Chapter 699

Epilogue - The End of the World

After the new empire declared a law recognizing the land ownership of farmers who cultivated the ruined land, groups of pioneers began to leave the cities. There were still many empty lands where the grass swayed in the wind and small villages where crops grew cautiously. Although rural people visited the city, there was no reason for city people to visit small villages. It was a small city located at the western end of the continent, belonging to a safe zone but not a strategic point or a hub city in the empire's view. It was called Leanda. Even such a small village, where the villagers consumed the crops they grew and sold the surplus in Leanda to make a living, emerged after the war. In a small rural village without a name in the outskirts of Leanda, there was a stranger. He was a man who was more like a vagabond than a guest. After a cow that they raised together died, he had been staying in the abandoned barn that was empty. He was a man who did not move like he was dead, leaning against the wall of the barn next to the decaying straw. A girl with a rich and long brown curly hair ran towards him, calling him "sir." The man looked at the girl who ran towards him with her hair fluttering in the wind. The girl handed him something she had in her hand. "Sir, haven't you eaten yet? Here, eat this. My mom gave it to me." In the girl's hand were three steamed potatoes that had gone cold. It was a lie that her mother gave them to her. There was no village that liked a strange vagabond like him. The man looked at the girl for a moment and then put one of the potatoes in his mouth. "Here, I brought some water too." One bite of potato and a sip of water. The man slowly performed the action as if he were performing a ritual. The girl watched him eat the potato and drink the water with wonder. The man was wearing a cloak that was close to rags. He was eating the potato and drinking the water with only his left hand. His empty right shoulder covered by the shabby cloak told the girl that he had no right arm. * * * The girl patiently waited for the man to eat the three potatoes little by little. "Thank you." The man thanked her briefly and took the empty water jug from her. The girl beamed with a big smile. People carrying farming tools from afar looked at the man in the barn and the girl talking to him and shook their heads. "Tsk. He won't listen even if you tell him." "Shouldn't we tell Sandy's mom firmly?" "Will he believe what she says?" "That's true, but..." The murmurs of such villagers were heard not only by the man but also by the girl. "Don't worry about it. Adults are always scared of strangers they don't know."

"...I guess so."

The man replied to the girl's words, which were more mature than those of the adults.

The vague fear of the adults was natural.

A vagabond with an unknown identity lying on a street.

It was Sandy who discovered the vagabond, shouted and called the adults, and brought him to the village.

A one-armed vagabond.

Despite the various questions from the villagers, he didn't say anything about himself.

He acted slowly, as if he were dying, or rather, as if he were already dead, and he had almost no focus in his eyes.

He looked ominous everywhere, or as if he had a terrible disease.

That's why Sandy's approach to this ominous vagabond was strange.

They didn't openly drive him away because it wasn't such a desolate village, but no one wanted to get close to the vagabond.

After regaining his senses at Sandy's house, the vagabond sat in the village's abandoned barn all day without a word of complaint at the polite request of Sandy's mother to leave.

Since then, he has been living on potatoes or sweet potatoes that Sandy secretly brought him, or pieces of bread.

Is he going to just sit around like this?

Whenever the villagers saw the vagabond sitting motionless in the corner of the barn, they gave him such a look.

The man hardly moved all day.

Since no one came to see him except Sandy, people who came and went thought that the man might have died like that.

It's true that Sandy was the only one who took care of him.

Other children in the village didn't get close to the ominous vagabond either.

They speculated about the vagabond, saying that he was a ghost who ate people or a ghost itself.

Even if the children tried to stop her and the adults scolded her, Sandy took care of the vagabond.

So, it has been about two weeks since the vagabond took over the village's barn.

Now, they just want him to leave.

The villagers' patience is reaching its limit.

Of course, Sandy doesn't care about such things.

The reason why the vagabond, whom people suspect of being deaf, suddenly started talking to Sandy was that he wanted to say something to her, even if it was a very short sentence.

Sandy smiled at the vagabond, who finished his meal and remained silent.

"Sir, do you know what this is?"

"...?"

"This barn smells like when we used to raise cows a long time ago."

"...?"

"Even though we don't raise cows anymore, it still smells terrible."

A messy head and a beard that grew in any direction.

Of course, it was natural for a foul odor to emanate, and the barn where such a man was staying began to smell like it did when cows were raised in the past.

"I guess so."

The man only replied to Sandy's words.

It smells terrible.

I see.

Sandy's eyes widened at the simple question and answer.

"...I was trying to say you should wash up a bit."

"...?"

"There's a stream in front of here."

The man didn't answer all of Sandy's words.

Sandy now knows to some extent.

That the man's hearing is almost gone. So when Sandy speaks, he nods or gestures without knowing the meaning. It's not just his hearing that's dull. The man's missing arm is just too noticeable, but he's sick all over his body. Sandy holds onto the man's arm. Just because he can't understand doesn't mean the conversation doesn't work. "Let's go. I'll wash you." "...". When Sandy pulls him with force, the man slowly, but inevitably, gets up. The man is suspicious, silent, and ominous. In fact, if you watch him closely for a long time, there is no one who listens as well as this man. Sandy knows. Sandy was originally a girl who was treated as an outcast in the village. She was a girl who went to places she was told not to go and did things she was told not to do. But if she was told to do something, she wouldn't do it. She was like a tadpole. Even the village children beat her up when they heard Sandy's story, because they had played and been beaten by Sandy's mischief and jokes since they were very young. So it was inevitable that Sandy's parents had given up on her. But this time, isn't it dangerous? Sandy started taking care of a dangerous man. So everyone tries to stop Sandy this time, but as always, Sandy says not to do it, so she takes care of the man even harder. Now she even brings the man to the stream and washes him. The man was like an object, not resisting Sandy's touch and entrusting his touch. She washed his rough hair with plenty of soap, and even washed his face and beard. It was like a big baby being taken care of by a small mother. -Take off your clothes too. -... Even the villagers who saw her trying to take off the man's clothes stopped her and scolded her. "No, are you relying on a child because you can't wash yourself?" Sandy knew that the man had a serious problem, so she didn't scold him. "....I see." But the man just said that. "You're a bad person." "Don't say that, lady!" In the end, the village girl had to go back without saying anything more to Sandy's stubbornness. The next day. Sandy could see the man who had washed his clothes clean and was leaning against the wall of the barn. "What, did you do it alone?" "....Yeah." Sandy smiles subtly at that short answer. And then she strokes the man's hair. Like trying to praise him. "You're impressive, mister. You know how to wash yourself alone."

"......"

"Are you making fun of me?"

"......"

"I can't tell if you can hear me or not."

Sandy couldn't understand what the man was thinking.

Certainly, there was no longer a strong stench like before, and it seemed that he had washed his clothes and body somewhere overnight.

But his clothes were still old and worn, and his scruffy hair and unkempt beard were still the same.

Sandy brought thinly baked bread today.

"Don't hate my mother too much. She's just scared."

"......"

"I'm giving you my share of food, too."

"......I see."

Although he didn't like it and was afraid, everyone had a heart that couldn't help it.

Although she didn't like Sandy's strange behavior and the unknown stranger, she couldn't let him starve to death.

Her mother had no choice but to prepare enough food for Sandy to give to the stranger.

The villagers hoped that the stranger would disappear, but they didn't want him to die in the village.

So they had no choice but to admire Sandy's bravery, even though they didn't like her actions.

She thought he was just a talkative beggar, but she learned another side of Sandy, who was kind and gentle.

And Sandy didn't just bring bread.

Suddenly, she took out a knife from her pocket.

"Stick out your chin, mister."

Sandy waved the knife threateningly, her eyes flickering.

"......"

"I'll shave off that ugly beard."

Of course, the man didn't seem scared or surprised, just looking at Sandy with cloudy eyes.

"I've seen my dad do it a lot, so I think I can do it well too."

Sandy grabbed the man's chin and held it, and even though she pressed the knife against his skin, the man didn't react.

- Square

"......Is this right?"

The inexperienced girl gestured awkwardly, shaving with the razor.

The man just sat there, either not caring or not feeling anything.

"Oh...it feels like it's working..."

Of course, it was her first time shaving, and it wasn't even a razor for shaving.

So it was bound to be sloppy.

As Sandy got closer to the man's face, she noticed something strange.

"......Huh?"

There was something hidden under his clothes around his neck.

A small chain made of silver, with a necklace with a ruby in the center.

It was clear that it wasn't just a simple gemstone. The ruby was not a simple red, but it seemed to swirl like a whirlpool inside the gemstone.

"Mister...what is this...?"

As Sandy reached out to touch the necklace out of curiosity.

- Clang!

"Ah!"

The man, who had been slow and unresponsive until now, grabbed Sandy's wrist roughly. The man's blurry eyes found focus and he stared directly at Sandy. "Don't touch it," he warned her strongly. Sandy nodded her head in response to his command. As she began to shave his beard, she noticed a silver chain with a ruby necklace around his neck. The man hid it back in his clothes and Sandy accidentally cut his cheek with the knife. Despite the injury, the man didn't seem to feel anything and just stared into space. Sandy was curious about the necklace and asked if it was a valuable treasure, but the man replied that it was not a treasure, but the most important thing in the world. Sandy couldn't understand why something so important wasn't considered a treasure. She asked why someone like him, a beggar, would have such a thing. The man didn't know either and gave a bitter smile. "I'm watching over him, but he's a really strange person," Sandy thought as she gently stroked the man's hair, who seemed sad for some reason. * * * "Swoooooosh" On a day when it seemed like the world was going to be locked in a downpour, there was a fierce and brutal fight that no one had witnessed. "This is probably the kind of ending that suits an old monster like this...." The last monster, who had his heart pierced by the golden spear, was actually happy. "In the only era where all five relics appeared, to die by having my heart pierced by the last relic.... How overly generous of an ending...." Rudbeck watched the last monster, who was happy to be killed, with his eyes wide open. As he was dying, the old monster broke his chest and took something out of it. The old monster smiled. "Boy.... If you want to become a true hero.... You must take this...." "This is not a treasure, but if left alone, it will destroy the world...." "If you take it, it will only destroy you." "As long as you don't perish, the world you endure will be peaceful." "The relic of courage." "A relic that gives you the power to rival anything." "It will give you the strength to endure it, but it will never give you a power that surpasses it...." "Perhaps you will carry this for a lifetime...." "That is the glory and doom you must bear." "It will be your destruction." "Perhaps, do you understand?" "You will find a way to completely destroy it...." "But such a day will probably never come." "The owner of the last relic." "The apostle of courage." "You have won, but...." "Because you have won, you will bear the eternal destruction...." "Carrying the sin of others that you did not commit for the rest of your life." "That is your destiny...." "And no one will remember you...." "How pitifully happy." "Glorious and tragic ending...." The last monster disappeared like melting into raindrops with a laugh that seemed to be greatly satisfied. He could only take the ruby gem that remained in the dead man's place without knowing what it was. The moment he held it, the man had a hunch. That carrying this for a lifetime was his destiny. He had won, but he knew there was a price for victory. After that, every day was hell for the man.