Chapter 174: The Flow of Time (6)

 

Sien and I began to grow close again, quickly, just as we had in the past.

 

Returning to the starting point, we now had only each other.

 

I had lost everyone.

 

Sien, having renounced her position as a saint, had cast away all the power and honor that came with it.

 

She had severed all ties and connections stemming from her status.

 

I understood the immense depth of emotion behind her decision.

 

I no longer had to disregard her feelings.

 

After the embrace during the festival, we revisited our old ways.

 

We often walked hand in hand, leaned on each other’s shoulders.

 

We spent time gazing at the plains, and continued to share meals together.

 

Step by step, we slowly approached each other.

 

Neither of us forced the pace.

 

We bridged the gap at our own stride.

 

Days passed like this.

 

When I wasn’t managing the estate with Gale, I spent time with Sien.

 

We talked, joked lightly...sometimes we even visited Adam Hyung.

 

The tangled, chaotic emotions seemed to settle down one by one.

 

It had been over a month since Ner and Arwin had left.

 

No more letters came from Ner.

 

I had over fifty letters from her.

 

Each one thick and heavy with words.

 

I kept them all in a drawer, as reading them would have been emotionally unbearable.

 

I knew about her troubled childhood.

 

I hadn’t forgotten her plea that I was her only ally.

 

The time spent with Ner, the happy memories, still lingered in my heart.

 

To avoid making clumsy regrets by reading her letters, I stored them all away.

 

I locked up my emotions before I could pity her.

 

I couldn’t help but think that the lack of letters from her was a good sign.

 

Maybe she was trying to forget me too.

 

Though I had spoken many insincere words to separate from Ner and Arwin, one truth remained.

 

Perhaps we were never meant to be compatible.

 

It might have been better for us to find partners within our own species rather than pursuing an interspecies marriage.

 

Whatever the case, we parted ways with our purity intact.

 

There would be no obstacles in finding new futures.

 

It was perhaps best to think of it as a wartime connection.

 

One day, Blackwood’s vassals visited us under Gibson’s command.

 

They offered support for our new household, providing whatever we needed.

 

This could mean connections with other nobles, or abstract support like medical knowledge.

 

As I had no immediate needs, I arranged for Blackwood’s vassals to stay the night and then sent them back.

 

I was steadily distancing myself from Blackwood.

 

I tried to erase Ner’s traces.

 

Arwin was easier to let go than Ner.

 

She had been quiet.

 

I hadn’t received letters, nor had the Celebrien family reached out to us.

 

I hadn’t heard from her since our parting.

 

I suspected that time had proven my decision to be right.

 

There was no advantage for Arwin to be tied to a short-lived being like me.

 

In the end, Arwin gained her freedom.

 

Traveling the world, she might be slowly coming to terms with our separation.

 

She might be living happily, exploring as she had always wanted.

 

...And so, it seemed we were walking our separate paths.

 

.

.

.

 

-Thud! Thud!-

 

The Red Flames group laid down their swords and took up tools.

 

They began clearing the endless forest.

 

Cutting down and felling trees, they were preparing the land for farming.

 

It was a task that had to be completed before the next spring arrived.

 

“It’s falling!!”

 

I watched as the tree fell in response to Baran’s shout.

 

Looking back on the path we had come, many trees had already been felled.

 

We were also in the process of uprooting the deep roots of the trees.

 

The cut trees became the foundation for the development of our village.

 

As we molded the land to our liking, we expanded the size of the village.

 

We built homes for those who wanted them, and reestablished the village’s infrastructure.

 

Traders began to visit Stockpin’s estate, and hearing the news, members of our race gathered in our village.

 

We were continuously advancing.

 

“Time to eat!”

 

As we continued our work, the women of the village appeared, bringing us meals.

 

Bread and meat. Light ale.

 

Since it wasn’t a life-threatening task, and because we felt we were growing together, laughter filled the air.

 

Seeing the villagers interacting with one another brought a smile to my face as well.

 

It was Adam Hyung’s legacy to us.

 

“Bell!”

 

Of course, Sien was by my side.

 

She had regained her old expressions and smiled frequently.

 

The smile I had always loved now came so easily to her.

 

When I came to my senses, I found myself smiling along with her expressions.

 

“Come, sit here, Bell. Take a break. You’re sweating a lot.”

 

She said, wiping my sweat with a dry cloth.

 

I nodded and sat down nearby.

 

It seemed the fact that Sien was once a saint had slowly spread through the village.

 

And everyone knew that she and I were childhood friends.

 

We had become a spectacle.

 

Many people were curious about how our relationship would unfold.

 

Sien seemed aware of the attention but approached me as if it was no obstacle.

 

“Drink some water.”

 

She tilted the water pouch to my lips.

 

I refused her help, saying, “I can do it.”

 

“Ha...!”

 

With that, Sien playfully scrunched her face.

 

Seeing her reaction made me chuckle, and she smiled back, holding the water pouch for me.

 

I simply opened my mouth and drank the water she poured.

 

Next, she handed me a piece of bread she had brought.

 

“I made this, Bell.”

 

“You did?”

 

“Yeah. I followed the instructions of the ladies... Hehe. Try it.”

 

I took the bread from Sien with a mild surprise.

 

Who would have thought I’d be eating food she made one day?

 

Even though she once held the position of a saint, she was still humble in many ways.

 

Her demeanor brought back old memories.

 

I put the bread Sien handed me into my mouth as I prepared for the afternoon’s work.

 

-Crunch...

 

“...?”

 

I paused and looked around for a moment.

 

“How is it?” Sien asked, unaware of my reaction.

 

“...”

 

I wondered if bread was supposed to be this hard.

 

The other members around me were all eating soft bread.

 

“...Well, how is it, Bell?”

 

“...Well...”

 

As I hesitated, Sien blinked, sensing something was wrong, and tried to take the bread back.

 

“It’s... it’s not good, is it? It was my first attempt, so it must be weird. Give it back, Bell. Don’t... don’t eat it.”

 

Instinctively, I pushed her hand away.

 

“...No, I was just surprised.”

 

“...Surprised?”

 

I enjoyed her bewildered reaction and replied.

 

“It’s delicious.”

 

And so, I continued my meal, forcing down the bread.

 

Sien, noticing the excessive effort I was putting in, realized the bread was hard and tried to stop me.

 

“It’s...it’s too hard...! I...I’m sorry, Bell. Don’t eat it. Wait, I’ll get another-”

 

“No.”

 

I interrupted her firmly, not allowing her to finish.

 

“I like it.”

 

Sien fell silent at my reaction. As I continued to chew on the hard, tough bread, I heard a sniffle beside me.

 

Sien was on the verge of tears.

 

Baffled, I looked at her and asked, “...Are you crying?”

 

Was she feeling hurt or regretful? As I gazed at her, she soon smiled and responded.

 

“...I’m happy.”

 

“...”

 

“I never imagined a life like this would be given to me. It’s far happier than any scenario I imagined on the battlefield.”

 

“...”

 

“It’s all thanks to you, Bell. Thank you...”

 

Sien, overwhelmed with emotion, wiped her tears away as she spoke.

 

I could feel the sincerity in her voice.

 

Her words brought a smile to my face.

 

Lately, thanks to Sien, I had also been slowly rediscovering my smile.

 

I gently wiped away her tears.

 

Sien responded to my touch with a bashful smile.

 

“...Oops.”

 

I realized belatedly that my dirty hands had left marks on her face.

 

Her face was now smudged with dirt.

 

The sight made me laugh out loud.

 

“Why are you laughing, Bell?”

 

Sien asked, puzzled by my laughter.

 

“You don’t need to know.”

 

I never told her the reason.

 

Our days continued like this, growing closer each day.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

 

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