episode_0010

-Slurp.

I could hear the blanket moving in the dark room.

“Ugh….”

“..Huh…?”

Arthur opened his eyes and touched his neck with his hand.

“… … ”

“Is this a dream..?”

As I looked around, I saw furniture that looked familiar.

At that moment, the sound of someone approaching from outside the door was heard.

“Eek!”

Arthur’s mind suddenly went blank, and he curled up under the blanket like a shrimp.

-Bam!

-Thump thump.

“… … ”

-Whew!

Someone approached and took off Arthur’s blanket, and Arthur closed his eyes tightly at the sensation of the blanket disappearing.

At that moment, a woman’s voice came to Arthur’s ear. Hearing the sound, Arthur reflexively answered.

“I’m… sorry… I won’t hide… Please don’t hit me… I won’t lie… Please… Ugh… ”

Arthur continues to apologize to the woman in front of him and sheds tears.

Arthur, who had been apologizing with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes to a soft sensation. He looked ahead and saw someone hugging him. Then he heard a voice.

“Arthur… I’m so sorry… It was my fault. Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone bother you anymore.”

“Ah..Reese..?”

“Yeah, it’s me Arthur.”

“Ah, Alice… I had such a hard time… It hurt so much I thought I’d rather die….”

-Kwak.

Alice hugged Arthur tighter.

“Arthur, don’t say that. I’ll protect you now.”

Arthur began to shed tears of relief after hearing those words, and only after spending an hour in Alice’s arms to gather his thoughts was he able to leave the room.

When I left the room, I saw familiar furniture and realized that it was Hilda’s house. Although I had only been out for a few days, the house felt awkward, as if it had been a long time since I had been there.

Maybe it was because I thought I wouldn’t be able to come back.

“… Arthur, I have something for you.”

When I looked at the hand that Alice held out, I saw the subspace pouch that Hilda always carried with her.

“Is this Hilia’s stuff?”

“…Hilia told me to tell you. You are the master now, Arthur.”

“Would you like to open it?”

After hearing the words, Arthur opened his pocket.

In the pocket were a few gold coins, a black key, a necklace with a red jewel, and a sword I had never seen before.

Alice came over and started putting the necklace around her neck. Looking closely, Alice’s hands were shaking slightly. Her expression was not good and she seemed to be holding something back.

An inexplicable sense of unease enveloped Arthur, and only then did he begin to look around the house. He quickly found something unusual.

The house had become cold and dark, and it was hard to believe that it was a bakery that had always been warm. Only a cold chill was hanging over the dark house.

“Aris? Where did Hilia go?”

“Did you go see the village chief for a moment? It’s really disappointing, isn’t it, Alice?”

“Hilia, stop fooling around and come out. I’m awake now!”

“…”

“Aris? Why aren’t you saying anything? Why are you making that face..?”

“Answer me… Where is Hilia?”

“…”

Alice looked at Hilia’s room without saying a word.

-Bam!

Arthur opened the door and went in. He saw Hilda lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

“What the… You were sleeping.”

“Hilia! Wake up…”

Arthur touched Hilda’s hand to wake her up. At that moment, he felt something wrong. No, something very wrong.

When he looked back at her face, he saw Hilda who had turned pale and exhausted. Her hands were stiff and wouldn’t move, and she could no longer feel the warmth that had usually caressed her.

“…That’s…a lie, right?”

Arthur grabbed Hilda’s shoulders and began to shake her.

“Hilia!! Wake up quickly!!”

Arthur felt something strange as Hilda’s body moved limply in his hands, but Arthur continued to shake her.

-Tak!

When he looked at his hand, he saw that it was Aris who had come up behind him and was holding it.

“Aris..? What are you doing? We need to wake up Hilia quickly.”

Alice turned Arthur’s body around and began to hold him in her arms again.

“Arthur…Hilia is dead.”

“What, what are you talking about…”

“Actually, you’ve been suffering from an illness for a long time.”

“That’s a lie. Then how could I not know… I’ve been feeling a bit unwell lately, but… I didn’t see anything that could kill me!!”

“Maybe Arthur didn’t want to worry you, so he pretended to be fine in front of you.”

“You told me to tell you about the illness…”

“Hilia was this sick..? I didn’t know that and she was always… whining and asking to go out and play together.. Heh..ugh.. Me!! I didn’t know that….”

“Why… why now? Answer me, Aris. Why do I and the people around me always have to be so unhappy? ”

“I…didn’t do anything wrong, so why is this happening…why did Hilia have to die…”

Alice knew. Hilda would have lived for a few more years, if not longer. But she died early in her attempt to save Arthur, and all the circumstances indicated that this was true.

Of course, I will never tell Arthur about this. I have already kissed the village chief and the villagers. Hilda died while saving me? That is not something Arthur can handle. It is obvious that the good Arthur will think that Hilda died because of him.

Arthur’s eyes lost focus, and he pulled out of Alice’s arms, covered Hilda with the blanket again, and left the room.

… … …

Time passed, and Hilda’s funeral was held.

The villagers, Alice’s family, and the village chief came to comfort Arthur, but Arthur heard nothing.

… … …

As time passed, the funeral was over.

Arthur stood before Hilda’s tombstone, looking at it.

“Hilia, you know? I always thought of Hilia as my mother. Ms. Millia and Ms. Jade raised me without discrimination, but I saw the line in my eyes.”

“There’s a line that only family members can enter. I was jealous of that.”

“But Hilia became my family… Back when I almost died from a monster, I actually saw everything. I was too embarrassed to say anything back then… But I want to say it now.”

Arthur knelt before the tombstone.

“Thank you for being my family. Thanks to you, I was able to survive. So… Could you please call me your son, even just once..?”

Finally, Arthur stood before the tombstone and began to cry. It was all over now. His words would not reach Hilda, and his wish could not be fulfilled anymore.

Rain began to fall from the cloudy sky. It felt as if Hilda, who was by the goddess’ side, was crying too.

-Shoot…

The rain is falling more and more heavily.

Arthur didn’t move from the tombstone. His body was getting colder and colder from the rain.

At that moment, I felt a warm sensation in my chest. I looked down and saw Hilda’s necklace.

A necklace that emits a soft glow and warmth.

It felt as if Hilda was embracing him, and that warmth seemed to be telling him not to cry.

-Rustling.

Arthur turned around at the sound.

Behind him, he saw Alice, who was soaking wet like himself.

“Arthur… Let’s go back..”

“… ”

… … …

Several months have passed since Hilda died.

-Dalgrak!

The sound of dishes being washed could be heard from Hilda’s house.

The owner of the sound is Alice, who was doing housework in place of Arthur, who was not feeling well.

After finishing the dishes, Alice went into the room where Arthur was.

In the room where Hilda originally lived, Arthur was sitting on the bed.

The dead body next to the bed was cooling off on its own, untouched.

Arthur didn’t even pay attention to Alice when she entered the room and just stared blankly at the wall.

“Arthur.. Try eating some porridge..”

The wounds on Arthur’s body caught Aris’s eye. After the funeral, Arthur seemed to be adjusting well at first. Arthur, who had been crying all the time, stopped crying after that day. Of course, he didn’t smile either.

But no. Arthur was laughing with tears in his eyes. He was cutting himself in the room. Two months ago, he had tried to commit suicide with a rope, but Alice had found him and stopped him.

So now in this place that had become Arthur’s home, there was no weapon or object that could strangle him. All of them had been removed by Alice.

After that, Arthur never came out of his room and really did ‘nothing’. He just slept or woke up and stared at the wall. He didn’t eat either, so Alice had to force him to eat.

Alice picked up a spoon to feed Arthur the food.

Then Arthur began to speak.

Alice thought positively. Arthur’s ‘nothing’ included words. Her heart raced at the sound of Arthur’s voice, which she hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Aris…. Why am I alive?”

“I don’t want to live anymore… Can you kill me..?”

The first thing he said in a long time was to ask someone to kill him.

After hearing that, Alice looked like she was about to cry.

“Please… Arthur… Don’t say that..”

Alice hugged Arthur.

“Arthur… please… I beg you… It’s okay to just live… It’s okay if you don’t do anything… I’ll do everything…”

“Hilia would also want you not to die.. So.. Can’t you live for Hilia..?”

“If that’s hard, I’ll be your reason. I’ll live my whole life for you, Arthur. So won’t you live for me too..? Because I really love you…”

Arthur felt Alice’s hand tremble as she held his back.

‘I still have a reason to live…’

-Gulp…

Tears flowed from Arthur’s eyes.

The bright moonlight streaming through the curtains made the white hair of Alice holding Arthur shine even brighter.

A status window appeared next to Alice, who had her eyes closed.

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[Soul Bond (S+)]

Target: Arthur

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