Chapter 121: Epilogue (2) – Part 1

Epilogue (2) – Part 1

The soldiers blew their horns to get Eriez’s attention, but it was no use. Eriez and I were in our own little world. We were beginning to wheeze, and I knew there wasn’t much time left. This fight will have to end soon, so before I lost my chance, I asked, “How about Prince Camille? Is his highness here? Did he come too? If he did… What should I say to him…? Haha… I have no idea. I feel nervous and I don’t know why.”

“Hiya! Of course, he didn’t come!”

“What? Why not?”

“That boy has become so rebellious! My own student became a handful… Gosh, life can be so annoying.”

By the sound of it, I guess his highness was doing okay. With every attack, Eriez gave me the news of the prince. Apparently, he was now a bit taller than Hakim Karid. Tall enough to look down at his big brother.

How ironic.

Eriez said his highness acted too defiantly one day, and when the warrior smacked him a few times as a punishment, Prince Camille went into his secret room to pout. He refused to leave for days, yelling nonsense the entire time. Eriez told me he heard the prince bellowing how lonely he was and how much he missed a particular person.

Was I too wishful, or could it be that he was missing me?

I replied, “I told him to stop taking that stupid drug, but I guess he didn’t listen to me, huh? I told him how dangerous that drug can be.”

“I know! He never listens to anyone, right?”

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

I gave the prince some good advice before I left, but to be honest, I didn’t think he would follow them. At least, Eriez was by his side, so I was thankful. I am sure Eriez would have helped the prince grow up to be a fine young man.

A young man… He probably wasn’t a boy anymore. I wondered if he grew up to resemble the Goddess’ warrior. Perhaps he looked more like a mature scholar now? I wished I could see him right now.

I whispered, “Haa… Acamille…”

“What? What did you say, Juya?”

Acamille… When I came to Hwen, I learned that this word was actually a name. While learning this new language, I asked the merchants what this word meant. When I did so, they would chuckle. They didn’t know why I was asking about it, but they found it funny.

The merchants said, “In Nadvien, you use plant fibers to make clothes, right? But if you use that word in Hwen…”

They rolled their eyes and continued, “People will treat you like you are an idiot… Or an addict. Haha… So be careful.”

The kingdoms in the western regions were more familiar with different types of drugs than in Minurd. Apparently, there was a plant named Acamille, which had a very strong stem. Its fiber was used to make clothes, ropes, or nets. Its leaves, however, had an anesthetic effect when boiled like tea. It was often used as medicine in many kingdoms, but in Hwen, it was burned like incense for relaxation.

I remembered the sweet scent of the prince’s secret room. The merchants burnt it to show me, which smelled much stronger and more unpleasant than I remembered. I wondered if this was really something the prince wanted to rely on. Did he really want to gamble his life on this drug? Did he know what he was doing?

“Juya… Do you still…”

Clang! Clang!

Our swords met again and again. Eriez asked, “Are you still in love with him?”

Before I answered him, I pushed Eriez away, so there was now a bit of distance between us. What should I say? It seemed like Camille still missed me, which pained me. I had hoped that his highness wouldn’t feel so sad when I left. I had hoped that by now, he found someone he could talk to honestly.

Perhaps it was still possible. Maybe someday, he would find one or two good friends. Someone he could depend on. Someone he could love. Before I left, I told him that he would do better next time. I still believed this. There was nothing more I could do.

This was my closure. It was truly over, and I was okay with it.

I finally replied, “No.”

I grabbed my sword tighter and glared at him. Even now, Eriez didn’t look like he wanted to hurt me. I knew he didn’t plan on killing me. The way he acted was kind and patient, as if he was my teacher, and he was trying to teach me how to fight. I remembered how he used to explore my body slowly and patiently, just like right now. Of course, he often ended up reaching his orgasm before I did mine and slump on top of my body.

What a kind idiot.

“Yaaa!”

In terms of strength, I was still no match for him, but his moves were too honest. There was no malice in him, which would be his downfall. For someone who had a lot of battle experience, like me, it wasn’t too hard to evade him. Eriez moved casually as my sword cut through the air.

So what’s next?

A genuinely talented fighter could disarm his opponent by kicking his wrist. This was the best kind of victory; to win without a fight and without killing anyone. Such a triumph showed the kindness and strength of a soldier.

But I wasn’t kind nor strong.

“…”

When Eriez took a step back, I took a step forward towards him. I moved as if to trip him with my leg and lowered my body before making a wide turn. He was holding his sword with his left prosthetic hand, and I aimed for his left arm. I slashed it confidently and felt my sword cutting into his flesh in a diagonal direction. The crunching of his bone felt like a familiar vibration to my wrist.

“…”

I exhaled slowly and looked up to see the ground wet with blood. Eriez looked at me in shock, and before he could even flinch, my sword swung gracefully across his neck. His head flew into the air as his body fell to the ground.

Thump.

I dashed to grab his head. I kneeled on the ground and cradled Eriez’s head. His blood soaked through my clothes, and all I wanted to do was to stroke him.

“My brother… I honor you with this death…”

This wasn’t something to be sad about. His eyes were wide open and glaring at me. Gently, I closed his eyes and kissed his handsome forehead. For an Innocent One, dying on a battlefield during a war was the most honorable death.

This was a good thing. This had to be done.

His men, who were watching from afar, gaped in confusion. It happened so fast, and it took a long time for them to realize what had just happened. Then, finally, one of them yelled, “C-could it be… Is he…?”

They were finally beginning to understand the situation.

“Yes, I think I have heard of him! Remember how we were told there used to be an Innocent One in Minurd who became corrupt? He tried to ruin all of his brothers, so the Goddess’ warrior sent him on exile…!”

“He is the devil! The devil!”

“Gyaaa!”

By the time I looked up, I had heard the strange explosive sounds echoing through the streets.

Bang, bang!

Small fragments flew at me, but they missed. One of them, however, ended up striking Eriez’s head. The fragment embedded deep inside his skull. My hands felt sticky after feeling more of his blood.

“… Oh…”

It was time for me to go. I did what I had to do. I left my friend’s head on the ground and picked up my sword. To the soldiers still staring at me, I made a transparent and fair offer, “You can either leave me alone or fight me. Choose now.”

“…!”

When I took a step towards them, no one dared to come closer. I expected some to try to kill me since I just killed their leader right in front of their eyes, but I guess I was wrong. How could this be? There were so many of them, and there was only one of me. I was a decent swordsman, but if they came at me all at once, it wouldn’t have been hard to kill me.

Bang, bang!

Another metal fragment came from somewhere but missed me again. The soldiers from Minurd, who were obviously superstitious, must have seen this as a sign. Did they think I was really the devil? Did they think these fragments were missing me deliberately? I found it ridiculous, but oh well. This worked to my advantage, so I couldn’t complain.

The soldiers screamed, “Gyaa! He is a monster! Go back! Retreat!”