Chapter 25

Chapter 25 The Maiden of Silgaya Part I

The sky was clear and the sun shone brightly.

In the remote and dilapidated village, repair work was being carried out in an orderly manner. Men busily transported logs or rocks in carts to the hired craftsmen for processing into usable stones or wooden beams. Women and children mostly worked with clay or wove thatch for roofing.

Apart from the occasional sorrowful expressions on people’s faces, everything seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.

Only, the population had noticeably decreased.

Not far from the village, in the fields, stood two rows of irregularly shaped stone slabs and crosses… perhaps they could hardly be called stone slabs at all, just large boulders standing upright.

They looked as if they were hastily erected, barely recognizable as a cemetery.

Beside the western village path, a monstrous beast crouched among the ruins of broken walls and collapsed buildings, quietly sleeping.

At first, this truly frightened the villagers.

“What… What kind of monster is this?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, this is the Dragon God… The Dragon God has appeared.”

Fortunately, the giant beast only rested here and did not move from where it was discovered.

A few young men, driven by curiosity, mustered their courage to approach, but the beast merely lifted its eyelids slightly, its lantern-like eyes scanned them once before ignoring them.

Gradually, the villagers realized that the beast was friendly and would not harm them, so their courage grew, and some even reached out to gently stroke its snow-white fur.

There were terrible scars on it.

“The Dragon God must have fought fiercely with that monster… It saved us.”

Someone said, then was slapped on the head by a companion.

“Fool, it was little Hill who saved us.”

“……That’s right.”

Soon, they saw the girl wrapped in the beast’s fur, her eyes closed, covered in blood.

The beast occasionally raised its massive head, sniffing and licking her, as if taking care of its weak child.

“Isn’t that little Hill? Is the Dragon God protecting her?”

“Quickly go notify Grandmother Claire, little Hill is here!”

“What happened to her? Is she… asleep?”

“She’s covered in blood… Could she be seriously injured…”

“Don’t talk nonsense! It must be the monster’s blood.”

“But… little Hill isn’t moving!”

“Could she have…”

“Watch your words! I’ll sew your mouth shut if you say anything else! Little Hill is our savior, I pray for her every day, the Lord will protect her.”

“I’m worried about her too.”

“……Look, she’s turning over! She’s fine, little Hill is fine! Thank goodness!”

…………

Day after day passed.

At a certain moment, the maiden slowly opened her eyes in the warm, fuzzy surroundings.

“Mm—”

I was somewhat dazed, mechanically moving my stiff body.

My eyes felt dry and uncomfortable, I rubbed them hard and patted my cheeks, finally regaining my senses after a long while.

How long have I slept?

There was still a slight pain, but mostly it was itching. My chest no longer felt constricted, and my waist and legs seemed to move freely.

It’s truly terrifying how quickly I’ve recovered.

I looked at my dirty body, the dried blood stains had hardened into dark brown.

I lowered my head and sniffed my dress, deeply frowning.

… The smell was incredibly strong, it stank.

Da Bai sensed my movement, understanding that I had regained consciousness, and gently nudged me with its large head.

Then it pushed me into a sitting position.

“Da Bai, thank you.”

I patted my bottom and stood up, stroking its rough snout.

“Hrrr hrrr.”

Da Bai let out a soft sound, its copper bell eyes deeply staring at me.

There was a light in those eyes that I couldn’t understand.

“… Da Bai?”

I asked in puzzlement.

In the next moment, Da Bai’s huge body gradually faded away.

It felt like an ancient painting on canvas, severely faded, then turned transparent, transforming into dazzling golden sparks, and finally disappearing.

“Da Bai—!”

I cried out in panic.

“Don’t worry.” Someone said.

I spoke.

I turned my head and saw the bearded swordsman walking towards me.

At this moment, he had taken off his cloak and armor, wearing only a simple black suit. He had a straw in his mouth, and his short gray hair was loosely tied up at the back, giving him an air of British gentlemanliness with a touch of dandyism.

The feeling I got from him was quite different from our previous encounters. It might be because we were no longer enemies; the sharpness in his eyes that used to make me uneasy had faded, replaced by a hint of sleepiness.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the sword at his waist.

“It’s not dead; it just returned to its homeland.”

“…… Homeland?”

“Aaah.” The bearded swordsman responded indifferently, then glanced at me. Seeing that I didn’t want to end the conversation, he clicked his tongue impatiently.

“Tsk, how should I say this… Many years ago, humans once had conflicts with dragons. But because of the huge disparity in strength, a god couldn’t bear to watch and stepped out to warn those guys, saying, ‘Stop fighting, I’ll create a new world for you called Dragon’s Homeland.’ Yes, that’s it. So your big guy has returned there.”

“Really?”

“It’s said to be true.”

“You can’t lie to me.”

I clenched my little fists, being stubborn.

The bearded swordsman’s gaze became serious.

“Yes, I’m not lying to you, it’s still alive.”

“You swear.”

“… I swear.”

The bearded swordsman raised his hand to take an oath. Despite his serious demeanor, he still seemed unreliable, which was quite amusing. Then he suddenly extended his right hand to me.

“Let’s get to know each other again. My name is Carlos. Silver Flash—Carlos Gonzalez.”

“Pfft.”

Sorry, forgive me for laughing.

Silver Flash? What’s that, a nickname? Are all the people in this world so middle-school? Do they have to report both their names and nicknames together? Could it be that everyone has to announce their special moves like reporting dishes during a fight…

Somehow, I feel a bit excited?

“What are you laughing at?”

“No no, nothing… You’re not going to kill me anymore, right?”

“… Guess?”

“I won’t guess.”

“Just guess.”

“…”

Sure enough, my previous judgment was correct; this person is very boring. But whatever, I’ll give him some face.

“Sylvia Rabies Hermes.”

I stretched out my small hand to shake his lightly.

Then, the bearded swordsman took out a clean white handkerchief from his pocket in front of me, wiping the hand that had shaken mine over and over again. Throughout the process, he kept his gaze straight ahead, expression calm.

“… It’s dirty.”

Hey, what do you mean?!

I quickly looked at my own small hand, covered in dried blood and dust.

Uh… It is a bit dirty.

My face flushed red.

“Little Sylvia…”

“Sylvia.”

I glared at him.

“Okay, little Sylvia.”

I raised my eyebrows ready to get angry when he suddenly changed his casual attitude, made a fist with his right hand and placed it over his heart, bowing to me.

“I, Carlos Gonzalez, here on behalf of the Holy Church and countless Silgaya citizens you have saved, sincerely thank you for everything you’ve done, your sacrifice and dedication, we will always remember in our hearts.”

His attitude was solemn, his words sincere.

The noon sun turned the dilapidated village a rosy hue.

A warm breeze carried across the green grass, stirring the floating dust, carrying the curious expressions of passersby, gently brushing my long black hair.

Revealing a delicate but dirty, bewildered little face.

This sudden action left me confused.

“Um… Stand up?”

Should I say this? Yes, I should say this, right?

“What did you say?”

After performing the bow, the bearded swordsman returned to his lazy demeanor.

“… Nothing, I’m hungry.”

I rubbed my stomach and said.

“Come on.”

“Doing what? What do you want to do to me?”

I looked at him suspiciously.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“… Oh.”

“And you’re too dirty.”

“… Oh.”

“Girls should scream first and then show a shy expression at times like these, you should learn.”

“No.”

“Tsk, no fun at all.”

“…