Chapter 115

〈 115 〉Two People, and One Person

Geraldine, having listened to everything Asha had to say, had lowered the sword that was aimed at her. Asha didn’t cry as she spoke of the unbelievable humiliation and painful memories she experienced in the army, and the futile end to her escape. Geraldine felt the despair of someone who had repeatedly chewed over pain and regret on her face.

“…That’s how it happened. Zack would have lived well if I hadn’t been there. I’m sorry. It’s all… my fault.”

Asha couldn’t hold back her tears when she recalled the miserable end of her loyal subordinate, who didn’t even leave a last will. Geraldine simply watched her with her head bowed.

“You don’t know what happened there. Maybe your brother wouldn’t have survived even if you weren’t there.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The White Swallow Brigade, which left to occupy the Elf territories, was completely wiped out by the Wind Witch. Maybe your brother wouldn’t have been able to avoid death even if he had stayed there.”

Asha’s pupils trembled at the more brutal ending than she had expected, even though she knew that the division had occurred due to the terrible energy she had felt at the time. She couldn’t believe that the company commander Jean and the platoon leader Jamel, who didn’t treat her like a human being and treated her like supplies, were all dead.

“The Elf I met at that time said so. That no one survived. That word… was it real?”

Geraldine silently nodded at Asha’s words.

“My brother mentioned you and said he might desert. The reason I could recognize you was because your appearance was written in detail in the letter my brother gave me at that time. If anything… happened to him, please take care of him…”

“Hic…”

Asha could only cry endlessly in front of Geraldine, who couldn’t continue speaking. Geraldine bit her lip.

“My brother, who wasn’t very strong because he didn’t have the talent to wield a sword, wanted to become a general in the army. He entered as a regular Soldier because he was from a fallen family, but I believed he would do well because of his diligent personality… It’s my… fault. I should have, should have been with my brother more…”

Asha recalled an Elf who was imprinted in her memory like a brand to Geraldine, who was blaming herself.

“Who is she? I never dreamed there would be such a person.”

Geraldine realized who she was talking about.

“The Guardian of the Elves, Aether, who terrified the kingdom 26 years ago. She swept through 30% of the country with a typhoon and erased many territories from the world. Along with the people who were there. She is the Wind Witch. The command attacked because she didn’t appear with local provocations, but suddenly the witch appeared and an entire regiment disappeared completely.”

“Even now… my heart is trembling. She nonchalantly took the lives of thousands of people and killed even Zack and me without hesitation.”

Geraldine, who had been listening silently, asked with a puzzled expression.

“You were dead?”

“I died, but I came back to life. It’s a long story to tell.”

Geraldine nodded at Asha’s words. She recalled the distant past.

“Maybe the reason your brother saved you was because of what happened to your brother’s friend in the past. My sister, who was caught up in a despicable scandal, was ignored by my brother and eventually committed suicide. Maybe he saw your sister’s image in you…”

“Ah…”

Asha understood a little about the incomprehensible stories that Zack had told her at the end. In the end, whether he saw someone else in her or not, it was clear that she was saved by Zack. Asha, who was stunned, flinched when Geraldine hugged her.

“Hut!”

“I’m… glad you survived. I’m glad I know that my brother didn’t die in vain… Thank you for surviving.”Hic, ugh.”.. Uh, Wooaaah!”

A heart-wrenchingly warm word from someone she had never expected broke the dam in Asha’s heart. Geraldine hugged Asha, who burst into tears with a sorrowful heart.

A stream of tears flowed down Geraldine’s eyes, which Asha couldn’t see in her arms. The two couldn’t hold back their tears because they could only realize the empty space in the heart of the person who had left, feeling warmth from each other.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Asha, who had been embraced by a stranger and burst into tears, came to her senses and her face was flushed red. Geraldine, who was looking at her as if she were cute, smiled softly.

“I didn’t know my brother’s superior was such a cute person. Feel free to talk comfortably from now on.”

Asha looked at Geraldine with her eyes still wet. The face that she thought was cold when she first saw it seemed to faintly overlap with the warm expression that Zack had shown her.

“Okay, Geraldine.”

Asha smiled at her and nodded.

Count Avenue, who had been showing anxiety because the two people who had gone out had not returned, was delighted when Asha and Geraldine returned.

“I was worried that something had happened because there was no news after you two left. Nothing happened, right?”

Asha, who had completely erased the traces of crying with Spell, pretended to be calm.

“Of course. I just had something to talk about. Right?”

“Yes.”

The Count, who was suspicious of the two people who seemed to be getting along well from the first time they met, soon thought it didn’t matter and shouted to the Soldiers who were sitting down and resting.

“We’re tired from the battle just now, but we’re leaving again! Join the refugees and Soldiers remaining nearby!”

At the Count’s command, the Soldiers got up without saying a word and prepared to move. Geraldine, who was standing next to Asha, lowered her Visor and was ready to trample on the Tentacles at any time.

The Steel Regiment had to go through a few more battles on the way to the place Geraldine guided them, but they were able to join the refugees without any major difficulties.

“Knight!”

“The knight is here!”

The refugees were so happy to see Geraldine, who appeared with the Soldiers, that they seemed to shed tears. Asha was about to frown reflexively at the people who welcomed her so desperately. The refugees were more than just shabby, and their faces were gaunt, as if they hadn’t eaten properly.

“Oh my… This isn’t the time to be doing other things. We need to send food right away.”

“Food, did you say food now?”

Asha was horrified and screamed, “Hiek!” and ran behind Geraldine when a middle-aged man suddenly approached her with a terrifyingly distorted face.

“Ge, Geraldine, help me!”

“Marquis, even His Majesty will be disgusted if you approach with that face.”

“Cough, cough…”

The man cleared his throat and said urgently to Asha.

“I had to leave the capital in a hurry, so I can’t even eat right now. Do you really have food?”

“Ah, yes. Quite a lot.”

“Heueueue…”

Asha instinctively stepped back as she watched him shedding tears. She felt goosebumps on her back because a muscular, bearded man was doing that.

‘He doesn’t seem like a bad person, but, ugh…’

Geraldine, who was watching the two, introduced each other.

“Marquis, this is the magician Asha who is cooperating with the Steel Regiment. She is also in charge of procuring food. Asha, this is Marquis Chatillon, the chief administrator of the capital.”

“Ah, hello, Marquis.”

Asha, who was greeting him, felt like she had heard the answer in the Marquis’s burning gaze. Without saying a word, she immediately began to send food. As piles of energy bars began to pile up on the floor without any warning, the Marquis’s and the refugees’ mouths gradually widened.

Asha finally summoned all the mountain of food. Including the Soldiers who were escorting the refugees.

There were as many as 13,000 people here! But for Asha, who could usually buy 150,000 energy bars from the store, it wasn’t a particularly large number of people.

‘Ahaha…’

Asha, sweating coldly at the gazes of the people who were staring at her as if to say, “Who the hell are you?” and “I don’t know, can I eat it now?” asked the people.

“Is there anyone who has been starving for a long time?”

As if they had agreed, the refugees shook their heads all at once. Then Asha stepped aside in front of the food.

“Eat as much as you want. You’ll be full even if you eat just one.”

They were about to rush in, but the refugees stared at the Soldiers and made a silent request. Soon, they were given food one by one under the control of the Soldiers.

“Hoo…”

Asha breathed a sigh of relief, worried that the refugees might rush in and cause an unnecessary accident. The Soldiers had escorted them all the way here, so it seemed that the Soldiers’ control over the refugees was quite high.

Marquis Chatillon, who was already chewing on an energy bar, approached Asha.

“It’s quite filling as the magician said, but it’s really tasteless. I can’t eat it even if I try to eat it for fun.”

“Well, I have to share it with a lot of people.”

“Don’t you know that? Anyone who complains in this situation is crazy.”

“Haha…”

He was a man who was not like a nobleman in many ways. The Marquis, who grumbled but ate all the energy bars, bowed to Asha.

“It was an unbelievable miracle. Everyone was about to starve to death after escaping from the hellish capital, but the magician saved us all. I will definitely repay this favor before my life is over.”

Asha’s face turned red as she didn’t know what to do with herself as the Marquis thanked her endlessly seriously.

“Ugh… You don’t have to say that much.”

“What are you talking about! There’s nothing to eat around here and only those disgusting things! This is no longer a place for people to live.”

As Marquis Chatillon said, the vicinity of the capital was covered with sticky purple Slime without a single blade of grass. No one would want to eat that unless they were about to starve to death, and who knows what would happen.

“So, where are you going, magician?”

“Please call me Asha. I’m going to the capital for now.”

“…Do you already need this old man’s life?”