Chapter 248

[Translator – Night][Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 248: Allies (5)

The last time I saw my sister’s face was seven years ago in the Lemea Gorge.

I saved her from a state of betrayal and despair, which she fell into after being betrayed by a knight she trusted and relied on like family.

In doing so, I gave her a second chance at life.

It was from the heart, wishing for her to live not for family anymore but for her true self.

I didn’t particularly want to get more involved.

She’s much smarter and sharper than me, so I thought she would figure things out on her own,

So we didn’t even exchange news for a while, let alone seeing each other’s faces.

Didn’t I miss her?

Why wouldn’t I miss her?

During my childhood, in that hellish house, she was the only family member who extended a saving hand to me,

The first person I decided to protect no matter what.

If I didn’t miss her, it would be a lie.

And now, that person is in front of me.

With the same warm smile that hasn’t changed over time.

Time has passed, and she came to me when I needed her the most.

“Your face has changed, Cyan?”

It’s been a whopping seven years, so of course.

“When you saved me, I wondered if you were really my brother, because you seemed so distant. But now, you’re back to the Cyan I knew.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lonely and desperate, like a young lamb desperately seeking someone’s touch. That’s why I had to look after you. The person I’m seeing now is you.”

My sister gently stroked my head with a cheerful smile.

“Are you still treating me like a child?”

“Can’t you just accept it with a little grace? Is that how you treat women?”

She chuckled and teased, but for a moment,

In her firmly grasped hand, I felt a strange energy.

It was like feeling the pure flow of water without any impurities throughout my body.

But within that, there was a very mysterious power that humans could never possess.

A power similar to the power I inherited from the Black Mist God.

“Your hands are cold?”

Did my sister feel a similar energy to mine?

She, too, started to look closely at my hand like I did.

“So, you experienced that too?”

“What have you been doing all this time?”

I changed my expression and asked as if interrogating.

My sister didn’t seem surprised and gently held my hand full of scars and calluses.

“When I first saw your wanted poster seven years ago, I thought a lot. I wanted to rush to wherever you were and ask what happened, how you ended up there. I wanted to ask if what you were hiding was this…”

Why did I hide the truth from my sister?

Because I didn’t want to confuse her.

And there were things I wanted to avoid even more.

“But soon I realized it was pointless. If I had asked you the truth like that, we would’ve just made each other sad. In fact, I had no right to ask. I didn’t even see what was happening around me properly.”

Her face briefly showed a bitter expression, as if memories from the front lines came flooding back.

“So I thought I needed to grow stronger too. If you were going the wrong way, I’d correct you, and if you were going the right way, I’d fully support you. Even though I couldn’t help you this time…”

My hand trembled as I held my sister’s hand.

I could feel her regretful feelings of not being able to help me enough.

“Do you believe the path you’re on is the right one?”

I answered without hesitation that I did.

“Then it’s fine. I’m ready to help.”

In the midst of overflowing emotions, I held onto her hand even tighter and tried to argue back.

“You don’t need to do that! You should live a life for yourself, not for me! I didn’t save you to ask for help…”

“Who said I’m doing this for you?”

“…?”

“It’s not for you. This is entirely for myself.”

Her calm yet firm answer left me speechless.

No matter what I said, I couldn’t overcome her logic of being family.

“You had fun at the restaurant earlier, right?”

“Did you see that?”

“Yeah! I even saw your cute face not knowing what to do. It was reassuring to see that. There are so many people who care about you besides me.”

My sister expressed genuine relief and hugged me again.

“You don’t have to be lonely on your own. There are so many people around who are willing to help you. So you can open your heart a little more. You’re someone who can be truly happy.”

Happiness.

During my two lives, I never knew what happiness was.

I didn’t even get to experience that.

But my sister confidently told me that I could be happy.

‘So support me. As a mentor who hopes for the happy future of their disciple.’

At that moment, I remembered the last words she said to me before dying.

If, by any chance, this moment in my sister’s embrace is called happiness.

I feel like I could do anything to protect that happiness.

Even if it means protecting everyone else,

Even if it means I die alone.

* * *

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

‘…!’

On a night when everyone was asleep.

Feeling a series of energies, Hastia quickly opened her eyes and got up.

‘W-What?’

She quietly left the room to make sure no one else woke up.

Then, as she was about to head towards where she felt the energy outside the inn,

“You don’t need to hurry to find me.”

Hearing the familiar voice, she turned around immediately.

A spirit the size of just a human face emitting a faint iridescent light.

The spirit, after illuminating the dark surroundings for a moment, gradually transformed into a human form.

“I never expected to see you here. Hastia.”

Startled, Hastia froze as if her body turned to ice.

‘M-Marian?’

Marian, the dragon protector of Pruina.

She suddenly appeared in the human realm without any proper explanation, still in her somewhat rare human-like polymorph form.

‘W-Why are you here?’

“That’s something I need to ask, isn’t there? Where are the other tribe members, and why are you alone here?”

‘T-There are some circumstances…’

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‘Y-Yes…’

“Alright then. I don’t want to hear such complicated circumstances about why you left us without a word. You must have had your reasons too.”

Instead of persistently asking questions, Marian scrutinized Hastia’s body.

“Something’s odd. Why do I sense the Black Mist’s energy from you?”

Hastia, taken aback, couldn’t control her expression and her face turned white.

‘W-What do you mean?’

“Show me the Soul Stone.”

Feeling her heart sink, Hastia, in a state of panic, tremblingly reached into her pocket and took out the Soul Stone.

After checking the stone, Marian immediately asked Hastia.

“Did you accompany the successor of the Black Mist?”

‘Yes…’

“You’re out of your mind.”

With her angry words, the air around them grew heavy.

“Did you really not know what would happen by associating with the presence of the Black Mist, not even being another elf under divine protection?”

‘Well, there are circumstances here, Marian! Cyan has helped our clan!’

“He’s a man who can lead your clan to destruction.”

Hastia couldn’t bring herself to say more.

There was not a word to say, even if she had ten mouths.

An elf under divine protection chasing after a man who denies the very existence of the gods.

Realizing anew how selfish her actions had been all this time, Hastia couldn’t lift her head in shame.

Marian looked at Hastia with disappointment and let out a small sigh.

“I don’t have the right to condemn you, do I? I’ve done the same thing.”

‘What?’

“Never mind. You’ll find out soon enough anyway, I don’t need to say it myself. But more importantly…”

Marian’s gaze shifted from Hastia to behind her.

“You can see all sorts of unexpected and dangerous beings here.”

Turning her head in confusion at the words,

“…..!”

she suddenly sensed a strange aura and immediately turned her body.

“Is that child also with the successor of the Black Mist?”

“Yes, that’s right. He found and raised the child by chance…”

“Raised? That child? That doesn’t make sense. How did you manage to control such a child without causing havoc all this time?”

Marian expressed disbelief, furrowing her brows with questions.

Hastia was equally surprised.

While she thought of her as an ordinary person with no problems when they were together at the restaurant during the day, the energy she felt now was completely different.

It felt like a mixture of human and dragon energies inappropriately combined.

Somehow, she even felt a sense of unease.

“…”

Nana, who affectionately called Cyan “Papa” and was also cherished by him as family, was staring silently at Hastia and Marian with lifeless eyes as if her soul had left her.

“I smell something…”

‘…?’

“It’s not a particularly pleasant or bad smell, but it feels like a smell that shouldn’t be ignored. I wonder why?”

-Kiki

As Nana asked the question, changes began to occur in her body.

Sharp horns emerged as if sensing a threat.

Wings spread out gracefully emitting a mystical aura.

Even her tail, swaying cutely with a gloomy aura.

It was clearly not a normal state at a glance.

“Could you please tell me why you’re here?”

* * *

As twilight fell and the blue curtain of dawn began to rise, Arin, whose face was somewhat pale due to overnight work, still couldn’t fall asleep.

The long-awaited letter had finally arrived.

It was the testimony of the Lord of Velias, Duke Willius Vert.

Arin had predicted many situations during this time.

Would Duke Vert agree with the direction proposed by the royal family? Or would he disagree?

Would he support the eldest son or the youngest son?

Regardless of his choice, Arin constantly planned the next steps and directions suitable for him, trying to prepare for every possible situation.

However,

“What is this about?”

“What do you mean?”

Duke Vert’s testimony contained none of the expected content.

There was nothing about the direction the royal family is pursuing or which child’s hand he would support.

Instead, it contained completely different information.

[Request from Lord of Velias. In the name of Duke Willius Vert, I request support from the royal family.]

What Duke Vert sent was nothing but a request.

And it was not just any request but a request for something entirely unexpected.

[Please send reinforcements for the crusade against the Demon Realm.]

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]