Capítulo 1164: Two Friends
“You need to stop thinking about this… It might have been ruthless, and it might have felt evil, but you undeniably did the right thing… Odds would be that all of us would be dead” reassured Minli, but Antieeld’s expression remained unchanging.
“That is the logical conclusion, I have co to it everyti I think back to that mont as well… However, my problem doesn’t stems from there, it stems from the fact that I am lying about it, because I know that what I did was horrible”
“Antieeld”
“The result might be best, and I would do it again if necessary… But it doesn’t change the fact that my action was a horrible one… The end can justify the ans, but said ans have left a trace that I can not scrub off…”
“…But really, keeping it a secret is making it worse, but I know that I do not have the will to be truthful about it… Not because it would hurt , but because it would cause problems for others, for the community as a whole”
“Minli… My heart and soul are shallow empty holes, no matter what I do, or what I think, I always put hard logic and the result above my own feelings and emotions”
“Well, that is great for a leader, no?”
“Perhaps, but it is not great for a human… It is much like that old conundrum often found in tales: Is it worth it to beco a monster to save what you old dear? My guts tell that it is more than worth it…”
“…This isn’t normal human reasoning, I have lost that little bit of madness that makes us all human, that illogical drive that sotis takes possession of us, that contradiction within our very being… I have not seen any of that in far too long”
Minli simply listened, it was best not to interrupt.
“You know… I was once just a young girl, I had skills as a commandant and leader, I was born with a special talent to excel in these areas, but it did not make very different from my peers… Did I ever tell you that back at the academy and later on, and Griar used to be flirting?”
“I never paid much attention, to be honest”
“I had forgotten about it myself, but seeing Helena’s youngest, who bears the sa na start a family, has reminded of it… I used to be a silly girl who liked handso boys and found swordsmanship a most attractive thing for a man to be skilled in”
“Nowaways? I analyse people, I assess them and that’s it… I never think to myself that soone is handso or pretty, and I never feel my heart flutter when I witness sothing that would have once made blush… I wish I could have changed without realising it, the contrast that I notice worries greatly”
“People change, Antieeld, you are simply worried about everyone’s safety’
The commandant shrugged.
“That is certainly true, the Undead Empire is constantly expanding… As far as an Empire can go, they are at the peak already, according to Fallael, they have risen to the level of superpower in the main world, contending with the already established monoliths around them…”
“Unlike them though, the Undead Empire doesn’t know rest, and it constantly expands toward infinity, they are constantly growing their population like so sort of ant colony, and they settle down wherever they see fit… What I have seen thanks to Fallael paints a grim picture”
“They can exist within any ocean, they build floating land, they expand into the cloud layers, they twist and bend space, and they even invade realms… There is nothing that they do not aim to conquer, and there are no livings that they are not intent on slaughtering”
“We are safe for now, but eventually, they’ll find a way in, and then, we can only hope that the Peaceful Realm itself can defend itself, unless we are ready to welco them, of course”
Minli leaned back in her seat, only the prospect of a defence against the undead seed to bring excitent to Antieeld’s heart… The healer believed that she understood what the commandant was feeling, Antieeld didn’t feel like the current peace had been earned through victory, in fact, it had been earned through a disgraceful retreat and the abandonnt of allies.
It did not feel like peace at all to her, it felt like an exile that was dood to shatter sooner than later.
“Helena’s youngest has a good mindset, but learning about the undead isn’t like watching a pack of wolves, the undeads aren’t a single, unified species that you can just observe a bit to understand, we can only learn about the enemy that we’ll face when they appear before us”
“The best we can do by traversing to other realms is gather allies, but unfortunately, that isn’t possible, Fallael does not have the ability to bring back outsiders into the Peaceful Realm, so I suppose it is nothing more than personal training”
The two won remained silent for a few monts, staring ahead at the horizon, at the vibrant green plains and flower fields.
“You know, Antieeld… You describe yourself as cold and hollow, but that isn’t true at all, you say that you don’t follow your emotions anymore, but that isn’t completely true either… I know that you’ll say that it is like repaying a debt, but you share sothing with Lizi, don’t you? You don’t train and guide her just because you feel guilty about what happened to Milo”
“Do I?”
“Do you not realise that you smile a lot when you teach her? You two are like aunt and niece, godmother and goddaughter… So why don’t you try spending more ti with her?”
Antieeld seed to be thinking.
She hadn’t noticed, but Minli was right.
There was sothing incredibly satisfying about teaching Lizi in particular, Helena’s firstborn was a little genius when it ca to the sword, but she was still young and had much to learn, not to ntion that she was a very pleasing student to instruct.
Always attentive, and always asking the questions that she had to ask… It was often that Antieeld thought about the bright future that Lizi would have had if this had not been such a tranquil, harmless realm that they were in.
Her sword skills would have been instruntal, and people would have praised her as a master swordswoman.
A tear dropped from the commandant’s eye.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course, I was rely reminded of the trust my parents used to put into ”
“Mmh…”
Minli stood up from her chair.
“Antieeld, get down to my level, will you?”
“What has brought this on now?” asked the golden-eyed woman as she rose from her own chair and knelt in front of the healer, who remained a bit shorter even then.
“I would like to inform you that I only see you as a friend and that I have never experienced any attraction toward won…”
“Hoi, I am not trying to kiss you!”
“Is that so?”
“I am not into won either–Co here, let give you a hug!”
“Receiving a bit of affection is good for your health, how long has it been since you’ve been hugged? See? I can feel your tense body relaxing a little”
Antieeld was surprised, but the healer was correct, it felt strangely therapeutic to engage in such an act, and indeed, it had been a while since the commandant had experienced just a hold, in fact, it had been such a long ti that she did not rember when that ti had been.
It might have been back when Rosemary comforted her about Gelter’s death…
“By the way, it seems like Griar and Flor will be having twins”
“Twins? It seems like they really have impressive fertility running in the family, don’t they… Is Flor doing alright? Carrying twins must not be easy, she is just a mundane girl”
“So far, everything is fine, but tell about yourself, surely you have so anecdotes to share!”
The commandant rubbed her chin.
“Well… Lately, so of Lizi’s sister have been taking part in the training, I quite like them as well, but they aren’t really made for swordsmanship, in fact, they aren’t made for wielding weapons or close quarters combat at all for the most part”
“Not that they don’t have the capabilities, they are Helena’s daughters, so I don’t doubt that they could crush soone’s skull with their fists, but they are just more talented in purely casting magic”
“Except Louizon, I suppose that girl is… A bit worrying at tis, it is a good thing that her ‘Know’ aspects is so incredible, otherwise she would have blasted herself to pieces several tis by now”
“Louizon, heh? She’s a real genius of mana manipulation, but… I do agree that she is a mad genius”
Antieeld ford a small smile.
“Why don’t you join us in training? You could show Louizon ways to use magic less destructively”
“I feel like she won’t appreciate that”
“Don’t worry, she loves explosions, but she loves magic in general as well, as long as it’s interesting, she’ll listen”
“Well then… I guess I’ll join in”
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