After the Ending, I Want to Die Too

Chapter 2

Episode 2

“It’s been a long day.”

Hestia muttered something meaningless to herself and gently pulled the child down and onto her back. Her legs shook with the exertion.

One foot in front of the other, she pushed her way into the hut and almost effortlessly laid her down on the bed.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of weight for a little one.”

Hestia stretched her stiff back and lit a candle.

Slowly removing the old cloth wrapped around the child, Hestia was able to examine him more closely.

“A boy.”

Hair the color of a dark dawn sky, navy blue, covering his forehead. A thin build, neatly dressed in what at first glance looked like commoner’s clothing but was made of soft materials.

And.......

“Blood?”

Blood stained the cloth that surrounded the child and every inch of her clothes.

I gasped in surprise and examined the child’s body, but fortunately, I didn’t see any major wounds other than minor cuts.

“I was afraid you were making another grave.”

Hestia let out a short breath of relief, calming her racing heart.

She pulled an herbal salve from her bedside drawer and applied it to the child’s wounds before leaving the room.

The inside of the house was as neat and organized as the outside.

The dining table was covered with a green checkered tablecloth, the plates were arranged neatly, and the yellow flowers were in an old vase.

It was Hestia’s ‘home‘ with all the signs of life.

“Huh, if only I could die in this.”

Sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, Hestia leaned over the table and spat out her habitual words.

If I say I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die. .......

Hestia’s face was exhausted. Whether it was the child, the life she had lived, or the deaths she had seen, she did not know.

Her eyelids drooped heavily, and she closed her eyes with a heavy thud.

There was so much to do, so much to think about, but time had no meaning to Hestia, and she was in no hurry.

* * *

“......hmm.”

Hestia forced her eyelids open only after a beam of light tapped against them.

“......Same thing today.”

It was a phrase she must have uttered a million times.

It’s been...... almost three hundred years since I entered this world.

I had long since given up counting days pointlessly, so I couldn’t even guess my age anymore.

Hestia sat up. It must have been well past noon, judging by the light streaming into the house. The house was surrounded by dense shade from the trees, so it was not until the middle of the day that the light came into the house.

“Perhaps the child is awake.”

Hestia cautiously opened the door to the child’s room.

The old iron clanked loudly in the silence. It hadn’t been this bad yesterday, but it had gotten damp again in the past few hours.

“How long has it been since you oiled it?”

Tsk. Hestia clicked her tongue low, then swung the door wide open.

“Huh? You’re up.”

The child facing her looked like a cat with sharpened fur. His golden eyes were like the sun shining down on her.

“Hello, child.”

Hestia held up her hands and stopped short, not moving any closer.

“I brought you to me after you fell in the woods yesterday, and I wonder if you remember anything at all?”

The child didn’t speak, only his golden eyes darkening as he stared at Hestia.

The man’s previously impassive brow twitched at the unpleasant sound that filled the room.

The Templar laughed for a moment, then spoke again.

“I knew you would. I wanted to be your deputy so I could see this far ahead.”

“If you’ve finished, I’ll leave you to it, for I have much to attend to.”

The deputy pretended not to hear him and started to stand up, but the Templar stopped him.

“Very well, then.”

With a thud, the heavy body fell onto his back. A trace of laughter lingered on his thick-fleshed face.

“Find the Second Prince, the future of the Empire, so that he may return safely to the palace. Isn’t that the job of our knights? I command you as First Knight Commander.”

The emerald eyes sunk coldly. The man’s fists clenched so tightly that his blood rushed to his knuckles.

“Your orders, I will carry them out.”

He spoke in his usual sterile tone and turned away.

The man grabbed the doorknob and was just about to turn.

“Ah. As one who has lived longer than you, I have some advice.”

The Templar clicked his tongue at the man and spoke in a patronizing tone.

“If you stay straight, you’ll break.”

His hand tightened on the doorknob.

There was no longer any sign of the man he had once admired. Only an ugly human being, sickened by the taste of power and greed.

His pale green eyes were filled with unconcealed irritation and contempt.

“......Thanks for the advice, sir.”

He finished meekly, trying to suppress them.

Dulcock.

As he pushed open the door to his office, one of the knights waiting outside recognized him.

“You don’t look well, sir.”

To others, he looked unremarkable, but the knight who had served him for years was quick to recognize his mood.

“Ming. I’m looking for the Second Prince .......”

“I‘ll be ready.”

The deputy’s order was short, and the knight who heard it left without asking any questions.

* * *

With a hiss, the door opened with an old clank, and Hestia reappeared in the room.

The boy curled into a tight ball, his hands clutching the covers. He was alert and ready to flee at any moment.

Hestia smiled brightly at him.

“I specially roasted a sparrow, don’t you think it smells good?”

Her tone was girlish and out of place.

A small curiosity peeked through the boy’s sharp guard.

“Oh, you can leave without eating if you like, though it’s mating season for wild boars, so it’s best to stay away from them.......”

Turning to the boy, who still seemed unmoved, Hestia shrugged and took a step away from the doorway.

“You’re free to leave, but the exit is that way, and if you do, I want you to go as far as you can. I don’t want to make any more graves. It’s a lot of work.”

The boy’s body twitched as he saw Hestia reach out and point to the exit. He seemed to be debating whether to run or not.

At that moment.

Kaaang!!!

The forest shook with the ferocious cry of a beast. The fluttering of birds’ wings as they rushed to feed added to the terror of the unseen presence.

The boy’s eyes widened, alert and fearful, and he huddled in the corner of the bed, looking around urgently.

“What’s wrong, ......I’m kicking you out of my house.”

Hestia mumbled something to no one in particular, her discomfort evident.