Chapter 259: Rinella’s Destiny is Her Own (52)

Chapter 259: Rinella’s Destiny is Her Own (52)The Saintess' warm comfort continued for a long period.

I could hear the servant’s whispers as they passed. The Saintess was not unaware of this, but she showed no signs of letting me go.

For me, it was just bewildering.

Wasn't she the one who usually nagged and teased me?

Yet here she was, suddenly holding me tightly and offering sincere comfort. It made me wonder what on earth had happened overnight.

From the way she initially scrutinized me, it seemed she might have seen the 'me' from the future.

If so, it was logical to assume that the change in the Saintess's attitude was also due to 'me.'

Even while my thoughts raced, the Saintess continued to soothe me..

Now, there was even a hint of sobbing mixed in.

The Saintess kept stroking my head as she spoke..

"I will make sure that you, you of all people, won't end up like that... I will be by your side whenever you're struggling or in pain, so please always consult me."

"I-I see."

My voice, stifled by the Saintess’ soft valley, turned into a mumble as it came out.

I wanted to further probe into the situation, but the Saintess wasn’t letting me go.

Technically, I could have escaped from her embrace with a bit of effort.

While the Saintess was quite strong thanks to her martial arts training, she was no match for me, who had spent a lifetime training with swords..

Yet, ultimately, I could not push her away.

Because it felt good.

The embrace of the Saintess was cozy and soft.

It brought back memories from my childhood.

They say a man is always a child at heart, no matter how much he grows.

Just like the saying went, I found it hard to shake off the maternal comfort of the Saintess.

To be precise, it was a certain part of her body that symbolized motherhood.

Still, as I quietly listened, I began to understand why she was acting this way.

Several keywords kept appearing in her speech.

Like 'alone,' 'in pain,' and 'I'll be by your side.'

It seemed the Saintess was shocked after seeing the 'me' from the future.

It must have been sad and frightening to see what became of me in the future.

Though I never directly talked to him, I could roughly guess in what state that man was in by piecing together the fragmented memories I stole glimpses of.

He had lost all his dear ones.

The only mission left for him was a hollow phrase: 'Save the world.'

Could he have managed to do it in the end?

Because the future was unknown, I sighed deeply and raised my head.

Then I firmly grasped the hands of the grieving Saintess.

"Saintess, don’t worry. I am Ian Percus, after all."

"...That person also claimed to be ‘Ian Percus’."

Oops, right.

Just as pity reappeared in the Saintess's eyes, I quickly corrected my statement.

"It's different, that person didn't have you by his side, Saintess."

Perhaps he did.

But I wasn't tactless enough to mention that.

The Saintess, while still lookingsad, seemed a bit reassured.

"That’s why the path I walk will surely be different. Not only the Saintess, but I have many good friends by my side... Is there really a need to make such painful decisions?"

"Ian, that... might be a hard thing to discuss."

The Saintess averted her gaze slightly as her voice trailed off.

Her expression was clearly one of distress.

I just looked at her, dumbfounded, wondering why she was acting like this.

After hesitating for a while, the Saintess firmly shut her eyes and said to me,

"...We’ve decided to abandon the Percus territory."

My body, previously trying to persuade the Saintess, suddenly stiffened.

For a moment, I couldn't comprehend her words.

Abandon? Percus territory?

With that, Leto tossed a document he was holding towards me.

It was a paper filled with dense notes.

I blankly stared down at the document.

At the very top, in large letters, it read,

‘Corpse Giant.’

"This is the information we got from your future self yesterday. The more detailed, the less time he could stay in this timeline, so it's only roughly organized..... and yet it’s like this."

My eyes skimmed over the notes on the document.

‘Infinite regeneration.’

‘Revives surrounding corpses to fight as allies.’

‘Cannot be fought by a legion, a small elite squad must be formed.’

‘A method to stop the regeneration is necessary.’

It was an incredible enemy.

Is the Evil God’s underling truly such a terrifying existence?

Left speechless, I stood dumbfounded.

"Acting rashly would only increase the casualties. Because the corpses will just keep multiplying."

It was a death sentence.

And it was issued by the advisor I trusted most.

"I’m sorry, Ian..."

It was a sensation I had not felt in a long time.

The despair and profound sense of helplessness from being utterly powerless.

I was an incompetent human.

At least in the eyes of the hundreds who were about to lose their lives.

**

Unable to bear it any longer, I pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

I heard that the ‘me’ from yesterday had also drunk excessively, but no one among my family or companions stopped me.

It seemed everyone understood my feelings.

Getting drunk might even bring out the personality from the future.

I thought about that possibility but soon shook my head, dismissing that possibility.

Hadn't that man himself emphasised that it was 'impossible'?

Therefore, even if I fell asleep drunk, the chances of him being summoned again were slim.

Besides,nothing would change even if he did appear.

After all, he was the one who decided to abandon the territory.

Today, my headache seemed to worsen.

So I sighed lightly and opened my bedroom door.

I was ready to collapse drunk at any moment.

If there had been no unexpected guest in my room, I would have followed through with that plan.

However, as soon as I opened the door, I had to stop in my tracks.

Someone was there.

It was a girl with ebony-like hair cascading down, adorned with golden dew on a pristine white canvas.

I could immediately tell who she was.

It was none other than Ria Percus, my younger sister.

But there was another reason I had to stop in my tracks.

It wasn't surprising that Ria had entered my bedroom uninvited, as it had happened a few times before.

What shocked me was the pose Ria was currently in.

She was kneeling, tears streaming down her face.

"O-Orabeoni..."

Sobbing, the girl spoke.

"Pl-Please don't hate Ria..."

That was all my younger sister wanted to ask of me, even at the cost of throwing away her pride.

I felt the need to share a conversation with Ria.