Chapter 27 – Because the World Without You Is So Fragile – 2

Dream the same dream every night Sometimes I was forced to stay up all night because I didn’t want to fall asleep. However, not once or twice did I close my eyes and go into my dream, even for an hour, because I felt longing for it if I did not dream it.

The reason is simple. In that dream, Ellie appears.

She tosses and turns for over an hour, and when she falls asleep, she is always seen standing among the mint flowers. As always, she looks at me with her hands clasped together, her black hair flowing a little.

There is a little dirt on Ellie’s face, looking on as she always did in her hometown. Somewhere under the right cheek, or on the lobe of the ear. It’s definitely a landscape I’ve seen someday, so it’s brutally realistic. Because of this, I was deceived by a vision and approached to wipe the dirt off Eli’s face.

And always, the moment you take that first step, you realize that all of this is a dream.

When reality awakens in a dream, the beautiful landscapes in front of you are shattered in an instant, and the nightmares of the past rain down like hail. I fall down beaten by reality in front of her who smiles so brightly.

Eventually, crushed by the past, Ellie’s body begins to harden like a stone after she slams her face into the dream floor. Just like that day, I keep watching her petrification process. And after all that process is over, we are in the exact opposite position.

Eli, who has become petrified, and I, who is raped by the past in front of him. I finally understand the pain she suffered and cry. I’m sorry Ellie. Sorry. Sorry.

Ellie looks at me like that and repeats just one word.

“.. .. …”

A warm energy shattered the dreamscape and stung between my eyelids. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted with a savory yet unpleasant smell.

“Did you have a good dream, Mr. Luca?”

Rachel, who was sitting on the window sill, greeted her happily. At first glance, she appears to be sitting casually, but she is blocking the sunlight from hitting my face with her body.

Dragging me tired last night and taking me to the inn. She paid for her lodging and meals, and even showed her trivial consideration. She should have thanked me, but she couldn’t afford it, so she replied in a heavy voice.

“…No.”

“I’m sorry. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“You should have something to drink. Today is going to be a tiring day.”

“Why?”

“Would you like to look out the window for a minute?”

Somehow, a chilly aura crept into it. Following her words, I raised her body and looked out the window.

And I faced a lot of people surrounding the inn.

It was a scale reminiscent of the huge crowds when they entered the capital during their days as warriors. The difference was that they neither cheered nor shed tears of emotion. I was just waiting to catch someone’s figure with tired and tired eyes.

I desperately hoped that someone wasn’t me, but unfortunately it seemed highly likely that it was me. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose with my finger.

“Could the professor have said that?”

“It’s not like that. He’s a wise man. It’s just that rumors spread earlier than we thought. The hero who saved the city from the baron’s misdeeds is staying at an inn in a shabby back alley.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“Not knowing one’s own greatness is one of the qualities of a hero.”

Rachel jumped from her window sill and stretched her.

“Huh…Ah. Anyway, I’ll have to move quickly. More and more people are coming in. In front of the inn, there’s a carriage provided by Professor Heyde, so let’s ride it.”

“I’m hoping they’ll just get out of the way.”

“I’ll get out of the way. They know how painful it is to be arrested.”

She put on a rather heavy-looking backpack and nodded at me. I once again counted the crowd outside her window and followed her. And, as casually as possible, he pushed open the inn door.

Jump.

“Ah.”

As soon as I opened the door, an old woman looked at me and threw out a word that I couldn’t tell if it was exclamation or death. In an instant, everyone’s attention was focused on this.

“…”

They witnessed the long-awaited hero, but no one spoke. When so many people gathered, at least one person would surely react, but they kept their mouths shut as if they were bound by an unspoken rule.

I slowly climbed the waves created by the silent crowd.

As Rachel and I began to walk, they turned before I could touch them and made our way to the wagon. I tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible, but ignoring the gaze of the people who were waiting for me was harder than I thought.

An old woman whose pain is smeared between deepened wrinkles. A patient who clutches at his chest as if he is deeply wounded even though he has no eyes. A girl who matured too quickly because there were too many people buried in memories. Unlike the bright young people who greeted the warriors in the capital, most of the people who bid me farewell were wounded and sick.

I ended up looking into each of their eyes as I walked along. A man holding a newborn baby in his arms lowered his head and burst into tears as soon as we met eyes. He would never have been the one who usually cried a lot. Rather the opposite. Maybe, I thought I gave you a chance to throw up the sadness in the meantime.

Suddenly, I thought that I was envious of the man. My heart, hardened like stone, still had no time to shed tears. If one day I get my hands on Leo’s soft heart, will I be able to replace the broken heart with his blood?

When that time comes, will I be able to cry?

As I walked, scattering my thoughts, I saw the carriage prepared by the professor before my eyes. Thinking that it had been an unusually long time, I heard an urgent voice from behind as I was about to climb into the carriage.

“Excuse me…!”

When I turned my head, a girl was looking at me. Contrary to her taciturn adults, obsessed with a sense of duty to say something, the girl bit her lip gently and finally said a word.

“Please tell me your name.”

The girl wanted my name. Even if I knew, it wouldn’t be good.

“There is no such thing.”

I finally answered briefly and got into the carriage. The girl couldn’t give up until the end and took a step closer to me and opened her mouth with her hands tightly together.

“…I will never forget you.”

…

It would be more helpful to pick up the memories of the person you lost than to remember someone who would take your revenge.

Thoughts like that came to my mind, but I never put them into my mouth. In any case, with time, I would have realized.

Soon, the carriage moved and the scenery of the city slowly moved out of sight. But people followed me to the end. The procession, more like a memorial service than a farewell, continued until the sun had set and long shadows hung over the horses’ hind hooves.

“I wish I could have told you my name.”

It wasn’t until long after she left the city that Rachel opened her mouth regretfully. Before I knew it, the carriage was running through a wilderness I had never seen before. I answered indifferently, looking at the passing scenery.

“I don’t want to spread rumors.”

“It’s nice to be famous.”

“Not at all. And I don’t want them to know I exist yet.”

“They, Archbishop Bobby? And who else?”

“…That.”

I looked at her with a little hesitation. And she opened her mouth slowly.

“You should know if you’re going to follow me. I’m here to kill Bobby and Leo. I don’t know if you’re willing to follow me though.”

“Bobby and Leora. If you add Rick, it’s just a legendary warrior party. Who the hell are you? Who are you trying to kill them?”

“Should I even know that?”

“Well… It’s not like that.”

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and pulled one of her notebooks out of her arms.

“Actually, I did get commissions for those people. In the case of Bobby… I put a bounty on three of them. If there’s a singularity, she’s all women.”

“Woman.”

“Two of them were much younger than me, but they weren’t virgins.”

“That scumbag doesn’t change.”

“Hmm…I thought you’d be shocked. It seems like it’s been like that for a long time.”

Know. He saw her attacking a little girl twice as tall as him right in front of her eyes.

…

I remembered the thought and shook her head to erase it right away. Meanwhile, Rachel was flipping through her notebook, frowning at her.

“Hmm…But those kids are the ones who barely paid for the request by saving money, so it’s hard to see them as a meaningful client in reality, and it’s this person who actually asked me to kill Bobby. Vanessa, a former priest of the Ennesic Church. Apparently, a priest of the church. Since he’s a human, he can give you a lot of information about the church.”

“Are you still alive?”

“Well, it might be worth a visit first. I accepted the request, but I gave up halfway because I thought it would be a bit difficult to kill. If you meet him, he might tell you good things.”

“And about that dark-haired girl.”

“What… Maybe.”

She tried to yawn without me looking, but as soon as my eyes met hers, she hurriedly covered her face with her notebook.

“By the way, you know Luca-san. Bobby has been missing since he entered the ascension ceremony a year ago. It’s a ceremony to ascend to heaven as an angel in recognition of his merits on earth from the Ennessic goddess. If he really succeeds in the ceremony, he becomes an angel. It wouldn’t be easy to kill him.”

“He didn’t succeed. He didn’t get the credit he deserved.”

“Well, that’s what I think. Anyway, the important thing is that it’s been a while since he made an official appearance. This is a core sect of the Church, so there’s a good chance Vanessa doesn’t even know about it.”

“Then I’ll have to ask someone who knows.”

“Who are you?”

“…”

Instead of answering, I looked out the window. Someone I know who might know Bobby’s whereabouts. There was only one person.

And anyway, she has to face me too.

“Well, you’re not telling me this time either. You talk as if I’m a person with a lot of secrets, but in reality, it’s you who are full of secrets.”

I didn’t want to deny it, so I kept my mouth shut. Rachel twitched her lips and looked at me from multiple angles.

“Can you at least tell me who you are? Where are you from? How did you know that dark-haired girl?”

“You’re the one who decided to follow me.”

“So what?”

“So why don’t we talk about you first. Miss Moonlight.”

“Oh please. Call me Rachel.”

Rachel shook her head, almost gagging at her.

“Okay. Then ask me questions first. I’ll answer them, then ask questions about you. How is it?”

“Where did you meet the dark-haired girl?”

“You’re asking right away…”

She closed her eyes tightly as if tired.

“Okay. I’ll tell you in detail. I don’t remember, but I met her quite a long time ago at the border area that borders the land of the demons. The security there is quite unstable and there are many requests, so I go around looking for something worth accepting that day. And then, suddenly, she caught my eye.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s because she was pretty. It’s not that we discriminate based on looks, but usually when a pretty woman is alone, there’s a story behind it. I naturally approached her and gave her work comments. Don’t get me wrong. There are work comments I use when receiving a request. Do you have any worries, do you have a grudge against someone. I will find all the people I want to kill and take revenge on the people I want to beat. Something like that. Then she said, “Can you find someone you want to hit just once?”

“…”

“So I said, well, it’s possible. That’s how it happened. I received a request, received an advance payment, and wandered around the entire empire with only one clue that it was a man with a minty scent. Then, wanting more clues, I went back to the place where I met her, but no matter what. I searched all over the place and couldn’t find it.”

“…Is there a possibility that he entered the land of demons?”

“I don’t think so. The security is unstable, but because it’s a border area, the control of the land of demons is very strict. It’s not a place where women can pass through alone, and if they did, it would have been written on the list.”

“Did you see the list?”

“I stole it. I’m good at it again.”

She was a little smug and spread her shoulders wide, but I didn’t even look at her and was lost in her thoughts. Ellie appeared at the border area. Request to find me. And then she disappeared without a trace.

How much should I believe in this story?

If you think about it rationally, these were nothing more than nonsensical remarks made by a woman I met for the first time. There is no evidence at all, because it is a story full of only her claims. Rather, the professor’s words were more persuasive when it came to finding credibility. If it were Leo, he would have taken Ellie’s body and tried to revive it somehow.

However, it was also undeniable that somewhere in my heart there was a desire to believe in her story.

“Now then, it’s my turn to ask. Mr. Luca…”

“I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

“…I was wondering when you went to bed. You’re sleeping now. Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Rachel, with a slight tear, dug into the corner of her wagon. I waited until her breathing eased and she slowly leaned over her body.

There were so many things I wasn’t sure about Ellie. Where the hell did she go and what is she doing now.

But something was certain. That Bobby and Sarah are in that city. That one thing was certain.

…

I looked at Rachel again. Her bright red hair shattered over her face as she slept curled up. The moonlight filtering through the carriage window and the red hair scattered beneath it. I pushed back the rushing memories as hard as I could, but it was close to impossible to block the tsunami of the past with a thin breakwater.

Eventually, her face came into her mind. This time it’s not a dark-haired girl, but a red-haired girl. What is she doing now When I recall memories from her hometown, what is the false genius girl of Lorenheim, who always takes up a corner, where is she doing now?

No matter what I was doing, there was only one thing I wanted. Will be alive Unlike Nadia, she had so much to say.