< 125. In Search of the Scream (2) >
#125
“This is the village where I surrendered myself.”
It was definitely a scene I remembered. This was the village where Ronan killed someone, surrendered himself, and was taken to the punishment unit.
Ronan slowly looked around. It must have rained the day before, so there were puddles of water all over the streets. Ronan squatted in front of the puddle and checked his whereabouts.
‘···You could easily be mistaken for a beggar.’
Ronan laughed as he remembered what happened a little while ago. The clothes on her body were so tattered that it did not seem like a major flaw from being covered in muddy water.
When I was wandering, I always dressed like this. His face became slightly more sallow, which seemed to correspond to the year he enlisted as a punitive soldier. I never expected that it would change not only my surroundings but also my body.
‘Everything is the same as then. ‘What was the name of the village?’
It was a fairly bustling village with well-paved roads and many pedestrians. At the end of the main road, which extended far beyond the village, there was a castle built.
Although it was a laughable castle compared to the imperial palaces of the archipelago, it was a castle that could be regarded as such. Ronan, seeing the family flag hanging on the watchtower, snapped her fingers.
‘that’s right. It was ruled by Baron Dantel or something.’
I remembered being taken all the way there to go through the formalities of enlisting in the punishment unit. There was also a scene where the Baron, who is usually busy playing, came by and went on a rampage, demanding that Ronan be killed with his own hands.
‘If the conscript officer hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed that bastard too. ‘It’s a memory.’
It wasn’t particularly strange, as Ronan’s son was also among those he killed. Ronan, who was recalling old memories, twisted his lips.
“What are you trying to show me this time?”
Ronan got up. He steeled his resolve and took a deep breath. The fragrant smell of baking bread hung in the slightly humid air.
Perhaps because it was a more powerful curse, the image world seemed to be much more elaborately implemented. It was the same with Nimburton, which I entered during the first week, but it was completely indistinguishable from reality.
“Child, what are you doing so dirty on the street?”
“If you don’t want to be beaten until you poop your pants, just go on your way.”
“Hey! “This is why beggars these days…!”
Even the disdainful gazes of passers-by who looked at him like a beggar seemed realistic. At that time, Ronan’s eyes, which were looking left and right, stopped at one place.
“hmm?”
“Hehe, eat a lot.”
A girl wearing an apron was crouching down. She was a little girl who looked to be about seven or eight years old at most.
Every time he laughed, his teeth, with only the front teeth sticking out, were revealed. But it wasn’t the little boy missing her front teeth that caught Ronan’s attention.
“Hmm?”
A big bastard was eating bread with his head down in front of the girl. Her nicely curved tail was swinging from side to side. Ronan tilted her head.
“Where did I see that dog…?”
The slim back somehow looked familiar. The girl kept touching him while he was eating, but judging by the fact that he didn’t even bite, he seemed to have withdrawn considerably. At that time, the dog that had finished eating the bread raised its head.
“Ate it all? Hee, that’s nice.”
“···uh?”
Ronan’s eyes widened. She had no choice but to do so. Her face was pointed like a wolf and her left ear was half cut off. It was impossible to confuse the blue eyes, which were too wonderful to be stuck on a dog’s face. The dog started licking the girl’s face again after tasting her again.
“Ahaha, it tickles!”
I never imagined that we would meet like this. Ronan, who had been standing dumbfounded for a long time, barely opened his mouth.
“···Sita.”
“month?”
The dog that was licking the girl looked back at Ronan. The moment Ronan saw her blinking her stupid eyes, he was sure that the bastard was really Sita.
The origin of Sita, who rides on your shoulder and cries. He lost his life to poachers while wandering with Ronan for a little over a year, and is, in a way, one of the main culprits in Ronan’s enlistment in the punishment unit.
“Hey, you…”
It was a reunion after decades. He was about to say something. A loud woman’s cry was heard from afar.
“Hey! Camilla! “I have an errand to run. What are you doing there?”
“Eh, let’s go now!”
The startled girl stood up. Across the street from her, a middle-aged woman was glaring at her, her hands on her hips. Circumstantial evidence suggested that she was either the girl’s mother or her employer. The girl, stroking her sitta for the last time, ran towards the boulevard.
“Hehe, I’m going. “Hello!”
She deftly navigated through the throngs of carriages and people coming and going. After regaining her appetite, Sita quietly came and sat down next to Ronan.
“···How have you been?”
“month.”
“Baby. “The owner is being beaten by a beggar, but he just eats bread to make himself feel better.”
“Wolwol.”
Sita pretended not to hear and scratched her ears with her hind feet. Ronan laughed. He had forgotten for a moment that he used to be this kind of guy.
Although their wandering paths were quiet, they traveled together, but it was not a master-servant relationship. She was more of an informal companion who could take personal action whenever she wanted. I guess I missed seeing him look cute even in such a shameless manner.
Coincidentally, there was a butcher shop right next to it. Ronan bought a sausage with the coins he took from the pig and offered it to Sita. There are things to do anyway, so there was no harm in having fun.
“I’ll give you this, so help me.”
“month!”
Sita barked as if telling me to trust her. Ronan picked up a stick and switched the power source. Fortunately, she didn’t have a sword, but her abilities remained the same. Sparkling mana came up the tree branches.
“Find someone that smells like this.”
“month.”
Ronan let Sita smell the scent and then walked away. She actually didn’t think she could be tracked like this, but that was none of her business. She just wanted to be with this dog.
Ronan and Sita walked through the village created by the image. After receiving her sausage and eating it, Sita put her nose down on the ground and sniffed it intently.
There has yet to be anyone who can be called the culprit of the curse. Ronan, who was looking at Sita’s back, twisted his lips.
“By the way, the fact that you’re alive means that it hasn’t happened yet.”
“month?”
Suddenly, Ronan’s expression suddenly darkened. The incident that made him a punitive soldier occurred in this village.
“Even thinking about it again, it sucks.”
Even though it was a distant past, the memories were clear. The sixth day of Blue Pine Month. This happened when he became separated from Sita while staying in this village. The introduction began with witnessing the scene of a carriage accident.
A crowd of about a hundred people was gathered on the main street, chatting. A colorful sadhu chariot was parked in the middle of the road. A woman who appeared to be her mother was sobbing, holding something that looked like a sack that had been soaked in blood.
-Ahh! Ah ah ah ah ah!!
It took Ronan a few seconds to realize it was a person. The child’s face and body, trampled by her horse’s hooves, were mangled beyond recognition.
Beside him, Sita was dead with arrows stuck all over her body. It was four men and women who shot the arrows. They were giggling next to a young man who was kicking the driver’s shins for dirtying the carriage. The disgusting conversation was still pleasant to my ears.
-Why did you suddenly run that dog? Could this be the dog owned by that woman?
– I don’t know. Since I hit the nail on the head, you buy the beer.
Among the onlookers, no one offered a helping hand. Judging by his luxurious attire, it seemed like the young man was a person of quite high rank. Ronan approached them slowly, his hand on the hilt of his sword. One of those holding the bow rolled his eyes.
– ok? What is this beggar again?
I couldn’t remember much after that. All she remembered was that when she came to her senses, there were a lot of corpses lying around. The knife in her hand was completely broken and cut in half.
There were no more onlookers to be seen. The heads of young men and archers were rolling around at their feet. The kites who shot the arrows had tattoos of hooks symbolizing the poaching organization Caribolo.
– Caribolo…
It was after that incident that Ronan began to hate poachers. There were about ten corpses of men armed with armor lying around at the scene. Their armor was engraved with patterns similar to the flags on a castle in the distance.
He was a private soldier of a noble family. Only then did Ronan realize that the young man was Baron Dantel’s son. Ronan stomped on the young man’s head, bursting it open, and then picked up Sita’s body.
It was the moment when they buried Sita in the forest near the village and took their leave. The grass rustled, and three or four village guards appeared. Terrified voices came out of their mouths as they aimed their spears at Ronan.
-Ooh, don’t move…! You monster!
Ronan threw away his sword without any hesitation. He was taken into custody obediently, and in recognition of his talent, he was spared the death penalty and was sent to a punitive unit.
“shit.”
It’s been a while since I remembered a boring story. I don’t know how the image world will turn out, but if no action is taken, there is a high possibility that the accident will repeat itself sooner or later. Ronan shook his head.
“It’s not real anyway.”
If you move around with intention, there is a chance that you can prevent an accident. But his purpose was not to play on the past.
Just like before, all you had to do was wander around and when you found the culprit, find it and cut it down. All you have to do is lure him in with sitaya sausages and stick around.
‘I won’t die in real life either. ‘Because the future has changed.’
After Ronan’s return, the empire was undergoing significant changes. As Nebula Clazie’s viciousness rose to the surface, the noble world also experienced large-scale changes.
Nine out of ten incompetent people like Baron Dantel were deprived of their rights as lords. Accidents happen by coincidence, so the girl would not have died.
‘So, it has nothing to do with me.’
After repeating this, Ronan took another step. The village built under the blue sky was extremely peaceful.
The smell of baking bread became even stronger. One step. Two steps. Ronan walked exactly ten steps and stopped in place.
“Oh, f*ck.”
My feet wouldn’t come off as if glue had stuck to the sole. Even though she was in a bad mood, I felt like I had to prevent the accident from happening.
The problem was that I vaguely remembered the place, but I didn’t know today’s date. At that time, a familiar figure came into view. Walking around with only the bones left was reminiscent of a water strider. Ronan’s expression brightened.
“aha.”
He was a boy who was in league with the pig that had been beaten by him. Ronan crept closer and put his arm around the boy.
“Yumma.”
“Hehehe! “You, you!”
The water strider’s face turned pale. He struggled as hard as he could to escape, but was unable to escape Ronan’s restraints. Ronan growled, tightening his arms.
“shut up. If you don’t want to be beaten like that pig, answer straight. “What day is today?”
“Keek… Wow, what is that all of a sudden…”
“How many days?”
“Wow…! Pooh, it’s the fifth day of Blue Pine Month! huh! “It will be right!”
“what?”
Ronan frowned. It was the very day the accident occurred.
‘no way.’
The worst screenplay flashed through my mind. She may have been simply mistaken, but the figure of the girl who gave bread to Sita looked similar to the lump of blood her woman was carrying.
‘Then the reason why this bastard rushed…’
Sita was not a mean person, but she was someone who repaid the favors she received. Ronan suddenly realized that the outline of the woman who had called the girl was very similar to the woman who was crying.
Because I’m out of luck. Ronan muttered and threw all the remaining sausages in front of Sita.
“wait here.”
“month.”
Sita calmly sat down and started eating the sausage. This was a really boring development. She immediately turned around and started running towards the place where the accident occurred.
“No matter how cursed it is…!”
Fortunately, it wasn’t that far away. The surrounding scenery passed by quickly. It was the moment Ronan turned the corner. As soon as the main road unfolded, screams erupted.
“Aaaah!”
“Up, it’s dangerous!”
A huge sadhu chariot was running down the main street. Compared to other carriages, the speed was strangely fast. A coachman with his hat pulled down was spitting at passers-by.
“Hahaha!”
“f*ck.”
Ronan’s face hardened. No matter what, it always catches people. In the middle of the street. About twenty steps in a straight line from the carriage, the girl I had seen earlier was picking up the bread scattered on the ground.
“one two···.”
The distance to the carriage narrowed in an instant. The girl belatedly heard the sound of her hooves and turned her head.
“uh?”
A shadow suddenly appeared and covered the girl’s face. It was a shadow created by running horses.
“What is this kid?”
The coachman let out a curse as if he had found a troublesome rock. Of course, there seemed to be no intention of stopping. Ronan, who had just reached the main street, shouted with all his might.
“Damn it, stop!”
But his voice was drowned out by the screams of the crowd. He was too late to save it himself. Ronan quickly assessed the situation and picked up a rock rolling at his feet. His arm disappeared from sight.
“ok?”
Bah! A rock flew in a straight line and hit the coachman’s head. The coachman lost consciousness and fell from the carriage. Wow. The sound of bones breaking rang out. The reins were pulled and the carriage’s course changed.
“Heeheeheehee!”
“damage!”
The startled horses started running wild. Although the speed slowed down a bit, the distance was still too far to save the girl.
Could it be that I can’t find it this time? It was the car that made Ronan chew his lips. A shadow quickly jumped out and passed by him.
“Sita?”
“month!”
Sita ran like the wind and reached the girl in an instant. Her horse’s hoof was about to land on her head. Sita bit her girl by the nape of her neck and threw her down onto her street. Pow! Sita, struck by her words, flew far away.
“······!”
Ronan’s eyes widened. The dog’s body rolled on the floor as she flew away. The girl, who barely saved her life, ran to Sita.
“Dog!”
“Kkiiing…Kkiiing…”
Red blood was flowing from the bottom of Sita, who was lying on the floor and giggling. Something broke in Ronan’s mind.
“you···.”
It was a feeling I felt for the first time in a while. This is what happens when anger reaches its peak. It felt like bitumen was boiling in my stomach. At that time, the carriage stopped in place. An irritated voice was heard from inside the room.
“Why stop? what’s the matter?”
Squeak – The ornate door opened and a woman got out of the carriage. She was very tall for a woman. She frowned when she saw the blood on her carriage.
“nastily.”
It was as if he was looking at a bug. Ronan looked at her face and froze in place.
“what···.”
“Tsk, what is that beggar again?”
The woman who made eye contact with Ronan clicked her tongue. Her straight black hair reached down to her waist. Her outfit was different, but it was clear she was someone he knew. Ronan’s mouth opened quietly.
“···senior?”
