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Chapter 324: The Harbinger of Death

“—By the way, what is your relationship with each other?”

As we were led home, Nina turned around and asked curiously.

Though she was once again dressed in male clothing with her hat pulled low, her sparkling eyes were impossible to hide.

“Um, well…”

Leila’s cheeks flushed as she glanced at me.

I felt a twinge of guilt for making Leila shy once again. After all, I’m just some remnant of malice and resentment. Leila is also a victim of the Demon Lord Army. Her rightful dragon life has been severely twisted…

“She’s my girlfriend.”

Still, I suppressed my darkening thoughts and flashed my signature smile. I couldn’t afford to look gloomy here; that would be disrespectful to Leila.

“Wow~!”

“Hehe…”

Nina squealed with delight while Leila turned even redder.

‘And Alex feels even more sorry.’

No need for any interjections.

“How did you two meet?”

“Meeting…”

Nina’s next question caused me to halt.

—I was sold as a slave to the Dark Dragon King who had abused and imprisoned Leila, all while introducing her to my father’s frozen, severed head.

…I can’t say that!

‘Go, Alex! Show the innocent girl the brutal reality!’

There’s no way I’m doing that!!!

“Umm… That would be Leila’s—”

I started to say, “Your father,” but I swallowed the words. Should I really tell her this after she just learned about her father’s death?

“—Leila was introduced to someone she was in care of… And I, being a somewhat important man as a hero, had various circumstances of being at the castle, and that’s when we met. Right, Leila!”

“Y-yes! At the castle!”

Leila seemed to realize the various mishaps, and she nodded somewhat anxiously.

“Wow~! Meeting at the castle is so romantic!”

Really?

—As we were entertaining such trivial talk, we finally arrived at Nina’s home.

It seemed to be a property that also functioned as a warehouse for the Cortera Trading Company, tucked away a bit deeper in the city, not far from the trading house. The upper floors appeared to be used as living quarters. It was rather shabby, but the structure was solidly built.

“It’s a miracle that a well-built bed exists for people like us, in a town like this.”

Nina said with a somewhat detached expression.

It seemed a few refugees under the protection of the trading company lived here. Besides Isabella and Nina, there were injured soldiers and bedridden elderly as well…

Near the entrance on the first floor, an injured soldier dozed in the sun. He was missing his left arm, and half of his face was bandaged.

“…”

He nodded at us, looking at me and Leila with a piercing gaze.

“Hello, Uncle Mock.”

Nina greeted him, and the soldier, called Mock, smiled faintly and nodded back. He seemed unable to speak—scars were visible even through the gaps in the bandages on his neck.

Had he lost his voice? Unfortunately, there are cases where only rudimentary treatment is available, leaving injuries to heal improperly and lose bodily functions.

Mock noticed Adamas and saluted, so I returned the gesture before entering the building.

“Mom, I’m home!”

In the corner room on the second floor, Nina said, “Please wait a moment,” leaving us behind as she entered the room first.

“Nina? What happened to work?”

A faint, raspy voice responded. I felt like I swallowed a stone. I had to tell her about her husband’s death…

“I got back early. We have guests.”

“Guests?”

“They’re acquaintances of Dad…”

“Kaito’s!?”

I could hear the commotion beyond the door. There was a sound of hurried footsteps—probably getting ready—and mixed in was a cough.

“Come in.”

Eventually, the door opened.

“Excuse me…”

I steeled myself and stepped into the room.

It was a compact space. Aside from a spinning wheel and a bed, there wasn’t much furniture, just enough for the two of them to live modestly.

Before the bed stood a woman in a simple, dark blue dress, looking tense. She was very thin, with a shadowy aura about her—unsurprisingly, the word ‘widow’ came to mind.

There was a scent of death, an atmosphere akin to that of soldiers dying on the battlefield…

“Nice to meet you, I am Hero Alex. This is Leila.”

I lit up the sacred light as a courtesy and greeted her.

“I’m Isabella. Are you… an acquaintance of my husband, Kaito?”

Her voice trembled, carrying a mix of impatience and fear.

“How is Kaito… doing?”

She quivered as she spoke.

“Unfortunately, your husband has passed away. He was killed in action while fighting against the demon race.”

I spoke clearly.

…I never had experiences like this in my previous life.

While struggling against the Demon Lord Army, I hadn’t had the luxury to think about the dead…

“…”

Isabella looked down, appearing to reflect deeply on my words. She seemed to have had her resolve prepared; the day had finally arrived. That’s how she looked.

Next to her, Nina tightly grasped Isabella’s skirt, her face also clouded with suppressed emotions—I couldn’t help but notice how much they resembled each other, and it crushed my heart.

I set my backpack down. I felt the remains I had stored in a flat form at the bottom. It consisted of several femurs and skulls, now almost impossible to separate…

Without my conscious thought, a bone fragment rolled into my palm.

It was a small piece, close to a finger bone.

…Is this your will, Kaito? You’ve returned only a small part of yourself to your beloved family, yet you’ll continue to fight alongside me?

…No, perhaps I just thought that if I presented the skull in such a way, it would be too shocking. It certainly feels that way.

“These are your husband’s remains.”

I gently handed it to Isabella.

“…”

On her palm rested a small, dry white fragment… Isabella stared at it with an expression of shock, almost as if in a daze. It was confusion—certainly, how could she feel anything substantial when the man she once loved returned in this form?

‘This’ is Kaito?

How should she take this?

“…I’m so sorry.”

For only being able to return so little. For having killed your husband.

“No… not at all. I can’t thank you enough for bringing this back.”

Isabella clasped the bone fragment tightly to her chest, bowing deeply.

Please, stop it.

I beg you, you don’t need to bow your head to someone like me—truly, you don’t!

I also silently bowed my head deeply. I couldn’t bear to keep up a solemn expression any longer…

“I’m sorry for not being able to offer much hospitality…”

“No, please don’t worry!”

Nina went down to the shared kitchen to prepare some drinks. Frankly, hospitality wasn’t necessary, but it seemed they felt uneasy…

I pulled out a small leather pouch from my backpack.

“This… is your husband’s savings and various condolence funds.”

Inside were silver coins. This was also a stash saved up by the Night Elf spies.

“C-could it really be this much…?”

Isabella was taken aback by the weight of the pouch. She coughed as if shocked. Indeed, for commoners, this amount was quite a windfall. A soldier wouldn’t earn this much, and the condolence funds for a common foot soldier wouldn’t be this high…

“I owe him a great deal for helping me countless times on the battlefield.”

I said with a serious face. …Truly, I had been indebted to him many times over. Such silver coins couldn’t possibly balance the debt.

…Yes, the balance could never be true.

Even if I provided some financial assistance, it wouldn’t resolve the root of the problem. Isabella and Nina would still have to live on, and the Cortera Trading Company… what would happen when the spies’ business became public?

Would they find themselves on the streets again? Not to mention that this country was ultimately doomed to be crushed by the Demon Lord Army…

If that’s the case, then I…

“Thank you… but how can I express my gratitude?”

“This is a thank you for your husband from me. Please don’t worry about it.”

“That’s easy to say… cough, cough, I apologize.”

Isabella coughed dryly. Her health seemed quite poor.

“Is your chest still bothering you?”

“Yes… but I am getting better.”

I offered for Isabella to rest in bed without forcing her to stand any longer.

“Although I managed to arrive in the capital with the Evaroti escape squad, I fell ill with a lung disease…”

She recounted how the Cortera Trading Company had picked her up just as she was about to die on the street.

“Officia-san reached out to help us. Not only did she provide food and shelter, but she also called the priest…”

From what I gathered, she must have received treatment from an apprentice priest. Although she had narrowly escaped death, it seemed the damage to her lungs couldn’t be completely healed. That would require a miracle from a higher-ranking official—a bishop level, no less.

I spoke out of turn, but the Holy Church likely didn’t have the resources to allocate that much for ordinary citizens out of sheer goodwill…

“I’m sorry for the wait! Here’s your lemon water!”

Nina returned holding several cups. It was a drink made by squeezing lemon juice into well water, and both Leila and I gratefully accepted.

“Here you go, Mom.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Isabella sipped slowly, appearing to enjoy the drink until she noticed the leather pouch.

“What’s that?”

“…It’s the money that Dad left behind.”

“What!? So much…?”

Nina widened her eyes in disbelief, looking at me as if she suspected I was trying to scam her.

“That’s right.”

“Really…? Yay! With this, we can get Mom’s sickness treated!”

Nina’s joyful exclamation left Isabella and me breathless.

“…It’s fine, let’s save this. Mom will be okay.”

“No, that’s not true. You cough all night and can’t sleep at all…”

“It’s not a big deal; I can spin thread now, and we have to use it for more important things!”

“Nothing is more important than your health!”

While watching their back-and-forth exchange, I suddenly remembered.

“Take care of this child for me…”

My mother, who had run all night with me in her arms while taking multiple Night Elf arrows in her back before passing away.

“—Isabella, may I excuse myself for a moment?”

I handed the cup of lemon water to Leila and stepped closer to Isabella.

I gently placed my hand on her back and channeled my magic into her, camouflaged in silver light.

“[Transposition]”

—Instantly, it felt like I had stuffed a ball of dust into her lungs.

What… a suffocating feeling! My chest was painfully itchy! Was she holding back coughs like this? For the sake of her daughter…!!

“Eh?”

As I fought to contain my coughs, Isabella blinked in surprise.

“Uh… what? My chest…”

She breathed in deeply, looking at me in astonishment.

“W-what is this?!”

“…Please keep this confidential.”

I forced a smile and placed a finger to my lips.

“If it becomes known that I treated you without compensation, it could cause quite a stir.”

All the sick and injured would flock to me desperately; unfortunately, the Holy Church doesn’t have the capability to handle that kind of influx. Even the ‘Saint’ Liliana couldn’t manage it…

“No! I can’t accept something so generous!”

Isabella trembled, shaking her head as if fearful. Meanwhile, Nina was astonished, “Wait, Mom!? You got better!?”

“Please! Take it!”

Isabella tried to return the pouch of silver coins to me.

“No, it’s fine.”

I held her hand back.

“But—”

“My mother died protecting me from Night Elf arrows.”

With each word, I held back coughs as Isabella and Nina gasped.

“…She had multiple arrows stuck in her back. While carrying me, she ran all night to the next town. If I could, I wanted to repay her somehow…”

But I couldn’t.

So, this is…

“…My selfishness.”

I couldn’t help it. Watching Isabella, who cared for Nina first and foremost…

It was pure self-satisfaction. Just because she was right in front of me, just because she struck a chord with me, I treated Isabella specially.

Yet…

I believe my mother would praise me.

Probably. Definitely. I wonder how she would praise me…

…Ah.

I can’t even remember how my mother spoke anymore.

“Please accept this.”

I gently pushed the pouch of silver coins back to her.

“Alex, san.”

“Onii-chan…!”

“Then, I will take my leave.”

I took the cup from Leila once more and downed the lemon water. …Somehow, my lungs felt clearer. This is nice…

“Thank you. It was delicious.”

“Wait!”

Ignoring Isabella’s attempt to stop us, Leila and I hurriedly left the scene.

“Uff, cough!”

As soon as I stepped outside, I broke into intense coughing fits.

“Alex…”

Leila looked at me with genuine concern, rubbing my back.

“Ahhh. What do I do about this? This is quite serious.”

Antendeixis remarked with a tone of exasperation, but it’s all fine.

I’ll carry it for a while.

“Indeed, it’s a bit rough, but…”

There’s that treatment plan.

“I’ll just dump it on the Night Elves.”

I laughed fiercely.

If I’m going to kill, I might as well make effective use of it.

 

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