The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81

Lillieta recognized him the moment she saw his face.

‘Senior Is!’

As if confirming her answer, the man caught by him cried out in terror.

“I-Isaiah Kortvan? Why are you here, aaagh!”

“I came out to greet our distinguished guest, but to find vermin swarming about—as the host, I find this most troubling.”

The owner of Beacon Garden, Isaiah Kortvan.

In Pascal’s History, he was a great figure who handled logistics and supplies for the defense lines through the Kortvan Trading Company, and a survival and infiltration specialist who traveled through contaminated zones that had become demon realms where humans couldn’t set foot, gathering all kinds of information.

He was called a one-man army because he traveled with multiple summons and could handle massive supply operations or large-scale battles all by himself. He was the founder of Oath summoning arts and the first discoverer of methods for surviving in mana-contaminated zones using Oaths.

There was an assessment that without Isaiah Kortvan, the defense lines after the disaster wouldn’t have been maintained and would have all been isolated, each struggling to survive alone before collapsing in an instant.

‘While reading, I thought it was an achievement worthy of Senior Is.’

Rita recalled the Is Pascal from the Age of Ashes that she knew.

He was a man with a slightly hazy impression and a quiet atmosphere. To use an analogy, he was like a moss-covered tree standing in the forest. Beautiful if you looked closely, but easy to pass by if you didn’t pay attention.

In contrast, the ‘Isaiah Kortvan’ before her eyes felt like an antique, precisely crafted wooden sculpture. Though their features were strikingly similar, he was much more refined and polished, giving the impression of beauty at first glance.

‘Is it because his eye color changed? What an unusual color.’

Originally, Is Pascal had light brown hair and murky green eyes. Isaiah Kortvan had similar hair to Is, but his iris color was different. A teal color that shifted between green and blue depending on the light. It was a mysterious color like a pond deep in the forest.

While Lillieta observed him, Isaiah grabbed and twisted the arm of the man who was making some protest, then called for staff.

“Drag him out. Add him to the blacklist.”

“Yes, boss.”

A staff member wearing an apron gave a crisp salute, then easily subdued the man and dragged him away like luggage. As their figures disappeared into the distance, Isaiah finally turned his head to look down at Rita.

“Rita?”

“Yeah, it’s me. You’re Senior Is, right?”

“That’s right.”

He looked her over carefully with his mysteriously colored eyes, then spoke as if whispering.

“It’s a strange feeling.”

“Does it feel unfamiliar?”

“That’s right, unfamiliar. Not you, but me.”

“What do you mean?”

Isaiah smiled listlessly and pointed to the white brick path.

“Shall we talk while walking? Everyone’s waiting after hearing you were coming.”

“Okay.”

Rita walked alongside him. Several arches intertwined with flowers and vines passed overhead. After a moment of silence, Isaiah quietly opened his mouth like a gentle breeze.

“Actually, I thought I was fine.”

“With what?”

“Junior’s death.”

“I’m sorry. For doing such a thing.”

Rita, who had realized something from her previous colleagues’ reactions, immediately apologized first. Isaiah let out a small laugh.

“The other kids gave you quite a scolding, I see.”

“I did something deserving of scolding, so it can’t be helped.”

“Mm.”

Isaiah looked at Rita, then smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Junior Rita.”

“Yeah.”

“After realizing that you had died, all the kids in our squad weren’t in their right minds.”

“…Yeah.”

“Gid was digging through demon beast corpses with bloodshot eyes, scraping together pieces of your body, Oli was out of her mind and wouldn’t move, Ethan was shouting that it couldn’t be true, that the captain had seen wrong, Luca turned pale and kept muttering no, that you must still be alive, then fainted after seeing your eyeball rolling around among the demon beast corpses, and Sera was crying her heart out while clutching one of your fingers.”

At the story flowing out so matter-of-factly, Rita found herself unable to figure out what expression to make or what to say.

Isaiah continued speaking as if he hadn’t expected her reaction.

“I was relatively okay. Somehow I felt like what was bound to come had come. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a colleague die… Everyone dies eventually anyway. It’s not like you were murdered by someone else or met a meaningless, hollow death…”

“…”

“You demonstrated humanity’s strength, as you once said yourself. You showed how humanity as a species has been able to survive until now by saving six lives with one sacrifice. So those of us who survived just need to mourn and be grateful for the sacrifice, then continue living… That’s what I thought.”

Isaiah suddenly stopped walking.

Rita walked a few more steps past him before stopping and turning back.

The light from firefly-like magic lanterns was blocked by vines woven into the arch, casting mottled shadows across his face.

“It was an arrogant and foolish thought. Until then, I didn’t know what a person’s absence really meant. I could be indifferent to anyone’s death because I’d never given my affection to anyone, and I had no idea that I was a lucky person who had never truly lost someone I cared about.”

Below the teal eyes covered in shadow, his pale lips curved into a smile.

“Our junior doesn’t know what it feels like to be in a place without you, does she?”

“…”

“I didn’t know either. Because you were always by my side.”

“…”

“As time passed, the reality of your death became more and more real. The feeling of someone who should naturally be there not being there, of not getting a response to words casually spoken… I learned painfully what that felt like.”

“…”

“Only then did I realize why people die for others. Why altruism hasn’t gone extinct in a world where it’s natural to devour each other. Everyone was wiser than me. They knew that sacrifice was better than enduring the emptiness of absence. You taught me how dull and shallow my thinking was.”

Is Pascal, who had been called the ‘sage’ of Beacon, called himself dull and continued speaking.

“So I have no intention of being angry with you. I understand your choice, and I learned a lot thanks to you.”

“…That’s a relief. Thank you, Sen—”

“But because of that.”

Isaiah cut off her words and stepped forward. He approached right in front of Rita and looked down at her with a smile.

With those few steps, the shadows of the vine leaves shifted, covering his mouth in shadow while his eyes gleamed in a color indistinguishable between green and blue.

“Because of that, I won’t let you get the jump on me next time.”

“What?”

“If you try to make that kind of choice again, I’ll do it first. As a senior, I can’t just keep learning from my junior.”

“No, Senior, what do you mean…”

“I don’t know how much my absence would mean to you, but we’ve spent time together, so it would hurt quite a bit, wouldn’t it?”

Isaiah gently grasped her shoulder and spoke affectionately.

“So if the time comes to choose again, remember this. Next time, I go first.”

“…Senior Is, are you threatening me right now?”

“If this sounds like a threat to you, you’d better reflect a bit more, Junior. You’ve already carried out that threat.”

Rita closed her mouth.

The question ‘You said you weren’t going to be angry, but Senior, aren’t you really angry right now?’ swirled in her mouth, but she had a premonition that if she brought that up, she’d face an even deeper and quieter rage.

She swallowed dryly, conscious of Isaiah’s hand on her shoulder, then answered seriously.

“Okay, I’ll remember that.”

“Good.”

He smiled gently and removed his hand. Rita unconsciously let out a small sigh.

Just then, a puzzled voice suddenly interrupted.

“What are you two doing here?”

It was Olivia. She seemed to have followed the path and discovered them standing in the middle.

Isaiah tilted his head.

“I was having an emotional reunion with Junior Rita. Welcome, Junior Oli.”

“Senior, you have quite a calm way of having emotional reunions. I lost my mind the moment I saw her and hit her and cried and made a scene.”

Isaiah just smiled without saying anything. Olivia frowned and looked at him for a moment, then soon approached Lillieta.

“Rita.”

“Hi, Oli.”

“Here, take this first. It’s what I mentioned before.”

She suddenly pressed something into Rita’s hand. It was a cuff bracelet in the form of a ring with one side open, designed to be worn by slipping it onto the wrist.

The bracelet, which seemed to be made by carefully crafting a lump of gold, was as thin as paper but about the width of a finger joint, with complex magic circles beautifully engraved on its surface like patterns. In the center of the ring, there was a butterfly motif similar to the one that had appeared on Silvergrass.

“If it’s what you mentioned before… don’t tell me this is the holster?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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