〈 Chapter 262 〉 It’s a Curse, Not a Blessing (3)
*
Eastern Front 3, Harprion.
The front line overseen by the coward Destel.
Naturally, until Rania arrived here, she had no intention of heading that way. There was nothing good about getting involved; it only made her mood worse.
“Eastern Front 3, Harprion. I think that place is suitable.”
However, now she was clearly uttering the front line overseen by Destel. Why?
‘I don’t even know, damn it…’
Rania muttered a curse under her breath.
She had shouted it out loud, but she couldn’t even understand why she said that. It was certainly not a rational choice.
It was not a rational and reasonable choice.
It was an impulsive emotional decision.
“······.”
Galahal respected Rania’s choice by maintaining silence. The Knights Order Leader shot Rania a questioning glance but didn’t say anything more.
Well, she must have her own reasons.
That was the look they had.
While Rania appreciated their consideration, she felt a bit uneasy. She could come up with any reason, but it didn’t clear the discomfort inside her. She understood that it was an emotionally driven choice.
Rania despised Destel.
Not just a simple dislike, but something close to hatred.
It wasn’t just Destel. Rania hated anyone who made similar choices. Humans like the Sword Demon and Draka.
‘Those who take sacrifices lightly.’
And.
‘You cowardly bastards who survived on someone’s sacrifice and claim that the sacrifices are worthless.’
Such people were deeply despised by Rania.
She was pathological in her aversion to the uselessness of someone’s sacrifice.
So, she must have been that way back then too.
“Get out of the way. I’ll go.”
The ending of the battle of Ratenael.
The cowardly title attached to Destel.
After hearing all the details of that incident, Raniel, who was in bed, draped a robe and headed to the battlefield. She dragged her barely functioning body there.
“It’s dangerous, Ashen Mage.”
“That place is already occupied, and the operation to retake it will be conducted later······.”
Ignoring the knights who tried to stop her, Raniel moved towards the occupied Kateron Castle. Braving the hands of the heretical forces left behind there, she ultimately succeeded in retaking Kateron Castle.
Though the Carapace Dragon had left, and the heretical forces that remained were scarce, Raniel’s condition was far from normal at that time. In the end, she would suffer another severe injury.
It was not a rational decision.
Taking time to organize her troop and plan a strategy to retake it would have been reasonable. Yet, Raniel didn’t do that. She pushed through the operation despite being in tatters.
“Did you say it was worthless, Destel?”
She had to show it.
“Sure, maybe it is worthless. Before a disaster, we are nothing but humans, and the front line maintained by the whims of disaster might be meaningless. That could be true.”
She had to show it.
“But that doesn’t make the sacrifices meaningless.”
“I will save you. Those knights who bought time without fleeing just to save you, Galahal’s comrades who took responsibility for the battlefield you fled from, those who died within that.”
“Their sacrifices were not worthless.”
Countless sacrifices.
“You stand here because of them. They succeeded in saving you.”
Souls abandoned.
“Do you know who made that worthless?”
Without a doubt, she had to show that their sacrifices were not meaningless.
Grabbing Destel by the collar, Raniel raised her voice.
“It’s you, you worthless piece of shit.”
Recalling the past, Rania grimaced.
There were several aspects where she felt like a reverse scale. One of them was the act of making others’ sacrifices pointless.
Despair can happen.
One can feel hopeless in front of a blocked wall.
But never should one give up in the end.
If your life is sustained by sacrificing others… then you should never give up, no matter what happens. That’s Rania’s belief and her reverse scale.
‘If I give up or run away, everything becomes pointless.’
It’s a reverse scale that was instilled in her since she was young.
Rania clearly remembers when her hometown was burned down. The Holy Knights from Deloheim Church pushed beasts into the village and burned the entire place down.
They abandoned a village to stop the beasts.
Yet the Holy Knights failed.
The flames didn’t completely burn the beasts, and when the surviving beasts appeared beyond the flames, the Holy Knights ran away. Rania clearly saw them fleeing amidst the flames.
“Run!”
“The operation has failed, fall back further.”
“Abandon it!”
The village burning away.
The villagers turned to ashes.
Gasping for breath due to the intense heat.
And the Holy Knights running away through the heat haze.
Thus, the deaths became meaningless.
Rania can never forget the scenery carved into her eyes at that time. Because she can’t forget, she despises every action that takes sacrifices lightly. She genuinely detests it.
“···Tsk.”
Rania clicked her tongue briefly.
Galahal silently observed that scene.
2.
After relieving the fatigue of travel, I wouldn’t discuss the details again. As soon as I left the office behind the Knights Order Leader who said that.
“Do you want to humiliate Destel?”
Galahal suddenly threw a question at me.
I snapped my fingers briefly. A bluish mana enveloped Galahal and me. It was to prevent my voice from leaking out.
Chloe, who was following behind, just tilted her head, sensing nothing unusual. I confirmed that and responded to Galahal’s question with a question.
“What do you mean?”
“Just as I said. Do you want Destel to feel humiliation?”
On the surface, it sounds like a sermon, but Galahal’s tone was flat. It seemed he was merely asking, nothing more.
“···Why do you ask that?”
“I think it was not a rational choice. And you seem to think that too, Rania.”
I fell silent.
Galahal did not remain silent.
“I don’t think it was your intention to humiliate him. I don’t think it’s to repay the humiliation that Raniel received either… it’s just that you don’t like him, right?”
“···What do you mean?”
“His way of doing things.”
I glanced at Galahal.
Galahal continued with a bitter smile.
“Do you know how Destel came to be called cowardly?”
“I know.”
“Then you must also know what I did that day.”
Of course, I knew.
I nodded slightly.
“…I beat him until he couldn’t fight back?”
“Haha. Seems like the rumor got exaggerated. In reality, I only hit him in the face two or three times.”
“That sounds like plenty.”
“Yes, I was quite emotional then.”
“I see, it was emotional,” Galahal said.
“I don’t not understand Destel’s feelings at that time. I feel that way every time. Wondering if everything is meaningless, if my existence has any value…”
A voice filled with bitterness.
“However, to speak that in front of the knights, I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t like it. Should I say, it just felt wrong?”
“…Because the lives lost became meaningless.”
“Yes. Back then, the knights who lost their lives, the deaths of my comrades felt like an insult.”
“I understand.”
I nodded my head.
It just didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to say that it was wrong, that it wasn’t right. Even if I could understand Destel’s ways, I didn’t want to.
‘I know.’
That’s just stubbornness and nothing more.
“It’s stubbornness.”
“It’s also just foolishness.”
But.
“I think stubbornness is necessary for a hero.”
It’s a stubbornness that someone must have.
I silently glanced at Chloe.
If Chloe becomes a hero.
When she stands on the battlefield in the future.
I hoped she would be a hero closer to Galahal than Destel. So perhaps that’s why I chose the place where Destel stayed.
However…
“…Ultimately, the choice is still yours.”
I patted Chloe on the head.
What kind of being she would become, that was ultimately her own choice. Chloe just stared at me blankly with wide-open eyes.
“Professor Rania?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have something to say?”
“Um…”
After pondering what to say, I spoke softly.
“Let’s do our best, together.”
3.
Night deepened.
Chloe couldn’t sleep and fidgeted around. Although she stayed at Kateron Castle today, there was no guarantee she would stay here tomorrow.
She would have to get to the battlefield starting tomorrow.
Though she was prepared, she couldn’t help feeling anxious about the bed. Ultimately, Chloe got up from her bed and went out of the room. The halls of the castle were empty.
Thinking of taking a stroll, Chloe walked through the hallways.
She encountered some knights along the way, but the knights, knowing she was a guest here, only lightly advised her not to go to certain locations and didn’t send her back to her room.
Chloe kept walking.
Eventually, she climbed the stairs aimlessly.
At the watchtower of Kateron Castle, the panoramic view came into sight. Gazing at the torches burning under the night sky, Chloe let out a long sigh.
“Fuuuu…”
“The view is nice here.”
“Eek, eek… ugh!”
As soon as she sighed, a voice came from behind, startling Chloe and making her scream. The scream didn’t last long because an unknown presence covered her mouth.
“Mmf, mmph…!”
“Anyone would think I was going to eat you. Which brave soul would dare touch the Knights Order’s guest at Kateron Castle? Don’t worry. I’m not that brave. In fact, the opposite.”
“Ugh, mhph…?”
The mysterious presence lowered the hand that was covering Chloe’s mouth. Then, he took off the hood he had been wearing tightly. A man with gray hair swayed under the moonlight.
“…Destel?”
“Wow, it’s been a while. Someone outside didn’t call me cowardly.”
Destel grinned and took a step back.
“When I saw someone on the watchtower I manage, I looked closely, and it was the next hero candidate. What brings you here on such a late night?”
“…Um, my thoughts are all jumbled.”
“I still haven’t completed my training, have I?”
“Yes, I haven’t undergone the trials yet…”
“That’s understandable. When I first came to the battlefield, I couldn’t sleep at night either.”
Fuu, Destel let out a short breath.
“Your name was Chloe, right?”
“Yes, Destel.”
“I’ve heard the rumors. They say you’re special; something to do with a certain lineage, right? You’re one of the gifted ones.”
“Gifted…?”
“Yeah. One of the gifted ones.”
Destel leaned over the watchtower and looked down.
Below the watchtower, knights were wandering around with torches. Pointing at them, Destel continued speaking.
“They’re the ones who continue to live by feeding off others’ sacrifices. If they don’t have the courage to die, they’ll keep living until they do.”
“…Huh?”
“You’ll learn to understand, whether you want to or not. That’s the kind of blessing you received.”
It was a tired voice.
As he looked down, Destel turned his head. Then he pulled a chair from the watchtower and set it in front of Chloe.
“Do you want to talk for a moment?”
His impression was quite different from the person she had seen during the day.
Chloe hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“I don’t intend to fill your head with bad thoughts about being a hero. It’s great to have idealistic and righteous thoughts. It’s even better if you have the strength to support them.”
Destel leaned against the watchtower and said.
“What I want to say is this.”
He raised his finger.
Tick, tick and starlight flickered at his fingertips. It was a faint starlight, different from Chloe’s brilliant starlight.
“What they call starlight isn’t just a blessing.”
He spat those words out.
“It’s a curse. This is.”
