Bang bang bang-!!
As someone knocked heavily on the inn’s door, a girl with sky-blue eyes, Mari, opened it and stepped out.
“…What happened?”
“Huuh…”
Upon opening the door, Mari saw a woman. Athena.
She was panting heavily, her face flushed and dripping with sweat.
Mari frowned as if something displeased her.
“Please tell me you didn’t do anything to Mom?”
“…Can’t you see I’m trying to avoid that?”
Athena quickly brought the woman on her back forward and presented her to Mari.
Mari’s face broke into a wide smile as she accepted the woman.
“Hah… Seriously…”
Looking exhausted, Athena wiped her face with her hand.
Holding the woman tightly, Mari tilted her head at Athena.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s better if you don’t know.”
Leaving behind an unexplainable statement, Athena stepped back outside.
“It would be best to get Hera to sleep quickly.”
“Surprising, huh? I thought she’d want to sleep with Mom.”
Seeing Mari’s surprised expression, Athena replied with a disappointed face.
“I’d like to do that too… but I’ve got places to go.”
“Then it’s just you and Mom, heehee.”
“…..”
At that moment, seeing Mari’s creepy expression, Athena wondered if it was okay to leave Hera alone with her.
But over the last two years, it was Mari, not herself, who had been with Hera every day.
She thought nothing particularly bad would happen.
“Then I’ll get Mom to sleep, so hurry and go.”
“Make sure you put her to sleep right away.”
“Yeah, yeah. Hurry and go.”
Though Mari nodded as if she found it tedious, a nagging feeling nagged at Athena.
But with things to do, she reluctantly turned and walked away.
Thus, the inn’s door closed.
In the serene darkness that returned to the room, Mari stared at her mother for a long time with a lustful gaze.
During this time, Mari suddenly found herself questioning Athena’s words.
The suggestion to put her to sleep right away.
It seemed there had to be some other reason than just fatigue.
However, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find an answer, so she gave up and tried to lay her mother down on the bed.
“Hehe… Let’s sleep together, Mom. I’ll give you the medicine.”
“Uughh…? Mari…? My daughter…!!”
Woken by her voice, her mother looked at her with wide eyes.
But the expression was quite different from usual.
“…Mom?”
Of course, her mother always looked at her with love.
Being by her side always made her happy.
But now, her mom looked too cute to resist. With her eyes full of hearts, she gazed down at her.
“Mari…!! My cute daughter!! My lovely daughter…!!”
“Puhak..! W-wait, Mom?!”
Her mom started to leap at her, hugging her tightly.
It was a moment where Mari realized what Athena had meant.
*
Past the academy garden, there’s a riverbank.
Under the moonlight reflecting on the river, a beautiful scenery unfolds.
There stands a girl with ash-gray hair, sobbing sorrowfully.
“Ugh… Huh…”
A sad cry mixed with resentment and sorrow.
Lily continued to shed tears, screaming inside her heart.
Why.
Why.
Why.
Why….
Why are you siding with that woman, Unnie?
I spent more time with you than she did.
I was always by your side.
I laughed with you, slept with you, was happy with you.
But why… why on earth?!
“Why are you siding with that woman?!”
As she smashed her fist into the ground, a hole formed around her.
But no matter how many times she struck the earth, the misplaced resentment kept swirling within her heart.
Even after thinking it through several times, she couldn’t understand.
Why she had to be distant from her sister over this.
Surely, she thought her sister would hate that woman…
But rather than hating her, she looked at that woman with eyes filled with love, just like she looked at Lily.
‘…I can’t forgive her.’
There must be some trick at play.
Her sister would never betray her.
That woman must have done something to her sister—
“Are you feeling better?”
“….!!”
Startled by the sudden voice, Lily quickly drew her sword and pointed it in the direction of the voice.
In the dim night, illuminated by the soft moonlight, a figure appeared.
“You…!! How did you get here?!”
“I told you I wanted to talk to you.”
It was that woman, the one with sunlit eyes, sparkling with annoyance.
What business did she have in this place that was supposed to be beautiful for her reunion with her sister? How dare she tread here.
“I think we have something to discuss…?”
Suppressing her rising emotions, Lily calmly said to her.
But even with Lily’s sharp words, that woman started to approach her closer.
“Don’t come any closer!! I swear I’ll kill you if you do!!”
Lily took a stance, ready to swing her sword at any moment, trying to warn her.
However, Athena kept a composed expression.
“You can swing it.”
“…..What?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected words, Lily felt confused.
As Athena stretched her hand into the air, she grasped a golden sword.
Holding the sword in her hand, she regarded Lily solemnly.
“Shall we have another match?”
“……You.”
Lily did not decline Athena’s provocation.
Thus, on this late night, in a park of the academy.
A historic battle, one that could be spread across the land, began.
*
The air splits.
The wind rushes.
The silver aura mingling with the fierce golden light creates a scene reminiscent of the sun crashing into the moon, a beautiful spectacle unfolding before them.
“Tch!!”
It was displeasing.
The situation where she couldn’t defeat her, and how effortlessly she was parrying her attacks.
No matter how quickly she swung her sword, no matter how powerfully she struck.
Athena quietly parried every strike.
The more she clashed swords with her, the more confused Lily felt.
‘No… That can’t be…’
She was a Grandmaster.
And this level wasn’t attained by mere luck.
A stage reached through countless battles, built through thousands of duels and honed through effort.
A title only earned by reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
Was that the reason? When it came to swords, she knew nothing else.
Thus she knew all too well.
This sensation she felt when she crossed blades with her.
It was none other than herself who was swinging the sword, filled with a negative aura.
Conversely, from Athena’s sword, she no longer felt the vicious energy she experienced at first sight.
Instead, it felt warm, like sunlight wrapping around her.
It was as if Athena was proving, just as her sister had said, that she wasn’t a bad person.
Perhaps Athena wanted her to challenge her, to prove that with her sword.
Crack-
As she grit her teeth with all her might, the taste of blood emerged in her mouth.
She didn’t want to admit it.
If she were such a warm person.
If she were capable of wielding such a sword.
Then why did she have to take her sister away?
Why did she push her into the depths of hell?
“Don’t make me laugh!!!”
Spinning around with all her strength, she swung, unleashing a huge strike towards Athena.
“Ugh..”
Struggling to block it, Athena let out a faint groan, retreating slightly.
A small wound undeniable marked her face, and a drop of blood fell.
Ignoring the complex emotions piercing her heart, she shouted at her.
“It’s all hypocrisy! What difference does it make that you pretend to be nice now?!”
“That might be true.”
Wiping the blood off her face casually, Athena regarded her.
Her still-brightly shining eyes made Lily’s breath quiver.
“But I want to ask for your forgiveness.”
“I… I can never-”
“Lily.”
Flinch-
When called by her name, her body froze.
Looking at Athena in confusion, she truly wore a dark expression like a sinner.
“You… just now…”
As she spoke with a trembling voice, Athena lowered her sword to the ground and began to approach her slowly.
“I can’t give my life. Not for Hera, nor for you.”
“…What?”
“If you kill me, Hera will be truly heartbroken. Maybe she will resent you.”
“Don’t joke…!! You just want to think that way, don’t you?”
“Do you really think I’d wish for something like that?”
Though Lily wanted to argue against Athena’s words, she couldn’t deny the seriousness in her gaze.
“I don’t want you to regret it like I did. Really. It’s a truly horrible feeling.”
Her face looked somewhat bitter as she continued speaking.
“I know how much you love Hera. And as long as she is happy, I won’t interfere.”
“You… what do you mean…”
“And of course, I’m not just asking for forgiveness with words.”
While she stared at her blankly, Athena placed her hand on top of Lily’s hand that held the sacred sword.
She then positioned the sacred sword on her own shoulder.
After closing her eyes for a moment, she opened her brilliantly shining eyes and began to speak slowly.
“I’ll give you my arm.”
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