Behind her stood Vermouth.
Vermouth was staring at the statue with a slight distance between him and the others. His face was completely blank. It was a look that Eugene had become used to seeing on Vermouth’s face.
Sienna glared at Vermouth as she waited for a response.
‘…That’s right,’ Vermouth eventually said. ‘That was the reason for the Oath.’
‘…An Oath that only you know the full details of,’ Sienna muttered reproachfully. After a few moments, Sienna stopped glaring at Vermouth. ‘…I’m sorry, Vermouth. I… I’m just too… agitated right now.’
‘…Let’s write him an epitaph,’ Vermouth muttered as he lifted his hand.
He activated the spatial magic that Eugene had seen him use all the time. From a wide gap that seemed to have been torn into space, a large tombstone fell to the ground.
‘After all, every grave should have a memorial stone,’ Vermouth murmured.
[Hamel Dynas]
(Sacred Calendar 421~459)
Vermouth reached out his hand and wrote Hamel’s name onto the tombstone.
Staggering up onto her feet, Sienna walked over to Vermouth. Hesitating, her eyes shifted left and right between Vermouth and the tombstone.
‘…I want to write something below that,’ Sienna finally said.
‘Alright,’ Vermouth agreed.
‘He was a son of a bitch, an idiot, an asshole, a douche, a piece of trash,’ Sienna read out as she wrote.
Vermouth hesitated. ‘…If that’s all you write down, I don’t think we can call it a memorial stone anymore.’
‘You can just write down whatever you want to write below this,’ Sienna insisted.
‘Then I’m next.’ Molon, who had been shedding thick droplets of tears, abruptly got up from where he had been sitting and walked over to them.
‘You’re not wrong in saying Hamel was a son of a bitch, an idiot, an asshole, a douche, a piece of trash.’
‘But he was also brave.’
‘…As well as brave, he was faithful.’
‘…He might have been an idiot, but he was wise.’
‘…He was great.’
They all wrote down their words onto the memorial stone.
After placing the memorial stone down in front of the statue, Vermouth muttered, ‘…Let’s move the coffin.’
Vermouth walked over to the coffin that lay behind him.
‘I’ll lift it,’ Molon said, stepping forward.
But Vermouth shook his head. ‘No. Let me… carry it.’
Anise broke up the argument, ‘Don’t even think about doing it all on your own. Everyone… wouldn’t it be better for all of us to lift it together?’
‘Molon, get down,’ Sienna ordered.
Molon frowned. ‘Why do you want me to get down?’
‘Because you’re a lot taller than us. Since it’s impossible for us to carry the coffin together with you, you should get down on your hands and knees so that we can put the coffin on your back. That way, we can help lift it from the sides,’ Sienna explained.
‘Are you really telling me to crawl with the coffin on my back? A warrior shouldn’t creep along on the ground—’
‘Can’t you even do that much for Hamel?’
‘Well, if it’s for Hamel….’
As soon as Molon started getting down onto the ground, Sienna panicked and kicked Molon in the shin.
‘Can’t you tell that was just a joke…?! There’s no need for you to crawl on the floor. You just need to bend over a bit, so that we can carry it together,’ Sienna exasperatedly stated.
The dream began to shake.
Anise noticed something. ‘…Sienna. That necklace….’
‘The coffin…,’ Sienna hesitated. ‘No… I’ll take it with me.’
‘…That goes against the agreement.’
‘…Haven’t we all already agreed on this?’ As the dream kept shaking, he saw Sienna tighten her hold on the necklace. ‘After creating the world that Hamel wanted to see… at that time… I’ll give it to him’
‘…Oh, Lord.’ Anise put her hands together and began praying. ‘Please avert your eyes from this immoral act. If you truly aren’t able to overlook this, please place any further burdens on my shoulders, so that we may all ascend to heaven. So in that way… I hope that you allow us all to meet once again in the same place.’
‘…Anise, do you really think we can all go to heaven?’ Sienna asked.
‘If we’re not able to get there, then who in the world is worthy of going to heaven?’ Anise insisted.
‘But my… our tribe’s afterlife… might be a different place from the God of Light’s heaven,’ Molon brought up worriedly.
‘It’s no different. Heaven is… all heavens lead to the same place. We will surely be able to reunite in Paradise. If that isn’t possible then,’ Anise paused slightly as she stroked the white coffin with a sad smile. ‘Then that just means God does not exist.’
“Ah,” Eugene gasped as he opened his eyes.
After staring blankly up at the roof of his tent for a few moments, Eugene slowly pulled himself up.
“…Fuck.”
The Cloak of Darkness had been wrapped around Eugene like a blanket.
But the Holy Sword Altair was somehow protruding from his cloak, and the hilt was resting in Eugene’s hand.
1. The original Korean version of this idiom is ‘what kind of rag you have stuck in your mouth.’ ?
Openbookworm’s Thoughts
Openbookworm: It always amuses me to see what his friends wrote on Hamel’s tombstone. I actually had to look it up to make sure that I used the same words as I did before.
penguin: what a terrible day for rain