Chapter 56 (1/2)

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Epilogue to Interlude ~ Arc 3 Prologue

Veldaroth's ma.s.sive body crumbled into pieces.

Eventually, the wind blew all the pieces away, and Wynn relaxed his grip on his sword.

He fell to his knees, his lungs gasping for air, as the light enveloping his body faded.

”Big brother!” Leti cried as she ran towards him and jumped onto his back.

”Whoa… Ow! Leti! That hurts!” Wynn complained as their bodies tumbled across the gra.s.sy plains.

”Well, I'll be d.a.m.ned,” Oort sighed as he watched them. ”Those kids completely hogged the spotlight.”

”Yeah. Tsk, I'm not looking forward to the report I'll have to write,” grumbled the magician.

Wynn had faced Veldaroth alone. The whole battle seemed like an intricate dance. The knights displayed sophisticated coordination in their attacks, and Wynn and Veldaroth had engaged in a deadly duet. Even a veteran adventurer like Oort had found it impossible to step in. If they had clumsily stumbled into the dance, they risked getting in Wynn's way. There was practically no room for intervention. Rather, the only ones who could help were the two girls, Leti and Evelina. Embarra.s.singly, the adults could do nothing but watch.

Oort scratched his head as he walked over to where Wynn and Leti were rolling around. Noticing his approach, Wynn sat up. Suddenly, Oort's fist came cras.h.i.+ng down on Wynn's head.

”Oww!”

”Don't just run off on your own… The only good adventurer is one that is alive. Better to be cowardly than dead.”

Wynn clutched his head, and Leti stood up to protect him. Despite her teary eyes, she looked like she was about to tell Oort off. Oort's glare melted into a smile and he ruffled Wynn's hair.

”You did well, kid.”

”Eheheh…” laughed Wynn as his head was patted. Then, he flopped back onto the ground.

The gra.s.s under him felt cool. His whole body seemed to burn after that furious fight, so the gra.s.s was really comfortable. With those thoughts, he pa.s.sed out.

”Big Brother?!”

Seeing that Wynn had closed his eyes and stopped moving, Leti hurriedly tried to shake him awake.

”He's fine, he's just tired,” rea.s.sured Paul as he stopped her shaking.

Leti looked up at him; then, she looked back at Wynn and nodded understandingly.

When he opened his eyes, Wynn found himself covered with a blanket and lying on soft sheets instead of gra.s.s.

”H-huh?”

For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Trying to regain his bearings, Wynn blinked and looked around before finally realizing he was in Laura's house. A fire was crackling in the fireplace, sparks wafting up the chimney. Wynn noticed that Leti was snuggled up beside him, still asleep.

”Oh hey, you're awake?”

”Paul?”

”Does anything hurt? You suddenly collapsed, so Leti was really worried. Well, I think yer fine, but I've heard of cases where minor-looking injuries turned out to be serious. Say something if you feel weird anywhere.”

”Okay. My whole body aches, but I think I'm fine. Where are we?”

”We're at Laura's house. I was heading over to where the magician guy is cooking some soup.”

”The magician… Oh wait! What about the weird dog monster?!”

”Calm down, you beat it. We're good.” Paul handed Wynn a wooden cup. ”Drink, it'll warm you up.”

The cup was filled with warm milk. Wynn sat up to drink and asked, ”What about Leti?”

”She was awake right beside you until a little while ago. Using magic probably tired her out. She worked really hard.”

”I see…” mused Wynn. The milk sent a warm feeling though his body, waking him up. Memories of the fight against Veldaroth came rus.h.i.+ng back to him.

He remembered how light his body felt. He could see all of the attacks coming at him, and it had become easy to dodge attacks that he couldn't even glimpse before. The sword also felt light in his hands, as if it were an extension of his body. With each step, he moved great distances, allowing him to close in on his target in an instant.

I wonder if it was all thanks to Leti, he thought as he stroked her hair softly, trying to avoid waking her.

”…mmm…” mumbled Leti as she s.h.i.+fted slightly.

”U-um…” Wynn heard a small voice call out from the doorway. Evelina's head was peeking out of the entrance, seemingly wanting to say something. After wavering for a few moments, she eventually gathered the courage to face Wynn and Paul. ”Thank you very much.”

”No problem.”

”You're welcome.”

Paul awkwardly held out his hand towards Evelina as Wynn smiled at her. Evelina returned his smile. It was a smile that had not been seen since before her village was attacked half a year ago. Evelina tiptoed over to Wynn. They talked for a bit before going outside to play a game with pebbles. Evelina listened attentively as Wynn taught her the rules.

When Leti woke up, she noticed that Wynn wasn't sleeping beside her anymore. ”Where's Big Brother?” she asked.

”He just went outside,” replied Paul.

She scanned the room for Wynn's figure, but quickly realized he wasn't inside. Just as Paul said, she was able to find Wynn playing with Evelina outside.

”No fair, Lina!!” Leti's cheeks puffed out with childish jealousy.

”Oh, you're awake! Let's play together!”

Despite the fact that Leti was miffed, she still joined the other two children in their game.

Laura and the adventurers came back to see them playing.

”Oort, I… I think I'll adopt the child.”

”She's from a different race, you know? Don't you think it'll be hard?”

”It'll be fine. Avian or not, a child is a child. Look at them playing together. If they can get along, then there's no reason I can't adopt her.”

Leti had forgotten her jealousy and became absorbed in the game. Wynn had won the first round. With teary eyes, Leti started another game with Evelina as Wynn watched from the side.

”I hope Evelina doesn't ever lose her smile again.”

”Me too.”

The cheerful cries of the children playing were carried across the plains by the wind.