Ending Maker Chapter 106
Ending Maker Chapter 106
Chapter 38 — Departure #2
"So exciting, so exciting. Ahem... so exciting."
After the meeting ended, inside Yuder and Cordelia's tent.
As Cordelia did her little act(?) while looking at the Blade Song divine relics laid out on the floor, everyone gathered smiled.
"They're all related to travel."
"Yes, since the justification is what it is."
The justification was receiving help to cross the Skyroof Mountains, so they couldn't request items that were too far removed.
If Yuder had focused only on extorting things, then regardless of whether Blade Song permitted it or not, the wild gods themselves would never have cooperated in the first place.
"Still, they're divine relics, so they'll all be helpful."
At Cordelia's words, Adelia nodded.
"Right, they all look quite useful."
The divine relics Blade Song had given were three in total.
Listed one by one, they were the 'Mysterious Water Container,' the 'Black Wolf Pelt,' and the 'Cozy One-Pyeong.'
"A space-expanding water container, a transformation pelt, and a tent that can be easily used anytime, anywhere...... would that be the right interpretation?"
When Gale asked no one in particular, Yuder agreed.
"Yes, they're all useful items."
The bamboo water container, about the size of Cordelia's forearm, could hold several bathtubs' worth of water despite its appearance, and if one donned the black wolf pelt and recited an incantation, one could transform into a large black wolf.
The last one, the Cozy One-Pyeong, was a small ball that became a fine one-pyeong tent when thrown.
"It's like some kind of shelter creation spell."
Adelia said as she turned the Cozy One-Pyeong, shaped like a round leather ball, this way and that.
From what she had heard, it was an excellent magical shelter with various additional functions.
And the last one, the Ancient Elixir.
Gale and Adelia did not particularly discuss the elixir.
Because it was an item related to Yuder's growth rather than travel convenience.
"How exciting. If he drinks this, Yuder will get stronger."
But Cordelia said it with an innocent face.
She had always rejoiced over Yuder's equipment changes and other ways Yuder grew stronger as if it were her own affair.
Yuder thought this psychology of Cordelia's was close to 'raising a game character,' but to Adelia and Gale, it looked completely different.
'Goodness, are you that happy?'
'She really does like him.'
How much must she like Yuder to act like that?
In the eyes of Gale, Yuder's older brother, there was nothing but fond satisfaction, and Adelia too let out a smile as if she could no longer deny it.
"Anyway, Yuder, could we talk for a moment?"
Once the organizing of the newly acquired items was finished, Gale spoke to Yuder.
They had already discussed the upcoming schedule, but this was to make certain.
"Yes, Brother."
"Then let's go out and walk for a bit."
Having said that much, Gale excused himself to Adelia and left the tent, and Yuder hurriedly followed behind him.
"Huh......?"
But why go out of the way to leave?
Cordelia blinked and turned to look at Adelia, then flinched without realizing it.
Because Adelia was looking at her with a face that was thoroughly steeled for something.
"Uh, Sis?"
"Let's talk a bit too."
Adelia reflexively grabbed Cordelia’s wrist as she tried to pull away, then scooted right up beside her and continued.
"Cordelia, I already told you, but Lord Gale and I will be moving separately from you two."
"Yeah, yeah, so?"
"You and that Yuder will head to the Skyroof Mountains alone together."
"Uh-huh."
The Skyroof Mountains were such rough terrain that even the barbarian tribes hesitated to approach, so was she worried about that?
"Cordelia."
"Yeah, Sis."
"You need to be careful."
"Yeah, I'll be careful. I'm actually good at climbing mountains. And I have Winter's Blessing, so I don't really feel the cold."
"No, not the mountain or the cold. Yuder."
"......Huh?"
Be careful of Yuder? Why?
When Cordelia tilted her head with a bright face, Adelia narrowed her brow.
She lamented the fact that she had to entrust such a gentle and kind—in a word, naive—little sister to a scheming black-hearted fellow like Yuder, then lowered her voice and spoke.
"So, what I mean is......."
And then came the whispering.
Cordelia's face, which had been listening blankly, turned bright red.
"You understand, right? You have to be careful, okay? You two are definitely engaged, but in the end, you're still only engaged. You're not married. On top of that, you're both minors. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
Adelia spoke as if issuing a stern warning, but Cordelia didn't even hear it properly.
No, what in the world was her sister saying right now?
"Nooo."
Me and Yuder?
M-Me and Yuder?
It was something she had never even imagined until now.
They were definitely engaged, but imagining herself doing that sort of thing with Yuder... somehow, she simply could not picture it.
"What do you mean, 'nooo'?"
"Nooo...... th-that...... right! W-We're not that kind of relationship, okay?"
Me and Yuder, of all people?
The two of us who can't stand each other?
Cordelia felt a strange sense of relief at the excuse she had squeezed out, but Adelia did not feel the same at all.
She snorted as if it weren't even worth laughing at and asked.
"Look at you. Then if you're not that kind of relationship, what kind of relationship are you?"
"Huh?"
"You said you can't live without Yuder. That you're Yuder's and Yuder is yours."
At the blunt sentences, Cordelia's face grew even redder.
"N-Nooo...... th-that's true, but......."
She couldn't deny it because she had already said those words herself.
In truth, it was a situation she could have gotten past by just saying she understood and would be careful, but Cordelia, whose thoughts had stopped, stammered, and to get past the situation, she chose a counterattack.
"Y-you too, Sis!"
"Huh?"
She had just blurted it out, but Adelia's expression changed.
Cordelia, a genius of combat, instinctively dug into that opening.
"You’re one to talk, Sis! W-with Lord Gale!"
This time Adelia's face turned bright red.
Either way, they were sisters, so Cordelia and Adelia resembled each other.
'G-Good. Counterattack successful.'
It was just then that Cordelia let out a sigh of relief.
"That...... we are...... ahem, well, first of all, we're both adults, so......."
Adelia turned her head slightly and spoke quietly, and Cordelia blinked.
No, what in the world was her sister saying right now?
Because they're both adults?
Because they're adults?
"Wait, Sis, what exactly is going on between you and Lord Gale?"
There had definitely been a pink-tinged atmosphere between the two of them, but it hadn't been this much when she first saw them?
When Cordelia urgently tugged at her arm and asked, Adelia put on a slightly sly air, then her face became one so sweet that the royal capital's subordinates could never have imagined it, and she spoke.
"Uh...... a relationship that isn't not a relationship?"
What in the world was that.
What kind of relationship was that.
No, she felt like she knew without being told.
Her sister's flushed cheeks said everything.
"Hmmm."
Cordelia narrowed her eyes, and Adelia let out a dry cough.
And outside.
While the two sisters were continuing their rosy conversation, the two brothers were having a completely different discussion.
"Whether the west wins or the east wins, the north needs to prepare."
Gale's face was as gentle as usual, but his eyes were different.
He had come to this land as Yuder's older brother, but he was also a knight of the north.
More than the unrest itself occurring in the barbarian lands—no, the Wild Lands—he had no choice but to prioritize the safety of the Saelun Kingdom.
"If the west wins, war will certainly break out. Even if the east wins...... war could still break out. It would be such a shame to simply scatter power that has been gathered into one."
He knew Red Gale's character well.
He was certainly a person of fine character.
But an individual's character and war were entirely separate matters.
The chieftains of the Wild Lands who had invaded the Saelun Kingdom so far had likewise not been madmen or bloodthirsty war fanatics.
They had all been respected leaders to their respective tribes.
But despite that, war had broken out.
'Gathered power invites war.'
Moreover, Red Gale was not an absolute monarch. He was a chieftain leading a tribal confederation. If the chieftains' thoughts leaned toward war, he too would have to consider war.
'No matter which side wins, war can break out.'
Whether the west won or the east won.
Therefore, the north had to know in advance and prepare.
"Perhaps it could even be helpful."
Because whatever else happened, it was better for the east to win than for the west, which had fallen into the hands of demon worshippers.
But even if they did help, they would not step forward unless a truly decisive moment came.
For the north, the best outcome was the west and east destroying each other.
It was a cold-hearted calculation.
But Yuder understood Gale. Because he was a knight of the north who had sworn to protect the north.
"Are you going to the nest of the ravens with Lady Adelia?"
"I should. If it were up to me, I'd like to take you two as well...... but that would be too much."
Yuder and Cordelia had been chosen as guardians by the Golden Dragon King, the king of the wild gods.
On top of that, the iron man Landius and the Guardians of the Holy Cross were involved, so the immature children's runaway had already become a thing of the past.
'They've also gained strength befitting their mission.'
Only two or three months ago, Yuder had been sickly beyond compare, yet now he had become so strong that one might wonder if he had become a completely different person.
Moreover, it wasn't only Yuder. Cordelia too had become several times stronger than when he had seen her in Langesthei.
'Perhaps it is heaven's will.'
The fortuitous encounters that had happened to the two of them one after another.
In truth, starting with the Sun's Necklace, they were all miracles that Yuder and Cordelia had artificially created, but Gale had no way of knowing that.
Each one was astonishing, and since they had occurred in succession, in Gale's eyes it looked as though heaven's will was with the two of them.
Therefore, Gale readily acknowledged it.
The two of them had a mission that was theirs alone.
He would not interfere with that mission.
"Still, I’ll be back soon. Part of why I came all this way was to put an end to your little honeymoon, but also to protect the two of you."
"So you’re helping the Wild Lands on your own behalf, Sir Gale Bayel?"
"That's putting it a bit grandly, but I suppose that's right."
"Leaving Lady Adelia out of it?"
"I'd like to...... but I don't know if it'll be possible."
Because she wasn't someone who would listen just because he told her not to.
When Gale said it with a soft smile, Yuder drew a deep breath. Looking in the same direction as Gale, he asked as if in passing.
"Are you...... all right now?"
The reason Gale had not married until now.
An incident from the past.
Was he all right now? Had he overcome the pain of that time?
"I don’t really know. It’s just... nearly ten years have already passed. Maybe all I needed was a catalyst."
And if that was truly the case, then Yuder and Cordelia had given him that catalyst.
"Thank you for running away."
At Gale's sudden words, Yuder blinked, and Gale smiled again.
As if he had never said anything, he turned to Yuder with a serious face and spoke.
"Protect Lady Cordelia well."
"Yes, Brother. I will treasure her more than my own life."
"See that you do."
Gale patted Yuder's shoulder, then looked back toward the south anew.
* * *
Neither Yuder nor Gale wasted time.
On the very day the meeting ended, they packed their belongings and set out toward their respective destinations.
"Take care."
"Cordelia, you remember what I said, right? You have to be careful, okay? Hmm? You got it, right?"
With Gale's simple farewell and Adelia's long, drawn-out farewell, the two of them headed south, while Yuder and Cordelia headed north.
"Cordelia."
"Yeah?!"
When Cordelia flinched and answered at a call that was nothing special, Yuder narrowed his brow, tilted his head, and asked.
"Are you okay? Did something happen with Lady Adelia?"
"No? Nothing happened. Yeah, nothing at all. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the snow is really white. It's white. Why is snow so white?"
At that blatantly suspicious change of subject, Yuder’s eyes narrowed even further.
'Seeing her flustered and stammering, something definitely did happen.'
What could it be?
What in the world had she talked about with Adelia?
"Cordelia."
"Yeah?"
Cordelia, who had been walking slightly ahead, turned around a little exaggeratedly.
Yuder asked while pretending to be casual.
"It's a long way to go. Want me to carry you on my back?"
Normally, Cordelia would have shouted OK and rushed over.
But today, her eyes sparkled for a moment as if tempted, then she shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. I'll just walk today. Yeah, yeah."
Because she was embarrassed.
Until now, being carried on Yuder's back or held in his arms had been nothing to her, but because of Adelia, she had suddenly become embarrassed.
"Let's go quickly, quickly."
Cordelia hurried ahead to hide her reddened cheeks. Yuder narrowed his eyes, but did not question her further.
They stepped forward toward the Skyroof Mountains.
* * *
Time passed.
Three days after the Eastern Alliance’s first meeting.
The main force of the Angry Rhino Tribe, having finished its subjugation of the west, headed east. The west's forces also began to gather in one place.
The east did not simply watch the west's movements.
As already confirmed at the first meeting, they launched an expedition to make the west their battlefield.
And three days after that.
At the moment when the direct confrontation between east and west was about to begin.
Something happened to Gale and Adelia as they made their way toward the border.