Chapter 55 – Yiyu’s Revenge (4)
“Do you have a dream?” The female elf asked.
The man panicked as he replied, “Dream?”
“Yes. A dream.”
He looked around. He couldn’t see either the orc or his colleagues since they were hiding. He was being held hostage with two of his friends by a brutal orc. One of his friends was even ordered to give the children of the slums a gold coin, and he actually did it.
This time, the orc instructed him to sit in front of an elf and have his portrait drawn. There was an elf painting portraits of people in the square. Even though it was only 50 bronze, there was no one in front of the elf. It seemed like he was her only customer.
“I was actually trying to be a magician.” The elf said.
“Magician?”
“My grades weren’t bad, so I entered an academy. I studied well.”
“Then why…?”
‘Why are you painting here?’ He swallowed down those words.
“But I wanted to paint. When I was a child, I saw Marcus’ ‘Keltas Temple’ painting hanging in a museum.”
“Yes…”
“The shock I received at that time is still vivid. I looked at that painting and thought. One day, I want to draw something that gives other people an impression like that. Let’s do what I want to do.”
The man nodded. A dream. He once had such a thing. It was impractical compared to the elf’s dream. His dream had been to become a warrior of justice in order to defeat the villains. There was still a picture from childhood of himself wearing a cloak in a corner of his house.
“How about you, do you have a dream?” The elf asked again.
“Dream…it is strange…”
“What’s wrong with it? Isn’t it absurd that I want to become a great artist like Marcus?”
The elf’s eyes flashed as she looked at him. There was a fresh smell coming from the elf. The beauty of the elf really disarmed him. He confessed to those beautiful blue eyes.
“A warrior who defeats the bad guys…” Then he looked away. The elf nodded seriously instead of laughing, like he had expected.
“I see. It’s a nice dream.”
“……!”
“There are many bad people in the world. I wish that you will become a nice guy who will help them.”
The elf artist placed her pencil back on the canvas. “It is almost done.”
The elf continued drawing. The man started thinking with a complicated head. Not everyone could have a dream, and not everyone could achieve their dream. He had forgotten about that dream for a long time.
“Now, it’s finished!”
The elf handed over the picture. The picture wasn’t an ordinary portrait. His face wasn’t very big. However, he was wearing body armor, and was pointing a shining sword towards a dragon. In the picture, he didn’t have the tired face that he sported now. He was pointing the sword with clear eyes.
“This…”
“You didn’t know? I don’t just draw the face.” The elf grinned. “What should I do? I don’t give refunds.”
“No. Thank you.” The man held the drawing in his arms. Somehow, it was hard for him to stay any longer.“Thank you.”
“Yes. Please live the life you’ve dreamed of. Fighting!”
The man felt an unknown emotion as he turned around. Just like the donation made by his colleague, he wasn’t sure what this was meant to do, so he just left. Just go away.
But something lingered in his heart. His steps slowed down and he stopped walking. Something, he would feel regret if he continued walking. He just wanted to say one thing. The impulse grew until the man turned around.
He walked back to the elf and said, “Painter.”
“Eh? Yes?”
The artist’s eyes widened. The man opened his mouth and said, “The thing you said earlier, about how it’s absurd that you will become a great painter like Marcus…”
The man faced the elf and stared straight into her eyes. “I don’t think that it is absurd. You will be sure to become one. You will become a great painter one day.”
The elf’s eyes shook. She flashed him a beautiful smile, like a flower blooming in the spring. It was a dazzling sunny face that he had never seen before.
“Thank you.”
The man turned around. He headed to the corner of the square where the orc and his two colleagues were hiding. He couldn’t say anything.
“You came back?”
“……”
The orc asked, “The picture, will you show it to me?”
The man showed them the picture without speaking. The orc nodded. His two tied up colleagues looked at the picture for a while before dropping their heads.
The man once again became the orc’s captive, but he didn’t feel like resisting. The three attackers were tied back together and dragged by the orc towards another place.
***
It was the third time. He had to do a mission after his two colleagues. This time, it was at a temple complex.
Those who followed the Goddess of Mercy set up buildings for the sickly and those in need. The people in charge were surprised to see the orc dragging in some men, but after a few words of conversation and donations, the group was let in.
The place that the orc headed to was the innermost, secret place of the temple. It was a hospice where the elderly stayed, the place where those who were about to die were taken.
“10 minutes,” The orc asked. “Talk to them politely for 10 minutes.”
“……”
“This is the last one.”
“Understood. I will do it.”
The man started moving. The orc and his two colleagues sat outside the room to listen to his conversation. The man wouldn’t become passionate like his two friends. He firmly decided that he wouldn’t be touched by the orc’s missions.
Besides, everyone died when they were old. It was the natural flow of life. Moreover, he couldn’t feel any sympathy towards the NPCs in a game. It was enough if he listened to the grieving lament of an old man.
However, he had to stop moving soon after he entered the room. A boy was lying in the room and looking at him. The boy set down the book he was reading on his chest and laughed at the stranger’s visit.
“Hello.”
“……”
“Please sit down.”
The boy pointed to a chair nearby. The man hesitantly sat down beside him. He never thought that it would be a little kid.
“What brings you here? I heard you wanted to talk for a few minutes.”
“Well…”
“It’s okay. People like you often come, wanting to know the mindsets of those who will die soon.” The boy’s expression was bright, despite his previous words. “What are you? An adventurer?”
“I…”
In the world of Elder Lord, he was just a bad guy who hunted to make money and harassed other users.
The words in his mind didn’t emerge from his mouth. The boy stared at him. When a person stared at him like this, it was hard to distinguish between game and reality, especially when it was a sentimental situation like this.
Thus, he unknowingly told the truth, “I am a bar owner.”
In reality, he operated a bar.
“Ah, I thought you were an adventurer, based on your clothing.”
“What…?”
“It must be hard to own a bar. You know, people who are drunk can be violent…sometimes they even break…”
That’s right.
It was a hassle to deal with the drunk customers. Most of them just quietly drank their beverages, but he was always mentally tired because of the occasional incidents. Receiving smiles only once or twice a day was also annoying.
Therefore, he relieved his stress in Elder Lord. The anonymous wicked acts gave him a strange pleasure.
“I didn’t know I would be like this.”
“……”
“I was on my way to school like usual, only to open my eyes in a medical ward. I was told that I have an incurable disease.”
It was obvious. This was a story he always saw on reality television. But why was his chest so heavy?
Yes, this was because of mirror nerves. There were mirror neurons that allowed him to sympathize with the boy after seeing him directly, allowing him to become more involved in the kid’s story. It was a physical reaction. Don’t pay attention to it.
The boy asked, “Do you know what I regret the most?”
“…What is it?”
“Can you guess?”
The man replied, “Well, things you’d like to do if you were healthy again? For example, eat something delicious or get a girlfriend. Things like this.”
The boy burst out laughing, shaking his head. “No. I don’t regret anything like that.”
“Then?”
“I regret the fact that I wasn’t more loving to my parents, my friends, and the people around me.”
“……”
“I had a bitter fight with my friend the day before I collapsed. I complained to my parents that my breakfast wasn’t good. I didn’t say thank you to a great friend. I regret those things.”
The man moved his gaze. “I see.”
“Eating delicious foods or getting better grades, I don’t regret anything like that.” The boy grinned. “Mister should think about it as well. What do you really want to do if you don’t have much time left? What would you regret if you had no time left?”
The man had no answer for the boy. His last moments. It wouldn’t be nice.
The man got up from his seat without saying anything further. That orc bastard, he was doing a good job.
The man wasn’t such a pushover. The man turned around. He didn’t stop moving, despite feeling the boy’s gaze on his back.
‘Think about it. What would you regret?’
He suddenly stopped at the boy’s words. Regret. Some things couldn’t be reversed, and the most irreversible thing was death and parting.
The man had a thought. If he left this way, then he would regret it. Maybe he would regret this moment in the distant future. That thought was his answer. The man slowed down. Eventually, he stopped just before leaving the room.
Then he said to the boy, “Kid.”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe in Heaven?”
Looking back, the man saw that the boy was smiling. “No.”
“You are an old child.”
The man looked at the boy’s smiling face and eventually smiled back. “Hey.”
“Yes.”
“There is a Heaven up there.” This was the only comfort the man could give. “I’ll see you there.”
The boy laughed brightly. “Yes.”
A man left the room. When he closed the door, he saw the orc and two colleagues waiting in the dark corridor. His colleagues were released from their ties.
“Let’s go.”The orc said. They quietly followed behind the orc.
***
They were completely released from their binds, but they walked straight behind the orc.
The orc’s back was the most prominent sight. They thought that he was just an ignorant orc with strength. They knew they would be tortured. However, he only gave them three requests and released them after it was over.
The orc stopped. They were standing in front of the fountain in Maillard’s square. People were passing by with smiles and stiff faces. In the city where the lights didn’t go up at night, people were experiencing their own circumstances.
“There is a legend about this fountain.”
The orc said, “If you throw a coin into the fountain, your wish will come three.”
The orc laughed. “Everybody throw a coin.”
This time he didn’t give them coins. The moment they were each taking out a coin…
The orc said, “The legend was created in the temple. They will collect the coins thrown in the fountain and use it for those who have difficulties and those who need help, like the people you met tonight.”
“……”
“I will be the first.”
The orc took out a shining gold coin. It was a large amount of money equivalent to 100 silver. The poor could live on that money for two months without worrying at all. The orc threw it.
“Now it is your turn.”
“……”
The men took out coins and threw them towards the fountain. They made a wish together with the orc. He didn’t ask them what their wishes were. The orc looked at the men with a profound gaze.
“It is up to here.” The orc spoke, “Whatever evil you have done thus far, I know that you aren’t really bad guys.”
The three men couldn’t open their mouths. The orc’s eyes gazed at them in turn. “I’ll see you again someday. Until then, stay alive.”
The orc turned around.
One of the men shouted towards the orc’s receding back.
“Wait!”
The orc stopped.
“Let me know your name.”
The orc looked back towards them and declared, “Crockta.”
“……!”
He left just like that.
The men stood frozen in place. The name Crockta, they had heard of it before.
It was a famous name in the Elder Lord community. He was an orc of justice who appeared out of nowhere, and did things that others couldn’t do. Some people called him an event NPC, specifically created by the game publishers.
But that couldn’t be. Such a great NPC would’t spend a strange night with them like this. Just like the NPCs with their own stories that the men met this evening, this orc was a resident of the world of Elder Lord, with his own life and ideals.
Their own unique and special lives.
“Crockta…”
The men chewed on his name before turning around. They didn’t talk to each other. Each one of them were thinking about the things they experienced today. Then suddenly, one of the men asked a NPC standing next to him, “Excuse me, can I ask you something?”
“Huh?”
“Is there a legend about throwing the coin in the fountain and making a wish?”
“……?” The elf passing by laughed. “What are you talking about? There’s nothing like that. It’s just a fountain.”
“……”
“Why would anyone throw money in there?”
The three men were stunned as the NPC left. Then they started laughing. It was a refreshing laugh, compared to the nasty smiles they sent Yiyu and Stella.
The three men moved away from the square’s fountain.
In the place they left, the fountain, four gold coins shone brightly, adding another bright light to Maillard’s wonder.