The Blind Saint Who Can See - Chapter 66
Only Noblemtl
#66. Desert Night (1)
The ambitiously prepared wagon sinks deep into the harsh sandy terrain.
Eventually, we loaded a mountain of luggage onto one camel, and Liliana and I boarded the remaining one.
It may seem unfair, but the two men who endured the hot heat and kept going surprisingly had no complaints.
Of course.
If you have a conscience, you should walk, right?
After riding a camel, walking, and resting repeatedly, we ended up sleeping in the middle of the desert… no, camping.
There are two tents.
For men and women.
Of course, both tents were pitched by men. One was for the precious princess and the other was for a blind man (*lol), so it can’t be helped.
*笑: laughter. An internet term used in Japan, translated as ‘laughter’. It has a stronger connotation of a mocking or self-deprecating smile than a bright smile. It is also used instead of 笑 because it looks similar to the Korean word ‘쏯’.
And night.
When it was Liliana’s night watch time, I pretended to be awake and sneaked out of the tent.
“Liliana? Are you there?”
“… Oh, you’re awake.”
She, who had been guarding the campfire, turned around. I pretended to find her voice, put on my shoes, and sat down next to her.
Then she freaks out.
“What sandy floor…! There’s a chair over there, but don’t sit down.”
“I can’t see you. I’m sorry.”
“Huh.”
Liliana, who suddenly said something similar to “You should look ahead and live” to the blind man, closed her mouth.
“… Sit over here.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Liliana, at a loss, carefully sat me down on the chair.
“… … .”
“… … .”
After that, we sat there blankly for a while, listening to the sound of the campfire.
I adjusted my vision with my clairvoyance skill and looked up at the sky. I saw countless stars pouring down.
Ah. Stargazing.
I really like it.
When I was little, I would go to my grandmother’s house to play and look up at the sky, always trying to find constellations.
Even after growing up, I still took quite an interest in star hopping.
In winter, when the stars are clearly visible, I look at the sky and see Betelgeuse, Sirius, Procyon…
However, the constellations here are different.
Memorizing the planet’s constellations was really fun. The best part was that no matter where you were in the world, the stars were always in the same place.
Whenever I was abroad for a long time, either for an academic conference or on a business trip, I felt reassured just by looking at the stars.
The moon is really big today. I wonder if my family is looking at the same sky?
That’s what I thought.
But when I stare at the night sky here, I realize with a painful realization that this is a completely different world from my hometown.
…I feel a little bit bad.
It’s useless sadness.
Things to do. Let’s do what we have to do.
“Liliana.”
“hmm?”
“Take this.”
I returned the elixir that Liliana had handed over to me in the morning.
Actually, when I first received the elixir, I thought it would heal my legs.
That was until I found out how I got the elixir.
Because I was shocked the whole time I was listening to the whole story.
If I had to sum up my feelings in one word.
‘No, is this okay?’
It was.
As someone who knows the storyline of the anime, I was able to figure out the whole story with just a little bit of storytelling.
So now, it seems like Izumi abandoned Daphne.
And yet Liliana received the elixir.
‘So sweet.’
Anyway, it’s a slope.
And also the magic circuit recovery?
The magic circuit is completely different from the physical body. So I thought it wouldn’t work with the elixir, but if it was developed for the purpose of circuit healing in the first place… … Of course, it should go back to Liliana.
Even if a great miser came, he would have returned it to her, shouting, “How can you put up with a free cannon?”
Anyway, thanks to you.
“Liliana, write it.”
I could give up the elixir without a moment’s hesitation.
“But, if you have the elixir, you can cure your eyes… … .”
“no.”
What can I do with my eyes fixed?
It’s all visible anyway. There’s no disadvantage of not being visible, but it has the advantage of earning sympathy and respect, so fixing it was a debuff.
But since this explanation was not convincing, I decided to use the opportunity to win over Liliana’s favor.
“A broken magic circuit is an incurable disease that will cause you to suffer for the rest of your life. … Weren’t you in a lot of pain last night?”
She flinched at those words.
It can’t be helped.
The reason I was able to treat the Black Death patients while writhing in pain was because the cause and goal were clear.
Because we could brainwash ourselves into thinking that present suffering was for future happiness.
Besides, I could always cut off my suffering with my own hands. If I ever got really tired, which I never would have done, I could just give up and rest.
However, Liliana is different.
A bottle is just a bottle.
You must suffer in vivid pain every minute and every second until you die. In this world filled with magic, there is no greater punishment than that.
So it was right to give this elixir to Liliana.
‘It’s a shame that I can’t fix my leg.’
I… … If I really need to, I can just die once and come back to life.
Even if I can’t fix it, it doesn’t matter. I have no intention of living with this body forever anyway.
I handed her the elixir.
“So, Liliana, drink.”
“Justinas.”
“If Liliana isn’t going to use it, I’ll just break it.”
Of course I have no intention of really breaking it.
This is just wild nonsense.
Liliana would know him too.
“… … .”
She bit her lip as if holding back something. Her gorgeous expression turned into a frown.
They say a beautiful woman is beautiful even when she frowns.
As I was looking at the various faces that were my taste in many ways, she lowered her head and spoke softly.
“Wouldn’t you think about it a little more… a little more? A chance like this might never come again.”
“That’s okay.”
“Eyes!”
She shouted at Barak.
“You can get your eyes back. But why would you blow this great opportunity?”
“Liliana.”
I comforted her affectionately.
“It’s a precious opportunity for Liliana as well. It’s the only chance for me to restore my magical circuits, which even I, an adult, cannot fix.”
I don’t find it annoying.
She was the one who pointed out my ‘excessive utilitarianism’ in the previous palace. She stopped at that, but who knows if she was suspicious on the inside.
For example, ‘There’s no way someone could be this kind. … Maybe he wants something else?’
Previously, I didn’t completely dispel her doubts. To be exact, it would be more correct to say I didn’t.
Well, her suspicions were correct.
Justinus is good. But the human being who wears Justinus’s shell is not good at all.
I simply judge everything in the world based on my own desires and only on the ‘life-saving’ criteria recognized by the system.
The unconditional sacrifice of cattle for the sake of the generation.
This kind of thinking would certainly be dangerous.
So, this is the opportunity to blow them all. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to completely take down Liliana.
Look at it now.
Trembling hands. Closed lips. Ruby eyes filled with confusion.
Plus a clear sense of guilt.
Oh, right.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to touch on the guilt side more.
I snapped back in a slightly fresh tone, but in a way that made it clear that my acting was poor.
“If I continue to stick with Liliana, I’ll get sick instead. Wouldn’t it be better for all of us to drink the elixir quickly?”
“…ah.”
A low sigh echoed through the desert night.
“That’s it, I. So.”
Liliana wandered for a long time in the chilly air. Her hands floated helplessly in the air, and soon she covered her mouth with a swallowing sound.
‘Fall… … success?’
Do you think that will be enough?
As soon as I made up my mind, my hands went straight to the elixir.
Pong.
The cork that was blocking the glass bottle opened. Liliana, who was particularly sensitive to sound, raised her head.
Her eyes are red, as if she had sniffled.
“Okay, hurry up.”
“That’s, ah. Uh.”
“If I don’t drink it quickly, it’ll spill? Are you going to throw away the precious elixir?”
Despite my urging, Liliana just stared blankly at the bottle I held out to her with her pretty red eyes.
But that too for a moment.
I hold the bottle with trembling hands.
If you keep doing that, it’s going to pour down.
Then it’s a real disaster.
As I was wondering if I should hold on to him even if it meant enduring the awkwardness of acting like a blind person, my trembling gradually subsided.
His expression also gradually became calm.
‘hmm?’
It’s a bit unexpected.
Given Liliana’s personality, I was afraid that if I gave her the elixir back, she would feel so guilty that she would deify me.
Maybe he was like Cedric, a dog on a leash in front of me, or maybe he was like a cat this time, struggling.
But this time, it seems I was wrong.
“sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about-”
“I tested you.”
“…yes?”
what?
“At first, I planned to drink the elixir straight away. But then I had this thought.”
“… … .”
“It’s a panacea that the elves have been researching for hundreds of years. If you miss this chance, you’ll never get another chance to unmask someone as good as you.”
I was speechless.
Expression, what does my expression look like?
It’s strange that my expression doesn’t change even when I hear things like, “Consciously adjust the fine muscles of your face.”
Open your eyes slightly wide.
I was surprised, but I wasn’t angry.
Not Yuna but Justina.
The unwavering determination that has been built up for over ten years is slowly being revealed.
So when I put on the perfect mask.
“So I tried it.”
Liliana accepted the elixir.
“Would a ‘saint’ who willingly sacrifices her minority for the greater good even throw away the chance to cure her own eyesight? Isn’t that a truly interesting topic?”
but…….
Yeah, I admit it.
This one hit the mark.
Liliana sighed as she looked at him with a bitter smile on her face.
“The result is this.”