Several seasons had passed in Claris.
And a figure draped in green was strolling through the campus.
His name was Edwin Gwynn.
An honor graduate of the Academy,
the guardian of this place,
and the legendary student who rose to prominence as a quasi-war hero…
Of course, all the credit belonged to Lev Denec behind the scenes,
but ultimately, the only person recognized by the world was Edwin.
“Hoo.”
Having stopped by the Communication Hall for work, he let out a short sigh.
No one questioned his background anymore.
– It’s Edwin-nim!
– Amazing…!
– I heard he’s a genius at effort…!
On the contrary, his popularity soared daily…
But now, he had to fend for himself without Lev.
[Yellody Latashia, keep an eye on her.]
This was Lev’s last request before he embarked on his long journey.
Edwin had also received reports during his investigation of the fallen Demon King’s Castle that a person resembling Yellody Latashia had escaped.
Well, with the Demon King gone, this much was required to be worthy of the title of hero.
“Next, Edwin-nim.”
At that moment, a staff member of the Communication Hall handed Edwin a letter.
“We have another piece of mail. Should I return it to the sender?”
“…”
If the mail was for Edwin, who had no family, it would likely be occasional greetings from Psyche, offers from a major guild for recruitment, or noble marriage proposals.
But honestly, the most frequent correspondence came from somewhere else.
Specifically, letters from Melissa Prominence, once the princess of the Principality of Prominence.
Edwin had long since blocked her mail and returned it, yet it had been two years and the letters kept coming.
“Wouldn’t it be better to check it once and reply to say not to send it anymore?”
Clearly, Lev had even forgiven Liris.
“I suppose so.”
Following the staff member’s suggestion, with a cheerful smile, Edwin finally decided to read the letter.
…
“…”
[Hello, Edwin?]
The light-hearted beginning of the letter was unexpectedly longer than usual for something that came daily.
There were no words about wanting to see Edwin, regrets, or longing.
It was simply filled with Melissa’s everyday experiences and trivial matters.
And always a feeling of gratitude and apologies.
—————————————————
…
I’m really sorry for waiting for your reply on my own.
– Melissa
—————————————————
Even without reviewing the letters up to this point, Edwin could roughly guess how this ending sentence would go.
“…”
Like the ink smeared by Melissa’s tears, she might have softened a little.
Just as Edwin was contemplating whether or not to respond…
“Hello, Senior Edwin?”
“…?”
A girl with braided hair suddenly appeared before him.
She looked as fresh as a freshman, just out of childhood.
However, she had the potential beauty that hinted at what her future growth could be.
“I’m Emma. A freshman at Claris, and I’m helping out at the Communication Hall during the break.”
“Oh, so you’re that girl?”
As Edwin was a direct senior to Emma, he knew a bit about her from her interview.
The youngest girl who survived the raid on the infamous guild [Crow Pay] led by the Pleasure Lord.
She was also from the same commoner background as him.
“By the way, do you have a close relationship with Senior Lev?”
“…”
Why are so many people asking about that guy?
“We’re kind of close…”
“I have a connection with Senior Lev too~.”
“Oh… really?”
As Edwin reacted, Emma pointed her finger at the letter from Melissa he was holding.
“Well, instead of staring at that, why don’t you treat me to a meal?”
“Huh? Ask Lev to treat you…”
“No thanks. He’s not even around Claris.”
“Oh…”
“Come on! I’ll cover the snacks! Let’s go…!”
With that, Emma wrapped her arms around Edwin’s and began to drag him away.
*
In the private Magic Tower of Lev Denec located in the Artina territory.
A woman, looking holy and noble, inquired behind Lev, who was checking the dimensional gate.
“Are you leaving today?”
“Yes.”
Her name was Psyche.
A current Saint and a former Saint at that.
Lev stood up and asked her.
“Saint, are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I’m recovering little by little.”
Though Psyche had transferred all of her sacred powers to Aria,
the position of the Saint had been vacant since Aria became one of Lev’s followers.
Therefore, Psyche, who was the suitable candidate, had become the new Saint.
Of course, compared to her previous strength, she was a very weakened Saint.
“I’m glad to hear that. Please take good care of this place.”
“Of course.”
The gray-haired boy smiled brightly and began adjusting the magic formula for the dimensional gate again.
Psyche murmured softly.
“Lastly, may I ask one request?”
“Speak.”
“Could I have a hug?”
Lev knew she wasn’t saying this out of rational emotions.
Probably trying to feel for Kroon’s trace.
Understanding the sorrow for someone who might not return, Lev willingly allowed it.
“Alright.”
– Hug.
Psyche gently approached and embraced him from behind.
“Thank you, Student Lev.”
“…”
“For saving me, for defeating the Demon King… and…”
“…”
“…for helping me find closure regarding Kroon.”
Psyche understood as well.
He was not Kroon.
Neither in personality nor in appearance.
But in the direction he helped her, the things he pursued echoed Kroon’s footsteps.
Above all, he carried Kroon’s will forward.
That’s why she felt so… grateful.
– Swoosh.
Psyche returned her arms to a normal position and took a few steps back.
“I’ll be praying earnestly for your well-being, as a Saint.”
“Thank you. Please take care too, Saint.”
…
*
– Clomp, clomp.
As Psyche descended the stairs of the Magic Tower, a woman with her arms crossed was waiting at the entrance.
A woman with pitch-black hair.
It was Liris Larochelle.
Psyche smiled softly and asked.
“Don’t you need to say goodbye?”
“…”
She did not reply but quietly nodded her head and left.
She probably felt unworthy of it.
Soon, she would confess everything.
About her devotion to the demons… and the misconduct she had been secretly engaging in at the Academy.
But she wanted to sincerely express her gratitude for being saved from that pit of despair.
“Thank you, Junior… I appreciate it.”
The sky above the Artina territory that Liris looked up at was incredibly and deeply blue.
*
“Huh, is that it?”
It seemed the dimensional gate was finally opening successfully.
To sum it up… I had regained my memories recently.
Thanks to Liris.
She hadn’t lied when she said she would help me recover my memories.
On that day, the cursed sword she aimed at me was certainly the demon sword.
The same demon sword that Aria had stabbed me with.
– Shiver.
But she handed it to me with trembling hands.
– Are you going to make an extreme choice?
– …No, never mind. Just take it.
– …?
– You said you wanted to regain your memories.
– Why is this…?
– Because your blood has been absorbed here.
That’s right.
The bloodstains caked onto the blade were all my blood.
To be precise, it was the blood that had been in my body before I triggered the Soul Spring.
And also, being a demon sword, it was evident that the sword had absorbed a considerable amount of my blood.
Liris explained to me in a weak voice.
– When demons die… they seek new bodies through the Soul Spring, right?
Knowing this was no ordinary bit of knowledge…
– And memories are connected to the blood from the previous body.
She really was a demon enthusiast.
– Even in minute amounts, it will help you find your memories.
This was the whole story of the incident.
Afterward,
– You again?!
– This is the last time.
– …!
To regain my memory, I asked Hazel, the master of alchemy, to extract my blood,
and started an implementation resembling the Soul Spring.
The memories were recovered slowly but surely.
I roamed around places where I had memories with Aria, and sometimes Yeriel, talking together.
– I’m glad…! I was worried about you, Lev…!
– I’m sorry, Yeriel.
We laughed and cried, sharing numerous emotions.
This took quite a bit of time.
Moreover, it took a lot of work and effort to slowly convert the Demon King’s power that Aria had purified into my own.
To shift the world line back to normal and, most importantly, to return to my original world was the only method available.
Thus, two years passed.
After many trials and errors, I finally managed to open a dimensional gate that led back to my original world using the Demon King’s power.
…
“Is this it? The gate to your homeland?”
Looking back, everyone had arrived, led by Selena.
“You’re all here.”
– Whooooo…!
The opened bluish dimensional gate welcomed us.
And beside me, Aria stepped forward confidently.
I asked her.
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Not at all. Not with you, Lev.”
Since the safety of the dimensional travel wasn’t verified yet, I planned to test it first together with Aria, who had become my follower.
If the outcome was successful, I could invite Yeriel, Selena, and Lily to the world I once inhabited later.
“Well then, everyone, farewell from here. Thank you for everything.”
“Lev…! Don’t worry here…! Come back! You too, Aria!”
“Yes, Yeriel-nim.”
I answered Yeriel’s smile with a gentle grin as we exchanged our farewells.
“Since I’ll come back soon, we don’t need to say a long goodbye…”
“I don’t want that.”
At that moment, a girl with brown hair bowed her head and began to express her feelings.
“Lily…”
Two years later, and Lily Forget had finally hit her growth spurt.
She was no longer as clingy to me as before, her appearance having matured a bit.
– Lily, goodbye?
– …Hmph.
Rather, I felt a twinge of disappointment as she didn’t even bother to respond and just disappeared.
“Well, at least you came to say goodbye?”
“…”
As I patted her in the head, the pouty expression Lily wore began to glisten with tears.
“Don’t go.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“…Lev is bad. You have too many girlfriends.”
“…”
Caught off guard by the sudden roast, I felt like I was hit by silence magic and couldn’t open my mouth.
“B-but, I don’t have a daughter, right?”
“Eh…?”
An uncomfortable feeling set in.
“I want to be Lev’s daughter.”
– …!!!
Everyone fell silent at Lily’s shocking proclamation.
If I hadn’t made a mistake during my middle and high school days, I’d think she was nuts.
‘Seriously considering this…’
“Lily, you can’t say that…”
Just as Selena was trying to intervene in disbelief, I gently patted her head again and whispered.
“How about a younger sibling…? I don’t have one.”
“None…?”
“Yep. Just my one younger sister. The perk is that she can visit whenever she likes, as if it were her own home.”
“Whoa…! I want that!”
Lily’s eyes sparkled with childlike wonder once more.
But soon after, she wore a sad expression and grabbed my sleeve.
“…But you have to come back soon.”
“Yeah, I promise.”
We linked pinkies and, after Lily released my clothes, I finished preparing to leave with my backpack.
“I still can’t believe there’s another dimension, but… if it’s a place where you are, make sure to invite me.”
Even Selene, the elven girl who didn’t open her heart to just anyone,
“Lev, have a good trip! I’ll always wait here for you!”
And kind, amiable mage Yeriel, who was especially sincere with me.
“Alright, someday we’ll all live at my place.”
– ……
With those words, there was a moment of silence.
Everyone then laughed as if to say, “Well, what can you do?”
“Lev is such a greedy guy…”
“Lev, you sure are full of ambition.”
“No, you’re more like a playboy, aren’t you?”
“Lev, fool!”
They were all my connections.
So precious were my bonds.
“Well then, shall we get going…?”
“Yes, let’s.”
As always, Aria’s eyes were clear as a blue sky.
No longer did I feel the uncomfortable emotions of wanting to uncover my identity or my unease.
Now, only the signals of trust and fondness remained.
– ……
After exchanging subtle glances with Aria,
I entrusted myself to the dimensional gate leading to South Korea.
Wishing for happiness in the days to come.
