Volume 2
Chapter 4
The Sage Spoke
Translator : PolterGlast
The scene shifts to a
clearing in the forest where a sage and Akana of the Gilmburg family are
sitting.
Akana is sitting in a
chair opposite the sage. A teacup filled with tea is placed in front of her,
but she is looking down and doesn't seem to be about to drink it.
On the other hand, the
sage was silently finishing the contents of his teacup placed in front of him.
He places the empty teacup on the saucer with a clink.
"Phew..."
The sage exhaled to
break the silence and looked at Akana.
"From what I can
see, your heart is not yet withered... but it seems you are lost, not knowing
what to do. So, are you going to keep rotting like this?"
Provocative words were
thrown out by the sage, but Akana didn't move an inch.
"Are you afraid
to act? Indeed, it's easier to just go with the flow. At first glance, it may
seem right to do so... but do you really think so?"
"……"
"Are you ignoring
me?"
The sage exhaled again
and picked up the teapot to refill his tea.
"………Let's tell
you a little story."
Swirling the tea in
his teacup, the sage began to speak, watching the waves.
"I had a
daughter, you see. The only treasure left to me by my mate. Even though I was a
single father, she never complained, helped me with the housework, and always
had a smile on her face. She was a very good girl."
"……"
The sage drank his tea
with a gentle expression, as if reliving a happy memory.
"I am confident
in my own abilities. So, I worked and worked to make sure she never had to
struggle financially. As a token of my gratitude for all the hardships I had
caused her, I intended to support her even after she got married."
"……"
"But she refused
my offer. Why do you think? She said, 'I've caused you so much trouble, Father,
so now you can enjoy your retirement with this money.' She also said, 'I'll do
my best to support you from now on.' Good grief... she was a daughter far too
good for me.."
The sage continued to
speak, as if mocking himself, yet happily.
"My daughter gave
birth to a grandchild, and although it was a simple life, she worked hard at
farming with her mate, saying, 'I am happy now.' I enjoyed listening to her
boast about her happiness, and I had meaningful days. Even now, when I think
back, those days were shining. I am eternally grateful to my daughter for
giving me such days."
"……"
"I thought about
it suddenly... and when I thought about what I could leave my daughter when I
died───foolishly, I thought I
could only leave her money, so I worked even harder to earn more... and when I
heard that my grandchildren were about to become an adult, I was thinking of
sending them some kind of congratulatory gift."
"……"
"That's when it
happened."
The sage's face
suddenly stiffened, and his tone of voice lowered.
"They lived in a
small village on the edge of the Gilmburg territory."
"───!!"
Hearing those words,
Akana opened her eyes wide.
"That's right,
just as you thought, they were also victims of that great famine."
"───!!!"
Akana clenched her
fist while gripping at her skirt and lowered her head deeply.
"At that time,
this country was at war with Hiroia. I too, was happily going to war to earn
money to celebrate my grandchildren. In other words, not only could I not rush
to my daughter when she was in crisis, but I couldn't even notice it."
The sage mocked
himself as if laughing at the past. He repeated his self-mockery, as if mocking
and blaming his past self.
"Even though I
said I loved my daughter so much, I couldn't protect my daughter and her
treasure, my grandchildren. Yet, I, a fool, is still alive and well until
today... that is the true identity of the old man in front of you."
The sage smiled coldly.
"And to make
matters worse, I was so narrow-minded at the time that I was filled with
intense anger at the Gilmburg family for not taking any rescue measures, even
though it was their own territory. Oh, don't worry, I've calmed down now."
Saying so, the sage
smiled at Akana───but there was nothing
reassuring about it, and Akana was trembling.
"I felt anger and
sadness. I also had doubts about how this could have happened. So I
investigated───but I found no clues.
But when I calmed down, I realized that I was acquainted with Gilmburg, so I
couldn't believe that he would abandon his own territory. Sure enough, I found
out that he hadn't abandoned it because he wanted to. So I decided not to
direct my anger at him."
"……"
"So, where should
I direct my inner anger? I didn't know. I couldn't vent it, and it was
difficult to keep it inside───as a result, I decided to quietly retire near the place where my
daughter fell. I thought that no one would be affected here. But... for some
reason, someone found this place. She was a girl about your age. She had golden
hair tied in two braids, and she was a bit arrogant. I thought no one would
come here───it was difficult to
keep this anger inside. If even a little of this anger had leaked out, I might
have accidentally killed that girl."
"……"
"Well, the reason
I'm not killing you now is completely because of that man. My anger was
completely deflated by the overwhelming spirit that emanated from that man. So
I'm pretty calm now."
The sage closed his
eyes as if to indicate that he had finished speaking, and then turned his gaze
back to Akana.
Akana remained
motionless, still looking down.
"What I want to
ask you is about you. How long are you going to rot like that?"
And so, the sage got
to the heart of the matter.
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