Chapter 90 – Abduction – The Land Where No Flowers Bloom.

“Here Luca.”
“Huh?”

“Will flowers bloom in the land of demons?”

“Huh?”

Laughter came out first at Ellie’s absurd question. He sprained her ankle, and then her hair got weird. I questioned meaninglessly, wondering if I had heard it wrong.

“What?”

“I was wondering if flowers bloom in the land of demons. What do you think, Luca?”

“…Are you asking because you’re really curious?”

“Um… Are you really asking me out of curiosity?”

When she turned her head, Ellie was sitting on her back and she was looking at me with one eye winking. She must have tickled her thighs so badly earlier that she really had her hair done. I shook her head and looked up at the sky.

It’s already been a year since I entered the land of demons. It’s been a long time since I got used to that gray sky that is blurry for no reason, and the energy of the desolate earth where not a single blade of grass grows. However, getting used to it did not mean that he could shake off the aura of despair that was entrenched throughout his body. If you spend a daily life that feels like boredom to become carnage and death in an achromatic landscape, even the most emotional poet will quickly lose his emotions and become dry.

A land of despair where blood and boredom flow like sweat. That was the essence of this space.

However, Ellie did not lose her smile in this brutal daily life. Rick, the son of a bitch had nothing to do, so he made a sarcastic remark, saying that he couldn’t help but feel comfortable, but I felt so grateful. Sometimes, even in situations where I doubted whether my humanity was alive, Ellie’s unchanging heart became a pillar of support for me.

But even to me, this question felt a bit absurd. Do flowers bloom in a land where not even plants grow? When I thought about it, I laughed without even realizing it.

“Haha…”

“Why are you laughing? I’m serious.”

“No, just. But why are you curious about that all of a sudden?”

“Can’t you just answer suddenly?”

Ellie replied playfully, then suddenly let out her sigh. Then, she slowly buried her face in my shoulder and spoke in a low voice.

“…Just. I wondered if the flowers would have bloomed in Laurenheim at this point.”

“Ah.”

At that one word, a sigh flowed without my knowledge. I couldn’t think of anything to answer, so I was silent for a long time, and then I made an effort to pretend that it was nothing.

“It must have happened already. But since I came here, there’s been no way to count the days. Isn’t that just what you’re talking about?”

“I’m sorry, Luka-kun. You don’t know, but there’s a way for women to count how many months have passed even if they don’t have a calendar.”

“Huh? What…Ah.”

I stupidly tilted my head for a moment, then I blushed and lowered my head. Ellie said, scratching the back of my neck as if it was funny.

“What? Are you shy now? You look like a cute guy.”

“…Shut up.”

“I guess I still haven’t heard adult conversations with my kid. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful from now on. Let’s see… What kind of topic would you like for my little Luca? Oh, by any chance, do you care a lot about what touches your heart right now?”

“Hey…!”

Actually, that really bothers me. But I couldn’t bear to say that, so I raised my voice. Then I heard Nadia’s solemn voice in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Luca, Ellie? If it’s not an important topic, lower your voice. I think I’m hearing a strange noise right in front of me.”

“Ah…Yes. I see.”

“That’s why I told you to be quiet, Luca.”

“You…”

“Shh.”

As I frowned at her, Ellie smiled and put her finger to the corner of her mouth. When she saw that, she couldn’t help but feel relieved and laughed involuntarily. I felt like I wanted to play a prank again, but the party members in front of me were staring at me with sharp eyes. In the end, we leaned against each other a little more with our mouths firmly shut.

[…

After such a long time, as the sun began to set in the gray sky, three dots were suddenly tapped on the back. As I was about to look back to see what was going on, a familiar sentence was drawn on my back.

[Luca Fool.]

“…I’m sorry.”

On top of that, an unbearable laugh fell like a period. The mischievous girl couldn’t stand a single moment of silence, so she somehow found a way to crack a joke. I slightly admired Ellie’s tenacity and corrected her posture a little. Then, once more, a warm finger ran down his back.

[Fool. Fool. Fool.]

“…Haha.”

This time I burst out laughing too. And, thinking that I couldn’t just be being hurt, I gently drew a circle on my thigh that I was clutching with my index finger. Ellie let out a faint scream at her, then raised her fingernails and pressed them against her back.

[Do not do that.]

“Then don’t do that either.”

[I hate it, I hate it, I hate it]

“Ugh… I get it, I get it. So look at her nails… Ugh…!”

Then Ellie put her hand inside her clothes and poked her in one place. Then, as I screamed, she hugged her neck tightly and giggled. I too tried to laugh out loud, but when I saw the party members walking in front of me, I kept my lips shut. Whether Ellie knew it or not, she kept tickling her back.

[What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?]

“Why. Why are you asking?”

I gave Ellie her answer in a low voice. She then grabbed her shoulder in her excited embrace and continued to write her letters.

[Play with me.]

“You’re playing right now.”

[I’m bored.]

“There is no time to be bored right now.”

[I’m bored. I’m bored.]

“Haha…”

[I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored.]

“…Then let’s do finger matching? We did it often in the past.”

[Not funny.]

“Then don’t do it…Ugh.”

[Which hand. Which hand which hand.]

“…Middle finger?”

[Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding]

“It hurts Ellie… Ugh.”

[Which hand.]

“Um… Is it black?”

[Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding]

Ellie patted me on the back every time I gave an incorrect answer, and I tried to hold back her laughter and tightly closed my eyes. Then, for a moment, I felt so happy that I didn’t even know where I was. For the first time since coming to the land of demons, I even thought that this time was happy.

Okay. The adventure I was thinking of was like this. In a happy mood, laughing with loved ones and running towards the goal. The kind of dreamy story you hear only in troubadour’s songs.

What is the life I dreamed of In the end, this is what it was.

“Okay. Then let’s rest here today.”

“That’s not bad. Then let’s all unpack and get ready for camping. Rick and Bobby follow me. And Luca. Come quickly.”

“Ha…”

However, the distance between dreams and reality was as far as the distance between the stars and the earth. The weight of life that I had forgotten before I knew it was weighing me down again. I cast my gaze behind my back to see my comrades preparing to camp in front of me.

“…I have to get off now, Ellie. Are your legs feeling better?”

“…”

“It’s no use fooling around. Get off now. I’ll help you.”

I felt regret, but in the end, not all moments could continue. I let out a small sigh and prepared to drop off Ellie.

[You know, Luca.]

“Huh?”

But instead of getting off, Ellie put her finger on her back again. Then she seemed to hesitate for a moment, then she wrote a rather long sentence.

[If there is.]

[After finishing all of this.]

[You know when you go back to your hometown.]

[…

[When the time comes…]

Ellie stopped her fingers with that. I deliberately stood still and waited for the sentence to finish properly. Soon, the fingers began to move again, a gentle movement of fingers sweeping down his back. I slowly closed my eyes and read the movement of my fingers while feeling the texture.

[When that time comes, we…]

“…”

…

…

…

“…Ah.”

And I opened my eyes with a sigh scratching my throat.

The blood that clung to his eyelids gushed out and trickled down onto the floor. The edge of the dream that held my consciousness was shattered in front of my eyes, giving off a terrible stench of reality. But still, soaked in the afterglow of that false happiness, I anxiously called the name of the mint flower that passed by in my memory.

“Ellie…”

Of course, there was no answer to that. I dropped my head to the floor before I even had time to help myself with my stupidity.

“…Eek.”

But then, to my surprise, I heard a thin voice behind me, as if responding to my voice. I even felt a scratch on my back, so I turned my head involuntarily. Then I saw the shape of something small, hanging weakly behind my back.

“Kieek…”

“…”

What I faced was a dying goblin clinging to my back.

A goblin with only half of its body left was scraping my back as hard as it could with its claws standing up. Rather than being cut, even though internal organs and blood flowed through the torn torso, he was still staring at me with his only eye burning with hatred. I looked him in the eyes for a while and then slowly got up.

“Kee… Eek…”

Then, as if he had no strength left to cling on to, he quickly fell to the floor and died. Soon, the silence that should have been mine came and filled the surroundings.

“…”

At that moment, an emotion came into my heart as if out of the blue, but quickly faded away. It flashed like a flash and crumbled into the darkness of consciousness without leaving a trace. This was the first time I had felt emotions in years, so I stared at his corpse for a while. What was it just like? Is it the solitude that has been chewed and swallowed too much and worn between the teeth? Or, is it the longing that pierces the heart like a thorn because it can’t be bothered?

…

Either way it doesn’t matter

I quickly erased the question that had come to my mind for a moment and gave strength to my legs. Then he picked up whatever weapon he could get his hands on and stood up.

I moved forward, not even knowing what was in my hand. The ax or club of the demons. Or, is it the leg bone of the Ogre that I punched to death yesterday? What was clear was that it wouldn’t be my sword. It’s been a long time since I’ve been sleeping somewhere in the land of demons with a name that has already been buried in the years.

Step by step, as I walked, the memories of yesterday crumbled under my feet. A troll whose brains were pulled out along with its eyeballs. An orc whose head was lodged in the ribs of a colleague behind him. And, the young goblins they were desperately protecting. Six.

…

My eyes blurred for a moment, and the memory of that time surged indiscriminately. It was the first time I heard the screams of demons. A sound made out of sorrow, not death. The sound of denouncing the killer, not the enemy. The sound stuck to my ears tenaciously, and even if I tried to tear it off, it wouldn’t come off. In the end, it was only after filling his ears with their blood that he could not hear the sound because his ear canal was blocked.

Why did I kill them Suddenly, I was curious about it. Obviously, at first, I started with six orcs blocking my path. But when I came to my senses, I saw that I was burning an entire colony of demons. No matter how much I thought about it, there was no meaning or purpose to that killing. There was not even the pleasure that a psychopath would feel. But why did I do that? Why did you do that

…

…

…

I don’t know.

At the end of the questions I threw, there was always ignorance beyond denial. Since that day, I have walked this road with many questions in my mind. What am I going for what are you going to get Do you know what you are going for? Every time that happened, memories of the past came to mind and cleared up some questions, but at the same time, other questions arose. What if they are already dead? What if I can’t find them? And even if it’s all over, what am I supposed to do after that?

I don’t know. This imperfect world is still full of unanswered questions. Even some of them I think I will never be able to solve even if I live my whole life. Why do I have to live this life Why do I have to live my whole life asking questions.

It is useless to question such a question. The moment I left my hometown, the concept of normality was castrated. How can a human who lives a life lacking common sense find the answer to life in the first place?

No, to be precise, how can a lump of stone solve a human question?

The moment I remembered that thought, I raised my eyes and looked at the horizon.

The sight of a desolate land filled with nothing again filled his vision. A land of despair where blood and boredom flow like sweat. But now this land was more familiar to me than the world of men. Sometimes I was confused whether I was born as a human and entered the land of demons, or whether I was born as a demon and returned to my hometown.

…

…Still, there is one question that has been resolved.

Ellie.

In the land of demons. Flowers do not bloom.

I raised my head thinking about it.

A thin ray of light poured in front of my eyes from the gray sky full of clouds. I looked at the light and moved my lips in despair. Were you trying to smile? Or maybe he was just trying to be cynic, I don’t know. However, I continued to walk forward, gazing at the sun beyond the clouds.

The soles of his tattered shoes fell off, leaving his bare feet in blood-soaked mud. The soles of his feet, which had been stained dark red, moved slowly, leaving clear footprints. If there is someone chasing after me, it will be a clear trail for me to follow.

“…”

Suddenly, I felt a clear weight on my shoulders. But it wasn’t that strange. Ever since I left the demon castle, I’ve been carrying the weight of one person on my back. She was still tapping my thighs with her misaligned ankle, saying:

[Luka.]

Huh. I know. Ellie.

I whispered softly to the invisible woman. Know. Don’t get caught by those in front of me. My existence must not be discovered by those who are walking as if nothing happened. You have to go right behind your back like that. So that I can grab their necks. To hold their hearts in this grip.

It was only then that my mind, which was full of doubts, became more comfortable and even my steps felt lighter. Then her lips parted again, forming a strange expression. But now I thought I knew what it was.

That was a smile

At least me at that time. I thought so.