Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 183 The Girl's Feelings

Rudius stared blankly up at the two who had suddenly started arguing.

"It's so noisy!"

By the time she noticed, Alice had already stood up.

She released Rudius's hand, crossed her arms, spread her legs, and stood with her chin raised.

The volume was so loud that even Kyrie Irvine covered his ears.

We haven't heard Alice yell like this much lately, but her energy has been completely depleted.

"...Let me be alone for a while; I need to think."

Hearing Alice say this in a dejected tone, the two seemed to suddenly come to their senses.

First, Alphonse was the first to leave the room, followed by Girenu who looked at Alice with reluctance before leaving, and then the Yue people who remained silent throughout.

Finally, Rudius was left alone in the room.

The latter hesitated, wondering what she should say to her.

"Alice... that..."

'

"Rudius, didn't you hear me just now? I told you to leave me alone for a while."

1

The tone does not allow for rebuttal.

"6

..I see..

'

Just before closing the door, Rudius thought he heard a sobbing sound.

With a heavy heart, I left the room, and the first person I met was my older brother... Was he waiting for me?

"Rudeus, put down your arrogance and see clearly that this is another world, or in our world's terms, this is an ancient feudal, slave society. Death and power struggles are not things that are far away from us."

"Has your father forgotten his worries about the family?"

'

""

Yue Ren's words struck Rudeus like a hammer blow, making him realize in an instant: yes, this was a perilous other world...

For modern people, going on a long trip doesn't seem like a big deal, but for the people here, their life trajectory is almost fixed in one place for their entire lives. Suddenly being transported to a different world thousands of miles away, death is the closest thing to them.

As a noble family, how could the Bereas not have political enemies? This kind of dereliction of duty was the perfect handle they could give their opponents, and the end result of losing a power struggle is often death...

Haven't I witnessed plenty of unreasonable privileges along the way?

If it weren't for his magical talent and the presence of his two older brothers, he would never have been able to bring Alice back; he would have died long ago on the Demon Continent.

This world is cruel...

He recalled that those who didn't have the strength to die easily should feel grateful for their good fortune, and grieve for the dead, not resentful that they died that way. "I'm sorry, brother."

"Just see clearly, and you know what to do?"

After a few seconds of contemplation, Rudius adopted a resolute expression.

"I want to protect Alice, can you help me?"

The man from Yue smiled slightly.

"That's unnecessary."

Hearing this reassuring reply, Rudeus smiled gratefully.

However, even so, we still need to know Alice's thoughts first.

However, now didn't seem like the right time to ask. Rudeus felt it was better to let Alice calm down first, and then discuss it with her later.

Alphonse prepared accommodations for the group.

It's a building near the headquarters, probably for refugees, with four narrow rooms side by side inside.

Rudius carried his own luggage into one of the rooms and took Alice's luggage to the next room. His older brother was also there, and Rudius didn't need to worry about his luggage.

Take off your travel gear and change into town clothes.

Rudeus left the room after tossing his robe, with its clumsy patchwork stitches, onto the bed.

Back to headquarters.

I originally wanted to have a brief talk with Girenau and Alphonse, but I didn't see them.

Because he was too exhausted to look for anyone, he stared blankly at the notice board.

Above are Paul's comments, which I've seen several times over the past few months.

"Go to the northern part of the central continent to search."

Was this a message he wrote when he turned 18?

I am twelve years old now.

Quite a time has passed.

Next, Rudius looked at the list of the dead and the missing.

In the section for the village of Buena, there was a long list of names he recognized on the missing persons list.

However, more than half of them were crossed out diagonally.

I glanced at the list of deceased and saw that the names had been crossed out.

It seems that once someone is confirmed to be dead, their name on the missing persons' side will be crossed out and written in the deceased's column.

Although the number of missing persons was slightly higher, the list of the deceased was also very dense.

Rudius frowned when he saw Roltz's (Siluf's father) name crossed out in the missing persons column.

He had already learned of Roltz's death from Paul, but he hadn't heard about the cause of death.

Then, right below his name.

Hilfi's name appeared in the missing persons column.

However, it was marked with a diagonal line.

Thump! Rudius heard his heart leap into his throat.

With a "no way" thought in mind, I turned my gaze to the column for the deceased.

I didn't see the name near Roltz, so I started looking from the top down in order, but I still didn't see it.

I just can't find Hilfiet's name...

...That's strange?

"Excuse me... this name is underlined here, but I can't find it over there..."

Feeling incredulous, he asked the staff.

"Oh, those are people who are definitely still alive."

Hearing this answer, a huge weight was lifted from his heart; the fact that Silphie was still alive gave him a great sense of relief.

"So, do you have their contact information?"

"No, only those who actually come to headquarters can do it."

""

"Her name is Silphiet, could you please look it up?"

"Please wait a moment."

Several minutes passed after I asked the clerk for help.

"I'm sorry, it seems the other party has not registered a contact address."

"is that so..

""

The reason is probably that they did not settle down, or the list information was updated by the person who found the missing person, so no contact address of the missing person was left.

There's also the possibility of omissions, but Rudius doesn't dwell on that.

There's a high chance that Hilfi is still alive, so let's be happy about that for now.

Of course, he would also feel worried.

For example, her hair color. Although it's slightly different from the Speylud's color, it's still green.

According to the gods, the curse seems to only apply to the Spelud tribe. In the past, in Buena village, the villagers other than the children should not have actively abused Hilfi.

However, after this journey, he realized that there are many cold and heartless people in this world.

Maybe Sylphie is somewhere, crying because she's being bullied because of her hair color.

However, Paul said she could even use healing magic without chanting.

Although he was only judging based on rumors, he felt that Sylphie already possessed the strength to survive on her own.

Or perhaps she, like me, is somewhere working as an adventurer, unaware that her family has passed away and still searching for them...

Be happy about this, and look forward to meeting again someday.

In the end, he crossed out Lilia and Aisha's names with a slash.

Rudeus's name has been crossed out. It seems there's been a report that Alice will be coming, so they should have received information about him as well.

Of the Paul family, only Senis Greirat's name was not crossed out.

So it still hasn't been found?

While Rudius was investigating the missing persons, a meeting also took place between the Yue people.

After tidying up my belongings in the room, I planned to go around and see if there was anything I could help with, but when I opened the door, I saw a figure that wasn't exactly unexpected.

"Can... I talk to you, brother?"

"Of course, come in."

That's right, the other party was Alice, the girl who should have been thinking alone, who was now standing outside his door.

"Thanks."

Unconsciously, she was already able to say those two words frankly. The girl had grown up so much without realizing it, just like her height.

"So, you've made up your mind?"

Seeing Alice just standing there, Yue Ren instinctively wanted to pour her a cup of tea, but found there was nothing around, so he gave up.

"You know?...Yes, that's right, you always know..."

"9

Alice breathed a sigh of relief; not needing an explanation was indeed a reassuring thing for her at the moment.

She truly loved Rudeus.

However, she felt that she was not good enough for him and would only be a burden to him.

Although they became family, they were unable to build a deeper relationship.

She and he could not be husband and wife.

As Rudius said, the relationship between siblings is probably the most appropriate.

Even if they were together, she felt that she would probably only continue to be a burden to him.

Perhaps keeping our distance from Rudius for the time being is the best course of action.

Alice naturally had this idea.

If she stayed by Rudeus's side, she would unconsciously become dependent on him.

She had no intention of marrying another man as Alphonse had suggested.

Basically, it's impossible to expect her to live like a noblewoman now that things have come to this.

Even if she were required to do her utmost for the sake of strangers in her territory, she herself could not imagine that scenario.

Moreover, she simply couldn't understand why she had to do that kind of thing.

My grandfather, father, and mother are all gone, and the territory of Fituia no longer exists.

So, she might as well give up the name "Boreas".

However, as the granddaughter of her grandfather, Sauros, and the daughter of her father and mother, she must continue to live with an iron will.

To become stronger.

At this point, the thought crossed her mind again.

To separate from Rudeus, and to cultivate further and further.

You should at least train until you feel you can stand shoulder to shoulder with Rudeus; it doesn't matter if you can't beat him.

But at the very least, she had to become a woman worthy of Rudyus.

Be the kind of woman who won't be talked about behind her back or called a tagalong.

She couldn't be as shrewd as Rudius.

So let's pursue power.

Kyrie I, Rijkaard, and the Yue people all said it.

She possesses talent in swordsmanship.

Since meeting Rudius, she has never felt strong, but she must trust those who helped her grow.

If she can grow stronger, then they can meet again.

Only then will we truly take the next step from being family to becoming husband and wife.

She was going to give birth to Rudyus's child and live happily ever after.

Okay, let's do it that way.

Yue Ren's lips curled up slightly as he leaned against the bed, arms crossed.

"Don't think of me as some kind of genius. It's just that your and Rudeus's expressions are too easy to understand. Right now, your expression is like that of a warrior resolutely going to his death."

"I don't want to accept Alphonse's arrangements. Everything I have belongs to Rudeus, and I want to protect Rudeus. Can you tell me what to do?"

Alice's expression held hope, after all, this had always been the case, and Yue Ren was always able to offer excellent advice.

"Haven't you already made up your mind? Now that you've made up your mind, go for it. Never waver, and move forward based on what you believe in. Isn't that the real you, Alice?"

'

""

"Kirennu said that the place where she trains, the 'Sacred Ground of Swords,' can make me stronger, but I feel that it's definitely not as good as your level, brother."

That's right, that's why she hesitated and appeared here. On the one hand, it's because of the Yue people's "omniscience and omnipotence," and on the other hand, it's because the Yue people are the strongest people in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, the Yue people laughed.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me. Perhaps you are right in terms of high-end combat power, but what you lack right now is something I can't give you. Kyrie Irving is right; the 'Sacred Land of Swords' might be the most suitable place for you right now."

What I lack...

""

"You've already seen the peaks through experience, environment, and practice," now it's time to focus on learning to climb, step by step.

"In other words, you need time—time to turn your efforts into strength, and time to escape this terrible future."

Alice was very happy; it was just as she had imagined.

I understand, but...

'

"Worried about Rudius? Don't worry. There's a saying that goes, 'A brief separation is only for a better reunion in the future.' Go and say goodbye to him properly. He will understand, and I have a feeling he will be proud of you."

These two little ones have become a part of each other's lives. Although neither of them has very high emotional intelligence, I feel that as long as they communicate well, there is no difficulty they can't overcome.

"I see... I understand, thank you Yueren."

"You're welcome, Miss Alice."

Seeing that the other party had made up their mind, the quirky Yue man bowed as if he were a steward being consulted by his lord.

"Hmph, just call me Alice, I don't like that title."

"certainly."

Rudius, having gathered some information about the missing persons, was about to leave when he was found by his butler, Alphonse. He then attended a meeting on a less-than-pleasant topic: Alice's future.

By the time the meeting ended, the sun had completely set.

Rudius returned to his room.

......