episode_0326

Episode 326

Aila remembered the route she took quite accurately. It won’t just be memories of yesterday and today.

In a forest with little green light, there was a cave that looked like a bear hibernating in the winter. There was a locked door inside.

“Wait a minute. I’ll open it soon.”

As Aela released her magical power, the door glowed. It seemed that Aila’s mana waveform was used as the key.

Inside, the open space was clearly artificial, unlike the outside, which was like a natural cave. In many ways, the style was quite similar to the Katria ruins seen in Sesennes.

Of course, this one is so much smaller that the scale is incomparable. It was not a space where many people could stay.

Unlike the place that consisted of several rooms, there is only one small space. It was so large that one or two people could barely live there.

And there was a sword stuck in the middle of the room.

It’s a great sword. If appraised as an antique, it would likely be worth the price of a mansion. If it’s as I thought, it won’t be that much.

I entered the room cautiously. Everyone barely made a sound. The strange, godly atmosphere of this space created that.

Unlike the Katria ruins, there was nothing left in the room that could be called a document. However, Adrian’s magic did not extend to this place. Because if that were the case, there would be no way I would have left that sword behind.

Me, sword.

That is Luke the Great’s sword. Although my archaeological knowledge was limited, I knew it instinctively. Lustier’s blood, or Enekra’s soul, was responding that way.

Those who live in Lustier hear this story so hard that it pierces their ears. The story of Luke the Great, who started with a single sword and eventually unified the kingdom and became its first king. It could truly be said to be the greatest achievement a person can achieve.

His sword, which achieved this feat, was neither violently destroyed nor preciously stored in the royal treasury, but was simply left abandoned in this dark cave.

Having established his own kingdom, he abandoned it of his own will and wandered this harsh and cold land, relying on a sword.

To find just one woman, the woman who resents him so much.

“Luke.”

My voice comes out without me even realizing it. The next words also came out naturally, as if they had nothing to do with my will.

“You were here.”

For a moment, the room shakes. I feel the people around me holding me in shock as I stumble. But soon that feeling disappeared beyond the distant horizon.

* * *

The fields are overflowing with gold. I immediately realized that this place was not real.

I see an unfamiliar figure in the distance across the field. The man with short hair, tall stature, and wearing a cape was definitely something I had never seen before.

He seemed to have noticed my presence and turned around. His handsome face had a dry expression. It’s a young face. He had a much younger face than the handsome Luke he had seen in portraits.

He was looking at me blankly. It was as if he had forgotten how to speak. After just staring for a while, he slowly spoke.

“Who are you…?”

“I am Sarah Lustie of the Lustier royal family. To you, you will be a distant descendant. It is a great honor to meet you, King Luke.”

“Luke… High King…”

He muttered monotonously, as if the name was unfamiliar. But he seemed to have a clear awareness that it was him.

“So? What business do I have? The fact that you’ve come this far means that you know my fate well. I am not who you think I am. He’s just a pathetic and foolish… idiot.”

This man in front of me right now is not the real King Luke. It is nothing more than a fragment of the soul contained in the sword that he left behind.

But still, he seemed tired of everything. This was probably Luke’s devastated state at the time of his death.

He seemed to have no interest in me. Actually, I don’t really have anything to do with him.

There is only one person like that.

I smiled slightly at Luke as if asking for his understanding, and started calling people who should be present.

Can you hear me, Enekra?

It’s now. If it’s not now, an opportunity like this will never come again.

A miracle built up through two previous lives and repeated coincidences and inevitability. Isn’t this the moment you’ve been waiting for the most?

wake up.

Just like when you saved me from the Well of Mana, I scrape together the last bits of consciousness that remain.

The time has come for your hate and love to finally come to an end. Try to overwrite the last chapter of the tragedy.

So wake up.

wake up-

Then, at some point, a corner inside me fell off.

It was smaller than I expected. Maybe it was because Enekra had so little consciousness left, or maybe it was because she was that size when she first met Luke.

Enekra had a confused look on his face, as if he had suddenly woken up from sleep. But when I saw the man in front of me, I seemed to remember everything.

“Luke, Luke? Is it really Luke?”

Luke’s eyes also grew to their maximum possible size. His mouth was open and he couldn’t say anything. Enekra ran up to him and body-butted him.

“Luke!”

Enek was small and clung to Luke’s arms. He was crying loudly in that state. While pounding his chest with both hands.

“Why did you do that, Luke! Why, huh! Why did you abandon me? I, I am…!”

The arm that was trying to wrap around her suddenly stops. Luke answered Enekra with a trembling voice.

“I’m sorry, Enekra. I’m sorry, I really… I just… wanted to tell you this… until now…”

sorry. The tragedy of these two people is not simple enough to be resolved with just those words. But it seemed like it was enough, at least for Enekra.

“Aaaargh!”

The hand that was tapping Luke stopped. Enekra let go of his head and cried bitterly and bitterly.

Both of them seemed to be completely immersed in each other, forgetting about my presence. I took a step back and just watched the two people spend their time.

The self-consciousness of Enekra that remains within me is extremely faint. It must be said that it was a miracle created by her lingering affection that she was able to gather it all and have a relationship with him in such a clear form.

But that time would never be long.

Enekra’s body held by Luke becomes increasingly blurry. Perhaps sensing this, Luke’s arm tightened.

“I’m sorry, Enekra. I’m really sorry…! I should have protected you at least…!”

“I, I am… I completely thought you hated me… Oh, a terrible curse… If only I had believed in you more…!”

The two people’s voices seemed to be spitting out everything they had in their stomachs. But even at those moments, the end is getting closer and closer. Enekra’s body was gradually falling apart. Now he seemed unable to speak.

Luke hugged the disappearing Enekra even more. Finally, Enekra disappeared from his arms without leaving behind any trace.

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

Luke took a deep breath and let it out. He glanced at me again. His face was much clearer than when I first saw it.

“Thank you, Sarah. Above all else…”

“No, I just kept my promise to her. Even though…”

‘Even though they are not themselves.’

It may sound a little harsh, but it’s the truth. Neither Eneck, who appeared just now, nor Luke, who exists here through the sword, are real people. It is just an illusion that has neither preservation of memory nor continuity of personality.

Luke shook his head as if he had read my mind.

“It’s not like that. All souls, even fragments, are equal. As if you were a child and you now are very different, but you are the same human being. Her sadness definitely reached me, and it will definitely reach my whole self someday. What you have done for me and her… is not fleeting.”

He looked very relieved. After hearing his words, I also felt a little more relieved.

He smiled at me for the first time.

“I apologize for my blunt attitude earlier. You have no idea how grateful I am to you. I have been piling up regrets for what seems like an infinite amount of time. Thanks to you, I think it’s finally time to let it go.”

“After all, you didn’t meet Enekra when you were alive?”

“Yes… I wandered around the northern lands, looking for all the places where I heard rumors of witches. But I couldn’t see her again. I… was broken little by little.”

There is no way Enekra would have intentionally avoided Luke. The fact that the two did not meet may have been the result of an unfortunate coincidence. It is a trick of fate that even feels malicious.

“So that’s why you left that song.”

“Yes, I wanted to get some news to her even after I died… so I gave some animals to the tribe living around here and asked them to spread the word. I really didn’t know that it would last until your time. Now that I think about it, it seems like a very sentimental song.”

Luke laughed awkwardly. Maybe this is his original personality.

“No, the reason I was able to come here with Enekra’s soul in it was because that song guided me. Until the end, your efforts were never in vain, Luke.”

Did Aila of the past know that the song was Luke’s? No, that is unlikely.

Because in her worldview, Lustier must be a thoroughly despicable and vicious person. You would never have guessed that King Luke would have lived like a wild man with only the intention of telling Enekra that he was sorry.

It was just a coincidence that Aila remembered Luke’s song. It may have just been a song that passed by, or a song that was passed down to the tribe she was born in.

Also, the reason the Black Mountain Society later used this place as a hideout was not because they knew exactly what kind of place it was.

It is ironic that the activities of Aela and the Black Goat Society, which were motivated solely by malice, preserved this place and eventually brought Enekra’s soul to this place. But maybe that’s just how fate works.

“Looks like it’s time to leave.”

King Luke smiled quite like a king. It was regret that kept his soul here. Now that it was resolved, there was no reason to remain.

“I sincerely hope that your future will be filled with infinite blessings and joy.”

“I also hope that the great king finds true rest.”

As I face Luke, that small world collapses. Feeling as dizzy as when I came here, I returned to the original world.

* * *

“Princess, are you okay?”

While I was meeting Luke, it felt like only a moment had passed here. I just stumbled for a moment.

“Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

I straightened my posture and looked at Luke’s sword. The sword must have withstood the weathering of countless years since the founding of the nation.

But at that moment, the sword began to wear out quickly. The days that once shined become rusty. And soon it broke with a snapping sound.