volume 1 - Chapter 18 (1/2)

TL: This chapter was kind of difficult to TL. Hopefully the prose sounds okay here.

In other news, I found the artist for “The Strategy to Be Good at Magic” and updated the image accordingly. The colors on my screen are much more vibrant compared to the printed cover =X

Chapter 18 – The footprints on the other path in History

The vast land slept within the darkness where nature did not even emit one sound. It was as if the silence was mourning for the dead souls that had left this world. A meteor shower streaked across the starry skies, appearing and disappearing quickly, as if to symbolize the names that appeared briefly in history.

Bretton silently stood straight up against the cold night wind. He sent out command after command, and the guards vanquished the undead remnants in the ruins of the Green village. Every single undead had to be purified. Every single one.

The young vice-captain felt that this was the only way to make himself feel better.

He checked the time. He had only thirty minutes left.

Zeta looked at the scene from afar. He shook the gla.s.s flagon in his hand, and touched the girl beside him: “Hey, you’re called Irene right?”

Irene was a little startled.

“I’m Zeta. Do you want a little?” He raised the wine flagon. “Pure fire wine made from the Crystal river. Ryan and I found it in a wine cellar. Sadly, I don’t know if I can still drink this after this war…..”

He paused for a while.

“You know, I had a dream once. I wanted to become the best scout.”

“But I’m regretting it a little.”

Irene felt this person was really strange, but she was curious as to why he had regrets.

“Why?” She asked.

“My biggest goal was to discover the enemy as quickly as possible, because discovering them would justify my value. But now the thing I want to do the most is to hide the villagers. If I can hide them, at least they wouldn’t be killed. But you know what? I couldn’t do anything. I was unable to do anything.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“But I’m a soldier.” Zeta sipped the wine: “When I saw that girl cried, I thought that it would have been good if I had died like Kevin did in the battlefield. But I’m still alive now so I can’t escape from this.”

Irene fell into a silence, and she suddenly thought of Brendel. She had this strange impression that this young man who led them out from every dire situation once and again, would be able to lead them out of the darkness that was shrouding them.

Maybe her premonition would be right, and everything would be solved.

She hoped in her heart.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Brendel and Freya sat together.

Brendel truly did not think that he was good at comforting someone. He felt that it would have been better for someone else to be here right now, but that d.a.m.nable Bretton just left with a grim expression without any words, and Irene just stayed far away.

[Isn’t this girl over here your captain?! Do something!]

It was fortunate that Freya adjusted her emotions quickly. But she kept staring into s.p.a.ce in a daze, her bright eyes had dimmed and were filled with loneliness.

Brendel had seen that look before in the game. When she had become the G.o.ddess of War, her gaze could sometimes be seen with the same quiet sadness, as though she could never be healed. Brendel felt a little sad. He very much preferred the innocent and kind Freya, who was also a little stubborn and got upset over small matters.

But what could he say? He hesitated for a long time, and when the words came up to the tip of his tongue, he suddenly felt that they were of no persuasion. The lines that he prepared did not appear to be suitable at all.

When he was agonizing over it, she spoke:

“Mr Brendel.”

“Huh?”

“Why do think we have wars?”

[Uh…]

He had never really thought about it. In the game, the bigger guilds would frequently fight over profits, reputation and even a simple matter of pride. Kingdoms fought over power, benefits and lands. Wars would frequently break out without warning.

He might have answered this in the past, “Because humans are always controlled by desire. They would seek to dominate and pillage, and that is why they fight against each other.”

But after today, Freya’s sobs had etched themselves into his mind and could never be erased. He found this answer to be pointless. Humans were weak but they could be resilient.

“Wars simply happen. The only thing we can do is to accept it. We are living in a terrible era, and we can’t choose the era we want to live in. But we can try to change it,” Brendel said, and suddenly the words formed themselves in his mind: “Perhaps we are unable to change anything, but at least have tried to realize it along with many other people. The memories that we had fought together are more than enough.”

He remembered the days back in the game where he fought for Aouine. His friends and people who shared the common goal fought along with him. There were many promises that were made together, and even though everyone parted ways at the very end, he did not regret having these memories.

These were his memories of Aouine, burned into his very soul.

The young girl became silent.

“Freya.”

“Hmm?”

“You must have loved them very much.”

“Yes.” She replied: “When my father pa.s.sed away, my aunt and uncle had always taken good care of me, and were proud of me.”

“But I loved them too, so very much.”

“I’m just puzzled. Why did the heavens choose you?” Brendel said.