Chapter 94 – The Great Crossing (9)

The disappearance of the elderly people who had been there at the beginning and end of the ember, and who could be called history itself, brought great chaos to the five hundred refugees.

To make matters worse, even Randolph, who should have held the center, wailed in grief, contributing greatly to the escalating chaos.

He had heard that Randolph’s father had been close friends with Dane, the oldest of the missing elders, and he had been the same.

After his father’s death, Dane, who had learned the management of the ember over his shoulder for a long time, had spared no advice or life guidance.

“I heard he was like a father to him. Lord Randolph is not a weak person, but having lost all of his flesh-and-blood sons and now even the person he regarded as a father, he had no choice but to break down.”

Natasha, who was watching those wailing and calling out the names of the elders, added.

Was it to fulfill her role as an agent, or was it just because of the kind of person she was?

In just a few days, she had formed a bond with the people of Randolph’s ember.

Of course, getting close to them was not a difficult task for Natasha.

Due to a certain incident, most of the members of Randolph’s group were women, and Natasha had shown the martial prowess of repelling the mutants with a woman’s body just like them.

It was impossible for those who had always been the objects of protection from external threats not to envy her.

However, I saw Natasha’s good nature as the real reason she captured their hearts.

“Return to your positions and prepare for the crossing. I will not say it twice. Move.”

Passing by Natasha, I shouted at them. Originally, it was a task Randolph should have done, but since he had completely collapsed after losing his support, I did it instead.

It was also necessary to meet the tight schedule.

But perhaps because I took on the role of the villain, the response I received was bitter.

“What a subhuman bastard. I should have known from the moment he said we should abandon the corpses and leave…!”

“Don’t speak so carelessly as if it’s someone else’s business! Even if it were your family that disappeared, could you still talk like that?!”

I had practically become a public enemy.

Just as a woman said, I was the one who suggested leaving the corpses behind, and I was the one who told them to disperse and return to their positions immediately regardless of their feelings.

I had no choice but to appear as an inhuman and emotionless person.

However, I did not care about such criticism.

The situation was already urgent, and if we buried the bodies, commemorated them, and did everything else, I would end up dead.

However, since there was no need to earn their hatred, I had to make a minimal excuse.

The answer to the question of the last woman, who brought up family in anger, was the beginning.

“Family? Who on earth here is not family?”

“…What?”

“If you entrusted your lives to me and followed me, if you are the people who will settle down and live in our ember, then we are already family. By what exactly are you distinguishing between family and non-family?”

“…”

The woman who had been pouring out bitter criticism until a moment ago was left speechless.

Not only her, but also everyone who had regarded me as an outsider… no, a villain, did the same.

“You may not have accepted me as family, but I have already accepted you as family. So I hope you will not doubt my sincerity.”

Only pushing forward inevitably causes a backlash.

Therefore, I took a step back and assumed a gentle attitude.

Seeing the expressions of the people who had looked at me like a demon soften, it was definitely effective.

“That you accepted us as family… how can we believe those words?”

In the much softer atmosphere, the woman, who still had not withdrawn her suspicious gaze, asked.

Without avoiding her sharp gaze, I calmly asked back.

“If I tell you in words, will you believe it?”

“…”

“Silence. Just as your answer suggests, family is not something that can be proven with empty words.”

In a relationship without trust, there is nothing less believable than words.

Whatever I said, they would not have believed it.

“Is that so… Yes, family is not joined by words.”

Perhaps because her point was hit, the vigilance that had been lurking in the woman’s eyes all along faded, and she even grew gentle.

The reaction was so dramatic that I was quite flustered.

“Let us let go of those who left and return to our positions. Won’t the elders’ sacrifice be meaningful only if we are alive?”

Whatever change of heart she experienced, the woman even took over the task I had to do.

It felt like my role was taken away, but since it was not a bad thing, I left it as it was.

Even if it was a necessary evil, playing the villain only stimulated resistance, and for now, when I had not earned their trust, the woman’s words would carry more weight than mine.

Indeed, without any complaints, the people returned to their positions and began to do what they had to do, such as cooking and packing.

On the surface, there was a strong sense that they were reluctantly enduring and following along because they could not let the elders’ sacrifice go to waste.

However.

“Everyone is proactive. I did not know you were such a good speaker. It is enough to make me understand what you said about becoming a leader, not a magic engineer.”

As Natasha, who followed like a shadow, said, the behavior of the people changed to be proactive.

Until now, they had been passive, showing clear signs of not wanting to do it, but now they were moving actively, even doing things they were not asked to do.

It was proof that my words had caused a major change in their hearts.

“Then please continue to help me well by my side like you are now. I ask this of you.”

“…Of course. I will actively cooperate until the day I leave, so do not worry.”

“Ah, yes. Until the day you leave…”

When I responded with a chuckle, Natasha paused for a moment and then answered.

I had tested her once, but looking at her reaction, it seemed I had only burdened her.

“Then shall we go prepare as well?”

“Yes, let us do that.”

Leaving my regret behind, I moved quickly.

Whether I used Jeremy or negotiated with Herman Melville to extend her lease period, I could always find a way.

What I had to worry about right now was finishing this crossing safely with the minimum number of casualties.

* * *

The occurrence of casualties caused by mutant wolves, and the sorrow and despair from the elders who had vanished without a trace.

Even amidst that, the march of the five hundred led by Expedition Leader Aylen Vale continued.

Perhaps because the protection of the missing elders was with them, they were not attacked during the march.

Of course, the wolf remnants that had not been dealt with were clinging to the rear of the column like leeches.

Bang—bang, bang, bang!

Jeremy Scott, who was in charge of guarding the rear, deterred their approach with a near-divine marksmanship that spanned dark vision and ultra-long distances.

The clever wolves had once bypassed him to loop around to the front, but standing firm there was an even greater monster: Aylen, a mana user.

Since the warning range covered by the two reached all directions, they could block mutants with warning shots alone unless they came in a pack.

However, there was something on the snowfield that even they could not block.

A nasty cold, body aches, and frostbite were exactly that.

“Cough, cough! Because of the… chills… I can’t… walk anymore…”

“I have no sensation in my feet. My boots are completely soaked, so I can’t walk any further…”

There was more than just one or two people crying out in pain, shivering all over in the extreme cold.

In reality, there was only a difference in the timing of whether one fell ill or not; there was no one who did not suffer from the cold.

Even if beasts or plunderers could be avoided, the cold was not something that could be escaped.

“Board the patients onto the off-roader.”

Whenever a patient emerged, Aylen put them in the off-roader and took immediate measures so their condition could improve.

Fortunately, perhaps, there was plenty of space thanks to the elders who had left voluntarily. Consequently, those showing mild symptoms were able to recover quickly in the warm interior.

However, the real reason illness was terrifying lay in its contagiousness.

“Lord Aylen, the number of patients has surged, so there is no more room to put them in the off-roader.”

Just as drivers Harley and Jenkins reported, the number of patients grew exponentially.

It was only natural, as is typical of infectious diseases, doubling from one to two, two to four, and four to eight.

“Let us tear out the seats to secure space.”

At least when the number did not exceed twenty, they could endure by tearing out the off-roader’s seats to make space.

However, reaching the limit of capacity took only an instant, and finally, the moment came when the march came to a halt.

It was a time when the number of patients had surpassed triple digits, and people began collapsing, unable to overcome illness and exhaustion.

“Lord Aylen, what will you do?”

“Aylen, you must make a decision.”

“Aylen, make a decision. We can no longer delay!”

Everyone, including the expedition members, looked only at Expedition Leader Aylen Vale, demanding an answer.

It was a point with four days left until arrival, and the snowstorm had reached right before their eyes.

At this rate, it was obvious everyone would die.

The patients who could not be accommodated had to be abandoned and left behind for the rest to survive.

Even in the midst of this, they had to select the patients to ride in the off-roader, determining priority by dividing them into categories based on gender, age, occupation, and so on.

But who would do that, and who could possibly do that?

No one would want to hold the power of life and death, deciding who dies and who lives by merely weighing utility when the weight of lives could not be measured.

The responsibility, resentment, and guilt that followed would not be something a human could bear.

“Aylen…”

Randolph, who was half-unconscious from a severe cold, stared at Aylen guiltily.

When he opened his eyes to the loud commotion, he saw that the people of his ember were shifting all that burden onto Aylen.

Originally, the person who should have stood in that spot was not Aylen, but Randolph himself.

But whether by choice or not, he was excused from responsibility under the pretext of being sick.

“I—I… it is what I… should be doing…!”

Randolph struggled to fulfill his role as a leader, even if only now.

However, though his eyeballs rolled around, he did not even have the strength to wiggle a finger.

The wounds from being beaten by the plunderers, which had broken his bones and mangled his flesh, had worsened due to the grueling march.

It was frustrating—his own situation of having no choice but to shift the responsibility.

Even so, all he could do was gaze at Aylen through the window.

“You said you would take responsibility! You promised to keep us alive and take us there somehow!”

“Rather than leaving living people behind instead of dead ones, it is better for all of us to die here. Let us die together, let us just all die together!”

The resentment toward him grew even fiercer.

Although it was not Aylen’s fault that the situation had turned out this way, their reason was paralyzed by this helpless situation.

Amidst that endless clamor demanding he take responsibility, Aylen opened his mouth.

“As long as I am alive, I will not abandon anyone. Whether alive or dead, we return to the ember together.”

Saying so, Aylen brought ropes and wooden planks from somewhere and began to weave them together.

Although crude, what began to quickly take shape was something that could be called a sled.

He began to lay the patients down on the makeshift sled, and then, hoisting the connected rope onto his shoulder, he spoke.

“We resume the march.”

Rumble, rumble—!

Simultaneously with those words, the off-roader moved forward.

Behind it, Aylen, carrying the sled, began to follow silently.

There was nothing he gave up on.