episode_0059

Screeeech-!

The scorpion’s roar echoed loudly.

Immediately after, a colossal tail plummeted from the sky.

A single barb, brimming with potent venom, lunged forward as if to crush its prey.

I countered with a swift strike.

Clang-!

The sharp sword-tip deflected the venomous stinger.

Following the intense clang, sparks flew into the air.

A heavy impact reverberated through my palm.

“It’s certainly a tricky one…!”

I swung my sword.

A jet-black line was drawn. The darkness, unleashed, collided with the pincer that flew in next.

The scorpion charged recklessly.

Clang! *Grinding sound*…! Thwack!!

The continuous crashing sounds made my ears ring.

As expected of a mutated creature, its patterns were quite tricky.

Its tough shell made it difficult to deal damage, forcing me to naturally adopt a defensive stance.

I put power into the tip of my sword.

Thud! Clang-!

I slowly moved my steps backward.

The excited scorpion followed closely. It seemed unaware that its own body was off-balance.

As I lured the creature to the designated spot,

Twang, Whoosh-!

The crossbow fired.

The mana-infused arrow tore through the air and then accurately embedded itself between the scorpion’s brows.

It had targeted the gap where no armor-like hide existed.

Screeech…!

The colossal silhouette collapsed with a single scream.

It was an undeniable instant kill.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and gave a thumbs-up to the old man walking up behind me.

His frail white hair fluttered in the sand wind behind him.

“That was a good strategy, Elder.”

“You were the one who worked hard.”

“Haha, it was nothing.”

“This one was particularly difficult. I’m not sure if it can even be considered a regular monster.”

“From now on, we’ll likely encounter only these types of creatures.”

“Hmm? How do you know that?”

“Well… you could say it’s a hunch?”

After the battle, we chatted lightly.

As we rested, Regia, who had been waiting behind us, came running forward.

“Young, Young Master-nim!”

“Miss Regia.”

“Are you hurt anywhere? I, I can heal you…!”

“Unfortunately, I’m not particularly hurt anywhere.”

“Ah…”

The girl sighed hesitantly.

It seemed she wanted to help, but was frustrated that the situation didn’t allow it.

I chuckled softly and stroked her pink hair.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“…I-I’m sorry. I couldn’t be of help again.”

She made a sullen expression.

As I gently comforted the protagonist for a while, a cough suddenly came from beside us.

It was the old man’s cough.

“Cough, cough…!”

The old man, without fail, coughed up blood.

At this point, it was beyond mere coughing up blood; it was closer to vomiting blood.

“O-Old man…!”

“Are you alright?”

We immediately supported his stumbling body.

Having fought wildly to catch the mid-boss, it seemed to have strained his already poor health.

“Cough… I’m fine.”

The old man waved his hand as if to say he was alright.

Despite having blood on his lips, he didn’t lose his characteristic gentle smile.

The atmosphere remained calm.

“Didn’t I tell you it’s a chronic illness? There’s nothing to be surprised about.”

“B-But…!”

“You’ve been seeing this for days now, why can’t you adapt? Instead, please lend me a handkerchief.”

“The b-blood, I’ll wipe it for you…”

“Thank you.”

Regia wiped away the red stain with trembling hands.

Before long, tears welled up in her eyes.

The old man chuckled softly looking at the girl, then suddenly spoke towards me.

“You truly are a blessed man.”

“Hmm?”

“To have such a kind girl as your lover. I think she might be a bit too good for you.”

“Oh?”

“Huh, huh…?”

A mischievous joke.

Regia, who had been momentarily dumbfounded, belatedly realized the old man’s words and reacted.

Her pale face flushed bright red.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What?!”

She even dropped the handkerchief she was holding.

Perhaps because she had no immunity to such teasing, she seemed to short-circuit immediately.

As expected, it was fun to tease her.

I replied in a subtle voice.

Adding fuel to the fire the old man had started.

“You are absolutely right. She is indeed too good for me.”

“Young, Young, Young Master-nim?!”

“I always live thinking it’s a great fortune.”

“Ugh, ugh…”

As we teased our protagonist, the heavy atmosphere soon lightened.

The old man, who had somehow wiped the blood clean.

He gazed at us, wearing a gentle smile.

It seemed he had aimed for this from the start.

“Alright, alright, how about we stop chatting and move on?”

“Sounds good.”

“Y-Yes, yes…”

We finished our rest and moved.

Rustle, rustle-.

The desert, still stretching endlessly.

As we each trod the ground with our own steps,

“Um, excuse me… Elder.”

The girl, somewhat calmed, opened her mouth.

“What do you need?”

“Nothing else, but… I found something strange when I was looking around earlier. I was wondering if you might know anything about it.”

“Hmm? What kind of strange thing?”

“Sometimes, strange things were sticking out of the ground.”

“Strange things, you say…?”

“L-Like, what should I call it? Like the roof of a building? As if something is buried under the sand… Do you, do you happen to know what it is?”

…

He paused.

The old man suddenly stopped walking.

He even seemed to be holding his breath.

“O-Old man…?”

Regia tilted her head as if asking why.

The old man, who had been silent for a moment, soon smiled faintly as usual.

“…Well. I don’t know either.”

His eyes trembled slightly.

***

The journey continued for several days.

We endured the constant scorpion attacks, steadily moving forward.

Of course, the situation wasn’t very good.

The old man’s illness worsened with each passing day.

His coughing up blood became more frequent, and now he would occasionally lose consciousness and collapse.

Despite our worried words, the old man insisted on continuing the journey.

In truth, there was no turning back now, so we moved while caring for him as best as we could.

Our pace naturally had to slow down.

“Oh dear… I feel bad for causing such inconvenience.”

“W-We’re fine…!”

“Anyway, we need your guidance to reach the city, Elder. There’s no need to apologize.”

“Thank you. Both of you.”

The monster waves also felt like they were slowly getting tougher.

Perhaps because we were nearing our destination, even regular mobs had reached a considerable level.

Every single one was a monster of intermediate rank or higher.

Indeed, this episode wasn’t called ‘extreme’ for nothing.

“Young, Young Master-nim! They’re swarming from behind!”

“Understood.”

“If you lure them like last time, I’ll handle them from here.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“No problem.”

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Each battle proceeded fiercely.

We were reaching our limits in strategy.

This was, in a way, a situation I had intended.

Because I was moving just enough to maintain a precarious balance.

The old man’s health continued to deteriorate, and this situation kept pushing the protagonist into hardship.

“I-I’ll take on one more…!”

Regia seemed to feel a sense of responsibility.

The gap arising from her lack of ability.

She seemed to be trying her best to fill that gap.

Of course, effort alone didn’t solve everything.

The crisis was steadily escalating.

A situation pushing us to the extreme.

Fortunately, attacks were set to occur no more than six times a day, allowing us to occasionally catch our breath and recover.

It was now over a week since we had been dropped in the desert.

…

Whoooosh-.

A gentle breeze blew.

Under a night sky where nothing but brilliant starlight was visible, I stood guard alone.

A subtly glowing magic lamp kept watch beside me.

It was the end of a long day.

Had even the hot desert fallen asleep?

Only the chilly air remained.

As I held the faint silence between my lips like a cigarette, an unfamiliar sound suddenly reached my ears.

It was the sound of shoes treading on sand.

Rustle-.

I raised my lowered head.

When I turned to look, white hair stood there.

“…Elder?”

“It’s me.”

The old man stood against the backdrop of the stars.

He smiled gently when our eyes met, then came closer and sat beside me.

He had seemed restless earlier.

Had he ultimately been unable to sleep?

Perhaps his ailing body was preventing him from sleeping.

I asked in a low voice.

“Are you alright?”

“Haven’t I told you multiple times? There’s no problem at all.”

“But I noticed you barely touched your food today.”

“I’m just tired of scorpion tails now.”

“That’s a rather understandable reason.”

“It tastes terrible, doesn’t it?”

“Especially since we’ve been eating the same thing for a week now.”

“At this point, I’d rather chew on a cactus.”

“I agree.”

Voices exchanged casually.

We seemed to chat for a while, but before long, both of us fell silent.

It was due to the somewhat somber atmosphere between us.

…

…

We were sinking into silence.

The night slowly deepened.

The snake and the old man sat side by side.

The silence, which seemed like it would continue indefinitely, was broken by none other than the old man’s hoarse voice.

“I’m sorry.”

A quietly murmured apology.

“I know I’m being greedy. And that I’m just a burden to you two.”

“Not at all.”

“Oh, yes you are.”

Despite my denial, the old man merely smiled.

His eyes shone transparently.

“Still… I really want to meet her.”

“Are you speaking of your friend?”

“She is still everything in my world.”

“How romantic of you.”

“Well, Rosaline always said she hated this side of me.”

“I’m sure she liked it deep down.”

“I think so too. Rosaline was a shy one.”

There are things one only realizes after losing them.

That was precisely the case for the two of them.

They hadn’t realized it while they were together, but the pain of separation was agonizing.

Thus, they became aware of each other and fell into a belated love.

This was written in the official setting book.

“I… have never forgotten her, not once.”

Even when I led a lonely life in a distant foreign land.

Even when I was conscripted into war.

Even when I fiercely ran on the front lines.

Even after the war ended and I finally found peace.

Even when I received a mysterious letter from my hometown, where contact had been lost for a while.

The old man lived solely thinking of the girl.

“Isn’t it foolish?”

…

“The promise that we would meet again. I lived for a whole 50 years believing in that one promise.”

Even though the person concerned might have forgotten it.

The old man murmured bitterly.

His white hair fluttered in the wind.

I watched it silently.

“It’s foolish, isn’t it?”

Adults are unable to remember their childhood.

But if someone doesn’t forget their childhood even in old age, what should we call them?

A type of person I had never met before.

The old man was an adult, yet at the same time, a boy.

“It’s not foolish at all.”

I returned a polite answer.

They were words spoken from the heart.

Perhaps the old man sensed that, as he smiled with his eyes and responded.

“Hehe… I appreciate you saying that, even if it’s just words.”

Someone once said.

The desert is beautiful because it hides an oasis.

The most precious things are originally invisible.

Life was the same.

The reason the old man’s life could move someone was probably because of his earnest heart for a single flower.

A rose, like a flame, shone in his heart.

“What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“Looking at you, it’s like looking at myself from that time. You always smile cheerfully, but you never reveal your true feelings to anyone.”

Perhaps it was because I was afraid.

“You’ve also suffered similar wounds, haven’t you?”

…

I couldn’t say anything.

I simply froze, as if struck in my core.

The old man leisurely murmured.

“How could a life without regrets exist?”

Regardless of whether one is a child or an adult.

People live, accumulating regrets.

But just as daybreak arrives because there is dawn, happiness also finds us because there are painful days.

Life is beautiful for that reason.

“It’s just that even amidst such regrets, one must live dreaming of a better tomorrow.”

A wrinkled hand stroked my head.

It felt awkward.

When was the last time I received such comfort?

I couldn’t even remember. Perhaps, even combining this life and my previous lives, I could count them on one hand.

“You’ll do well.”

…

I had always been the one to comfort others, so receiving comfort in return felt strange.

As I savored that novel sensation,

A single sentence inadvertently slipped from my closed lips.

“You said it when we first met.”

The old man’s request.

“-Perhaps, can you take this old man to the stars?”

I remembered that moment and replied.

“I will certainly… take you to the stars.”

The old man looked surprised for a moment, then nodded.

His aged lips broke into a soft laugh.

“Pfft… Those words are truly encouraging!”

“I’ll do my best.”

“And I will do my best to guide you both to the city!”

“It’s a true symbiosis, then.”

“Hahaha!”

Time remaining until the end of the episode.

One more day.

Recalling the approaching conclusion, I exchanged a few more words with the old man.

It was a night when the desert shone with unusual beauty.