55 – old man

In my hazy vision, I see a soft light and a sleeping Rachel. As I stared blankly at her, the haze dissipated little by little.

The haze dissipated, and he remembered that he had fallen asleep at Rachel’s house. I remembered that fact, and looked out the window to check the time.

The sky without the sun and the world with soft glows are a little darker than when I came here. I can’t get a sense of how much time has passed by just looking at that sight.

Just looking at her tired body, she guessed that a lot of time had passed.

That speculation made me think that the measures were over. Thinking about it, I want to see him.

I carefully got out of bed so as not to wake Rachel, who was sleeping, and moved to where he was.

As I was walking down a street where no one could see, a small light began to circle around me. The light moved as if it had a will, and pointed in one direction.

After thinking about the strange phenomenon for a while, I turned my steps in the direction the light was leading me to.

The light headed towards the outskirts of the village, and came out a place where a small river flowed. There was a huge tree with green fruits next to the river, and an old man could be seen under the tree.

The light that was guiding me flew towards the old man and penetrated his hand.

“Come on. I called because I have something to say.”

The old man said so and gestured into the air. As if responding to his gestures, the roots of the trees intertwined and took the form of chairs and tables.

“Come and sit down.”

I sat across from the old man and waited for his story.

“I’ll tell you about Alik’s condition. Things went well, most of the bodily injuries recovered. He should wake up tomorrow.”

My heavy heart was lightened and a sense of relief came over me.

“But, there is a problem.”

At those words, my light heart became heavy again, and the relief turned to anxiety.

“What’s the problem?”

“I have a mental problem.”

“What do you mean?”

The old man opened his mouth while stroking his beard with a slightly dark expression.

“There is something I need to check before that. Did you get a dagger with an unusual pattern from your trials?”

“Yes. came out.”

The shadows deepened on his face.

“The sword is a sacred object created by the Creator God. The holy relic has a special ability. If you are wounded by the relic, not only your body, but also your mind and soul will suffer. Alik must have cut himself out with that sword, so that’s a big deal.”

At those words, the heart felt like iron spirits, and the weight of the heart began to increase.

“Fortunately, there is no problem with the soul, but the mental side is serious.”

“If it’s serious, what kind of problems are there?”

“Perhaps memory problems, or lack of some emotions. We’ll know for sure when he wakes up.”

Those words stabbed me like a dagger. A dagger stabs my heart, and two scenes pass through my mind.

The sight of him waking up and not recognizing me, and the man who lost his smile because of his lack of emotion.

Those sights broke my heart. A sharp pain surges from the cut out heart, but you have to endure it.

Compared to his life, it is an infinitely small pain. Compared to my sins, it is an infinitely light pain.

Thinking of that, I suppressed the pain and calmed down my fluctuating emotions.

“Then, how can I cure him?”

“You can feed them the fruits of the World Tree.”

Fruit of the World Tree. A fruit from the divine tree of elves, and a treasure said to be a cure-all.

How can we seek treasures that even numerous emperors and kings in history could not obtain?

“Is there no other way?”

The old man shook his head, shattering his little hope.

“I could have had the hearts of dragons that lived a long time ago, received Armis’ blessing, or received healing from an apostle, but now it’s impossible.”

“It’s impossible because the dragons disappeared long ago, but why is it impossible for Armis-sama?”

The old man opened his mouth with a bitter expression.

“I don’t know if you guys know, but the Church of Armis has been taken over by witches.”

“I know that.”

“Then the story will be easy. God is more imperfect than you think, so whatever he does needs a price. The gods consume faith in return. In other words, the gods are incompetent beings who cannot do anything without faith.”

A story that even prominent theologians did not know flowed from the mouth of the old man.

“By the way, Armis couldn’t gather faith for a long time because the church was taken away by a witch. Now, it seems that some faith gathered and appointed an apostle, but even he is an imperfect apostle.”

There was something jarring about his words, so he opened his mouth.

“Why do you say that the current apostle is imperfect?”

“You know because you met the apostle, but the apostle is blind.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Armis’ greatest power is healing. Its authority is so powerful that it can create parts of the body that are not naturally present. Since such an apostle of God is blind, he is an imperfect apostle.”

Hearing the bleak reality of the state religion, I felt bitter.

“Healing the mind or soul is more difficult than curing the body. Even the apostles are unable to heal completely, so how can they heal the spirit? So, there is no other way than the fruit of the World Tree.”

At those words that drove a wedge, I felt that my eyes were darkening.

“Don’t worry too much. This old man can help.”

As he said that, he placed his hand on the tree bearing the green fruit and muttered something incomprehensible.

After the murmur ended, a blue light penetrated the tree. The light from the tree focused on one branch, which fell into his hand.

He held out the branch.

“Sophisticated elves won’t listen to you, but if you show me this, they won’t ignore you.”

The kindness of opening the blind road hidden by darkness was so dazzling. He raised his sword to show his respect for that dazzling kindness.

“I will definitely repay this favor.”

“Grace. That’s wrong. Rather, I am the one who pays for it.”

Along with the meaningless words, complex emotions crept into his face.

“Why do you say that?”

“You guys don’t have to know. Just know that. And don’t be pressured.”

“Even if you say so, it is grace to me.”

Complex emotions dissipated across his face, and a shallow smile lingered.

“Yes, you guys are nothing different from the past and now.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s just an old man’s nonsense, listen to it.”

He said that and waved his hand.

“That’s your nature, so let’s call it a deal.”

As he said that, he placed a light-filled branch in my hand.

“I’ll give you this. Make Alik happy. That is my request.”

“I will.”

Accepting his thoughtful request, I bowed to him again.

“Enough of this story, I have a question for you.”

The smile he had been holding disappeared, and seriousness settled in.

“I will tell you everything I know.”

“What did you see in the witch’s abode?”

In response to that question, scenes that I didn’t want to recall came to mind.

“I saw the library where precious books are kept, and the holy relics and bodies of gods killed by witches. I also read the witch’s journal.”

The shadows deepened on his face.

“Yeah…were you there after all?”

Words of bitterness and various emotions were scattered in the air.

“What did you do with the relic and the corpse?”

“It wasn’t something we could afford, so we left it as is.”

He nodded slowly.

“Good job.”

He said that and was silent for a while with a dark expression on his face. After being so silent, he erased the darkness from his face and opened his mouth.

“Is there a corpse that looks like an elf there?”

“Yes. There was.”

“Then, before going to the World Tree, take the corpse and go. And if you have a crown of laurels, take that too. It will definitely help.”

“I will.”

He nodded slowly.

“I’m done talking. Alik is still there.”

I bowed to him, bowed, left my seat, and moved to where he was.

As I was walking, a question came to my mind.

Since you asked about the witch’s abode, you probably didn’t talk to Rachel. How do you know that we have challenged the trials?

The question lingered in his mind, and then scattered in front of him.

As if the bone-visible wound was a lie, his appearance without even a scar was captured in his eyes. He caressed the area where the wound was.

Warmth was transmitted to the hand along with a slightly rough touch.

At the touch, the burden that had weighed down my heart became much lighter, and a deep sense of relief came over me.

I’ve just heard that his body has healed, but my emotions are fluctuating here too.

Thinking of that, I stroked his messy hair. I felt him with my fingertips and filled my empty heart.

Filling my empty heart, I held his hand and bent one knee.

“I will definitely treat you. I will live for you. I will pay for the sins I committed against you. I will live only for your happiness. It is my spring.”

The day I could feel his warmth again. I swear to him that I will continue to love the sinner and show him love.