Chapter 218 – Pilgrimage.

Nausicaa heard Krikaliev’s words and looked up at him. Even in the dark inn with the moonlight streaming in from outside, I could clearly see the wavering in her eyes. Usher glanced at Krikaliev as she staggered back, biting her lip, but she couldn’t read his expression as he turned his back to the moonlight. Lenny, who was supporting Helena, also looked at them, her cat ears prickling little by little, as if she sensed something.

“Yet…”

Soon, Nausicaa’s voice was trembling in a shallow way. Even the slightest tremors, which normally would not have gone unnoticed by him, are as noisy as the spirits left behind by drunkards in the stillness of the night.

“Not yet, you said no.”
“It was.”

Krikaliev calmly replies to her words, which have lost their strength to the point of scattering at the end.

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden when you said still?”

Eventually, Usher looked at Lenny. She thought that if she had known them here longer, she would know something about her. But Lenny also shook her head.

“Then we have a patient, so we’ll go up first.”

Her Helena, whom she supported, was still breathing heavily and sweating coldly, so Lennie supported her and led her Usher by the hand.

“Why do I…”
“You’re not interfering in these matters, are you?”

At that, Usher shut her mouth and watched them as they were being led away. The figure of Krikaliev, with his back to the moonlight, was still immersed in the shadows, but only the figure of Nausicaa was clearly visible. Usher soon entered his room with Lenny and Helena. Because all other doors were locked.

“So you can’t ask anything you want to ask?”
“Then what do you do?”
“What to do, I think I’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning, so go to bed first. I think I’ll have to look after Helena.”
“Then me too.”

Usher wants to help her, but her Lenny’s finger hits him on the forehead.

“Ugh! Why are you hitting me all of a sudden?”

As he looked on, Lenny shook her head.

“You just go to bed early and wake up early. That way you’ll grow taller. If you can’t sleep, will you sing me a lullaby?”
“I do not need it!”

I wanted to tell her about her height, but she was going to sleep on her own if she didn’t lie on the bed first, so I had no choice but to take off the protective plate she was wearing over her clothes and lay down on the bed. However, as I was tossing and turning in the sleep that rarely came, I heard Lenny’s low voice.

“I’m sorry about this.”

Looking back in amazement, she put her hand on Helena’s forehead as she lay on her bed, watching her condition. Like she didn’t say anything.

“It’s not your sister’s fault.”

Usher said it before he could even think. Lenny then looked at him as if surprised and burst into laughter.

“What is it! I’m laughing all of a sudden.”
“Nyahahahaha. I didn’t mean it to you, but it certainly meant that I had to apologize to you as well.”

As she cried out, Usher felt her ears quickly heat up at her words. In the end, he couldn’t hold back his shame and pulled the blanket over her, but the sound of Lenny’s laughter still made Usher force himself to sleep, trying to suppress her shame. Then, before falling into the scourge that finally grabbed his tail.

“Thank you anyway.”

He took her voice that brushed his ears as a word to Helena.

– It’s okay, it’s okay

As I climbed the stairs, the sound of iron hitting the floor creaked.

“I moved out of the seat, but isn’t it coming up too quickly?”
“Go in first, only more.”

Lenny came out into the hallway and watched Krikaliev come up the stairs.

“Helena came out to get a wet towel because she had a fever.”

Helena was knocked out on the way back to her inn after they were forced to accept Jude’s request. She hadn’t eaten or slept for several days and had been clinging to it, so it wasn’t unusual for her.

“You don’t have to talk to Nausicaä anymore?”
“Both I and he knew for a long time that one day it would be like this.”

Lenny sighed when he told him that there was no need to make the story longer.

“I’m not too strict.”
“You know it can’t be helped. And I think you’ll have to move up the plan.”
“Is it because of the wizard?”
“Yeah, there’s no guarantee he’ll stay calm.”

At least as long as Jude is wary of Krikaliev, he will try to catch his weakness, and that weakness will of course be the people around him. He had already been told on the spot that he was making such an attempt, so he had to pay more attention.

“As long as he controls Aison, the power has passed into his hands. I’ve confirmed that no guys are chasing him, but he’ll use his power to search all over Parz.”
“…I guess you knew about Nausicaa?”
“Okay.”

Lenny continued bitterly.

“I thought it was unusual from long ago, but I didn’t know you could defeat Vargazzet.”
“I was just lucky.”
“Where is the monster that can defeat the demon king with good luck?”

If he had been able to defeat an opponent that much, he would not have been able to reign in the Holy Land for 500 years.

“Couldn’t you just defeat the wizard on the spot?”
“If it were possible, it would be.”

But they knew it was just a meaningless grumble. Even before he was called by Jude, Krikaliev had checked explosives secretly planted throughout the castle and showed some of them to Helena.

“You made up your mind to die together.”

Those were Helena’s words after unpacking the explosives he had given her and looking inside. What she found inside the explosives was a fuse with a thin glass tube filled with problowjobnt and a copper trigger. When Helena separated the fuse from the explosives and touched it with a spoon, they clearly saw the glass tube explode with a small spark in front of Jude. It was obvious what would happen if it came into contact with soil laden with Proto Dyna. Jude watched leisurely as Helena removed and checked one of the explosives he had planted.

She said to Krikaliev, who passed her as if she had finished her words.

“You really have no regrets?”

Despite Lenny’s question, he lightly patted her on the shoulder and walked away.

“Please take Nausicaa.”

The sound of creaking footsteps filled the hallway, but no matter how long the night was, the morning would come, so his steps could not be stopped.

“Are you really leaving right away?”

As soon as dawn broke, Usher was stunned by Krikaliev waking her up, but she couldn’t help waking up when she was told that she was going to rescue Belka.

“Then why are we taking water and food?”

From early in the morning, she followed them to Jeremiah’s house and hurriedly getting ready, and looking at Nausicaa’s face watching from a distance, she didn’t seem to be talking to him properly. In Lenny’s case, he was taking care of Helena, so they weren’t here. As Usher felt uncomfortable helping him, Jeremiah drew her horse. Of course, the only horses here were the ones that followed him from the forest.

“Huh? Why is this guy?”
“Because you’re the one to ride.”
“This guy? But.”

Usher had already heard from Donnar that horses were not suited to cross the wilderness. Hill Dis Beanie can run for a long time without drinking water, but her horse was different. He even thinks he can’t go on horseback, knowing that he might die while running, but Krikaliev’s horse stabs him.

“Right now, this is the only guy you can ride with.”

However, he couldn’t ride the Hildis Beanie.

“What about Svadil Perry?!”

Sbadilferi was a creature that was used as a mount like Hildisbini. He is small and timid, but he was said to be able to ride because he is a creature that can cross the wilderness like Hill Disbiny.

“All the guys tamed in the village already have owners and have places to use them. If there’s a chance, it’s taming the wild Sbadilferry.”
“Then if you tame it…!”
“Did you know? Sbadilferry takes a month as standard, no matter how well you try to tame it.”

Usher bit his cheek nervously. Then, what caught my eye was the gray feathered Hildisbini lying near Jeremiah’s hut.

“What about that Hildisbini?”

At least there was Helena’s Hildisbini. When the Cathys dragged Belka and Helena away. Hildisbini of Answer Jong, who was taken along with him. He said that the reason Usher couldn’t tame Hildisbini in Parz was because he was a Branta breed. He thought it might be possible if it was an answer paper.

“You know that Hill Dis Beanie won’t change her master once tamed, right?”
“Then wake up Helena!”
“Are you serious?”
“…No.”

Usher regretted his impulsive words. She wasn’t in a state where she could wake up now, and even if she did, she wasn’t in a state where she wouldn’t know Hill Dis Beanie.

“If you’re a knight too, can’t she drive a Hill Dis beanie?”
“With a body like this, Hildisbini’s spine is broken, man.”

Come to think of it, his body was like a golem. I don’t know the details of the golem, but it’s made of something as heavy and hard as iron. Krikaliev’s body, similar to him, did not seem to be light. He couldn’t ride on Hildisbini’s back.

“It would be nice to have a wagon, but even those that are made have owners.”

At least there was a wagon that Helena had brought, but the castle did not return it, as if it had been sold. At least it was probably because of the nature of not changing owners that even Hildisviny was able to get it back.

“But this guy!”
“Stop acting foolishly!!!”

It was Nausicaa’s cry that made Usher’s mouth shut.

“Your uncle is going to rescue Belka! That’s why I’m taking you, so why are you so dissatisfied!!”

The sharp voice ringing in his ears was also a voice, but what stabbed his heart more than that was the tears hanging from the corners of her eyes. Usher finally lowered his head. He thinks he’s fine, and the bridge of the horse’s nose that taps him on the shoulder seems to hit him more painfully.

“Sorry.”

Usher, who calmly reflected on his actions, had no choice but to say so. He wanted to punch himself. Nausicaa looked at him, bit her lip, then turned her head and held out a large wooden box to Krikaliev. The light-toned, polished wooden box looked very sturdy.

“Take it. This is the sword you asked for.”

Krikaliev brushed the surface of the wooden box she held out and opened it gently, revealing what was inside her. At first glance, it looked like a large cross wrapped in white cloth. But as he grabbed the handle and lifted it up, the cloth was undone, and the silvery light seeping through it reflected the rising sunlight. A thorn sticking out in the middle blocks the shallow wave-like blade that starts at the tip of the sword, leading to a straight blade, and the guard erected at a right angle draws a cross.

It was, in Usher’s eyes, larger than any sword he had ever seen, longer than his own height in length alone. Krikaliev raised the sword in his hand and turned it around, nodding his head.

“You’ve taken good care of it.”
“Of course.”

Nausicaa stretched out her chest and smiled. She didn’t even know that the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes were finally falling. Krikaliev turned her sword, which had been handed to her, and slung it across her back with her leather strap.

“Jeremiah.”
“Okay.”
“Go to hell.”
“Are you swearing to the end!”
“Well, it would be nice to be your companion.”

It was time to go. Usher mounted her horse, and Krikaliev led her horse, leading beside him. Usher followed him, then glanced back to see Jeremiah and Nausicaa still watching them.

“Are you sure it’s okay to go on like this?”

It was good that she went to rescue Belka right away, but somehow it took the appearance of Krikaliev and Nausicaa.

“Draw.”

At the same time as his calm reply, Nausicaa’s voice rang out from behind them.

“You have to come back quickly!! If you don’t come back, I won’t serve you meat!!!”

Hearing her voice, Krykalev heard a soft laugh.

“This is true. If you don’t go back, one more big problem has increased.”

Usher watched the scene and opened his mouth.

“Mister, can I become strong?”
“Well, first of all, shouldn’t we get the little girl and see?”

When she goes back, she follows Krikaliev, vowing to apologize properly to Nausicaa.