126 - - wind-disappeared truth

Garudo's face contorted in pain as he was pierced through the abdomen.

Blood is slowly rising and dripping from the area where the knife was inserted.

Normally, a well-trained shield fighter would not die from such a wound.

However, Garudo is now like a baby as a reaction to the release of the highest level of defensive techniques.

Moreover, his sturdy armor of white hard copper is a shadow of its former self due to the fierce battle.

Saralisa must have anticipated this and had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Garudo reaches out and grabs the handle of the knife.

He tries to pull it out against Saralisa, who tries to pull it out against him.　

As they struggled, Thor asked briefly from behind.

"Why?"

"Because ......, he's the one who killed your sister ......, he's the one who killed her."

"You didn't happen to get caught up in the wind and rain, did you?"

"...... No. It was clearly intentional."

Saralisa grips the handle of the knife and looks at Garudo's face.

As her blood drained from her veins, she began to talk quietly, as if she knew that she was going to die soon.

It seemed that he had been delayed that day.

However, Garudo, who had never crossed a dangerous bridge before, insisted on going forward, whereas he would have normally stayed overnight at the big long rock.

And then, in the evening, when the breaking wind was most likely to occur, he tried to pass through here, and a tragedy occurred.

For a man who is best known for his retreats and his prudence, this was an unbelievable blunder.

Moreover, his subsequent behavior was also too unnatural.

The best members of the time would have had no difficulty in finding and rescuing only Cersei, even if they could not defeat the giant.

However, the people Garudo had gathered were not all that skilled.

Moreover, some of them had just arrived in the wilderness and were not used to it.

It was no wonder that they kept losing.

Every time they were defeated, Saralisa appealed again and again to her brother-in-law.

Garudo, however, never once heeds her protests.

As a result, the bad reputation of the Titans spreads and recruitment becomes very difficult.

Only Garudo's reputation as a good runner grew.

"Is that why you left them to die?　Is it just for your own reputation?"

"I'm sure that's part of it, but I think he's after my sister's insurance money. ......"

I heard you already took the money and bought a carriage.

"Missing persons only get half of the money. You have to find proof of death ...... and a body to get the full amount."

If a body is found immediately, there is a risk that something untoward will be exposed.

That's why they waited for the traces of the murder to disappear.

All we need now is the string of shells left on the skeleton and the testimonies of Thor and Saralisa.

"Oh no, for just such a thing,...... this man has killed my sister,............ who was so kind to me!"

With a look of hatred, Saralisa glares at her brother-in-law again.

Garudo, on the other hand, refuses to say anything.

He just looks down.

No, his shoulders are shaking slightly.

At the same time, a sound like air leaking out of his mouth.

The man suspected of killing his wife is smiling bitterly.

Then he looks up and tells his sister-in-law, whose eyes are wide, in a funny tone.

"I didn't think you could read through it so well. That was really the best move you ever made, this guy.

Saralisa tries to say something back when her sister's skull is pointed at her with her chin.

She tries to say something back, but her anger is too much and she cannot seem to get the words out.

Garudo exhales loudly and clearly.

It is true that Cersei was killed. But I didn't have anything to do with it.

"Now you tell me that's a lie!"

Thor, controlling Saralisa, who was raising her voice, approached the white bones buried in the sand.

He gently touches it with his hand to check its history.

The wind and sand released by the monster had made the hidden history of the bones visible until shortly after their death.

When Thor confirms that there are no large scars on the bones, he turns around and tells the truth.

"There are no apparent injuries. Probably the cause of death was that he could not move from here.

"Hey, I told you so."

"You're the one who made me do it!　You left your sister in a place like this, where she couldn't escape by herself!"

"No, it was Cerce who wished for that. It was Celse herself who killed him. He stayed here on purpose.

"Oh, no, why!"

Gasping painfully, Garudo points to the dead grass that remains in the skull.

"I really wanted that grass. ....... But I found it too late."

"Is this ......, blue crown grass?"

Touching the shriveled grass, Thor's words made the bearded guide's eyes widen slightly in surprise.

"And it looks like it was blooming on the corpse. I thought it was a parasitic plant.

"It is said that it is a decomposing plant that originally blooms using bones as nutrients. That's what Dr. Odle told me."

"And what is this grass for?"

"They say it's good for diseases. It relieves the symptoms of blood diseases and makes you live longer. That's what they told me."

"......No,............ way!"

"Yes, to cure Rudel of his intermixture. But not just anyone's corpse. We need the blue crown of a blood relative."

It takes one to two years for blue crown grass to sprout from white bones.

If a corpse is found in the meantime, the project will fail.

When the corpse is buried, there is a possibility that only the grass will be taken away.

Therefore, the two planned to hide the body in this place where no one can get close to the body.

However, what they miscalculated was that the Storm Sand Giant was a more powerful enemy than they had thought.

The rumors that were meant to keep people away from the place worked out badly because they were overdone.

In the end, it took three years to eliminate the monster and it was too late to collect the grass.

"I was actually going to die a little bit further down the road ......"

Garudo glanced at his sister-in-law, who was speechless, and added softly, "I am not sure what you are talking about.

"But he went in this deep to make sure she got away," he said.

"Why ......, why didn't you tell me ......?"

That's why they're trying to get me killed here.　

"What?"

Garudo suddenly let go of the hand that had been holding the knife, and Saralisa let out a gasp of dismay.

Then she hurriedly re-gripped the handle to prevent the wound from spreading further.

"Celse's didn't work. Then I'll have to be the next one to make it bloom.

"What?　What?"

I've already prepared myself for that. If we end up here, Cerce's death will be for nothing. That's the only thing ......"

"Then why not die alone? Why let her do it?"

Thor asked calmly on behalf of the stunned Saralisa.

Breathing hard on his shoulder, the dying man replies.

"When I'm dead, you'll have to hide the body and watch over it. ....... It's a tiring job. Besides, I have Rudel to take care of: ......"

Unable to bear it any longer, Garudo falls to his knees to catch his breath.

But his gaze is unwavering.

"My sympathies are limited. But when guilt is added to it, surely one will not stop until one has served one's purpose. That he will not stop. ...... says Celce."

No way, who came up with this plot?

"Yeah, she's a woman who's seen further than I have. I've never beaten her on the board.

"Oh no ......, my sister is ......."

Garudo looks Thor squarely in the eye and offers one last proposal.

"If I go missing, you'll get half the money from the death insurance policy you have on me. Plus the carriage and the magic stone that killed the giant. You know, it's not such a bad deal."

You want me to let you go and help?

"All my life I've been running and running and running and surviving without a care in the world ......, just so I could die next to this guy. Please, take care of it."

What you see before you is not a black steel adventurer with a sullen smile.

It is a father who has dared to keep his distance from his daughter, knowing of their approaching separation.

He is a man who is prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of the child born to the wife he loves.

For a moment, Thor surrenders himself to the wind.

Then he quietly moves closer and puts his hand on the knife that is still stuck in the man's stomach.

Garudo, who takes this to mean that he will be an accomplice, looks relieved.

The next moment, however, Thor's words were words of rejection.

"No, thank you."

"Help--what?"

"What?"

At the same time as he spoke, the knife was pulled out with great force.

Panicked by this action, the siblings-in-law shifted their eyes to the wound.

But what they saw was an abdomen that had lost all the blood it had lost.

"Thor, you!

"You said that before when we were playing with the piece board. "You said before when we were playing with the piece board that if you do something, you have to pay for it."

"Oh, yeah, I might have said something like that ......"

"When I was listening to that, I was thinking that sometimes you lose more by paying."

What's your point?

"Haven't you noticed?　I know how much Rudel cares about you, and how much Saralisa has devoted herself to taking care of you all these years. You are already a new family.

"...... I know that much. Do you understand that?　How it feels that a child might die because of a parent!"

"I can't say it's the same, but I've experienced similar feelings. It's really painful when someone is about to die because of you.

"Then you know that this is the only way!"

"Sacrificing like that may make you feel better, but the family that lost you will carry the burden for a long time. Is that what a father does?"

"It's not a matter of being pretty!"

Thor spoke quietly to Garudo, whose words were harsh.

"There might be another way to cure him. Don't take it all on yourself. Talk it over with your family first. Don't force your feelings on them.

"But, but. I've done things I'm not allowed to do. ......"

"Stop blaming yourself like that. It's not your fault that Serse is dead."

"d*mn ...... ugh ...... ugh ......, actually ......, I said I'd die first. But he said I couldn't make it here to see you. ............ Shit!"

"You reminded me of something painful. I apologize. Take it."

With that, Thor reached for the dead grass entangled in his skull.

You can't bring a dead being back to life, but you can bring back a monster to the moment of death if you have a connection with it.

In Thor's hand was a freshly picked, blue grass.

Immediately, Garud's eyes widen to their fullest.

"...... Oh, you."

"Here, this will help."

"If you can do it, do it from the beginning!　What was that sermon you just gave me?"

"You'd better nail him down a little, or guys like you will do it again."

"Ha...... haha............ no difference,haha."

Garudo receives a green crown of grass and starts laughing loudly.

His bearded cheeks are covered with tears before he knows it.

After crying and laughing for a while, the man calls out to the player at his side.

"Excuse me, can you sing a song for him?

"............ yes."

Picking up the lyre, Saralisa plucks the strings lightly.

Then, in a clear voice, she sang a requiem for the dead.

The melody, which reminds us of somewhere far away, flows slowly over the land of nothing but sand, wind, and rocks.

Saralisa remembers fondly that she had hoped to be able to sing this song someday.