Apollo's Chronicle by Seraph Wedd (book club reads TXT) 📖

As he walked towards the direction of the presence, he saw the conclusion of the middle aged man’s, Gerald’s, battle. Three dead bodies of Mongurks are lying around. One was even directly atop Gerald’s body.

He wanted to destroy the monster’s core to avoid other monsters coming, but he currently cannot do so as his hands were full.

“Hmmm?”

The presence suddenly stopped in its tracks. It probably noticed his presence and was wondering if he was an enemy or not.

He walked straight towards where the presence was. Then, a strong wave was felt. It was a bit different from blood thirst, more like a threat of “Don’t come any closer”. It must be pretty battered.

Ignoring the threat, he quickly walked to where the wave was coming from until he can see the source clearly.

There, he saw a man of about late twenties in age. His black long hair is in a mess as he uses a lance to support himself. Countless scratches and deep wounds are visible even from afar. His armor was battered beyond recognition.

The only strength that can be visibly seen is the power behind his eyes. It was the will to protect even at the cost of his own life.

“… Who are you…?”

The battered man asked in a wary tone. His voice is fresh sounding despite his battered state. His sharp eyes stared straight at the other person without flinching.

“… Apollo… A traveler…”

Apollo answered as he hugged the girl’s body closer. The battered man widened his eyes suddenly. Not because of what Apollo said but rather because of what, or who, he is carrying.

“Miss Veronica!!!”

The battered man quickly dashed towards Apollo, his lance was aimed towards Apollo’s head, to be exact, it was pinpointing his right eye.

Apollo didn’t even bother dodging. Using a sudden surge of light blue mana, he formed a shockwave that sent the battered man flying backwards for a short distance.

“… Relax, this girl’s already safe… If I was a little late in the treatment, I don’t know what could happen though…”

Apollo turned his gaze to the girl in his hands, the so called Veronica. She was still staring at his face in a daze. Looks like her anemia is still not completely gone. She must still be feeling lightheaded as if she was in a dream.

“… Nnnnn?”

Hearing his words, for the first time since she woke up, she turned her head away from Apollo. Her gaze landed at the man who was currently trying to stand up painstakingly.

“… Julius…?” Her voice rang clearly.

The battered man stopped in his movements. Then, instead of standing up, he went down into a kneeling posture. Just like how a knight shows respect to his king.

“Miss Veronica, I’m extremely sorry for letting you have a fearful experience such as this. I wasn’t strong enough…”

He spoke regretfully, gritting his teeth hard. A red liquid can be seen dripping down from his mouth.

“……”

Apollo could tell his sincerity based on that action alone. Having lived as a nomad for who knows how long, he ended up polishing his skills at judging a person. And he judged that this Julius was a person worthy of trust.

However, he didn’t want to leave Julius swimming in his own self-contempt.

“… If you want to save yourself, be strong….”

With a strong voice, he spoke clearly towards Julius. Julius stared at Apollo in the eyes. Their intent passing through each other.

“… However, if you want to protect someone important to you, you need to be stronger…”

Julius went wide eyed upon hearing his words. The words that Apollo said, it was also for himself, a reminder to not repeat mistakes of the past. Then, Julius lowered his head and gritted his teeth. This time, with a different emotion from regret.

He will surely make use of this event to strengthen himself. Apollo could only pray for his wellbeing.

“… Let’s treat your wounds…”

Apollo first let Veronica sit beside a nearby tree as he treated Julius’s wounds. Since he was still conscious, Apollo just passed him a vial of blood recovering medicine then disinfected and bandaged his wounds.

“… Done.”

After the first-aid was done, they discussed what to do next. Apollo prioritized the opinions of Julius. They decided on checking the original location of the monster’s ambush.

“Hold tight.”

“… N-Nnnnn…”

Veronica was still unable to walk so Apollo was still cradling her. She was blushing up to her ears. Probably sobering up after recovering enough blood through the help of the medicine. Apollo, however, couldn’t understand why she is blushing so intensely.

When they reached the location of the attack, only the thick and repugnant smell remained. The bodies of the brave soldiers and guards were battered, some even dismembered.

The Mongurks probably took some bodies as food and spoils of their victory.

The numbers of the remaining corpses didn’t match the information that he got from Julius. Only a dozen or so had remained. The state of the remains isn’t something pleasing to the eye.

Apollo immediately took a still fine looking carriage and moved it a little distance away, letting Julius and Veronica rest on it.

As they were sleeping, Apollo made an impromptu grave and dumped all the corpses in an orderly manner. By the time that he finished, the sun was already about to set.

“Apollo…” Julius, who just woke up, came to my side and spoke. He immediately proposed to move away from their location as fast as possible.

The monsters nearby might get attracted to the stench of blood and come. Apollo quickly agreed as he was thinking exactly the same thing.

With Veronica still sleeping inside, Apollo pulled the carriage carefully. Julius was walking silently beside him, acting as a guide. If not, they may even end up lost within the thick fog.

“… We should rest around here…”

After walking for about 4 hours, they reached a small river stream. They stopped and decided to rest upon Julius’s words.

Using the food stored inside the carriage that they took from the ravaged carriages of other merchants, they ate their late dinner. Veronica, who woke up just before that, was eating silently while staring at the bonfire.

Apollo was oblivious to the fact that she was actually sneaking glances at him, who’s sitting right across from her.

She would then touch her lips softly and blush wildly an instant later.

It… IT WASN’T A DREAM!!!

She exclaimed in her heart. Not to mention, it was her first kiss. Her mind is now mumbled and jumbled together. Her uncontrollable emotions are running rampant.

In the almost two decade’s length of her life, it was her first time being handled roughly like what Apollo did. Just remembering the scenes from her memory sends an inexplicable tingle along her spine. Mysteriously, instead of feeling unsettled, she felt at an unfathomable happiness.

After finishing their drinks, the three discussed thing while the bonfire keeps their bodies warm.

After deciding that one of them should stay as a guard as the others sleep, Julius volunteered as the first watch. Preparing a sleeping space inside the carriage, Apollo and Veronica laid down.

Still, neither of the two got any blink of sleep.

Vanessa, as she had just woke up, cannot easily fall asleep. That was natural.

On the other hand, Apollo, who is conscious of the presence of Vanessa beside him couldn’t calm down and ended up just closing his eyes without even falling asleep.

An awkward silence enveloped the two.

Heaving a sigh, Apollo finally decided to speak.

“… How’s your wound…?”

Vanessa was slightly startled being suddenly talked to. But she quickly regained herself and replied.

“It stings a little but I guess it is fine. If I don’t move excessively that is.”

“… Is that so… That’s good to hear…”

“…”

Their conversation died out as instant as it started. Then, Veronica spoke in an almost inaudible voice.

“… ummm… Thank you for saving me… If not for you, I would have surely died…”

Apollo opened his eyes and turned his gaze towards Veronica. She was lying on her side, facing Apollo, her eyes showing both sadness and pain. The faint light from the fire outside gave her face a wonderful luminous gleam.

“… No… I should be the one to say sorry…… I came too late… If I came a bit earlier, that swordsman may still be alive right now…”

Apollo sincerely felt that way. Instead of praising himself for having saved a life, he pressed his self with the failure to save others.

Hearing his words, Veronica gasped. Her shoulders visibly shook.

Apollo easily guessed that the said swordsman, Gerald, is an important existence to her.

Without saying any comforting words, he rolled over and inched closer to Veronica. Then, he touched the back of her head and unhurriedly pulled it to his chest.

“….!!!”

Veronica was surprised by the sudden action as she stiffened for a moment. However, not long after, she relaxed herself.

Soon, soft sobbing sounds can be heard faintly. Apollo just stayed silent and gently caressed her soft hair. A pricking sensation was felt in his heart as he continued listening to her sobs.

After hours of crying, she finally slept with a smile on her face. Her eyelashes damp with tears was eye-catching. Apollo gently placed her head atop a stack of herbs inside a leather bag, acting as a pillow.

Assuming that his job is done, he tried to move away, but failed as Veronica was gripping his shirt tightly even in her sleep. Her anxiety must be pretty deep.

Resigning himself to fate, he finally managed to get a wink of sleep.

Four hours later, a fuming Julius came inside the carriage. You can guess what happened next.

Chapter 2 Part 4

Morning came while Apollo was out on ward duties. Other than a few animals that came near their small camp, the whole duration of their stay was as tranquil as still water. The first to rise was Veronica. She washed her face with a basin of cold water prepared by Apollo beforehand.

“Good morning.” She greeted with a fresh smile. Traces of swelling can be seen from her eyes, albeit only a little. Apollo, despite being as rude as he is, properly responded with a greeting, ignoring her swollen eyes.

“Good morning too. You woke up pretty early.”

“Unlike the two of you, I don’t have guard duties so that’s a matter of course!”

She answered while pouting her cute small lips. Apollo’s gaze fell to her lips unconsciously. He quickly averted his gaze right after though. He had this weird feeling of having something itchy on the back of his neck.

“I-Is that so…” He tried to feign ignorance but he stuttered magnificently instead.

“That’s how it is!” She shouted before sitting down forcefully on a fallen log to Apollo’s left. “It won’t do if you both always treat me like a child…” she muttered under her breath.

Silence enveloped the both of them. They just stared at the ground without looking at each other, listening to the sounds of their breathing and the signs of life within the forest.

A gust of cold morning wind blew, playing with the fiery red hair of Veronica. Apollo stared at this scene for a moment before jumping into action. He pulled a small dagger from his waist and jumped towards Veronica.

“… Wha–?!” She shouted in surprise. However, she couldn’t react fast enough. In a split second, he was already in front of her with the dagger held in