Berserk: The Prophet

"Ninety-eight!" "Ninety-nine!"

"Swish!" "Swish!"

"one hundred!"

"Ha... Hoo, hoo."

Guts, covered in sweat, slumped down on a decaying tree trunk, leaning on his sword. Green followed suit, brandishing his sword and lying flat on the grass, gazing at the azure sky and circling birds, as if it had been a long time since he had properly appreciated such a beautiful scene.

"It's like when you swing this, you don't have to think about anything else," Gus said, panting heavily.

“Yeah, my mind is so relaxed!” Green agreed wholeheartedly, raising his hand to look at his palm, which was covered in blisters. Sure enough, no matter how much you train in the Trial Realm, the physical experience doesn’t lie; sword calluses still have to be honed through practical experience.

Guts was in no better shape. His delicate little hands, which belonged to a child, were covered in shocking calluses and blisters, and from constantly swinging his sword, they were almost bloody and mangled.

A series of heavy, forceful footsteps echoed from the jungle, and the two looked up.

"If it's just fetching water, then it will take too much time!"

"Gambino...!" the two exclaimed in unison.

Looking at the swords stuck in the ground by the two little ones, Gambino understood, but he still seemed to feel some dissatisfaction with what happened yesterday.

"Humph..."

"Here you go." Gambino casually tossed a scallop shell into Guts's arms.

"It's medicine. Apply it to the wound."

Perhaps to make up for a little bit of guilt, Gan Bi Nuo left after saying those words.

"...Huh?" Gus was a little stunned.

"Hmph!" He glanced at Gus with a slightly awkward expression, then turned and left.

“Gan...Ganpenor!” Guts belatedly stood up and called out to him, feeling that he had to say something.

When Gambino heard Guts calling him, he turned around and glanced at him again.

"..."

"...Thank you..." Guts pouted and thanked Gambino somewhat shyly.

Gambino no longer harbored the same resentment as before, and turned to leave.

"Hurry up and prepare the meal!"

Seeing Gambino walk away, Guts awkwardly sat back down, clutching the medicine Gambino had given him, as if he were being shy and hesitant.

Green couldn't help but find it amusing, so he walked over and put his arm around Gus's shoulder, teasing him.

"Are you shy, Gus?"

Seeing this, Gus quickly protected the medicine in his hand, stood up, blushed deeply, and seemed a little embarrassed and angry after being exposed.

“That’s not the case!!”

"Hahahaha!"

"What are you laughing at! Watch out or I'll hit you, Green."

"Well, Gambino is quite kind-hearted, isn't he? Let me see what this medicine looks like! Is it packaged in clam shells?"

"Humph!"

Gus took it out of his hand; it was in a scallop shell, and inside was a milky white ointment. It was quite rare; white ointment in such a backward world must be very valuable.

"It seems Gambino still cares about you quite a bit, Guts. This ointment doesn't look cheap."

"Hmm, who knows."

Guss spoke awkwardly, but his hands honestly applied the ointment to the wound on his nose.

"Ouch...it hurts!"

The medicine seemed to be a bit too strong; as soon as it was applied, Gus winced in pain.

"Maybe it's just to ease his guilt. Come on, let's go cook, Green." Wiping away the tears that had welled up in his eyes, Gus led Green to prepare breakfast for everyone as usual.

...............

After April.

"The higher-ups have ordered us to select suitable people to go to Midland as spies to deliver messages. I remember you have two little devils in your legion, right? Gambino."

"Uh...yes, sir, but..."

“I understand. You don’t need both of them together. If I remember correctly, they are your adopted sons, right?” The burly Commander Juda interrupted Gambino’s speech. Although he only had one eye left, he did not use a particularly forceful tone, but it was still irresistible.

"Yes...I guess so."

"Well, I don't want such a young child to bear such a heavy responsibility, but that's how the world is. Don't worry, I won't let him do any dangerous missions. It's just that children are more likely to lower the enemy's guard."

The burly man stood up and looked a head taller than Gambino, whose head only reached about chest height.

"Hmm..." Gambino responded somewhat reluctantly.

"Look, you won't work for nothing."

The man patted Gambino on the shoulder and handed him a bag of money.

Upon seeing the money, Gambino's expression instantly brightened. He opened the money pouch to check; it was a bag of silver coins! Enough to eat for a long time!!

"Ah, hahaha, you're too kind..."

"Haha, I think your adopted son has performed quite well on the battlefield..."

The two began exchanging compliments, and perhaps because having two children on the battlefield was too conspicuous, the course of history began to shift slightly.

............

"Hey! Green, are you there?"

Either child could die on the way, but once they entered Windam, the capital of the Midlands, there should be little danger.

On his way back, Gambino was somewhat annoyed. No matter what, such a young child was actually quite easy to kill. But he had already taken the money and couldn't just not do the job. After thinking it over, he decided that Green, who had been a bit smarter since childhood, was more suitable to go. If things went wrong, his chances of survival would be greater. Although he had some skill in swordsmanship, he was still a child after all, and he wouldn't be very intimidating with a sword. He could only pray that the child would have better luck.

"Here! What's wrong, Gambino?"

The two brothers, who had just finished bathing in the river, heard Gambino calling them and quickened their pace to run over.

"Well, it's a bit hot, and I'm not afraid of encountering any danger if I go to take a bath so late."

"Okay, we'll be careful," Gus said somewhat reluctantly.

“Okay, be careful next time. Green, come with me for a second.” Gambino turned around and gestured for Green to come over.

The two brothers looked at each other, seemingly never having done this before; they were usually together.

"Go back and rest first, Gus. I'll be back soon."

"Well, I'll wait for you."

At this moment, neither of them knew that they were about to part ways. They treated it as a trivial matter, since they were occasionally called out to do tasks. However, this was the first time they had been called out alone at night. Gus watched Green's figure disappear before returning to his tent, feeling somewhat uneasy.

...............

Gambino led Green to the hillside, casually sat on a rock, looked down at the camp, and told Green about the plans of the higher-ups. His feelings were somewhat complicated.

Do you know why I called you out alone?

"I don't know," Green answered truthfully. He didn't want to think about it now, since he didn't have much of Guts' childhood in his memory. He only knew some of it from watching the animated version, but it was all painful stuff.

"Because you are more suitable than your brother."

Gambino rarely looked at someone with such a serious gaze.

Green stared at him, seemingly aware of the potential danger of this situation, perhaps one he would never return to.

The late summer night was slightly cool, and the breeze felt pleasant on my freshly washed skin. Even the breeze in this world could bring a touch of coolness to someone from another world. Perhaps he didn't belong to this world at all. Green's mood was surprisingly calm.

"Of course, I will go."