Petals flutter around. A faint scent spreads from them. Following that scent, the smiles of new flowers bloom.
As if no combat ever occurred.
As if this was how it was from the beginning.
The garden that bloomed so beautifully it took one’s breath away transformed the surroundings into a dreamy spectacle.
And at the center of it all…
“W-what the hell…?”
Frey, with wide eyes, stood there.
[What are you staring at? Can’t you open your eyes properly? Damn it.]
With a spiteful smile, Cartia wiped her wounded cheek.
[What a coward.]
Thud- As she wiped away the blood while waiting for her wound to stop bleeding, the moment Frey’s blood dried, she gently tapped her cheek and took a step back.
At the same time, step– Frey moved one step forward.
Again. Step- Cartia retreated.
Step- Frey moved closer.
Step– step-
Step– step-step-
Ste…p– step-step-step-
By the time Frey and Cartia’s breaths were almost touching each other…
“……Tia.”
As if unable to hide her emotions any longer, Frey made a pained expression and bit her lip while calling Cartia’s name.
[What, what is it?]
“…Cartia.”
[Damn it… Why? What is it!! If you have something to say, say it already, stop stalling―]
“Cartia.”
[Huh… this… this is…]
Gliding past the shouts that Cartia was making, Frey caressed her cheek and tilted her head.
“Ah-ha.”
[Suddenly… Why, why are you doing this…]
“Really… it’s you, Cartia.”
[…Well, it’s real then. It’s not like I’m a fake like someone…]
Then, unable to contain her embarrassment any longer, Cartia quickly turned her head. But Frey pulled her head back up again.
“Really… really—”
With a smile brighter than anyone’s,
“I missed you, you damn brat.”
Thwack-!
[Ugh-!]
Frey slammed her forehead into Cartia’s upper lip.
“Eh… huh…?”
“Kiddo. We need to talk later.”
“Ugh… Yes, yes ma’am.”
And then, climbing onto her body, she tightly clenched her fists.
“You… you stupid girl!!”
Wham- Punch- Thwack-! Frey unleashed an absolutely merciless beating.
[Ugh! Gah! Aah!]
“I told you to WIN! You crappy girl!”
[Winning? Aah! How am I supposed to win in that situation, you brat- Aaaaaah! Don’t pinch me!! Just hit me instead!!]
“Victory! The victory you sang about so much!! Why!! Didn’t you achieve it, you dimwit!!! Do you think I wanted to see you like this?! Huh?! Why did you lose!! I begged you to win like that! I prayed so desperately!!”
The punches swished with a brutal force, landing countless blows on Cartia’s face.
[Aah! This crazy…!]
As her punches swung relentlessly,
[It’s meaningless, you know-]
With Cartia’s word, it stopped abruptly.
“…What?”
[Damn it! You died! You weren’t in that world! What meaning is there in defeating that guy if you’re not there!! So, so I gave up! Why!!]
“You… what did you just say?”
Frey muttered with a trembling voice, her fist gently opening.
[Ugh… it hurts like hell…]
“You said… it was meaningless because I wasn’t there…?”
[Yeah, you crazy girl. Tsk.]
“Is that so…? Really… is it meaningless?”
Gingerly rising from sitting on top of Cartia, Frey noticed Cartia rubbing her beaten parts.
Then, whoosh- Cartia’s head whipped around to face me.
She then sent a thought echo rippling through my mind instead of speaking.
[Hey, damn it. You lazy brat. What are you doing just standing there watching as your mentor gets beaten so poorly?]
The voice and tone that flowed to me… even I, who was oblivious, could tell it was an awkward voice trying to hide embarrassment.
[Ugh, they say raising a disciple is useless, and it turns out to be true… I’m so hurt, so hurt.]
…When she could’ve avoided it completely.
[Shut up.]
Hmph.
[Huh?]
Cartia’s brows furrowed.
At the same time, Frey’s sharp gaze landed on me.
“You, kiddo… no, was it Noah?”
“Y-yeah. Noah… the new Noah…”
“Hmm…”
Thud- Thud- Frey’s toes tapped the flowerbed with a lot of contemplation. Each time, petals flew up pom- pom-.
After a long pause in choosing her words, Frey cautiously opened her mouth.
“I don’t know how you did this.”
Thud- Thud- Pom- Pom-
“Thank you for that.”
“Uh… y-yeah…”
“…Right.”
“Y-yeah…”
Awkward silence hung thick enough for me to forget how to breathe.
So, how should the next conversation continue?
No… is there even a need to continue the conversation at all?
Should I explain how I did this?
I had it prepared in advance, so explaining shouldn’t be hard…
Ah, wait… would it be too much to speak up first?
Should I just stay silent?
What should I do…? What should I do…?
At least if I moved away from here, going over to Rubia’s side might make me feel a little, very much, tremendously more at ease—
[You two damn losers are really making a fuss over there.]
Kekekeke-
As I was lost in various worries, Cartia’s laughter reached my ears.
[If you’re curious, just say you’re curious. Is it that hard?]
“Shut up.”
A sharp glare fired at Cartia.
But Cartia ignored it, contorting her face grotesquely.
[You’re just a dumbass.]
“…Don’t copy me.”
[Duh, I’m trying to be like you.]
“Damn it… Agh, whatever.”
Defeated, Frey waved her hand as if dismissing it and turned her head back to Cartia.
“Noah.”
“Y-yes?”
“Just now, how did you do that?”
“…Huh?”
Her tone and manner were completely different from what she used with Cartia, much friendlier and warmer.
Caught off guard by Frey’s unpredictable change, my mind went blank.
After a brief moment,
[Wow… after all that trouble I went through to save you, you’re drawing lines now.]
From the side, Cartia interrupted, shattering the moment of dialogue.
And then, she looked back at the figure solitary and isolated, Aaron.
[You wanna join the lady’s conversation?]
He raised his arms and retreated, glancing back and forth between Cartia and Frey.
Cartia nodding as if satisfied then turned to Laila.
[Hey, I’ve got a favor to ask.]
There was no response.
Laila gasped, mouth agape, evidently astonished and not processing Cartia’s words at all.
[What a mess.]
With a sigh, Cartia picked up a small stone from the ground and ping– flicked it.
[Hm?!]
The stone sped toward Laila, embedding itself thunk- into a tree root that had risen.
[Are you back to your senses?]
[Ugh, I’m sorry for that.]
[Yeah, if you’re back to your senses, I’ve got a favor to ask.]
[Got it.]
Finally regaining her composure, Laila nodded. At the same moment, vines shot up from the ground, encircling us to form a round wall.
Inside it, sounds and air from the outside were completely blocked.
A faint scent of sweat mingled with the metallic smell of blood.
And the aroma of unnamed flowers wafted throughout.
[Anyway, that bastard said he could hear, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.]
Cartia, rapping on the solid wall, nudged Frey and asked.
[You have plenty of questions and things to say too, but first, let me ask. How’s your condition?]
“Not bad.”
[So you’re saying it’s excellent?]
“Well, yeah. The thing is, the fragment of the Nameless One that was clinging to my soul… has disappeared.]*
[Hmmm.]
Cartia let out an enigmatic hum and scanned Frey from head to toe, then gazed down at the flowers blooming on the ground.
[Wow… it’s been a while since I saw this flower.]
“Right?”
[Do you remember its name?]
“Do you remember?”
[Me? Of course—]
Cartia froze for a moment.
Her lip corners quivered as her expression began to crack.
[I-I, of course, remember!]
“Hey.”
[You go first. What is it?]
“You forgot—”
[Don’t know? You wouldn’t know?]
Frey clenched her fist at Cartia’s incessant teasing, but shook her head, picking up a fallen flower.
“…Gladiolus.”
[Y-yeah! Gladiolus! Wow, how do you remember that? Of course, I remembered too!]
“I can’t forget. It’s a flower that has our symbol.”
[…Ugh, that’s cringe. Why can’t you just say something like that normally? I guess it must be because you’ve aged, huh?]
Frey’s carefully loosened fists tightened again.
“Damn it. That’s something you said a while back. Do you want to die? Wanna get hit again?”
[Hmph… I know I messed up forgetting it… but you know? If you just listened to me, you might think I was weak and got hit for real? Huh? Don’t you see? I took those hits on purpose? Have I really aged to the point of losing my touch?]
“Ugh, you still haven’t changed that annoying habit. You’re just hopeless.”
[Well, what YOU gonna do about it now? Go ahead. Hit me. Do it, you loser.]
Cartia shoved her face forward.
Frey lifted her fist to Cartia, but then dropped it again, letting out a sigh.
“Ugh… Hey. No need to liven the mood, just get to the point. What do you want to know?”
<>
