Chapter 246

Chapter 246

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A week passed since the Vikings set foot on Hellskald Island, and a month had passed since Rickart injured his rib.

Actually he hadn't felt much pain since the Vikings appeared, but now there was no particular abnormality even when turning his waist left and right, bending, and twisting here and there.

He was completely healed. That didn't mean his memories of Besprim were totally gone though.

Perhaps pain exists to mean one should remember a bit better.

The task he started doing as the pain gradually disappeared was helping with the daily chores of the three sisters' family.

Taking the nets prepped the day before, he followed the master of the house out to sea on a fishing boat from dawn, repeatedly throwing and pulling up the nets.

Pulling up a heavy net on a boat where grabbing one's balance was difficult was truly a difficult task, but even without the master of the house's help Rickart easily completely did it alone. The master of the house directly detached the fish and straighted the tangled nets.

While busily moving their hands catching fish on the boat, they saw the Vikings in the distance. When they first came there were two ships, but now there were five anchored ships.

They transported many things, and among them were logs. They were building hammering something on the coast and moving various items to the citadel.

Later, whether bringing their entire families, a sight of women and children getting off the ships was also seen.

After repeating scattering and pulling the nets a few times they had a full load. So Rickart returned to land with the master of the house.

After prepping the tangled and twisted nets first, the whole morning was gone. After that they resolved their meal with smoked and dried herring and cheese.

The afternoon was entirely just the simple repetitive work of slitting the bellies of the fish caught today and removing their innards.

If you sit for hours just looking at slippery fish innards, the fishy smell was fine because your sense of smell gets paralyzed quickly, but a stiff waist and seeing stars spinning before your eyes were inevitable.

The youngest daughter individually spread the prepped fish and hung them on the clothesline, and Rickart roughly washed his fishy hands and chopped firewood.

Around that time the sun began to slowly set, and when the eldest and second daughters brought the cows they had released in the field back to the barn, the daily chores ended like that.

Gathering together in the quiet night to eat a meal, Rickart's appearance was exactly like he had become a live-in son-in-law of a family rich in daughters.

When Rickart pulled back the curtain and went to bed, the daughters gathered under the candlelight and sewed.

It was a repetitive life. However it wasn't tiresome. Why was that? The quiet sound of the three sisters laughing heard beyond the curtain seemed to be the answer.

Rickart fell asleep with the thought that living like this with Marie later wouldn't be bad either.

Beyond the closed window the sound of waves crashing was heard. To that repetitive sound his consciousness gradually sank into a deeper world.

Though he couldn't know how long he slept, Rickart opened his eyes. Getting up from his seat and pulling back the curtain, the family of four were still sleeping soundly. The youngest daughter embraced in her father's arms looked extremely peaceful.

Rickart quietly watched that sight, then put on the clothes he wore when he first came here, packed his sword and armor, and quietly left the house.

Outside the house starlight was still pouring down from the black sky.

Lights were visible around the citadel and on the coast. As if standing guard, they had lit bonfires and Vikings seemed to be sitting around them, but one ship was exceptionally bustling. Rickart walked there.

As a pitch-black figure approached in the dark dawn, the Vikings who had been sitting and standing guard rose up swish from their seats.

However, soon realizing the existence revealed by the light was Rickart, they sat back down like they had lost interest.

"Where is Gundar?"

Rickart asked. Then the Vikings standing guard pointed to where he was with their gazes rather than an answer. Gundar was currently loading cargo inside the ship.

When Rickart approached, he said as if he had been waiting.

"Come up."

Rickart jumped up in a single bound.

Though a longship looked narrow and elongated on the outside, actually hopping inside it didn't seem as narrow as expected. Rickart took a seat at the stern of the ship.

Looking at what cargo was loaded on the ship, other things just seemed like daily necessities and food, but a crow inside a birdcage was somewhat peculiar.

"Do you not have a cloak?"

Gundar asked. Rickart merely nodded his head. Because of his fight with Besprim the cloak he used before had become a complete rag and was in an unusable state.

"Though I'd like to give you a spare one, among us a cloak is also pride. What will you do? Will you just get one, or will you obtain one yourself?"

Gundar was wearing a cloak made of wolf fur. Namely, making a cloak out of a beast one hunted and wearing it around was also a means of proving bravery to them.

Since he had seen Rickart's strength and courage last time there was no room for doubt. He was merely asking for his intention.

Rickart shook his head.

"I will take care of getting one."

Gundar nodded. And then having finished loading the cargo he gestured to his other Viking comrades.

Then everyone got off the ship and tried to push the ship. Since they weren't anchored at a place like a dock, they had no choice but to push with human strength.

Right below where Rickart sat, young men with good physiques clung and pushed the ship. However, perhaps because it wasn't merely a Sandy beach the ship wasn't easily pushed.

Rickart merely stayed sitting still, then said to the people.

"Everyone get on. I will push."

Then while bewildered the Vikings got back on the ship according to Rickart's words for now. Gundar merely watched silently.

Rickart set his feet on the ground again and put his hands on the ship. And as he applied force the ship slid forward unbelievably far.

"Whoa!"

The Vikings who were on the ship momentarily lost their balance and almost fell as the ship suddenly moved.

Regardless, Rickart continued to push the ship, and pondering where such monstrous strength surged from, every time he applied force the ship slid forward swiftly. Like that the ship eventually touched the sea.

Around the time the seawater reached Rickart's feet, the Vikings placed their oars against the ground and pushed.

Just as Rickart was about to board the ship again, Gundar reached out his hand. Though it wasn't necessary, Rickart grabbed his hand and boarded the ship.

The ship finally reached the sea and earnestly began to advance. Along with that it distanced itself from the land, and distanced itself from the three sisters' house.

The ship advanced to the sea, to the East. Meaning, beyond the end of the world.

The Vikings actually looked at the stars to gauge direction. By the way, rowing the oars also seemed to require skilled technique.

It wasn't something that worked merely by desperately applying strength and rowing oars, but the rowers on both sides had to apply power consistently. Because only then could they advance straight without changing direction.

When changing direction they had to differentiate the strength rowing on both sides, and since roughly 30 people rowed together their teamwork had to match well.

The Vikings did that very well, astoundingly, and so skillfully it looked easy to someone who didn't know.

But since they were also human ultimately, continuing to row inevitably reached their physical limits. Then, Gundar stepped forward to beat a drum and his comrades sang a song.

We cleave the dawn and advance far, far away.

Confidently crossing borders to seize wealth and honor.

Kingdoms, tremble in fear.

The most valiant warriors in the world have arrived.

If we die fighting we will reach Valhalla

So not even death can stop us.

Handle destiny ruthlessly and roughly.

Then destiny will follow you obediently.

Whatever the lyrics were, it was true that the robust voices of sturdy men naturally gave strength.

Fascinatingly military songs existed everywhere. Merely, while the Flame Knights unexpectedly had a mournful feeling, the Vikings had a strong manly feeling.

Unfurling the sail the ship gathered even more speed, and around that time the dawn began to break. Rickart and the Vikings seemed to charge fearlessly towards the direction the sun rises.

Past morning and reaching noon, land was seen far away instead of the horizon. The ship began to slow down, and slowly approaching land moved along the coast.

However he only thought an endless forest lay to the East, but it wasn't a forest but just a plain. Rickart was bewildered yet fascinated. Was the world truly endless?

Finally they reached a beach filled with fine sand. However, light bloody water from the waves was drawn out long on the beach. None other than a dozen corpses were strewn about the beach.

Gundar stopped the ship, and stepped into the shallow seawater first with a splash splash, getting off the ship. Splashing splash splash and raising water droplets he walked to the beach, and quietly looked down at the corpses.

He slightly pushed a face-down corpse with his foot to check its state, and even a stranger could adequately deduce that they weren't killed by beasts or monsters but murdered by fellow humans.

Without being surprised or flustered he merely raised his head and looked around here and there.

The Vikings also brought the ship in and got off, and Rickart also got off. Everyone didn't say a single word and merely looked around like beasts prowling the coast.

"Did people live here too?"

Rickart approached Gundar and asked.

"There is a settlement not far from here. It definitely looks like a fight broke out among themselves. It seems they tried to request help from the homeland but were caught and killed."

Gundar's voice was merely dry.

"Are they people of the same tribe?"

"No."

Since Rickart came chasing Caldebert's tracks he had no reason to return, but since Gundar came first as a sort of advance party it was fine for him to return if there were unusual circumstances.

Not that it seemed people who roughly handled their destiny would just withdraw.

"Kkeu-eu-eu......"

As Rickart and the Vikings looked around the coast, whether there was a survivor a moan was heard. Everyone gathered there.

But just looking at it there seemed to be no possibility of living. Half his face was blown off but he was remarkably alive.

Gundar asked him.

"We are the Hellangi tribe, and I am Gundar, son of Umbor. Do you have any last words to say?"

Then the dying man looked at the people weakly looking down at him with his one remaining eye.

"K-King Edel, Edelrich broke his oath and betrayed. B-blinded by the t-treasure......"

It was a common story. To the extent of betraying blinded by greed. Spilling blood even among families over money was a human affair, so it wasn't that surprising.

"What treasure?"

"The, Prophet's staff......"

If it was the Prophet it was Caldebert. It seemed like his artifact, which was good information from Rickart's perspective.

Gundar asked.

"Will you go to Valhalla?"

Then the survivor nodded.

Gundar drew his sword and placed it in his hand, then drew a dagger and stabbed his neck. And then retrieved his own sword.

One might wonder what he was doing, but it was because one had to die holding a weapon in hand to go to Valhalla. Dying while fighting. That was one of the values the Vikings considered most important.

"Do you know who King Edelrich is?"

Rickart asked. Gundar nodded and answered.

"Edelrich 'the Exile'. My uncle. He killed my father. The treasure is the treasure, but I came here for revenge."

Since Vikings tended to be taciturn they weren't people who just babbled about themselves like that. Though he didn't hide his objective, Rickart belatedly learned Gundar's true objective. Mentioning revenge that exists everywhere in the world.

Looking on the outside Gundar didn't furiously tremble with anger or anything like that. He merely looked like he just came to did what must definitely be done.

The waves repeatedly swept into the coast like a transparent carpet spread thinly and receded. Rickart put his armor on for now.

While doing so the thought suddenly occurred that beyond the end of the world wasn't much different. Greed, betrayal, and grudge and revenge. Those indeed seemed like a common language connecting unfamiliar worlds into one.

And Rickart knew how to speak that language fluently.