Vol 1 Chapter 56 (1/2)

Chapter 56

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 .

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 .

“…and that’s what happened . ”