Chapter 477: Ayul Couldn't Help but Swear
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 477: Ayul Couldn't Help but Swear
It was on his third day staying in the tent that Ayul came to find him.
Dawn was just breaking, and Encrid was in the middle of practicing the Isolation Technique. As he moved his body through the forms in front of the tent, Ayul approached.
She had sun-bronzed skin, intricate patterns painted on her face, and bright, clear eyes. Her aura had shifted; she looked much softer than before. At the very least, she didn't look like she was about to chop someone's head off with an axe.
The words that came out of her mouth matched her new expression.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ayul."
Her temperament was entirely different from their first meeting. She was calm.
Was this the true nature of the Westerners? Encrid wondered.
He felt he finally had a rough grasp of their ways. They were straightforward and entirely without pretense—just like Rem.
"A greeting seems a bit redundant at this point," Encrid said as he casually stretched. Grasping the tips of his left fingers with his right hand, he flipped his arm and pressed it outward, loosening the muscles and tendons running from his elbow to his wrist.
Flexibility wasn't built overnight. It required the grueling effort of daily training—something Encrid had already been doing for years.
Watching him warm up, Ayul’s gaze swept over his body. Despite his large, muscular frame, he was incredibly fluid. His muscles were dense and tough, yet perfectly flexible. It was a body so well-defined that even a cannibal would shake their head in dismay; after all, those bastards hated tough, stringy meat.
"That may be so, but we should still greet each other properly."
Though she was scrutinizing another man's body, there was no emotion in her eyes. Ayul remained completely indifferent.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter either way."
As Encrid gave a casual nod, Ayul asked, "Do you mind if I speak casually?"
"I prefer it."
They sorted out their social standing quickly and cleanly. Ayul felt a sense of gratitude toward Encrid for becoming their Human Totem, which was why she had sought him out.
"I was thinking of showing you around the area," Ayul said, demurely holding her colorful skirt.
Encrid figured there were at least two long daggers strapped to her thighs beneath that fabric. Even without seeing them, he could tell just by her gait. The weight of her steps was uneven; her right foot landed heavier, suggesting a weighted weapon hidden there.
Besides, he couldn't imagine a woman who had swung an axe at Rem the moment she saw him would ever walk around truly unarmed. Anyone could see Ayul was a warrior. Both her appearance and her actions screamed it. Even her fluttering skirt seemed designed for concealment. If she was Rem’s wife, she likely used that skirt to block an opponent’s vision in combat.
The madman, who translated every single situation into a sparring match, was once again assessing his opponent's capabilities.
Ayul waited for his answer with her back to the sun. The light was just beginning to spill over the horizon as dawn broke, warming the dry air and making the morning exercise a pleasure.
Encrid finished his warm-up. Wiping away a light sweat with a dry cloth, he stepped inside the tent and asked Hira if it was alright for him to leave for a bit.
"Could you return before noon?" Hira asked, her tone practically pleading. She had been working for three days straight without proper sleep, and Encrid wondered if her body was holding up. He nodded.
A few of the people lying in the tent acknowledged him. After three days, the number of those recovering had increased. Among them was the child he had first encountered.
"My name is Jiba. I'm planning to marry you when I grow up, Mister."
The child was bold. Hearing this, Luagarne didn't just puff out her cheeks; she stuck out her tongue and laughed.
"Get in line, human brat."
"Huh?"
"There is already a long line of competitors ahead of you."
Jiba pouted slightly. To think the very first thing she said upon getting out of bed was that she would become his future bride—she truly was an audacious child. Her mother remained indifferent even after hearing her daughter's declaration.
Shouldn't she stop her? Encrid thought.
Geomnarae was still laughing heartily, and the woman without a daughter had fallen back into a deep, quiet sleep. Well, various things had happened.
Right now, it was still time for Jiba to sleep. She had kicked off the thin blanket, exposing her belly. Pulling the blanket back over her free-spirited child, the mother asked, "Should I come along?"
She was offering her services as an attendant. Encrid shook his head and stepped back outside.
"Let's go."
Ayul spoke, and Encrid followed. In front of the tent stood a man who had been staring at him strangely for days, but Encrid ignored him. It was a gaze of love and hate, filled with both resentment and gratitude. For a Westerner—who usually either liked or disliked someone with no in-between—he was quite peculiar. Since he seemed close to Jiba’s mother, Encrid assumed he didn't have ill intentions.
Ayul led Encrid away from the camp. Between the rows of tents, the morning sun welcomed their steps.
"Did you chop off Rem's head?"
Encrid widened his stride just as he was about to step with his left foot, avoiding an army of ants crawling beneath him. At his footsteps, spiders scattered in a rush. To one side, a dung beetle was diligently rolling a ball of manure.
Would Luagarne eat that too? Probably not. Just as humans were picky about their food, she seemed to select which bugs she ate.
"People die when their heads are chopped off," Ayul stated, an absolute truth. It was a truth Encrid knew well. "But it seemed like he did something bad enough to deserve death."
Ayul was about to agree, but stopped herself. She recalled what had happened yesterday—the night Rem slept at her house.
*
"I want to have a child."
If there was something you wanted, shouldn't you speak up proudly? Ayul had done just that.
Upon hearing those words, her partner had been indifferent.
"Is that so?"
He was just as he always was. He wore a face that seemed to care about nothing other than axes, brawls, battles, and cannibals. There was a time when he behaved like a mischievous brat, but when did he start acting like this?
Ayul stopped thinking about it. It was a week before their Holy Matrimony. Rem had devoted himself entirely to battle and hunting. To her, watching from the side, he looked...
Like he's running away.
It was just a feeling; there was no way Rem would actually do that. Ayul watched Rem swing his axe, her chin resting on her hand. The question of whether he wanted to run away almost slipped out, but she held it back.
Ayul recognized her own lack of honesty. If Rem actually admitted he wanted to run away, would she be able to handle it? She turned away from the thought. It was the first time she had hidden her true feelings and said something else instead—and that "something else" was that she wanted a child.
Deep down, she had thought, Surely not. Rem was the next chief, overflowing with talent, a man destined to become a Hero. How many people in the West could truly be called Heroes? She had heard there was only one among the cannibal tribes. Why would a man like Rem want to run away? He loved this land. Even more than she did. And Ayul loved that about him.
So, it couldn't be flight. Her intuition must have been wrong.
And indeed, he didn't run. Not then.
A week after their Holy Matrimony, he chose to sleep in the fields rather than at home. He took the head of the one called the Hero of the cannibal tribe. Beneath the low sky, the sprawling clouds looked like a white ceiling. The blood dripping from his axe drew red lines across that white ceiling.
"Aaaaaah!"
Her partner let out a roar like a wild beast. It was a cry of victory. And after that mad display of axe-wielding, Rem left.
The reason? She didn't know. He hadn't said a word. At first, she was dumbfounded.
This bastard?
Rem had told her before that he had never once thought of any woman other than her as his partner. Because they had grown up together, they used similar techniques, and even their temperaments had grown to resemble each other.
"I don't doubt your mother, but you two look like you came from the same womb," her father, who wasn't the chief back then, would often joke.
"Is that so?" Ayul had liked hearing that.
But was it different for Rem? Was her partner, the man who was supposed to live as her other half for the rest of her life, different? Were their hearts not aligned?
Was it just me? Was she the only one who held such feelings?
Rem had left. Once a month had passed, her bewilderment turned to anger. How could he leave without so much as a single letter?
"Forget him," her father, who had now become the chief, told her.
Many things happened after that. Years passed. The traces of the four seasons left their mark upon the fields. Standing on the windy summer fields, Ayul made up her mind.
When he returns, I will take his head.
Beyond bewilderment and anger, past the stage of worry, all that remained was murderous intent.
And then, Rem returned.
"You said you wanted to have a child."
After dodging her for days, he had finally approached her, and those were the first words he chose to speak. What on earth was he thinking?
In front of the tent, Rem's shadow stretched out long. Ayul looked at that shadow and said, "Right now, rather than a child, I'd prefer to cut off your junk and hang it on the wall."
It was a venomous remark. By "junk," she certainly didn't mean his arms or legs. She was referring to something he possessed but had no use for.
Rem scratched his head. He could act shameless with anyone else, but he couldn't do that with Ayul. He had abandoned his responsibilities and cast aside his duties. Worst of all, he had left his partner completely in the dark. Rem acknowledged his own pathetic shortcomings. That was why he could stand here now and speak.
"What kind of world do you think that child should live in?"
He had once thought the West was a stagnant land. He had thought that Westerners were simply people who had stopped, losing the will to move forward. Wouldn't even the Immortal Madman be better?
But that wasn't it. He shouldn't compare them to a crazy bastard who lived by defying the natural order and violating taboos. Yet, he had felt just that frustrated. Taking steps forward to achieve something? No. It was all just excuses and pretexts.
Rem realized this only after a significant amount of time had passed since leaving the West. To be precise, it was after he met the human named Encrid.
There was something he had once given up on and forgotten. He had given up on it before he even knew what it was.
I will change it.
The will to change the West. He had discarded it before he could even consciously recognize it. He forgot it. He threw it away. Rem was a loser and a runaway. Because he acknowledged that, he couldn't receive the sorcery. The moment he accepted the descent, he would die. Because that would be the end. Both the chance to change things and the chance to live would vanish.
He couldn't bring himself to walk into the valley of death like that. Rem became a runaway who indulged in the remaining pleasures of the world. He could no longer face Ayul. He couldn't show her such a pathetic side of himself, nor could he ask her to live with a fool like him as her partner.
And so, he fled.
Ah, how shameful. Truly.
Rem was ashamed, but he didn't run away anymore. For now, he had learned and realized just how pathetic of a man he was, and how he ought to live.
Nothing is resolved by running away.
Rather than living as a puppet dragging out a meaningless existence, it was right to walk a path where he might die. So, he would walk it. Yet, he did not believe he would die. He would shout to this unfair world that such things were no obstacle. That if there was something he wanted, he would forge ahead regardless.
Encrid had done exactly that.
When he first saw him, Encrid was merely a reckless human who would soon die. Later, he became an interesting human to watch. And after that, a human too precious to let die. As his past resurfaced and time flowed by, he saw his captain struggling desperately before him. Encrid spoke everything with his hands, his feet, and his entire body. He would not give up, nor would he despair. No matter what blocked his path, he would walk.
He was that kind of person.
Rem had learned. He had realized. He had looked back on his life and remembered what he had left behind. Everything had been an excuse. That directionally challenged bastard, that stray cat of a guy, had merely provided the catalyst.
Only then could Rem turn his head and look at the West. He faced what he had left behind, what he had given up on. That was why he could finally speak now.
"It's shameful, but... I ran away."
Rem laid bare his inner thoughts, honestly and plainly. His words were calm, yet they flowed without pause. Thanks to his improved eloquence, he was able to speak quite coherently. He explained the reason for his flight, and his hope that if his child were to be born, the land they lived in would not be the same as it was now. That this had become his goal.
Ayul continued to stare at Rem's shadow. Both Rem, who was speaking, and Ayul, who was listening, were utterly calm.
"That's all. If you want, I'll let you cut off whatever you wish."
If that was his atonement, he would do it. Rem spoke, and Ayul raised her head. From his shadow to his toes, from his shins to his knees, from his knees to his waist, from his waist to his chest, and from his chest to his face. At the end of her shifting gaze, she met his gray eyes.
Since childhood, Rem had been honest. He had always been that way with her. Was this the moment she had been waiting for? It would have been better if he had told her beforehand, but since she was hearing it now, she could refrain from taking his head for being late.
"It took a long time. I'm sorry," Rem said.
Ayul could never truly forgive the Rem of the past. Yet, the anguish of the man she had chosen as her partner touched her heart. Unconsciously, a single tear rolled down her cheek. It was because some dust had gotten in her eye—even though today was clearer than any other day, without a single speck of dust in the air.
Beneath the bright moonlight, Ayul reached out her hand.
"Take it."
Rem took her hand.
"I'll let you sleep here just for tonight," Ayul said. Though she would likely let him sleep there not just tonight, but for all the nights to come.
The two of them talked. Rem poured out his heart, and Ayul expressed her lingering resentment. At the end of that conversation, Ayul's stomach twisted slightly.
"Uh, well... I still have things left to do."
"So, you're saying the first thing you do after coming back and begging for forgiveness is tell me you're leaving again? Just after grabbing the sorcery?"
This fucking bastard?
Ayul couldn't help but swear.