Translator: AkazaTL
Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
Chapter 78 : In the Forest of Dead Spirits (1)
Where do souls go when a person dies holding a grudge?
It was a question where the answer could vary depending on one's religion or beliefs, but most of the people living in the southwestern part of Zodiac held a unified answer.
The souls of those who died wrongfully go to the Forest of Dead Spirits.
The Forest of Dead Spirits.
The official na of this dense forest spread along the southwest of Zodiac was ‘Pelbes Forest,’ but no one in the vicinity called this forest Pelbes.
The gloomy fog that covered it throughout the year and the damp howling coming from inside the forest contributed significantly to making the handed-down ghost stories an established fact.
Thanks to that, the nearby residents did not dare to step foot there even in the middle of the day when the sun was bright, and sotis they would tremble at the ghostly wails let out by the vengeful spirits that filled the forest.
***
Awoooo-
Was the sound ringing in my ears right now the howling of a wolf?
Or was it the sound of laughter let out by sothing mimicking a wolf?
I, Hein Reichart, stopped walking at the useless thought that suddenly ca to mind and raised my head to look up at the sky.
The full moon, which had been visible near the eastern sky just when I stepped into the entrance of the forest, was suddenly running through the center of the empty sky.
It was a ti approaching midnight before I knew it.
I stopped walking, took out food ingredients and cooking utensils from the bag I had been carrying, and started preparing a rather late dinner.
Crackle!
It seed like it would be hard to light a fire because the branches were damp due to the thick fog, but I gathered the peeled branches together with familiar hand movents and lit a fire.
Bubble bubble.
It did not take that long for the stew, made with jerky seasoned with a base of wine and starch and dried vegetables added, to be completed.
Clatter.
I ladled the stew, fragrant with the scent emitted by the moderately reduced wine, into a bowl.
Then.
“Excuse , if it is alright, could you share a little bit with and my baby?”
Suddenly, a woman holding a baby in her arms appeared.
It was just as I was about to dip the garlic bread, which I had torn into long pieces, into the stew.
“I beg you. The child has not been able to eat anything for days and is crying. Please…….”
Hair hanging down loosely, a shawl ssy and disheveled, and limbs that were just skin and bones.
The woman with hollow eyes who suddenly revealed herself in the forest begged for a handful of rcy.
Clatter.
I put stew in a bowl without a word and held it out to the woman along with extra cutlery.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
The woman, who bowed her head repeatedly, ate the stew truly in a hurry, and also fed it to the baby held in her arms.
It did not take very long for the woman’s bowl, which had been filled to the brim, to beco empty.
Clatter.
Every ti the bowl beca empty, I scooped up a generous amount of stew and put it into the woman’s empty bowl.
Only after the fourth bowl of stew was emptied did the woman open her mouth again.
“Actually…… I…… am a truly bad mother.”
“…….”
“My husband left this world before the child was even born. He was conscripted as a soldier. I lost my ho and lost my husband due to the war…… and beca a wanderer.”
It was unknown whether the war the woman was speaking of was sothing from decades ago, or sothing from hundreds of years ago.
The only thing I could know was that the woman had not been able to go to the place she should have gone to for a long ti.
“And…… eventually…… even the child…… Ah, my poor baby, eting an unworthy mother…….”
The spoon the woman held to the baby’s lips was soaked with red tears of blood before I knew it.
“My. Baby…… My poor baby……. Could not suckle…… mother’s milk comfortably even once…… I am sorry. My baby…….”
The woman’s voice, which had seed like a whisper, suddenly beca a strong echo and shook the entire forest.
“Forgive…… cannot…… To make my baby like this…… Absolutely…… cannot forgive.”
The mont resentnt finally burst out from the woman’s mouth, the appearance of the spirit, which had a slender shape, changed in an instant.
The woman’s hair, which had turned red, soared in all directions, and violet Ghost Fire blazed furiously in her hollow eyes.
“Parents often make mistakes.”
It was around the ti that sothing that took the shape of a baby began to burn as a fla that I, who had been silent all along, opened my mouth for the first ti.
“Saying that because it is a child always in their arms, it would not be able to fathom the mother’s pain.”
My eyes, watching the appearance of the woman who had turned into a fla of hatred, were closer to pitiful.
“The grudge of a mother who could not feed her child must be great, but how would the heart of a child feel seeing its mother wandering the streets barefoot while holding it?”
The fla, which could not be cut even with a sword, lost its montum little by little.
“Can you not hear the words the departed child is saying to you?”
“……My baby…….”
“It is saying not to be sad there but to co to its side and hug it.”
Whoosh!
The fla of hatred, which had reached the end of its lifespan, burned fiercely for the last ti.
After the fla died down shortly…….
“Go to the baby’s side. You have no sin.”
The pitiful woman revealed her appearance again.
“Thank…… you.”
At that single word, transparent tears flowed down the woman’s cheeks.
“Anyone…… from anyone…… it was fine…… I really wanted…… to hear…… those words.”
With these words as the last, the woman hid her appearance, and a gloomy silence like a while ago settled down.
In the forest where the pitiful soul who lost a child and the evil spirit who burned its body in hatred had disappeared…….
Clink clink.
After scraping the stew that had almost hit the bottom and finishing the al, I put water on to boil.
Slurp.
And only after the cup that had been filled with black tea was completely emptied did I open my mouth again.
“Co out.”
The voice that ca out of my mouth was cold enough to freeze even the fla that was burning the soul a while ago.
“Greetings to Grand Duke Reichart.”
As if responding to that call, a man with an exceptionally pale face revealed himself from the darkness of the forest along with over ten people.
“Is what just happened sothing you people plotted?”
“That is correct. Grand Duke.”
The man did not deny it, and a smile slightly paler than the man’s complexion hung on my lips.
“Did your leader order you to test the courage of an irreverent uninvited guest using the soul of a frail woman wandering the netherworld?”
“……If you were offended, I apologize.”
“So, is your leader ready to et ?”
The man nodded and said.
“We will guide you. And…….”
The man’s eyes, settled above his pale cheeks, flashed while emitting a faint light.
“Please leave the items you are holding with us. Our children will lighten your burden.”
The place the man’s red eyes headed towards was the two swords hanging at my waist.
On those swords, a Seal of Brilliance emitting a dazzling light was engraved.
“What if I don't want to?”
“Grand Duke, I will ask you once again. Will you please entrust your swords to us?”
“I believe I said I don't want to?”
My voice as I raised my body from the seat held an air as sharp as my eyes.
“I admit that I was sowhat rude in the process of this eting being established. The clash that occurred between the friend I sent and your subordinates would also be a reason for fault.”
Flash!
In an instant, even though I did not touch them, the Family Sword and Axion emitted a vivid light.
The man frowned.
“But I revealed my identity in the letter, and I ran a long way to the place you told to co. But playing a petty prank from the start on a guest who ca a long way is not good manners, is it?”
I did not particularly like sorcery that used the souls of the dead.
When looking at this kind of sorcery, mories I wanted to forget would surface, making feel incredibly dirty.
“It is unfortunate. If it weren't for just this, I might have pretended I couldn't win against your demand for disarmant and listened. But my feelings have been spoiled right now.”
“…….”
“Lead the way. Where is the person who called here?”
“Grand Duke, please entrust your swords for just a mont. Then we will guide you to those who are waiting.”
“Either guide the way obediently, or if not, shut up and get lost. I will just go back.”
Eventually, I declared that the negotiation had broken down and turned my back.
Clang!
Then, the warriors who were surrounding drew their swords all at once.
The man spoke in a cold voice.
“If you think the title of a Grand Duke of a nation will protect you here as well, it is a miscalculation!”
On the swords the warriors drew, a dazzling blue energy that made one shiver was faintly forming.
In the middle of that cold energy, I spoke.
“I am so thankful, what to do? I just happened to want to cry, but you even slapped my cheek.”
“I ask you for the last ti, Grand Duke. Please do not make us commit rudeness.”
I had said this when sending Ismael to them previously.
Keep your manners, but for provocations that cross the line, treat them with treatnt befitting that provocation.
“……If you plan to commit rudeness, commit as much as you want.”
I was the one who declared the breakdown of negotiations, but they were the ones who held onto , who was going to go back without complaint, and crossed the line first.
Convinced that there were no more manners I needed to show, I drew my sword.
And declared.
“Because I will also do the sa from now on.”
***
“Everyone…… was defeated.”
“Defeated? Are you saying the personnel lying in ambush lost their lives?”
“They did not lose their lives. However…….”
“However?”
“They seem to have suffered serious injuries. And he is heading here with a knife held to Borzak’s throat.”
Borzak. It was the na of the pale man who commanded the personnel who greeted Hein.
“Are you saying Borzak submitted obediently to the Grand Duke’s words?”
“He would have had no choice. If he did not guide the Grand Duke, everyone would not be people of this world already…….”
The middle-aged man who was watching the situation through a crystal ball bit his lip.
“How can this be, for that many personnel to be defeated at once. Is it because of that sword we saw last ti?”
A sigh burst out from the mouth of the white-haired old man who asked the question to the middle-aged man.
“The ‘Seal of Brilliance’ engraved on that sword played a big role too, but the Grand Duke’s combat power is exceeding our expectations. Also, I do not know how it happened, but the Grand Duke seems to accurately grasp our weaknesses.”
“That makes no sense! How does that man know our weaknesses!”
As the white-haired old man shouted loudly, his ‘fangs,’ which had grown exceptionally sharp, flashed while emitting light.
It has already been hundreds of years since they operated in secret in the darkness waiting for that day of atonent.
But how could that greenhorn know their weaknesses?
“That is not what is important right now. Young Lady! You must hurry and avoid this place.”
The middle-aged man who was looking at the crystal ball turned his head hurriedly and shouted.
“The Grand Duke will storm here soon. Judging by the Grand Duke’s skills, even if we mobilize all the personnel here, suppression might be difficult. Young Lady, please hide your body quickly.”
The middle-aged man shouted in a desperate voice.
The place his gaze reached was a woman with white skin, hair slightly whiter than that, and violet eyes.
“No. I cannot do that.”
“Young Lady!”
“I cannot guarantee that I will be able to escape the Grand Duke’s pursuit just because I hide my body now. Mister, you heard the rumors too, right? About how persistent a person Grand Duke Reichart is.”
The woman shook her head with a firm expression.
“The Grand Duke said in the letter he sent us that he wanted a ‘deal.’ As long as he knows our identity, I cannot leave the seat without even listening to his words. It will only give him a bigger excuse.”
Even in an urgent situation, the woman was calmly grasping the circumstances.
In fact, the woman’s words were right.
It was unknown how he knew, but the Grand Duke seed to already know not only the identity they had tried so hard to hide, but also about the hideout they had prepared.
In a situation where information was exposed to this extent, even if she avoided the seat to avoid the imdiate threat, the Grand Duke would choke their necks even more secretly.
“Avoiding is not the solution. I intend to listen to his story at this seat today.”
The woman, who had made up her mind to greet Hein at this seat, waited for the Grand Duke to arrive with her eyes wide open.
Thud-bang!
And Borzak’s body, which was terribly crumpled, was thrown in front of them.
Woooong-
Even though there was a fairly wide space between the door that just opened and the chairs they were sitting on, the light emitting from Hein’s sword struck their eyeballs directly.
The white-haired woman forcibly endured the light poking her eyes and offered a greeting to welco Hein.
“Nice to et you, Grand Duke Reichart. Because we were lacking, we committed rudeness in serving the Grand Duke, so please, with broad generosity…….”
“Is it you? The leader here.”
However, I cut off her incredibly beautiful voice cleanly and revealed the purpose of my visit here.
“I am Hein Reichart, the Grand Duke of Zodiac and the Family Head of Reichart. I ca here to propose a deal to you people.”
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