How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 171: Looking up at the sky (2)

Lorraine was sitting up in bed, gazing out the window.

Osian sat down on the chair next to the bed and asked,

“How are you?”

“I’m fine. To be honest, I was wondering if there would be permanent disability, but after hearing the story, it seems rehabilitation will be possible soon. They said my recovery is incredibly fast.”

Lorraine spoke in her usual light tone.

“I wasn’t asking about your body.”

At his direct statement, Lorraine let out a bitter smile.

“You’re lacking consideration for a lady.”

“In the past, when I returned after successfully completing a request, you told me that we are like family.”

Lorraine opened her eyes wide. She had never thought Osian would remember that.

“Is it so strange to worry about family?”

“…You got me there. But what I want to say remains unchanged. I’m still okay.”

“You…”

“Ah, spare me the nagging. I know. Logically, anyone would feel difficult and painful after experiencing such a thing. In fact, I still have some lingering regrets. But.”

Lorraine stared out the window where rain was drizzling.

“He resolved his parched thirst before leaving. So it’s okay. Like rain falling on a desert that was never touched by anyone.”

The words seemed somewhat metaphorical, but Lorraine’s intention was clear.

Osian nodded, saying he understood.

“Then I won’t bring it up any further.”

“Right. And I’ve got a goal now.”

“A goal?”

“Living like this is fine, but I can’t completely forget the past, right? Especially those guys from that white house.”

Lorraine clenched her fist. She was recalling the memory of how they arbitrarily desecrated Fade’s corpse to retrieve his body.

“I’ll definitely put bullets into them with my own hands.”

“That’s a good resolution. For that, you need to focus on recovery now.”

“I know. Everyone who’s come has said the same thing.”

Lorraine stuck out her lips as if she was sick of hearing that.

“Anyway, no one visiting brings a gift.”

“Isn’t fruit enough?”

“Says someone who didn’t even bring fruit?”

Hmm. That’s true. Osian lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Then is there anything else you want?”

“Of course there is!”

Lorraine’s eyes sparkled as if she had been waiting for this question.

She made a circle with her thumb and index finger and showed it to Osian with a smile.

“This. This is the perfect hospital visit gift, isn’t it?”

“…..”

Osian looked at Lorraine, whose eyes were tinted with gold coins, and shook his head with a sigh.

He had hoped this incident would improve her obsession with money, but that seemed to be just his wishful thinking.

Feeling Osian’s mood, Lorraine said desperately,

“Ah, why! When someone visits a patient, it’s okay to give some money!”

“What are you talking about? What kind of person brings money as a hospital visit gift?”

At that moment, the door opened, and Diolan appeared, holding a money pouch.

“Here’s the hospital visit gift I mentioned. I’m going to make a request now.”

Diolan said this and handed the money pouch to Lorraine before leaving immediately.

“…..”

Osian felt a headache coming on. Sometimes Diolan seemed disconnected from common sense, and he was reminded of that again today.

Of course, the mastermind who instilled that lack of common sense was gleefully counting the money bundle.

“See? I was right?”

“Diolan is an exception. Sometimes he lacks common sense.”

“It’s not sometimes, but a lot.”

“And you’re trying to extort money knowing this? Do you have no conscience?”

“Anyway, you do! So you give me some too!”

“No.”

“Why! You have so much money, just give me some! Can’t you even do that?”

Lorraine now started throwing a tantrum like a child.

Osian’s forehead veins started to show.

“Did you entrust me with your money?”

As Osian raised his fist, Lorraine urgently shouted,

“V-Violence is against the law! I’m a patient! A sick person! Absolute rest! Absolute rest! Will you take responsibility if my injuries worsen?”

“Whew.”

Osian lowered his fist, suppressing his anger. Of course, his trembling fingers seemed to be aiming at Lorraine’s forehead.

Lorraine watched the scene nervously, like someone facing a beast in the mountains.

At that moment, Ena peeked her head through the opening door.

“I brought porridge.”

“Ah! Ena, come quickly! I was just getting hungry, how perfect!”

“Oh, Osian is here too. Would you like some porridge?”

“No, I have no reason to stay longer, so I’ll be going now.”

Osian left and Ena naturally sat in his place.

Ena handed the porridge she had boiled to Lorraine.

“Are you okay?”

Sitting in bed and focusing on recovery, Lorraine ate the porridge Ena brought, blowing on it.

“Yes. I’m fine. It wasn’t such a big injury.”

“…A bullet went through your shoulder?”

“Ah, is that so? But these things happen when you work as a fixer. I’m eating well and recovering, aren’t I?”

Ena’s gaze at Lorraine, who was trying to appear fine, was complex.

Ena had heard the entire story about Lorraine’s past and what happened this time.

If she had experienced such things, she wasn’t sure how she would have reacted. She might have completely broken down.

“Eat a lot and rest well. You need to recuperate for a few more days. Would you like another bowl of porridge?”

“Don’t worry. And if you offer, I’d be grateful. Usually when you’re sick, you lose appetite, but this is really going down smoothly.”

Ena’s expression didn’t easily soften at Lorraine’s joke.

She couldn’t shake off the thought that Lorraine was hiding her pain and trying to appear strong.

Surprisingly, contrary to Ena’s worries, Lorraine was not hiding her emotions.

She had indeed gone through a difficult experience. It still remained as a knot in her heart.

But Lorraine was not overly dwelling on it. If she had nothing now, she would have struggled repeatedly to hold onto the flowing past.

However, people can only live in the present.

Even if the mind is entangled in the past and the eyes look toward the future.

Their bodies are ultimately fixed in the present moment.

In that sense, Lorraine was someone who knew how to live in the present.

She does not forget the past. But she also does not become excessively immersed in it.

Lorraine has her current colleagues, the people of Violet Fox.

She enjoys and is happy with her life with them now. The past connections were filled with sadness, but her current relationships were not.

People can overcome sorrow with just a little trigger.

There’s no need for it to be grandiose. Even something very small is fine.

For Lorraine, her current human connections were that trigger.

However, Ena, who completely didn’t know her inner thoughts, could only be anxious like a mother worrying about her child.

“Wait. I’ll boil a more delicious porridge for you.”

“Can it become more delicious?”

“If I add better ingredients, it will.”

Adding good ingredients doesn’t necessarily make food taste better. It seemed like something a cooking novice would say, but Lorraine, who knew Ena’s cooking skills, didn’t doubt her at all.

The porridge she was eating now was truly delicious, thanks to Ena’s skill. Sometimes Lorraine even thought that this cooking ability, rather than the witchcraft Ena wielded, might be her truly more bizarre power.

But she had grown so accustomed to it that she simply nodded, thinking “That’s right.”

“Okay. Then I’ll make a request.”

“Understood.”

Ena was planning to move immediately since the topic had come up.

To buy good ingredients, she needed to go to the market early, and now was the perfect timing.

Ena immediately draped her trademark red cape and picked up her umbrella.

“Miss Ena. Are you going somewhere?”

Ena, who happened to run into Ronan, flinched slightly and responded in a cautious tone.

“Oh, well…I’m going to buy ingredients for the porridge Lorraine will eat.”

“Hehe. You’re working hard. But be careful. The weather outside isn’t very good right now.”

“Yes.”

Ena was still uncomfortable with Ronan. She knew he wasn’t a bad person, but seeing him always smiling with squinted eyes gave her a biological sense of rejection.

However, Ronan, unaware of her inner feelings, saw her off with a smile.

If he had known the truth, he would have spent the day feeling dejected and depressed.

Ena walked through the rainy street with quick steps, carrying her usual shopping basket in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

Unlike when it was pouring like a waterfall, the rain’s intensity had weakened, so quite a few people could be seen on the streets.

‘Should I take a shortcut today?’

She had been caught off guard by a shortcut before, but some time had passed, and she felt this would be okay.

Above all, what gave Ena this confidence was her vague awareness of the ‘guardian angel’ protecting her.

Though she called it a guardian angel, it wasn’t actually an angel. And she didn’t even know who it really was.

She just knew for certain that someone would secretly help her if she was in danger.

Because of this, she reduced her worry about potential dangers while also harboring a slightly mischievous thought.

That if she were in danger, she might actually get to see the person protecting her.

She felt a slight guilt in taking advantage of someone’s goodwill, but her curiosity about who was helping her was stronger.

That was why Ena entered the alleyway.

Of course, she wouldn’t be in any real danger.

The biggest risk in this alley she frequently passed through would be a pickpocket at most.

If she truly wanted danger, Ena would have wandered around the areas beyond District 40.

Walking through the alley was partly out of curiosity, but also the optimal compromise to avoid overly dangerous places.

But today, was her luck bad?

Ena had to face someone blocking her path.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello.”

When the other person greeted her, Ena also greeted back.

But she didn’t lower her guard. It was strange not to sense intent from someone deliberately blocking her path and staring directly at her.

“Are you Ena Grundt?”

As expected, Ena’s suspicions were confirmed. The other person knew her and had come looking for her.

Ena calmly observed the other person.

A girl wearing an ordinary dress, with brown hair braided into two strands at the nape of her neck.

Her appearance was doll-like and cute, and she seemed to be about the same age as Ena.

Her face was smiling with goodwill, but Ena felt something unsettling.

“Do you know me?”

“Yes, of course. Because I’m like you.”

“Like me means…”

“I’m a witch too.”

“Oh.”

Ena realized the source of the strange feeling she sensed from the other person.

A witch like herself. While feeling a sense of kinship, Ena still didn’t lower her guard.

“Which group do you belong to?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“A witch like me came before and tried to forcibly take me away.”

“Oh my. That must have been scary.”

The girl spoke with a worried expression about Ena’s story. Was she empathizing with her words? Ena felt her wariness slightly ease.

“I just wanted to talk. Well, you’re the witch who recently came to Tirna, right?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“You can speak comfortably. We don’t seem to have much of an age difference.”

“W-well, maybe.”

She didn’t sense any hostility from the girl. Ena’s gaze shifted to the girl’s feet.

They were beautiful shoes. Sparkling and shining, they seemed to be made of jewels.

“Since we’ve met like this, want to talk somewhere quiet?”

“Oh, but I need to go shopping.”

“It’s okay. It won’t take long. It’s been so long since I’ve met a witch my age. How about it?”

“Hmm. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with that.”

Ena was still hesitant. She felt it might be too much to do this with someone she’d just met today.

Perhaps because of her indecisive attitude, the girl asked almost whining.

“Don’t you want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to… Well, I don’t think it’s possible. Shopping is my priority. If not, shall we move together? I have a workplace. It’s a good place to talk quietly.”

“Places where people’s eyes are on us might be difficult.”

“Ah, then that won’t work.”

The girl also visibly looked disappointed and nodded.

“It’s so disappointing. I wanted to take you as politely as possible.”

“Huh?”

“Then I’ll have no choice but to drag you.”

At that moment, with a trudging sound from behind her, something walked out.

With a metallic sound, what appeared was a person made of steel, holding a massive axe in its hand.

“Wh-what?”

Facing the flustered Ena, the girl smiled brightly.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Dorothy Gail, a witch belonging to the Night of Walpurgis and my other name is…”

The tin man approached Ena.

“The witch killer.”