Slime Immortal.

Chapter 33 My Funeral
As Noah passed by the warm light-emitting window of the Old Oak Tavern, the lively laughter and clinking of glasses from inside could be heard unobstructed.

It was so lively that he was dazed for a moment.

He had no intention of staying, but his attention was drawn by several adventurers sitting around a table, chatting loudly over large glasses of ale.

A burly man with a face full of flesh and a missing front tooth took a big gulp of wine and shouted while wiping his mouth.

"Let me tell you, those gray-skinned bastards' claws are sharper than steel daggers! One strike and Old Barton's iron-inlaid oak shield will be as good as paper!"

"That's right! And the grey scales all over its body are as tough as dwarven plate armor! A single axe strike would send sparks flying."

"Hey, have you heard about that... nobleman who insisted on trying his luck at Reed Bank a while ago, what's his name... Belmont?"

"Ha! That idiot who doesn't know his own weight? He must have been fed to the water lizards in the swamp, or become a toothpick for the gray-scaled beasts!"

The man with the strong front teeth laughed out loud.

"You're not going to earn a few copper coins guarding the city gates, but you're going to make a fortune from the subhumans."

"That kind of place, how could a delicate-skinned pretty boy like him go? A noble lord? Pah! If he died, there wouldn't even be anyone to collect his body!"

In the past, hearing such obscene words that blasphemed the family name and the dignity of a knight, the anger in Arno's heart would be enough to make him draw his sword.

But at this moment, a strange calmness enveloped him.

He stopped and listened quietly outside the tavern window, with no expression on his face, and not even his fists clenched.

At this moment, all he felt was a deep exhaustion and complete relief from the meaningless fame.

He shook his head and was about to return to the inn when the adventurers' next words pierced his composure like an icicle:

"Poor little widow of his! I heard his funeral was held in the chapel today! Tsk tsk, life will be hard for him with two children!"

Funeral?! Lola?! Kids?!

Arno's heart seemed to be grasped tightly by a giant cold hand. It stopped beating instantly, and then began beating wildly again, almost bursting out of his chest!
All the fatigue and aches, as well as the confusion about the future and the fear of the devil, all dissipated at this moment.

He must see them immediately!
He no longer cared about attracting attention. He turned around abruptly and ran with all his strength towards the small white stone church on the west side of the town.

……

It was almost dusk, and the afterglow of the setting sun cast a dull golden-red hue on the neatly arranged white tombstones in the church cemetery. Instead of bringing warmth, it added a touch of desolation.

The air was filled with the damp smell of freshly turned earth, the faint fragrance of withered white flowers, and a heavy, unresolvable sadness.

The low bell rang for the last time, and the old priest in a simple black robe stood in front of the newly erected simple wooden cross, the setting sun stretching his shadow into a long and slender shape.

He held a bronze emblem symbolizing "the sun and power" in his folded hands, his voice old and deep, carrying a comforting power.

"In the name of the Sun Ignis, we gather here..."

"We remember Arno Belmonte, who walked under the sun, wielded sword and shield, and fulfilled his duty."

"May the light of Ignis's Holy Flame illuminate his path back to the peaceful night and heal all unfinished regrets and pain."

"..."

After a long time, the mourning ended. The old priest nodded slightly and turned to Laura with a gentle and compassionate voice.

"Ms. Lola, my condolences."

"Ignis will burn his sins of greed, but will also grant the living the strength to move forward. May you find solace in remembrance, rather than sinking into eternal night."

"Condolences..."

These two words were like a cold hammer, hitting Laura's already broken heart again.

She was wearing a rough black linen dress, her blonde hair was tied up messily behind her head, and a few strands of hair were stuck to her pale cheeks without a trace of blood due to her tears.

The blue eyes that were once filled with tenderness and love now only contained empty despair and endless tears.

She looked at the newly dug pit in front of her and the tomb with a cross erected symbolically, and felt that her heart was buried with it.

Her Arno...

That once spirited knight's squire, that clumsy yet persistent husband who wanted to provide for his family... all that remained was a pile of cold earth. She couldn't even imagine what he had gone through in the end.

"Mother……"

A small hand gently tugged at the hem of her skirt.

Emily, the four-year-old daughter, tilted her little face up, her clear blue eyes filled with ignorant confusion.

"Dad...is he sleeping in the dirt? When will he wake up? Emily wants to show him my new painting..."

Next to him, his seven-year-old son, Arno, pursed his lips tightly, trying to act like a man, but his slightly trembling shoulders and red eyes revealed his inner sadness.

Laura's body trembled violently. She squatted down and used all her strength to force out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Dad... Dad has gone to a very far place... to find... to find delicious candies and toys for Emily and little Arno... It will take a very long time..."

The more Laura spoke, the more sadness appeared in her eyes. The huge sadness completely overwhelmed her. In the end, she couldn't help but kneel on the ground and burst into tears.

"Arno... my dearest Arno... wu..."

Just as she was crying so hard that her vision went dark and she was almost fainting, suddenly a cry of joy pierced through the twilight and echoed behind her.

“Lola!!!”

Laura's body froze instantly.

Hallucination? It must be an illusion caused by excessive sadness... She thought desperately.

But the voice was so real.

She turned back with a death-struggle.

In the setting sun, a tall but extremely disheveled figure was staggering over the low stone wall of the cemetery and running towards her!

A tattered coat, a face stained with mud, messy dark chestnut hair, and that familiar silhouette...

It's Arno!
The living Arno!

It's not an illusion! It's not a dream!

The ecstasy that was enough to break down all dams instantly drowned all the sadness and despair.

Laura let out a short whimper and threw herself into the man's arms crying.

Arno looked at the trembling figure in his arms, felt the strength of her grip on his waist and back, and listened to her suppressed sobs deep in her throat.

My heart is filled with mixed emotions.

feel bad.

A strong sense of guilt surged in my heart.

He raised his head and saw the sudden burst of light and the suppressed tears in his son Arno's eyes, the confused and surprised little face of his daughter Emily, and the grave built for him.

I feel so grateful.

Cardos above...

No, maybe I should pray to that mud demon.

Anyway, he's back!
He didn't let the desperate funeral turn into an irreversible ending!

"Sorry... Laura... I'm sorry..."

He whispered in his wife's ear over and over again, his voice choked and hoarse.

Then he tightened his arms and hugged her and the child even tighter, as if he wanted to rub them into his body and use the real touch to dispel the coldness of the tombstone.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched the figures of the family of four hugging each other very long.

(End of this chapter)