Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Cluster of Stars in the Night Sky is Said to be the Tears of God (8)
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“Cough.”
“…….”
“…….”
Pippin and I locked eyes for a moment before both staring off into space. Then we looked back at the garden wraith, pointed at it, and moved our lips without saying a word. That was all we could do.
The garden wraith, suddenly transformed into the form of a young boy, plopped down on the ground and looked up at me. Childish defiance flickered across his pouty face.
“Master. Release my summon. I want to rest. This feels weird.”
The garden wraith let out an old-man-like sigh. I rubbed my forehead and nodded.
“I should’ve looked into it more before summoning. Fine. Summon release.”
No sooner had I spoken than the garden wraith shifted back into its familiar manhole shape and vanished smoothly.
“Let’s head back.”
“Um, Master.”
“What.”
“Are we walking back?”
“Huh……?”
Come to think of it, we’d come here riding the manhole. After all this exhaustion, were we seriously going to walk all the way to the village?
“Hey! Manhole! Manhole, come back out! Gate of Death!”
[Summon Refused]
The status window flashed insolently.
“What manners.”
I slumped to the ground right there and just lay down. I was too exhausted and in too much pain to even twitch.
“Hey, Pippin. Let’s just wait here until someone comes. Someone will show up eventually.”
“Yes. Sounds like a good plan.”
Pippin flopped down and lay beside me.
I nudged Pippin with my foot, and he slid away a bit.
“There’s plenty of room, so why push me?”
“Ha…….”
All that came out was a sigh.
“This isn’t why we came here.”
I sprawled on the ground and must have blacked out for a bit. Murmuring voices brought me back to my senses. A group of people was rushing toward us.
“Lord Duke! Lord Duke! Waaah! Lord Duke!”
A familiar voice splashed toward me as its owner ran up.
“Gah!”
Dandel threw his arms around me the moment he saw me, not caring a whit about my condition. His face was bright red as he bawled his eyes out, snot and tears streaming.
“To think you’re hurt this badly, waaah! I should’ve stuck by you to the end, waaah!”
“Shut up, you’re hurting my ears.”
“Waaah, yes, waaah…….”
When I tried to sit up, I realized I had no strength left in my body. Leaning on Dandel, I scanned the surroundings. People had dragged over something like carts, loaded with injured mercenaries.
“No way I’m getting loaded onto one of those too, am I?”
When I asked, Dandel pointed to another cart.
“It’s a cart, but you can ride a different one. That one’s for the mercenaries—there are dead bodies mixed in.”
“Got it.”
With Dandel’s help, I lay down on the cart. Straw was spread across it, so it looked like one normally used on a farm.
Soon Pippin climbed aboard too, supported by Kaku. He’d insisted he could ride a horse, only to take a hit from Kaku.
“Quietly stay by Lord Duke’s side.”
Kaku tossed Pippin next to me, bowed, and moved to his position. Apparently, he was the one pulling this cart.
I turned my head to look, and his slumped back struck me as oddly fitting. Losing fellow mercenaries might have left him with deep trauma. And the one family-like figure he had left—his last disciple, Pippin—was about to be taken by me.
Kaku’s life had been pretty rough.
Not that it was any of my business.
Pretending not to notice, I lay back on the cart when a shadow fell over me. Dandel, eyes puffy from crying, had brought a pile of medicine and bandages to play nurse.
“Lord Duke, can you move your hand?”
“Dunno. It hurts too much to even try putting strength into it.”
“Waaah…….”
I glanced sidelong at Pippin and asked.
“What about him? He must be hurt bad too. Check if he’s still alive.”
“Pippin says he’s fine. It’s a wound that’ll heal quickly. And right now, he’s snoring away in a deep sleep. Maybe it’s best to let him rest?”
Just as Dandel said, Pippin was out cold. Was he sleeping or passed out? The loud snoring made me breathe a little easier.
“Does everyone know what happened?”
I asked. Dandel carefully brushed the dirt off my hand and nodded.
“Yes. The village chief spilled everything. Said he plotted with the mercenary captain. But the captain was found torn apart by the beast…… The chief tried to pin it on Kaku, but no one’s buying it. And why would they? Kaku and Pippin have been the ones fending off the beasts all this time. The village youths who weren’t in on it with the chief rounded up all the culprits and locked them in the village hall.”
“Sounds like it’ll sort itself out.”
“They said they’ll send them to the city later for trial. You’ll probably be the one passing judgment, Lord Duke.”
“I’ll leave it to Head Butler Alberto. I’m done with this village.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure to pass that on.”
Dandel sniffled as he continued treating me. I felt oddly relaxed, humming a tune as I lazily gazed around the cart.
It was already deep into the night, visibility relying on faint lantern light. Amid the flickering flames, I spotted Death Spirit Poibe’s back.
The guy who’d fled in shock at the sight of the garden wraith, reminded of his own death. He’d probably hidden in some corner until things settled. Seeing him out now meant all the nearby garden wraiths were gone.
Poibe sat astride the cart like he was out for a stroll, swinging his legs this way and that as he enjoyed the breeze. Dandel made it hard to talk, but his vacant stare into the void had an eerie, ghostly quality.
Right—this was the look of someone with no lingering attachment to the living world.
[The cluster of stars shining in the night sky—they say it’s really the tears of the gods.]
Following Poibe’s words, I looked up at the sky. A starry band like the Milky Way adorned the heavens. Tears of the gods. It didn’t suit such a sad name. It just sparkled prettily.
It looked like the hem of a fancy dress, or even Christmas wrapping paper.
[With the village chief caught, I’m satisfied. I checked the body of the mercenary who threw me to the garden wraith too. No grudge there. Didn’t see his death spirit, though. I was hoping to rip out its throat if I ran into it.]
“…….”
I stared blankly at the night sky. Poibe’s soft voice didn’t quite match the beautiful scene—or maybe it did.
[It’s all thanks to you, necromancer. Go ahead and devour me if you want.]
Poibe approached. Our eyes met, and I was pretty surprised. It was so different from the Poibe I’d seen before.
Up until now, Poibe had truly seemed like a ghost—sunken eyes, black aura, sometimes twisting into grotesque forms.
But now, he just looked like an ordinary girl. More vibrant, like a living person, than anything death spirit-like.
Was this Poibe’s true form, now that his resentment was gone?
[♥♥♥]
Affection points appeared out of nowhere. Three at once.
Favorability popping up like a human’s—what a joke.
“Looks like clearing your grudge has made you more generous.”
I muttered to myself.
I felt strangely lighthearted, like I’d done a good deed for someone else. It hadn’t been long since I’d resolved to live as a villain, and here I was already doing something nice. I’d have to step up my evil game from now on.
Dandel had just shifted to check on Pippin, freeing me to talk to Poibe more comfortably.
[Make me your death spirit. I’ll try to be useful.]
“Don’t need an ordinary death spirit like you.”
[Why? If I’m not useful enough, I’ll just make myself useful. Wake you up early in the morning, check the road for dropped coins. Got someone you like? I’ll dig into their secrets for you.]
“Don’t need any of that.”
I tilted my head back to look at Kaku, riding ahead and pulling the cart. His back still looked deflated and weary.
“If you’re that bored, go be that guy’s guardian angel or something.”
Pippin’s snoring, Dandel’s rustling, and Kaku’s quiet sniffles crossed the dark forest path.
It was so peaceful I almost wanted to pick a fight just to stir things up. I crossed my arms and glared at the noisily snoring Pippin.
“But in exchange, your little brother is mine.”
Poibe laughed loudly in a voice only I could hear. Then he consented.
“Thanks. Duke Sierra.”
***
By the time we reached the village, dawn was nearly over. Daybreak was imminent.
My hand was wrapped so tightly in bandages that even at rest, it looked clenched into a fist. Unable to use it, I had no choice but to have someone feed me. I hurriedly woke Pippin, who had just stirred.
“Pippin. Pippin, wake up. Any garden wraith corpses left?”
“Mmm, yeah…… I saw some loaded into the cart earlier…….”
“Bring a bit.”
“Yess…….”
Pippin rubbed his sleepy eyes and obeyed. He brought some in a shabby wooden bucket. I told him to lead me straight to the house he shared with Kaku. Dandel tried to follow, but this time, it had to be just Pippin and me.
The house Pippin and Kaku lived in was a ramshackle wooden thing, like two lumps of dough mashed together. They shared the building, and the sunny inner room had originally been Poibe’s.
Behind the stall they used as a butcher shop was a modest vegetable patch. Climbing the ridge of the patch led to a flower garden. At dawn, the flowers slumbered with petals wrapped around their leaves.
“Got a shovel? Let’s dig a hole and bury this.”
“Yes.”
Pippin didn’t argue. In the middle of the blooming flowers, we put a bit of the garden wraith corpse and mounded up a grave. It was my modest gesture for Poibe, who had so readily given me his brother.
“Pippin, you any good at carving? You handle knives well, so maybe woodworking’s your thing.”
“Yes. I’ve been practicing something.”
Pippin scurried to his room and back with an armful of things. Rifling through the random knickknacks, I clamped my mouth shut.
They were all, well, too artistic for me to even judge. Impossible to guess what they were meant to be. Clearly well-carved and smooth, but animal? Person? No clue.
“Let’s just use flowers instead.”
I picked a bunch of the nearest fully bloomed flowers and placed them on the grave. Then I squatted in front of it, watching Poibe slowly approach the graveside. Glancing up at Pippin, I saw his expression was complicated.
“Say your goodbyes. It’s your big brother’s grave.”
“…….”