The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

39 – 10. The Path You Walked (1)

1.

His eyes closed.

His body felt like it was being pulled backward into the darkness, held by someone’s arms.

Then, he fell rapidly.

Even though nothing could be seen, the vivid sensation of falling down, down, was keenly felt.

Thud!

A strong force struck his back.

The sense of falling disappeared, replaced by a feeling of floating in deep water.

His body stiffened as if time had stopped.

It was just for a moment.

His body inverted and started rotating rapidly, as if being sucked into a tornado, spinning without any sense of direction.

It felt like someone was shaking his brain violently.

“Ugh…!”

As nausea overcame him, silence descended as if to say, “When did it ever leave?”

Unable to withstand the rotation, his mind, which had been dragged far away, returned to its place with a breath-like sigh.

The eyes opened.

It was darkness.

Utter darkness.

“…Have I entered?”

Had they successfully entered Lewen’s inner world?

Unable to be certain, for it was the first time.

Individuals differ, so does the shape of one’s inner world. Since it’s not standardized, precise judgment eluded them.

Evan slowly surveyed the surroundings.

Still just darkness…

The moment that thought crossed Evan’s mind, a white butterfly fluttered past him as if dancing. It flew a few paces away and hovered in place.

“…Is it asking me to follow?”

Evan approached the butterfly.

As he did, the butterfly started flying again.

Indeed, it seemed to beckon him to follow.

Evan cautiously trailed the butterfly, which seemed to guide him somewhere.

“Hm? Was this here before?”

With a blink, the butterfly vanished, and within the darkness stood an old wooden door, solitary.

Evan looked around swiftly.

There was no other choice.

He cautiously approached the wooden door and gripped the handle.

*Click*

Without turning the handle, the door opened, emitting a faint light through the crack. Orange rays stretched out like tendrils.

In this manner, the door swung wide open.

“Ah!”

Light flooded in, momentarily blinding Evan’s eyes, now adjusting to the darkness.

He shut his eyes tightly.

Light seeped through his eyelids.

Gradually weakening, it pulled Evan’s eyelids upward.

“Where is this…?”

It was a small, dingy room.

It was bone-chillingly cold, making one’s cheeks tremble with coldness.

“Cough…! Cough…!”

Instinctively, the gaze turned towards the sound of a cough.

There was a bed.

The blanket was tattered as if it had been patched multiple times.

Just by looking at it, one could imagine the circumstances of this household.

“Cough…!”

Another cough could be heard.

The owner of the cough covered their face with the blanket, leaving only their face exposed.

It was a young girl with black hair and golden eyes.

It was immediately apparent who this girl was.

“…Lewyn.”

Even though she had grown to about five years old, it was clear that the young girl was Lewyn.

Little Lewyn appeared to be in a bad condition.

Her round face was pale and haggard.

She was sweating cold sweat, struggling to catch her breath.

“What’s going on?”

I couldn’t understand the situation.

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Based on the circumstances, it seemed like I was witnessing Lewyn’s childhood.

However, since I had never heard Lewyn talk about her childhood, it was impossible for me to accurately determine what was happening right now.

Evan approached little Lewyn.

With tired eyes, little Lewyn seemed to be wandering in her thoughts.

If it’s a high fever, I can cure it with recovery magic…

As Evan was about to place his hand on little Lewyn’s forehead, the door suddenly swung open and a man and woman entered, gasping for breath.

“Oh! No, it’s not a suspicious person, so please calm down!”

“Lewyn!”

Ignoring Evan, who raised his hands in defense, the man with black hair carefully lifted little Lewyn as if handling fragile pottery.

“Put this on.”

The man dressed little Lewyn in a thick coat.

“Where… Where are we going…?”

Little Leuen lifted his eyelids with difficulty and asked, “Shall we go to the temple now? You can receive treatment.”

“No, I won’t go!”

Little Leuen twisted his body, stubbornly refusing to go.

“They say they can cure the illness, Leuen. You can get better,” the woman urged this time.

“I won’t go! I don’t have to go!”

Evan couldn’t understand.

Why was he insisting on not going?

Even if he didn’t know what illness Leuen had, going to the temple could provide treatment. Depending on the illness, even if it couldn’t be completely cured, it could help maintain health.

It’s better to go when you’re sick; there’s nothing good about not going.

The woman’s following words resolved Evan’s confusion.

“Leuen, don’t worry about money. That’s a problem for Mom and Dad to take care of. You just need to think about getting better. Okay?”

If you receive treatment at the temple, you have to pay for it.

Poor people cannot afford the expensive treatment at the temple, so they resort to village doctors or traditional remedies to cure illnesses.

However, those methods naturally don’t compare to receiving treatment with divine power from the temple. Moreover, there are limits to the diseases they can treat. On the other hand, the temple can cure almost any illness.

Is there anything else to say when you can reattach a severed limb as good as new?

“You can be happy even if you’re poor. But if our daughter is sick, we can’t be happy.”

You don’t need a close look to see that this house is poor.

Just by looking at the cold room, you can tell that the situation is not conducive to receiving treatment at the temple.

But treatment at the temple is possible?

To cure their daughter’s illness, the parents, already burdened by poverty, must have incurred more debt.

Little Leuen knows.

To treat her illness and improve their household situation, they need to borrow money from others. And it becomes a burden for their parents, something she seems to understand at the age of five.

There was a long persuasion.

Leuen stubbornly resisted, not wanting to be a burden to her parents, but she eventually lost consciousness and headed towards the temple.

The world flickered.

Darkness returned.

“…Why are you showing me this?”

Without a chance to think, another door appeared in front of Evan.

Evan opened the door and went inside.

There was no other choice anyway.

2.

After receiving treatment at the temple, Lwen’s health improved.

Although it was a terminal illness, after being hospitalized at the temple for a few days and receiving massages with divine power, her body quickly recovered.

Little Lwen returned home after being discharged.

Her daily life had changed significantly before and after her illness.

Firstly, she had less time to spend with her parents.

Her parents were always busy.

Her adventurer father went out on quests without taking a single day off, and her mother earned extra money by taking care of their recently born son.

At the same time, they made an effort to spend time with Lwen as before.

They consumed themselves to ensure that they could live without lacking anything.

Lwen was not unaware of her parents’ hard work.

The matured young girl was no longer a child since returning from the temple.

She did not play with the children in the village.

She made an effort to help her parents and not be a burden to them.

To do that, she needed to suppress her own emotions.

She pretended not to be hungry even when she ate less at lunch.

She pretended not to be envious when she saw other girls jumping around happily with dolls given by their parents.

“Lwen, your birthday is coming up. Is there anything you want as a gift?”

Her father asked with a kind smile.

She had so many things she wanted.

She wanted dolls and pretty ribbons to tie her hair. She even wanted a fluttering dress.

She would be happy with food as well.

She dreamed of eating so much meat until her stomach was full and tasting a sweet cake.

But such things would only burden her parents.

It would be of no help to her parents.

“…I want to learn swordsmanship from Dad.”

That was what she had thought of after contemplating.

Swords are scary.

Just seeing a sharp blade in the sky makes my heart skip a beat.

Even the mere thought of imagining something that harms life makes me nauseous.

However, without spending a dime, the most practical thing was to learn swordsmanship.

By learning swordsmanship and becoming an adventurer as soon as possible, I could be of some help to my parents.

There were other ways to make a living, but choosing the path of an adventurer seemed more lucrative than taking on side jobs.

“Don’t mention it often. Only when Dad has time, occasionally, occasionally.”

Levyn added this, fearing that even this might be burdensome.

“Do you really want to learn swordsmanship?”

His father asked Levyn.

“Be honest, Levyn. This birthday, I want to give our princess a pretty dress.”

Levyn shook her head hesitantly.

“No… that doesn’t suit me.”

Levyn faced her father, forcing a fake smile while suppressing her true emotions.

“I like swordsmanship.”

Evan, witnessing all of this, feeling a deep sigh, turned his head and entered the next room.