Chapter 51

The day after Abel left the village, s.h.i.+bi stepped into the forest after Gizel asked him to escort her .

Hey, Gizel-chan . Its not a good idea to come this deep into the forest . I think you should go home and talk to someone else about it

But, but, I was absolutely sure that hes going to come back! Because after what I did, after what I felt if something, if something happened, I knew it would be irreversible! What would I do if anything happened to my brother!

Gizel was pale and dismayed .

According to Gizels father, she had been like this all morning .

s.h.i.+bi had heard that Gizel had antic.i.p.ated her brothers departure from home in advance, and to prevent him from It, It seems that she had rigged the Ortem trolley that he would choose as his vehicle for the purpose .

It is said that his brother, whose means of transportation was wrecked, should have planned to give up and come back . But a day has already past and still didnt come back .

Gizel seemed to think that something unforeseen had happened .

From s.h.i.+bis point of view, he couldnt imagine a situation in which Abel couldnt come back .

Even if the bandit group got involved, he would be able to easily turn the tables .

In the unlikely event that the Greater Bear, the strongest demon in the forest around here, swarmed, I dont think they could do something to Abel .

If anything, I was sure that if a catastrophe happened and the world sank, that man was the only one who would be still kicking .

Its not like Abel-sans going to die if you kill him . What would Gizel-chan be worried about?

If I set the trick wrong and the Ortem trolley stops farther than it was supposed to, brother will not be able to come back! Because I was meddling with my half-a.s.sed knowledge

Well, it could happen .

Indeed, Abel was fatally lacking in strength .

That was something s.h.i.+bi understood .

If something unforeseen happened to Abel, it was likely to be there .

s.h.i.+bi and Gizel continued to walk through the forest together .

. . I wonder why did Abel-san leave the village?

s.h.i.+bi couldnt help but mutter when the conversation broke off .

Quickly realizing that it was gibberish, s.h.i.+bi covered his mouth with his hand .

He probably shouldnt have said that next to Gizel of all people .

It was like gouging a wound .

From the timing, its clear that Abels departure from the settlement had something to do with his marriage to Gizel .

Besides, s.h.i.+bi had been told in the past by Abel that he had no intention of marrying his sister .

And yet, when they started talking about the ceremony and all that, I said, Thats not what you said, Abel-san! Ive been crying to Garias shoulder while sulking about Abels disappearance .

Somehow, there was less crowd, so I looked at it without deep thought to voice my doubts, but, He did it . that was the real motive .

Well, my brother is a sensitive person . Perhaps he became depressed because he felt anxious about the changes in his life after marriage and the responsibilities of having a family .

This phenomenon is commonly referred to as marriage blue .

Although this is a marriage that both of them wanted, there are many cases where they suddenly feel the urge to run away just before the ceremony .

Gizel said and then said, Yes, it must be so . Otherwise, I cant explain it she mumbled and repeated in a whisper .

s.h.i.+bi somehow thought, Its like shes telling it to herself is what he thought, but hes not so tasteless to say it out loud .

Its true, Abel-san, hes mentally and physically weak .

When I say it, I really feel like a bad person .

Once the mind and body are subtracted, there is nothing left to be human .

s.h.i.+bi suddenly wonders what would have happened to him if he didnt have a talent for magic .

After walking some distance, Gizel takes out a map .

There are faint claw marks on the edges of the map .

In Gizels estimation, they were definitely her brothers claw marks .

s.h.i.+bi wondered if there was any difference or anything different about the claw marks, but from Gizels point of view, Im sure there is .

Perhaps Abel opened the page of the book, holding it down with his hand, and copied it, then dug his nails in .

When brother is lost between right and left, he should choose the left . Lets go this way . But Id like a guarantee . If only we could find a plant or wheel track somewhere that has not been trodden on for a while .

As she said this, Gizel bent down to the ground and began to look for any landmarks .

Her clothes were already stained with dirt and scratches on her body from branches and gra.s.s .

She really doesnt have any moderation when it comes to her brother .

At first, s.h.i.+bi was worried about Abel, but while he was in high spirits thinking, I think this is a date, such illusions were quickly shattered .

That

s.h.i.+bi found a gra.s.s partly burnt at a little distance .

Gizel, in here

Perhaps Abel had made a bonfire .

s.h.i.+bi thought so and decided to come by .

As he approached the burnt gra.s.s, s.h.i.+bi stepped on something, something hard, in the gra.s.s .

He picked it up and found that it was a charcoal-like wreckage .

It seemed to me that he had burned this and hid it in the gra.s.s, as I a.s.sociate it with the remains of a fire .

The wreckage, upon closer inspection, looked like an Ortem .

Sweep off the black coals . Could this be a piece of the tip of an arm? There was a slight coating of what looked like paint on it .

For something Abel had carved, it seemed a bit poorly done .

Ive examined what my brother took out, and the Ortem I carved when I was a child is missing! Im sure he took it as a memento of me! My brother would never have hated me!

Suddenly, she remembered what Gizel had said before she left the village .

Somehow, s.h.i.+bi had a bad feeling about it .

I cant let Gizel find this . He sensed so .

Whats the matter, s.h.i.+bi-san Thats the Ortem Trolley over there! Indeed, my brother stopped here! Maybe hes nearby!

What? Ah, ahh, yeah .

Looking at Gizels line of sight, it is indeed the Ortem Trolley .

Its much more helpful than a fire trail or something .

Thank goodness . s.h.i.+bi let out a small sigh .

s.h.i.+bi-san, whats over there?

H-huh?

It caught me off guard and I couldnt help but sound dumb .

s.h.i.+bi quickly spread his hands out and hid his path as quickly as he could .

It was my imagination . There was nothing there .

There is silence for about ten seconds .

As Gizel tries to peer in from the right, s.h.i.+bi turns his upper body to the right .

When Gizel tries to peer in from the left, s.h.i.+bi turns his upper body to the left .

Gizel tilts her head at s.h.i.+bis odd behavior but quickly runs up to the Ortem Trolley .

I dont think the lie came through, but Im sure she wanted to check out the Ortem Trolley more than that .

s.h.i.+bi wipes the sweat from his forehead .

For now, the crisis has been avoided .

But I cant let her find this .

s.h.i.+bi sc.r.a.ped up the large parts of Ortems wreckage and put it away in his pocket .

Then so carefully he followed Gizel .