novelraw Chapter 253 : Emis’ Oath
Chapter 253 : Emis’ Oath
Chapter 253: Emis’ Oath
Emis dreamed of that day again.
Her soul had withered in the long slumber, even her memories were slowly eroded and devoured by the will of that Judgment Holy Grail. To this day, Emis had already forgotten many things from her childhood.
But this one memory, she would never forget… Even if she had to hide in dark crevices in disgrace, even if she had to live on in a hideous, shameless way, she had to preserve it. She would never share it with anyone else, not even with the lofty Order of the World who could never take it away from her.
Looking back now, perhaps it was from that day on, that she truly began to like Rast.
…
A torrential downpour cascaded outside the cave, gathering into an endless raging flood.
The thin, small girl curled up inside the dark and chilly cave, sobbing as she stared at the rising water level outside.
Not long ago, Emis’ parents had died in an accident on their way back from trading supplies on behalf of Canaan Town… leaving behind only six-year-old Emis alone.
In this isolated border town, such tragedies were lamentable, yet unavoidable.
Though the adults had promised at the funeral to take care of the orphan Emis together, such words of comfort meant nothing to her six-year-old self.
To a child that age, parents were the entire world. With them gone, it felt as if the whole world had abandoned her.
So, after the funeral ended, Emis could no longer suppress her grief… She ran alone to a cave on the mountaintop behind the town to cry.
She never expected that heavy rain would suddenly fall, triggering a flash flood that cut off the cave from the path down the mountain.
Now, Emis could no longer leave, only wait in silence for the flood to swallow her.
Am I… going to die?
When she saw the floodwaters finally surge into the cave, rushing toward the depths, that thought surfaced in her heart.
For some reason, she did not feel much fear of death.
Perhaps, for Emis who had lost her parents, there was nothing in this world left worth clinging to.
But at that very moment, she heard hurried footsteps splashing through water.
“Phew, the adults searched everywhere below and couldn’t find you… I knew you’d be here in the cave.”
The next instant, she saw a black-haired boy, about her age, drenched to the bone, appear at the cave’s entrance.
The moment he found her, a flash of joy was obvious on his face.
“But you’re way too careless, didn’t you notice how hard it’s raining outside?”
“With rain like this, the flood has cut us off… we can’t leave, and the adults can’t come up either—”
“Looks like we can only wait for the flood to recede.”
Saying that, the boy quickly ran to Emis’ side, grabbing her hand to lead her deeper into the cave.
“Come on, the entrance is too low. The flood will swallow it soon.”
“We need to move to higher ground inside the cave before the water gets too deep, otherwise we won’t have any place to stand.”
Hand in hand, the boy guided Emis further in.
Soon, they found a raised rock platform deeper inside.
“With this height, it should be a little safer. Now we can only gamble… gamble that the water doesn’t rise this high.”
The boy let out a sigh of relief, but quickly regained his spirit.
“But with rain this heavy, the flood may last all day. Only then will the adults be able to reach us.”
“We need to prepare to spend the night here. The cave is freezing at night, the key is keeping warm.”
He took off his soaked outer coat, wrung it out, and spread it flat on the rock.
Then, he glanced at the girl’s thin clothing—Emis had stormed off to the mountain after the funeral, never thinking about warmth.
After hesitating a moment, the boy stripped off his dry sweater and handed it to her.
“Put it on. We can’t make a fire here… if you catch hypothermia, it’ll be trouble.”
Emis just stared blankly at the sweater being offered to her.
She knew this boy. He was also from Canaan Town. His father had died before he was born, and his mother in childbirth. Since birth, he had been an orphan, surviving only through the town’s charity.
They were about the same age, and so sometimes played together with other children.
But that was all—they were merely childhood playmates.
Just fleeting passers-by in each other’s lives. With time, differences in birth, family, and education would eventually set them on paths never to cross again.
She never expected it would be him to find her in this cave.
Looking at the muddy yet spirited boy, Emis suddenly felt a strange irritation.
It was the instinctive rejection born from the fact that, like him, she too had now lost her parents and become an orphan.
“Why did you come to save me!”
“My parents are dead. I’ve already been abandoned by this world… I came here just to cry alone!”
She crouched down, turning her back to Rast, covering her face, letting grief drown her once more.
“Even if the flood drowns me, it doesn’t matter. I’m already an orphan, even if I die no one will care!”
“Why did you come to save me?”
“If I die, it should’ve just been me. This has nothing to do with you… but you had to butt in!”
“You’re just a kid too, why are you pretending to be an adult!”
The girl sobbed, tears she had once held back now flowing uncontrollably.
To her, the boy’s rescue was meaningless, nothing but a self-important intrusion.
But upon hearing her cries, the boy’s muddy face showed a proud expression, his black eyes shining with spirit.
“Why did I save you? Of course it’s because I’m the Ally of Justice.”
“As the Ally of Justice, how could I ever abandon someone in danger?”
…
Hearing his answer, Emis froze, even her sobbing quieted.
“What nonsense, Ally of Justice… that’s the most childish thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You’ve just read too many knight stories from fairy tales. Those are all lies, made up by adults to fool kids.”
“Silly. Foolish.”
She muttered such scornful words.
Yet for some reason, after hearing that childish answer, she felt her grief ease a little.
Then, she saw the boy take a deep breath, suddenly turning solemn.
“All right.”
“If Little Ai is giving up because you lost your parents, and want to die…”
He spoke each word with grave resolve:
“Then from now on, let me be your father.”
“I’ll be your father, responsible for raising you, caring for you, cooking for you, and waking you up every day.”
“As long as I truly take on a father’s duties… then you won’t throw your life away again, or run alone into danger.”
Hearing his serious tone, Emis, who had been crying, couldn’t help but laugh through her tears.
She wiped her face: “But a father has to be much older… you’re about the same age as me, how could you be my father?”
“Well… that’s true.”
The boy showed a troubled expression.
“After thinking so hard for a way to save your life, to keep you from suicide… I didn’t expect to get stuck here.”
“And I had even resolved myself to take on a father’s responsibility.”
…
At the side, Emis wiped away her tears.
Looking at the boy’s troubled face, she silently smiled.
Somehow, the grief, pain, and resentment within her heart had already faded.
She sneaked a glance at the black-haired boy, feeling a gentle warmth flowing within.
His ideal was silly, naive, childish.
But.
Emis leaned closer, stealing another look at him—
His side-profile shone under the dim moonlight, sharp and clear.
“…So dazzling.”
She whispered softly to the moonlight spilling into the cave.
Yes, from the very start, she had always known—
Rast’s burning, radiant ideal was not born from Sister Grey alone.
Back in the real Canaan, when there were no Transcendents, no Nightworld, no Fool’s Library… before anything had happened.
At six years old, just an ordinary child of the town, Rast was already dreaming of becoming the “Ally of Justice.” He was willing to risk his life, cross a raging flood, and enter a cave to save a little girl he had only met a handful of times.
And Emis was the first to witness that radiant ideal.
Later, inheriting the “Fool’s Library,” becoming a Shoreguard—those were simply natural steps, the inevitable outcome of the boy carrying his dream and belief to the end.
To Emis, titles like “Ally of Justice” and “Shoreguard” were not especially convincing.
But she thought that the boy, who had once acted for such a childish ideal and held to it for life, was brilliant and dazzling.
So, on that day, she made a vow no one else knew.
If the village girl named Emis had any dream of her own—
Then her dream was—
To forever stand by that boy’s side, to guard his path of chasing dreams until the very end…
Until death parted them.