Volume 3 Chapter 135-4 Post-Battle Arrangements
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”I hope Azrael’s protection will stay with you all, in the end.”
”And you too. Thanks for giving Sven a proper burial. Please tell your father I said thanks.”
”Won’t you say it yourself?”
”I’m giving you something to talk to your father about. You left your distant home and found a miracle reunion. Hold on to that.”
Yelmar didn’t know the full story, so it was okay. But even as a joke, it wasn’t funny.
Kian and Umar were not blood family.
The parent-child bond in Vahid’s family was broken.
Kian would one day kill Umar. And if Umar no longer needed Kian, he’d send an assassin to kill him. That was who Umar Vahid was.
”I will. Thank you.”
Yelmar waved his hand without care.
Kian turned and walked toward Mrs. Colinna, who was still in the ancient temple’s Hall.
* * *
Later, he talked with Mrs. Colinna. She said she hadn’t decided what to do next. Losing Glen to Jibril and Barghest hit her hard; she needed time.
He checked on Serena and got back ‘Silver Ice,’ ‘Nightshade,’ and Kian’s backpack.
Mrs. Colinna knew the crystallized Silverwooloo children were still in the Hall. So, fighting the alliance trying to close the gate was likely.
Since she helped keep open the gate that let the Bloodsucking Kind flow, the alliance would want her captured.
She would ask Kian and the others not to hand her over.
But depending on the situation, it might be better to give her up to end things quickly.
If that happened, Serena would want to save her mother, and Kian would face a hard choice.
It wasn’t good to make the madam anxious, so he didn’t mention the chance of conflict with the alliance.
After a long time, Kian put on ‘Silver Ice,’ shouldered his backpack, and left the Hall after telling the madam.
By then, the sun’s color had grown deep.
Kian headed for the cave where Linca waited, leaving the ancient temple.
After moving far enough away, he called Wing Cain and soon reached the cave.
It was unclear if Linca noticed them coming.
She sat at the cave entrance, staring blankly at the marsh.
When Kian got off Wing Cain and walked up, she stood and moved toward him.
She still wore a white cloak and a black eastern dress, with black boots to her ankles.
Her long black hair, down to her back, was tied at the ends with a plain dark ribbon.
She seemed to want to keep her hair like Christy’s—long and loose—not a ponytail.
Maybe she tied it to stop the wind from messing it up.
”Did you forget something?”
Linca asked right away.
”No, I just came back to check on you.”
”…Check on me? You left here just two or three hours ago.”
”It’s been two or three hours. I thought I’d stay with you as much as possible today.”
”W-wait, could it be…”
Her face tightened.
She clenched her fists in front of her full chest.
”Do you still want my body?”
”No, that’s not it.”
Kian put down his backpack and pulled out a paper bag.
Inside were high-quality tea leaves from Châtillon, a gift from Lady Fhana, Guy’s wife.
”I’m sorry for treating you roughly when we first met. Would you like some tea? This is rare.”
”I have nothing else to do, so yes. …About what happened before, please don’t mention it much. No need to apologize either.”
Kian nodded and set up the tea set on a flat rock by the cave.
Linca began cooking deer meat she had hunted and cleaned.
’Silver Ice’ can freeze targets with magic.
But it can also heat things by moving heat it took in.
Normally, cooking without fire is hard.
But with ‘Silver Ice,’ pots and teapots can be heated without smoke.
While Kian quickly cooked, Linca sat on a nearby ledge, staring off.
The marsh wind didn’t seem to bother her cold.
Her only movement was putting her right hand on her hair to keep it from blowing wildly.
She looked like a shell of herself.
Kian worried quietly that maybe it was because of the rough act before.
”Did you want to be alone?”
”Huh?”
”I thought maybe you didn’t want to see me. If so, just say it. I’ll leave.”
He watched the tea leaves swirl.
Linca shook her head silently.
(I must’ve done something bad, but luckily, she still doesn’t hate me.)
Feeling relieved, Kian changed the subject.
”Fifteen years ago, I was kicked out of my hometown. I boarded a big ship to the Franz Kingdom, crossing the sea. Back then, I looked at the sea just like you do now. Not at Azrael’s port, which was getting smaller behind me, but at Franz’s port town I hadn’t seen yet.”
”…Why say that now? I don’t get it.”
”I tend to think too much when I’m alone. I end up wanting to die.”
Kian poured tea into a wooden mug and gave it to her.
Linca took the mug without a sign of disgust.
She smelled the tea, her eyes opened wide.
Without caring if it was hot, she drank it all in one gulp.
”Looking at the sea, I felt many feelings inside. Anger, sadness, loneliness, and anger at my own weakness. I had no one to tell. I was hurting alone.”
”So, you want to share feelings with someone who knows pain? That won’t help.”
”Sometimes, talking about bad things helps. Do you know opium?”
”No one doesn’t know it. In the Eastern frontier where I worked, it was very popular.”
”In the West, opium was popular too. In Azrael, many ruined their minds and bodies. People who failed in life meet to share their pain and secrets. These groups exist in Western towns. Usually in big cities.”
Kian sipped tea and kept talking.
”Sharing feelings with people who feel the same helps. They don’t look down on you or hate you for your mistakes. I think we can help each other.”
”A man who did terrible things says that.”
”U… Sorry. You’re so beautiful that I lost my mind halfway.”
”So, you didn’t steal magic but devoured my body.”
”That’s right.”
Linca nodded and slid smoothly sideways on the step.
She didn’t even move her eyebrows.
Kian finished the tea and was about to cook more when she asked,
”Aren’t you going to sit down?”
”You want me to sit there?”
”Yes, please come sit next to me. It’s been cold, and I miss warmth.”
”Okay.”
”And can I have a refill?”
Linca hugged her knees and held out the mug.
Kian took the teapot and sat beside her first.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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