The Story of Gothic Lady Who Met a Grave Keeper in Another World - Chapter 16

  I wondered.

 When did Sciuto promise to turn the job over to Eri, I thought.

 And I was terribly offended.

Why is she relying on that guy and not on me?

 That’s what I thought.

 I was horrified at myself for thinking that.

 Thorden is only taking care of Eri temporarily until she buys citizenship. It was only natural that Sciuto would offer Eri a job, considering her future life.

 After Eri leaves this graveyard, it is Sciuto who will take care of her.

 But even now.

 But even now, it is Sciuto who is taking care of Eri.

 I should do that.

 Right now.

“What’s with the ……?”

 Eri happily drew down a lot of sewing tools.

 The most important thing to remember is that you can’t just give anything to anyone. I was glad I could give them to her. I was happy that I, the grave keeper, could give something to Eri – I was happy that Eri didn’t mind being given things by the grave keeper.

 But if I received a gift from Eri – and if the source of that gift was from the things Sciuto had given her- I would not be happy.

 I would probably not want to take it.

 Eli would thank Sciuto for giving her the job.

 No, to begin with.

 The sewing tools that Eri asked for from Thorden were easily available if she asked Sciuto for them.

 Since Sciuto could understand Eri’s words, he could easily pick and choose what Eri wanted more strongly.

 So, he had to give it to her what she wants now.

There is really no difference between Sciuto and Thorden, they would give her everything.

 But Eri was uneasy about Thorden’s refusal to deliver it.

 What was she afraid of?

 What made her so anxious?

 Did she think it was creepy, a gift from a gravedigger – but Eri was so willing to touch Thorden and let him touch her.

 Thorden exhaled heavily, holding the note Eri had drawn to his chest.

 The comfort of being wanted and needed – the pleasure of giving.

 It intoxicated Thorden more than any strong liquor.

 No one can live without the care of a gravedigger.

 In the end, they always end up dead and under the control of the gravedigger.

 That is why people feared, hated, and despised the gravedigger.

 If they had to be taken care of after an involuntary death, they did not want to have even the slightest contact with the tomb guard while they were still alive.

 However, it was whispered that if they were treated ungratefully, they would be humiliated after death, and the very existence of a gravedigger was treated as an abomination.

 When sending the dead to their graves, everyone feels that the grave keeper has taken something they love away from them.

 It is not surprising. The dead are drawn to the grave keeper.

 If we bury the dead in our backyards because we love them so much, they will immediately attack those who are still alive.

 It is said that it is the sins of the living that move the dead.

 The dead work for the grave keeper, and only when they have atoned for their sins in life can they find peace.

 Return them, they say.

 Return our loved ones. Release them from the torments of mortality.

 But there is nothing Thorden can do.

 The dead decide who sleeps.

 Thorden can only be a symbol to guide them as they wander off like sleepwalkers.

 But…

“…… scissors, thread, and cloth…… well, that’s why I need a box of old clothes……”

 Thorden mumbled.

 I might be able to get some of it soon. How pleased would Eri be?

 Thinking about it, Thorden became aware of the fact that his heart was beating.

 He had thought that his heart had long since stopped beating like the hearts of the dead.

“…… more …… something …… for me …….”

 Will she not want it?

 Wouldn’t he be selfish?

 Couldn’t he be more commanding, more uninhibited, more like a follower?

 Thorden imagined that he would be obeying Eri’s orders all day long.

 At that moment, a shiver ran through his body.

 Would there ever be such happiness?

 To be desired by the living and to live according to their wishes – like a normal human being.

 But Thorden immediately rejects this insolent thought.

 Eri is leaving. She has to leave.

 She will leave Thorden’s hand, and Sciuto will take her by the hand, and she will live not in a cemetery filled with the stench of death, but in the fragrance of flowers.

 But until then.

 But until then, until then, until then, until then.

 Will you forgive me for my filthy service as a grave keeper?