Ch.219The Road to Peredias (4)
by fnovelpia
*Crackle… Crackle…*
Inside the cold, freezing storage chamber, it wasn’t Atka mackerel that filled the space, but corpses.
A total of 2,531 fallen soldiers were wrapped in pure white cotton shrouds, as if erasing the fact that they once had names and faces. To prevent the anger of the departed, their rank insignias and identification cards were placed on top of the shrouds and then stitched on.
“Hoin Van Tieu. Private. As a fallen soldier, posthumously promoted three ranks to Sergeant.”
All the fallen were granted a three-rank promotion.
In this lofty heaven, not even coffins could be procured for the dead. The most that could be done was wrapping them in fine cotton shrouds and having military chaplains apply holy oil to prevent them from rising as undead…
The rank insignias stitched onto the shrouds showed countless sergeants and majors.
It was because the most inexperienced privates and lieutenants with poor judgment had died in droves.
No matter how far I walked, there was no end to the white mountain of the dead.
What should I tell their families?
Should I say they died for the Sun, for me? While tossing their shrouds with worthless promotion insignias at their doorsteps, containing the bodies of those who couldn’t even close their eyes properly?
“Lord Viktor. The repairs to the hull are somewhat complete, but proper repairs are impossible in mid-air. We need to get to Peredias as soon as possible.”
“…”
“Lord Viktor?”
Hearing the brigade commander’s words, I squeezed my head for a moment, then said while holding it:
“No… First, we go to the Relief Knights’ branch. We need to return the fallen to their families.”
“Ah…”
The Relief Knights were also responsible for sending remains with nowhere to go to where they should be.
It’s difficult for wandering knights like me to handle, so when we find bodies on the road, we typically leave them at a knight branch.
With so many having met their deaths, the Relief Knights will handle their remains appropriately.
“In that case, I’ll set a course for the Relief Knights’ branch.”
“Yes…”
I have no strength…
No, rather than not having it, it won’t come out.
Like when I once shivered with chills from body aches.
I crouched in a corner of the freezing chamber for a long time, staring at the freezing corpses, and then Simon sat down beside me.
“It’s hard, isn’t it? Not being able to turn away from the death of others.”
“…”
I nodded with difficulty.
When I was just an adventurer, I didn’t have to take responsibility.
The only things I was responsible for were the contents written in the request forms… Even if someone’s life ended, it wasn’t my concern.
But now, whose fault is it for the deaths of these poor departed souls covered in frost before my eyes?
Those soldiers who followed me into battle for money and honor, risking death?
Or me, who failed to detect the ambush and give proper commands?
The enemies who launched the surprise attack to kill the Apostle of the Sun?
It could be no one’s fault, or everyone’s.
“Don’t think too deeply about it. Life begets life… All things constantly change, and the souls of the dead will be purified under the Sun’s mercy and return to this world again.”
“But the dead never come back.”
“Yes… they don’t return.”
What happens to human souls after death?
Souls that follow the gods go to their deity’s domain and gradually lose their memories while enjoying glory for as long as they lived.
When they finally reach the point of forgetting even their own names, the souls descend back to earth and become the foundation for new life that is created or conceived. This is collectively called reincarnation.
And the Sun… Those who follow the Sun go neither to heaven nor hell.
Because earthly punishments and sins have no value in the celestial realm.
Thus, all souls reflect on the lives they’ve lived under the Sun’s incandescence and decide whether to reincarnate or face the extinction of existence.
If they choose reincarnation, a new child is born in the 13 Continents; if they choose extinction, they enter the Sun and disappear without a trace, feeling warmth and comfort.
Since the gods themselves have spoken this, there can be no doubt.
“Their deaths were honorable and glorious. They blocked the enemy according to orders and fired bullets and swung swords until their deaths. For soldiers, dying on the front line isn’t a bad thing.”
“I’m not sad about how they died. I’m blaming myself for not preventing their deaths.”
“Oh… Viktor. You’ve killed people so cruelly, yet you blame yourself for the deaths of soldiers?”
“I don’t kill people who aren’t involved. My cruelty… Yes, that could be subject to correction or punishment. Even if I have no regrets, I question whether people would accept it. But those soldiers were under my command. If a general doesn’t question the deaths of his soldiers, who should?”
“Heh heh heh…”
Simon laughed, his throat vibrating, then pressed his forehead against his staff.
“How curious. Someone who would have been a wise and great ruler had they been born into nobility or royalty was instead born an orphan on the streets and became the target of everyone’s scorn…”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean your thoughts and beliefs are suited for a ruler and leader. Think about it. Have you ever, even once in this world, thought yourself weaker than those around you?”
“Well…”
As if I couldn’t say ‘Of course, many times,’ my words were instinctively blocked.
Really? Have I ever truly been weak?
Parcival, where I was, was never kind to the weak.
The weak died, and in the streets of natural selection where today’s strong become tomorrow’s weak, I survived until the end.
Then, from the time I scavenged waste to survive on the streets until now, I’ve been strong.
Not by running away or hiding, but through endless struggle and battle, I survived on the streets.
And usually, those who survive struggle and battle aren’t called weak.
“…I don’t know. I’ve never thought of myself as either strong or weak. I just did what I could and had to do.”
“See? That’s the cognitive schema of a ruler. Not something a commoner would have.”
“Then how do commoners act?”
“They survive in vile and filthy ways. They exploit the weak down to the roots, and lick the shoes of the rich to get a bone with a bit of meat on it. It’s a figurative expression, of course, but you have such a noble mindset despite growing up among them.”
“You mentioned a ruler’s cognitive schema. What’s that?”
“A cognitive schema is the rule in your mind that tells you how to act in certain situations. Naturally, it differs by person, class, and country. But you’re different. Like a rose blooming in a trash can, in a place where lying down and dying was considered virtuous, you stood up and tried to survive, and you did.”
I couldn’t deny it.
Wherever you go, there are few who extend a hand to the powerless, and many who extend a fist.
I didn’t think I was special, but the true weak ones would be those who died at my hands.
“Rulers are truly hypocritical. They kindly feed a starving dog, yet bark at starving humans to get up and go to work. You’re not much different. In a way, your pilgrimage is natural. People instinctively seek what they need and try to fill what they lack.”
“Natural…?”
“Yes. You said you wanted to become a monarch. So it’s natural. A king without a crown. A monarch without a throne. What can a ruler with nothing to rule do?”
“…”
“You inherently like being above others. Yet you don’t shirk responsibility or try to expand your rights. Isn’t that the model of an exemplary monarch?”
When Simon said that, I quietly smiled.
It’s good to be praised by others.
Born to reign over others… Indeed, it’s such sweet talk that I can hardly believe it came from the mouth of a sage.
If I hear such words, I need not be disheartened by the deaths of soldiers anymore.
I stood up again and looked at the white shrouds with a different perspective than before.
Yes.
I will become a monarch.
Having laid so many cornerstones, I should build a palace, not a single house.
With that thought, I left the freezing chamber.
[Confirming coordinates of the nearest Relief Knights branch. Sky Warden. Moving out.]
Groooo….
And the whale that cuts through clouds gathered its wounded innards and began heading toward the knights’ sanctuary to bring rest to the departed.
May the Sun have mercy on their souls. If their souls have gone to the Four, may they enjoy the glory they desired until the time of oblivion.
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