Chapter 27: 4. The End of Obsession (2)

[27] 4. The End of Obsession (2)

It was as if shards of glass were piercing my brain.

No matter which way I turned, my thoughts always returned to the handless boy. His condition was far worse than what I’d seen in my nightly nightmares.

Seeing him, I could feel my guilt choking me. My right hand, the one that had betrayed the boy, was stiff as a corpse.

It was as if I had swallowed poison.

And there was only one way to escape it.

Cutting my frail body, letting my blood flow.

And then, as if the blood were the cause of it all, a tingling sensation would run up my arm, and then I could finally breathe again. And then tears would fall.

Once I was tired of crying, I’d simply lie down, trying not to think about anything.

But thoughts are ultimately unstoppable, and they’d eventually lead back to the boy.

…Then I’d cut myself again, cry again, and then collapse again, exhausted.

A vicious cycle, where all that increased were the bandages and the dark circles under my eyes.

The way to break this vicious cycle was clear.

To tell the boy, who’d lost his memory, the truth.

And then beg for forgiveness.

But I, a disgusting coward, couldn’t bring myself to do it.

No, I didn’t *do* it.

Because I wasn’t sure if I could bear it, if, at the end of it all, the boy looked at me with eyes full of hatred

*Knock, knock, knock.*

“Ms. Amy?”

An unfamiliar woman’s voice came from beyond the door. I didn’t answer. I just wanted to rot away. Perhaps forever.

“I came to talk to you about a request.”

I simply pulled the blankets over me tighter.

“…It’s about Rem.”

*BAM-*

I threw open the door. It wasn’t a conscious act, but rather an instinct.

I glared at the frivolous-looking woman standing in front of the door with fierce eyes.

She had navy blue hair and narrow eyes. Strangely, she was dressed in men’s clothing.

She chuckled when she saw me and said,

“What Ms. Irene said was true. I can’t believe you reacted this way just because I mentioned his name…”

“Cut the crap and get to the point. What happened to Rem?”

I said, trying to appear as menacing as possible. But I knew it was a futile attempt.

My body, starved from days of not eating properly, was frail, and the bandages wrapped all over me just made me look even more sickly.

“It’s not that something has happened. It’s more like something is going to happen. To Rem, and to all of us.”

And as expected, the woman showed no sign of fear. In fact, she walked past me and into the room.

Turning to look at me, she said,

“Didn’t you think it was strange?”

The woman snapped her fingers. A familiar box appeared out of thin air.

The ‘cargo’ we were transporting for this mission.

The long box landed on the floor.

“Why were the necromancers, who care about nothing but corpses, risking their lives for this?”

The woman placed a hand on the box and smiled faintly. I hadn’t noticed before, but both her arms were covered in intricate tattoos.

“And why, precisely when the Hero was carrying out the request, were the knight orders busy with a rebellion in the west?”

“I told you, get to the point.”

I grimaced. I didn’t want to waste my time on this kind of conspiracy theory.

The woman simply smiled and unlocked the lock on the box. The lid of the box swung open, revealing its contents.

And then, my mind went blank with shock.

“The former Pope, though incompetent politically, was a man who kept his eyes and ears open. He knew that danger was approaching, and before he passed, he made preparations to purify this.”

A pure white body, a pommel with a faintly glowing jewel, and red letters engraved along the blade.

It was unmistakable.

It was exactly as described in fairy tales and stories.

The sword that the hero had used to pierce the Demon King’s heart in the past.

And the sword that was cursed to burn whoever dared to wield it.

The Holy Sword, Abraxas.

“We just finished the purification yesterday.”

The woman slid her hand down to grasp the sword’s hilt. But her body didn’t burst into flames.

She simply smiled wider and looked at me.

“Ms. Amy, have you ever thought of becoming a true hero?”

***

Right next door to our mercenary guild was a pub. It wasn’t originally there, I had persuaded a pub owner to relocate.

If they were going to get drunk and cause trouble, I’d rather have them do it near me.

The pub owner was happy because he was getting paid a lot, not only from selling alcohol, but also from damage claims.

Nowadays, he’s even buying a lot of cheap furniture expecting it to break, but whatever.

Anyway. Having determined that Irene couldn’t handle her liquor, I brought her here.

Fortunately, it was still early, so the pub was almost empty. And the few people who were here left after I gave them a look.

So, without any distractions, I was able to listen to Irene’s story from beginning to end.

And the story she told me was a lot to take in.

With a puzzled look on my face, I asked.

“…You’re saying that the hero party disbanded?”

“That’s what I’m saying…! *Hic*”

Irene, slumped down with her cheek resting on the table. She looked at me with a wronged look on her face.

“The hero, who had been holed up in her room *hic* called Clara and me and said that she was disbanding the hero party…”

I couldn’t help but interrupt her there.

“Hold on, you’re saying the hero had been holed up in her room?”

“That’s right…! *Hic* Ever since we arrived in Axolotl…! I was so worried…”

My heart sank.

“Ms. Irene, when I tried to see the hero the other day, didn’t you say she couldn’t see me because she was busy with a mission?”

Irene’s body stiffened. She rolled her eyes and then sneakily reached out for the bottle.

But I grabbed it before her hand could reach it and pulled it towards me. Looking at her coldly, I said,

“Answer me.”

“Weeeell…”

Irene rolled her eyes, then, finally, put on a pitiful expression.

“I-I *hic* couldn’t help it…! Both the hero and Ms. Parsley *hic* were cooped up in their rooms…! And when I said that Mr. Rem was looking for them, they told me to say they weren’t there…! *hic*”

Irene slumped onto the table and looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“*Hic* I was on that mission with you, Mr. Rem, *hic* did you really think I wanted to lie to you…?”

I stared at her for a moment before sighing. Then I handed her the bottle.

Irene, as if waiting for this, snatched the bottle up and brought it to her mouth with a happy look on her face.

I looked at her with eyes filled with both awe and pity, I rubbed my eyes, and then asked,

“And then what? What happened after they disbanded the hero party?”

“*Hic* What else could’ve happened? Everyone went their separate ways. *Hic* And Clara had already left, so… *hic* heartless bitches…”

“So, where did they go?”

Irene finished the bottle, she looked around as if deep in thought. Setting the empty bottle down, she said,

“Ms. Parsley went back to the mage tower. *Hic* I don’t know where the hero went. But judging from the equipment she took, it seems like she’s going somewhere dangerous…”

Those words hit me hard.

The mage tower. Another place I couldn’t set foot in. And I don’t even know where Amy is.

Once again, they were drifting away from me.

What should I…

“*Hic* …B-But!”

Irene suddenly raised her head. Her face was flushed red with alcohol.

“It’s sooo unfair! Even though I *Hic* played the role of a porter and even *Hic* pulled some strings with the officials there…? *Hic* I even did some work for them, and gave them a lot of gifts to get on their good side…?”

I realized that she was about to launch into a drunkard’s lament, Sighing inwardly, I agreed with her to try to calm her down.

“And then?”

“So… after the Hero’s party was disbanded… *Hic* Of course I was sad, but I thought, ‘If I go there, they’ll give me a job~’ *Hic* and I went back to the Imperial Palace all happy…”

“And?”

Irene slammed her hand on the table and shouted,

“But that fucking bearded bastard…!!”

And then, as if her anger had been a lie, she collapsed onto the table.

“I put up with his bullshit so many times… *hic* And just because I lost one return stone… *hic* he told me to go find it… said there’s no salary for someone like me… *hic* Fuck… That bastard…”

It was then that I finally understood what situation Irene had found herself in. And also why she had come all the way from the distant Imperial Palace to Essier.

“You came all the way here… because of the return stone you gave me?”

“Yes…! But on the way here, I wasted all my travel expenses on alcohol… *hic* so I didn’t have money for lodging… I was just taking a quick nap on the street… *hic*”

And almost froze to death because of it.

I couldn’t even bring myself to speak at the sheer absurdity.

“S-So…*hic*”

Irene carefully lifted her head, looking at me. Her eyes filled with tears.

“*Hic* That return stone… I know this is shameless… *hic* but could you return it…”

I felt troubled. It wasn’t that I was suddenly reluctant to part with the return stone.

I thought it was too much of a reward when I first received it, and I still felt the same.

The problem was that I didn’t have the return stone with me right now.

I gave it to the Captain before she left for the west to go crack some cultist skulls…

I rubbed my temples and started thinking about how to break the bad news to her.

“Sir Rem.”

It was at that moment.

I turned my head at the unfamiliar address of ‘Sir Rem’. And unconsciously placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.

A Holy Knight, wearing a splendid armor, with the symbol of a woman praying engraved on his breastplate…

He seemed a whole head taller than me. He approached me with large strides, and over his shoulder, I could see seven other Holy Knights.

I didn’t bother hiding my wariness as I spoke,

“Why would a holy knight come to such a shabby pub…”

“Please forgive my intrusion.”

Then, the holy knight extended his hand towards me.

Surprised, I hastily drew my sword. It was a futile attempt.

Light burst from the Holy Knight’s hand, blinding me.

And then everything was swallowed by darkness.

…

…

…

“Rem, are you awake?”

And then, In the darkness, I heard Clara’s voice.