Chapter 24

When the sun was setting behind the mountains, Xiaoming had finally finished fitting the shoes and men's clothing.

It was the first time since becoming a maid that she had spent an afternoon without working. But why did it feel more exhausting than the days when she silently cleaned? The life of a maid was something she thought she understood, yet it remained a mystery.

“Do you want to eat something?”

She was leading her tired body back to the park behind the bustling street when Luga suddenly pointed in a direction. Turning her head, she saw a colorful ice cream truck.

“...Will you buy it for me?”

Suddenly offering such kindness? It was suspicious.

“Originally, the whip and the carrot must be given together to be effective. When training a dog, giving it sweet treats occasionally helps it learn faster.”

Am I a dog now?

But if this free kindness was offered, being a dog for just a moment might not be so bad.

Nodding cautiously, Luga gestured toward a bench at the park entrance.

“Sit and wait quietly.”

Following his words, Luga headed toward the ice cream truck.

I’ve never had this before. What a stroke of luck.

‘Now that I think about it, wasn’t there a labor office nearby?’

Hmm. It feels like ages since I lived in this park.

Scanning the park, my gaze stopped at the spacious cemetery above.

‘There was a cemetery here? I didn’t know because I only came at night.’

This cemetery, located in the heart of such a big city, must be a national cemetery.

The landscaping and grass were meticulously maintained, and colorful flowers bloomed everywhere, so there was no eerie feeling typical of cemeteries.

I focused all my attention on the hat hanging on the nearest tombstone.

It was a hat of the Magic Alliance.

At the stone slab in front of the bridge connecting the park and the national cemetery, the name of the area was neatly engraved.

‘Midwinter National Peace Garden’

I walked there as if in a trance.

When I arrived at the bridge, hundreds, thousands of tombstones were visible.

The tombstones, neatly arranged like blocks, bore the names of those who died in the Magic War, or names that were never recorded.

So many people had lived in Midwinter. And died.

The arrogance of thinking that the northern city, far from the front lines, would be spared the horrors of war.

Confronted with this scene that pointed out my arrogance, I was speechless.

‘Are the graves of those who couldn’t even introduce themselves on the battlefield somewhere here?’

Lost in a strange sentiment, I crossed the bridge and took my first step into the National Peace Garden.

“Hey!”

Whoosh—

A sharp whistling sound passed by.

The pungent smell of blood assaulted my nose. The familiar scent was even more terrifying, and I instinctively turned around.

I saw nothing.

The wide park, the ice cream shop beyond it, and Luga’s back, who should have been paying for the ice cream, were all gone.

In their place were burning ruins, corpses, shaking ground, and soldiers running with gritted teeth.

What is this?

“Hey, what are you looking at?”

Someone urgently pushed my shoulder.

A man’s face appeared in my blurred vision. His features, dirty with blood and dust, were filled with fear and anger.

“What are you doing? Snap out of it, you fool! You’ll die if you space out!”

Ah, right. This is a battlefield.

We are in a war.

I shook my head to clear my mind. Was it because I hadn’t slept properly in days? It felt like I had a brief dream while standing.

Just a moment ago, I felt like I was in a different world, but now I can’t even remember what the dream was.

What a strange experience.

“The Great Mage Mephisto’s demon army has launched a surprise attack from the east. We’re abandoning this village; there are too many of them. Evacuate the civilians quickly!”

“What about you?”

“I’m heading to the church! I heard that there are elderly people receiving treatment there.”

“Lead the way. I’ll cover you.”

The ground shook violently, a signal that the enemy was approaching quickly.

We ran to the church, which was located on a high ground in the village.

“Find a cart! If there are too many elderly, we can’t carry them one by one.”

“This church manages a large farm. There must be a cart in the back...”

At that moment, a cloud of dust enveloped us.

Boom!

It was a long-range shockwave attack from a siege demon. The ground was hit by the indiscriminate attack, and dust filled the air.

I felt a sharp pain in my waist, but that was all. Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously injured.

“Cough, cough!”

But the soldier who was with me wasn’t so lucky.

“Hey, you...”

“Ugh, ugh! My, my leg! My leg!”

One leg was severed, and the other was badly injured.

“Damn.”

Unfortunately, there was no time to stop the bleeding. I quickly supported the man’s arm and shouted.

“Snap out of it! There’s no time to space out. Grab my neck, I’ll support you. Hurry!”

“Huff, huff.”

His breath, filled with fear, fell on my ear. He pushed me away with trembling hands and said,

“It’s, it’s okay... Leave me behind. Instead, tell my mother my last words...”

“Stop it. You’ll tell her yourself when the war is over!”

“Stop. I can’t feel my left leg. I can’t move, I’ll be a burden... Hurry, to the church... And my name and hometown are...”

“Didn’t you hear me? You’ll tell her yourself when the war is over!”

Amid the chaos, a strangely cold voice came from somewhere.

“No, Daisy. The war is over.”

Daisy? Is that this man’s name?

Thinking it was an oddly beautiful name, I struggled to lift his body.

“Yeah, it will end someday! But not now. Get up, friend. Let’s find a cart. You’ll wait there...”

“There are no carts here. No church, no demon army, and no elderly people you need to save.”

Something was wrong.

I looked at the man. He had stopped. The dust and the shaking ground, the screams, and the cries around us were gone.

In a world where time had stopped, someone spoke to me.

“The war is over. It’s time to come back.”

“...It’s over?”

“Yes, no one else is dying. See? The only thing dying now is the ice cream I’m holding.”

I looked around, but I couldn’t see the source of the voice. What was happening?

“I’m glad you’re a bit calmer now. Your words seem to be having an effect. ...You look young. Were you from the Alliance?”

This time, the voice was relatively older.

I looked at the man I was supporting. His body was slowly, gradually breaking apart, like a sandcastle being washed away by waves.

“I’ve seen young soldiers like you before. Sigh, it’s a sad thing. A terrible tragedy that can’t be undone. That the heroes who brought peace must suffer even after peace is achieved.”

An invisible force gently lowered my arm. As I stood there in a daze, I felt a warm hand pat my head.

“Let’s go back. Rest well.”

Who was the owner of this voice?

The question didn’t last long. As my body grew heavy, the world flickered.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw an unfamiliar scene.

It was already dark outside. But the moon outside the window was so large and bright that the interior of the room was clearly visible.

My whole body was exhausted.

‘...Since the last voice I heard was Luga’s, this place shouldn’t be strange.’

Thinking this, I checked outside the window. A very familiar scene caught my eye.

The Weatherwood Manor was there under the bright full moon.

That means...

“The water is over there.”

This is the Ashera Manor.

And the man sitting in a chair on the dark side of the wall, reading a book, was the new owner of this manor, Luga.

‘Doesn’t it hurt his eyes to read in such a dark place?’

Even I, with my highly developed senses, would avoid doing that.

But since Luga had been doing strange things for a long time, I decided to drink the water first.

Only after the water entered my mouth did I realize how parched my body was. As my head cleared, the events just before I fainted came back to me.

The terrifyingly realistic hallucination I experienced at the National Peace Garden.

‘I didn’t even have a standing dream. To not be able to distinguish between reality and illusion...’

I slowly put down the glass. My hands were trembling so much that I almost dropped it.

Just thinking about it made my palms sweat and feel cold.

This feeling of being completely at a disadvantage.

The sensation of not being able to control my own body is extremely unpleasant.

During the later stages of the war, I never trembled with such instinctive fear.

Why am I experiencing this now?

“...Thank you for your help.”