Lamia was very angry at Granada for playing with her life, but more than anything, she was curious about her intentions.
She thought they were on the same side, but maybe not? Is she just now starting to show her true colors?
'Targeting? Bullying?'
All sorts of thoughts came to mind.
Granada approached Lamia without saying a word.
Lamia hesitated, stepping back, watching the cynical smile spread across Granada's lips.
With every step Granada took, the tension grew.
'Just one more step...'
Lamia will take out her hidden weapon and stab her.
As she made up her mind, Granada didn't stop and came one step closer.
'Now!'
Lamia didn't hesitate.
Flutter!
Whew!
She took out the knife hidden under her skirt and swung it mercilessly, making a whistling noise.
A normal person would have had a long scar across their face.
But.
Puck!
Granada kicked Lamia's hand with a flexible crescent motion using her prosthetic right foot.
"Ah!"
It didn't seem like a very quick move at first glance, but Lamia couldn't avoid Granada's counterattack.
The sword in Lamia's hand flew backwards and hit the stone wall, falling down.
Granada's movements were fluid and fluid, making her appear slow at first glance, but she was actually incredibly fast and strong.
It was a movement that was hard to believe belonged to a 67-year-old man.
Granada chuckled.
Her eyes shone brighter than ever.
The cynical smile that spread across her lips was actually genuine, the kind that a blunt person who is not used to smiling normally shows when she is very interested in the other person.
“I thought you had a strong desire to survive and were good at using your body, but I didn’t know you had such good dynamic vision, Lamia.”
Then she lightly kicked Lamia's thigh with her prosthetic leg.
“Ah!”
Lamia, who was hit by the kick without any strength, screamed in anger rather than in pain.
"Why are you doing this? Why on earth are you doing this to me? Why me! I need to know why!"
Granada silenced Ramia's screaming mouth with a single gesture.
“You become surprisingly slow when you don’t feel the threat of death.”
“So what!”
"I think you'll need training. Rough training that will bring out your potential."
"Yes?"
Lamia glared at Granada with a trembling look.
"What training are you talking about all of a sudden? You're not talking nonsense because you tried to kill me and got caught, are you?"
Granada passed by Lamia, who was glaring at her with eyes full of rebellion, without even blinking, and said.
“From now on, you are Madam’s bodyguard.”
“...?”
Lamia tilted her head up as if she had misheard something.
“What did you say?”
"Madam, she was almost attacked by an old woman this time. I think she'll need a bodyguard to protect her at all times."
Lamia followed Granada and asked.
“There are many other knights, but me? Why?”
"She needs a bodyguard, someone she can trust and entrust everything to. Knights are our master's knights, not Madam's."
“So you want me to be a knight?”
“You are not a knight, but a bodyguard.”
"That's it! It's just the title and salary that are different! How can I do that?"
Granada chuckled.
“Just consider Madam’s life as your own, and that’s enough.”
And then she suddenly attacked Lamia.
As soon as Lamia felt the urge to live, she jumped back from Granada.
Granada took the life out of it and laughed.
"Look. You have the talent. Starting tomorrow, come to the training grounds after work. And from now on, don't carry any unauthorized weapons within the castle walls. That's illegal. The only exception is for Madame's bodyguards."
The idea was that if you wanted to legally carry a weapon, you had to become a bodyguard.
Lamia opened her mouth wide as if she were dumbfounded.
"Ugh..."
Callius sighed, putting down the old record he had been reading.
A look of exhaustion was evident on his face.
Even now, time was ticking by, and Chloe's condition was noticeably worsening day by day, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a way to stop the curse.
'I might have to ask the sorcerers.'
It was the sorcerer who made Chloe like that, so he didn't feel comfortable calling the sorcerer to try to cure Chloe.
In his experience, the work of sorcerers always ends badly. The only ones who benefit are the sorcerers themselves.
But if there's no other way, then what can I do? Callius thought, clutching at straws, then gritted his teeth and shook his head.
'No, let's brace ourselves.'
Weak and foolish thoughts always tend to creep into the desperate and impatient mind.
Callius continued to focus on what he was doing.
Then, after a while, he went to his mother's prayer room with a feeling of despair.
He was overcome with a sense of helplessness and anxiety that he wouldn't be able to save Chloe.
Honestly, he was scared.
So he hid in this small prayer room that was too small for even one person to kneel down.
He sat down on the cushion where Ilya had been sitting and fell face down in agony.
'How on earth did Mother overcome these hardships?'
Even when he was ten years old and lost his mother, he didn't look for her like a little child, but now that he's all grown up, he's looking for her.
But Callius felt like he wanted to hold on to something.
'God, my old friend and benefactor...'
He prayed to God with a determined heart.
‘...Please save my wife Chloe, who will always be one and only.’
It was a heartfelt prayer.
Chloe wasn't the kind of person who would just let him stay by her side for a little while and then send her away in vain.
It's not a passing relationship.
Callius thought he could never lose her.
One-of-a-kind. Yes, that's what she was to him.
He clenched his fist so hard that it was almost crushed.
His confession was engraved in his heart, and strength was restored to his once listless body.
'Let's get up and strike Kavala right now. If I can risk my life to save Chloe, then let's do it.'
At this moment, all the people of Ronheim whom he was supposed to lead did not come to mind.
He had always put Ronheim first, but now Chloe was more important than anything else.
It was Chloe who had helped him get back on his feet after losing Ilya and nearly collapsing. What if he were to lose her, too, in vain, to Kavala?
'I can't get up again then.'
Callius sighed and looked up.
As he stood up, ready to run to Arrental at any moment, he suddenly saw a stone tablet with letters engraved on it.
For a moment, as if possessed by something, he took the stone tablet and placed it on his lap, reading the letters he had not yet finished reading.
“...the beast that God had given them was offered on the altar, and the evil was transferred to him. The sick person was cured as if they had been washed away.”
Why does he suddenly remember what Ilya said to me when he was little?
“New life can only be obtained by sacrificing other life.”
“Then don’t you feel sorry for the lives sacrificed for other lives?”
"It's a shame. But that's the way it is. For one life to survive, another must make a sacrifice. That's what sacrifice is all about. You pass on evil to the offering, offer it to the gods, and in return, you receive a powerful life force."
"But then what about the innocent sacrifices? The sacrificial animals give their lives to humans and then die. Isn't offering sacrifices excessive?"
"Well, think about the food you ate today. The meat on the table and the offering on the altar serve essentially the same purpose."
"Ah...?"
“You have to know how to see the essence, Callius.”
Ilya spoke to the young Callius, who was both enlightened and confused.
"That's how the world was made. That's the order God gave to this earth."
“Why did God give us such an order?”
“Well, how can human wisdom fully comprehend the will of an omnipotent God?”
“Don’t you know, Mother? You’re the Saint closest to God.”
Ilya's faint smile that day was vivid.
“Even a Saint is just a human being.”
Callius thought back on the conversation he had had with Ilya, then read the inscription on the stone tablet again from the beginning.
“You have to know how to see the essence, Callius.”
His mother's voice kept ringing in his ears.
Callius, who was reading the text on the stone tablet, opened his eyes wide.
'This text is not about the Holy Grail.'
Since it was the stone slab where the Holy Grail was placed, he naturally assumed that there would be inscriptions related to the Holy Grail.
So, he continued to feel frustrated and sad that he had lost the Holy Grail, which had the amazing power written on it.
But the essence was different.
'This is a story about a sacrifice.'
A realization struck him.
'Mother didn't accomplish everything simply with the power of the Holy Grail.'
She thought they were on the same side, but maybe not? Is she just now starting to show her true colors?
'Targeting? Bullying?'
All sorts of thoughts came to mind.
Granada approached Lamia without saying a word.
Lamia hesitated, stepping back, watching the cynical smile spread across Granada's lips.
With every step Granada took, the tension grew.
'Just one more step...'
Lamia will take out her hidden weapon and stab her.
As she made up her mind, Granada didn't stop and came one step closer.
'Now!'
Lamia didn't hesitate.
Flutter!
Whew!
She took out the knife hidden under her skirt and swung it mercilessly, making a whistling noise.
A normal person would have had a long scar across their face.
But.
Puck!
Granada kicked Lamia's hand with a flexible crescent motion using her prosthetic right foot.
"Ah!"
It didn't seem like a very quick move at first glance, but Lamia couldn't avoid Granada's counterattack.
The sword in Lamia's hand flew backwards and hit the stone wall, falling down.
Granada's movements were fluid and fluid, making her appear slow at first glance, but she was actually incredibly fast and strong.
It was a movement that was hard to believe belonged to a 67-year-old man.
Granada chuckled.
Her eyes shone brighter than ever.
The cynical smile that spread across her lips was actually genuine, the kind that a blunt person who is not used to smiling normally shows when she is very interested in the other person.
“I thought you had a strong desire to survive and were good at using your body, but I didn’t know you had such good dynamic vision, Lamia.”
Then she lightly kicked Lamia's thigh with her prosthetic leg.
“Ah!”
Lamia, who was hit by the kick without any strength, screamed in anger rather than in pain.
"Why are you doing this? Why on earth are you doing this to me? Why me! I need to know why!"
Granada silenced Ramia's screaming mouth with a single gesture.
“You become surprisingly slow when you don’t feel the threat of death.”
“So what!”
"I think you'll need training. Rough training that will bring out your potential."
"Yes?"
Lamia glared at Granada with a trembling look.
"What training are you talking about all of a sudden? You're not talking nonsense because you tried to kill me and got caught, are you?"
Granada passed by Lamia, who was glaring at her with eyes full of rebellion, without even blinking, and said.
“From now on, you are Madam’s bodyguard.”
“...?”
Lamia tilted her head up as if she had misheard something.
“What did you say?”
"Madam, she was almost attacked by an old woman this time. I think she'll need a bodyguard to protect her at all times."
Lamia followed Granada and asked.
“There are many other knights, but me? Why?”
"She needs a bodyguard, someone she can trust and entrust everything to. Knights are our master's knights, not Madam's."
“So you want me to be a knight?”
“You are not a knight, but a bodyguard.”
"That's it! It's just the title and salary that are different! How can I do that?"
Granada chuckled.
“Just consider Madam’s life as your own, and that’s enough.”
And then she suddenly attacked Lamia.
As soon as Lamia felt the urge to live, she jumped back from Granada.
Granada took the life out of it and laughed.
"Look. You have the talent. Starting tomorrow, come to the training grounds after work. And from now on, don't carry any unauthorized weapons within the castle walls. That's illegal. The only exception is for Madame's bodyguards."
The idea was that if you wanted to legally carry a weapon, you had to become a bodyguard.
Lamia opened her mouth wide as if she were dumbfounded.
"Ugh..."
***
Callius sighed, putting down the old record he had been reading.
A look of exhaustion was evident on his face.
Even now, time was ticking by, and Chloe's condition was noticeably worsening day by day, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a way to stop the curse.
'I might have to ask the sorcerers.'
It was the sorcerer who made Chloe like that, so he didn't feel comfortable calling the sorcerer to try to cure Chloe.
In his experience, the work of sorcerers always ends badly. The only ones who benefit are the sorcerers themselves.
But if there's no other way, then what can I do? Callius thought, clutching at straws, then gritted his teeth and shook his head.
'No, let's brace ourselves.'
Weak and foolish thoughts always tend to creep into the desperate and impatient mind.
Callius continued to focus on what he was doing.
Then, after a while, he went to his mother's prayer room with a feeling of despair.
He was overcome with a sense of helplessness and anxiety that he wouldn't be able to save Chloe.
Honestly, he was scared.
So he hid in this small prayer room that was too small for even one person to kneel down.
He sat down on the cushion where Ilya had been sitting and fell face down in agony.
'How on earth did Mother overcome these hardships?'
Even when he was ten years old and lost his mother, he didn't look for her like a little child, but now that he's all grown up, he's looking for her.
But Callius felt like he wanted to hold on to something.
'God, my old friend and benefactor...'
He prayed to God with a determined heart.
‘...Please save my wife Chloe, who will always be one and only.’
It was a heartfelt prayer.
Chloe wasn't the kind of person who would just let him stay by her side for a little while and then send her away in vain.
It's not a passing relationship.
Callius thought he could never lose her.
One-of-a-kind. Yes, that's what she was to him.
He clenched his fist so hard that it was almost crushed.
His confession was engraved in his heart, and strength was restored to his once listless body.
'Let's get up and strike Kavala right now. If I can risk my life to save Chloe, then let's do it.'
At this moment, all the people of Ronheim whom he was supposed to lead did not come to mind.
He had always put Ronheim first, but now Chloe was more important than anything else.
It was Chloe who had helped him get back on his feet after losing Ilya and nearly collapsing. What if he were to lose her, too, in vain, to Kavala?
'I can't get up again then.'
Callius sighed and looked up.
As he stood up, ready to run to Arrental at any moment, he suddenly saw a stone tablet with letters engraved on it.
For a moment, as if possessed by something, he took the stone tablet and placed it on his lap, reading the letters he had not yet finished reading.
“...the beast that God had given them was offered on the altar, and the evil was transferred to him. The sick person was cured as if they had been washed away.”
Why does he suddenly remember what Ilya said to me when he was little?
“New life can only be obtained by sacrificing other life.”
“Then don’t you feel sorry for the lives sacrificed for other lives?”
"It's a shame. But that's the way it is. For one life to survive, another must make a sacrifice. That's what sacrifice is all about. You pass on evil to the offering, offer it to the gods, and in return, you receive a powerful life force."
"But then what about the innocent sacrifices? The sacrificial animals give their lives to humans and then die. Isn't offering sacrifices excessive?"
"Well, think about the food you ate today. The meat on the table and the offering on the altar serve essentially the same purpose."
"Ah...?"
“You have to know how to see the essence, Callius.”
Ilya spoke to the young Callius, who was both enlightened and confused.
"That's how the world was made. That's the order God gave to this earth."
“Why did God give us such an order?”
“Well, how can human wisdom fully comprehend the will of an omnipotent God?”
“Don’t you know, Mother? You’re the Saint closest to God.”
Ilya's faint smile that day was vivid.
“Even a Saint is just a human being.”
Callius thought back on the conversation he had had with Ilya, then read the inscription on the stone tablet again from the beginning.
“You have to know how to see the essence, Callius.”
His mother's voice kept ringing in his ears.
Callius, who was reading the text on the stone tablet, opened his eyes wide.
'This text is not about the Holy Grail.'
Since it was the stone slab where the Holy Grail was placed, he naturally assumed that there would be inscriptions related to the Holy Grail.
So, he continued to feel frustrated and sad that he had lost the Holy Grail, which had the amazing power written on it.
But the essence was different.
'This is a story about a sacrifice.'
A realization struck him.
'Mother didn't accomplish everything simply with the power of the Holy Grail.'
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