It was already night, and I heard a voice coming from the living room of my house saying:
“Ester, Chizze, we’re here. We apologize for the delay; we stopped by to drop the kids off with their father, and they invited us for dinner. The kids really enjoyed themselves,” Raiza said.
Kharla added, “Chizze, we brought you some snacks and also bought T-shirts for both of you. Also, I got a small tattoo on my shoulder. Ester, help me heal it properly as thanks for the shirt.”
I was considering pretending to be asleep, but I decided to get dressed and go out to the living room to see my friends.
“I’m glad you had fun. When I return from Dredprism, I’ll bring you a gift as well. By the way, I’ll need a platinum coin for the preparations for our trip.”
“Yes, whatever you say, priest. Now heal my tattoo.”
I carefully moved my hand to finish healing Kharla’s tattoo.
She got a tattoo of violet flowers; I don’t know the exact type of flower she chose, but they looked very nice. Once it was healed and free of infection, I took my T-shirt and Chizze’s and made an excuse that I had a long day.
They didn’t ask any more questions, and I went back to sleep because, honestly, my mind and body were sore.
And if you’re wondering, the T-shirts had the words: “A person who loves me a lot brought this shirt from Cuencas.”
It wasn’t my style, but I admit that I liked it a lot.
...
Five days later, I had to go to Dredprism accompanied by Fernnanda Abrahán to do the work at the hospital. Crossing the border, we had to pass through five checkpoints. At each one, our documents and passports were checked, as well as the contents of our commercial cart. I think it took us more than an hour to cross the border with all the checks; I never thought sitting still could be so tiring.
Once we passed all the checkpoints, we arrived at the hospital just across the border. If it weren’t for those checkpoints, we would have arrived in ten minutes running on foot. This is the first time in my life that a border has hit me so hard.
On the other side of the border, people look different, and their houses have different shapes and decorations, focusing on the nationalism of this country. It’s similar to what I saw in Raiza’s memories.
However, there are also traces of Khisphe culture in some houses, and I saw people with the typical Khisphe tattoos. On the way to the hospital, I truly observed this place with great curiosity.
Once we entered the hospital, we unloaded the medicines and medicinal herbs for use. When we were finished, Fernnanda said to me, “Thank you for your help, Ester. Now comes the hard part. The patients you’ll see are survivors from the war zone in Amster. What you’ll see on their heads may be horrible to witness, so this is your last chance to back out.”
I took Fernnanda by the shoulders and, looking her in the eyes, said, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” I only thought about continuing my journey, and if this mission failed, it would clearly show that I am the most useless member of the group, or at least I have always felt that way.
I noticed Fernnanda’s expression... I think I made her angry.
“I figured it out; you’re a womanizer just like Rammus. Anyway, follow me.” I felt so embarrassed and strangely guilty that I remained silent and followed her to a room.
In the room, there is a man in a wheelchair. I see that he is in good health, but strangely, he has the scent of death.
Apparently, the man is conscious, but he must be medicated to remain so calm.
Fernnanda introduces me to the man:
“This man is Darlick, the famous general and military strategist of the Dredprism Empire. His case is unusual. He has spent almost his entire military career fighting in the war zone in the Kingdom of Amster. He won nearly all his battles, is respected among his subordinates, and retired with the highest honors. Essentially, he is a military hero, but the reason for his departure from the army was a suicide attempt. It happened after an award ceremony for the surviving troops, where he was decorated for his achievements in the war. But the day after receiving that award, a maid found him suffering from a drug overdose and left a note apologizing to a bunch of fellow soldiers. He has no wife or children; it’s unknown if he has any other direct family. He only has a nephew who doesn’t visit him but pays for all his treatment. I suppose he cares for him in his own way. Anyway, he is your patient now. I leave him in your hands.”
The door opens, and a nurse enters, although her enormous muscles stand out. It’s obvious that the nurse is a trained soldier, essentially her bodyguard.
“I’m leaving this nurse to assist you. Don’t lay your hands on her; she’s not as kind as I am.”
Fernnanda leaves the room with a smile that shows a hint of anger. The nurse stands next to the retired general and gently places him on the bed. She doesn’t say a word and watches me attentively.
“Thank you for your help, miss.”
The nurse looks at me but remains silent. I guess she doesn’t like to talk. I place my hand on the general’s forehead and cast:
“Spirits of memory, bless me with your presence and grant me the strength to heal broken dreams. Heal the mind.”
----------------------------------------
I’m at the birth of a child. Something catches my attention…
A young woman is alone with the doctors. I don’t see any of her relatives anywhere.
One of the nurses takes the newborn baby away from its mother. The baby is cared for by the hospital nurses, and a few days later, the baby is handed over to a family that seems to be of noble status.
They take the baby and give a bag of gold coins to the nurse who appears to be the head nurse. I imagine that this couple couldn’t have children and decided to buy one.
As a child who spent my entire childhood in an orphanage, I find it hard to understand how there are people who abandon their children, and there are couples who suffer from not being able to have one. Life can be very unfair on so many levels.
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I continue watching the general’s memories. The child is now 10 years old and receives a very good education, but he is not being educated to be a soldier. He learns to play the piano and violin; he has tutors who teach him literature, mathematics, and natural sciences.
Unlike Raiza, who was educated in military strategy, the general was not trained to be a soldier. On the contrary, he was educated to follow the legacy of his adoptive family.
The child was very good at all these things. In his free time, he would play in the city park under the watchful eye of his nanny. Although the child wasn’t very interested in playing with other children, he could if he wanted to, but I think he enjoyed watching them play from afar more.
The child spent his free time this way, but he became interested in seeing some elderly men playing chess. He stopped watching the children playing in the park and began observing the elderly men as they played.
In the park, there was one elderly man who stood out from the rest. The elderly man used to bet money with other people while playing chess. If you won, he would give you a gold coin, and if you lost, you only had to give him a copper coin.
During all the time the boy watched the old man play, he never saw him lose a gold coin. The copper coins he won were usually spent on bread, which he distributed among the homeless.
The boy observed the old man from a distance, learning his strategies in the game, but he didn’t have a chess set at home. So, with a sheet of paper, he drew a chessboard and, using small stones, began to play chess at home.
When the boy turned 13, his parents gave him a chess set made of fine wood, brand new. Although the boy was very expressionless, it was clear that he was happy. The next day, he took his brand-new chess set and wanted to challenge the old man. He went to the table where the old man waited for someone to challenge him.
The boy sat down at the table, took out his chess set, and placed it on the table. The old man had already seen the boy watching him play and, without saying a word, put away his old chessboard and let the boy play with his new toy.
Once the board was ready, they started playing…
After half an hour, the game reached a critical point.
“Wow, boy, the way you play... it’s like playing with myself.” The boy remained silent, and with a surprising move, put the old man in check. It had taken him three years to reach the point of knowing how to defeat the old man.
“You’re very clever, boy. You knew how I would react to my own strategies and got ahead of me. You’ve earned this coin.”
The boy looked genuinely happy. He took the gold coin, went to the bakery, bought a lot of bread and bottles of milk. With the old man’s help, he distributed the food to the homeless, and what was left over was taken by the old man as a donation to the church.
When the boy grew up and reached the age of 15, the war in Amster worsened considerably. As the hero had disappeared a long time ago, it was left to humans to resolve the problem.
To prevent the war from advancing from Amster to Dredprism, the empire recruited all young people for mandatory military training, where the most capable would go to fight in the neighboring country.
The general, still a teenager, was one of those recruited.
He stank as a soldier: he had no physical strength and was terrible at magic, basically having no mana. Furthermore, as he was a very quiet person, he didn’t interact with his fellow recruits.
While alone in the barracks, he used to play with small stones on a table during lunchtime. His training supervisor noticed that the way the stones were arranged was like a chessboard.
“Hey, recruit, follow me.” The recruit and the supervisor went to his office, and the supervisor took out a chess set they had for playing in the barracks.
The supervisor played a game with the recruit and, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t win.
…
As the weeks passed, all the high-ranking officers played against the recruit, but none won.
The recruit wasn’t popular among his peers, but he was among his military training supervisors. They saw his talent and enrolled him in the Military Strategy class, which was reserved for high-born nobles.
Thanks to his talent, he was able to join this class, where he excelled academically.
He graduated with honors and was sent to the war zone in Amster with a small squad under his command. Even with his limited resources, he was able to achieve his objectives.
He returned to Dredprism, where he was promoted and honored. His adoptive parents attended the award ceremony, and the general was happy to see his family again.
Even while fighting abroad, the man always looked out for his parents.
Years passed, and the general was now a 35-year-old man who continued to serve his country by fighting abroad. His military achievements were outstanding, halting the advance of the demon king’s army and buying time for humanity to find a way to stop the demons.
However, no matter how much time the general gained, defeating the demon king was something impossible for a man who only excelled at playing board games.
…
Every so often, he would leave the battlefield and return to his homeland.
It was always the same routine: he would arrive at the cemetery and distribute flowers among the graves of his former comrades. Then he would stop by his parents' house to ensure they were well taken care of. His salary was spent solely on caring for his parents, as he had few personal expenses.
In his free time, he would bring the chess set he received as a child, sit in the park at the same spot where the old man used to sit, and play with people.
If you won, he would give you a gold coin, and if you lost, you owed him a copper one. With the earnings and some extra money, he would buy food and distribute it among the homeless.
When the general was a child, he hadn't noticed, but as an adult, he realized that the people on the streets of his country were emigrants from the war zones.
It particularly affected him to see people from Amster, as since his country became a war zone, they were displaced from the north by demons and from the south by Dredprism soldiers, leaving their citizens with no choice but to flee, sometimes only with the clothes they were wearing.
Many years passed, the general returned home, and repeated his routine. This time, he left a large bouquet of roses on his parents' grave. He inherited all their belongings since they had no other close family.
Once home, he reviewed his father’s documents and discovered papers revealing that he was adopted and originally from the border with Khisphe.
The general had already known he was adopted, as he did not resemble his parents, but he always loved them with all his heart. Still, he wanted to know if he had more family elsewhere...
He hired a private detective, an ex-military man who now worked in the Khisphe mercenary guild. He sent his documents to find his biological family.
…
Four years later, the investigation yielded results. He learned that his biological mother was a prostitute working in the border brothels. She was born in the Dredprism Empire but worked in Khisphe. She died at the age of 34 from syphilis but had another child before she died, who was abandoned and grew up alone on the streets.
That child also died in an operation aimed at stopping drug traffickers transporting drugs from Khisphe to Dredprism, leaving his only child orphaned. That child was the general's biological nephew.
The general instructed his colleague to take care of his nephew and do everything possible to ensure the boy had a decent life.
However, due to his work, he could never visit his nephew and could only send money for his education.
The general continued to work on the battlefield, as he was not just a soldier; his job was to organize the troops and direct their movements, which he could do from the rear. This meant his age was not an obstacle to continuing to serve his country.
The general’s memories were very heavy, but he was a strong man. I couldn’t imagine that man committing suicide, until we reached the award ceremony on the day of his suicide attempt.
It was a normal occurrence. The man was awarded, receiving thanks from his recruits and from the families of his recruits, both the living and the dead.
After the ceremony, the man followed his usual routine. He went to the cemetery and made a long tour of his comrades' graves, but when he reached his parents' grave, he cried silently, apologized, and left.
He arrived at the park near his home, won some coins playing chess, and went to the bakery he had been visiting since he was 10 years old. He spoke with a young baker who had just inherited the business from his father.
The general discussed having the bakery provide a certain amount of bread each night for the homeless or refugees from Amster and made a contract with the baker to ensure his wishes were fulfilled.
Once the contract was completed, he handed over a bag full of gold coins and went home.
He lived in a very beautiful mansion with a classic style. This was his parents' house, inherited through generations of the family.
The man went to his study and sat at his desk, searching for a small flask that had been hidden in his desk for a long time.
I think it was something he had kept for this moment.
The man drank that strange potion and then...
image [https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/078/804/046/large/duval-saul-rewwrerwewerwe.jpg?1723121736]