46
Estio Volume 2
- Episode 21
"Yeah. It's going well."
Estio answered firmly. Parker, reassured by that unshakable voice, scratched the back of his head and gently let go of his luck.
"Leader, how long are you going back to your hometown?"
"...The village left with the beginning of the year."
"Ah! Did you leave right after the coming-of-age ceremony?"
On the day of coming of age for the first time after the year changed, Estio was ridiculed in filth mixed with the blood of a filthy animal at a celebration of coming of age. The villagers persecuted me for crimes he had not committed, and there was no one among them who extended his hand.
even family.
The blood and filth that had stained his whole body sticky was also disgusting, but what made him feel even more filthy was the eyes of those who looked at him.
'Well then.'
'It's also unlucky.'
'The cursed child.'
The sound of whispers sharper than a knife still seemed to ring in my ears. Seeing him swallowing a bitter sigh, Parker, noticing the dark mood, shrugged his wings.
"You start working right away as soon as you become an adult, so you have a great sense of responsibility."
"responsibility?"
"Yeah. Usually, even when you become an adult, it's quite difficult to leave the place you've been living since you were young. It's a challenge for yourself to achieve your dreams."
flaw. Suddenly, he bit Estio's lips and a suppressed smile leaked out. He wasn't laughing because he was happy.
"No, not like that."
"Yes?"
"It wasn't like a sense of responsibility."
The sincerity that could not come out of his mouth hotly scratched his throat and sank into his chest again.
'I want to live.'
Unfortunately, that was the only reason.
The reason he left his hometown was far from any sense of responsibility, dream, or hope. If he stayed, he would really go crazy. He was unbearably anxious at the foreboding that it would be over, either by killing himself or by forcibly suffocating him to death.
In the end, he left his hometown on his own.
Parker and Mubin, unaware of this fact, looked at Estio with strange eyes.
"But, dear, did you say that you still have a family in Selvia?"
"Perhaps it will."
There was no one in that town who, as Estio remembered, had 'the courage to challenge oneself for a dream' as Parker said. Naturally, no one went out of the village to find him just because he disappeared overnight, so his family must still be cultivating a field the size of a palm in that poor village.
"Both parents are in good health, one older brother and one older sister, did you say you were the youngest?"
"Yes."
I already knew that there was a background investigation, so it wasn't a bad feeling. Estio was the first to think that he was glad he could not introduce his family with my mouth.
"Is everyone going to be very happy?"
"......"
There was no answer this time. Looking at the back of Estio, who was only walking silently, Parker narrowed his brow slightly.
It is said that it is because of a request, but it is a way to visit my hometown with much effort. Looking at Parker, who has been living in the guild for many years, Estio's dark expression now doesn't look like someone he's been meeting with his family for a long time.
'It's strange. Aren't you very happy? You even became a guild leader.'
Those with special abilities usually join guilds to make money. The more famous you get, the more money you earn, the greater the privileges that go to your family.
'Come to think of it, he didn't even talk about his family at all...'
Of course, among the guild members, there were often cases where the relationship with the family was not very good. But Parker shook his head again.
'But he could have neglected such a talented person.'
The mental abilities that Estio showed were so special that it made our eyes widen. Even the dukes and the imperial family were interested in him, let alone the lower nobles.
Even the Ignis Guild Master was possessed and given the special rank of 'Leader' in order not to miss him.
Besides, it didn't seem like Estio would run away from home after a big fight with his family.
With the exception of Tsuki, the black cat, no one in the party with him could have guessed that the guild leader was treated worse than the garbage lying on the side of the road in his hometown.
"Huh?"
Then, suddenly, something strange caught Parker's eyes, who had been immersed in thought.
Black smoke was rising in the distance in the sky. Parker with wings soared into the sky to find out more about what was going on.
puffy.
As the white feathers scattered in all directions, Estio also stopped walking and looked up at the sky. It was a clear day, so the black smoke rising into the sky was clearly visible.
Mubin, who saw the same scene, muttered while holding his chin.
"What smoke? Was there a wildfire?"
"Nope."
Estio immediately denied it.
"That's where the village is."
"What? Does that mean the town is on fire?"
"well."
Even though there may have been a fire in his hometown, Estio's expression was calm. Rather, his companions trembled with urgency on their faces.
"What should I do? The villagers weren't seriously hurt, were they?"
"If there is a fire in a village like this, it is not easy to extinguish the fire. Apparently, there is no one with the ability to handle water, so it is embarrassing."
"Do you have the ability to handle water?"
"Wizards can bring water from nearby. Of course, the best thing is spirit magic. It's especially convenient if you have a water spirit magician. It can even create rain clouds."
Wow, Neju's eyes lit up after hearing Mubin's explanation. She had never seen an elemental magician in her life. It wasn't just that she was the white-haired monkey that Neju lived in the mountains, it was whoever she was. Even in the imperial family or guild, an elemental magician was a rare existence.
Of course, if it were rare, Estio, who could freely use the spiritual powers, was the most rarity, but the story of the spirits of Nejuro was even more interesting. It was like hearing a legend about angels, demons, and dragons that did not exist in the world.
Parker, who flew into the sky just in time, sank back into place.
"I."
"How is it? Is the fire too big?"
"No, that's it. It doesn't look like there was a fire."
Everyone sighed in relief when they said that there was no fire. As the story of the spirits did not come out for nothing, it was because they could not find a way to effectively put out the fire in such a deep mountain.
However, Parker paused and looked at Estio.
"He, the villagers seem to have smoked it on purpose..."
"Is that so."
"Yeah. It looks like a pillar was built by stacking a pole with branches and lighting it."
"The altar and the pillar. What kind of ritual do you do?"
"Um, I guess that's it. Well, uh, if I'm not mistaken... One problem."
"Ah, that's a bummer. Why are you stuttering like that? Do you feel?"
The cactus, who had not heard of it, hurried it, and then Parker's surprised mouth quickly uttered the next word.
"He tied a person to that pole."
"Yes?"
"Hoong!"
"......?"
This time, even the calm expression of Estio had changed. He hardened his face and asked in a low tone.
"Parker, to recap, do you mean that the villagers now tied people to poles and set them on fire?"
"That... it seemed like that...?"
A muffled muffled voice from Parker.
"Mo, I don't know. To be honest, it's the first time I've ever seen such a scene. It's not like the fire is still burning, but it seems like the person who was tied up was still alive."
"Huh."
Mubin sighed in a situation that no one could have predicted. In the Empire, when a person dies, it is common to put it in a coffin and bury it in the land to pay tribute to the dead.
Even tying up a living person and burning them was out of the ordinary. Parker, as white as a blind person, checked Estio's location again.
"Leader, is that really 'Selvia Village'?"
Estio quietly shook his head. I had a headache, as if all the black smoke that had overflowed from the sky had flowed into my head.
'It won't be. It's an illusion.'
He lowered his hand on his forehead and clenched his fist.
There were many selfish and narrow-minded people in the village of Selvia, but that wasn't enough to commit the terrible things Parker is talking about now. There's a difference between being mean and being vicious. The villagers did evil things, but they did not touch evil things. I didn't have the guts to do that in the first place. Even if there were criminals, they would throw stones or tie them to a pole and enjoy the game of hitting the head with a rotten egg.
As far as Estio knew, there had never been a time when people's lives had been taken carelessly.
If only they were that vicious.
'I was the first person to set an example.'
It was a fact that I had felt as though I was growing up in a solitary confinement by myself. If they had any intention of killing people, they should have died immediately, called the Cursed Child.
"Estio-sama?"
fault.
He did not answer Parker's call and started running. Though he thought it wasn't him, his uneasy heart moved his legs. Behind me, I heard Parker flapping his wings and chasing after him. Since he was the center of the group, all the personnel followed him without any exchange of opinion. Normally, he would have politely asked for opinions and took care of them one by one, but he didn't have time to think about anything else as of now.
Shortly after, I saw an old village that had been built in a circle down the steep hillside. Under the familiar roofs, peaceful fields and cattle pens caught my eye. But it wasn't the village that caught fire.
I saw people flocking to the top of a small hill right next to the village. The hill was so close that I could recognize all the faces of the people gathered on the slope where Estio arrived.
Estio tried to calm the breath he had built up to the tip of his chin and raised his head to look at the <altar> built by the villagers.
"Hehehe, heuk. Please save me......"
On the altar, a girl was weeping and begging. Hanging from the top of a lit altar with her limbs tied, she was a face Estio knew all too well.
"Really, really not. I'm not... not like that."
'Bella.'
It was Bella, a 17-year-old girl who was two years younger than him.
Contrary to the appearance she had seen at the coming-of-age ceremony, Bella was in a very dreary and dirty state. Her long, rich blonde hair was cut short and stretched out, filthy filth was smeared on her face, and her innocent brown eyes, like deer, were twisted in pain. The pure, clear light was no longer in it.
The pink one-piece dress that had been in the sky was torn here and there, revealing the insides. Even that was unsightly, and the red scars all over his body were unsightly.
Now Bella was no longer the most beautiful 17-year-old girl in the nearby town, but a beggar in a rag.
"Dino oppa, Louis oppa."
The young men who were called by her name flinched and turned their heads.
"Help me. Please."
"Don't make eye contact. That witch might seduce you again."
46
Estio Volume 2
- Episode 21
"Yeah. It's going well."
Estio answered firmly. Parker, reassured by that unshakable voice, scratched the back of his head and gently let go of his luck.
"Leader, how long are you going back to your hometown?"
"...The village left with the beginning of the year."
"Ah! Did you leave right after the coming-of-age ceremony?"
On the day of coming of age for the first time after the year changed, Estio was ridiculed in filth mixed with the blood of a filthy animal at a celebration of coming of age. The villagers persecuted me for crimes he had not committed, and there was no one among them who extended his hand.
even family.
The blood and filth that had stained his whole body sticky was also disgusting, but what made him feel even more filthy was the eyes of those who looked at him.
'Well then.'
'It's also unlucky.'
'The cursed child.'
The sound of whispers sharper than a knife still seemed to ring in my ears. Seeing him swallowing a bitter sigh, Parker, noticing the dark mood, shrugged his wings.
"You start working right away as soon as you become an adult, so you have a great sense of responsibility."
"responsibility?"
"Yeah. Usually, even when you become an adult, it's quite difficult to leave the place you've been living since you were young. It's a challenge for yourself to achieve your dreams."
flaw. Suddenly, he bit Estio's lips and a suppressed smile leaked out. He wasn't laughing because he was happy.
"No, not like that."
"Yes?"
"It wasn't like a sense of responsibility."
The sincerity that could not come out of his mouth hotly scratched his throat and sank into his chest again.
'I want to live.'
Unfortunately, that was the only reason.
The reason he left his hometown was far from any sense of responsibility, dream, or hope. If he stayed, he would really go crazy. He was unbearably anxious at the foreboding that it would be over, either by killing himself or by forcibly suffocating him to death.
In the end, he left his hometown on his own.
Parker and Mubin, unaware of this fact, looked at Estio with strange eyes.
"But, dear, did you say that you still have a family in Selvia?"
"Perhaps it will."
There was no one in that town who, as Estio remembered, had 'the courage to challenge oneself for a dream' as Parker said. Naturally, no one went out of the village to find him just because he disappeared overnight, so his family must still be cultivating a field the size of a palm in that poor village.
"Both parents are in good health, one older brother and one older sister, did you say you were the youngest?"
"Yes."
I already knew that there was a background investigation, so it wasn't a bad feeling. Estio was the first to think that he was glad he could not introduce his family with my mouth.
"Is everyone going to be very happy?"
"......"
There was no answer this time. Looking at the back of Estio, who was only walking silently, Parker narrowed his brow slightly.
It is said that it is because of a request, but it is a way to visit my hometown with much effort. Looking at Parker, who has been living in the guild for many years, Estio's dark expression now doesn't look like someone he's been meeting with his family for a long time.
'It's strange. Aren't you very happy? You even became a guild leader.'
Those with special abilities usually join guilds to make money. The more famous you get, the more money you earn, the greater the privileges that go to your family.
'Come to think of it, he didn't even talk about his family at all...'
Of course, among the guild members, there were often cases where the relationship with the family was not very good. But Parker shook his head again.
'But he could have neglected such a talented person.'
The mental abilities that Estio showed were so special that it made our eyes widen. Even the dukes and the imperial family were interested in him, let alone the lower nobles.
Even the Ignis Guild Master was possessed and given the special rank of 'Leader' in order not to miss him.
Besides, it didn't seem like Estio would run away from home after a big fight with his family.
With the exception of Tsuki, the black cat, no one in the party with him could have guessed that the guild leader was treated worse than the garbage lying on the side of the road in his hometown.
"Huh?"
Then, suddenly, something strange caught Parker's eyes, who had been immersed in thought.
Black smoke was rising in the distance in the sky. Parker with wings soared into the sky to find out more about what was going on.
puffy.
As the white feathers scattered in all directions, Estio also stopped walking and looked up at the sky. It was a clear day, so the black smoke rising into the sky was clearly visible.
Mubin, who saw the same scene, muttered while holding his chin.
"What smoke? Was there a wildfire?"
"Nope."
Estio immediately denied it.
"That's where the village is."
"What? Does that mean the town is on fire?"
"well."
Even though there may have been a fire in his hometown, Estio's expression was calm. Rather, his companions trembled with urgency on their faces.
"What should I do? The villagers weren't seriously hurt, were they?"
"If there is a fire in a village like this, it is not easy to extinguish the fire. Apparently, there is no one with the ability to handle water, so it is embarrassing."
"Do you have the ability to handle water?"
"Wizards can bring water from nearby. Of course, the best thing is spirit magic. It's especially convenient if you have a water spirit magician. It can even create rain clouds."
Wow, Neju's eyes lit up after hearing Mubin's explanation. She had never seen an elemental magician in her life. It wasn't just that she was the white-haired monkey that Neju lived in the mountains, it was whoever she was. Even in the imperial family or guild, an elemental magician was a rare existence.
Of course, if it were rare, Estio, who could freely use the spiritual powers, was the most rarity, but the story of the spirits of Nejuro was even more interesting. It was like hearing a legend about angels, demons, and dragons that did not exist in the world.
Parker, who flew into the sky just in time, sank back into place.
"I."
"How is it? Is the fire too big?"
"No, that's it. It doesn't look like there was a fire."
Everyone sighed in relief when they said that there was no fire. As the story of the spirits did not come out for nothing, it was because they could not find a way to effectively put out the fire in such a deep mountain.
However, Parker paused and looked at Estio.
"He, the villagers seem to have smoked it on purpose..."
"Is that so."
"Yeah. It looks like a pillar was built by stacking a pole with branches and lighting it."
"The altar and the pillar. What kind of ritual do you do?"
"Um, I guess that's it. Well, uh, if I'm not mistaken... One problem."
"Ah, that's a bummer. Why are you stuttering like that? Do you feel?"
The cactus, who had not heard of it, hurried it, and then Parker's surprised mouth quickly uttered the next word.
"He tied a person to that pole."
"Yes?"
"Hoong!"
"......?"
This time, even the calm expression of Estio had changed. He hardened his face and asked in a low tone.
"Parker, to recap, do you mean that the villagers now tied people to poles and set them on fire?"
"That... it seemed like that...?"
A muffled muffled voice from Parker.
"Mo, I don't know. To be honest, it's the first time I've ever seen such a scene. It's not like the fire is still burning, but it seems like the person who was tied up was still alive."
"Huh."
Mubin sighed in a situation that no one could have predicted. In the Empire, when a person dies, it is common to put it in a coffin and bury it in the land to pay tribute to the dead.
Even tying up a living person and burning them was out of the ordinary. Parker, as white as a blind person, checked Estio's location again.
"Leader, is that really 'Selvia Village'?"
Estio quietly shook his head. I had a headache, as if all the black smoke that had overflowed from the sky had flowed into my head.
'It won't be. It's an illusion.'
He lowered his hand on his forehead and clenched his fist.
There were many selfish and narrow-minded people in the village of Selvia, but that wasn't enough to commit the terrible things Parker is talking about now. There's a difference between being mean and being vicious. The villagers did evil things, but they did not touch evil things. I didn't have the guts to do that in the first place. Even if there were criminals, they would throw stones or tie them to a pole and enjoy the game of hitting the head with a rotten egg.
As far as Estio knew, there had never been a time when people's lives had been taken carelessly.
If only they were that vicious.
'I was the first person to set an example.'
It was a fact that I had felt as though I was growing up in a solitary confinement by myself. If they had any intention of killing people, they should have died immediately, called the Cursed Child.
"Estio-sama?"
fault.
He did not answer Parker's call and started running. Though he thought it wasn't him, his uneasy heart moved his legs. Behind me, I heard Parker flapping his wings and chasing after him. Since he was the center of the group, all the personnel followed him without any exchange of opinion. Normally, he would have politely asked for opinions and took care of them one by one, but he didn't have time to think about anything else as of now.
Shortly after, I saw an old village that had been built in a circle down the steep hillside. Under the familiar roofs, peaceful fields and cattle pens caught my eye. But it wasn't the village that caught fire.
I saw people flocking to the top of a small hill right next to the village. The hill was so close that I could recognize all the faces of the people gathered on the slope where Estio arrived.
Estio tried to calm the breath he had built up to the tip of his chin and raised his head to look at the <altar> built by the villagers.
"Hehehe, heuk. Please save me......"
On the altar, a girl was weeping and begging. Hanging from the top of a lit altar with her limbs tied, she was a face Estio knew all too well.
"Really, really not. I'm not... not like that."
'Bella.'
It was Bella, a 17-year-old girl who was two years younger than him.
Contrary to the appearance she had seen at the coming-of-age ceremony, Bella was in a very dreary and dirty state. Her long, rich blonde hair was cut short and stretched out, filthy filth was smeared on her face, and her innocent brown eyes, like deer, were twisted in pain. The pure, clear light was no longer in it.
The pink one-piece dress that had been in the sky was torn here and there, revealing the insides. Even that was unsightly, and the red scars all over his body were unsightly.
Now Bella was no longer the most beautiful 17-year-old girl in the nearby town, but a beggar in a rag.
"Dino oppa, Louis oppa."
The young men who were called by her name flinched and turned their heads.
"Help me. Please."
"Don't make eye contact. That witch might seduce you again."
