Chapter 698 — After the Burning
Blade of Dawn · Page 4 of 4
"Then... we'll be able to come back when the time comes, right?" The man watched the soldier's expression out of the corner of his eye as he spoke rapidly. "Our home is in the town. There's still..."
He did not finish. The woman beside him seemed to give his arm a stealthy nudge, and Norris found himself wondering what the rest of that sentence would have been—a jar of wheat? A box of flour? A sickle? Or a few silver coins hoarded through bitter labor?
He did not ask. He only nodded firmly. "You will come back. That is the order His Majesty has given me."
The hunched man broke into a smile. "Ah, then it seems Emperor Cecil really is a good man."
They left.
A long while later, Norris finally broke the silence. "We still have a long road ahead."
"Yes, Minister."
"But everything will be all right," Norris said, turning around. He looked out over that vast, fertile land scorched by war, and spoke as though to himself. "Just as His Majesty said... on this burned earth, new shoots will grow in the end."