118 – That Girl’s Sweet Trade 17

Human beings make their own goals in life, and live to achieve them.

A life without a goal loses its momentum and eventually comes to a standstill.

And, there are two roads in front of those who live such a suspended life.

One is to wait for the day to disappear from this world while slowly rotting like a wagon stuck in mud without a purpose.

The other is to set a new goal that will motivate you and try to leap forward again along the way.

And, after losing the purpose of life as a family, the path she walked…

It was the latter.

The people she met as she stumbled along the path of shadows.

The woman who creaked from the first meeting and held her ankle all the time

A woman who took lightly the situation every time and made her reach out in many ways

A kid who doesn’t want to listen to anything that makes you think he’s cocky

A timid girl who doesn’t understand why she is on this floor

When I first met, I didn’t like all of them, and I felt like I was carrying an annoying burden.

But.. living with them day by day.

As I have the time that others commonly call daily life again…

Emotions began to appear on her face, which was completely empty.

Emotions that started as irritation and anger soon began to change to feelings of joy and pleasure.

The lingering feelings and sorrow for those who left… turned into concern and affection for those in front of them.

Like that.. she was just living day by day.

From some moment, I started to live a truly meaningful time.

to protect your loved ones.

Protecting the happiness of the people you can call your new family.

That was the path she walked… and became the goal of her new life.

*

“… ..”

Echid slowly opens her eyes.

Right after that, she just frowned at the pain she felt automatically.

‘Is it alive… is it… ‘

A vivid and unmatched sense that tells you that you are still alive.

For a moment, I felt disgusted, but at the same time, I also started to feel a little lucky.

Anyway, if you’re still alive…

Maybe I’ll be able to see the faces of my ‘family’ again.

Maybe she can take care of them again, who made her unable to close her eyes in peace until the last moment.

‘Anyway, I have to figure out the situation first.. Kyu!..’

While thinking about that, Echid tried to stand up by any means, but her body was too heavy, as if it were a lump of lead.

“Kuuu!.. Heck… Ugh..”

In the end, Echid had no choice but to give up due to his exhausted stamina and the pain he felt in his chest.

With that alone, a very rough breath came out of her mouth, and sweat began to form on her forehead.

‘Damn it… It’s impossible to move right away. It should be like this for at least a while…’

While thinking about that, eventually giving up on getting up, Echid slowly turned her head and began to look around.

By the way…

“Ugh!”

“… ”

The next moment, a person met her eyes.

The moment he saw her, Echid began to feel a chill run down his spine.

The person sitting there is the only one of her enemies who has defeated her.

It was the woman from the upper rank of Beden.

“Yes.. where you are.. how.. stand.. no way..”

“… ”

The next moment, a future that she didn’t want to imagine so much began to picture in her head.

He caught her from the upper ranks of Beden and even treated her injuries.

The intention of doing this to the opponent who defeated it was obvious in a situation where he showed obvious hostility.

Either use them as hostages, or try to gather information through torture and conciliation.

Either way, from Echid’s point of view, it was clear that the future was bound to cause harm to the other comrades.

‘But that… at least it means that the children successfully completed the task.’

Otherwise, there is no reason to keep her alive.

Satisfied with that fact, Echid looked at the woman in front of him and considered the situation as calmly as possible.

‘In the situation where I’m being held together, there’s nothing to gain from me being alive.

For now, dying is the way for those children.

However, at this moment, with her physical condition, it was impossible to even end her own life.

Saddened by that fact, Echid had no choice but to put her hopes on the person in front of her, the woman who tried to kill him just a moment ago.

‘Perhaps…if I ask, she might listen…because unlike me, this woman seems to have the temperament of a warrior.’

Warriors wielding swords had minimal etiquette for dealing with enemies.

Giving a defeated opponent a clean death is one of them.

In response, Echid expressed his earnestness and patiently spoke to the woman in front of him.

“… kill Don’t insult me any more.”

“… Sigh..”

At her words, the woman let out a small sigh as if she knew it.

Then, she slowly began to take something out of her arms, and Echid felt a bit of relief.

‘Thank God.. now I can leave without harming those children..’

By the way..

“? What.. what.. you.. what now..”

“… .”

In the next moment, neither the dagger nor any other weapon emerged from the woman’s arms.

It is a magic potion that glows red.

The woman opened the cap and started pouring it over Echid’s body.

“Kuh! That… stop! stop! Do you not have the slightest courtesy as a warrior? You insult me like this! Come on kill me! I mean kill!”

A wound in the chest that heals quickly with the effect of magic potion.

Although it was not cured because it was such a serious injury, it was true that at least breathing became easier.

“damn… ”

However… the pain in the body was reduced, but more than that, extreme pain was taking place in Echid’s heart.

“you… . What are you going to do with me? How much more humiliation do you want to do to me…”

“Nothing. You don’t mean to?”

“Do not be ridiculous! From now on, will you use me as a hostage or interrogate me for information? I know that he will do all sorts of things, including torture and appeasement. Go ahead and do it, I’ll never let you get to the end you want! Whatever you do, I will make you regret not killing me sooner!”

Echid growled like a caged beast.

Seeing this, the woman let out a small sigh, then looked at Echid and said.

“you… He’s a pretty selfish person. In a situation like this, you’re only thinking about yourself…”

“… what?”

At the unexpected story, Echid gave a blank look.

And, looking at her like that, the woman continued talking in a quiet voice.

“I will choose death in order not to harm my colleagues.. Then, of course, the direct damage will be minimized. But that’s it… that kind of ending. Will those left behind feel good about it?”

“!…”

The moment he heard those words, a scene he hadn’t thought of naturally began to appear in Echid’s head.

The twins weep when they hear the story of their own death.

From Mergon shedding tears silently to Nemea wailing loudly…

And, even after that, the four of them who would always have tears in their eyes whenever she talked about them…

Just as Echid was thinking about that, the woman spoke to her in a calm voice.

“if. If I were in the same situation as you. I will not do anything to risk my life hastily. Even if I am subjected to severe torture and suffer from seductive appeasement and intimidation… I will surely survive and endure it.”

“… ”

The woman’s words are sincere.

It gave Echid the feeling of calmly giving advice to a comrade rather than dealing with a prisoner.

“And… I will definitely go back. To meet your precious person again. To make sure that person doesn’t feel sad because of me.”

Strong yet beautiful… She speaks with such a determined voice.

As he listened to the story, Echid was suddenly able to recognize the fact that this woman had someone just as important to her.

Just like her, a person who must be protected..

“Sigh..”

However, soon after, Echid sighed, got out of his emotional mood for a while, and spoke to her with a bit of ridicule.

“… Quite an interesting story. so? You’re going to be treated badly from now on, so think of them and endure it well.”

A story that can be roughly interpreted that way if taken at face value.

But about this, the woman once again shook her head resolutely and said:

“Like I said, there is no such thing. Also, there is something you have been misunderstanding.”

With those words, the woman took something out of her arms and handed it to Echid.

At this, Echid’s face began to bloom with deep doubtful emotions.

“What.. what.. is this?”

“It would make sense if I said the contract signed by those dear to you..”

“!.. what.. what?”

At those words, Echid begins to examine them in bewilderment and confusion.

As soon as he saw the content, Echid’s mind started to automatically replay the ‘contract’ that Ken and Mino had talked about before.

“west… No way… Then the girl in question is…”

“Yes, he was a kid working in our upper ranks. To be honest, I thought that most of the remaining Sakiel organizations had been absorbed… but this part seems to have been omitted from our side. If you look closely, everything is the result of insufficient mistakes by the administration, government, and government, so I apologize in advance for that.”

“ah… ”

The woman slightly bowed her head while emphasizing a strange word.

As a result, Echid escaped from the serious atmosphere so far and was slightly depressed, and at the same time, new expectations for the future began to sprout.

It was the Beden Merchant Corps that had already swallowed Sakiel, and they were pushed out of the way in the process.

Although it was a little late and caused a commotion because of it, Echid accepted it with the intention of letting him be treated as he deserved.

After signing without saying anything, Echid held it out to the woman.

Receiving this, the woman nodded slowly, then stood up with the contract.

at that time..

“I… over there.”

“..Yes?”

The woman looked back at Echid for a while at Echid’s question with a bit of urgency.

Echid then carefully asked a question with a slightly flushed expression.

“Everything..you.. what’s your name?”

A question that seemed a bit embarrassed.

In response, the woman spoke to her in a quiet voice.

“My name is Ophelia Crimson.”

“I see.. Ophelia.. Crimson..”

Echid repeats the name with a slightly precious feeling

Seeing her like this, Ophelia put a faint smile on her lips and spoke more.

“The first meeting wasn’t very good… but now that we’re on the same boat, I’d like to ask you to take good care of me from now on, Echid Tifonia.”

“Huh?.. Uh.. Huh..! This…this way, please take good care of me from now on.”

Uncharacteristically for her, Echid stutters slightly.

After giving a small nod to this, the woman… Ophelia left the place as it was.

“ah… ”

right after that. Echid looked at the place where Ophelia disappeared for a while with a blank expression.

and after a while,

The door opened with a loud sound, and only after tears and snot poured into the faces that she missed so much, Echid was able to come to her senses as rain.