Chapter 108

(Cody’s POV)

Having confirmed that Finnegan had regained consciousness, Cody left the room with Harold, while feeling useless and ashamed. He was waiting for the atmosphere to be a little less intense before explaining everything to Finnegan and his wife.

After returning to the living room, he sat down on a chair and let out a long sigh.

Seeing him like this, Harold spoke to him in his usual tone, with no regard for his state of mind.

“Satisfied now?”

“Ah well… To be honest, I wanted get this done without bringing any trouble your way, and yet here we are…”

“You can only blame yourself for being a weakling.”

“That I am. Sorry… and thank you. Sincerely.”

Cody bowed deeply. Not only had he ended up making Harold help Finegan, but he had even made him use the sword that drained his life. It was because he knew about this aspect of the sword that Cody wanted to handle the situation with his own hands. He had promised himself that he would not depend on Harold this time.

(In the end, I still left everything to him. I don’t know if I should say I’m shameless or just the worst…)

Cody was not the type to get preachy or says things like ‘I’m the adult here’. Even so, there was still a reasonable limit to how much he could accept. That was why he had been so adamant on stopping Harold from intervening.

However, when that sword dropped to the ground and Harold picked it back up to save Finnegan himself, Cody had surrendered.

He had surrendered to Harold’s strength and kindness. But more than anything, he had surrendered to his own weakness.

“I don’t want your meaningless grat.i.tude. Well, if you do feel like you owe me, then I guess I’ll just have to work you to the bone from now on.”

“Hahahaha… Please go easy on me.”

‘Alright, he wins, I admit defeat’ Thought Cody. This was not a simple question of being physically stronger or weaker.

Harold had probably used words of encouragement because he had guessed that Cody was sincerely beating himself over what had happened this time.

It was almost a wonder who was older than who here.

Harold always had a mature personality since the day Cody first met him, but now that he was a young man, he exuded a kind of special presence and charisma. He was a hero of Vincent’s caliber, or perhaps even greater.

‘Tough break for common sense, this guy’s just something else’Sighed Cody in his mind.

“Well, anyway, we should get some rest.”

It was already very late at night.

Looking for an inn at this time of the day was not a realistic option. Besides, in the first place, it would be ridiculous to arbitrarily leave the house now given that they had to explain everything to Finnegan and his wife once the sun would rise.

“You took care of everything here so you can have the sofa. I can sleep on this chair or on the floor, I don’t mind.”

Cody stretched himself and yawned. Rather than saying he felt sleepy, it was more accurate to say he was worn out.

Due to his profession, he was confident in the strength of both his mind and body, but it seemed like the mere act of grabbing that sword had drained him of every bit of his energy. Thinking that this might be what it felt like to have one’s life essence drained, Cody felt shivers down his spine.

And when he thought of Harold, who could casually wield such a weapon with a calm expression on his face, he felt kind of afraid. He did not understand how Harold could do this. ‘If you keep letting it drain your life, the only thing waiting ahead of you will be certain death. Aren’t you scared?’

Of course, even Cody would never say something so insensitive out loud.

“Oh wait, you’re not one of those guys who absolutely can’t sleep on a sofa, right? Well, you do come from n.o.ble birth.”

Though he was the one saying it, it was hard for Cody to believe that Harold was that delicate. He seemed like the type who could fall asleep in the middle of a pitch-black forest while standing up.

‘…Hold on, that’s not it. Why is he being so silent? Is he ignoring me? Man, that hurts.’ Thinking so, Cody turned towards Harold’s direction, only to find him very intensely staring at a letter. It was unclear where he had gotten it from.

Seeing him in such an unusual state, Cody hesitated to call out to him.

But while he was stuck hesitating, Harold roughly put the letter in his pocket and turned around.

“Something urgent came up. I’m leaving.”

“You’re leaving now?”

“I’ll let you do the explaining to those two. But don’t say anything unnecessary, you hear me?”

“I guess that’s fine, but don’t you want to say anything to them?”

“…From now on, you’re free to live as you will. Tell them that.”

The second he said that, Harold immediately rushed out of the house, not giving Cody any time to even try to stop him.

Left in the living room by himself, Cody could only look on in a daze.

He did not know exactly why Harold had left, but he knew he was a busy man; it couldn’t be helped if he had some urgent business to take care of.

Besides, Cody did not mind explaining everything to the couple himself. However, the problem was that there was no one left to receive their grat.i.tude for saving Finnegan.

While he was busy worrying about what he was supposed to do, someone suddenly called out to him from behind the chair he was sitting on.

【”Mister Cody.”】

【”Oh hey, little Sarah. I’m sorry, I guess I woke you up.”】

Standing there in her pajamas was Finnegan’s daughter, Sarah.

It seemed like Cody had been making a little too much noise. He wondered if he should explain the situation to her right away seeing as she was already awake, but Sarah started speaking before he could say anything to her.

【”You’ve done well. However, you have another role to play now.”】

【”…Sarah?”】

Something was odd. It was not just her way of speaking, nor was it her gaze that was locked right on him yet felt like it was peering into an empty void.

Something was amiss. It was like a fundamental part of her was out of place.

However, Cody did not know what it was. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of any answer, it was as if his brain was refusing to think.

Sarah slowly walked closer to him, one step at a time. Her behavior was obviously not normal, but as she stared through him with her sky blue eyes, Cody found himself unable to move.

(Sky-blue…? No, the color of her eyes is supposed to be…)

Before Cody could fully remember, something blocked his vision. The small palms of Sarah’s hands covered his eyes.

He could tell from the soft touch of her hands on his forehead that his eyes were being covered. Even so, his body remained petrified.

【”What are you doing to…”】

Before he could finish his question, everything in his field of vision turned black.

【”You’ll make for another fine trial for him.”】

The voice that reached his ears right before he lost consciousness was fuzzy. It was stuck somewhere between Sarah’s regular voice and the voice of an adult man.

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