Chapter 555.1: The End of Everything

A horse gallops with a steady clop clop.

Hmmmmmmm

Celia is circling me on her own horse, peeking at my face whenever she sees an opening.

Normally, it would take all her effort to keep up with me, but Schwartz is injured.

I chose another healthy horse, but no other horse compares with Schwartz in terms of speed.

I even left behind my armor and Dual Crater, yet because of the difference in weight, my horse cant outrun Celias horse.

Mumu, youve been grinning the whole four hours. I cant tell where youre going by checking the map, its creepy.

With that said, Celia skillfully maneuvers her horse toward me and peeks at my crotch.

Its not erectso I suppose there is no relation to a woman.

Actually, its totally related to a woman.

However, it would be uncool to appear at our touching reunion with a b.o.n.e.r, thats why Im suppressing it by force of will.

I can at least distinguish when its appropriate for that.

As I fend off the clinging Celia, I see a pile of logs on the road.

Its hard to make a detour because of the swamps on either side.

This is so annoying when youre in a hurry.

According to the map, this is the territory of a baron of the traditional n.o.bles. n.o.body here thinks positively of Aegir-sama. Without escorts, we should avoid fighting.

I pretty much ran in a straight line to get here, and have cut across various peoples domains in the process.

Schwartz can just jump over those logs or run through the swamp, but this horse would break its leg trying either. This means I will be arriving two days late.

Nearby, a few half-naked men who appear to be laborers are talking with a mounted knight.

So good knight, are you saying that all the barriers on the road can be removed?

Umu, I received word from my lord, the baron. There wont be a battle with the rebel Hardlett.

They are talking about me it seems.

Yes, the people over there were discussing a rumor. Hardlettsama, they say hes become the next king.

Its not my concern as a low-ranking knightbut an usurper killing the king and becoming the new king spells the end of Goldonia. If I werent ordered to stand guard here, I would have struck him down with my spear!

Aah dear knight, dont say something so careless. Rumor has it that King Hardlett is diabolically cruel, cold and heartless, and has an inhumanly large c.o.c.k. If he gets wind of what you said, you wont get off easy. Dont say scary things and give me a kiss.

A woman is flirting with a knight beside the laborers who are moving the logs.

From her appearance, she isnt his wife, rather she is probably a beautiful woman he made his lover.

Blocking my path and flirting, inexcusable. Its a crime of disrespecting the lower body.

Dont create dubious crimes after becoming king! And it was about a woman after all!?

The barrier will be removed even if we dont do anything, but I dont have time to wait for the laborers to carry it inch by inch.

Move it. The sun will set by the time you scrawny guys are done!

I jump off my horse and walk up to the laborers.

Celia covers her face and stares up at the sky.

Haah? And who the h.e.l.l are you? Dont bother us.

d.a.m.n impatient traveler, cant you wait a few hours? Knight Newmond ishm, Ive seen your face somewhere.

I cant wait so I ignore the laborer and the knight and place both hands on the pile of logs.

Nnnuoooohh!!

The mountain of logs wobble, and when I feel a s.h.i.+ft underneath, they all roll into the swamp with a splash.

Im more powerful than ever. This is also the power of love.

Eh!?

There were at least 20 logs that weighed 200 kg each

I push my way through the laborers, have the awe-struck knight open the path, and carry the dumbfounded woman in my arm all the way to my mount.

Good thing you stayed behind.

I mutter one last remark to the knight and run off on my horse.

I recall seeing this in Rafen when I was working there. That was!

M-my lover

All that matters is that theyre stunned.

Timewise, I want to refrain from fighting here.

You went and took a woman along with you like it was nothing!

Oops. I cant bring a woman with me.

I quickly steal her lips, fondle her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and stroke her crotch before releasing her.

I-is that all? You wont violate me? Uuu, how disappointing.

She doesnt seem angry, lets pretend it didnt happen.

After settling the extra trouble, the Erg forest comes into view.

This is the forest where logging and hunting is forbidden because of dangerous monsters, right?

That was the pretense.

Theres no need to keep up a front at this point.

I abandon the horse and advance straight into the forest.

Celia also hops off her horse and follows one step behind me.

I havent pa.s.sed through here since the Treia battle. I dont have a complete map.

Thats unnecessary.

Although its been a while since I have visited this place, the forest hasnt changed one bit.

I jump over a tree root, grab the branch of a giant tree and continue forward.

How are you moving so decisively when there are no landmarks?

Celias nimbleness helps her keep up, albeit at a somewhat strained pace.

I could slow down, but my legs and heart are both itching to go faster.

At the very least, I pinch her cheeks in a spare moment to put her at ease.

Uu, Im being deceived.

I check the contents of the bag slung over my shoulder.

A silk dress of the highest quality and custom-made solid gold accessoriesgood, theyre not broken.

Ive never given such things as presents so I dont know if they suit her tastes, but they cant be bad to have.

Ah, those are the items Nonna was grinning at after finding them. She said they were either for her birthday or wedding anniversary.

Unfortunately, theyre not.

Nonna, does she think all expensive items are presents for her?

Next, the crown.

Celia trips and b.u.mps her head on a root.

You brought the crown!? What are you doing!?

She might not believe me if I dont show this.

And maybe Ill go pick some fruit. She said she doesnt like climbing trees because her clothes get dirty.

Celias brow furrows as she contemplates my actions.

Mumumu, Im certain you are meeting a woman, but who could be in such a forbidden place like this forestand Aegir-sama is so disgustingly excited, like this is the first meetinghaau!!

I stretch Celias soft cheeks to heal the tinge of pain in my heart after she called me disgusting and keep walking.

I slip through the curtain of vines in between two trees and the area suddenly spreads out.

In the center of the small clearing in the forest stands a tiny house.

A house in a place like this?

I dont reply to the surprised Celia.

I couldnt move my mouth or legs in front of the house.

The sight is the same as that time.

My mind and my eyes are naturally drawn to the sight like I came to retrieve something I forgot ten minutes ago.

Aaah.

What eventually leaked from my mouth was a sigh.

Haah.

I sigh again.

Its been nearly ten years since I left this place.

Various emotions swirl within my heart.

The next moment, it feels like almost a hundred years have pa.s.sed.

Now then, is it ten minutes or a hundred years?

I take a step forward as I ponder the stupid question.

it stopped working.

My leg wont move.

I take a deep breath and somehow force my leg to step forward, but the stride is like a three-year old childs.

Aegir-sama? Whats wrong

Celia waves her hand in front of my face.

Honestly, I was debating whether or not I should bring Celia.

The cute Celia is a part of me yet at the same time I also thought of something as heartless as her being a foreign object in this place.

Hauuahgghaghprrprr.

I go from ruffling her hair to stretching her cheeks to scratching her chin, trying to clear my mind.

The cute Celia has grown into such a pretty girl.

It hasnt been ten minutes or a hundred years.

My second step felt real.

This time I am able to take a proper step.

The glade is supposed to be the same size as when I left, but it feels much smaller.

The house appears bigger and bigger.

It remains small and unchanged as before yet tidy.

The roof near the entrance is the only part of the beautiful house that is crudely built.

Thats the part I broke and had to repair.

I was a kid who knew nothing back then.

The windows are tightly shut and the inside cant be seen.

This is also the same as before.

In front of the house is an area bordered by stone resembling a vegetable garden, but half of it is empty.

I chuckle, figuring how she probably got bored with it. Shes a fairly lazy person after all.

I reached the door in half the time I imagined it would take.

Back then, my strides werent as large.

I also used to be able to run and jump through this door, but now I have to bend down to avoid hitting my head.

I knock on the door with a shaky hand.

This house doesnt get visitors. I thought someone would answer right away, but n.o.body came.

Maybe shes still sleeping because its sunny.

Sleeping when the sun is out?

I try peeking in the window as Celia questions dubiously, but of course I cant see anything.

Knocking on the door once more yields the same result.

Maybe the person is away? Thats if anybody lives here.

Its possible.

Lucy hates excursions during daytime but its not like she cant go outside.

She simply detests suns.h.i.+ne, its not like shell turn into ash.

Hahaha, she really wont let things go as I thought.

I circle around to the back just to double-check.

Theres a pond she bathes in.

Meeting her again while shes bathing would be deplorable, but shell likely forgive me.

Id even strip naked so she wont feel alone.

However, she wasnt in the pond.

Mumu, we can only wait.

When I return to the front door, Celia runs to me, having found something.

She found it near the boundary between the forest and the clearing.

This is astone monument? No, its a grave.

With nothing better to do, I head over.

There wasnt a grave when I was young.

She must have brought someone here and drained him to death.

She was emotionally attached to that guy enough to make a grave for him, huh? That makes me burn with jealousy.

As I joke around internally, I can feel my heart beating faster.

Its fairly newmore precisely, it was just made. I can see the white traces of where the stone was shaved off.

I stop moving toward the graverather, I dont go any nearer and instead turn back and run toward the house.

I burst through the unlocked door without knocking.

I intended to stare at one point, but a neglected vegetable garden caught my eyeor actually, a partially-constructed vegetable garden.

The force from me opening the door blows up the dust in the room.

I open the window and let light in.

When I check the bed, the covers are neatly folded and a layer of dust has acc.u.mulated on top.

There is a piece of charcoal that has hardened into stone at the back of the fireplace.

Looking down at my feet, I see that only my footprints are left on the dusty floor.

Aegir-sama, theres something like a cloth attached.

I suppress my pounding heart and run.

I run with the same intensity as I would when charging into the enemy as Celia points out the cloth.

It was wrapped on the gravewait, Aegir-sama you look so pale! And youre sweating so muchwhats wrong?

I grab the clothor rather, the shawl, and stumble over to the small stone.

Its an amateurish and crude grave.

This shawl is something I cant forget.

Its hersLucys favorite.

Shes not home even though its daytime, theres a newly-created grave, the room is covered in dust, and her shawl is on a grave Ive never seen before.

Everything is connected to one thing.

I am speechless.

Before I knew it, I was kneeling before the grave.

As I dropped to my knees, the shawl sways and brushes the tip of my nose.

It smelled distinctly like Lucy.

Its a lietheres no way.

I wrap my arms around the grave that is too small for me to even hug.

As I notice my eyes becoming warm, I see tears staining the ground.

Large teardrops pour down nonstop.

Aegir-samais cryingw-whywhat do I do?

I even feel like rejecting the words of the genuinely concerned Celia.

And then I hear a soft groan.

Its my own crying voice that Ive never heard before.

My sobbing becomes worse.

My hands claw the ground.

At first, I didnt know what I was doing, but I soon realized that I was digging up the grave.

Aegir-sama, you mustnt do that! I dont know your circ.u.mstances, but this is too much!

When I brush away Celias hand, a speck of reason returns to me.

I dont care about morality or honor. Thats not important.

If I continue digging and see Lucys face, I will surely go crazy.

I swing the hand that I used to brush Celia away down and slam the ground.

The impact sends a cloud of dust into the air and travels into the forest, scaring birds into the sky.

I didnt make it in time.

Its a shout of blame from me to myself.

Of course I didnt!!

I was naive.

I took for granted that Lucy, who has lived over 500 years, would continue living for a mere ten more years.

Its not a guarantee for a 50 year old human to live one more year.

Shes a vampire so she wont die? Dont be stupid! How many vampires did you see die!!?

They die from being exposed to sunlight, being stabbed in the heart, from silver, from being cut to pieces

Ive seen countless vampires die. They just dont die as easily as humans.

I conveniently thought Lucy was eternal. I wanted to believe it was true.

I wasted too much time. Ambition? Looking cool? Lifes purpose? Im full of c.r.a.p! I should have killed the king as soon as I met him and stolen the throne then and there!!

The grave is new no matter how you look at it.

One year, one monthit could even have happened one week ago.

While I was relaxing, and keeping myself busy with friends.h.i.+p of men and company of women, I was too late.

I couldnt make itI wanted to see you

I cling to the grave and weep.

It didnt matter that my wailing or lamenting echoed in the quiet forest.

A-Aegir-samaplease dont cryuuwawaaaah!!

Celia cant help crying as well.

I dont have anything now.

Everything Ive done to this point was for nothing.

Ive lost my final goal.

No, I have one.

That is revenge.

Ill have my vengeance on the person who stole Lucy from me.

I dont know the culprit though.

I dont even know what happened or when it happened.

No matter how much I investigate, I probably wont determine anything.

In that case, my enemy is this entire world. Ill carry out my revenge on this world.

With tears in my eyes, I spread my arms toward the sky.

It almost felt like a black stream of energy slowly rose from my feet.