episode_0154

Thump-!

“Really… really…!”

A sunburned, dark hand wrapped around Siron’s white hand. Tears start to form on his face, covered with a thick beard.

“On behalf of all citizens of Braham, I would like to thank you. How should I repay this favor…!”

“No. I just did what I had to do.”

Siron answered with a refreshing smile. A shaggy-haired middle-aged man sobbing ungainly. It was not at all pleasant to witness this in front of one’s eyes, but even so, Siron responded to the middle-aged man with a sincere smile rather than a pretentious one.

That was because Siron felt an irony in this situation that could not be explained in words.

In the warrior’s house,

Siron incinerated the body of Kylie, the source of the divine power that protected Braham. Not only that, but more than a thousand guards were killed, leaving no one to take charge of the city’s security.

Because of this, Braham was unable to respond appropriately to the large number of undead. When the streets were overflowing with terrible demonic energy and screams were spreading everywhere.

Siron and his party, emitting a brilliant light, cleared out all the undead in the city.

“Braham is a sacred place where Kylie’s grave is located. How can we just keep our eyes open and look at the disaster that occurred there?”

Siron turned his gaze to the man and administrator, who had expressions of emotion, and looked at the citizens of Braham, who had vague expressions.

“It’s not just that. While making a pilgrimage to the shrine, I realized how beautiful the city of Braham was, and it was also because I could not tolerate the citizens of Braham, who had protected and managed Kylie’s mausoleum for a long time, being trampled by evil undead.”

“You… are like a savior sent by the Lord.”

The administrator began to shed tears that he had been holding back. He felt a great sense of gratitude towards the man who appeared in a situation where there were no guards to block the undead.

The guardians who were originally supposed to protect the city were nowhere to be seen, and even the priests, who were not as powerful as the guardians but could unleash powerful divine power, were unable to do anything about the undead.

The man who appeared at the same time as that disaster was a flawless hero, equipped not only with military power but also with appropriate eloquence and humanity.

“If you really want me to do repairs, I would like to ask for your generous support in rebuilding and defending Braham. Restoring this beautiful city to its proper state is what I hope for.”

It’s something I don’t even mean to say. Not only did he use Kylie’s fame to enrich himself, but Siron definitely did not feel sympathy for the people who went against the laws of nature to enjoy more wealth and fame.

To such a poet, the citizens of Braham expressed their gratitude with tears in their eyes.

Some people thought that the cause of this terrible tragedy was an outsider who appeared out of nowhere, but that opinion was immediately ignored and those who raised their opinions were also met with ignorance.

This is because the light emitted by Siron when he defeated the undead was so bright and so sacred that it made those who saw it feel awe.

‘There’s no way someone who emits such a warm light would do that.’

The refusal of compensation and the expression of thoughts about Braham did not have much of an impact on the citizens, but there was no one who did not feel a sense of favor as a result.

Siron returned to his room after turning down countless requests for handshakes from his benefactor.

“What, wasn’t this pretty good?”

Siron spoke into the air in an empty room. At first glance, it seemed like he was talking to himself like a crazy person, but the subject of his conversation was clearly around him.

“…Even though I gained favorable feelings from so many people, my penalty points were only reduced a little.”

Latera poked her head out of the empty air. After fully materializing, she put her feet on the ground and put on a serious expression.

“Hmm, it may be because I haven’t done truly good karma, so can I reserve judgment here?”

“…Do I really need to return Wimyeongdo? Even if it stays like this, I won’t feel any discomfort. I wish I had gotten help instead.”

Siron pulled up a chair and sat down to be at eye level with Latera.

“You were brought in safely, and Kylie’s body is no longer there. There’s no need to go into the warrior’s house anymore, right?”

“Still…”

“And the more you accumulate penalty points, the less likely you are to encounter an apostle unexpectedly. Unless the results are great enough to give up this huge advantage… I don’t think I’ll be able to respond to your request.”

“…Do you remember the blessings I gave you?”

Latera lowered her head and wiggled her fingers. It was better not to say that I could go to heaven at the end of my life. This is because poetry placed much more weight on immediate life than after death.

“Of course I remember. There have been quite a few times when I didn’t receive God’s help.”

“Then it will take less effort!”

Latera patted her chest and a secret smile appeared on her lips.

“Do you remember when I said that I wanted to become a great angel like you?”

“…Okay.”

“Senior was a great guardian angel. Since she has the highest rank among angels, the number of blessings that could be bestowed on Kylie was incomparably higher than mine, and the number of blessings that could be bestowed at the same time was also large.”

“…What does that have to do with those penalty points?”

“The better the warrior becomes, the higher my level goes up.”

Latera continued with a stern expression.

“Currently, it’s only a half penny that can grant three blessings… but the more the hero’s reputation becomes known on the continent, the stronger the hero becomes, and I too become a higher-ranking angel.”

“…”

According to Latera, there were two options. Become stronger by increasing the number of blessings and avoid apostles and be guaranteed safety.

‘Nothing goes easily.’

Siron wanted to take care of both as much as possible, but unfortunately reality forced him to choose only one option. That wasn’t the only factor that concerned me. The senior who appeared again from Latera’s mouth began to rise to the surface.

‘I’m worried.’

It wasn’t that Siron didn’t trust Latera. However, it was disturbing to see traces of the senior’s involvement here and there to an extent that made it impossible to understand.

Although Latera completely trusts his senior, Siron could not have any good will towards the unknown person.

It was she who gave the holy sword to Kylie, and it was she who intervened in the creation of the Prien family.

It was that bastard who made Latera wait for 500 years in the warrior’s house, and it was that bastard who built the warrior’s house and placed Kylie’s body in it.

It cannot be created without goodwill. Latera seems to have unconditional favor for that senior, but if you look at it, it’s all because of the senior that made Latera suffer.

“I want to meet the angel you are talking about… your senior.”

Siron, who continued to worry, asked Latera directly. Keeping doubts buried in one’s heart did not suit Shiron’s temperament. Latera, who heard Siron’s answer, smiled broadly and opened her mouth.

“Thank goodness! If only I could become an angel that I would not be ashamed to display anywhere! My senior said he was coming to congratulate me!”

“Is there any way to meet right now? Even if we can’t talk, I’d like to at least have a conversation.”

“…I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

Latera lowered her gaze.

“I have not been in contact with my senior since 500 years ago. I kept trying… but I couldn’t do it.”

“…It’s expensive.”

Shiron clicked his tongue and got up from his chair.

“Are you sure that you will come to see me when you become an archangel?”

“…I can assure you of that.”

Latera, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, pulled out a book out of thin air. brown

“Because… you promised me. I put my little finger on it and stamped it…”

After saying that, Latera started turning the pages of the book.

“You wrote a memorandum like this?”

“…?”

Latera held out an open book, and Shiron narrowed his eyes.

[To Hyunjun, whom I always miss.]

I saw a familiar phrase on the last page. Siron opened his eyes sheepishly and handed the book back to Latera.

“Can you tell me what this says?”

“Warrior, are you really blind?”

“…That’s it. Read it quickly.”

Latera shrugged her shoulders at Siron’s criticism.

“…To Latera, whom I always miss. I hope you become a great guardian angel soon… That’s it.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Is that correct? Are you sure you don’t trust me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you…”

Siron rubbed his puffy eyes with his hands.

“It’s because I can’t believe my eyes.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is something like that.”

Siron responded playfully and roughly stroked Latera’s head.

“I will try to erase the penalty points.”

“Really?”

“Yes, rather than weighing ambiguous things, I am now clear about what I should do.”

“You chose well! As expected, I knew you would do that!”

Latera jumped up and down in place and smiled broadly. After appreciating the happy girl for a moment, Siron cleared his throat as if to divert his attention.

“Before that. Let’s go out somewhere together tonight.”

“…Where?”

*

A few days later.

Lien, the capital of the Lien Empire.

In Hugo’s mansion, a small civil engineering project was underway in the backyard of one of the outbuildings.

thud-!

“…Is this enough?”

Siron looked up at the huge stone monument that was well over his height. The shadow of the tree was overlaid on the milky-white rectangular body, giving it a different feel from a mausoleum.

[For Hyunjun, who I always miss.]

Siron stroked the engraved letters on the tombstone with a frown.

‘…Maybe we can meet.’

He left his mark here, not just when the game was being made, but directly. The moment Siron realized that fact, he could not leave his friend’s traces alone or ignore them.