Chapter 191: Four Months

Home

What is “Home” truly?

There are many different answers.

In the literal definition, home is just a claimed physical place of shelter and habitation, a structure built or chosen to protect its occupants from the outsider elements, to provide rest, warmth, and storage for sustenance.

However, not all people care about the literal definition.

For some, it’s the place they were born in. It represents their identity and origin, like a country or a village. Homelessness is losing the place where you took your first steps into this world.

For some, it’s belonging. A place in which you are accepted, where you don’t need justification for your presence. It’s the feeling of being mentally and spiritually connected to a tradition, a community, or even a small group. Homelessness is the tragic loss of having a legitimate place in the world.

For some, it’s safety. The house and the roof protecting you from the rains and dangers, the parents making sure you won’t be hurt, the soldiers fighting in a war to prevent the enemies from harming their beloved, or even a pet that keeps you sane in your hardest moments. Homelessness is having nothing to keep you safe.

For some, it’s people. A family, a friend, a lover, a son, a daughter. So long as they have the people they care about, anyplace can be called “home”. Homelessness is lacking affection.

For some… it’s an illusion. Home isn’t real, just a lie that your brain makes to give you comfort. Homelessness is impossible, because there were no real homes to begin with.

Every person has their own definition of home. Even if you believe in than one definition, no one can say you are wrong.

Do you have a home? Or… are you still searching for one?

If you have one, you may not realize its true value and meaning.

But for those who have been homeless for so long have just found one, they are ready to do anything to protect their homes.

Anything.

❖→Volume 3: «Home, Sweet Home»←❖

════════════════

“Fafnir!”

In a big tent, an old man called Fafnir’s name loudly, holding a large piece of paper and looking at a crowd of people.

From the crowd, a young man stepped forward, raising his hand to get the man’s attention.

He had a lean muscular figure and sharp, extremely handsome facial features. His long white hair cascaded down his shoulders, reaching his back like a shiny waterfall. And he wore white armor that clad his body perfectly.

A black blindfold covered his eyes more tightly than it was supposed to, as though it were a part of his skin, and a silver one-handed sword rested on his waist.

He looked like a legendary knight from a fairytale, an individual who seemed to get all attention from the coward.

Once he stood in front of the man, the man said: “You performed well in the test. In fact, you broke some records, especially the physical ones!”

“Fafnir, you’re qualified to participate in the competition. Stand proud! You may leave now.”

Fafnir bowed respectfully and left the tent, his steps confident and unshakeable.

As he walked through a dark alley, he suddenly felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

Before he could turn around, he heard a familiar calm voice: “Congrats. I think I’m going to watch your performance in the competition instead of his.”

Fafnir calmed down and looked at the man who had just talked, smiling.

He had long black hair and a pair of red eyes, and he was someone Fafnir had known for the past four months.

His name was Anas, the same man who had been giving advice to Dante before… the incident, one of the masters who protect the city.

He was also a man with the Count title, but although he had such a big title, he didn’t seem to have any lands or subordinates.

Apparently, he spent most of his time protecting the city and observing it, having no time to take care of a county.

Or maybe he did. In such a world, Fafnir wouldn’t be surprised if Count Anas turned out to have a clone acting as a count while he worked as a guard. Everything was possible here.

“You still won’t tell me what happened to him, right?” Count Anas asked with a glimpse of hope.

Fafnir understood immediately who he referred to by “him”.

Obviously, it was Dante.

He had been asking about him frequently. Maybe it was out of curiosity, or maybe because of his expression when he left, leaving Anas to wonder helplessly what could possibly cause him to react like this.

However Fafnir only shook his head, which Anas had already expected.

…What else could Fafnir do?

Tell him that his master had lost his closest friend, then fought, killed, and ate a demonic master, opened a gate to another world next to an abyssal gate, met two kings who were at war with each other, and was thrown into the abyssal gate?

Even Fafnir himself was still struggling to process that.

He was lost without his master. He didn’t know what to do without his orders.

Several times, he had thought about killing himself to appear in the Abyss with his master

…But he couldn’t.

His master’s last order prevented him from doing that. He had to make sure that Dante would be satisfied after returning from the Abyss.

Yes, Fafnir had no doubt that Dante would eventually return.

Whether they were Dante’s newfound ambition, the dark entity’s influence, or Greed’s plans — Dante would one way or another return. That was what Fafnir believed in.

“Well, forget about it.” Count Anas sighed: “See you in the competition then. Before I leave, if you are chosen as a husband candidate for the Duchess’s daughter, would you accept?”

Without hesitation, Fafnir responded by writing in the air: “I don’t think I’m worthy to be the Duchess’s son-in-law. I’m sure she’ll find someone better.”

Anas covered his face in frustration: “I’m starting to suspect that both of you are the same person. There is something wrong with your relationship, but it’s none of my business anyway. Heaven, people out there are ready to kill each other to see Lady Emilia’s face, and these two are ready to refuse marriage!”

Anas’ figure suddenly disappeared like a ghost. Fafnir scanned his surroundings and used Shadow Detection, but he couldn’t find him.

’Why do people here think that marriage is that easy to decide?’

Fafnir couldn’t understand how some men and women were ready to marry someone only because of their positions.

What if they ended up disappointed instead?

A woman might marry a nobleman and find out later that he was an abusive sadist.

A man might marry a rich lady and find out later that she liked sharing her bed with more than one man.

How could people choose their life partners without thinking about the consequences of their choices? That was just foolish.

Shrugging helplessly, Fafnir continued his walk until he reached a luxurious inn.

the gazes he received along the way, he went to a room on the third floor and opened the door using his mana signature.

“My lord— oh… it’s you. Why is it you?!”

The first thing he heard upon opening the door was Ruby’s voice, which was hinting at sadness and disappointment.

In the room, Ruby was sitting on the bed with a stressed expression, her red hair completely messy and her eyes having dark circles.

She hugged her knees firmly, bringing them up to her chest, and kept muttering some random words that Fafnir couldn’t make sense of.

Fafnir sighed and closed the door before sitting next to her and striking the back of her neck, causing her to lose her consciousness.

That was the only thing he could do to make her fall asleep.

’Maybe I underestimated her loyalty to my master.’

Since Dante had fallen into the Abyss, Ruby had been losing her mind gradually.

Tearing her hair out, staying awake for weeks, and eating nothing for days were common now.

She even begged Fafnir many times to bring Dante back, but he couldn’t, unfortunately.

And he didn’t even tell her what truly happened. Dante didn’t tell him whether he could tell her the truth or not. But not telling her seemed to only make her condition worse.

The only one who was able to improve her condition was Jin, who had his own ways to make her eat and sleep, but he wasn’t here currently. His and Emeralda’s tests were being held in a different place.

’Argh, what should I do?’ Fafnir rubbed his head and wondered.

He was struggling with having responsibilities without his master to guide him. He was also struggling emotionally after Elizabeth and Mira’s deaths.

He had to admit, after spending a lot of time with them, he was the one who had grown closest to them, not Dante.

When he saw Mira’s severed head and Elizabeth’s lifeless eyes, he felt as though his whole world was shattering in front of him. Not only because their death was extremely painful to him, but also because he had failed Dante in protecting them.

He couldn’t describe his happiness when Dante killed Raga, though, he wished he had killed Raga himself.

’That’s stupid. I’m just a shadow, I’m not supposed to feel this way, right?’ Fafnir shook his head and dismissed those thoughts.

Yes, he was just a shadow, and shadows only follow their owners.

He had a clear path for now. He could think about what to do regarding Ruby after winning the competition.

He had passed the tests and qualified for the competition, which were a bit too easy.

Just a few things like running speed, punching a dummy, using a weapon, and casting magic.

After winning the competition, he’d simply take Ruby and leave, hoping her ability would help find an opportunity that would help Dante somehow.

“Oh, Jin and Emeralda had returned.” All of a sudden, Fafnir heard Dante’s voice at the window: “Tell them to feed this slave well, she’s become too thin.”

’I don’t need you to tell me this.’ Fafnir hissed inwardly with intense anger and disdain.

He didn’t need to look at the window to know who was speaking

Obviously, it was the centipede.

Sin of Greed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep