With wide eyes, Hermila blinked for a while before gulping and asked, as if trying to confirm my words.
“…You said you brought order.”
“Yes…”
I nodded and leaned into Rubia’s embrace. She was as surprised as Hermila, but my body found stability against her.
It was fluffy, warm, and felt good.
“…Where did you come from?”
Now it was Rubia’s turn to ask.
Being so close, the gentle vibration from Rubia’s neck tickled the back of my head. I nuzzled against her and replied.
“Um… I don’t know.”
“…What?”
I had no clue where that place was. I couldn’t tell the difference between the sky and the ground, and the concept of time was vague… a world?
I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t feel sleepy, and I didn’t need a bathroom.
Hmm… So how should I explain this…?
No, before describing that place, I should probably tell them about what happened before to make it easier.
Hmm…
“Then… uh, let me tell you about what happened after I parted ways with Rubia.”
I fully enjoyed being in Rubia’s embrace and sat up.
But…
“Wha?”
Rubia’s arms pulled me back into her embrace again.
Then she asked us, as if seeking our agreement.
“It seems like it’s going to be a long story. How about we hear it on the way back to the territory? Or it wouldn’t be bad to share it in front of Charlotte too.”
“…Charlotte?”
Well, I didn’t mind.
But why did she specifically mention Charlotte?
As if reading my thoughts, Rubia chuckled and delivered shocking news.
“Yes. Well, Charlotte has become the Emperor.”
“Th-the Emperor…?”
Hermila added, eyes wide.
“Yes. She’ll probably be the most powerful Emperor in history. The coronation is still about two days away, though.”
“W-wow…”
“Anyway, um… Yes. I think it would be good for Charlotte to hear this story too, just as Rubia said.”
“Right. It would be more detailed to hear about Noah’s story than mine, especially the stories of those… forgotten people we don’t know about.”
While I was lost in thought, surprised by many things, Hermila and Rubia nodded to each other as if they had finished their conversation.
“Alright. Then, Noah can rest here. I think I’ll be busy with a lot of tasks until tomorrow.”
Rubia smiled brightly, far too cheerful for someone who claimed to have many tasks. She reached out her hand kindly.
“And, I’ll tell you again.”
Not sure what she meant by that, I took her hand.
Then Hermila’s other hand joined and tightly clasped mine.
“Thank you. For saving us, this world. And… for coming back, thank you.”
She bowed her head politely and earnestly.
“Uh, uh… yes. Thank you, too…”
My heart fluttered. My lungs felt a bit uneasy. My ribs tingled, making me feel odd.
I thought about why I felt that way… I guess it’s because, I still couldn’t quite grasp it.
Everything has ended.
All the unhappiness has vanished.
Despair, agony, and pain.
Of course, they haven’t completely disappeared.
If all the jelly I wanted were sold out, I would be unhappy.
If Rubia got sick, I would be in pain.
If, by any slim chance, there was a day when Rubia and I had a fight… I would cry so hard it would hurt.
But those are trivial things.
Even if it’s tough, even if I feel like crying, if I grit my teeth and stand up, I can somehow solve them.
Comparatively, they’re such insignificant things to all the despair that had hit this world, things that no human power could possibly handle.
A world like that came to be.
A world that we created.
Me, Rubia, and many friends.
Precious friends, whom people have forgotten.
So, it doesn’t feel real.
It feels unreal that such a peaceful world has come to be.
That happiness can actually be dreamed of.
Maybe, if some more time passes, will it feel real?
If I meet many people and have endless days filled with laughter, will it start to feel real?
Probably, yes.
Surely, it will.
Even now, as I’m embraced by Rubia.
Every time I hear Rubia’s laughter, it feels a little more real.
“Well then, take a good rest. Oh right. This place is well soundproofed, so you don’t have to worry. But still, I think it might be better to hold back a bit. Since you’ve just returned. Not that I can stop you, though.”
“Wow… hehehe.”
As I was lost in those thoughts, Hermila, who had been holding my hand, smiled and stepped out of the tent.
“…Soundproof? Hold back…?”
I turned my head to look at Rubia. Rubia had a dangerously bright smile watching me. I gulped.
“Rubia…?”
“Yes?”
“Um… no.”
I leaned in, kissed her cheek, and slowly turned to face her.
She really looked frail.
She seemed more lively than when I first saw her at the end of the world, but she looked much worse than before we parted.
It made me sad.
“…I’m sorry.”
I gently brushed Rubia’s slightly messy hair while pulling her into a hug.
“No, it’s okay.”
Rubia hugged me back and shook her head.
“Since you’re back… and we’re like this, I’m okay. Plus, you won’t go away again, right?”
“Right… I might be away for a little bit, but it won’t be as long as last time.”
“…You’ll be away for a little bit?”
Rubia’s body shivered.
“Why? Is there something left?”
“Uh… Nothing really, but I might have some tasks to take care of.”
“What kind of tasks?”
I hugged Rubia tightly as her body began to shake again.
“I’ll tell you later.”
Still, Rubia kept trembling.
It was heartbreaking. I felt bad and thoroughly upset.
Yet, I was also happy. My heart was pounding, and my legs felt tangled.
I shouldn’t have these feelings… Why am I feeling this way?
I swallowed a sigh and shook my head.
I leaned slightly away to look at Rubia.
Her blue eyes were moist and trembling.
“Still, don’t worry. I’ve wrapped up most of the significant matters.”
I kissed her forehead and thought of reassuring words to help her calm down.
Um…
“Uh… Just think of it as earning some money…! That… um… husband…? No, wife…? Huh…”
Husband? Wife…?
What am I…?
“I… I’ll do what I need to do as the… um… the head of the household…? I guess…”
Head of the household…? Am I the head of the household…?
Hmm… How do I even explain this?
As I frowned and pondered a clearer explanation…
“…Head of the household?”
Rubia stared at me with wide eyes.
“…You mean you, Noah… are the head of the household?”
“Uh, um…”
Head of the household. What could that mean?
Isn’t it the person who leads a family?
Then, then… I…
“I will be the head of the household. I will… become one.”
“Oh my.”
Rubia’s lips moved as if she were about to say something, but then she sharply shut them, exhaling a sigh with an indescribable expression.
“No, no. It can’t be like this. I want to hear it later, in a fancier place.”
“…I… I can’t be the head of the household? Rubia, you will?”
“No, that’s not it. Uh, ha… No, no. This isn’t right. It shouldn’t be talked about here. Yes, first… we need to meet Charlotte.”
Though what she said afterward was mumbled too softly for me to hear, I could tell that a strong resolve was etched on Rubia’s face.
“You’re such a fool, Noah.”
“…Huh?”
A fool.
She called me a fool…
Isn’t this the first time Rubia has ever called me a fool?
“I’m not a fool…!”
“Nope. Noah is a fool. A pathetic buffoon.”
With a petulant look, Rubia glared at me and bumped her forehead into mine with a thud.
“Yet, I like it. That’s why I like it. No… I just like it.”
And then, she smiled broadly, stunningly beautiful, and said,
“I love you.”
“…Me too, I love you.”
A bit more than Rubia loves me.
Exactly… 1 Noah’s worth.
As Rubia giggled, our foreheads touching, she slipped her hand under my armpit and said,
“Noah, should we take a little walk?”
“…Is that okay?”
I wanted to look around this place too, but I couldn’t do that.
After all, the people gathered here were all those who were searching for me, so when they saw me, they cheered and fired magic at the sky… I couldn’t freely show my face.
That’s why I was hiding inside this tent…
“Yes. If I obscure your presence with a cloaking robe, it should work. There’s a place I want to show you. Regardless, Hermila will guide you back when she returns, but um… I still want to show you.”
“A place you want to show me…”
I wasn’t sure where, but I nodded.
There was no way I could refuse when Rubia said something like that.
“Thank you. Then let’s go right away.”
Rubia gently let me down and smiled.
“It might be a bit big since I wore it, but it’ll only be for a moment.”
Then she draped the obscuring robe over me.
“Oh my.”
Just as Rubia said, the robe she wore didn’t fit my body.
It didn’t fit to the extent that…
“I didn’t think it would drag on the ground.”
…It dragged on the ground.
“Ha-ha-ha!”
Rubia burst into laughter at the sight.
“D-don’t laugh…!”
“Pff, sowwy… sniff hehehe…”
“Eek!”
No matter how I raised my arms or stood on my toes, the robe clung to the ground and wouldn’t budge. It was so annoying.
Was I going to trip over it while walking?
Well… even if I tilted my body, I could regain my balance immediately, but…
Still, still… this is way too… embarrassing.
“Sigh… hehehe, ugh… even though it’s uncomfortable, please bear with it a little longer.”
Rubia, still unable to stop laughing, wrapped another spare robe around herself.
“Shall we go then?”
She reached out her pale hand towards me.
Her slender fingers intertwined with mine.
Rubia’s hand.
It was a hand I had always held, but now… it was so battered and wounded that it made me feel pitiful.
In the future, as I stay by her side, take care of things, and pay attention to her, her hand would soon heal.
But right now, I couldn’t help but feel upset.
A year. For a whole year, I painfully learned how much she had struggled.
When using Divine Power…
Oh wait.
Divine Power?
…Uh… I think I had something to say to Rubia.
What was it…?
“Noah?”
“Ah… y-yes… I’m coming.”
Well… I’ve got plenty of time to think it over.
