Chapter 55: The First Method to Become a Respected Parent (1/2)

Chapter 55: The First Method to Become a Respected Parent

“There’s a fortress” Chi-Woo recognized this voice “Past theriver…there’s a place called the Fortress of Heavens”

Chi-Woo slowly turned around He saw a slim back, thin like atree Her s froround next to Chi-Woo

“Truthfully, the defense at the capital is not that sturdy, either,” she murmured to herself with her back to Chi-Woo “My father often said a country is already in ruins if its capital is being threatened That’s why he tried his best to strengthen the borders”

Chi-Woo wondered how long she had been lying next to hihts that he didn’t realize her presence, and he wondered why she was suddenly saying these to hiht sky and turned the opposite way so that he had his back to Eshnunna as well An aard silence permeated the air between theain

‘What worries?’ He wondered if she was concerned about the place they were going to

“Worries about you”

Chi-Woo faltered at the surprising response

“Other people are concerned too…like me”

“You’re welco what he was doing “You can blaize to her if needed However, he ended up shaking his head He felt like he didn’t even have the right to say those words It would relieve him if she just insulted him until she was satisfied

“I…” Eshnunna trailed off It would be a lie if she said she wasn’t bitter There was a time when she wanted to yell at Chi-Woo like ahim about the promise he made However, Eshnunna knew she couldn’t do that She knew that Chi-Woo had done his best to keep his proer to save everyone Eshnunna had witnessed his efforts in person, so she could swear by this even though things ended up going awry Eshnunna couldn’t cry given the situation She wasn’t the only one who had lost a loved one Chi-Woo himself bid farewell to two of his close companions at once

Since then, Chi-Woo had marched on resolutely; he also shed no tears, but his sorroere apparent Even when he pretended to be fine, everything else he did displayed his res better than anyone else since she felt the sa She simply didn’t want to live She even went to Hawa three times to follow Yohan to death, but was refused each time; and the reason for it was always the same: thereher alive, so she shouldn’t think of taking her own life until the reason becaht of the incident, Eshnunna went to visit Chi-Woo just like that time she was bewitched by the broken ones She wanted to plead to him to convince Hawa to let her die But when she came face-to-face with Chi-Woo, the words stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out She saw herself in his pain and was able to read him just like she did now

“I…how could I…” Thus, Eshnunna could no longer blaently rolled to the other side to look at Chi-Woo His back had looked big and strong while fighting off the broken beings, but today, it looked especially small and weak

The day she went to Chi-Woo to ask for the release of death, she had si to her room Then, she pondered deeply Time wasn’t a miracle cure that healed all illnesses, but it relieved some of the pain After a couple of days, her eanize sohts The decision she reached in the end surprised even herself She thought deeply about why she had reached upon this particular decision and came up with several reasons; but in the end, one person ca

“It was…really sweet…” She whispered while looking at Chi-Woo “The crackers…” The day she returned froave her; munched on each one slowly and sed theered at the tip of her tongue long after she ate theain and eat it every day, la, ‘I shouldn’t have eaten it in the first place’

If she hadn’t known the taste in the first place, it would have been easy for her to resist Now that she had tasted its sweetness, however, there was no turning back In the end, she was only human All it took was a taste of hope for her to yearn for more Thus, she said, “Thank you”

Chi-Woo couldn’t believe his ears, but she continued, “Thank you for letting us choose”

Eshnunna was also aware that there was not much the natives could do but to offer theres Reinhardt told them, ‘You knew in your hearts, but simply couldn’t accept it’ She was miserable, completely heartbroken If she knew this would happen, she would have died earlier It filled her with so les and pain only for her brother to die like this

However, what Chi-Woo did for theless, and he showed all of them that they could still hope in this daed the natives’us understand…” Rather than feeling angry, she was sad, and rather than feeling resentful, she was both apologetic and thankful “Thank you for letting theh they couldn’t die s, they had volunteered the the that was certain was that those who offered the about a better future—just like Yohan, who had smiled because he was happy to be of some help to them, who had asked them to take care of the rest in his stead

[No, sister]

[Are you planning to repeat the saht of Yohan, but her memory of him kept her tethered and compelled her to pick herself up, nothen and there She couldn’t fall, not now; there would have been no point to their sacrifices if she died And that hy Eshnunna decided to not let Yohan’s death go to waste She needed to ful In order for that to happen, she must persevere as someone who had survived thanks to their sacrifice Eshnunna sniffled and cleared her throat

After a short silence, she finished her sentence with a slightly tre her brother and the nativeshope to the people ere left to prove the worth of their sacrifices But the words that Eshnunna truly wanted to say was, “So…live”

Tap

Chi-Woo felt a soft touch at the back of his neck

“Don’t bla breath arh hair Her whispers were closer than before “Stop torturing yourself and…let’s try surviving together”