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[The Abyss Hole]
We departed and soon arrived at the Abyss Hole.
The hole that was gaping wide on the ground was huge with an end that can’t be seen.
It’s so deep that the sun couldn’t illuminate the bottom.
“We’re finally here…nothing has changed since 20 years ago…no, 20 years ago, there was a mansion floating in the center of the hole. A mansion that spreads nightmares to the world.”
Lloyd, who had ended the “Great Invasion” twenty years ago, looked at the center of the huge hole with meaningful gaze.
“That’s right…without that, this place has became quiet.”
Meiss, who was also participating in the breacher unit 20 years ago, was gazing at the same spot as Lloyd.
In front of the two people gazing at the center of such Abyss Hole, many stones are placed like a tombstone.
It was the graves of the fallen adventurers in the breacher unit, including Noelia’s mother’s.
The number of lined up stones are about several hundreds.
Twenty years ago, that much life had fallen here.
“Is this the place where the Great Invasion occurred, and the place where the “Abyss Walkers” who robbed me of my parents were born?”
“Ahh, and it’s also the place where Noelia was born.”
Lloyd, who was meaningfully looking at the Abyss Hole, responded to my murmur.
I see…Noelia was born in this place…
When I glanced at Noelia, she was placing a flower and praying in front of the stone that was engraved with her mother’s name.
“In this place where many lives were lost, we were in a situation where we must not despair after all…if Noelia-sama wasn’t born then, we wouldn’t be able to return I guess. To think that Noelia-sama has grown to 20 years old safely…”
Meiss was also glancing at Noelia and his eyes became teary.
As he knows Noelia from the time she was born, even though she is the daughter of his master, he may have think of her like his own daughter.
“And it looks like she has found a good spouse, Florina-sama must be happy一一.”
“Meiss, I don’t accept it you know. Don’t advance the talk as you like.”
“But Noelia is about to reach the marriageable age…at this rate, it’ll be too late for her y’know. In addition, she is a platinum rank adventurer who is only interested in magic with many sons of noble pestering her.”
“You fool, my daughter is a genius. There’s no way I would accept the son of those trash nobles from the Royal Capital as her husband.”
I suppose they love and cherish Noelia.
I would like to say that they are being overprotective, but it can’t be helped because she is their precious daughter after all.
When Meiss and Lloyd starts quarrelling about Noelia’s spouse, Noelia who was praying, apply Silence magic on them.
“Both of you are making too much noise. It’s a place to offer prayer. Be quiet.”
The two people, who were wrapped in bubbles of Silence, is flapping their mouth, but I could not hear what they were saying.
“Noelia, I think sealing their mouth is going too far…”
“It’s a punishment for disturbing me and mother Florina’s serene conversation.”
It’s unusual for Noelia, who usually monotonous, to speak in angry tone.
I suppose that’s just how serious she is in addressing her dead mother.
After a while, the effect of Silence was cut off, then Meiss and Lloyd apologized to Noelia.
A little quarrel occurred, but I also place a beautiful flower that grows nearby on the grave and offered my prayer to the brave warriors who ended the “Great Invasion”.
The actions they took made the “Abyss Walkers”, who plunge the world to the bottom of despair and seemed to be endless, to vanish.
“It’s actually misplaced for the poeple to say that I was the hero who saved them from the “Great Invasion”. The brave warriors sleeping here are the real heroes. So that the great achievement of the people from that generation won’t be forgotten, I resigned myself to accept the name of hero. The truth is, I’m just a man who clung to lowly life and Noelia’s cuteness.”
Behind me, who was offering prayer, Lloyd who was released from Silence murmured so to no one.
Lloyd, who returned with the survivors of the breacher unit, was lauded as a hero and became a Frontier Count, but he seemed to feel anguish from being lauded.
“Because Lloyd-sama is alive, everyone make preparations without forgetting the fear of the “Great Invasion”. However, after ten or twenty years from now, the “Great Invasion” will disappear from people’s memory.”
Meiss also murmured so to no one.
The words from the two who survived the great disaster touched my heart.
Our generation don’t know about the “Great Invasion”.
It was only something that was taught to us by the adults who survived.
I could imagine it to be terrifying, but I never actually experienced it.
Therefore, the words of these two people should be taken seriously by the people who lives in the next generation.
After finishing the prayers to the brave warriors, I stood up and looked back at them.
“Your story is very helpful. We have to inform what is the “Great Invasion”, and what happened then to the next generation.”
In front of me stood two men who desperately survived the unprecedented great disaster.
“Ahh, I really want young people like the brat to know that by all means.”
“From next year, it might be better to increase the size of the investigation team a little more so that the young knights can also participate. At that time, Frick-sama will receive the request to be the escort of the investigation team I guess.”
“I will do everything I can to help y’know.”
No one can confirm whether the second “Great Invasion” will occur.
It may be useless to prepare for it when we don’t even know whether it will happen.
However, I thought that I should inherit various wisdom from the survivors so that I could deal with them when it occurs.
“Similar to magic, I will also pursue research on “Abyss Walker”, so father and Meiss can set your mind at ease.”
It seems that Noelia, who was listening to us from nearby, had reached the same conclusion.
“Then, so that Noelia-sama can hand it down to the next generation, you have to一一”(TN : Meiss is actually suggesting her to have a son, but it’s lost in translation, like 御子を一一)
“Meiss, that’s still too early. Who’s the other party! I will cut off一一”
Again, their mouths were sealed by Noelia.
In this way, the 20th year Demon Forest investigation team, accompanied by the Frontier Count Lloyd, complete their objective, and return to Youg Hannotes with many good results.