[Silly Dasha.... I couldn't even say goodbye properly.]
The sounds of Soana and Nadav quietly comforting the sobbing Gigor could be heard.
Some Dullahans sat speechless in silence, while others gazed at the distant Belladia Castle, lost in thought.
Looking around at such Dullahans, I slowly turned my gaze.
The edge of the cliff where Dasha had stood was empty. Wrapped in green authority, he had become a handful of ash and scattered in the wind.
As if throwing his body to the wind.
'......Dasha.'
He was a man with a pale complexion, slightly prominent cheekbones, and gaunt cheeks. A knight with somewhat sensitive features and thin lips.
The Dasha I faced in his final moment had regained his true form as the tenth knight of the Round Table.
Not as a Dullahan, but as a proud knight of the Round Table, he obtained the rest he had desired.
"The sky is getting cloudy."
A low voice came from behind me as I stared blankly at the cliff.
Glancing back, Samuel was gazing at where I had been looking with a subdued expression.
"If it rains, it will be dangerous to travel."
As he said, the clear sky was now filled with clouds from some point.
After confirming the sky, I slowly moved my lips.
"Is this where you killed Dasha?"
"......Yes."
I understood why he became my guide.
The knights need to retrieve their heads, and those heads are at the very place where they were killed.
Someone needed to take me there on behalf of the knights who lost their memories—Samuel.
Is this the goddess's punishment to make him face the betrayal he committed?
"Let's go."
I took heavy steps. The Dullahans, each paying tribute in their own way, also collected themselves and prepared to depart.
I considered putting them back into subspace, but I decided not to.
After all, the destination was right in front of us, and the other Dullahans would soon retrieve their heads as well.
I didn't worry about them going berserk if they regained their memories along with their heads.
'What comes before anger toward a traitor is the desire for rest.'
Just like Dasha, who knelt before me and pleaded earnestly.
* * *
We passed through the downhill path that was several times more dangerous than the ascent.
Fortunately, thanks to Zenon's magic, we didn't encounter any dangerous situations. Unlike when we went up, there were no plant monsters blocking the way.
That kind of felt like it was suggesting I should only use authority on the Round Table knights from now on, which was unpleasant......
But since there was nothing blocking us and our movement speed increased, I decided to think of it positively.
'No, is thinking of this positively even right?'
Looking at the approaching castle, my heart fluttered anxiously. Like this, we would suddenly face the place where the Dullahans were killed.
It would be better if Samuel at least gave some hint about the location beforehand, but he kept his mouth shut and only guided us.
The blue sky that was visible here and there was now gone, and gray clouds filled the sky above the castle.
[By the way, how did that lizardman kid end up all the way here?]
As if trying to somehow change the somber atmosphere, Tristan opened his mouth with a deliberately cheerful voice.
Gigor, who had been crouching with his body hunched while firmly gripping Nadav's mane with his claws, slowly raised his head at those words.
[Ganik, you get thrown around every day but your shell hasn't cracked, somehow.]
[This guy's grip strength is incredibly strong! He'll never let me go. Besides, he doesn't throw me these days! How dignified he's become!]
Ganik, who was held by the lizardman kid in his sea turtle form today as well, rebutted with a serious voice.
Whether he knew they were talking about him, the lizardman kid chimed in while slapping his tail.
[Kyua... Bua...!]
The booming voice was slightly different from the unintelligible babbling he used to shout. Ganik, who would have understood it before anyone else, stretched his neck and looked up at the lizardman kid.
[Owowow!]
I thought he would just make incomprehensible shrieks forever, but it seems he is learning to speak after all.
Previously, when Ganik was curious about the lizardman's growth speed and process, I had asked Zenon about it.
At that time, Zenon, who had looked up information at the magic tower, told me that lizardmen have a very short childhood period.
Their bodies become adults in 3 years, and their minds leave infancy in 1 year.
In the case of the lizardman kid we took in, thinking back to when we first met and couldn't communicate, he probably wasn't more than 1 year old.
But considering the period he was held in the village and the period he traveled with us, it was about time for him to start talking.
Rather, starting to talk now should be considered late.
Seeing that he doesn't just cut off his tail and offer it like before, and steps forward appropriately while reading the room, his mind might already be somewhat mature.
[Kyua-ang.]
[He just said "No"! Did you hear that, Captain? Huh?]
No, it wasn't that accurate.
Without even hearing my answer, Ganik started bragging to the other Dullahans with an excited voice.
[All the hard work teaching him to speak is paying off! He's saying he won't throw me!]
Was that what that meant?
Even though no one sympathized, Ganik was alone in his emotion and praised the lizardman kid. Now he was truly no different from a proper parent.
Empowered by Ganik's praise, the lizardman kid chattered away.
Since it wasn't a proper sentence, the result was no different from just making loud noises.
Normally I might have scolded them for being noisy, but right now, this noisy atmosphere was better than a quiet one.
So I just let them chatter as they pleased.
[Ganik, if you spoil the kids too much, they'll develop bad habits!]
[That's why you have no manners like this, Gigor.]
[What?]
"Everyone seems to have cheered up."
Zenon, who had been quietly watching without intervening, spoke up casually.
Although he couldn't understand the conversation, he seemed to have roughly grasped the atmosphere from the noisy animal sounds.
"Yeah."
It's sad to suddenly part with a comrade, but at the same time, since that comrade obtained the rest he wanted most, we should congratulate them.
The Dullahans quickly understood and accepted Dasha's situation. They were probably sensing that more partings would continue.
"Is Lady Anneli okay?"
"Dasha wasn't a Dullahan I spent a long time with, either."
Rather, he was a troublemaker I was always on edge about, wondering when he would go berserk.
It was surprising to the extent that, in his final moment, he met his end so calmly and politely.
At my words, Zenon made a subtle expression. Then he looked back at the Dullahans chatting among themselves.
"Will the other Dullahans disappear in that way too?"
"Of course, the other Dullahans will also obtain rest."
"......I see."
Zenon had a face that looked like he was thinking a lot.
"Why that expression?"
"Just."
Zenon, who had been looking at the Dullahans for a while, lowered his gaze to the ground.
"I think I understand why you have no lingering attachments."
"I can't know whether rest for the other Dullahans is death or not."
"But Lady Anneli seems to already think that way."
......That's because if it were me, I would wish for that.
"They waited for me for a very long time. They must be very tired."
Zenon nodded quietly as if he understood my words. Then he abruptly changed the subject.
"You remember, right?"
"What?"
"You said you'd hold my hand when you're scared."
Zenon smiled faintly and shrugged his shoulders.
"I was worried you might have forgotten."
I looked at Zenon intently and recalled a memory I had forgotten.
Not the memory of the day he said he would hold my hand, but another memory.
The nightmare I had from Rusalka's final attack. I don't know why that suddenly came to mind.
"I said it back then too, there's nothing to be afraid of."
"Then that's a relief."
I withdrew my gaze from him and gazed at the castle that had grown much closer.
The weather was cloudy. It looked like it would rain soon.
Very heavy and thick raindrops.
* * *
Flash, Lilia opened her eyes and breathed roughly.
Her heaving chest was soaked with cold sweat.
Grabbing her throbbing head and sitting up, she sat blankly on the bed for a while.
'A dream......'
She had a dream. The dream she had so desired.
'Why?'
Lilia's face twisted with confusion.
It was a prophecy like usual. The prophecy she read was the appearance of Maxel, shivering and curled up in a much shabbier and worn-out place than now.
And her own figure, abandoning Maxel and running away to save at least this one body.
The problem was the content after that.
"The page was torn......"
The back page was torn. Judging by the traces, there was clearly content that would follow, but since the torn page couldn't be found, the aftermath also couldn't be known.
Lilia gripped the blanket with both hands.
Even if the content was interrupted in the middle, this kind of case where the book itself appeared damaged had never happened before.
A more ominous feeling than when she foresaw failure swept through her entire body.
Bang.
"Lilia!"
Lilia, who had been sitting blankly, quickly raised her head. Maxel, who had been haggard and gloomy for days, entered the bedroom with a brightened face.
"Did you hear? They say those who will escort us are coming soon!"
"Those who will escort us?"
"Yes! It seems the merchant lord you introduced did the job well!"
Looking at Maxel filled with hope for the first time in a while, Lilia recalled the dream she had just had.
Maxel sitting in a place even shabbier than this one, with a devastated face.
Should I run away.
'I think there was a back door in this building.'
Maxel, looking at Lilia's seriously grave face, encouraged her that she just needed to endure a little longer now. However, Lilia's expression didn't loosen.
There was no way she would have such a dream for no reason. Could it be a revelation telling her to run away immediately?
......But she doesn't know the next content.
'If I run away and an even worse situation unfolds?'
The next page definitely existed. It's just that it was torn so the content couldn't be known.
And Lilia was only anxious about the fact that a certain future existed and she didn't know it.
"Lilia, hurry and get ready. It's time to leave this cramped building!"
Lilia, who was about to say something to Maxel, eventually closed her lips. She didn't have the courage to run away, pinning her hopes on an uncertain future.
So she pushed away Maxel who was urging her with something and lay down again. She tried desperately to fall asleep again.
To know the torn page.