Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1967 1939. A Passionate Life

Mare Mare had already been relieved of his paralysis and weakness by Lann's temporary herbal concoction, and he had also drunk a mouthful of the Red Dew Grail Bottle.

Aside from his still disheveled appearance and the strong, sour smell of vomit, he was in much the same condition as when he welcomed the Witcher into the city.

The city lord of Sunshade City had originally suggested that, for the sake of the family and the nobility's dignity, he should first change out of his disheveled clothes.

However, under Lan En's calm, tilted head and piercing gaze, and Melina's equally expressionless, indifferent face, the head of the Mare family could only smile wryly and immediately begin to lead the way.

More and more Sunshade soldiers are slowly regaining control of their bodies from the cauldron where Lann brews medicine. And while the inside work of Elonmer and the Fallen Perfumer brought utter destruction to Sunshade...

However, because this man-made disaster was suppressed on the spot by Lan En, even the battle scene was limited to the terrace where the execution rack was located.

Therefore, Marley Marley only needed to give a few simple instructions, and the rest of the Sunshade City soldiers could handle it.

He himself walked in a somber voice, as if he were going to his execution, leading Lan En and Melina toward the upper levels of Sunshade City.

They arrived at the city lord's hall, which they had visited before, and without stopping, continued walking deeper into the city.

As Lan En passed by the dining table in the center of the city lord's hall, which they hadn't yet cleared after lunch, he jokingly raised a glass of leftover wine—a specialty of Sunshade City—to Melina.

"Want to try some? There aren't any spies in Sunshade City specifically targeting this kind of wine anymore."

Maré, who was walking ahead, lowered his head and unconsciously quickened his pace, as if he had no words to say and wanted to flee.

After appearing in person, Melina didn't really want to return to her soul form.

Her right eye looked at the poisoned wine of Sunshade City, showing a rare hint of curiosity, but in the end she shook her head: "I... I probably don't drink. I've never tasted it."

Lan En was just joking, but he didn't expect the girl to actually seem willing to give it a try.

So he quickly put the cup on the long table that hadn't been cleared yet and continued to follow Maré Maré deeper into the hall.

As Melina passed the long table, she glanced down at the wine in the golden goblet.

At the far end of the hall was an inconspicuous partition. After Maré Maré opened the partition, the hidden space inside was revealed.

In the sudden burst of candlelight, the end of this hidden space shimmered with golden light.

It wasn't a large amount of jewelry or valuables, but rather the reflection of light in the candlelight.

What appeared before the three of them was more like a craft workshop or some kind of obscure collection museum.

On one wall in front and half of the wall on the left, a dozen or so golden prosthetic arms are neatly displayed on a shelf nailed to the wall.

The right half of the wall is symmetrical to the left, but it displays the same number of gold prosthetic legs.

Between the prosthetic hand and prosthetic leg is a painting.

It wasn't the ancestral portraits or self-portraits that nobles were used to hanging in their castles, but rather a woman with vibrant and intense colors.

She wore a golden winged helmet, and her fiery red hair flowed behind her head.

Her clothes fluttered, revealing her golden prosthetic arm and leg... just like the ones displayed on the wall.

The rest of the room contained workbenches, various prosthetic parts, and sets of tools for repair and carving.

“This is…” Lan En carefully examined the entire space and stepped forward.

"This is it!" Mare Mare, upon entering, appeared elated and resolute. "[Valkyrie], Malenia!"

Mare Mare strode to the display wall, while Melina glanced at the portrait in the center and asked calmly, "These prosthetics, it seems you made them all yourself?"

“Marinia was afflicted with a putrefactive disease from birth.” The Lord of Sunshade City looked up at the portrait on the wall in the candlelight. “She had no right hand, and her left leg was missing due to a congenital disease. But even so! She is still alive!”

"And using the pure gold crafted by her brother, she created prosthetic arms and legs, fighting her way up to become the Valkyrie she is today!"

“Every time I think about this journey and this experience, I can’t control myself. I can only make these replica prosthetics to relieve the emotions in my heart.”

Lan En walked over to Mare Mare, first pointing to the prosthetics, then casting an inquiring glance at the Lord of Sunshade City.

It means, can I touch it?

Maré Maré did not stop him.

Each prosthetic limb here is a work imbued with his emotion and dedication, intended to perfectly replicate the prosthetic limbs used by Malenia herself. The prosthetic limbs worn by the Valkyrie were objects that allowed her, a demigod, to use freely in battle.

Replicas of Maré Maré certainly don't have that quality, but they're not delicate handcrafted works of art that can only be looked at and not touched.

Lann's fingers gently touched the golden prosthetic hand. He felt the texture of the prosthetic surface and the deeper structure beneath it, mimicking the direction of muscles, amidst the slight friction between the leather and gold of the fingertips.

The craftsmanship alone is enough to call it a masterpiece. Not to mention the magic within, which gives the prosthetic limb the ability to move at will.

“It sounds like you really like Malenia.” Lann’s fingers touched the knuckles of the prosthetic limb, and he tried to rub and manipulate them to check their flexibility. “Is this why you turned to the faith of [Crimson Corruption]?”

"You like it? Then you really underestimate my feelings, Lan En."

Maré Maré's tone was filled with mixed emotions, and he seemed to want to touch the prosthetics he had made himself.

But before raising his hand, he first wiped his hands hard on the clean corner of his clothes before placing his hand on the other side.

“How could someone like you understand?” the head of the Marei family said with a mixture of sarcasm and self-deprecation. “The Marei family has suffered from a serious hereditary disease for generations; they are born with the disease.”

“Around Sunshade City, people even complained when they returned to the tree: ‘Please don’t let me be a member of the Marley family in my next life.’”

"But... no matter how serious the hereditary disease is, how can it compare to Lady Malenia, who was born with a corrupt and parasitic disease?"

Beneath Maré's body and mask, surging emotions flowed like a powerful undercurrent.

Lan En neither confirmed nor denied this, but continued to fiddle with the prosthetic limb on the wall.

But the girl, huddled under the large cloak, seemed to be frowning in confusion as she looked at the slightly trembling Mare Mare with her only open right eye.

Carefully stroking the prosthetic limb he had crafted, Marre Marre held his head high, his eyes beneath the iron mask burning like two flames as he gazed at the majestic and beautiful portrait of the Valkyrie.

"She, like me, has suffered from illness since birth, even more severely than I have!"

“Every moment, the crimson decay is causing her pain and constantly trying to further erode her! Even just being by her side will inevitably cause the decay to spread and cause a great disaster!”

"Therefore, as the youngest demigods, they left Rodel and their parents... Ha, claiming they established the sacred tree Abrafil themselves. But wasn't it just because they were afraid the plague would spread in Rodel and drove people out?"

"Marinia, a demigod of the Golden Dynasty, is already fighting with all her might just to stay alive!"

"Now that the Golden Law has collapsed, people can't die from injuries; they only feel unprecedented torment and torture. But this torment and torture is something Malenia has endured every single moment since birth!"

Marre Marre suddenly turned his head and looked at Lann and Melina.

"Can you understand? This kind of person, this kind of Malenia! Just living is already incredibly indomitable! Incredibly passionate!"

"...just like life itself!"

“Completely different from those apathetic people of the Golden Tree!”

Lann and Melina couldn't see the face behind the iron mask, but they knew from the sound that Mare Mare's lips were trembling and his throat was choked.

Just telling others about Malenia's story filled his chest with incredibly strong emotions, like a surging tide!
Tragic yet resilient characters possess an unparalleled power to inspire, no matter where they are.

The people of the Golden Tree are blessed by the Golden Law, living forever and living in a stable cycle of reincarnation. But in Mare Mare's perception, they have all become numb and indifferent to life.

The Golden Law is so generous that those who receive its grace forget that life itself is a journey that requires constant struggle, and it is only in this struggle that life becomes vibrant and passionate!
The people of the Golden Tree live, they are immortal. But that is all they are, they merely exist.

Their immortality and stable reincarnation were too easy, entirely due to Queen Marika's meteoric rise to power.

They are the recipients of the bounty of this age of life, but never the fighters for it.

Malenia, her very existence is a struggle against the crimson corruption. And in this struggle, she grows stronger with each setback, admired by many powerful figures who revere her as the "Valkyrie."

This is already very moving in itself, and for Maré Maré, who is suffering from a family genetic disease that seems like fate, he feels a deep empathy and shared the same fate.

That's how Maré Maré became who he is today.

He secretly made many replicas of Marlenia's prosthetic limbs, and even carried a rapier with crimson corruption power on his own waist.

The collapse of the Golden Law hasn't been long ago. In the past, when the Golden Dynasty was still stable, if someone knowledgeable had noticed the hidden meaning in his rapier…

Mare Mare is no ordinary member of the Round Table. With the approval of two fingers, they can freely use any power they find convenient.

(End of this chapter)