77 43 Tales: "Mutual Wounds"

Proceed through the dark woods and head toward the village.

I had never heard of the village.

It's a very small village. It is not very far from the Wang capital, but it probably did not develop because of its location surrounded by forests. Behind our hearts and minds, the sight that spreads in front of us was long idle and relaxing as we continue to escape for a moment.

"Food would be ready by tomorrow morning, but the medicine might be tough."

The owner of the shop said with a difficult face.

After listening to the villagers, Me and Mize visited the store, but I can't say the range is good for flattery. The reason I stopped by the village is rest and replenishment. I'd like to keep food as well as medicine if possible, but they're tough right now.

"The pills are scheduled to arrive around noon tomorrow"

"... ok. First, get the medicine on the shelf."

I can't help it all.

I zeroed my sigh and tried to pick up the medication displayed on the shelf, and Mize walked in here with some medication in both hands.

"This is it, isn't it?

"... oh"

After you show me the medicine you brought, Mize puts it in front of the store owner.

I was so careless that I didn't think of myself as a princess.

"We leave tomorrow at noon."

"You can take it slower than you thought"

We bought the minimum supplies we needed, and we went outside the store.

Food sucks, I can procure it by hunting in the woods, but medicine doesn't either. Some supportive magic cures disease, but unfortunately neither me nor Mize could use it.

We're going to the inn.

"Yes."

According to the villagers' story, although this is a small village, there is only one inn because occasionally the merchant has a street.

Enter an old, small inn and head to the counter.

"Do you want the room to be one? Or do you want to make it two?

I glanced in my purse at an inquiry from an old man sitting behind a run-down counter.

"In two..."

"- It's okay for one."

The old man and I opened our eyes to a clear mise.

"Are you sure?

"You said you didn't have any money on the road. Besides, we've been in the same carriage for days now, right?

I did say things on the road that were short of money, every now and then. It was a sudden departure, so I couldn't make it.

Having acted together over the past few days, Mize has trusted me in many ways. In a narrow carriage, we were packing each other's bodies and getting some sleep, so there's no need.... Though my senses may simply be paralyzed.

"I thought you were inviting me"

"I didn't invite you!

Mize turns her face bright red and angry.

We only rented one room and decided to reveal the night there.

"It's good to have an inn"

"Oh."

I agree with Mize grunting in a fixed mood, shaking her neck vertically.

- Really good.

We haven't put each other on the surface, but spending days in a narrow carriage is quite mentally exhausting.

I'm lucky I let you into the inn at this time. I want to rest today, physically and mentally, if possible.

"I've done what I did. Free time from here... but it's already night"

Dinner was done in the carriage before visiting the village.

I have no more business walking outside.

"Should I go to sleep now?

"If you can sleep, you should."

We must be tired of each other. You should rest as long as possible now.

Slowly Mize enters the bed.

Turned off the lights in the room, and I lay in bed, too.

The moonlight shoots through the window.

After closing his lid for a while, the sleeper immediately appeared. I'm pretty tired of fighting day after day.

But Mize, who should be equally tired, had struck him over and over again in bed and seemed to struggle to sleep.

"Can't you sleep?

"... Yes"

Mize, who replied, woke up her torso.

In the same way I sit on the bed.

"I dream, I dream. … the memory of those who have inherited the Way of Wisdom comes to mind…"

As he drops his gaze, Mize speaks.

"This power was developed during WWII. The aim is to assist the brave in the Brave Demon Wars… not only in the Second Brave Demon Wars, but in all the wars that can happen in the future, to produce excellent aids for the brave. If successful, the lineage of the Path of Wisdom was able to take its place as a family supporting the brave for generations.

But, as you know, this power has not been used in WWIV. … it was decided that the Way of Wisdom should be used more for the good of the country than for the aid of the brave. "

I didn't hear the magical name "The Way of Wisdom" in WWIV.

If this magic had been used for its original purpose - Mize might have stood next to a brave man on that battlefield.

"Since the Royal Arkedia began to manage this power, the owners of The Way of Wisdom have become closed. I was not allowed to go outside, and I just had a few days to be tapped into my knowledge. … it was like being told to just keep living for the next generation"

Be a stepping stone for future generations who will blossom one day.

It's a way of life that conveys such will.

"The grief and suffering of the former owners have been swirling in my head all along.... If I still close my eyes, I can hear you. I want to be free, I want to be free, I want to be free - those screams of their grief sound like tinnitus."

Mize says with a crying face.

"Lately, at night, is it because of what they were doing?"

"... were you done"

I kept my mouth shut to Mize, but she had been badly done while sleeping here lately. That is also why I proposed a break in the village.

Memories of the previous owners of The Way of Wisdom. Maybe that's the equivalent of a nightmare for Mize right now.

"Am I really, at my will, seeking freedom"

Ask as Mize whines.

"Maybe the reason I started being an adventurer is because of this memory..."

Perhaps that is the identity of the troubles Mize has.

A stranger's memory may be repainting his will. She suspects such horrible things.

"… I hear that the Path of Wisdom does not extend to the inheritance of personality"

I remember what Chris told me and told Mize.

To her, who rounds her eyes, she keeps asking questions.

"Has anyone in history been an adventurer?

"... no. So far, I don't remember that."

"I know Mize has studied hard to be an adventurer. Mize seemed to enjoy herself all the time, both when she received a request to crusade the demons and when she did her labyrinth exploration. At least, I think the emotions at that time... belong to Mize herself, who is nobody else"

"… but maybe that's because historical owners admired adventure. I may have been delighted because I was able to clear their thoughts of their years"

"I can't keep trying with admiration"

To Mize, who is anxious, say clearly.

"Maybe at first Mize was right and admired the adventure due to the influence of its historical owners. But even if the owners of history yearn for adventure, they don't know the hardships of adventure. Mize must have been in danger when she crusaded the demons and explored the labyrinth. The owners of history might have stopped the adventure there. Even after learning the hard work of adventure, that attitude of trying to continue to work for adventure… is undoubtedly Mize's own will"

Mize, who had listened to this opinion in silence, kept her eyes open at some point.

Mize smiles after wiping her eyes tears with the back of her hand.

"... Tonight, I think I'll sleep well"

That's good.

Me and Mize are two tripods now. Even if one of them falls, the other has to stop.

"Don't you get anxious, Mr. Tweet? All of a sudden, I'm on a journey."

Unexpectedly, Mize asked.

I answer, looking out the window, at the moonlighted night sky.

"It would be a lie if I told you I wouldn't be anxious... but in my case, this is not the first experience I've had. For that matter, it would just be better compared to Mize"

"... isn't this your first time,"

Mize whines quietly.

"Speaking of which, I... you know very little about Mr. Tweet."

That's what Mize said. She looked straight at me.

"Let me know if you like. How has Mr. Tweet ever lived?

"Right..."

I'm not willing to tell you everything.

But Mize has some certainty about my situation.

You can talk about it if you don't want to go into confidentiality.

"I was a so-called abandoner."

Mize breathed.

"After being dumped in an orphanage, he was picked up by military personnel from the Kingdom of Terraria.... I was five years old."

"At that age, to the army...?

"We were put into action much later, though."

To the grieving Mize, I smile.

"However, in the sense that I was spending time in Wushu Luo without knowing the right or left, there is something close to what is happening right now.... In fact, it also became a fierce journey when it was first put into battle. I was still immature at the time, but there was no reason for the enemy to know that.... was chased many times and nearly killed many times"

"... Too bad for you, Too"

"I don't know. In my case, I just feel so desperate to live."

If desperation passes, it becomes a pale day.

Emotions wear off, and people don't even move one eyebrow against life and death. That's also why I didn't feel accomplished when I killed the Demon King.

"Were your people there? Who would support Mr. Tweet at the time......?

"You're one of them... I was there, but more than half of them are already dead"

Answering in a small voice, Mize moved from her bed to the bed where I was.

And I come cuddling with that luxurious body.

"Mize?"

"- Do you hate the licking of wounds?

A girl who had just lost her place was trying to comfort me without healing her wounds.

Shouldn't I at least heal her wounds?

"Good night."

"... oh, good night"

We slept slowly feeling the warmth of our skin together.

I've never had anything to do with the feeling that I miss my human skin - but now I feel like I'm starting to understand that feeling.

than when you sleep in a school dorm. than when I slept in an institution quarters. I felt more comfortable sleeping than ever before.

But - that doesn't last forever.

"Mize, get up"

Wake up rocking the body of the girl who is resting in front of you.

"... Tweet,?

"Raid."

Mize's eyes, which were falling asleep, opened in an instant.

"On the road, the trap I was setting was activated. There are probably enemies lurking nearby.... We'll be leaving this village soon."

Mize hastily prepared for me to get out of bed and start dressing.

Several Explosion Traps have been set up around the village. Animals and demons can't get through. It's what I was setting up on a narrow and steep road. There's no way ordinary people would go through that place. Only those who hide themselves and seek to approach the village will pass by.

Until late at night, there will still be about a few hours.

We have to multiply this darkness and run as far as we can.

We dived into the footsteps and went down to the ground floor, and we left the village with our room keys on the counter with no people.

"Mr. Tweet, the carriage..."

"I don't have time. I'll throw it away."

I just recovered the carriage anyway, and I can't even go much further in this darkness.

Besides, the fact that enemies have come this far would also mean that the road through which carriages can pass would be alert.

"Ah!?

Running through the woods, Mize snapped at the irregularities on the ground.

Hold that body that's about to fall.

"Are you all right?

"Yes.... excuse me"

The truth is, I was going to spend the whole night resting.

Physical fatigue has not yet been resolved. Plus, I guess it's because I woke up halfway through time, or I'm not feeling comfortable either.

"The break is a little further. Now I want to get as far away from that village as possible."

"... Yes"

Someone at the station should be investigating in the village by now.

Mize is already breathing on her shoulders. But not if you care. Mize continued to travel at a critical pace where she would not fall due to fatigue.

"Will it be safe to reach the Republic of Karnabun?"

Mize defiled with dirt, both clothes and body, whines in a fine voice.

"Honestly, I don't know. The Republic is now in a hostile relationship with the Kingdom of Arkedia… Normally, it should be used as a diplomatic card when the royal family of an enemy country enters its nostalgia. Depending on the way you do it… you could be a prisoner for life"

"It's..."

"It's only a hypothetical story. When we flee to the Republic, we hide our origins as much as possible. I don't enter the country in the form of asylum."

The Republic has a little too strong a cause with the Kingdom of Arkedia.

It is likely that it will protect you when you reveal your origins, but in that case, it is also likely that you will become a prisoner again. But that... for Mize, who left the Arkedian kingdom in search of freedom, one cannot say that one thing is making a difference.

"... if I say that I still want to escape after I reach the Republic... will Mr. Tweet follow me?

"Oh."

I responded instantly to Mize, who whispered in a fluttering foothold.

"Everywhere, will you stay with me?

"Oh."

Mize dropped her gaze and asked me again.

"... until we die, together"

"To a boulder. That's too much leap."

Answer with vigilance around you.

"But if this is a journey that won't end until I die... I'll die with Mize"

I don't have the arrogant option of saving Mize when I've barely lived my life.

But you can have as much determination not to betray her.

Go even through the woods for your next resting place.