Chapter 116: Approaching Shadow (6)

After vanquishing numerous monsters in the mine, we stepped outside.

Shaking off the thick, red, and black blood that drenched our bodies.

...Brushing off the familiar stench, we moved on.

Gale, too, was by my side, wiping off the blood.

“...”

Now the way the members looked at Gale had changed.

Indeed, he was an indescribably skilled individual.

I saw him in a new light as well.

Never in my life had I met anyone who fought better than Adam Hyung.

However, we didn’t specifically discuss this fact.

There were more pressing matters to talk about.

Gale, with his usual expression, seemed to be hiding his frustration.

As if he had a mountain of things to tell me.

But before speaking with Gale, I approached the village chief and the residents waiting for us in front of the mine.

The dwarves, with their unique waddling gait, approached and asked me.

“...Is it over?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

The chief and the villagers nodded back, murmuring their admiration.

It felt like they weren’t doubting us.

The reasons could be varied.

Perhaps it was the reputation of the Red Flames group, further endorsed by Blackwood and Celebrien.

Or maybe it was the spread of tales about Gale’s identity in the village.

The belief that the greatest warrior of the dragonian wouldn’t deceive them.

After the moment of celebration, the chief, with a sigh of relief, said to me.

“You’ve worked hard. Go wash up. We’ll prepare food and drinks.”

.

.

.

After finishing a brief conversation with my wives, I washed myself in the river flowing near the village.

I let the river carry away the moderate fatigue, dried blood, and stench clinging to my body.

Feeling refreshed, I dried off and sat at a comfortable spot, watching my comrades playfully cleaning themselves.

That was when Gale slowly approached me.

Perhaps due to the release of battle’s excitement and tension, his expression seemed much improved.

“...Berg. There was something I needed to discuss.”

“...”

Without affirming or denying, I watched as Gale sat beside me.

Contrary to my expectation of his anger, he sighed first.

“...While washing, I thought about it. Tried to understand. About your actions...”

He began in a more relaxed tone.

His voice lacked the anger and frustration it held before.

Only a faint hint of sympathy was there.

“Why do you throw yourself into such danger. And why do such risky actions seem so natural and ingrained in you...”

Gale said, clicking his tongue.

“You once tried to end it all, didn’t you? Berg.”

“...”

I bitterly repeated his words.

“...Once, I did try to end it all.”

I didn’t respond further.

...Knowing he wasn’t wrong.

Back then, I threw myself into fierce battles.

Living each day unable to die.

Gale continued.

“And those habits from back then must have stuck. So... you’re still acting this way.”

He let out a deep sigh.

Eventually, I spoke to him.

“...Now, I’m not doing this because I want to die.”

“Right. Not now, with dependable brothers and beautiful wives. You might have buried the past pain superficially.”

“...”

“But the problem, Berg, is that your actions still scream of a death wish. You haven’t let go of the movements you learned back then. I can’t even begin to guess how many times you’ve narrowly escaped death.”

“...”

“It might be time for a change, don’t you think? To trust your comrades and play it a bit safer. There’s no need to overexert yourself for something with no gain.”

I asked,

“Why do you think that? That there’s no benefit in it?”

“Because if you die, everything becomes meaningless.”

I sighed as I looked at my comrades.

“...That’s an irresponsible thing to say.”

I inhaled deeply before speaking to Gale, removing any hostility from my voice just as he had done.

I quietly shared my innermost thoughts with him, sincerely.

“...Gale.”

“...”

Slowly turning my head, I looked directly into his eyes.

“...I have no intention of changing.”

“...Why not?”

In fact, before, both the members and Adam Hyung had felt the same.

They wanted me to lay down the burdens I carried on my shoulders.

Especially Adam Hyung, who had repeatedly told me to even give up the role of the leader of the Head Hunter unit.

But I always came to the same conclusion.

“...This is where my heart finds peace.”

I couldn’t bear to witness the deaths of my comrades anymore.

Ever since I founded this Red Flames group, I haven’t forgotten any of the comrades who have left my side.

Tis, Graham, Fargal, Michel, Bergos, Demali... and so on.

I can’t forget those who looked at me with trust in their eyes as they died.

And with each death, the burden on my shoulders only grew heavier.

Too heavy to bear...

The weight I carried as the vice-captain was immense.

Hyung told me to let go of my comrades in my heart, but it was not as easy as it sounds.

Although I pretended not to know, I felt Adam Hyung had his own purpose.

Enduring endless humiliation in the first mercenary group, sitting at a desk all day long in the current one.

It still felt like he was moving towards a certain goal.

That was probably why he seemed to get over the deaths of our comrades somehow.

He would be upset to hear this, but... that was how I really felt.

On the other hand, I didn’t have such a purpose.

Back then, I started mercenary work because I wanted to die and clear my mind.

Years passed, and as that sense of purpose faded, the deaths of my comrades began to feel more personal.

I kept thinking about those who have left us.

Try as I might to avoid thinking about it, it was impossible not to.

Maybe that was why I found solace in alcohol.

So, it seemed better for me to be the one sacrificing.

Rather than carrying more emotional weight, I found it easier to take on the risks myself.

Little by little, perhaps I took on greater dangers.

“...Berg. You...” Gale called out to me slowly, his voice becoming more solemn and cautious.

“...You’re tired of being a mercenary.”

He said.

“No... maybe it’s more about being tired of losing people dear to you... Now I understand what Adam meant.”

I chuckled dryly.

“...Who likes losing someone important?”

Yet, I wondered.

Was that it? Was I tired of the mercenary life?

...I didn’t know.

All I knew was that I missed my wives.

Ner, who pushed away my lips in the morning. Arwin, who cried asking to be let go.

...The nagging feeling of an unbridgeable gap troubled me, but my desire to see them was sincere.

“...I’ll get up now, Gale.”

I said to him.

I still had the festival promise with Arwin.

And as I prepared to leave, I added one more thing.

“I’ll think about ways to act more safely.”

“...”

“...Thank you for your concern.”

****

A battalion appeared on the battlefield of the hero party.

Jackson’s eldest son, born to his first wife.

The Prin’s flag fluttered in the wind.

“Hero!”

There weren’t many soldiers.

Far too few to overcome the current situation.

The existing soldiers were tiring, and it was difficult to deal with the swarming monster hordes.

Yet Prin had penetrated the monsters’ encirclement.

“Hero! This way! Everyone, run to the breached perimeter!”

The faltering soldiers mustered their remaining strength and rose again.

Felix watched Prin with sharp eyes before continuing to slice through the monsters before him.

It seemed he was trying to buy more time for the exhausted soldiers.

Acran rushed to defend the broken encirclement.

But, to their dismay, the gap closed too easily.

It felt like a tactical trap, as if the monster hordes had anticipated Prin’s soldiers, luring them into a pitfall.

Prin’s soldiers also fell into the inescapable trap.

In the midst of this, Prin found Felix.

He swung his sword beside him.

“Why did you come here?”

Felix asked, unable to hide his agitated emotions.

Prin replied,

“How could I leave you, the hero, in such peril...!”

“The other bastards from the Jackson family are attacking us...!”

“...They are blinded by greed. My other soldiers are currently at war with that scoundrel. For now, let’s not think of anything else and just focus on getting out of here alive.”

Felix questioned,

“...You’re not using us, are you?”

“...Yes?”

“If we’re the only ones to survive, it’ll be hard for those bastards to escape punishment. Like you’re lending a hand to eliminate your rivals.”

“What, what are you saying...! I also-”

“-Ah, no. I misspoke. Sorry. Why am I saying such things now...”

Felix corrected himself again.

He too seemed to struggle to keep his sanity amidst the heat of war and the irrationality and betrayal he felt.

In a life-or-death situation.

It was incredibly difficult to remain calm in a moment that could alter the kingdom’s history.

Eventually calming his emotions, he said,

“I’ve become too sensitive... Let’s first survive. Whatever your intention... I’ll help. For someone who risked their life for us.”

“...”

“...I apologize again. I’m sorry.”

Prin, who had been silent, nodded in agreement.

“...First, let’s survive and then talk.”

****

Returning to the village, Arwin was waiting for me.

Dressed more elegantly than usual, she must have fetched the clothes from somewhere.

“Ner?”

“...Still getting ready.”

Her expression, which had been stiff, softened upon my arrival.

After greeting Gale who followed me, she approached and asked,

“Berg. Are you ready to join the festival?”

I nodded with a smile.

“Yeah.”

Looking at the increasingly lively village, she said,

“Berg. I found something you might like, perhaps because it’s a dwarven village.”

“What is it?”

Arwin hesitated for a moment, then whispered,

“...Bardi liquor.”

The thought slightly excited me. But it also brought a question.

“Aren’t elves and dwarves not on good terms? How is that liquor here?”

“Food knows no conflict, I guess.”

I nodded at her explanation.

“Great. That’s good news.”

I had been saving the last of my Bardi liquor stock from Stockpin.

“Tonight, I’ll pour it for you.”

“Appreciate that.”

“...Ah.”

Arwin suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at me.

She then took out a small letter from her pocket.

Her expression slightly hardened again.

“...A letter from Captain Adam.”

“From Hyung?”

I took the letter she handed me.

After lightly tearing open the envelope, I scanned its contents.

Lines of densely written words.

I tried to read the letter using the writing skills I had learned from Arwin.

“Berg. To wife... pass it on?”

As I stuttered through it, Arwin spoke up.

“Perhaps it’s meant to say ‘pass it to your wives’?”

Her correction made sense.

Even without such direction, I would have given up soon enough, but Adam Hyung always worried too much.

Anyway, since the first line instructed to have the wives read it, I handed the letter to Arwin.

She carefully accepted the letter, clearing her throat.

After briefly scanning it, she began to read aloud.

“Berg. Pass this to your wife. A new request has come in, and I want to consult you. It doesn’t seem right to decide alone.”

I was momentarily puzzled. Until now, Adam Hyung had always made decisions on requests by himself. What kind of request had come in that he would ask for my input?

I felt a twinge of anxiety, recalling Adam Hyung’s warning of a troubling situation before I left.

“...Huh?”

Arwin’s eyes widened as she read the letter.

“Why?”

As I asked, she continued reading.

“...So it says...”

“...”

“...There’s a request to temporarily assist the hero party. I will follow your decision. Send a reply.”

The hero party. A phrase that had been increasingly narrowing the distance recently.

A crack seemed to form in my expression involuntarily.

Arwin looked at me with surprised eyes.

“...Is helping the hero party our next task? Will we get to meet Sylphrien Unnie?”

“...”

I didn’t respond.

“...Berg?”

Snapped out of my thoughts by Arwin’s call, I shook my head.

“...No. We won’t accept this request-”

Just then, a loud noise echoed.

-Beep!

At the sound, all the villagers simultaneously looked up at the sky.

Arwin, Gale, and I also gazed upwards.

There, a red hawk was rapidly descending towards Gale.

“...This can’t be.”

Gale’s face paled at the sight of the hawk.

“Huh?”

Arwin reacted similarly.

I felt a sense of foreboding.

Gale’s actions became more urgent.

The hawk quickly landed on Gale’s arm, its feathers in disarray from the rapid flight.

Despite his pale face, Gale calmed the bird down.

“Calm down, calm down. You need to explain slowly.”

Meanwhile, I asked Arwin.

“What is that?”

Arwin explained, stuttering.

“That red hawk... it’s a means of emergency communication from Sylphrien Unnie.”

“...”

“It seems something has gone terribly wrong...”

“Terribly wrong?”

I asked, not understanding why they were so alarmed, but Arwin’s expression remained grave.

“It might mean... the hero party is in a crisis of annihilation...”

“...What?”

My body drained of color at her words.

My heart started pounding with the sudden news.

Wasn’t the hero party doing well?

‘Bell!’

That voice calling my name also echoed in my head.

Memories of my time with her flooded back.

“...That can’t be... Sylphrien Unnie...”

The idea of Sien being in a life-threatening danger was unbelievable.

Gale, having received the information, stood up.

Arwin’s prediction seemed accurate as he spoke.

“Berg. I need to leave.”

I muttered,

“...The explanation... give me an explanation-”

“-The hero party is in crisis. If I don’t go now, it might be too late.”

“...”

“...Never thought the problem would escalate like this... I felt unease, but...”

Gale’s voice grew distant.

Simultaneously, her voice from the past returned.

‘Let’s be best friends!’

With trembling hands, she spoke.

‘I prayed for your happiness.’

She bragged with a proud smile.

‘Do you have a dream?’

She asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

‘Thank you. For working hard for us.’

She conveyed her gratitude with a bright smile.

And then...

‘I love you too, Bell.’

She whispered, wiping away her tears.

...Could she, the one who said these words, really be in danger of dying?

-Thump!

“Berg!”

Gale’s voice brought me back to reality.

His hand was on my shoulder.

“...Yes?”

“Will you come with me...?”

Gale asked.

No answer came from my gaping mouth.

Gale continued.

“...I’m not forcing you. If you choose not to go... I’ll go alone.”

A different choice from the usual Gale.

Usually, he would have persuaded me with a nagging insistence.

But maybe it was because of our conversations these past few days.

Or because he understood the pain that resided in me.

Gale was giving me the choice.

Arwin gripped my forearm.

“Be, Berg... Sylphrien Unnie...”

With her words, the letter in her hand also came into view.

Gale, Arwin, and even Adam Hyung were leaving the choice to me.

I closed my eyes tightly.

I let out a deep breath that had been weighing on my chest.

I struggled to calm my emotions.

I knew too well what my choice would bring.

Who I would meet going forward.

How surprised my wives would be.

How intensely my emotions would churn.

Yet, I lifted my head.

Looking up at Gale.

“...”

“...”

...I couldn’t make any other choice.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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