Ch.2626. The Season of Blooming Flowers

The tangled souls rush toward each other, screaming. They were unleashing their anger as if they had been waiting only for this dawn.

Only the instinct to spew out emotions remained, with no clear target for their rage anymore.

A chaotic feast of devouring and being devoured.

At its center was a blue flame, recklessly pouring out its emotions.

The girl’s form had already disappeared, now merely a flame sweeping through the souls.

“……”

The scene that seemed like it would continue forever was finally beginning to show signs of ending.

“Dawn approaches.”

Beyond the mountain range, the sun prepares to peek out, unable to hide its vastness as it brilliantly illuminates the sky.

Though the light had not yet touched the earth, I knew it would reach it soon.

I simply closed my eyes, hoping that their hearts had found even a little peace.

The day breaks.

Calming the heightened excitement.

Gathering oneself after the chaos.

Time to clean up the cluttered surroundings.

Festivals cannot continue forever.

[Die!]

[I curse you! I curse you to the end!]

[Keeeeeeek!]

The evil spirits were still struggling, not wanting to end their rampage, but Emily’s flames swirled around, suppressing them.

A circular shape peeking over the mountain range.

As sunlight slowly began to descend, the souls restrained by the junkyard retreated first.

When the warm light touched the cemetery, those who had been thrashing about in excitement gradually began to stop.

They had burned through the dawn.

Now that the morning sun had risen, it was time to sleep.

“I understand, your resentment and grievances would never be resolved.”

But now you must realize.

That it cannot be resolved.

That revenge is satisfying and thrilling, but you can never go back to how things were.

Because.

You are all dead.

“You bit and tore at each other, envied and struggled. Yet in the end, nothing remains.”

Those who had been raging in madness slowly began to turn their heads toward me. They held complex emotions toward me, the one who created this time for them.

“So now I hope you will embrace it and sleep.”

Unable to say anything, they began to disappear slowly with their eyes closed.

Even those emotions directed at me were something they had to embrace and take with them.

“I only hope that you find eternal rest.”

They disappear like scattered dust.

All of them began to fall into the deep sleep they should have entered long ago.

[…Thank you.]

Maintaining her sanity until the end, Emily had achieved all her revenge but gained nothing.

I could only bid farewell to her as she departed with a smile.

Normally, the dawn air would have made my nose tingle, but today, the fragrance of early-blooming flowers greeted me pleasantly.

“I see.”

February is called the time when the northern cold gets trapped, unable to cross the high mountains.

The trapped crystallized cold melts as the days naturally warm up.

The firmly frozen cold melts all at once, causing temperatures to rise rapidly. This was the busiest time in Norsweden.

“Spring has come.”

The cold melts away.

The time had come when flowers bloom, if only briefly, in Norsweden.

It was the perfect time for a flower-loving girl to fall asleep with a smile.

*

“Huff! Huff!”

The Chancellor had never been fond of the north. It wasn’t because of any bad memories.

He simply disliked cold places by nature, which led him to avoid the north.

Especially mountains?

Despite his bear-like appearance, he greatly disliked hiking.

“Hack! Hack!”

Watching the Chancellor gasping for breath with his mouth wide open as if about to vomit, the school nurse Karen, who had accompanied him, frowned and chided him.

“You should exercise more. You have abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, right? Especially when I see you eat, you use way too much salt.”

“……”

The Chancellor glanced at Karen and replied with a frown.

“Were you really a school nurse?”

“What did you think I was?”

“Ahem.”

Since she hadn’t really shown such aspects until now, he had essentially thought of her as just a mercenary.

“I’m just a school nurse who can only put bandages on kids’ scrapes, so don’t come looking for me if you collapse later.”

Karen grumbled, shoving her hands deep into her coat pockets.

After crossing the mountain, they could see the entire Norsweden town at a glance.

The two took comfort in seeing their destination and kept moving steadily, finally arriving before sunset.

“Oh my, visitors?”

A sturdy-built man who had been standing idly at the entrance to Norsweden spotted the two and ran toward them.

“We don’t need a guide.”

Karen gestured for him to go away, wondering if tourists actually came to this mountainous backwater like Norsweden, but the man chuckled and smoothly replied.

“I don’t charge. We’re helpers who receive separate wages from the lord to assist people.”

“Helpers?”

As the Chancellor asked while wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, the man nodded emphatically.

“Yes, so you don’t need to worry. If you’re uncomfortable, I can just tell you the location of where you’re going.”

Karen promptly spoke up at that.

“Where is the Verdi family?”

“Hmm? You’re guests of the Count? But why didn’t you use the carriage road?”

“Ca-carriage road?”

They had deliberately walked from the front because carriages couldn’t cross the mountain path, so this was confusing.

The man explained with a hearty laugh.

“There’s a separate carriage road around the back. You have to go around the mountain, but it’s much faster than crossing over. Any coachman in the area would know it.”

“…Our coachman was new to this area.”

“Ah, I see. You must have had a difficult journey.”

Since it was an Academy coachman, he naturally wouldn’t know about Norsweden’s hidden paths. They had just crossed directly over because time was of the essence.

Karen was fine, but the Chancellor felt like cursing the world.

“Let’s go then. It’s still quite a distance from here.”

At the mention of more walking, the Chancellor exhaled wearily, but Karen pretended not to notice and followed the man.

The city was quite busy.

When thinking of the north, one might imagine a cold, quiet city, but Norsweden was quite lively. People rubbed shoulders with each other, and perhaps due to the friction, the cold wasn’t very noticeable.

In particular, people called “helpers” like the man were going around helping citizens everywhere.

‘How interesting.’

The snow-covered landscape was beautiful, but nothing could be more inconvenient for the people living in it.

Even without considering the environment that hindered people’s movements, this city was full of vitality.

“Here we are.”

“Hack! Hack! I almost died before meeting him.”

“…Let’s catch your breath before going in. If you go in like that, you’ll only be laughed at.”

“Y-yes, let’s do that.”

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

The Chancellor caught his breath in front of the mansion, and the man left without accepting any money.

When Karen tried to give him a tip, he adamantly refused, saying he couldn’t accept it.

Following the man with her eyes, Karen said to the Chancellor.

“That man is from the Republic.”

“Huh?”

The Chancellor, who was wiping his forehead again with an already soaked handkerchief, looked with bewildered eyes in the direction the man had gone.

“Not just him. All seven people he greeted as we passed by were from the Republic.”

“The Republic of Clark? You mean foreigners?”

“Yes.”

Their distinctive accent and unique oil scent hadn’t yet faded. They probably hadn’t been settled in Norsweden for long.

“Hmm.”

Well-trained bodies, the smoothness of not revealing their names naturally, quick wits…

‘Resistance fighters?’

The Republic of Clark had so many rebels that they might be among them.

“Tsk.”

Karen, who had once been hired by the Republic during her mercenary days to eliminate resistance fighters, turned toward the mansion with an uneasy feeling.

“Let’s go in. We need to return quickly.”

“Yes, we should.”

The Chancellor, who had been half-sitting, got up with effort.

It was already March.

Robern Academy had reopened, and evil spirits were still running rampant.

They had left behind many clergy members to handle things, but it was uncertain whether that would be effective.

They entered the mansion and were guided by the servants.

Meeting Deus was surprisingly simple. It was as if they had been prepared for their arrival, as they were immediately guided to Deus’s office.

When the door opened, a grand red carpet and a large desk were the first things they saw.

Next to the desk stood a large man with a slightly frowning expression, and on the opposite side was a petite black-haired woman with her arms crossed.

Darius Verdi and Deia Verdi.

And sitting in a large chair with his legs crossed, looking at them indifferently, was a black-haired man.

Deus Verdi opened his mouth as he looked at them.

“It’s been a while.”

Seeing this, Karen was certain.

They had already known they were coming.

Since when?

‘It was the city guide.’

The men who had been greeting each other as they passed by had already informed the mansion of their arrival.

The guide might have deliberately taken a longer route for that purpose.

Karen already felt a headache coming on.

This negotiation to rehire Deus Verdi.

It definitely wouldn’t be easy.