Book 15 Chapter 20

Episode 59

The ruins of <Ikegrad> were perfectly tidied up by Rin's psychokinesis & earth magic the day after the incident.

The remains of prisons and civilian houses became a crematorium, and muddy corpses were laid on top of them.

Amidst the prayers chanted by Fride, the priestess of the Fire Dragon, the funeral was held simply yet grandly. There were only three attendees besides the priestess.

Cremation.

It was a ritual to send both soul and body away from the abyss and off to that paradise of creation.

"Fride, Rin and I will go first. Let's meet up later in <Terbenople>."

"Why? I'm fine."

"Your body might be. But what good is that? Fride's heart isn't fine at all…"

Fride's pupils, as she held the pipe in her mouth, shook greatly for a moment.

Ah, this is…

Yes, this is…

Are these the kind of people chosen as heroes from ancient times? Oh my, as beings who shine light into people's hearts, beyond the world.

"Hmph, I'm fine. Crying here doesn't suit my personality. And it doesn't seem like the match with 'that guy' would end like this either."

"Why do you think that?"

"Something, should I call it intuition? Even if not, we must eliminate [the King's Flesh] before it sows more seeds of disaster everywhere in the world. To prevent such things from happening again. So, Pipi, let's go."

Sitting on the ashes of the crematorium, Pipi, who had been barking intermittently at the smoke rising to the distant sky, returned to Fride's shoulder.

"Everyone, everyone, disappeared. Everyone. Pipi is sad."

"Yes, everyone disappeared. But it's okay."

Although she lost her old family, there's nothing in this world that can fill that void with the same size and warmth, but…

- What are you to make me cry!

Another…

Yet another…

because she has gained something big, warm, and precious.

- Fride's heart isn't fine at all…

because she can hold it in her heart. Let's bury what was lost behind us, and move forward, into the future, with what we've newly found.

"Everyone, then I'll be off."