Incompatible Interspecies Wives

57 – Fire Moth (4)

Me and Ascal stop in front of Arwin’s room.

The Elven Elder’s hand, about to knock on the door, stopped in the air.

Then he tells me as if asking for it.

“Ah…Maybe.”

“…?”

“It might be better to wait outside the door for a while.”

I asked him questioningly.

“Why?”

“Arwin doesn’t like being nourished by the World Tree. I guess he might not even like the tradition of having to say goodbye to the World Tree.”

He doesn’t like being nourished.

Why does it remind me of Arwin’s withered world tree leaves?

Anyway, his explanation still didn’t give me a reason not to go in.

Let’s look at Ascal without a word, he added.

“…Because there might be an argument.”

I finally shook my head.

“It’s okay. In addition to that, we have to explain why the mercenaries left first, so let’s go in together.”

“…If you are.”

Ascal soon knocked on the door.

“Arwin. Is there?”

‘….Please come in.’

At the reply, Ascal pushed the door open.

Arwin was sitting in a chair, neatly dressed.

I was packing around, but my luggage was strewn about.

I seemed to stop packing when I saw the mercenaries leaving the window.

She looks at me and raises her eyebrows.

“…I thought it was strange that he left so suddenly.”

I said.

“The mercenaries had an urgent matter and went home first. You will come back tomorrow with me.”

“…Tomorrow? Why not today…”

Arwin’s expression is wrapped in doubt.

Ascal loosened her throat and took over the conversation.

“The last rites must be performed.”

Arrwin visibly stiffened at those words.

As Ascal said, it must have been a ritual she disliked.

Arwin’s agitation grew louder and louder.

The unfocused eyes sway.

“…Until the end…”

“…I don’t like Arwin either. But what if it’s a tradition…”

Arwin’s lips, which had kept her mouth shut, trembled.

I think the more she resisted, the more her doubts grew.

Unlike the other elves, she seemed much more repulsive.

Could she be regretful for not leaving her territory sooner?

“… Ha.”

As soon as the pulse is released, Arwin sighs.

Then he shot Ascal with sharp eyes.

There was so much hatred in her wide open eyes that even I questioned her.

“…Torturing me to the end…Hypocrisy to the end.”

“…”

“If you really didn’t like it, you would have sent me pretending not to know. But it wasn’t. Please stop being nice. Because that makes me more angry…”

I quietly looked at this situation that I did not understand.

As much as I hated it that much, I thought about suggesting something I wouldn’t do to Ascal… But I couldn’t meddle in someone else’s culture.

“…”

As we waited so silently, Arwin finally nodded with a feeble nod.

Ascal also whispered at that nod.

“This is really the end.”

“…”

Arwin did not answer.

****

I followed Ascal and Arwin toward the World Tree.

Arwin looked even worse.

Efforts were made to suppress emotions, but… There were emotions that eventually leaked out.

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The cold expression that had been hardened is broken, and the moment of the moment is frowned upon.

Bite your lips intermittently and suffer.

Arwin, who didn’t show his emotions like ice, even made his body tremble.

I became more and more confused.

“…Are you okay?”

“…”

It wasn’t until my question came in that she straightened her back and rearranged herself.

Again, he had that cold, insipid expression on his face.

I didn’t answer.

“…?”

That’s how we headed for the World Tree, and turned around.

The grass field where the other elves sat to feed the World Tree was not in this direction.

However, Ascal and Arwin headed somewhere as if they had already been decided, and I had no choice but to follow them.

“Vice-captain!”

A voice calls me from somewhere.

I turned my head to look in the direction of the sound, and Baran was waving from afar.

“I explained to Ner!”

“Yes, rest!”

I smiled at Joe, the boss who stayed and giggled.

Soon we will arrive somewhere.

There were countless elves…No elders already waiting for Arwyn.

As surely as it was the last ceremony, it seemed to be an important moment seeing that even the elders were present.

Ascal greets her by touching her forehead.

“The elders.”

“Ascal.”

Askal was greeted by one of the 10 elders.

“Arwin is…”

“Yes. Would you…”

They started having their own conversations.

“The vice-captain.”

Then Gallias, who was with the elders, walks in my direction.

A swordsman who has trained his swordsmanship for hundreds of years asks me with a smile.

“Are you here to see off Arwin’s last rites?”

“…Yes.”

“It will take time to finish, but if you want, let’s have another sparring with me.”

I looked at Arwin for a while.

Obviously the ritual takes all day, so I was looking for something to pass the time.

So I answered him with a nod.

“Yes.”

“…Arwin. Let’s go.”

Soon, Ascal calls Arwin.

I ended the conversation with Gallias.

“I’ll just see you off for a while and then come back.”

“Yes. I’ll wait.”

I caught up with Arwin.

Actually, I don’t know if I need to follow you from here… But I wanted to comfort you in some way, perhaps because I saw you trembling earlier.

We headed for a small cave under the giant world tree.

Before entering the cave, Ascal stopped at the entrance and looked at me.

“Vice-captain. Until here. This is a place that only elves can enter.”

“…”

I nodded.

And he looked at Arwin and said.

“…Finish well and come.”

“…”

Arwin looked up at me…With a slight sneer, and turned around.

And then, without answering this time, he headed inside.

She was a pretty grumpy looking girl.

“…”

After Ascal, who was left behind, made an apologetic expression for a moment, she followed Arwin inside.

I looked at their backs as they left.

In an instant, they are immersed in darkness and disappear.

I went back a not too far distance and headed towards Gallias.

Then he asks, looking at the cave Arwin left.

“…The other elves were all sitting on the grass, so why did Arwyn go there? Is it because it’s the last one?”

Galias shook his head.

“…No. It’s because Arwin is special.”

“Special?”

“Because I was born with a lifespan bowl that can live 1300 years. It naturally contributes to the world tree by becoming a fertile nutrient.”

Then he looked at me with bitter eyes and said.

“Just think of it as our old tradition.”

“…”

I nodded at his words.

As soon as Arwyn headed inside, the Elders began preparing to return.

Galias also tells me.

“Come on, vice-captain. Go now Let’s mix the swords one more time.”

“…Yes.”

That’s how I turn around.

Training with him once again-

‘aaa!!’

At that moment, the sound of a woman’s scream piercing my ear canal made me stand tall.

Sobs mixed with screams.

It was a cry that sent goose bumps down the back of my neck.

Looking up, the elders and Gallias are still moving.

Did I hear hallucinations?

Everyone seemed alright.

‘aaa!! Ahhh!!’

But the sound continued to resonate.

“…What do you mean?”

I finally asked Gallias.

He looks at me and lets out a long sigh.

Then he explains with a sad expression.

“…It’s Arwin.”

“Yes?”

My heart beats like waking up.

“As lifespan is long, the way it absorbs lifespan is also different. I heard that that method is painful.”

“…What?”

‘aaa!! Ah…Paa!!’

In the screams that followed, the blood in his whole body circulated intensely.

It was the first time I even knew that she could scream like that.

My eyes are trembling.

Now I’m starting to understand why she hated her ritual so much.

I could understand why she was so trembling and afraid.

I confirmed with Gallias again.

“…Is that Arwin?”

He nodded.

I momentarily laughed out loud at this absurd situation.

“… Ha.”

****

Arwyn again screamed in endless pain.

It’s a ritual that has been going on for 170 years, but I haven’t gotten used to the pain.

I had to scream until my throat was bleeding each time, and I could only hope that it would end soon.

Arwin said this was the last time she tried to comfort herself, but to no avail.

The pain did not improve even with such consolation.

I just wish that this pain would end right now.

Anyway, there was no other way.

It’s not like the other elves understand him.

It wasn’t like I could deviate from my duty at will.

If I don’t do this, I don’t know how the aftermath will return.

Even if it was dirty, it was better to make sure it ended.

But deep down in her heart, she felt resentful.

Why should I be born with a longer lifespan and experience such pain?

Why is there no one who sympathizes with this pain?

I am screaming and hurting like this, so why do I just ignore it?

Arwin did not know.

– Wooddeuk…!

“Haa…! Ha…! Ha…!”

With her strange voice, Arwyn was breathing hard instead of screaming.

It was after the pain had disappeared.

She wondered if she had fainted, but her mind remained clear.

I can feel the warmth.

Arwyn looked up at her exhausted.

“…Are you okay?”

Someone asks.

At some point, she found herself in the arms of a man.

Arwin looked up at the man, awkward at her disappearing pain.

Recognize the face in her darkness.

But she couldn’t believe it.

Why is he here?

“…Berg…?”

Arwin rolled his eyes to understand the situation.

With the roots of the World Tree removed from her body, she is resting again.

The wooden door leading to this room is broken.

It was certain that Berg had come here.

“…Hah…Why are you here…Hah…”

Arwyn took in her heavy breath and she asked with difficulty.

I still don’t know why he’s here.

It was a space that other races could not enter.

Little by little, the body’s strength returned.

She pushed the berg, straightening her torso, trying to regain her senses.

-Tak! Widely! Widely! Widely!

Soon, the sound of numerous footsteps echoes through the aisle.

“…I am taking a deep breath.”

After saying that, Berg stood up and looked down the aisle.

After a while, numerous elders and Ascal entered the room.

“What are you doing!”

A elder shouts like thunder. It was the sound of Arwin’s goal ringing.

“This is not a space for other races to enter! I can’t get out!!”

Arwin took a deep breath and struggled to understand the situation.

“Haa…Haa…”

Arwin thought with her foggy head.

Could it be that Berg came here voluntarily?

But it can’t be. There is no reason for that.

Berg, who was standing there, nodded.

“…I’m leaving.”

Then she put her hands on Arwyn’s back and under her legs.

Arwin felt his body rise into the air.

“Take only Arwin.”

The elder shouted in succession.

“Arwin is currently performing the ritual of sacrifice! You can’t take it carelessly!”

“…Can’t I take my wife with me?”

There was a coldness in Berg’s voice that he hadn’t noticed before.

The Humans who stood alone faced off against countless elders.

As Arwyn’s head grew clearer, he had to accept that this unbelievable situation was real.

The fact that Berg came all the way here for his own sake.

The fact that it was not her kinsfolk, elves, but her human race, bergs, who stepped up for her first.

Next, Ascal steps forward.

“…Vice-captain. Stop it.”

“…”

“It’s our culture. It’s not like you can intervene. Leave Arwin down and go outside.”

A Berg who won’t even love himself.

The relationship is strictly for profit.

There was no reason why he would do this, no matter how much he thought about it.

‘…I was sincere.’

I remembered what Berg had said about his oath the day before.

The words that I will make you happy and protect you as long as I live.

…I wonder if he’s doing this to keep his word.

Just because of that?

Arwin couldn’t believe it.

But, unable to wait for Ascal’s persuasion, an elder shouted.

“Galias!!”

Galias also walks through the passage.

Galias stared at Berg in silence.

Galias instantly overpowered the atmosphere in the room.

“…Vice-captain, stop it.”

Galias says.

“…I don’t want to kill you. You’ve crossed the line already.”

“…”

“As the elders said, this is our culture. All your brothers have gone back to their hometown. I know you’re surprised, but stop it and put Arwin down. I just need to close my eyes and endure it for today.”

Arwin also looks at Berg.

He stepped forward for himself, but that was it.

It’s over since Gallias left.

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As Gallias said, the mercenaries also returned.

Berg’s side was not here.

There is nothing more precious than life, so it was Berg’s turn to retreat.

“…”

Is it because Berg stepped up for him?

Or is it because his head hasn’t turned yet?

Arwin was looking for Berg’s death, but he couldn’t hope for him to die here.

She twists her body out of Berg’s arms.

Berg couldn’t say anything about her actions.

“…”

“…Go back.”

Arwin said.

“…As they say, our culture.”

She forced herself back to her roots, suppressing her resentment.

“…Because today is the last day…”

-Tak.

But Berg forcibly grabs her wrist.

Arrwin’s heart was shaken again by that trivial action.

Even after pushing her away, she acts for herself, it’s like looking into her heart.

-Sereung.

At the same time, Gallias drew the sword from her waist.

“…Vice-captain. This is your final warning. Let go of Arwin.”

Berg quietly took something out of his arms.

On the verge of crumbling, the leaves of the World Tree of Arwin appear.

The gazes of Arwin and Berg meet at the same time.

This time, even Arwin couldn’t avoid his eyes.

“…”

“…”

But that didn’t change anything.

It would have been foolish for Berg to jump further.

Galias will subdue him.

Arwin struggled to shake off his hand and headed back to the root.

“…That’s why…”

She said again.

The roots of the world tree squirm and come to their senses.

Arwin swallows his saliva and prepares for the pain to come.

-Wow!

But Berg grabbed her by the arm of Arwin again and dragged her along.

“…Oh!”

Arwin, who had no power, is led by his touch and is far from her roots.

She sat down on the floor helplessly.

-Surereung….

Then an unexpected metal sound rang out.

Turning her head, Berg was drawing his sword, looking at Gallias.

The elders backed away, embarrassed by Berg’s choice.

“This… this foolish thing…!”

They shout like they’re swearing.

“…Get out of the way, Gallias.”

But Berg said in a steady voice.

Even in the face of death, he did not back down like a moth in front of a fire.

Arwin looked up at Berg.

I have no one on my side, but a human race that keeps their oath.

“…Because I can’t compromise on this.”