The light faded away.
Where the light once was, where Ser stood, nothing remained. No remnants of magical power, no echoes of her presence, no voice, no laughter.
It was as if her very existence had been erased from this world. Yet, she remained etched in my mind.
The steps that had been retreating from us. The bright smile she had first formed. The voice that surged with emotion. The eyes brimming with joy. The image of holding a miracle in her hands. The last sound of her cheerful laughter.
So vividly engraved, it felt as if it would never be erased, so unforgettable even in death.
Still, I recalled her image. I chewed on it. I did not cease to bring it to mind. Over and over, again and again.
As the boiling emotions and overflowing regrets settled, and my heart, which felt on the verge of bursting, calmed down a bit.
Darkness began to cast a shadow over the world once filled with light. The once bright view started to cloud. Rubia’s hand, which had held warmth, began to feel cold.
“…Noah.”
A voice cracked and worn with sadness and agony.
“Noah.”
The owner of that voice, Rubia, called out to me.
“Are you not going to look at me?”
I didn’t answer. I just squeezed her hand tightly.
It was cold. Even now, it continued to grow colder.
That’s why I held on even tighter. To grasp the warmth slipping away.
However, the warmth that flowed like water slipped right through my fingers, impossible to catch with my hands.
“What’s this? Just because I did something a bit foolish, are you refusing to look at me now?”
“Th-that’s not it…”
“Then—”
The icy, trembling hand of Rubia caressed my cheek. Slowly, I turned her face to meet mine.
“Please look at me quickly. Now, we don’t have much time left to see each other.”
Rubia, resting her head on my knee, wore a smile. Not a bright and happy smile, but one that seemed a bit forced and bitter. Yet, it wasn’t a painful smile.
“What’s this… I made such a fuss crying, yet you haven’t shed a single tear, Noah.”
“…You see, adults are… supposed to hold back such things.”
I smiled softly at Rubia and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then I delicately wiped away the tears streaming down her face.
“That’s snot.”
“Ugh… Oh, now that you mention it, it did feel a bit… different.”
“Hehe…”
I rubbed Rubia’s tears and snot off my clothes and lightly held her hand.
“Ser’s magic… it was truly beautiful, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“Even someone like me, who knows nothing about magic, felt it was something only a genius like Ser could wield.”
“That’s right…”
Like Rubia said, the magic Ser showcased was declared the pinnacle of magic, no, a miracle, and it truly was amazing. Astonishing, incredible… So brilliant and beautiful that no word in existence could fully express its greatness.
“A miracle, huh…”
Rubia, staring blankly at where Ser had stood, closed her eyes.
“I believe just meeting you, Noah, is a miracle that will never happen again.”
“A miracle, indeed.”
If it’s not a miracle that I, living in a completely different world, entered a realm I’ve only seen in games and met the wonderful Rubia…
What else could I possibly call it?
No word other than “miracle” could suffice.
“My meeting with Rubia… it’s definitely a miracle.”
The fact that dying me, already dead, was brought back to life in this world is a miracle.
The miracle of being able to laugh and meet many people in this world.
The miracle of saving people, hearing the word “hero,” and receiving the expectations of many folks.
Even if there were unknown hands guiding me along.
To me, all of it was a miracle.
“Hehe, thank you for saying that.”
“Hmm… you don’t have to thank me.”
On the contrary.
“I should be the one thanking you, Rubia… Thank you, Rubia, for loving someone like me. For believing in someone like me. For… seeing someone like me.”
“What’s wrong with Noah?”
Slowly ascended, her hand pinched my nose.
“Ow!”
“What’s someone like Noah even like? To me, Noah is stronger, cooler, cuter, and more lovable than anyone else. If I could, I’d want to tie you to the bed and only keep you for myself, to lock you up and touch you, to feel you, as if you’re my only precious person.”
“…That’s… kind of an odd way of expressing that as ‘lovable.’”
Hehehe— Rubia laughed.
“Anyway, to me, Noah is someone priceless that I couldn’t trade for anything. So, please, love me back like I love you.”
The hand that pinched my nose cradled my cheek.
“Got it?”
“…I’ll try my best.”
At my slightly pouty response, Rubia pinched my cheek again. But her now ice-cold fingers lacked their previous strength.
“What’s the first thing you want to do if everything comes to an end?”
The first thing I wanted to do.
Just the thoughts swirling in my head felt like I’d need to talk endlessly to express a fraction of them.
Still, among them, the thing I most wanted to do was…
“…I want to go on a trip.”
Not for a quest.
Not while being chased.
But joyfully laughing.
With no worries.
“I want to walk unfamiliar paths, visit places I’ve never been, meet new people… and taste all the jellies, candies, everything I’ve never tried before. In a peaceful world, together with Rubia.”
Rubia’s eyes widened in surprise.
For a moment, those beautifully curved eyes became misty.
“It’s amazing. How… how did you think exactly like I did?”
“Do you also want to travel, Rubia?”
“Yes. I want to go on a joyful trip with you, Noah. A trip with no worries… just happiness.”
Imagining something, Rubia closed her eyes. A tear ran down her eyelid, glistening. The tear dropped onto my leg as Rubia spoke.
“Um… first, our trip needs to have no destination. I just want to go wherever our feet take us. Next, we’ll need to pack our bags, right? But we don’t need to pack much. Because, hehe… we now have plenty of money. So, it seems like we should just replenish the necessary supplies in every village we encounter.”
My view was dark. I couldn’t see where her falling tears had gone or if they were still flowing. But I gently wiped Rubia’s face.
There were no tears there.
After closing her slightly parted lips, Rubia took a long breath before her lips opened again.
“Next, we need to borrow a horse, right? I don’t want a carriage. A trip with a bit of rawness sounds more fun. You can hold the reins now, right? Hmm… but I think having just one horse is better. That way, we can be closer together.”
Cold droplets of water fell onto my thigh. They kept falling. My hand followed their trail. I brushed against her eyelashes. I touched her trembling eyelids. I felt the furrows in her knitted brow.
“Now, since we have our mode of transportation figured out, all that’s left is to set off. Starting in Alrva would be nice. Before we go, let’s have a coffee at the blacksmith’s. After drinking, let’s leave some greetings for Hermila. Then, once we’ve waved goodbye to everyone… where shall we go next? The north is too cold, so let’s postpone that. Going south… seems too hot. We’d have to cross the sea. So that leaves us with west and east. Since we went east last time, how about we head west this time?”
I shifted my posture slightly. Bowing my head, I looked at Rubia’s face. In a view filled with darkness, her figure appeared white as snow. Though it wasn’t clear, I could see her for sure.
She was still smiling.
In agony, in pain, and desperately.
“Just like before, I want to sleep in the forest. Have a barbecue. Drink the coffee you made. When I wake up in the morning, I’d love to dip bread into warm soup. Haha… if we get to go on a trip this time, will you prepare breakfast like you did back then? It’s nice when you prepare but… this time, please don’t go hunting and stay by my side, until I open my eyes. When I do open my eyes, I want to see your face right away.”
I pressed my lips against Rubia’s twisted and contorted lips. Rubia’s rich scent brushed through my mouth. In the lingering spot, a hint of dust and a slight taste of salt wafted.
“And when I wake up, we’ll kiss right away. Hold hands, get up, see our disheveled appearances, and laugh together. Of course, we can’t just laugh. We’ll have to fix each other’s hair and wipe the drool away.”
Having finished speaking, Rubia turned her body.
With her severely trembling arm, she pressed against the ground and exhaled sharply, slowly rising. In the darkness, her faintly glowing blue eyes looked at me.
“It sounds fun, doesn’t it?”
The light grew brighter. Our foreheads touched. Our breaths intertwined. Her scent, the smell of blood drew near.
“…Yes. It seems like it’ll be incredibly fun.”
Rubia smiled. The scent of blood enveloped me stronger.
“I promise. No matter what happens, we will definitely go on that trip.”
Her thin fingers looped around mine.
“Even if there’s no one else, we must travel. No, there shouldn’t be a lack of companions now. With Hermila, Yuria, Delia, Hephaestus… and there’s Charlotte, who might be the empress now. Hehe… I’m no longer alone. So let’s definitely promise to go on that trip.”
I accepted that promise.
Then, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a ring filled with warm light. I grasped Rubia’s hand firmly. Slowly, I opened her fingers and slid the ring onto her left hand’s ring finger.
“…What’s this?”
Rubia’s body shuddered slightly.
“It’s a promise.”
I gently caressed Rubia’s hand with the ring.
In my now utterly cloaked vision, I painted her image.
“Our promise, the time we spent together, the emotions we shared. I will never forget that I loved Rubia.”
I searched for her trembling lips and kissed them. Lightly, a bit more so than before.
Soon after, Rubia’s lips closed in. Heavily, profoundly, as if reminding me of my promise, the kiss enclosed me with emotion.
In that moment, —clang!— the sound of harsh chains echoed before my ears. Rubia let out a soft moan. Creak— the sound of chains intertwining rang out.
Our lips parted.
“…I love you, Noah.”
I stood up.
I stood up, wielding the great sword.
“I love you just a bit more than you love me, Rubia.”
“Haha…”
Rubia laughed.
And with her final laughter.
Her voice faded away.
Instead.
“Are you done with your goodbyes?”
A different voice sounded.
“If so, let’s start soon.”
A voice both familiar yet strange.
A voice I’d never heard before.
“No matter how sad, you must continue.”
A voice slightly bolder than mine.
Slightly louder than mine.
Slightly clearer than mine.
“Wait, before that.”
The voice of Jong-eon, and.
“Shall we have a little chat?”
