Side Story 18. Johann’s Past (1)

“Unnecessarily nice weather.”

Johann looked up at the sky with a skewed gaze.

While the ground was full of dark undead, the high sky above was peaceful beyond measure. As if what happened on the ground didn’t matter up there.

Johann, who had just turned sixteen, was mature for his age. It was partly because he had received strict education as the crown prince since birth, but more than that, the surge of undead appearances over the past 10 years had a greater impact.

So, from the age he could clearly remember, he was already with the undead. They say the world was peaceful when he was born, so why was he born in such an era?

Did God decide to wipe out the human world completely?

Yet, it also seemed manageable somehow.

Johann furrowed one eye, thinking of the endless undead no matter how many he cut down. The unnecessarily bright sun made him feel worse.

“Your Highness!”

Just then, a shout was heard from somewhere.

It was the guy his father had assigned as a playmate when he was young, and his swordsmanship skills were quite useful.

So Johann had been swinging wooden swords at him since before he could remember, saying this was the play he wanted to do. The gray-haired boy, Jesuf, naturally developed into proper sparring matches at some point, starting to counterattack.

“Jesuf, what’s all the fuss about?”

Johann closed his eyes tightly and massaged his neck with one hand. He was tired. It was because of the fierce battle that had lasted for ten days until last night.

Thanks to that, the land that had become h*ll due to the excessive appearance of undead had regained peace. It would be temporary peace, but having a moment to catch one’s breath was something to be grateful for.

“The Knight Commander has decided to depart for the Menbulton region this afternoon.”

“This afternoon?”

That’s quite some passion.

Considering that less than twelve hours had passed since cutting down the last undead, it was an incredible forced march. Johann felt irritation rising but didn’t add any more words.

“Alright, you can go now.”

“Aren’t you going to the camp?”

“I’ll go in a little while.”

“But don’t you need to prepare for departure? Don’t you know that even commanders have to pack their own luggage?”

“Oh my. Can’t you do mine for me?”

“……”

Jesuf grumbled with a disgruntled face. Johann, with his good hearing, heard all the muttering but pretended not to.

It was a rare moment of solitude. He didn’t want to be disturbed.

He watched Jesuf’s retreating figure, muttering until the end, then turned his head back to the sky.

A rough wind blows. Though it was clearly a gentle breeze, it felt like it was mercilessly slashing through his heart as it passed.

Is it because this wind also feels as indifferent as that high sky?

The nearby city had been turned into a wasteland, and the faint smell of burning corpses stung his nose from afar, yet the world kept turning.

“D*mn bastards.”

Johann muttered to himself as he lay down on the field.

There must not have been any sleeping corpses under this field. Perhaps that’s why the green meadow was intact, rippling in the wind. Just a short walk away was nothing short of h*ll.

The abnormally excessive appearance of undead began about 10 years ago, but it had only been 2 years since Johann came out of the Imperial Palace and started to be active. It was when he was fourteen. That’s when he awakened as an Enchanter, surpassing the level of Sword Master.

Even the ministers who had opposed the Crown Prince’s direct involvement, saying they needed to protect the imperial lineage, could no longer raise their voices. Johann shut their mouths with one sentence.

<Do you intend to keep an Enchanter locked up in the palace until the world ends?>

A deathly silence flowed through the audience chamber.

At the end of that long silence, the Emperor allowed his son to go to the battlefield. However, he added the condition that since he had no military experience, he should learn well under the current Imperial Knight Commander.

Well.

What difference does it make if it’s the commander, the vice commander, or the commander of a single battalion?

Whatever it is, as long as I can kill the undead.

Johann thought at that time that once he started to be active, they would be able to regain peace quickly. However, even after 2 years, they were still at a standstill.

K*ll them and they appear again, cut them down and they creep up from the ground again.

There was no end.

The earth held too many deaths, and it was impossible for humanity of a single era to annihilate evil beings that had been sleeping for thousands of years and were now awakening.

In the end, his era would come to an end like this. Johann thought resignedly. The best thing to do for future generations was to conduct funerals well with holy power so that they wouldn’t wake up as undead.

If an Enchanter were to come back to life as an undead, there would be no more terrible disaster than that.

Recalling the moment of fighting with a group of death knights, Johann shuddered once. I wonder if they were at least Sword Masters at one time. While having such pointless thoughts…

“With the Knight Commander’s personality… I should be able to dawdle for two or three more hours.”

Johann estimated the time by the position of the sun and closed his eyes.

The sounds of nature. The footsteps of people in the distance. The swaying grass and the chirping of insects between them.
Even in this chaos, peaceful sounds existed.

“Ugh……”

It was then that someone’s groan intruded into that space filled with only the sounds he liked.

Johann narrowed his brows while keeping his eyes closed.

‘I thought there was no one here.’

It seemed they had an extraordinary ability to conceal their presence. Johann pricked up his senses in the direction where the groan had come from. The presence was still faint.

‘What the h*ll.’

Johann tried not to pay attention. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be an undead and appeared to be human, so it might be a good idea to leave it alone if it didn’t cause much trouble.

However, this unidentified person seemed to have an excellent talent for grating on people’s nerves. The way they were groaning while holding their breath suggested they were in pain somewhere.

How many dying humans were there around here?

Even now, if you rode a horse for an hour, you could easily find a place where they were burning corpses.

So don’t pay attention.

Grumble…

‘Really, this is too much….’

At the moment he decided to ignore it, Johann finally got up. To think even this brief rest wouldn’t be allowed.

Johann brushed back the hair covering his forehead and went down the hill. Under a large, beautiful tree, a small girl was lying curled up like a shrimp.

“Hey. Are you in pain?”

Johann approached the brown-haired girl a bit closer. She seemed to be in a dazed state. She was groaning and clutching her stomach with both arms, seemingly unable to answer his question.

Sigh.

Johann exhaled softly.

At a glance, she looked about twelve years old.

What story brought this child all the way here?

Judging by her attire, she looked like a young mercenary girl. It was hard to believe that such a young child had been roaming the battlefield, but well. It was also a sight not uncommon in these times.

She must have been separated from her family when she was even younger, probably pushed out of an orphanage around nine or ten, and somehow managed to survive on her own until now.

Imagining this common story in his mind, Johann knelt down to lower his body. Then he reached out and touched the girl’s forehead. She was burning with fever.

Was her presence so faint because she was almost dying?

“Tsk. It seems like it could be cured quickly with just one healinh spell.”

Johann clicked his tongue and looked up at the sky.

He thought he could rest for two or three hours…

“Ugh……”

“Bear with it for a little while, even if it’s uncomfortable.”

Johann carried the girl on his back and headed towards where the extermination force’s camp was located.

* * *

“What’s with the girl, Your Highness?”

Jesuf, who was packing the Crown Prince’s luggage as well, asked with one eyebrow raised. They were about to leave for another region soon, and such a burden was troublesome.

“Send her to an orphanage.”

“Where is there an orphanage here? The city has been turned into a wasteland. And just looking at her, she’s not the age orphanages would accept.”

“But if you bring her here……”

Jesuf expressed his perplexity.

He understood the good intention, but they couldn’t take along a child they couldn’t be responsible for. Jesuf wondered why Johann was doing this, knowing he wouldn’t be unaware of this fact.

“Stop talking and bring a healer.”

“The Commander will scold me again. Even healers need to rest……”

“Shut up!”

“Eek! I’ll be right back!”

As Johann gripped the hilt of the sword on his belt as if he was about to draw it, Jesuf ran out of the tent in fright.

After watching him for a moment, Johann took a deep breath and released his hand from the sword hilt. He turned around and stared blankly at the girl lying on the bed.

Really.

As Jesuf said, he didn’t know why he brought her here.

They couldn’t take this child along with the knight order that travels on harsh expeditions to exterminate undead. After all, they were a group that only chose the most dangerous places.

All they could do was heal her and pray to God that she would survive well on her own, even if it was uncertain.

She had managed to survive well with that small body until now…

She must not be a child without luck.