Ultra: Heroes Don't Ask Where They Come From

Noel/

Time always passes quietly.

Before, I never thought that time could pass so fast, as if the time experienced by flowers is different from the time we experience.

No, maybe everyone has a different sense of time, which is knowledge I never knew before.

Now it has been 11 days since the start of the trip, and we are about to arrive in Holland, which is also known as the "city of blooming flowers". In fact, it is said to be more famous than you can imagine. I don't know this knowledge, so I don't quite understand it.

In my uncle's words, because the Ian people have such a long lifespan, they need many creative hobbies and interests, and the cultivation and beauty of plants is one of them. The flowers produced in Hollandi have reached a level that would not appear naturally.

It seems that they have cultivated an extremely precious flower, a gray-blue flower that a famous person from the Netherlands tried to cultivate at an extremely high altitude. There is only one of this flower, and its name is "Aidla". It is a treasure that only exists in the whole world.

Although I am not sure about the relationship between altitude and flower cultivation, and my uncle can't explain it either, it's clear that they are very good for flowers.

On the way there, we met many people who had come from there, so we learned about the current situation in Hollandi.

[Almost no one survived.]

[We just came from there. Because of the war preparation, there is not enough manpower there. I am afraid we can only rebuild it later. ]

[The flower fields outside the city and the flower city that has become a ruin, a dead silent city where even the smell of blood cannot be smelled. ]

[The population was tens of thousands, but except for a few dozen people, no one survived.]

Hollandia was also attacked, and unlike Kalnig, it was a relatively small city, so in the attack, Hollandia was almost completely destroyed.

We arrived in the afternoon, and if we set out again from this time period, we would not be able to reach the next city, so we planned to camp near Hollandi.

The sign that they were approaching Hollandia was the flower fields.

Long, vast flower fields fluttered on the grassland, with clusters of flowers of various colors spread out beautifully. Not to mention the Cinnamon, Rose, and Velvet Orchid that I knew, there were many others that I couldn't recognize at all, scattered along the roadside.

However, this beautiful scenery made me so sad that I was speechless after approaching Hollandi.

After more than ten days of traveling, we were exhausted. When we arrived in Holland, we deeply felt the difference between prosperity and silence. The city was in ruins. It would be better to say that it was not a city at all from the outside. It was like burnt kitchen stones piled up layer by layer and collapsed like a sand castle with no value.

"...It doesn't look like it was destroyed more than ten days ago. Instead, it looks like a relic."

Uncle said so.

I parked the car outside the city and walked in through a place that was still accessible. The air was filled with a smell of dust and all the buildings were no longer the same as before. I walked forward carefully on the bricks and the ground. I didn't know how the city seemed to have been melted by some high temperature. All signs of life were melted. I couldn't help but think of what the person I met before said.

[A dead silent city where you can't even smell the blood. 】

These words are terrifying, but what is even more terrifying is that there is no falsehood in them.

It was only a few days, which was nothing compared to the time Hollandi had existed. However, it was such a city that ended up like this.

My uncle kicked the wall in front of him, then pushed it again. When the obstacle finally disappeared, he looked at the situation ahead, but he did not move forward.

"Noel, go back."

"Aren't you leaving?"

"There is nothing valuable left here, and we are not even allowed to stay here. Let's take a break today and then continue on our journey tomorrow."

We returned the same way, but my uncle picked up bricks along the way, intending to use them to build a firewood support, and I followed him.

But when we were leaving, we saw a man standing in front of our car. He was a little hunched over and looked very old.

When we approached, the man also noticed us. He looked very old, but his expression was stern and vigorous, and some of his hair had turned silver.

"Are you going to stay here?"

"We're going to stay here overnight."

The uncle replied;

The man looked us up and down, and when he saw me, his expression relaxed a lot.

"My name is Creighton Harlan. It's rare for someone to spend the night near Holland. Although it's not good for me to say this, this is a place with tens of thousands of ghosts after all."

"..."

Uncle didn't say anything.

"If you don't mind, please come to my place. At least it can provide you with some shelter from the wind and rain better than a car."

After the old man finished speaking, he walked away on his own, heading around the city. I pulled at the corner of my uncle's clothes and asked in a low voice:

"Uncle, what should I do?"

"Follow them, you won't be in danger."

My uncle also replied to me in a low voice.

But the car still had to be driven away. Although it was just in case, it would always make people feel uneasy if it was too far away. However, when driving, I did not follow him, but quickly caught up with the old man.

My uncle drove behind me and soon arrived at a place not far away, about a few hundred steps away from the city. There was a small cluster of flower fields and a few sparse vegetable gardens that looked like they were cultivated by the owner.

Next to these two places are surprisingly simple huts made of wood, bricks, and concrete.

But what surprised me was not that it was simple and small, but that such a small house could be built! I call it a small house because of the object of comparison.

After actually entering, I found that the space was actually not small. There was even a painting hanging on the wall, and a small fireplace with ashes and unburned wood in it.

Although simple, it is not something that can be created by a child's imagination, and gives people a sense of refinement.

"This, this was all built by you, Grandpa?!"

I couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, if you want, just chop some wood. The city is in ruins like that, and no one will complain if you pick up usable stones. Since there's nothing to do, I thought I could at least build a room where I can breathe. That's actually not bad, right?"

A smile like the faint morning light appeared on the old man's face.

"Amazing!"

"But there are no extra beds, so you'll have to sleep on the floor. I can lend you some extra blankets, but since you're traveling by car, you should have prepared these things, right?"

Grandpa first spoke to me, then turned his gaze to the uncle who came in and said:

"Of course, we would be very grateful if you could let us stay there."

The night was getting darker. Since I was staying here temporarily, I thought I should at least do something, so I went out with my uncle to collect firewood and bring back some food from the car.

When it was time for dinner, outside the house, my handsome-looking grandfather skillfully prepared the food himself. He lit a fire, built a stand, used a pot to mix the food we brought with the existing food, and sprinkled seasonings on it.

We sat on the rolled stones and started to enjoy the cooked food.

It’s very delicious. It seems like it’s just sprinkled with salt or something, but the final taste is surprisingly good!

"Speaking of which, why are you still here, old man?"

While eating, my uncle spoke hesitantly.

"There's no particular reason. I just live here, and I have nowhere to go after the destruction, so I stayed here."

The old man looked normal.

"When the disaster struck, almost all the people in Holland died. Except for those who were lucky enough to travel far away, there were basically not many survivors. I didn't have anywhere I wanted to go, so when the army asked me to leave, I refused. When people get old, they always miss the past, and I am a little reluctant to move away."

"Will it be hard?"

"You kid... I don't mind if you want to find a topic, but it's better to let the kid talk when you're talking so softly."

"terribly sorry."

"It's nothing. It's not hard. Although the people and the city are all destroyed, there are still a few things left. For an old man like me, this is nothing."

The old man stirred the food on his plate with a spoon and then put the lumps of food into his mouth - probably potatoes.

"My experience here is nothing interesting. I'm not trying to imply anything, it's just really boring. Every day is peaceful. Although there are times when things get messy, you and the little kid probably don't want to hear about family matters, right? It will only make the atmosphere worse. If you really want to talk, I can tell you how I grow flowers and vegetables."

"Um, what kind of flowers are those around that house?"

I raised one hand.

"That's the moon star, small and soft white, a flower that grows like weeds on the roadside, so few people are willing to buy it. But when they gather together, they are so beautiful that people stop in their tracks."

"oh oh."

I nodded repeatedly.

"I'm very interested in that fireplace..."

"After dinner, get some firewood. Although it's not winter yet, it won't be a problem to light it on a night like this."

This atmosphere was maintained until after dinner, when the old man actually took some wood into the hut and lit the fireplace.

Although I thought he was a serious person who was not easy to approach at first, now I find that he is actually a very nice person!

"Why, you're interested in that painting?"

The fire from the fireplace flickered in the cottage. The warm orange flames cast light into the cottage, making the light and darkness intersect inside the cottage. The mural was in that position, so it was just dim and unclear, and the vague figure of a large green eagle appeared vaguely.

The uncle looked at the eagle, and the old man followed his uncle's gaze.

"That's Nunaki. You young men should know Ilio better than he does."

"Nunaki?"

"Well, it was a large jade-colored eagle. When it flapped its wings, there would be thunder. It lived in a sacred mountain above the clouds. The sacred mountain was majestic and beautiful. A goddess passed by and thought the mountain was more beautiful than herself, so she beat the mountain. Nunaki, who lived on the top of the mountain, was awakened and saw the destroyed sacred mountain and became furious. She fought with the goddess and drove her away. But the goddess' father was the noble God King. She went back and cried to her father, so the God King gave the goddess a powerful divine power. The goddess came back and suppressed Nunaki with force, but Nunaki was unwilling to surrender. He flew towards the sun with the resentment of the sacred mountain. During the flight, his body gradually turned golden, and he was finally burned to death by the sun. The second sun god was born from his body, named Ilio."

“Just because you think a mountain is prettier than you, you beat up the mountain…?”

"A rather savage goddess, isn't she? Perhaps it's because she's the goddess of war, and she ruthlessly divides other people's tribes into her own and rules them over."

The old man smiled. I had never heard of Nunaki, but after hearing this story, I had a great liking for Nunaki. He did not yield to the savage and powerful goddess, but flew proudly to the sun and died. Although the ending was sad, it made people feel the lonely and noble heart of the green eagle.

......

The next day, early.

When we were about to leave, the old man saw us off.

There was a very beautiful pink flower field. I couldn’t help but ask the old man what kind of flowers were planted in the red flower field.

"Hongyao, those are Hongyao, but unlike the small and soft white Yuexing, Hongyao are large and bright, and can be preserved for a long time after being cut. But the Hongyao that used to bloom every year, I don't know for whom they bloomed this year."

"For all life."

Uncle said;

"...I wish you a pleasant journey and hope to see you again next year."

"Goodbye, grandpa."

I waved goodbye to the old man, and he straightened his hunched body. With his head full of silver hair and a gentle expression, he also waved back at us.

My uncle said terrible things.

Everyone will be defeated and enslaved by enemies outside the sky and will not be able to gain freedom.

But, I still want to pray.

Pray that everyone can be happy.

Pray that the enemies outside the sky will be defeated and driven away in the end,

Uncle, Jin, Harun, our parents in the land, the soldiers heading to the capital, and the Mulgur kings who have always protected us, may everyone be happy.

Such thoughts may be empty and powerless, and may anger those people under the black ruins of Holland, but this is what I really think.

Where is hope?

In this darkening sky, is there hope for us, the Ian people?