Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Time When Flowers Bloom
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Entangled souls charge toward one another, screaming. They unleash their rage as if they had been waiting solely for this dawn.
Now, even the target was unclear—only the instinct to vomit out pure emotion remained.
A chaotic feast of devouring and being devoured.
At its center burned a blue flame wildly spewing its feelings.
The girl's form had vanished, leaving only the flame sweeping through the souls.
"......"
The scene, which seemed like it would drag on forever, finally began to draw to a close.
"Dawn is approaching."
The sunlight peeking over the mountains fails to hide its grandeur, brilliantly illuminating the sky.
The light hasn't yet reached the ground, but everyone knows it will soon.
I simply close my eyes, hoping their hearts have eased even a little.
Daylight comes.
Calm the heated excitement.
Gather the disheveled bodies amid the chaos.
It's time to tidy up the cluttered surroundings.
No festival lasts forever.
[Dieeeee!]
[I curse you! I curse you to the end!]
[Kieeek!]
The evil spirits writhe, unwilling to end it, but Emily's flames swirl and suppress them.
A circle peeks over the mountains.
As the sunlight slowly descends, the souls held back by the scrap merchants begin retreating first.
Warm light touches the graveyard, and those thrashing in excitement gradually come to a halt.
We burned through the dawn.
With the morning sun risen, it's time to sleep.
"I understand. Your grudges and injustices must never have been resolved."
But now you realize.
They can never be resolved.
That revenge is exhilarating and thrilling, but it offers no return to the past.
Because.
You are all dead.
"You tore into each other, envied, flailed—but in the end, nothing remains."
Those who had raged in madness slowly turn their heads toward me. They harbor complex emotions toward me, who created this time for them.
"So now, embrace it and sleep."
Unable to speak a word, they close their eyes and begin to fade away.
Even those feelings toward me are something they must embrace and take with them.
"I can only hope you find eternal repose."
They dissolve into disarray.
All of them fall into the deep slumber they should have entered long ago.
[......Thank you.]
Until the end, without losing reason, having exacted all revenge yet gained nothing.
I bid farewell to Emily, who leaves with a smile.
On any other day, the dawn air would sting my nose sharply, but today, the scent of early-blooming flowers greets me warmly.
"Is that so."
February is called the season when the northern chill is trapped, unable to cross the high mountains.
The lingering frost melts away as the days naturally warm.
With the deep freeze thawing all at once, temperatures rise sharply. From now on, it was Northsweden's busiest time.
"Spring has come."
The cold melts away.
Even in Northsweden, the brief season of blooming flowers has arrived.
The perfect time for a flower-loving girl to fall asleep smiling.
*
"Huff! Huff!"
The Dean had never liked the North much. It wasn't due to any particular bad memories.
He simply had an innate aversion to cold places, avoiding the North as a result.
Especially mountains?
Despite his bear-like appearance, he hated hiking intensely.
"Heave! Heave!"
Professor Karen, the health instructor who accompanied him, frowned and scolded as the Dean gasped with his mouth wide open like he might vomit.
"You should exercise more. You've got abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes too, right? Especially the way you eat—super salty."
"......"
The Dean glanced at Karen and grimaced in response.
"You're really a health instructor, huh?"
"What else did you think I was?"
"Ahem."
Until now, she hadn't shown much of that side, so he'd basically seen her as a simple mercenary.
"I'm just a health instructor who can barely put a bandage on a kid's scrape, so don't come looking for me if you collapse later."
Karen grumbled, shoving her hands deep into her coat pockets.
After crossing the mountain, Northsweden's city came into full view.
Taking comfort in seeing their destination, the two steadily pressed on and arrived before sunset.
"Oh my, guests?"
A sturdy, loafer-like man standing at the Northsweden entrance spotted them and ran over.
"No need for a guide."
Wondering if tourists even came to a backwater mountain town like Northsweden, Karen waved him off, but the man chuckled slyly and persisted.
"No charge. We're helpers paid by the lord to assist people."
"Helpers?"
The Dean, wiping sweat with a handkerchief, asked back, and the man nodded vigorously.
"Yes, so no worries. If it's inconvenient, I can just tell you the location."
Karen jumped in immediately.
"Where's the Verdi Family?"
"Hmm? Guests of the Count? Then why not take the carriage road?"
"Ca-carriage road?"
They'd walked from the front precisely because carriages couldn't cross the mountain path—what was this?
The man laughed heartily and explained.
"There's a separate carriage road around the back. You have to go around the mountain path, but it's way faster than crossing over. Any local coachman would know."
"......Our coachman said this was his first time here."
"Ah, I see. You must have had a rough trip."
As academy staff, their coachman naturally didn't know hidden Northsweden routes. In their haste, they hadn't even asked around—just crossed directly.
It was no big deal for Karen, but the Dean felt the world owed him an apology.
"Let's go anyway. It's still a bit of a walk from here."
At the mention of more walking, the Dean let out a long sigh and slumped, but Karen pretended not to notice and followed the man.
The city bustled.
One might imagine the North as cold and quiet, but Northsweden was quite lively. People jostled about, and the friction made the chill barely noticeable.
Like the man, 'helpers' roamed here and there, aiding citizens.
'Interesting.'
Snowy landscapes are beautiful, but hellishly inconvenient for those living in them.
Even ignoring the environment's hindrances, this city brimmed with vitality.
"Here we are."
"Heave! Heave! Thought I was gonna die before meeting him."
"......Catch your breath before going in. You'll just get laughed at looking like that."
"Y-yeah. Right."
"I'll be off then."
The Dean paused to catch his breath in front of the mansion, while the man left without taking a single coin.
Karen had offered a tip midway, but he flatly refused.
Watching him go, Karen said to the Dean.
"That man was from the Republic."
"Huh?"
The Dean, wiping his brow again with the soaked handkerchief, looked puzzled at where the man had headed.
"Not just him. All seven people he greeted on the way were Republic folk."
"Cl-Clock Republic? Foreigners, you mean?"
"Yes."
Their distinctive accents and oily scent hadn't faded yet. They must not have settled in Northsweden long.
"Whew."
Trained physiques, sly refusal to give names, quick wits.
'Resistance, huh.'
With so many rebel groups in the Clock Republic, he could be one.
"Tch."
Karen, who had once taken a Republic commission to wipe out resistance during her mercenary days, smacked her lips uncomfortably and turned toward the mansion.
"Let's head in. We need to get back soon."
"Yeah, we do."
The Dean, half-collapsed, mustered strength to stand.
It was already March.
Robern Academy had started the semester, and evil spirits still roamed rampant.
They'd left a bunch of clergy like baggage handlers, but who knew if it'd work.
Entering the mansion, servants guided them.
Meeting Deus unexpectedly proved simple. As if anticipating them, the household led the Dean and Karen straight to Deus's office.
The door opened, revealing an ornate red carpet and a massive desk first.
Beside the desk stood a burly man with a slight scowl, arms crossed confidently. Opposite him was a petite black-haired woman with arms folded.
Darius Verdi and Deia Verdi.
And in the large chair sat a black-haired man, legs crossed, gazing indifferently at them.
Deus Verdi spoke as he regarded them.
"Long time no see."
In that moment, Karen was certain.
They already knew we were coming.
Since when?
'The city guides.'
Those folks who seemed like colleagues, greeting him repeatedly—they must have alerted the mansion.
The guide might have deliberately taken a longer route for that purpose.
Karen's head already throbbed.
This negotiation to rehire Deus Verdi.
It wouldn't be easy at all.