2024-04-12 08:28:57
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Chances to Another Life 107. Mr. Gunter's Offers
"Celine!"I came out of my hut quickly to catch up with her, but the child immediately ran and slipped between the crowd of people in the market. I groaned in frustration. It had been two days since I'd returned from the forest and seen Celine battered, but as far as I'd gotten to talk to her and check on her, she'd always run away and not open the door when I knocked. When I purposely waited for her to come home from work, she would avoid me while quickly locking the door. This must have been doctrine from her mother, Anne must have told her to stay away from me. At this point, I wanted to hit her, but she was nowhere to be seen, not even in her house. Celine always came home in a dazed state and the bruises hadn't disappeared from her face, I was sure she had been beaten by Anne. This can't go on any longer. I considered following Celine to Mr. Nick's stall since she was still working there, in addition to Mr. Shuan's residence. However, I didn't want to be seen as a man chasing
Chances to Another Life 108. Anne's Mental Breakdown
It seems like today is lucky for me too because it's very quiet, not at the market, not with my neighbors' houses, everything is quiet. I don't know where people have gone, even though there are usually still people walking around during working hours like this, considering the number of housewives here. I scrunched my waist as I watched Anne who was still hissing out the word "lie". Never before had I cared about other people's problems, even if they happened in front of my eyes. However, I couldn't close my eyes anymore after the series of events I had experienced. I felt sorry for her and for Celine, even though I had never made a habit of feeling sorry for others. I followed Anne to sit on her knees so that she wouldn't feel intimidated. From this distance, I noticed that the skin on her face was unkempt with many small wounds, her hair was also like a broomstick presumably because she rarely washed it. Her lips were bleeding because she was always biting them, and her fingerna
Chances to Another Life 109. The Best I Could Do
As the days passed since the incident, I felt that the burden on my heart became a little relieved because I could express my understanding to Anne. On the other hand, that woman was still the same as before, she still worked at Mr. Shuan's house, got drunk at the pub and went home late, but I rarely heard her scold Celine even in her drunken state. If we crossed paths, Anne would still give me a disapproving look, but she didn't say anything. I also often saw snide looks thrown at Celine when they were talking. However, I took that as good progress. It's not easy to heal trauma, so I took it easy on Anne, as long as she wasn't violent anymore. "Celine! Are you going to work?" I caught up with the child who was walking ahead of me. Her expression had brightened up recently, and she smiled and nodded. "How about that novel? Wasn't it fun?" I asked, referring to the novel with the theme of a story about a golden laying goose and a farm boy. It wasn't thick in pages, and was suitable
Chances to Another Life 110. Unexpected Things
My mind wandered to various things; about my fate at the hands of the elves who were chasing after my mission to help Celine. The teapot of hot water kept pouring out until I shuddered as the water hit my hand. I then took the cup of lemon balm flower tea and sat under the window. It was already late and I had been idly daydreaming in Mr. Gunter's deserted stall. Several times the man had tempted me to break off his invitation to the city, but that didn't seem to be happening. I also thought it was useless to tell him that an acquaintance of his could remove the power of elves in humans; because the problem was not just with that power, but with myself! Duke Nephim had been targeting me from the start, thinking of me as his toy. He must have had a thousand tricks up his sleeve to trap me. I can't imagine if that happens, I'd rather fight with rebel ghosts than with the elves. Oh, don't forget, I don't want to meet the dragon shapeshifters either! I sipped the tea, the liquid warme
Chances to Another Life 111. Anne's Severe Ilness
"A-Anne, I don't understand. You're okay, right?" My mind turned blank at once. Anne looked healthy, well, even with her thin, dry body. However, I couldn't have predicted that she was suffering from a chronic illness. Apparently that's what the healer had kept secret when I asked yesterday. Anne cried silently, she then wiped her tears and looked like she was trying to be strong. "I did fall sick a few times, but I always treated it with medicine that can be bought at a stall and there was no problem whatsoever. However, in the past few days, my body condition has weakened so much that I can't even get out of bed. It didn't go away as long as I took the medicine, so I went to a healer. And, yes, he told me that I had a chronic disease in my intestines, and it had spread everywhere," she explained. I then sat beside her in frustration. "If it's chronic, then the doctor should have detected it when you collapsed at the party. But he said you were just tired! Are you sure he didn't m
Chances to Another Life 112. Try To Find A Way
I lounged in front of Mr. Gunter's deserted stall, there was only one customer who came to buy a dagger this morning, after which the shop was empty. The man who owns it was indifferent and chose to take a nap after leaving the stall to me. Ever since hearing yesterday that Anne won't be around much longer, I've been fretting every second. I don't know, I'm just afraid that if it happens in the near future, while I will definitely leave this world and Celine will be alone. I then sat down on the chair in front of the stall while pondering, I had tried to ask the omniscient Mr. Gunter how much the treatment for chronic diseases would cost, he said that it would require a lot of money because treatment was not enough just once. I considered exchanging some more gold coins to pay for Anne, because I was sure she didn't have much money for that, to the point of letting herself be gnawed by the disease all this time. I also didn't see Celine all day yesterday, more like I avoided her be
Chances to Another Life 113. Rest in Love
I just stood there with a blank stare, accompanied by a few other men and the faint sound of fire coming from the cremation ground. I tugged at the black mourning coat that Lord Crys had lent me with a sense of unease. Some of the guests tapped me on the shoulder to express their condolences, then they left me alone with only two cremation house attendants. I didn't know what was going on, really, it felt like my brain was spinning in circles as I couldn't accept the situation. After the healer spoke to me earlier, his disciple informed me that Anne was dying. I saw the woman, at the point of life and death, ruffle the hair of her only child who was crying hysterically. Anne looked peaceful with a smile on her pale lips. With her remaining strength, she turned to me with a gentle gaze. I knew exactly what it meant, she handed Celine over to me. Her condition at that time was like a corpse with sunken cheeks and blackened eyes. I even just stood trembling in the doorway, while Lord C
Chances to Another Life 114. All Of A Sudden
I only have an hour left in this Leaflim village. I've only been here for a few weeks, but it feels like I've already adapted to everything antique in this world. From the moment I met Celine, to working at Mr. Gunter's stall, everything felt good. I hugged Celine so tightly that the child had a questioning expression. Her face was red from crying and I didn't have the heart to break the news. I didn't want to just disappear and have her search for me in a state of grief. Ah, I thought I still had plenty of time. However, right after this mission was counted as complete, Solace immediately sent me to another place. How cruel of him, I didn't even awaken any power in this world other than the chance to fight Hydra. There were many things I wanted to say to Celine, but suddenly my throat was choked with tears. Looking at that innocent face, I couldn't bear to leave her alone in this world. Celine was alone, and I knew exactly how that felt. "Joe, you're crying." Celine gently wiped
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136. Lived the Life You Love
I gasped like a fish on land, truly, it felt like I would die on the spot as soon as I crossed paths with Solace. My knuckles were even colder, and my fingernails suddenly turned blue. Cold sweat poured down my back, and my chest was tight. This can't be a coincidence, there must be a purpose for Solace to appear like that, even though he never cared about me before. The grip on my shoulder reflexively made me jump. Leon was also surprised and released his hand on my shoulder with a worried expression. "Are you okay, Joe? You look sick all of a sudden," he said. I tried to neutralize my breathing and realized I was in an alert position, my hands clenched into fists as if ready to punch someone. Damn it, why is the effect of Solace's existence making me this anxious? "Oh, yeah, I'm just sleep-deprived," I boasted. Leon then gave me a bottle of mineral water and at that moment I realized that we had arrived at Mr. Jaden's residence, even the landlord had gotten off the carriage with
135. The Evidence
"From the report of the investigating team, it can be confirmed that there is no evidence whatsoever around the hut and the surrounding area. Even so, the charges will still be dropped because the defendant cannot defend his innocence."I immediately stood up with a fierce face surpassing Leon's lawyer who also showed an expression of shock. This old fart had really eaten bribe money! However, I then restrained myself after receiving a sharp glare from the judge. I wasn't afraid of him, but I kept my promise to Mr. Jaden who was now looking at me as if to imply to stay calm. Leon, on the other hand, just looked down and didn't answer any of the questions the magistrate threw at him, further corroborating the accusation. "That's not true, Your Honor Judge. Leon had a strong alibi at the time of the theft," argued the lawyer. Then, the head of the investigation team spoke up. "That still doesn't confirm anything. Who knows he may have destroyed evidence, because even Mr. Josse's res
134. The Investigation
By the authorities, the entire area from the cottage to the estate was heavily guarded by security guards in all black uniforms. No one was allowed in, except the investigation team who were carefully searching for evidence of the case. Mr. Jaden watched from his terrace with a hawk-like gaze. Mr. Josse and his henchmen had returned home after making a scene on the way here. This incident was more like a search of an accused smuggler or terrorist than a search for evidence of a missing diamond necklace. I let out a long sigh, remembering Leon who was still in temporary prison. He didn't deserve all this mistreatment. I kicked the scattered pebbles as I moved away from Mr. Jaden's employees who were whispering excitedly about this case. I was pessimistic about Leon's eventual fate at the hands of the judges who clearly favored Mr. Josse. I also didn't trust the authorities because they could have been bribed to fabricate evidence against Leon. I had to rely on my own two hands. I ce
133. Suddenly I'm in Court
"Your Honor, allow the witness to give his statement regarding this case and the accused." The man in the smart blue suit spoke with a very convincing and confident gesture. He gave me a quick glance as if to indicate that it was my turn to speak. The lawyer was directly appointed by Mr. Jaden to handle Leon's indictment case. That's right, last night I couldn't resist those rich men from searching my and Leon's cottage. As a result, all the contents of the cottage were taken out and left in ruins. I was worried that they would find my gold coin and accuse me of stealing it, but as it turned out... guess what? That gold coin wasn't anywhere! It seemed like Solace didn't include it because this was the last world before I returned to my original place. But, what right does he have to do that? I could have used that coin to bribe the judge so that this case would be over quickly and I wouldn't be looked down upon by those rich people sitting across from me. "Brother Joe, please give
132. The Wealthy Neighborhood
House—I mean, Mr. Josse's mansion was only two houses away from Mr. Jaden's residence. My guess must be correct that the countryside here is filled with wealthy landlords who own mansions and thousands of acres of land. If the countryside is like this, I wonder how life is in the city? Or are there narrow slum alleys like where I used to live. I parked the brown stallion pulling Mr. Josse's cart of ordered goods. I then ducked in front of his towering fence, trying to find the bell because there was no way I could just yell 'package'. Besides being rude, I'd only get a sore throat from it. Soon the gate was opened by two men dressed as servants. "Please take it directly to the back kitchen," one of them said. I pulled the horse's reins and entered the enormous courtyard, filled with well-decorated weeds, not to mention bonsai that I'm sure would be worth hundreds of dollars if sold. However, those bonsai seemed to be just yard ornaments that had no value here. I shook my head in a
131. I'm Close to the Trouble Makers
Fertilizing the fields turned out to be very tiring, I thought with my previous experience I would suddenly become turbo-charged, but it was the same with the scorching sunlight in the morning. I then put down the sack of stinky fertilizer, and endured the nausea while drinking soothing water. I'd been working since early morning, but this vast field seemed endless. Maybe it's because there are only two of us working, so it feels like it's taking forever. By the way, I'm a farm worker for a rich merchant with a gothic mansion-like house. It's quite a distance from the fields and the cottage, but it's clearly visible from here. I haven't met the owner either because it seems like the workers are scheduled to work at certain hours. I just followed along when my colleague said that the fields were ready to be fertilized. Now I'm just watching the man tirelessly working, since I came, he hasn't even sat down or had a drink of water. He was tall and strong looking, though. "Leon, take
130. Start A New Role
I'm now like a spirit floating through the air, passing through a line of soldiers to a small cemetery at the edge of a village in the middle of nowhere. Time in a vacuum is indeed different from time in the ordinary world, then it seems that I have passed through a lot of things because now Adam's body and the civilians who were hit by the bomb have been buried. I stare at the tombstone bearing my friend's name, along with a picture of him smiling slightly in his military uniform. He's exactly the Adam I saw last time, I've only known him for a short time but the sadness is overwhelming. The soldiers saluted and carried out the military funeral procession as a last respect with great solemnity. Next to Adam's grave, the graves of his other family members were lined up and I couldn't hold back the tears I had been holding back. They were good people, but why did they have to suffer such a tragic fate? I'm leaving this world, and Adam will never return to the military. He's now sett
129. Solace
Even though my vision wasn't completely clear, my body felt like it was moving on its own to beat up the Solace in front of me. I was sure I had exerted all my strength to give him the greatest punch of my lifetime, but all I felt was like punching a very hard wall. Solace was flat-footed, and the look in his eyes clearly showed that he was bored. I felt even more compelled to turn him into a punching bag. I punched again, several times, but to no avail, instead my knuckles turned red and cracked. "Crazy bastard." I cursed as I kept my distance from the creature. "How could you show up without a single guilty look? I know you're not human, but you're even worse than that."It hurt so much when I thought of Adam who had suddenly died at a young age, along with Celine who was alone, and Adellia with her destiny for the kingdom. "You seem to only want to make me a patient of the mental hospital after this. What help is that? It looks like I'm making their lives even more miserable!" I
128. I Wish I Could Run Away
I never took dreams seriously, but this time I really wanted to wake up and escape from everything that had happened. This memory was very vivid because of the pain I was still suffering all over my body after being bounced around by the bomb blast. Particles of dirt were wafting through the air so my vision was limited, but I could faintly hear screams and bodies clad in army uniforms in the distance. It would undoubtedly be fine if I got hit by a bomb, after all, I wouldn't be able to die. However, what bothered me the most was the sergeant's remark that Greenish had been destroyed. That was impossible. How could that be? According to the information I knew, Greenish and other food supply areas had very strict guards and not just anyone could enter there. I even had to go naked to be checked to make sure that I wasn't carrying anything suspicious when I visited the village with Adam. Then, at the same time, my eyes closed because it was so hard to maintain consciousness. I was
