The imperial capital was noisier than usual.
In one corner of a shop with a sign that read “Closed for Today,” a quiet sigh echoed.
“Here you go.”
Clank. A light meal was placed in front of a woman wearing a deep hood.
The woman stared at the tray for a moment and shook her head.
“You need to eat, even if it’s hard. That way… you’ll regain your strength.”
Seated opposite her was a blonde woman.
Hermila said in a slightly firm voice.
However, the hooded woman merely shook her head again, pushing the meal away.
“…Sigh. Okay then, at least take off your robe. There’s no one here.”
The hooded woman shook her head again. Hermila sighed and reached out, pulling the robe off her.
Rustle — silvery-white hair tumbled out from under the hood, looking lifeless. Once shimmering hair, it now dulled, perhaps even dimmer than the Milky Way.
Above it were tightly sealed lips.
The pink lips, always so lovely, now looked cracked and dry as they parted.
“…Thank you for caring. But… I’m alright now.”
A very small voice, as if it might crack and collapse under its own weight, crept out of Hermila’s lips.
“I’m really okay… You can go out, Hermila.”
The lips formed a faint curve.
The drooping head was lifted.
The woman’s blue eyes gazed at Hermila.
The shine that always filled her transparent blue irises had dimmed. So dim it seemed extinguished. The once fair skin had turned pale, giving off an aura as if it would vanish if her gaze was diverted for even a moment.
“…Rubia. It’s still not completely over. You certainly felt Noah’s power from that ring, right?”
Hermila’s gaze fell as she met Rubia’s eyes. She focused on the ring snugly fitted on her left pinky.
“So it’s okay. The investigation team is on the move, and somehow… we’ll find her.”
“…Yes.”
Upon hearing those words, Rubia embraced her left hand as if cradling the treasured ring, determined not to let go.
“And… next month, Charlotte’s speech is coming up, so you can proudly show your face without the robe.”
“The name Noah…”
“Of course, we have to make it known. This is the place to reveal the truths of the world, truths that have been hidden in the shadows of Erden. Noah’s name, Noah’s actions… absolutely must be known.”
“But people might fall into chaos—”
“No.”
Hermila interrupted Rubia’s firm words, speaking as if she were chewing them out.
“Even if there’s chaos, even if another war erupts, even if people curse and blame, it’s a fact that must be known. We who know that truth… we must tell it… So that chaos doesn’t matter. What matters is the truth.”
Rubia, who had been staring blankly at those words, lowered her head, her voice trembling as if emotions were boiling over.
“Thank you… thank you… really…”
“This isn’t something to be thanked for. Rather… it’s something that deserves curses and blames. What I can do for Noah, the Noah who protected this world, is nothing but this.”
Hermila, who sat opposite, hurriedly raised Rubia and patted her shoulder.
“So, first, eat. Eat, take a good rest, and when you feel a bit better… we’ll go search together then.”
“…Yes.”
Rubia’s hand, which sounded lifeless, picked up the spoon.
Yet that too trembled as if it were heavy.
One spoonful, two spoonfuls.
As Rubia struggled to sip the warm soup, she cautiously opened her mouth.
“What about the others…?”
Her words trailed off. It seemed breathing out was such a burden, and she took a breath.
To this, Hermila smiled softly and replied.
“They’re gathering at the edge of the world.”
“Are they okay…? There…?”
Rubia frowned and hesitated.
Soon, it seemed even swallowing was hard, and she coughed.
For a moment, Hermila was startled, but she quickly handed her a handkerchief and water.
“You don’t have to worry about the monsters gathering there. From what I’ve heard, they’re subduing them rather easily. They can’t be too worried now, can they? Right now… there might be the strongest being on the continent there.”
Seeing Rubia calm down, Hermila raised one hand and waved it lightly above her head.
Rubia understood without needing an explanation on whom that gesture referred to and smiled softly.
“Then that’s a relief…”
“Yes, quite so. It’s a relief in many ways. The person who thought they’d die right after the battle in Cartia… says they can’t die yet since they just need to win an arm-wrestling match.”
Chuckles — Laughing lightly, Hermila momentarily halted her laughter before continuing.
“So, you don’t have to worry too much. No one will complain just because Rubia isn’t there. And… as I said earlier, there’s no need to feel guilty. You can stand tall and proud. Rubia was used by Erden, you weren’t the core of that.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
A faint smile, though powerlessly done.
It seemed to respond to Hermila’s words, but within it lay a hint of rejection.
Hermila’s gaze, catching that smile, opened her mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it again.
Then with a somewhat bittersweet smile, she said something entirely different from what she intended.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“…Yes.”
Scrape- Scrape- Hermila dragged the chair as she stood up. At the same time, scrape-
“No, Hermila, you stay and rest. I’ll handle the coffee.”
Standing up alongside Hermila, Rubia shook her head.
Staring at Rubia quietly, Hermila nodded helplessly and sat back down.
Click-clack- Click-clack-
Hearing the gradually fading footsteps, Hermila rubbed her face with both hands.
Though she was supposedly here to comfort Rubia, it was pathetic how she too felt herself growing depressed instead.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t remain entirely bright either.
It was difficult to pretend as if it didn’t matter.
Though not as much as Rubia, Hermila also loved and cherished Noah. She wished for her happiness.
The investigation to find Noah continued incessantly. Even without any results, the investigation team, gathered in Cartia and at the world’s end, was desperately seeking her traces.
Of course, there were some who joined for a reward, but most were adventurers who had gathered on just one word from Rubia.
Just that Noah was alive.
At the forefront of them was the adventurer who might be the strongest among humans.
The one who single-handedly defeated Leviathan and killed Behemoth with bare hands.
Heinzel was there.
At the edge of the world, facing endless hordes of monsters, leading everyone onward.
To win in arm wrestling to find Noah.
Though that might not be the true reason.
Of course, Rubia wasn’t just sitting here either. Stripped of her divine power and reduced to an ordinary person, she was doing her best to find a way on her own.
Based on the slight remaining divine power in her body, she was weaving new magic, studying ancient magic. She was achieving unprecedented results. The magic and artifacts she had never properly utilized were being completed in her hands.
Yet, she didn’t find a way to locate Noah. The magic or the spells didn’t materialize.
Using ancient magic or those rumored to have been used by dragons, she couldn’t find any traces of Noah.
Even after two years since the war had ended.
Still, she did not give up.
In the darkness, with no end in sight, she was tenaciously struggling.
She and they would not stop their search, even if it meant losing their lives.
Until they find Noah.
Until they find Noah’s traces.
Until they accept Noah’s ‘end.’
Sigh…
Hermila let out a small sigh and stood to clear away Rubia’s unfinished meal.
At that moment.
Jolt- An unsettling sensation crept up her spine.
And then— Crash! A sharp sound erupted from the kitchen where Rubia was.
“Rubia!”
Clad in purple flames, Hermila dashed to the kitchen.
And then she saw it.
Rubia, huddled down as if she had collapsed.
A hand bleeding from a shard of glass that had shattered.
The ring, fading away from that hand.
Desperately reaching out, stretching her arm to grasp the ring that was turning into crimson smoke.
To hold onto the last remaining hope.
*
“…Rubia?”
“Noah…”
The girl blinked several times, sleepily opening her eyes.
Noah rubbed her trembling hands and opened them once more.
“Uh…? Rubia…?”
“Yes. It’s been a long… long time.”
Wiping away the tears falling on her face, Noah raised her body.
“What… what happened?”
With a gaze that seemed unable to believe even what her eyes saw, she looked around.
She was in a small village, a home that could be described as large if large and small if small, located on the outskirts of a place she could not even name.
The house where she lived with Rubia.
The home where they had lived together before the world collapsed, before she died.
“It’s… my house…?”
Noah slowly brushed her hand over the bed she had been lying on, then glanced up at Rubia, who held back tears in front of her.
“Rubia… Lu, Rubia… Is it really, really you? Not a dream, but… it’s really you… right?”
“…Yes. Noah.”
“Oh, ugh… sniff… Lu, Rubia… Rubia, Rubia. Rubia…”
Continuing to whisper Rubia’s name, tears streaming down her face, Noah threw herself into her arms.
Rubia, equally pouring out tears, held Noah tightly as she leapt into her embrace.
“…I missed you.”
“I missed you too… I missed you so much, Rubia… but… I couldn’t even dream… I couldn’t meet Rubia even in dreams… sniff… sob…”
“You’ve suffered so much. Really… you’ve suffered so much.”
Noah cried so sorrowfully that anyone watching would feel their heart ache, and she opened her mouth, still with tears flowing down.
“So then… did ‘I’… did ‘I’ succeed? Did I succeed completely… to end up like this? Wow, really… I really succeeded? Ahahaha! Rubia, then did I meet ‘myself’ too? How about it? I’m shorter than you… right…? Huh?”
Rubia didn’t answer.
“…Lu, Rubia…?”
Noah, lifting her sleeve to wipe away her tears, looked up at Rubia. Her face was veiled with tears, so she couldn’t see her properly.
“Rubia… what happened to me? Huh? Did I return?”
Seeing Rubia still not replying, Noah jumped up, wiping the tears and snot from her face.
“Why… why won’t you answer?”
Looking at Noah with a faint smile, Rubia gazed out the window.
Looking at the sky, a deep blue.
Looking at the sky that Noah had created.
Looking at the new world she had opened, she spoke.
“I’m sorry… Noah—”
