To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 69

It had been about two hours since they left the Benoit Royal Palace on the demonic beast. By now, the bodies of Herma and his subordinates would have been discovered. The fact that the high elf and Dandeleon had disappeared would also be revealed soon. The disappearance of a high elf was a serious matter on which the fate of the continent depended. Not only Benoit, but the Elven Forest as well would set out to find them.

It was said that it takes a full day to reach Roalanthe, but that was by human standards. If one rode a demonic beast like Kellewen or used other kinds of magic, one could arrive much faster. But even considering the time it would take to track them, they did not have much time left.

“So let’s talk about the most important thing, Leon.”

“What is that?”

Kellewen smiled.

“That you can live.”

That smile was filled with such pure happiness. Dandeleon could not look at that face for long and turned his head again. Something welled up in his heart.

If he could, he wanted to grab Kellewen and scream. He wanted to shout, is that so important right now? Knowing full well what Kellewen had been through, because he knew it all too well, he wanted to get angry and throw a tantrum, asking if his life was really that important.

Kellewen avoided the details, but it was clear that he felt pain every time he turned back time. That pain did not stop at being temporary but continued to pile up, gnawing away at Kellewen. The bright red blood he had just coughed up so casually was proof of that.

Moreover, Kellewen’s problems were not just physical.

On the demonic beast, Dandeleon felt Kellewen’s hand holding him tremble continuously. Even while they continued their conversation after getting off on the beach, Kellewen would occasionally stop talking and stare blankly into the air. At those times, his gaze was as empty as a vacant house.

If Dandeleon didn’t take his hand and call his name, if he didn’t bring him back to reality like that, it felt as though Kellewen would wander off into some unknown place forever and disappear.

Last night, Dandeleon had thought Kellewen had gone mad, suffering from delusions. Fortunately or unfortunately, that was only half-true. It was not a delusion that Dandeleon had died dozens of times. However, it was somewhat true that Kellewen had gone mad in the process.

Now Dandeleon remembered everything that had happened to him. He remembered the first death, and he remembered the last death, and he could recall the countless deaths, the pain, the despair in between.

Even he, who could not remember what happened after death, felt as if he would be crushed to death under the weight of an immeasurable time, so how could Kellewen’s mind, having lived through even more than that, be sane?

Kellewen had broken. That fact pained Dandeleon. It was more terrible than any past death, more than any agonizing memory. The pain he had suffered, and the fact that that pain was solely for him.

“Leon… are you listening?”

When Dandeleon couldn’t continue, Kellewen’s eyes shook with anxiety. He gripped Dandeleon’s arm with a trembling hand. As if to confirm that Dandeleon was there.

“I’m listening.”

Dandeleon managed to reply, swallowing his tears. When he raised his hand and touched Kellewen’s cheek, peace returned to the anxious face. Kellewen leaned his face against Dandeleon’s hand and said.

“This is the important part. Listen carefully, Leon. You can live. You don’t have to die anymore.”

‘Then what about you?’

Dandeleon held back the urge to ask. It seemed better to let Kellewen speak for now.

“But to do that, you can’t stay here… you have to leave, Leon.”

“Here, you mean Roalanthe?”

“No. The continent, Leon… If you’re on the continent, you’ll die.”

“……?”

Dandeleon frowned and tried to understand Kellewen’s words. But it was not easy. If Kellewen were in a better state, he would have given a proper explanation, but right now, his eagerness, mixed with a sense of urgency and the joy of having found an answer, was getting the better of him. Dandeleon gently patted Kellewen to help him calm down.

“Kellen, can you explain a little more? Leave the continent, where would I go?”

“You will go to Surha.”

Suddenly, a voice other than theirs joined the conversation.

Dandeleon quickly raised his head. He had forgotten for a while, but they were not the only two who had come to Roalanthe on the demonic beast.

Her bare feet stepped on the sand, but there was no sound. Since she had been frowning as if displeased the entire ride on the demonic beast, he had thought she was very motion-sick, but she still had the same expression even after getting off on the ground.

“You are to return to where you belong. With me.”

• To be continued in the next chapter –

Chapter 44

At first glance, she was a woman who looked like an elf, or a very tall human. Her black hair was tied up high and braided into one, and she wore thin white clothes that one would wear in the middle of summer. No, perhaps it should be said that they were once white clothes. The clothes, soaked in blood, now had more dark red parts than white.

Her upturned eyes looked extremely fierce. It was all the more so because she was scowling. Dandeleon couldn’t tell if the intimidating aura she exuded came from that expression, or from her tall stature and long, graceful limbs.

When he saw her in his dream, he felt she resembled his mother, but now he couldn’t tell at all. Only the purple light shining from her large eyes was familiar. It was the same purple he always saw in the mirror.

Her name was Sarphana. She said she was the sister of his mother, Apsara.

“Did you recover the remains well?”

Kellewen asked. Sarphana didn’t even look at him and just nodded. It was an extremely arrogant attitude.

It had been like that from the start. Sarphana had ordered Kellewen to go to Roalanthe, saying she had to retrieve Apsara’s remains. Like a master telling a coachman their destination.

Until then, Dandeleon knew nothing about Sarphana. She hadn’t given any explanation other than that she was his mother’s sister. Even in the long story he had heard on the demonic beast, there was no part where Sarphana appeared.

But as soon as they arrived in Roalanthe, Sarphana left for Apsara’s grave, and in the meantime, Kellewen’s story reached its grand finale. Because the story had ended awkwardly, there was still much he didn’t know about Sarphana, but at least one thing was certain.

“Are you suggesting I go to a place where monsters live?”

That she, who looked no different from Kellewen on the outside, was in fact a monster, and that she possessed the strength to single-handedly slaughter several members of Tuella Deum, including Herma.

“Monster? You would degrade your own kind with such a word?”

Sarphana said in a cold voice, her eyes wide. Her already grim expression became even more frightening, and he could feel a spirit that could kill a person with just a look.

Even Dandeleon, who had become detached after going through so much, instinctively flinched at that murderous aura. Before he had a chance to ask what ‘your own kind’ meant, Sarphana’s solemn reprimand came down.

“Your mother Apsara is one of the first seven eggs born from the first drop of Zarmash’s blood. Do you know what that means? It means there are only three bloodlines between the great Zarmash and you. For someone like you to call a Lazar a monster, you should be ashamed.”

Dandeleon tried to interpret the unfamiliar words that poured out like a machine gun. Trying to use his head while a woman who was clearly a monster glared at him like a wild beast was enough to make his head spin. After a long while, Dandeleon said in a timid voice.

“Does that mean… this Zarmash person is my great-grandfather?”

Sarphana made a very strange sound. It was similar to a snake hissing, but clearer and sharper. She wrinkled her nose and looked at Kellewen.

“Is this child a bit slow?”

Kellewen put a hand to his forehead and shook his head.

“You’re the one speaking unkindly. Didn’t I also ask you what you meant several times?”

“You’re not of Zarmash’s noble blood, so it’s only natural that you’re slow.”

Dandeleon was about to jump in between them, indignant, but Kellewen stopped him with a look. He spoke in a soft tone, as if to soothe Sarphana.

“Couldn’t you give us a little more time? As I said before, Dandeleon knows nothing about Zarmash. The way you’re speaking will only add to the confusion.”

Sarphana kicked the sand at her feet and muttered something. Dandeleon flinched again, but her aggressive behavior ended there. Sarphana turned on her heel and walked away haphazardly. Perhaps because she was tall, she had taken only a few steps, but the distance between them had already grown considerably.

“Hah…”

Kellewen let out a sigh. He seemed relieved, and also a little tired. Even so, he hesitated to speak, looking at Dandeleon. Dandeleon, who had a rough idea of the content, asked first.

“Sarphana is a monster, isn’t she?”

Kellewen nodded. Dandeleon glanced at Sarphana, who was throwing herself into the sea in the distance. He hadn’t meant to, but his voice became smaller on its own.

“Then my mother too…?”

“That’s right.”

“That means, so…”

Dandeleon clutched his head and groaned. He had guessed to some extent through their conversation, but it took a bit of courage to say it out loud himself.

“Am I a monster half-breed?”

“No, you are a pure monster, no, a Lazar.”

He had expected an affirmation, but Kellewen’s answer was unexpected. Dandeleon’s brow furrowed.

“Let’s sort this out for a moment. I take it ‘Lazar’ is what monsters call themselves?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why am I a pure mon… Lazar? My father is human.”

Gasp. Dandeleon quickly sucked in a breath.

“Don’t tell me, besides His Majesty, I have another biological father….”

“No, that’s not it.”

Kellewen quickly shook his head. He didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but it seemed there was no secret of his birth. Dandeleon waited silently for Kellewen’s explanation. After a moment of thought, he finally opened his mouth.

“The explanation I’m about to give is what I found out through my conversation with Sarphana last time. However, Sarphana is hardly what you’d call a good teacher….”

“You don’t have to tell me, I get it.”

When teaching something, you have to grasp the other person’s level of understanding. But Sarphana had a tendency to assume that the listener naturally had the same prior knowledge as her. On top of that, she had no intention of hiding her disdainful attitude toward Kellewen, making her the worst person to get an explanation from in many ways.

“So please listen with the fact that I could be wrong in mind. The other day, I heard from Herma….”

Kellewen was startled by his own words and flinched. He glanced at Dandeleon and hesitated to continue, but Dandeleon shrugged nonchalantly.

“It’s fine, keep talking.”