Chapter 168: Summer is Blue (4)
The road to the Cliffs of Ethelred.
Judging by the thick, pregnant clouds, it didn’t seem like the rain would end soon.
However, the noticeably thinner drizzle compared to last night seemed to indicate that this rain, too, would eventually cease.
“Princess Olivia ran away?”
Cain asked back.
Oleciren smiled bitterly and shrugged. The umbrella she was holding naturally swayed.
“Essentially, yes. She left a letter saying she was going to the mercenary city to track down the mercenary group, the Caballeros Rebellion, that attacked you then, and disappeared.”
The mercenary city, 〈Antwerp〉.
One of the three great cities of the Free City Alliance, along with 〈Lil〉and 〈Delft〉.
Having once been a mercenary himself, Cain knew what a hellish place it was.
No matter how skilled Olivia was, it would be impossible for her to return alive alone.
“She’s not alone, is she?”
He asked with worry.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, I heard that a few knights from McLoud’s side were attached to her.”
Cain thought of Olivia.
During the last succession war, she was inevitably excluded because he couldn’t tell her everything.
The way she had later burst into the room, furious that she had been kept in the dark about everything, was still fresh in his mind.
Cain smiled bitterly.
“Did she want to go to the continent that badly?”
“Seems like it.”
“As if there’s anything good there.”
“Father told me parts of her letter; she said she wanted to see the wider world and broaden her horizons.”
“So, she’s sulking right now.”
A commoner’s runaway would usually be found on a mountain or in a neighboring village.
However, Cain realized for the first time that when a princess runs away, she goes as far as another continent.
“What did His Majesty say?”
“At first, he was furious and ordered Captain Wayne to bring her back immediately.”
“And?”
“Marquis McLoud entered the palace and stopped him. He said to think of it as Olivia’s vacation before she becomes the next Marquis Ross.”
“Quite an extravagant vacation.”
“Hehehe.”
Oleciren chuckled softly, covering her mouth. Cain glanced at her swaying jet-black hair and dark eyes for a moment before looking away.
Sensing his gaze, Oleciren asked,
“What? Did you wake up this morning and find me too beautiful?”
“…… Beautiful or not, I can still hit you when you’re being annoying.”
Thump—.
Cain lightly tapped the Agweska resting on his left hip as he spoke.
Oleciren blinked, then lowered her head with a small smile.
“I think I know all your jokes now.”
“I meant it.”
“You’ll need to come up with new jokes. I’ve heard them all, they don’t work anymore.”
Cain readily nodded.
‘It’s been a long time.’
He turned his head in the opposite direction, looking east. The sun was hidden behind the thick clouds, but he knew sunlight would be pouring down beyond them.
Perhaps that was why the clouds in the east seemed particularly bright.
Following his gaze, Oleciren, who was also looking in that direction, suddenly asked,
“What are you going to do now, hero?”
“…… Hmm.”
Cain couldn’t answer immediately.
One thing was for sure, he could no longer remain on Airian Island.
‘Now that I wield the holy sword, I am a hero.’
Up until now, no matter how great his accomplishments on the island, they had been nothing more than trivial matters.
A story from a distant land that no one on the continent would care about.
But the holy sword, ‘Summer,’ had chosen its owner.
The symbol of the Kreuz Empire’s imperial family, the holy sword ‘Summer,’ which the Holy See believed to be proof of God’s power.
[……]
Usually, when he thought like this, the sacred treasure would send him a message, but seeing as there was still none, it must have gone somewhere far away.
Trusting its words that it would return soon, Cain slowly opened his mouth.
“I have to defeat the Demon King.”
“Does the Demon King, who will destroy this world, really exist?”
Cain nodded immediately.
“I don’t know yet, but since ‘Summer’ has chosen its owner, he will definitely appear.”
“The Demon King……”
Oleciren imagined the being who would hold such a title, something that would only appear in fairy tales.
“Does he have horns?”
“He’s supposed to have six.”
“Are his eyes narrow and sharp?”
“Yes. He has four arms attached to his body, all full of muscles, shimmering with magical energy.”
“He does?”
At the entrance to the grassland on the cliff.
Oleciren stopped walking, catching Cain’s words.
“Do you know the Demon King?”
“……”
Cain closed his mouth.
“You talk as if you’ve seen the Demon King yourself.”
Oleciren’s eyes narrowed.
Cain shrugged and looked away.
‘I’ve only seen depictions.’
After the hero Abel defeated the Demon King, all the media on the continent quoted him.
At that time, there was a competition to draw the Demon King’s appearance based on the words of Abel and his party members, and Cain had seen the picture that received Abel’s recognition.
It was surprisingly ordinary.
A typical monster.
It had the appearance of a monster that could be seen once or twice a year at the Great Wall if you were determined to find it.
“There was something strange yesterday, too.”
Oleciren started to climb the grassland of the Cliffs of Ethelred.
The black energy that naturally arose at some point concentrated on her legs, reducing her fatigue.
It also gripped her so she wouldn’t slip on the wet grass.
“It’s a well-known fact that Lord Edmund went to the continent when he was young.”
Of course, Cain didn’t know.
“But you seem to know more about the continent than Lord Edmund, who actually went there.”
She wasn’t a fool either.
No matter how much Edmund spoke carelessly and vaguely, he wasn’t the type to ignore clear facts.
Yesterday, when he was telling her about Cain’s weaknesses, his words clearly started from the premise that ‘Cain had lived on the continent.’
“And there was something strange before that too.”
“What is it?”
Oleciren’s clear black eyes stared at Cain. She gave a subtle smile and started walking again, looking ahead.
“I’m older than you, but you strangely seemed more mature.”
“……”
“Well, there are many people who are mature for their age, and I understand that you had to be that way to survive as the eldest son of Ethelred.”
Cain silently followed behind Oleciren.
She was unraveling one by one the questions she had while spending time with Cain.
“But you’re too strong. Isoel is the top student of the Royal Academy, but she was no match for you when you were facing Arthuan and Primundi.”
“Isoel will become stronger in the future.”
“Yes, in the future. It’s as if you’ve pulled forward all the time you’re supposed to experience. Well, as for your strength, I could say you were lucky enough to obtain a good treasure.”
She couldn’t let it go, but Oleciren decided to overlook it because it was Cain.
Throb—.
She stopped walking due to a terrible headache. Rubbing her temples, she continued,
“Next is your political sense. You easily handled not only the Seven Nobles of Airian, who everyone avoids even mentioning, but even your father.”
It couldn’t be helped.
Lord East of the Great Wall was on par with the three dukes of the Empire.
‘If you compare it to Airian, it’s about the same level as the king.’
The Empire would value Lord East more than a king who was simply born into a family and became king, but Cain just kept his mouth shut.
He could feel that Oleciren had something she truly wanted to say.
“What is it? What do you have that could make you so different?”
She stood tall.
Standing at the edge of the cliff, she glanced at Cain, who was slowly following her.
Whooosh—.
The wind blew.
For a very short moment.
The cold sea breeze, permeated with the strong salty smell, brushed against her and Cain’s cheeks.
“So I came up with a ridiculous answer. Would you like to hear it?”
Oleciren turned around.
Her white left hand was brushing back her black hair, which was fluttering in the sea breeze.
And in the distance.
The morning sunlight, which she couldn’t see but was sure was there, illuminated her with a sparkle.
Cain slowly nodded.
“From your perspective.”
“Regression.”
“……!”
“It doesn’t make sense that someone else was reborn or possessed your body. The way you’re uncomfortable around Lord Edmund and the way you dote on Abel are genuine.”
The way he treated them and Arna were Cain’s original feelings. That’s why everything was true and it led Oleciren to find the answer about Cain.
“You from the distant future have returned. To your seventeen-year-old self.”
“Oh.”
“I wonder what hope you held as you returned. You must have come back to change your fate. I don’t know about that.”
Oleciren shook her head.
Tracking Cain’s actions so far, all she could tell was that he was exceptionally attentive to his half-brother, Abel.
“How is it, my deduction?”
“There are certainly no flaws.”
The clues were so fragmented that it was difficult to gather them, but it wasn’t difficult for Oleciren, who had been with Cain.
“Judging by your reaction, it seems Abel doesn’t know, and Lord Edmund seems to know a little.”
“……My father doesn’t really know. He just knows a little bit about the sword.”
“As expected, I was right.”
“……”
Cain didn’t answer definitively.
It was too heavy and horrible a story for him to tell himself.
And every time he tried to speak, he could still feel the warmth of the blood that poured from Abel’s heart in his hands.
Oleciren, who was staring at him, gestured towards the holy sword hanging on Cain’s right hip.
“So, were you originally the hero?”
“No. It was someone else.”
“Then why did it become you this time?”
“Well……”
Cain smiled faintly and drew out ‘Summer.’ It was a brilliant, golden sword that resembled the sun.
Oleciren examined ‘Summer’ with a strange look.
“Maybe it’s because you’ve done so much.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
“Especially for saving me.”
“……”
“Think about it, assuming you’ve regressed. What would have happened if you hadn’t helped me? I think I would have died from the beginning.”
Cain smiled bitterly.
In the previous timeline, Oleciren was practically dead when she met Arthuan.
Only a cold and mean woman remained as her witch self awakened.
“Cain.”
“Yes.”
“Cain Ethelred.”
Cain turned to face her.
Oleciren awkwardly clenched and unclenched her hands before speaking her next words.
“Do you have a place to go back to?”
“……”
There wasn’t.
Now he had Ethelred, and he would have Walker Duchy in the future, but the only place the regressed ‘Cain Ethelred’ could return to was the past.
There was no place for him to rest his head in this life he was living twice.
“I thought you wouldn’t. You’re always so strict about this kind of thing.”
“You’re observant.”
“Then let me be your place to return to.”
Oleciren smiled.
At the same time, the dark clouds parted and the beautiful summer sunlight enveloped her.
“When the hero defeats the six-horned Demon King and wants to rest, I’ll be the place for you to rest.”
“……”
“When you’re covered in blood from all your battles, I’ll be the one who can clean you without flinching.”
“You……”
“So, Cain Ethelred.”
As Oleciren, who understood the secret Cain didn’t speak of and offered to be his place to return to, the ends of her hair began to turn white.
[‘Oleciren Rune Airian’ reaches out her hand towards love on the foundation of faith and hope. ]
[Awakening conditions have been met. ]
[Qualifications for transcendental awakening have been met. ]
[Of the four seasons of the end, ‘Winter’ and ‘Summer’ have been activated. ]
“I, I……”
Oleciren, whose hair was changing from black to white.
She repeated her words like a broken doll.
“Oleciren!”
Cain was startled and grabbed her shoulders.
At the same time, a message window popped up between them.
The eligible ‘Oleciren’ opens her eyes as the ‘Pure White Demon King, Oleciren’.
Shick—.
Sparkling white eyes.
Long, white hair that resembled the snowfields of the east.
Oleciren, a woman with somewhat vacant eyes.
She drew out the witch’s sword, Agweska, which was still on Cain’s waist.
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