Chapter 370
after the funeral
The Duchess seemed to be talking to her relatives, and we took Liana to the annex and told her to take a warm bath in case she caught a cold.
We said nothing. I didn’t know what to say.
The story of why the devil did such a thing is not something that can be shared here.
Knowing the truth, I was under heavy pressure.
Revolutionary forces are not lost.
It falls into Owen’s hands, and he’s a frakchi.
There was an unprecedented situation in front of us, that the revolutionary forces would be of use.
A force seeking to overthrow the system comes under the command of the system. Is this possible?
The situation sucks, but I can’t help but agree that Berthus was overly smart.
If the revolutionary forces were wrongly touched at an odd timing, the worst outcome could be that the entire empire went wild in exchange for the removal of the leaders.
Bertus disguised himself as an attack by the demons and decided to annihilate the leaders of the revolutionary forces.
And in preparation for the revolutionary forces falling into chaos, Owen was arranged to be the next revolutionary leader.
Owen will turn this incident into a real problem at the negotiating table with the demons, and we will use force. That’s how it calms down the inner turmoil.
And in the long run, the revolutionary forces will be gradually weakened and annihilated, or internal strife will cause internal strife to dissolve them in the air.
Indeed, it was perfectly utilized.
It was to the point where I wondered if there was such a way to break down the revolutionary forces without making a big fuss.
I wasn’t the only one who could use the name of the demon force. The empire that had the demons captives was also able to do something by disguising the actions of the demons.
Bertus was inspired by my killing of Leverrier Ranche.
“be careful.”
“huh… … .”
Liana came down to the reception room in a light outfit.
Liana was sitting on the couch hugging her knees and staring blankly ahead.
We didn’t say anything for a while.
No one could open their mouth.
midnight. A moment of silence passed and everyone went to bed. Only silence lingered in the space where not too long ago they had gathered together and had a friendly party.
Most of the friends couldn’t leave the annex of the Duke of Grantz because of the thought of taking care of Liana.
* * *
A cold winter rainy night.
– Fachik! Paperweight!
Cliffman was awakened by a strange sound coming from somewhere.
No, I didn’t even fall asleep. It was just such a state, wandering somewhere between sleep and consciousness.
Cliffman got out of bed and headed into the hallway.
Because I knew whose voice it was.
On the 1st floor of the annex with the lights off, in the drawing room.
– Pajik! Paperweight!
Lyana, who was sitting blankly, was repeating generating lightning in the air.
“… … What are you doing?”
At Cliffman’s words, Liana raised her head and stared at the stairs where Cliffman was standing.
“… … just.”
Liana with a gloomy expression lowered her eyes and said so.
As if Liana de Granz, who was always confident, outgoing, and always mischievous, had disappeared.
Liana was there with an expression full of melancholy and frustration.
Cliffman carefully descended the stairs.
Then, I sat across from Liana.
Liana looked at Cliffman and smiled faintly.
“Now, you must be tired.”
Cliffman was shocked by Liana’s smile and words.
It wouldn’t be a laughing matter.
It’s not a situation where you can say such kind words, but Riana laughs in this situation.
Cliffman is unfamiliar with Liana’s appearance.
However, Cliff did not know that in this situation, people rather become kind.
I was unconditionally on my side.
I didn’t treat him with respect.
I thought it would last forever, so I treated it carelessly. Only after that person disappears, Liana becomes faithful to people.
in regret
Because I realized the obvious fact that no one can be forever to you, and you can’t be forever to anyone.
treat people with respect
“Today, thank you everyone.”
Because of that, Liana becomes kind.
Regretting all the days I wasn’t kind.
“… … .”
“I’ll cheer you up in a little while. Don’t worry too much.”
Cliffman stared at Liana, who seemed to be a completely different person because her tone of voice had changed.
A boy named Cliffman doesn’t talk much in the first place.
Dealing with people is also difficult. As I was being swayed here and there by this monstrous girl, I wanted to get better at least a little bit, but I was always in the same place. I still feel uncomfortable with people, especially with girls.
It didn’t get better.
Cliffman doesn’t even know how to treat people casually and normally.
But now Liana is not normal. In this situation, Cliffman doesn’t even know what she should say.
But it’s strange.
Originally, it was difficult to even look directly at Liana’s face.
If someone stared at him, he was in a hurry to turn away from that gaze in a cold sweat. Liana, in particular, tended to stare into her eyes, and Cliff Mann couldn’t stand it. When I averted her eyes, she would ask me why I kept avoiding her gaze, and would even scold me for looking straight at me.
I don’t know why it’s hard, but when Riana looked at her, it felt like someone was tightening her heart, and it was painful.
But now.
Cliffman looked at Riana, but Riana couldn’t see him.
It’s not awkward to look at.
In this situation, you don’t know what to say.
They don’t know how to treat them normally, but of course they don’t know how to comfort them.
but.
Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean you can’t.
Even if you don’t know, you can try.
You can do something to be normal, you can do something to comfort.
I just don’t know if the attempt was a success or a failure.
Cliffman now.
“liana.”
“… … huh?”
“alcohol… … . Would you like a drink?”
I wanted to comfort Riana de Granz.
Liana looked at Cliff with her eyes wide open as if she hadn’t expected such words to come out.
“… … .”
alcohol in this situation.
It’s a moment when I feel like I shouldn’t drink, but Liana only stares at Cliff.
The boy’s eyes, wide open to the point of being burdensome, are looking at him. Trying not to turn away somehow, trying to do something for now.
Maybe, looking at the eyes of a boy who seems to have the greatest courage I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Yeah, good.”
Liana smiled lightly.
* * *
A boy and a girl sip drinks in the middle of the night.
Strong whiskey, nothing like snacks.
A girl who lost her father drinks.
The boy who wants to comfort the girl also drinks. It was the kind of night where you might be deeply drunk, but maybe it would be better to be like that. Some moments are rather, there are days when you want to anesthetize yourself and get over it.
There was no conversation whatsoever.
Every time Liana passed a sip of whiskey, she looked at the window of the annex.
The main building was visible through the glass windows of the winter rain.
Cliffman didn’t ask what he was thinking. However, on the other side, he quietly passed the drink little by little according to Liana’s tempo.
“My father ran away to marry a commoner he met at the temple.”
“… … okay?”
Cliffman listened to the story calmly. He didn’t stutter or panic as usual.
Liana bit her lips lightly, as if biting off the edge of a laugh leaking out of her mouth, and then continued the story.
“huh. In the end, it failed and was captured, but if it had succeeded, I would not have been born.”
“… … I see.”
“Neither Mom nor Dad told me what kind of person she was. She’s just a stain on my father’s life and a stain on my mother’s, because she’s just such a woman. Is she dead, or is she living a normal life.”
Liana quietly passes a sip of whiskey.
“After my father was arrested, the family forced me to marry him. It’s a rush to get married, and there are rumors like that. I couldn’t find a good place to marry. That’s why I married her mom. An aristocrat with no domain and only a title. She is the second daughter of the Countess who came to Relay.”
Anyone who has dipped their toes in the social world knows this, but Cliffman is not an aristocrat. That’s why I couldn’t know anything about the family secrets that Liana was talking about.
However, Cliffman was silently listening to the story.
“Mom would have wanted to like Dad, but Dad couldn’t like Mom. Then, of course, she couldn’t like her mother or her father. It creaks from the start.”
“I was like a medium that forced me to continue that shaky marriage. I don’t even know how I was born. Anyway, I was born. It’s a little bit like a scapegoat, how can I say it? If there is a day when the two of you fight a lot, in the end, my story will come out. Even if you look at Liana. Even if she sees me Her mom says that, and her dad says that too. When it’s time to make some drastic decision, my story always comes up. So, I have Liana, and she will do more here.”
“I was sick of it.”
“You think I’m the only achievement in each other’s lives?”
Liana sips whiskey.
“Anyway, I hated Mom and Dad. I hated my mom because she tried to interfere with every detail of my life, and my dad seemed to let me go free, but he hated it because he blatantly wanted me to live the life he couldn’t live. After all, if Dad had been good to Mom from the start, she wouldn’t have become the person who was so evil as Mom.”
“My mom is openly a problem, but my dad pretends not to be a problem, but in fact he was the biggest problem.”
“So I hated my mom and I hated my dad. Seriously, I thought no.”
After pouring whiskey into a glass, Liana quietly rolls the liquor into the glass.
“By the way, I think I liked my dad more than I thought.”
I thought you hated it.
Because of the regret that rushed in the moment I couldn’t see anymore.
Because of the regret and guilt that flooded in because the words I said without knowing it was the last were the last words I said.
“I am, as you guys say, a bastard.”
Liana was crying with her eyes wide open.
“Everything… … . I regret it so much… … .”
With the glass down, Cliffman stared at Liana, who was crying and staring blankly at the glass without being able to drink.
“why. Why the devil? my dad… … . All in all, there… … . Why did you have to do that? Why did my dad have to die? He wasn’t a good husband, but I guess he was a good dad to me. I think he was right that he loved me even though he didn’t love his mother. Still, I think he loved me as much as I did. I thought of it as an excuse to rationalize my unhappy marriage. so… … . suck. town… … . after… … . and. He was a good man, my dad. Be nice to people and don’t do bad things. good… … . I was a person… … .”
Cliffman was still watching the crying Liana.
Duke Grantz was a good person externally.
He wasn’t a good husband and he didn’t think he was a good father, but he wasn’t such a bad father.
Liana says so in a world where her father has disappeared.
You can’t bring back what was lost.
If so, I can only wish for something else.
I can’t understand why I had to lose, so I think about why I had to lose.
“Me, so… … . so… … . Because he’s superpowered. If it were me, would you be able to take revenge? can you fight curious. what is my strength can it be like that curious… … .”
plural.
sleepless night.
Liana was firing a bolt of lightning, vaguely imagining revenge.
because he’s superpowered
I can’t pick up the words I spit out, and I can’t turn back time.
It might be possible to dream of revenge on the demon lord who stole his father.
Liana was sitting blankly alone, checking her abilities. She herself possesses psychic powers, and that she is psychic is a very rare ability.
Demon King is such a huge name.
Even the name Duke Grantz is too small in front of the name Demon King.
Wasn’t that why he was ruthlessly trampled on?
On a rainy winter night, Liana was agonizing over whether she would be able to stand up to the gigantic name of the Demon King.
He is a powerful psychic who can handle electricity, but it is unknown how strong the demon king will be.
That’s why Liana is in despair, regret, and vengeance.
He was predicting himself fighting the demon king in fear.
Cliffman looked at Liana like that.
“I will help you.”
quietly said so.
“… … uh?”
“I will help you. I.”
At those words, Liana stared at Cliff with her teary eyes wide open.
are two small
Standing up to that huge name doesn’t change much if we work together.
“If we do it together, it will be less difficult.”
Not that it would be easier, but that it would be less difficult.
Those words were oddly realistic.
Because it’s strangely realistic.
Cliffman’s sincerity was so deeply felt in those words.
not just saying
If you would risk your life on the difficult task of killing the demon lord, you could risk your life together to make that difficult task a little less difficult.
“Why are you… … ?”
I could risk my life, but why should you risk your life?
In response to that question, Cliffman gulped down the full bottle of whiskey at once and let out a hot breath.
“You are my friend.”
Those words were the first words out of Cliffman’s mouth.
At that, Liana stared at Cliff with a puzzled expression on how to respond.
Liana stared at Cliff as if she was a little bewildered, and then smiled lightly.
“There must be something stronger than that.”
“… … .”
“But if you are like this… … . You’ve grown a lot.”
A stronger word than the word friend. At those words, Cliffman’s face reddened.
“thank you.”
Just as Cliffman emptied the whiskey glass at once, Liana also emptied the remaining alcohol in the glass at once.
And then.
– rumble
All the expensive whiskey left in the bottle was spilled on the floor.
Liana’s eyes were wide open, but there were no more tears.
“I won’t be drinking for a while.”
Until you kill the Demon King.
Liana smiled weakly and said so.
* * *
The funeral is over, and we all return to the Temple.
Liana also returned to the Temple.
Liana wasn’t looking for vigor.
but.
-ha… … .
– If you are tired, let’s rest.
-no. do more
– No, rest. If you force it, it will only hurt your body.
-Still a bit more… … .
– I know better about this. rest.
-uh… … ? ah. huh… … . okay. rest, then.
Liana started training early in the morning.
Ellen and I were watching from afar as Riana and Cliffman ran together.
Physical fitness is a condition that has no disadvantages. And strictly speaking, Liana was on the side of falling a lot in terms of her physical strength. Although she’s not quite as good as Charlotte, she’s no match for a properly trained melee combat major.
Liana was not particularly enthusiastic.
He had a strong psychic power, a psychic ability to grow on his own, and that was enough.
The family was also wealthy, so there was nothing to worry about after graduation.
We are only interested in playing around with everything, and weren’t we disappointed that we were living too hard a while ago?
Riana de Granz, who did that, disappeared.
-ha… … . ha… … .
-Be careful on the ice.
-huh.
Liana, whose eyes were filled with venom, was chasing after Cliffman, who, originally, could not even follow his toes with his teeth clenched.
It was Liana who forcibly dragged Cliff, who was clumsy in interpersonal relationships, and tried to fix that personality somehow.
Now, Cliffman didn’t seem to be ashamed of stuttering or dealing with Liana.
Rather, only Cliff was teaching Liana something.
A common goal took away Cliffman’s shame, and Liana’s insincerity.
Each of their chronic problems disappeared.
through someone’s death.
through the purpose of revenge.
Ellen and I watch Liana, who is still sweating in the middle of winter, chasing after Cliffman.
“The Demon King is a distant story, I thought so.”
Ellen looks at me.
Tuan’s champion.
And the owner of two holy things.
Ellen seemed to have thought that it would be a story only applicable to us.
The Demon Lord is a symbol of fear for most people, and there is nothing like experiencing it directly or having an impact on my life.
However, Duke Grantz was killed by the Demon King.
Someone around him suffered direct sadness and pain due to the demon king’s actions, and changed because of that.
“Reinhardt.”
“uh.”
“I am angry.”
Ellen’s eyes were shaking.
Do we have no choice but to admit that the Demon King is really, really evil? Because this situation is difficult to accept.
Ellen seemed to be angry because she hated the demon king who destroyed her friend’s life.
Although it is bound to be different from their anger.
“so do i.”
The one who is the most angry has to be me.
“let’s go.”
“huh.”
we run together
Even if the grain of anger and the target of true revenge are different.
We build the day together.
At the end of a day of running together and a series of daily routines, until something to greet begins.
