Chapter 327: The Living and the Dead
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 327: The Living and the Dead
When she thought about it, her father was a Green Skin passed down to Nicole only through stories. He was a warrior who had lost his honor, yet he was also one of the Green Skins for whom Blood Dagger was most grateful.
She knew exactly what had happened. Recalling the anecdotes her mother had told her about her father since she was very young had been one of the ways little Nicole sustained herself.
‘Your father gave his life for the clan, my dear.’
‘Really?’
‘He was one of the first three brave Green Skins to give their lives for Blood Dagger.’
‘For real?’
‘The banner you see now was one your father drew long ago. Before a battle, it was his job to draw tattoos on the warriors’ bodies. Even Lord Blood Dagger would get in line for your father before a battle… you have no idea how skilled he was.’
‘I’m like that, too!’
This was how Nicole had grown up. She grew up listening to stories of her father, influenced by his stories, always picturing him in her mind.
As the first child of the clan, she was named by Blood Dagger and received an overwhelming amount of love compared to the other Green Skins. Of course, there were times when she was the subject of jealousy from the other children of the clan, and there were times she truly thought she was special.
After all, her father was the Green Skin who had saved the life of their honorable chieftain.
But the more she grew, the more she couldn't help but realize she wasn't a special child. No, in fact, she wished she wasn't special.
When playtime or training ended, the other children were busy talking about their fathers, and the children of the clan truly loved their friends.
‘Not today, Nicole. Dad said he’d teach me the sword. I’m going to become an Elite Orc Swordsman, just like him.’
‘Sorry, Nicole. He asked me to eat with him… so I can’t play today.’
Though it was an old memory, it naturally came to mind. In fact, until her friend Kim Yoora arrived, Nicole had spent a great deal of time alone with her mother.
She pretended it didn't bother her, but of course it did.
It was because she couldn't help but think, what if I had a father, too?
Whenever that happened, Nicole would idly doodle on the ground with a twig. The scene that remained most vivid in her memory from her mother’s stories was the image of her father drawing for the clan members.
To say she didn't miss him would be a lie. In truth, she had missed him terribly for a long time and had always pictured him in her heart.
That was why Nicole was outside now, in a situation like this.
“Yajaa.”
At her quiet voice, the Giant Wolf leaped up. She knew what was happening. For some unknown reason, the dead were rising. From the Warrior’s Grave, where honorable warriors were buried, Green Skins were continuously rising to their feet.
“Break their limbs so they can’t move!”
“Show no mercy! Grant these risen warriors their final rest!”
The shouts of the adults and the clash of swords against the risen Green Skins echoed continuously. The graves of the three—Najin, Gaon, and Kurajin—were located a short distance from the Warrior’s Grave where the honorable warriors were buried.
Nominally, it was because they were Green Skins who had lost their honor.
And yet, their tombstones were larger and more magnificent.
It was a place she sometimes visited when things were difficult, but Nicole had come here today for a different reason.
‘I can see my father.’
She could see the father she had dreamed of. Hurriedly, she pushed mana into her eyes and saw a grave that had already been dug up. The three goblins buried here had also risen.
“Yajaa, can you track them?”
“Grrrrr…”
The Giant Wolf, Yajaa, immediately nodded. For some reason, the risen dead were heading toward the clan’s settlement. Her father was probably heading that way, too. No, since she hadn't encountered him on the way, she thought he might still be here. It was at that moment…
Yajaa’s fur bristled as it gave her a signal.
He was an ordinary-looking goblin with a hunched back, but she recognized him in an instant.
“Dad?”
It was Najin, the father she had only ever heard about in stories.
“Nicole…”
A voice slowly emerged from a mouth that looked like it would never open, his skin dull and his eyes lifeless.
“You’ve… grown… so much…”
Overjoyed, she was about to dismount when he spoke again.
“Don’t come closer… My body won’t obey me.”
“Dad…”
“My mind is faint, but my memory of my beloved daughter is incredibly… clear. Your face is the same… as when you were born.”
The small goblin moved slowly. It was a motion that seemed as if he were trying to embrace her, but it was clearly filled with hostility. But he was slow. Incredibly slow and small.
The sight of the goblin moving with his small arms and small feet was a far cry from the hero she had imagined.
He wasn't strong, powerful, or the protector of the chieftain. This goblin looked incredibly small and frail. His attacks were so slow they were almost laughable, and he even stumbled and fell, unable to overcome his own momentum.
Of course, she wasn't disappointed by the sight. Rather, she was even more proud of her father. With such a small body, he had protected the pillar of the clan. With such a weak body, he had thrown his life away. He had knowingly walked into the jaws of death.
He was an even more magnificent and honorable warrior than the one she had heard of in stories.
“It’s a relief… that your father is small and weak… Are you disappointed…?”
“No… Not at all.”
“I was always… like this. We were a race that could not survive if we were weak. Your father was especially small and frail, and was often ignored… by his peers… The Blood Dagger Clan was a clan of those who were the smallest in their packs.”
“………………………………”
“Blood Dagger wasn't strong from the beginning, either. Fighting alongside him was a great joy… Roaming the battlefields with my brothers, drinking with them, living together… it was a happy life.”
“…………………………………”
“My daughter. I am sorry to say this to you, but I do not regret throwing my life away back then. Seeing you today, I regret it even less. Our chieftain is a special Green Skin, one who will bring prosperity to our family and all those who will live on. Do you… know the stories about this father of yours?”
“I heard… you disobeyed the chieftain’s order and saved his life…”
“Do you not resent your father for losing his honor?”
“I don’t resent you. I’m… I’m proud.”
“It must have been… very hard for you. As the child of a father who lost his honor, you must have always lived in shame.”
“No…”
It was a simple conversation, but her vision began to blur.
The conversation felt so unreal.
Tears streamed down her face as Nicole pointed a finger toward one side of the tombstone for her fallen father.
[ I live my life in constant gratitude to them. For Najin, Gaon, and Kurajin. ]
She had heard that Blood Dagger himself had carved the inscription after moving the graves to the Brother’s Land. Her father probably didn't know. He might have died thinking he had committed a sin.
But in reality, Blood Dagger was grateful to them. No, not just Blood Dagger. All the Green Skins were grateful to them. Her father looked at the side of the tombstone and quietly opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Nicole thought that if her father hadn't been reborn as an undead, he might have been crying.
“…………………………”
“Yes… He was that kind of Green Skin. A great, magnificent Green Skin, different from all the others.”
“………………………”
“From beginning to end, no, even after the end, it was a happy life. It would be best… for you to let this father rest now.”
Truthfully, she didn't want to send her father back. She hesitated for a moment, but after looking into her father’s eyes, Nicole began to slowly, very slowly, chant a spell. She felt it was what she had to do.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“N-No… I don’t have a… a boyfriend yet… Now is the time to focus on training… I-I’ll have children after I become an adult… much later.”
“You are very admirable. I wonder if your mother is well.”
“Mother is always doing well… She misses you, and she doesn’t meet any other Green Skins…”
“She was a very charming goblin. She must have disappointed many of the clan’s bachelors.”
“Hahahaha.”
“I wonder how old you are now.”
“It’s been about five years since I was born. In two more years, it’s my coming-of-age ceremony… I would have been so happy if you could have come to see it… It’s a shame… a real shame. I’m sure we’ll have the ceremony after this war is over!”
“Your friends…”
“I have lots of friends… After you passed away, the chieftain brought a human into the Green Skins. We didn’t get along at first, but now she’s my best friend. I’ve made many other human friends, and goblin friends! Troll friends! Ogre friends, too! Oh! And Lord Blood Dagger has three children now!”
“That is… joyous news. Your mother must have been happy.”
“And I inherited an ability from the God of the Battlefield. It’s a banner that can imbue my friends with special power by channeling mana into it. Of course, I’m still the one who draws the banners. I also draw pictures on my friends’ bodies. Hehe.”
“That is… joyous news.”
“Among the young Green Skins, I’ve become one of the strongest. Yoora is the first… I’m not second, but I think I’m about fifth.”
“That is… joyous… news…”
“The other clan members always express their gratitude to you, Dad. They always say that without you back then, the chieftain wouldn’t be here today.”
“Joyous…”
“Actually, there are times I resent you, Dad.”
“………………………………………………”
“I thought you didn’t love me.”
“……………………………………”
“If you had wanted to see me again, you never would have thrown your life away. You wouldn’t have… you definitely wouldn’t have. You would have come back alive somehow and held me. Just like my friends’ dads did! You would have held me in your arms…”
“……………………”
“B-But thank you. Because of you, Dad, the clan exists today. The chieftain is here, and I am here. I sometimes wish the Green Skin who died wasn’t my dad, but I know now that’s just being childish. You were just as magnificent a Green Skin as the stories said… Small and weak, but a magnificent Green Skin! Sob… Everyone said they would remember your name forever!”
“……………”
“Everyone! Everyone! Everyone said they would remember forever! The chieftain! Mother! My friend Yoora! The chieftain’s daughters! The vice-chieftain, Gark! Lady Mev! All the Green Skins who follow the chieftain said they would remember your name! I’m proud of you, Dad! I’m proud of you! I am so proud of you, Dad!”
“……”
“Hic… sob… ughhh… I’m really… so proud…”
“…”