186 [3-43] From the North Country (2/2)

It was still early in the day, but by the time they had finished talking, the blood-red twilight had enveloped them.

Well ...... she is in a faraway land ......

No, I didn't think you were in Ciel-Teila.

With a map of the world in his mind, Ishimakura muttered to himself.

Ishimakura felt exhausted, as if he had experienced all the years he had been away at once.

Zeft had been recruiting friends in Teira-Ruare to start up a party. Then Chen Shih came into his life. They soon became the country's foremost party of adventurers, and ......

Tell me one thing.

Was she ...... laughing?

”...... Yes.

A quiet question, a quiet answer.

The empty teacup cast a black shadow like a sundial.

At first he was like a stray dog that bellowed at everyone, but before long we were on the same page.

He was so easygoing that he seemed rather unthinking.

It bothered me that he didn't want to talk about his past at all.

Oh yeah. ............

A mixture of emotions flooded me.

Relief and joy that she was happy.

Relief and joy that she was happy, and disappointment that someone else had done what she should have done.

Sadness and anger that what she had in the new world had been taken from her.

She was a person who smiled like a flower. As the name suggests: ......

Oh, if only she had been able to smile again ...... more than anything else .......

Unsure whether to be happy or sad, the stone pillow held his eyes.

I'm sorry. I want to thank you, not as a soldier, but as someone who knows her.

I'm honored.

...... and we have to get her back.

”Get her back”?　Does that mean we get the body back?

There was an unusual ring to Zeft's words, and Ishimakura couldn't help but ask back.

”We stopped in the Holy Kingdom on our way here to check it out.

We stopped by the Sacred Kingdom on our way here to check it out. We put our faith in a divine miracle to purify the bodies of the undead and turn them back into 'mere human corpses' to revive them. ......

It's possible.

How is that possible ......?

There have been a few documented cases.

Normally, the success rate of reanimation decreases as the corpse becomes less fresh, but Kyonshi is an undead creature originally created to preserve corpses. There may be hope.

It was as if the sound of his own blood was echoing in his ears.

It was all over now, the stone pillow thought. Everything was irretrievably lost.

But what if he could save Chen Shi now?

”...... Sorry to interrupt, but just in case. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it back or not, but the problem is the miracle tunes that make purification possible.

Rare. Or limited. Either way, the Holy Kingdom will have to play its hand on a national level to finally make it happen. ......

”Claire.

The wizard with the glasses (probably a pair) adds.

But Zeft conquers him without even looking at him.

The way is not closed. Then ...... I'll just go for it.

Claire fell silent, as if she was uncomfortable.

Zeft had an uncanny air about him that made him hesitant to even raise an objection.

Ishimakura felt the hope that had been swelling in him rapidly fade away.

You can tell by looking at Zeft. He only sees what is possible or not, and does not think much about the realistic possibility of realization. The hope he talks about is like a pie in the sky. And that Zeft is trapped to the point of clinging to something so uncertain.

--That's devastating.

That's what happens to adventurers who start out strong and half-decent. He probably thought he could save the world. Then they run into a threat that's beyond their control and lose their way.

He's a pawn that will crumble on its own if you use it carefully. It's a shame, but we have no choice but to let him burn up. ......

Ishimakura put aside his personal feelings and gave Zeft a cold-hearted evaluation as a warrior and a soldier.