Meanwhile, Andrew's father, Basto, discovered that the Knights of Callius had been watching him for several days after Andrew's disappearance.
Some days he pretended to come to ask how they were doing, and other days he pretended to be drinking with friends at his regular bar in Basto.
If Basto had been a true drunkard who couldn't stand alcohol, it would have been difficult to notice.
But the reason Basto sought alcohol was because he was in pain, not because he was crazy about alcohol.
He had been naturally putting his wife out of his mind for a while lately, worrying about Andrew and Hillen.
He didn't need alcohol because he wasn't thinking about his wife.
But he only pretended to drink for a few days to fool the knights of Callius.
'If I want to find Andrew, I have to shake them off first.'
Basto decided to put into action today what he had been planning for several days.
“Going already?”
The bar owner asked Basto, who was getting up from his seat.
He was a long-time friend of Basto's and the only one who did not reject Basto, even after hearing that Andrew had disappeared with the intention of betraying Ronheim.
He felt sorry for Basto, who had lost his wife and children.
But every time Basto saw a friend like that, he thought.
'If he found out that I was a guide to the assassins who killed the Saint, he wouldn't be able to feel sorry for me.'
With such thoughts, Basto could not fully rely on anyone, nor felt gratitude or closeness to anyone.
The wall of guilt he built for himself was thick.
Basto staggered around, pretending to be drunk, and just waved his hand absentmindedly.
"Tsk tsk, get a grip and go home to sleep! You almost froze to death on the street last time, didn't you? Don't go anywhere else today! Hey, the front door!"
“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
Basto almost hit the door, but managed to open the handle and get out.
The cold autumn wind seeped into his bones and made him shiver.
A blizzard was raging outside.
Seeing the snowstorm coming down early in the morning, before it was even dinner time, it seemed like the dreaded winter was coming back again.
“It’s so cold I’m going to die!”
He walked leisurely, staggering from side to side, swearing in an unclear pronunciation.
Soon after, he felt the presence of people following him.
'Even though it's been a long time since I trained, I know this much.'
It was Basto, one of Ronheim's elite knights.
The snowstorm was heavier than usual today.
He waited for this kind of weather and time on purpose.
The knights of Callius wandered around the square for a while through the snowstorm, and then followed Basto, who was wandering from alley to alley without being able to tell right from wrong.
Basto wandered for a long time through the alleys between houses that were tangled like a spider's web.
Then, as he turned a corner, the knights' view was briefly obscured.
'Shut up!'
In an instant, he climbed up the high wall of a house that had been built to block the strong wind that could blow away the roof.
Basto, who had deliberately chosen a spot where the cliff would be right next to the wall, jumped down the cliff without even having time to think.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
He almost screamed as he fell and hit a rock jutting out from the cliff, but he gritted his teeth and held back the sound.
Even after he touched the ground, he rolled around for a while because of the steep slope.
When he came to a stop in a snowdrift that reached his waist, his body was covered in wounds.
“Huh... huh.”
He briefly passed out, and when he woke up, he covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming at the excruciating pain he felt everywhere in his body.
He quickly checked to see if his limbs were moving and struggled to get up.
'Ugh!'
It was clear that his left leg and ribs were broken.
He was struggling to breathe, his eyes wide open, and he looked back, barely able to catch his breath.
In an instant, he was far away from the houses of Ronheim.
Even the greatest knight would have had a hard time chasing him down this street on a snowy day.
A wind this strong would have quickly covered up and erased any traces of him.
He knew better than anyone that he could not take down the knights of Callius without risking his life.
Well, now that he wasn't dead, he had to use his remaining life to find his son.
He barely kept one eye open because of the blood flowing from his head, and he gritted his teeth as he fought desperately through the snow.
If Andrew hadn't left Ronheim yet, there was one place he could be.
Andrew's secret place that he never told anyone about.
It was the forest cabin that Basto's wife, Tirena, had used when she was still a hunter.
'I wish they had left Ronheim.'
Basto prayed and prayed inwardly as he headed toward his wife's cabin.
He wishes Andrew weren't there.
People were talking about how Andrew would not leave Ronheim but would hide in the shadows and then emerge, leading the army of Kavala.
But Basto hoped that even if Andrew had actually planned such a thing, he would have suddenly changed his mind and just run away from here.
Unlike himself, who suffered from guilt all his life but could not leave Ronheim, he wished Andrew had shaken off his sin and run away before committing it.
With every movement, his breathing became faster, and the pain in his chest was so severe that he could not even breathe properly. Basto continued on his way with only willpower.
His feet were buried in the snow and frozen, so he couldn't feel them.
He thought it was rather fortunate.
Because his broken left leg hurts less.
He climbed the mountain path, almost by feeling.
It was hard to use his legs, so Basto climbed the mountain like he was crawling.
And finally, he found his wife's abandoned cabin.
As he stood in front of the door, he heard, to his despair, the sounds of several people.
He hoped it wouldn't happen.
Andrew's voice was leaking out from there.
“Shut up!”
“Please, please save me...”
“Huh...”
“I told you to shut up.”
With the voices of some children.
That moment.
I followed Callius and stood in the place where Saint Ilya had used as a prayer room.
Callius returned the Holy Grail I had brought to the place where it had always been originally placed.
The joy that could not be hidden in his appearance made me laugh.
“I will never lose it again.”
Callius's words showed his firm resolve and determination.
“That won’t happen.”
I answered.
I, too, am determined not to let Kavala steal the Holy Grail again.
But then, the strange sensation I've been feeling occasionally these days tickled my chest again.
I looked at the Holy Grail and put my hand on my chest.
Callius looked at my face with concern.
“Why are you doing that?”
I simply rubbed my chest with my palm, and he reacted so immediately, showing concern for me. I couldn't help but laugh, even though it wasn't the right situation.
“It just felt strange.”
“Feels strange? Is it a curse?”
He looked worried, wondering if the suppressed curse was starting to take effect again.
I shook my head.
“I don’t know. But it won’t be a big deal.”
“If anything changes in your body, even if it seems trivial, you must tell me.”
Callius said firmly.
He then said that since the Holy Grail had been recovered, the curse should be completely destroyed as soon as possible.
"Yes. But I don't think it's really because of the curse. I just have this feeling... I don't know what it is, but it feels that way. It's a strangely pleasant feeling."
"Yes?"
I approached the Holy Grail as if possessed.
'It may be an illusion, but... this strange feeling seems to grow stronger when I get closer to the Holy Grail.'
I reached out for the handle of the Holy Grail.
It felt like the Holy Grail was pulling me towards it.
But just before I could reach it, someone knocked from outside the prayer room.
I was startled as if I had just woken up from a dream, so I quickly put my hand away and turned toward the door.
“It’s Mainz, my lord.”
Mainz's voice was filled with worry.
Callius and I went outside and faced Mainz.
“What’s going on?”
“Parents who lost their children came to us in a hurry.”
“Lost a child? Tell me more.”
"It seems the three children went hunting. Several villagers searched, but no trace was found. If they were killed by wild animals, there would have been at least some traces left behind..."
It was sad news.
“Who is the last witness?”
Granada, who was walking from the end of the hallway, heard this conversation and blurted out a reply.
“I know them. These are the kids I know.”
Then she suddenly asked Callius for permission.
“Please allow me to go out and look for it.”
Mainz looked at Callius with a sad face.
"That's why I came looking for you, Master. It's snowing heavily outside right now, and my sister wants to go out. Please stop her."
Then, looking at Granada, she whispered as if she were dying of frustration.
"We'll all die like this, Sister. Let's just wait until the snowstorm dies down at dawn, yes? It'll only take a few hours."
"I don't know when the blizzard will stop. And those few hours could determine the life or death of my children."
Granada was tough.
Some days he pretended to come to ask how they were doing, and other days he pretended to be drinking with friends at his regular bar in Basto.
If Basto had been a true drunkard who couldn't stand alcohol, it would have been difficult to notice.
But the reason Basto sought alcohol was because he was in pain, not because he was crazy about alcohol.
He had been naturally putting his wife out of his mind for a while lately, worrying about Andrew and Hillen.
He didn't need alcohol because he wasn't thinking about his wife.
But he only pretended to drink for a few days to fool the knights of Callius.
'If I want to find Andrew, I have to shake them off first.'
Basto decided to put into action today what he had been planning for several days.
“Going already?”
The bar owner asked Basto, who was getting up from his seat.
He was a long-time friend of Basto's and the only one who did not reject Basto, even after hearing that Andrew had disappeared with the intention of betraying Ronheim.
He felt sorry for Basto, who had lost his wife and children.
But every time Basto saw a friend like that, he thought.
'If he found out that I was a guide to the assassins who killed the Saint, he wouldn't be able to feel sorry for me.'
With such thoughts, Basto could not fully rely on anyone, nor felt gratitude or closeness to anyone.
The wall of guilt he built for himself was thick.
Basto staggered around, pretending to be drunk, and just waved his hand absentmindedly.
"Tsk tsk, get a grip and go home to sleep! You almost froze to death on the street last time, didn't you? Don't go anywhere else today! Hey, the front door!"
“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
Basto almost hit the door, but managed to open the handle and get out.
The cold autumn wind seeped into his bones and made him shiver.
A blizzard was raging outside.
Seeing the snowstorm coming down early in the morning, before it was even dinner time, it seemed like the dreaded winter was coming back again.
“It’s so cold I’m going to die!”
He walked leisurely, staggering from side to side, swearing in an unclear pronunciation.
Soon after, he felt the presence of people following him.
'Even though it's been a long time since I trained, I know this much.'
It was Basto, one of Ronheim's elite knights.
The snowstorm was heavier than usual today.
He waited for this kind of weather and time on purpose.
The knights of Callius wandered around the square for a while through the snowstorm, and then followed Basto, who was wandering from alley to alley without being able to tell right from wrong.
Basto wandered for a long time through the alleys between houses that were tangled like a spider's web.
Then, as he turned a corner, the knights' view was briefly obscured.
'Shut up!'
In an instant, he climbed up the high wall of a house that had been built to block the strong wind that could blow away the roof.
Basto, who had deliberately chosen a spot where the cliff would be right next to the wall, jumped down the cliff without even having time to think.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
He almost screamed as he fell and hit a rock jutting out from the cliff, but he gritted his teeth and held back the sound.
Even after he touched the ground, he rolled around for a while because of the steep slope.
When he came to a stop in a snowdrift that reached his waist, his body was covered in wounds.
“Huh... huh.”
He briefly passed out, and when he woke up, he covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming at the excruciating pain he felt everywhere in his body.
He quickly checked to see if his limbs were moving and struggled to get up.
'Ugh!'
It was clear that his left leg and ribs were broken.
He was struggling to breathe, his eyes wide open, and he looked back, barely able to catch his breath.
In an instant, he was far away from the houses of Ronheim.
Even the greatest knight would have had a hard time chasing him down this street on a snowy day.
A wind this strong would have quickly covered up and erased any traces of him.
He knew better than anyone that he could not take down the knights of Callius without risking his life.
Well, now that he wasn't dead, he had to use his remaining life to find his son.
He barely kept one eye open because of the blood flowing from his head, and he gritted his teeth as he fought desperately through the snow.
If Andrew hadn't left Ronheim yet, there was one place he could be.
Andrew's secret place that he never told anyone about.
It was the forest cabin that Basto's wife, Tirena, had used when she was still a hunter.
'I wish they had left Ronheim.'
Basto prayed and prayed inwardly as he headed toward his wife's cabin.
He wishes Andrew weren't there.
People were talking about how Andrew would not leave Ronheim but would hide in the shadows and then emerge, leading the army of Kavala.
But Basto hoped that even if Andrew had actually planned such a thing, he would have suddenly changed his mind and just run away from here.
Unlike himself, who suffered from guilt all his life but could not leave Ronheim, he wished Andrew had shaken off his sin and run away before committing it.
With every movement, his breathing became faster, and the pain in his chest was so severe that he could not even breathe properly. Basto continued on his way with only willpower.
His feet were buried in the snow and frozen, so he couldn't feel them.
He thought it was rather fortunate.
Because his broken left leg hurts less.
He climbed the mountain path, almost by feeling.
It was hard to use his legs, so Basto climbed the mountain like he was crawling.
And finally, he found his wife's abandoned cabin.
As he stood in front of the door, he heard, to his despair, the sounds of several people.
He hoped it wouldn't happen.
Andrew's voice was leaking out from there.
“Shut up!”
“Please, please save me...”
“Huh...”
“I told you to shut up.”
With the voices of some children.
***
That moment.
I followed Callius and stood in the place where Saint Ilya had used as a prayer room.
Callius returned the Holy Grail I had brought to the place where it had always been originally placed.
The joy that could not be hidden in his appearance made me laugh.
“I will never lose it again.”
Callius's words showed his firm resolve and determination.
“That won’t happen.”
I answered.
I, too, am determined not to let Kavala steal the Holy Grail again.
But then, the strange sensation I've been feeling occasionally these days tickled my chest again.
I looked at the Holy Grail and put my hand on my chest.
Callius looked at my face with concern.
“Why are you doing that?”
I simply rubbed my chest with my palm, and he reacted so immediately, showing concern for me. I couldn't help but laugh, even though it wasn't the right situation.
“It just felt strange.”
“Feels strange? Is it a curse?”
He looked worried, wondering if the suppressed curse was starting to take effect again.
I shook my head.
“I don’t know. But it won’t be a big deal.”
“If anything changes in your body, even if it seems trivial, you must tell me.”
Callius said firmly.
He then said that since the Holy Grail had been recovered, the curse should be completely destroyed as soon as possible.
"Yes. But I don't think it's really because of the curse. I just have this feeling... I don't know what it is, but it feels that way. It's a strangely pleasant feeling."
"Yes?"
I approached the Holy Grail as if possessed.
'It may be an illusion, but... this strange feeling seems to grow stronger when I get closer to the Holy Grail.'
I reached out for the handle of the Holy Grail.
It felt like the Holy Grail was pulling me towards it.
But just before I could reach it, someone knocked from outside the prayer room.
I was startled as if I had just woken up from a dream, so I quickly put my hand away and turned toward the door.
“It’s Mainz, my lord.”
Mainz's voice was filled with worry.
Callius and I went outside and faced Mainz.
“What’s going on?”
“Parents who lost their children came to us in a hurry.”
“Lost a child? Tell me more.”
"It seems the three children went hunting. Several villagers searched, but no trace was found. If they were killed by wild animals, there would have been at least some traces left behind..."
It was sad news.
“Who is the last witness?”
Granada, who was walking from the end of the hallway, heard this conversation and blurted out a reply.
“I know them. These are the kids I know.”
Then she suddenly asked Callius for permission.
“Please allow me to go out and look for it.”
Mainz looked at Callius with a sad face.
"That's why I came looking for you, Master. It's snowing heavily outside right now, and my sister wants to go out. Please stop her."
Then, looking at Granada, she whispered as if she were dying of frustration.
"We'll all die like this, Sister. Let's just wait until the snowstorm dies down at dawn, yes? It'll only take a few hours."
"I don't know when the blizzard will stop. And those few hours could determine the life or death of my children."
Granada was tough.
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