A Brief Rest - 01
I wonder if I made the wrong choice. I thought I had done my best. This wasn’t a bad ending for me.
By eating the World Tree Sap or whatever it was, the Curse of the God of Death vanished from my body. Of course, the mana nerves torn apart by the curse and the body’s overall condition were still far from perfect, so I had to be careful, but the fear of dying right now was gone.
But someone had died. Quite dead. So this had become a bit ambiguous to call it a happy ending.
And…
“Mi, I didn’t do it…”
Rayna’s words echoed in my mind. What was I sorry about? What was I apologizing for? Truly, that selfish man.
I was definitely going to resent the fact that you died, whether you apologized or not. If you hadn’t apologized, I would have cursed you for never reflecting at all till the end, and even if you did apologize now, I would still insult you for saying it just to make yourself look good.
But I won’t hate you. You died on your own terms in the end. You never lowered your head to me properly, never bore the weight of guilt, the evil cross wasn’t carved into you, and you received no legal punishment. You received no blame or humiliation from anyone. You’re a coward, Rayna. You’re also a coward. How could you be so selfish till the very end? Bastard. Garbage. Bad woman.
In the end, we didn’t share anything in the story, did we? If we had shared the story, maybe things like circumstances or something could have been resolved? Even if punishment was received, something… Something might have changed.
Why aren’t you speaking? Speak up. If you don’t speak, I won’t know. Why are everyone keeping their mouths shut and living like that? Not complaining. Not saying they’re scared. Wanting me to figure it out without saying anything? Is the mouth just decoration?
I knew, because of the Geas, I couldn’t speak. But… I had wanted to share more stories.
***
“…….”
I opened my eyes. Where am I?
Because my mind was momentarily dazed, I couldn’t grasp the situation at first, but soon I realized this was the lodging Titania had lent us.
‘Yeah, I passed out.’
After Rayna died, I immediately rushed to exterminate the wyverns, and after dealing with most of them, my stamina ran out and I passed out. No matter how you look at it, being beaten by a Demon King Army cadre had made my already poor body condition even worse. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say I survived because the Curse of the God of Death disappeared. Still, the wounds on my body from the curse would recover soon, so there was no need for major worry.
But places where my arm or important parts were injured would be hard to expect natural recovery. I wanted the Elixir, but getting it wouldn’t guarantee I could obtain it.
‘Rayna…’
I recalled her name. I wasn’t particularly missing her. No, that’s a lie. There was definitely that feeling.
If I had been sentenced to death by the law’s hammer, I wouldn’t have tried to intervene. If death was the fair punishment she had to receive, then it was unavoidable. But maybe I could have shared a bit more conversation, but in the end, I didn’t get to hear what Rayna wanted. I didn’t hear why she did that. Because of the Geas, I wouldn’t have heard anyway.
“…….”
Lois isn’t here. Lately, when I woke up, Lois would always greet me kindly with “Are you awake?” and it had become a habit, so without that greeting I felt strangely awkward.
I got up and put on my outer clothes.
“Ack.”
Beaten and cut all over, it hurt terribly. Treatment had been done, but full healing would be difficult.
Normally, if it’s treatment magic, unless it’s a Saintess level, it was easier to think “I’ll make sure you don’t die.” Especially for serious injuries, treatment magic is hardly used for anything other than that meaning. Only when becoming a Saintess could serious injuries be fully healed on the spot.
‘Saintess… Velita…’
Thinking about it, Velita treated me for mostly light injuries. When I was seriously injured and asked for treatment, it was already after the battle was mostly over, and natural healing was better than using treatment magic. With treatment magic, it’s close to receiving the opponent’s mana to heal, so ultimately inserting “someone else’s mana” into my body. Well, this doesn’t cause serious problems, but there were cases where the name “treatment magic” didn’t match and there were backlash effects, and if received too much, tolerance builds and efficiency drops. Fortunately, the tolerance was okay if not received for a long time. For adventurers or soldiers who get injured often, it was somewhat of a problem.
‘What is Velita doing? At least I have to hear her story. I don’t want to send her off without any conversation. I want to hear the sincerity in her heart.’
Hearing it doesn’t change anything, her sins don’t get lighter. I just wanted to hear it. At least if she says I betrayed her, I wanted to know the reason.
And…
‘Alex.’
The guy who was a Demon King Army cadre, Garfield or something, knew my body condition and about the curse. And despite there being few people who knew where I was, he wasn’t surprised that I was in Elvenheim. Even if humans were hiding or accidentally hearing, the world had announced that “Hero Olivia Reinhardt” was dead. That she knew everything and came meant it had to be connected to Alex.
‘Why?’
I believed at least that Alex did it “for the kingdom.” He was a bit faithful to the kingdom from the start, so it was understandable. The reason he tried to kill me was that, so it explained. Honestly, I don’t understand, but the reasons people commit evil acts are usually not understood by anyone but themselves. It’s hard to find a perpetrator whose motive is understood.
‘Anyway, the fact that Alex cooperated with the monsters is the sticking point. Or did I miss something? Is there someone else besides Alex who knows something? Hmm, honestly, I don’t know well.’
If he cooperated with the monsters, why go that far? For the kingdom. For humanity. Wasn’t he trying to kill me?
Moreover, Garfield, who was a Demon King Army cadre, used the Evil God’s power. His abilities were enhanced in an instant, and the efficiency was quite good, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it the Evil God’s power. Where did he get that from? My head hurts.
“Okay, stop thinking.” Thinking bad thoughts won’t lead to good results. Especially right after waking up. I didn’t want to give up on the accident, but it didn’t seem like something to think about right after waking.
Before I passed out, many people including Lois, Sylphy, and Les were injured, and Titania was injured enough that she might be crossing the river to the afterlife by now. Thinking about that, I needed to check the current state of Elvenheim.
“Okay.” I checked my condition briefly in front of the door and, for some reason, opened the door with a tense state.
When I opened the door, sounds came from all around.
“There! Be gentle with the wood!” “Grab this!” “Monster brats…!! How much money did you save to buy this house!” “Destroying a house with debt still remaining, you villains.” “So, that’s why they’re monsters.” “Yeah, that’s right.” “…….”
The atmosphere was better than I thought? Elvenheim, which had been ruined in various ways by the wyvern and Demon King Army attacks, was currently undergoing real-time construction. They were rebuilding houses on the trees, and other buildings under the trees were being repaired with a clacking sound. I thought the atmosphere might be bad, but everyone was moving diligently, perhaps with positive fighting spirit.
Yeah. Since what had already happened couldn’t be changed, sending it off with vigor wasn’t such a bad choice. Looking at the atmosphere, had the funeral already been held?
Thinking about it, how long had I been sleeping? Looking at the village’s repair status, it seemed appropriate to think I had been asleep for about 2–3 days. If it weren’t for being beaten unilaterally by Garfield, I could have woken up in a day.
“Hmm.” I clenched and unclenched my fists to check my body’s condition. Moving, no numbness. Still, because my mana nerves were damaged, I couldn’t fully exert my mana, making it difficult. Until I got the Elixir, it would be hard to fight at full power. Even after the curse was removed, the curse’s influence remained, still tormenting me. No, rather, I should be happy to have been freed from the death sentence.
“Miss Olivia! You’re awake!” “Huh? Ah, Sylphy! You’re safe! Good!” When I last saw her, the curse was on her and her condition looked bad in many ways. I had worried if something might have gone wrong.
“Sigh, I was worried because you didn’t wake up for three days.” “I slept a lot…” Because the Curse of the God of Death was removed and my body relaxed?
“But… Did you not see Lois? Seeing my healthy self, Lois would be happy too.” “If it’s Lois-nim, he went to the World Tree.” “The World Tree? Wasn’t it already resolved?” “He said he had to go there a few times. I heard it would take quite a bit of time… So, probably at least several days in this Elvenheim.” “Yeah?” If Lois said that, then it couldn’t be helped. Since I was freed from the death sentence, there was no need to rush. Rather, I needed to take time to talk to many people and understand the current situation.
I thought that the betrayal against me was too strong, so I became the “Kingdom’s Hero” and got betrayed. But now, thinking about the story unfolding, it didn’t seem like a simple “tofu in the pot” story. Something was starting to mutate in my head with Alex’s unknown something.
“Um, so, Miss Olivia?” “Why?” “Titania said she wants to meet you when you wake up, is that okay?” “You were alive!” “Yes, but my condition isn’t great, so I mostly sleep most of the day. Still, since the life-threatening crisis is over, with time I should recover. Since I’m on my way to meet you, could you show your face?”
“…….” Something to say to me. I also had various things I wanted to say. Not only Lois, but I needed to provide information about conversations with Titania, Garfield, etc.
“Okay, let’s go.” “Yes!”