Gun of Ashes

”Sounds pretty good.”

Lorenzo smiled, his gaze drifting elsewhere before returning.

”Actually, I don’t really care about that anymore, the truth or the source. I just want to end this cycle.”

”You look like someone who’s fulfilled his life’s goals. Are you planning to die next?”

Bola had read similar stories; when someone fulfills all their wishes, they’re almost ready to die.

”No, just feels pretty good.”

Lorenzo suddenly turned his head, precisely catching the gaze that had been secretly watching him. The other party hadn’t expected Lorenzo to react so quickly and hastily looked away, leaving Lorenzo laughing heartily alone.

”Did you smoke too much Wind Tobacco?”

Seeing Lorenzo in this odd state, Bola asked.

”No, it just feels nice being watched, Bola.”

Lorenzo put away his smile and spoke calmly.

...

”Are you looking at... ’Victoria’s Secret’?”

Hebdo clutched his head, glancing at the girl sitting next to him. She was holding and reading the book silently, like a delicate porcelain doll.

”Yeah, I got it from you.”

Selyu shifted her gaze back down to the book.

”Oh, I haven’t really read it, or maybe I did and forgot.”

These days, his memory seemed soaked in alcohol, bizarre and overlapping with reality like a nightmare.

”But I still remember the plot of the previous one... Ah, I wonder how those two who eloped are doing. Where are you up to?”

Hebdo and Selyu chatted casually. Although Selyu was Duke Stuart, her low-key presence and the influence of alcohol made Hebdo completely indifferent to her status.

In fact, the main thing was that neither Lorenzo nor Bola seemed to care about Selyu’s identity, not even Selyu herself.

”The happy times are over. The road ahead is full of thorns and suffering.”

Hebdo murmured lowly, chaotic memories tangling together. In a trance, he felt he was back on that ship, setting out with Erin and others, full of hope to rescue Ivar.

But Ivar ended up dead.

”About to reach the end, do you need me to spoil it for you?”

Selyu asked. Everyone was busy, only the two of them sitting here, passing the idle time.

”Go ahead, nothing else to do anyway.”

Hebdo didn’t mind; there was nothing serious he could do now, even listening to Selyu telling this, he might not remember it.

”The girl and the boy fled to another city. Their money soon ran out, so they had to work while continuing to escape.”

Selyu explained to Hebdo.

”It was a pleasant time, though tough. They both experienced real life and cherished this time.”

”And then?”

”Then the girl was caught. Her family found her, locked her in a hotel, preparing to leave the next day. The boy wasn’t caught, but there was nothing he could do.”

Selyu said expressionlessly. She had read lots of books and seen many strange stories. This book’s story wasn’t interesting, even quite cliché, far less captivating than Oscar’s ’Demon Hunting and Monster Slaying Chronicles.’

Every time she read that book, thinking of the prototype of the story, Selyu couldn’t help but laugh, affecting her so much she couldn’t finish a book normally, becoming more out of character the more she read.

”Oh? Is it going to be a heroic rescue?”

Hebdo perked up. Heroic rescues, mighty saviors descending from the sky, such things always excite people.

”No, the girl knows what kind of guy the boy is. Thinking back to the night of their elopement, she was actually scared, afraid the boy would reject her. That’s why she said those half-threatening words, thinking the boy left with her for that reason.

During their time together, she realized all this, but she hoped she could change the boy, make him courageous, but unfortunately, she never did in the end...”

”No, no, no, this isn’t quite right, is it?”

Hebdo felt like he was being tricked, having waited so long only for this ending.

”It’s about right. Now the plot is that the girl has been taken out of the city, on her way home.” Selyu flipped through the pages, only a few left to finish the book, ”Just a few pages left, there probably won’t be any turnaround, right?”

Selyu was about to continue reading but then noticed Hebdo’s face filled with dead seriousness.

This... Viking really likes this story, huh...

”Are you okay?”

”Nothing, nothing, on second thought, this is reality, right? After all, it’s a novel, not a fairytale.”

Hebdo consoled himself, but judging from his somewhat twisted expression, he was slightly hurt.

”I quite like this book. It reminds me of the past.”

Hebdo turned his head, looking at Selyu, clear eyes like a mirror reflecting Hebdo’s awkward appearance.

”Didn’t expect, even someone like Lorenzo would have people who like him. Is there something wrong with your head?”

Hebdo’s words caught Selyu off guard; her expression control slipped entirely, panicking.

”I... I...”

”I can tell from your eyes, girls used to look at me like that too. It’s just a pity I was an idiot, didn’t go with her. Otherwise, I wouldn’t regret it so much now.”

Hebdo’s consciousness was fuzzy, blinking hard, but his mind remained blurry.

”Even though now it’s all about free love, I still suggest seeing a doctor. This kind of thing doesn’t seem right, does it?”

Mentioning Lorenzo, Hebdo’s disgust was palpable, not that he thought Lorenzo was a scumbag or anything, Hebdo just purely felt that this sort of thing was far removed from Lorenzo, so distant that there was no trace of it on Lorenzo.

It was the first time Selyu felt verbally overwhelmed; she was about to say something, only to be blocked by Hebdo again.

”You think, why is a Viking like me so sentimental?”

”I didn’t ask!” Selyu silently protested.

”We are people too, despite a different living environment, we’re essentially human; emotions and desires are all common... It’s just that some of us aren’t good at expressing these.”

Apparently, the story’s ending truly hurt Hebdo. Who would’ve thought beneath that massive physique was such a soft heart, leaving Selyu completely stunned, not knowing how to counter.

”Ah... Do you think if I drink a bit more, I might forget this?”

Hebdo tried using alcohol to forget these awful memories, but then came the sound of lively footsteps.

”Hebdo!”

Familiar shouting, with an annoying tone, as Lorenzo skipped over and landed beside Hebdo.

”You’re going to...”

Before finishing ”do what”, Hebdo felt a slight sting at the neck, and the chaos in his mind began to clear.

”I just remembered, Florun Potion should work as a hangover cure, right?”

As Lorenzo spoke, he acted, injecting a Florun Potion into Hebdo.

The dreadful memories gradually became clear, story details incredibly vivid, and soon Hebdo realized he had been spouting nonsense to Selyu...

He dared not turn back to see Selyu’s expression, hearing something crumbling. The mighty Viking warrior, in such a sorry state.

Hebdo stared at Lorenzo, opening his mouth attempting to shout miserably, but suppressed it, collapsing against the side lifelessly.

”What’s wrong with you? Side effects?” Lorenzo tapped the Florun Potion.

”No... I’m thinking.”

Hebdo said in despair.

”Do you think Odin would enjoy reading knight novels?”

”Huh?”