knight clearing the way by killing monsters and the residents following him.

The driver prepared for evacuation as soon as the alarm started sounding. However, due to the party the previous day, everyone could not wake up easily, and time was too late.

‘Damn, we can’t even evacuate the residents outside at this rate… !’

However, it was impossible to leave them behind and go outside. The monsters have already invaded deep into the village.

Since it took hundreds of men to attack even the weakest monster, the presence of a knight was essential to evacuate the residents to a safe place.

‘Philia… … .’

The article’s judgment of prioritizing the residents inside was objectively correct.

There is only one person who can stand against the monsters that attack from all directions. Although the village wasn’t that big, it wasn’t at a level where I could respond to all directions on my own.

So I had no choice but to make a choice.

The outer area has already been attacked, so the chances of survival are low, and it is so wide that the number of residents that can be saved is low compared to the route.

The inside has a high chance of survival as it was attacked relatively late, and because it is densely packed, many residents can be saved even with a relatively short route.

As a knight, he had to choose to save more residents.

But as a person, he was suffering and regretting his choice.

‘Please, please just stay alive… .’

This is because the house of the girl he cherished like a younger sister was outside the village he had abandoned.

*

*

dump-!

Philia, who had been moving her legs endlessly, reached her limit and collapsed.

My consciousness was blinking as if it was going to disappear at will, and my legs were shaking helplessly. I couldn’t take a deep breath and had no choice but to keep exhaling shallowly.

This was the same for my mother. She couldn’t even tell her daughter, who had collapsed, to stand up. In the first place, Philia was in no condition to listen even if she spoke.

Mom dragged Philia.

To send her daughter even one step closer to safety.

“Haak, Haak, Haak… !”

Looking at her mother’s expression as if she was about to die at any moment, Philia desperately shook her head. Please leave yourself and go. I desperately tried to tell my mother by moving my mouth, which was busy just breathing.

But Mom didn’t have time to look at Philia’s message. Of course, even if you saw it, nothing would change. Because parents are willing to throw away their own lives before abandoning their children.

thud-. thud-.

The sound of footsteps was interrupted by the loud breathing of two women. The sound of non-human footsteps was no different from a death sentence for the mother and daughter.

Philia started hitting her mother’s hand that was holding her clothes with her relatively intact arm.

It’s not too late now. Since the bastard was far away, there was a chance that my mother could survive if she ran away on her own. But Mom didn’t give up on Philia.

Even though I went beyond hitting him, pinched him, and scratched him to the point of bleeding.

Mom didn’t let go of her hand.

thud-! thud-!

Filia began to struggle as she heard the footsteps so clearly.

“Ugh, uh… ! Ughhh–!! Aaaaa!!”

He scolded his mother with incomplete words and squeezed her arm as if she would break it.

thud-!!

“Ah, ah… .”

A shadow cast over one’s head.

A huge monster was looking down at Philia.

Philia prayed to God.

I hope that monster eats me first.

During the little time I earned, I hope someone comes to save my mom.

The monster stretched out its hand. Toward Philia.

Philia thought that God had answered her prayers.

My fear grew, but the fact that I was of some help in saving my mother helped me overcome my fear.

But there was something Philia overlooked.

There was someone who made exactly the same wish to God as Philia.

And that person still had a glimmer of strength left to move his body.

It was not Philia who was caught in the clutches of the unfolding monster.

“Uh, Mom… , Mom!!!!”

The first words that came out of my mouth when I could barely function were,

It was the same as Philia’s first words since she was born.

“Philia, our beloved daughter… . Please, please live… .”

At the end of the words I spoke out with difficulty,

Wood-duk!

Philia could no longer see her mother’s face.

“Aaaah!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha~!!”

I couldn’t even scream properly due to my unstable breathing.

Because I am a helpless burden.

Because it’s a burden that I can’t do anything about.

Dad and mom too.

Everyone died before our eyes.

Tuk–.

A hand fell from the monster’s ravenous mouth.

Philia wrapped her hand with his own.

“Ugh… . Ugh… .”

Then I closed my eyes and remembered the memory.

A memory of my mother holding my hand and teaching me how to sew, when I was not good at sewing.

If we die together, wouldn’t we be able to meet again in heaven?

“Philia!!!!!”

Philia opened her eyes to the urgent voice coming from far away.

The knight running with his sword in hand was stained blood-red, unlike the prince, who was shining gold.

*

It is a common fairy tale cliché for a princess to fall in love with a prince who saves her from a crisis. But that’s just a fairy tale.

The knight slayed the monster like a prince in a fairy tale.

When Philia saw that, she fell not into love, but into a deeper sense of self-destruction.

If I had strength, I wouldn’t have become a burden.

If I had that kind of power, I could have protected my mom and dad.

The ensuing rush of regret covered Philia’s mind like a violent hail.

Philia regretted picking up a needle and thread rather than a sword.

Philia regretted having lived a happy and carefree life.

Philia regretted being born a woman rather than a man.

Philia, caught in the hail, was gradually sucked deeper into the sea.

If I hadn’t been born in the first place, my mom and dad wouldn’t have died.

Philia regretted being born.

The fence called her parents that protected her collapsed.

The match called love that had kept her warm burned out and became a heap of ashes.

It was the knight’s hands, dirty with the monster’s flesh and blood, that brought Philia out from the sea of regret.

The knight’s hands wrapped around Philia.

His arms were wide and reassuring, but at the same time infinitely small and delicate.

“Philia… . It’s all my fault. I, I should have come sooner… .”

The knight felt great guilt at the thought that Filia had lost her family because of his choice.

But Philia had no intention of blaming him.

Rather, I couldn’t understand why he was blaming himself.

He took care of Philia like his own brother since she was young.

Since he had left the village on his own, she was upset and pretended not to notice him, but in fact, Philia had recognized her brother from the first time she saw him.

“Ugh, uhuh… . no. It’s not your fault… . It’s all my fault. It’s all because of me… .”

“No. Philia, absolutely not. There is nothing wrong with you. You shouldn’t think like that.”

“No! If I weren’t there, Mom and Dad could have run away! Because I’m a burden! It’s my fault that I was born!”

Philia is stubborn.

Her stubbornness bordered on obsession. This, combined with Filia’s innate ability to observe, often manifested itself as an advantage in that she would tenaciously delve into anything she could see and imitate and grow surprisingly quickly.

But at the same time, once you start being stubborn, it also has the disadvantage of not giving up no matter what you do.

“Ugh… . Brother, I want to die. I just want to die. I want to go to heaven and meet my mom and dad. I want to apologize for my mistake.”

The knight who had seen Philia since childhood also knew this fact, and because of that, he could also see how dangerous Philia was now.

“Philia! Dying, don’t even dream about that! Do you think your mom and dad would want that? If you go to heaven and pray for your mistakes, do you think Mom and Dad will be happy?”

“Ugh, black, but, don’t do it… .”

“I have to live! For the sake of mom and dad, Philia, you have to live happily!”

At that moment, her mother’s last words passed through Philia’s mind.

– Philia, our beloved daughter… . Please, please live… .

“Ugh, ugh… . Mom, mom wants me to live. I told you to live… .”

“Okay. Mom and Dad both want Philia to live. Going to apologize to Mom and Dad is something Philia should do after she has lived happily for a long time without any regrets. Only then will Mom and Dad forgive Philia.”

“Ugh, Mom, Dad… . Aaaa… !”

The knight hugged Philia tightly. I promised myself that I would definitely protect this delicate little body.

“Philia, let’s go with your brother. I’ll ask my parents to adopt Philia. Philia becomes her brother’s real younger sister. Can you accept your brother as part of Philia’s family?”

“Ugh, then, huh… . When it comes to my brother’s family. Heck, I’ll teach you swordsmanship… ? Hmm.”

“I’ll teach you. I will do anything Philia wants.”

“I’m better… . Ugh, I want to become stronger… . Hehehe, I will become stronger… .. Ugh.”

The girl and the young man each made their own vows.

The girl will become strong and never again lose someone precious to her.

The young man said that as part of the girl’s family, he would help her live a happy life.

But that vow did not last even for a short period of time.