Vol 3 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Vol. 3 Chapter 4 Part 1

It seems to have ended.

It was a little silent, after that remarkably big explosion. The powerful shock wave that crossed the forest and mowed down the trees had stopped.

Not just Schnee, but everyone on top of the hill realized that it was the end of the duel.

Wolfgang and Kagerou, who both boasted of high stats too, fell silent. No, they couldnt say anything. They were cautious while all of their body hair was bristling.

The last blow. They were speechless at that too powerful pressure. Though they knew who fired it, still, the power surge couldnt be seen in an optimistic view. It made them realize defeat, without even fighting, and they couldnt help but feel the presence of a conqueror.

It hadnt been long since they met the person called s.h.i.+n, but everyones breath was taken away as they couldnt imagine that violent presence had come from the figure of the ordinary s.h.i.+n.

Therefore. In the midst of that silence, only Schnee remained calm.

You cant be befuddled forever, you know.

Huh!?

With that single phrase, everyone quickly came back their senses. It was the moment of their own kings death. This was not the time to be senile.

Someone is coming here.

Perhaps, thats.

Having steeled themselves in the confusing surroundings, Wolfgang and Cuore noticed a person approaching. When did that person get close? There was a figure at the bottom of the hill.

There was only one figure appearing. It walked toward the top of the hill while carrying something on its back. Needless to say, it was s.h.i.+n and Girard. s.h.i.+n was shouldering Girard, whose eyes were closed like he was sleeping.

Everyone went down the hill without waiting for s.h.i.+n to arrive.

s.h.i.+n, your clothes

Ah, its from Girard.

Tiera, who saw the ripped coat, spoke with concern, but understood s.h.i.+n was not seriously damaged from his gesture, and nodded as she was relieved.

I will take out the wagon. Please hold onto Girard.

Affirmative

While fiddling with the Item Box, Girards corpse was left to Rajim and Van. After taking out the wagon, Girard was laid behind the carrier, so he wouldnt be shaken.

Girard-sama

Looking at the laid down body, Cuore leaked out a voice with moist eyes. Her shoulders were dropped feebly, the ears that always stretched upwards were now drooping along with her head. Wolfgang didnt show any of the att.i.tude, but he looked somewhat a little disheartened.

Nothing could be done for the grief to held in, even if it was the persons own last wish.

Raise your heads. All of you guys.

s.h.i.+n called out to the two people. It was different from before. It was a voice carrying some dignity.

s.h.i.+n-dono?

He would be ashamed of your sympathy.

s.h.i.+n knew what he said was harsh. Grat.i.tude was not expressed. Still, he believed he had to say it himself.

Princess, Ulu too, dont be disheartened. Look at the kings face.

Van called out, and the two people looked up. Though it was a digression, Ulu seemed to be a nickname for Wolfgang, only spoken by his close friends.

He has a satisfied look. No one will think he had a regret remaining when they see this.

Rajim too, called out to cheer up the two people. What Rajim said was right, a faint smile had appeared on Girards face. To Van and Rajim, who had shared a long time with him, Girards final thoughts were understood, without them even having to wonder.

There was certainly a feeling of sadness. However, the feelings of relief were stronger. They knew Girard had hidden the truth about his life span. Therefore, the joy of him dying without any regrets was bigger.

He would rather die in a satisfying fight than survive shamelessly. Because that was the way of his life, for a man who lived as a warrior.

Thats right. If I was to weep, I would be laughed at.

Ah, you are right.

From the words of the two people, that were the closest to Girard, Wolfgang and Cuore seemed to have regained themselves. The two people each faced Girards death firmly, the resolve to step forward was able to be perceived.

It didnt take much time for the wagon to arrive at Girards residence in Elden.

The corpse was enshrined by Van and Rajim, and various people in charge of office and executives were gathered under the instructions of Wolfgang. When Girards death was announced, there were grieving people, there were people showing an expression of relief, and various other reactions.

There seemed to be people who also guessed at the things that happened in Larua Grand Woods, too. Apparently the sounds of their battle had echoed throughout Falnido. When connecting the dots, together with Girards death, questions on who was the person who fought him surfaced.

The founders last moments, were very worthy of him.

Wolfgang didnt report s.h.i.+ns name. However, it was clearly declared that there was no better match for Girards last fight.

Naturally, there were people who wondered who it was, but the majority of people guessed it was someone similar to a High Human follower. Schnee and s.h.i.+baid, both were well known to have interacted with Girard, as for the other members, there wasnt a doubt about their abilities, too.

For the people who still werent convinced, when they met Girards corpse and looked at his face, Wolfgangs speech was understood to be truthful. A lot of people from Falnido had the reaction of; this was the spirit of a true warrior.

Anyways, everyone was quickly convinced. Before the day was out, contact was made with each community that lived here in Elden, with the exception of the dog tribe, and they started the preparations for the funeral service in unison.

Girard was unmistakably the founding father, even if he had long since retired. It was a necessity for it to become a national grand funeral. Before the supposing one week, various people gathered in Falnido, reaching the point where the place was like a festival rather than a funeral. Envoys seemed to come from all of the countries with diplomatic relations, except the clan in Falnido.

Because s.h.i.+n and his group didnt have to prepare for the funeral in particular, they spent every day going back and forth to the library. But they hadnt accomplished much. Still, being able to enter the restricted zone, more useful things were discovered here than from the books in the general area of Bayreuths library.

Vol. 3 Chapter 4 Part 2

And then, it was the tenth day after Girards death. The funeral of the first Beast King, Girard Estaria, was held in the capital of the dog tribe, Elden, of the Falnido Beast Alliance.

s.h.i.+n and Schnee partic.i.p.ated too. It was told that Schnee came after she had heard the report of Girards death, and it was accepted without any doubt. s.h.i.+n and Schnee lined up to see off Girard, equipped with a full body armor for that occasion. Some of the attendees wore the equipment that they had worn when they had shared battlefields with Girard, and s.h.i.+n, who had put on armor, was mistaken as a veteran hero; he was thought to be a famous soldier. Girard had had a lot of combat experience, so unexpectedly, there were a lot of people who had shared battlefields together, but didnt know each other by sight.

At the funeral, everyone in the upper echelon of the country was present, each tribal head and successor, retired former generals, and so forth; a terrific lineup had been gathered. The representative from the village of elves and pixies was also among them. Wolfgang, who was the king, and Cuore the princess were in the front row. There was a person next to Schnee. It was the representative of the dragon imperial empire, Kilmont, an ally of Falnido, and s.h.i.+ns support character no. 4, s.h.i.+baid Etraku.

He was a High Dragnil with red eyes, and scales like obsidian. As a fellow companion that founded a country, apart from as a person that also served as a fellow vanguard in s.h.i.+ns party, s.h.i.+n heard they had formed strong communications. Both the capitals of the two countries should have a considerable distance between them, but somehow, he made it in time. s.h.i.+n, who saw that figure, felt nostalgic, and thought that as soon as he had calmed down, he would meet him directly.

The funeral advanced solemnly, and finished peacefully without any trouble. Girards body seemed to be buried in the earth where the successive kings laid. I am born from the earth, live on the earth, and return to the earth. That was the outlook on life and death that most of the beastmen had.

At the end of the ceremony, Wolf Type, Dog Type, and Fox Type, all of the beasts howled together. It was the melody of burial rites, to send off warriors who fought till their last breath.

Girards body was buried in the tomb of the kings while being seen off by many people.

When the funeral was over, s.h.i.+n returned to the residence. Wolfgang and the executives of the country had a pile of matters to be discussed hereafter, and it seemed that they wouldnt return home for a while.

Can I sit next to you?

Having called out to s.h.i.+n, who was looking out at the garden, while he was patting Yuzuha above his knee, was Van. The figure of Rajim was seen behind him, too.

Is the discussion going well?

We, the old soldiers, shouldnt come into play.

Thats right, the countrys matters have already been entrusted to others.

Van sat on the veranda, and spoke those words to s.h.i.+n who was asking. And Rajim agreed with the words.

The two men were clad in such a calm atmosphere, that s.h.i.+n had the feeling that they would disappear at any moment.

What will you two do from now on?

Go on a journey.

Journey?

Yes, because our companion is waiting, too.

I see. Go join your friend.

Their companion is waiting, too. From the words which Van said and the atmosphere around him, s.h.i.+n felt something special. He knew the destination of the two people.

Hey, according to you two, what kind of guy did you see Girard as?

After a few minutes of silence, such words came out from s.h.i.+ns mouth.

He was a great person.

He was a warrior rivaled by n.o.body.

As Van and Rajim were feeling nostalgic, they closed their eyes and spoke.

He stood before everyone else, a leader who showed the way. A great person, who possessed overwhelming fighting power.

He was a solitary man.

He was someone who got lonely easily.

A hero without equal. A lonely king.

Because of his combat power, it was often said that it couldnt be helped that he fought alone on the battlefield. If neither Schnee nor s.h.i.+baid was there, the two people said he would really keep standing alone on the battlefield. And yet, he seemed to impulsively pick quarrels with his friends.

He was a person who thought of his friends.

He was a person who could do nothing but fight.

For this reason, people gathered in Girards surroundings. For the sake of his friends he picked up a weapon, and rushed on to defeat monsters, he gathered up the tribes during the confusion of the crustal movement. He was just like a hero from the fairy tales.

Just, unlike a lot of heroic tales, he had no enthusiasm to be king. Girards job was focused purely on combat. Other than that, it was not important.

Though people requested it from Girard, he himself knew that he didnt have the ability to rule. If anything, he was fit as a general. Thanks to that, he needed people to support him. Van and Rajim were first on the list, and he was said to have a hard time. Nevertheless, though he never tried to stop them from leaving, he felt mutual trust within those surroundings.

While having fighting power that could be called abnormal, it wasnt the contributing factor on why he was alone. As the gap between battlefield and daily life was tremendous, the two people spoke in unison at the end.

I see, thank you for telling me.

The appearance of a Girard, whom s.h.i.+n didnt know, was there.

s.h.i.+n-dono, I want to express my grat.i.tude once again.

Whats that, suddenly.

Van straightened his posture and bowed to s.h.i.+n. When he moved his line of sight, Rajim too, was bowing in the same way.

Hey now, both of you.

For granting the kings wish. Our feelings of grat.i.tude will never end.

Come on now, just quit it. It happened by chance, really.

Yes, it really was a coincidence for him to return, and etiquette was not necessary, s.h.i.+n thought. Moreover, if s.h.i.+n didnt return, Girard might still be alive.

We dont think of those kinds of things at all.

Rajim spoke his words while raising his head, to s.h.i.+n who did think about these kinds of things.

A life that does not end, its painful for us beasts, who are not of the long-life kind.

Rajim said. The average lifespan of a beast didnt vary much compared to humans. It was about 120 years at most, even if one had a long life. Sure, there would be people who would live for several hundreds of years, that were born in this age, but judging from the whole, it was only a small handful. In comparison with the elves and pixies, who seem to live for an eternity, it could be said that life was too short.

However, that was fine. Elves are elves, pixies are pixies, and beasts have the beasts way of life. It was very cruel, that he alone deviated from that road.

Except for himself, the other people that were born, died. People who lived in the same time as him, left him. Certainly, Girards soul was gradually being eaten away by time.

We are people who live for just a short time. Living a long life is like an endless prison. Thus, to s.h.i.+n-dono, who released the king from there, its natural for us to express our grat.i.tude. Even if it was by chance that you returned here, you did not leave without doing anything.

Van and Rajim left, and a veil of darkness descended in the area. Because he conveyed that he would have dinner by himself, no one came to call on s.h.i.+n.

While the moonlight shone, s.h.i.+n was still on the veranda. Yuzuha had curled its tail and was sleeping.

Welcome home.

s.h.i.+n called out to Schnee as he perceived her approaching. Though s.h.i.+n returned to the residence soon after he had witnessed the burial, Schnee, who was in a special position, was unable to return immediately.

After the fight, outwardly, s.h.i.+n appeared to have no change until now. However, looking at it from Schnees viewpoint, that state of no changes was unnatural. For this reason, she wanted to be at his side if possible, but Schnee had to attend a meeting.

The general greeting was finished, and when she returned to the residence and felt the presence of s.h.i.+n, she discovered that he was looking at the night sky from the veranda. But the face that she saw from the side seemed to melt inside the moonlight and disappear; he looked empty.

Schnee approached quietly and embraced s.h.i.+n. Because he was sitting, s.h.i.+ns face was held against Schnees b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but his expression didnt have any big changes.

Schnee?

s.h.i.+n called Schnees name in wonder. But that voice somehow lacked feeling, too.

The current s.h.i.+n seemed to have disappeared somewhere.

Oddly enough, it was the same feeling that s.h.i.+n felt from Van and Rajim. In order to erase the anxiety welling up inside his mind, Schnee put power into her arms to hold s.h.i.+n.

Whatever it is. Please say it to me.

She didnt know what she was able to do. But to make him even just a little energetic, Schnee spoke the words.