Book 11 Chapter 5

Episode 257

#2 Interlude, Prologue of the Epilogue (2).

The reunion with Setsunen, whom I met again two days later, hmm, was the worst.

Setsunen, whose body had somehow grown to resemble that of an infant.

Didn't she say this, striking a pose while touching her face with her right hand?

"Favoring only Mir is evil (惡)! If one loves justice, one would not show favoritism…! That's how it is!"

Rain and Miria couldn't close their mouths. Even Aki tilted her head nearly 90 degrees.

"Unbelievable!"

"She speaks better than Aki?!"

Oh, why? Why tears?

Where did the eldest daughter's authority go? Was Aki really the only strange one?

"Ah, Aki can do well if she tries! Aki speaks this well."

"Statement in question, lack of logical evidence. Demand for evidence submission for credibility."

It was Mir who firmly denied Aki's statement. Setsunen clenched her fist and shouted, looking up at the sun.

"Justice, that great value! Until all evil (惡) in this world is eradicated, Setsunen's justice shall be eternal…! That's how it is!"

"???"

"Sister Aki, Setsunen, the advocate of justice, is speaking, so stand up straight! (惡) Your posture is crooked because you don't have a heart that loves justice…! That's how it is."

Miria questioned Shilin, the culprit behind this crazy brainwashing (?), who was shedding tears of emotion and giving a standing ovation.

"No, what did you do? Why did Nen become so strange?"

"The Golden Dragon is a guardian of justice; she simply acquired it on her own without me teaching her. And look. She's already grown that much from an infant state."

"No, even so, that's…"

Just then, Aki's punishing 'forehead flick' struck Setsunen.

Setsunen grabbed the bump that had appeared on her head and whimpered…, sniffling.

Mir watched the scene expressionlessly, then suddenly opened her mouth.

"Hak du aos."

What was recited at that moment was the dragon language, the words of the White Dragon specialized in healing dragon speech among the three races, which instantly healed the bump.

Mir's power was so tremendous that even Shilin's eyes widened.

As soon as she was freed from pain, Setsunen folded her arms again, feeling smug.

"A younger sibling helping an older sibling is justice! But an older sibling hitting a younger sibling without warning is evil (惡)… Agh, ouch!! That's how it is!"

Rain, who had been watching that series of playful acts, eventually couldn't help but let out a clear laugh.

"Miria, it might not be that bad."

It's going to get lively.

So you won't be lonely. You'll be happy. You'll be able to support each other when things are tough.

Now, and continuously in the immortal journey you must walk together in the future.

Just as every single day spent with comrades guided my second life.

"What do you think of this?"

Valencidis, the man in the iron mask, who had heard the entire story, shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, solitude tends to significantly develop a person's inner self more than one might think, and I wonder if you haven't taken away all those opportunities."

"Ha! Of course, no good words would come from you. I don't know what I was expecting."

"They say the wise listen to loyal advice, and the ignorant only to flattery. You need to train yourself to cut off the sycophants in your life, Rain Ludwig."

I laughed, thinking, "This guy really hasn't changed."

"I-I, too, am, uh, d-doing, t-that, tr-training."

Obin, despite becoming a king, still hasn't lost his timid nature of hiding behind this guy's coattails.

"Did you know, Obin? Setsunen speaks better than you now."

"…?"

"And another thing, you probably won't need to wear that crown or eye patch anymore."

The new power I gained upon reaching the 7-star rank was light (光).

The Genesis authority that returns all things, whose framework has been distorted by the abyss, to their original created form.

All diseases, starvation, disabilities, and curses belong to the abyss; Obin's congenital disability can also be cured.

"So, how is it?"

Obin, having removed his crown, mouthed a few times, then finally lifted his head with an incredulous look.

"Oh…?"

Valencidis wore an even more bewildered expression than the person involved.

And rightly so, hadn't he mastered both magic and sorcery?

He understood the mystery of the miracle unfolding before his eyes even better than Obin.

"You're next, just stand still."

"Me, you mean…? No, never mind."

"Why are you backing out now? It's not even that difficult."

However, Valencidis merely waved his hand dismissively.

"This pain reminds me of my sins. It's a cross I must bear for life. To remove it would be nonsensical. I will never forgive myself."

"So you'll suffer alone for the rest of your life? While doing good deeds wearing a mask?"

"…"

"Stop it, man. How many good deeds can you do looking that scary? Everyone will just be scared and avoid you."

Rain thought. I can't be a great person like Fride.

I can't say beautiful words like "just forgive yourself already," no matter how hard I try.

My conversations are always practical, just carefully conveying my true feelings behind a mask of practicality.

"Help as many people as possible. And expand the influence of the Solond Kingdom on the Adrion continent."

"…?"

"I'm thinking of getting a big position in the Empire soon, too. I'll need your help then."

"What on earth are you planning to do?"

"You know, that thing you've talked about your whole life?"

"You don't mean…"

Valencidis isn't someone who seeks wealth and glory.

For him, success is merely a tool for the 'redistribution of magic' that he has dreamed of since childhood.

There's a better way for him to atone than to suffer in pain until the day he dies.

"Let's create a better world together, Valencidis. So, put down that gloomy mask. And stop living with one arm."

"…!"

"After everything is over, let's go visit the graves together. Since you said you built graves for all the victims. And let's pour a drink there."

In place of a poor disciple.

I, too, will gladly pour wine on their gravestones and offer prayers.

"Rest now, close your eyes in peace."

* * *

"Wow, it's Aki!"

After passing through the Tersh Archipelago and crossing back to the Akrad Continent, the group reached the Seges region and received an enthusiastic welcome.

"But what is it?"

"She was this big…?"

"Aki is big! And strong!"

After winning the Heavenly Flower Martial Arts Tournament, so many people recognized Aki upon her return to the Northern Republic that it wasn't even difficult anymore.

"I wondered why the child was so pretty; she took after her mother's face exactly!"

If it had been Rista, she would have deftly joined the chatter of those aunties, but Miria only stammered and averted her gaze.

"By the way, this really came out."

At that moment, Rain turned the wine bottle given to him by Florena, the witch of Marind Village, over and over, wearing a forlorn expression.

"Of course, it's real, not fake? Aki won, so it sold like hotcakes. So I'm planning to sell this again this year. To make my old age prosperous, keke."

"And this kind of materialistic person is a witch…"

"I was truly surprised. That Aki was a dragon! A red dragon in this day and age!"

Aki's soul's status had already become so powerful that it couldn't be concealed by the tool Yuliana had given her.

That's why the witches they encountered recognized Aki's true identity…

He wondered if they would be accused of fraud, but it seemed that Aki being a dragon actually garnered even more enthusiastic support than before.

"Picture familiar, strange."

Mir, who peeked out from behind his back and looked at the wine label, tilted her head expressionlessly.

"The one drawn here is Sister Aki."

"Credibility low, unbelievable."

"It's true. It's proof that Aki won as the Grape Girl. My sister was incredibly cute when she was little."

Yes…

Could I ever forget the memory of that day?

And that day, I thought I would never be able to return here with Aki again.

"She was incredibly cute back then…"

It felt as if the warmth of that day had seeped into this picture, and Rain stared at the label for a long time, speechless.

The day I feel the warmth I felt that day again will not come.

But I can remember that warmth. Even if it's just like this.

"I'm exhausted from dealing with people. Why don't you help me at all? You could at least come and say something."

When Miria escaped the throng of people and came to his side, *swish*, with the sound of the wind, the flower field quietly settled.

Twilight shattered into countless fragments on the surface of the river, hidden by the flower field.

The ephemeral autumn sunlight and cool air blended with this scenery, casting a dreamy atmosphere over the entire flower field.

In that quiet and pleasant stillness, Mir quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.

Only the sound of Aki and Setsunen laughing merrily as they played in the flower field in the distance, mingled with the river breeze, echoed through the flower field like an echo.

"It's nice."

"Huh?"

"That you can return to a place filled with memories with someone."

Miria blinked in surprise, then quickly let out a shy cough and sat demurely beside Rain.

"Can I tell you something?"

That spot was a distance with just enough space for a fist to fit between them; was that their psychological distance?

No.

Long ago, that is, 300 years ago, when they visited this flower field, they had sat like this then, too.

"To be honest, many of Rista's memories still feel like things I've seen in a dream."

"That's right. That's probably how it is."

"But you know, there's one thing, just one thing, but there's one memory that's as clear as if it were my own."

Rain couldn't see her expression because of her white hair fluttering as if dancing.

However, her two hands, clenched into fists on her thighs, trembling, was clearly visible to everyone.

In that moment, only she herself knew that her cheeks were faintly flushed and that she was breathing gently.

"You know the Mad Dragon Haraderiman, right?"

"If you don't know, aren't you a spy for the Black Church? No, they'd know too."

"Whenever I persuaded Uncle Yoshuhar and an audience was granted, I would always go before Haraderiman and pray."

"Pray?"

"A prayer. A memory of praying that if I were pitied, it would be fine if I didn't have a happy family, fine if I didn't have extraordinary abilities like now, fine if I had no memories, and fine if this body died, as long as I could be reborn."

Rista, hugging her knees and looking up at the sunset, with only a smile visible to Rain because of her hair blowing in the wind.

"Do you know how I prayed in the end, after doing that?"

He couldn't find a way to answer that playful question other than with silence and the sound of breathing.

Let's be honest.

Rain had kept his distance from Miria until now. He had avoided taking Miria seriously. As if something, like a hope in his heart, might shatter.

He had maintained that attitude, and if he had the same feelings now, he would have subtly pushed away that question.

But now…

He couldn't find a way to answer because of his increasingly fast heartbeat.

"Like a coincidence, meeting the same person."

At that moment, Miria turned her face and looked directly at Rain…

Making Rain momentarily forget even to breathe with his mind.

A smile blended with Rista's characteristic bright and mischievous smile and Miria's serious, shy smile.

With such a beautiful expression, and with unwavering sincerity, she looked directly into Rain's eyes.

"Like fate, to let me love the same person."

As if, at the moment those words ended, the world's second hand decided to start moving again.

In the last twilight, the evening primroses opened their buds one by one, emitting fragrance and light.

Petals swaying in the breeze, the two people's hair, their breaths softly intertwining.

"Rain, will you embark on the journey of life with me?"

300 years ago.

A promise somewhat different from the brief promise exchanged before being trapped in eternal ice, a proposal with an entirely different weight.

It could never be fulfilled.

A promise that was never meant to be fulfilled.

As if transcending such a providence, as if reaching out from beyond time, Rista's voice overlapped Miria's hands and face.

And the answer to that question was.

On that day, at the moment they first met in the magic tower, at the moment he heard the word "world (世界)," it might have already been decided.

Like, fate.