“Crrr… Hmph.”
Kurika opened his eyes earlier than expected, despite thinking he would be asleep all day. He forced his heavy lids open and locked eyes with me.
“Y-you are…”
The wolf, with a hoarse voice, tried to catch his breath and speak again, but I understood his meaning and replied first.
“Welcome to the McLean residence. It’s not spacious, so you had to lie there.”
Since there was no place to lay Kurika down, I set him at the threshold of my room, allowing him to stretch his legs out into the living room.
I considered covering him with a blanket, but my sister said it wasn’t allowed because of shedding fur.
Slowly, Kurika raised his upper body. He hadn’t been in good shape when I laid him down, but now he seemed to be healing on his own.
“The power of the Goddess of Death revived me, huh?”
Even in this confusing situation, he was acutely aware of what had happened to him. He brushed his forehead as if he didn’t want to live this much.
Maybe because he was a beastman, his hand slipped down the text naturally, touching his nose.
“I should have rather died at Sharcarl’s hands. He was a man capable of taking my life.”
Kurika exhaled bitterly. He looked pitiful, reminiscent of an elderly person who couldn’t die in time, but he must not die yet.
“You can’t die. There’s something you need to do.”
“…Something I need to do?”
Of course. There’s still a lot to take responsibility for.
But first, there was something I needed to confirm.
“Kurika, whether it was your will or not, you lost. You know this, right?”
“…Crrr, I know.”
“Thank goodness. I trust you, but just to be safe, let me warn you in advance.”
Suddenly.
Kurika’s movements came to a halt. It felt like looking at a perfectly carved statue. After a moment where not even a single hair, let alone his heart, was beating.
“…!”
Kurika looked around in surprise, examining his body. For a brief moment, all his functions had ceased.
It seemed there was a problem, but not a single breath was disturbed.
“I thought you’d get the idea with just this much.”
“Is the Goddess of Time still with you?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. This goddess is trying to save the world.”
Although the Priestess of Time had swallowed the imagery whole, and she emanated a strange displeasure, she wasn’t a bad goddess.
At least she wasn’t out to destroy the world.
“I know. It was that goddess who handed me the sealed dagger.”
“Did she give you a dagger that seals the apocalypse?”
This was unexpected information. Kurika nodded slightly and took the dagger he had cherished out of his embrace.
“As you know, I am the keeper who protects the world from the dangerous items scattered by the gods. And this dagger is the treasure that the goddess personally asked me to protect.”
“Huh.”
The Goddess of Time was already moving much earlier than I’d expected. I had encountered a surprising side of her.
“Anyway, I’ll decide Lin’s treatment. I heard from her that it was the Priestess who awakened Lin to the apocalypse in her past life, and her vanishing has ruined that awakening ten years later.”
Kurika seemed to consider it for a moment but then quickly accepted it.
“Fine. As a loser, I will accept it. However, it’s not just that. I believe in you because you triumphed against both me and the Priestess.”
“You believe in me?”
That was a bit unexpected. Not simply accepting defeat, but he was subtly acknowledging me.
Thud.
Then, with his enormous hand, he passed the small dagger to me.
“This dagger seems better off with you than with me.”
The only tool capable of stopping the apocalypse created by the Goddess of Time. It wasn’t just a simple pass of the dagger; it was proof that Kurika had fully acknowledged me, and I felt a slight surge of emotion.
“…Thank you.”
“Crrr, so what is it that I need to help with?”
Right, this was my reward for defeating the Priestess and Kurika. Kurika had more to do.
“Let’s go to the land of beastmen together.”
It was time to save Eris.
*
Late at night.
Because Sister Diana had pleaded not to leave her with that wolf beastman, she decided to stay at Rin’s house just for tonight.
As a result, Sister Diana and Sen, along with Hayun who had come to the village with me, ended up sleeping over unexpectedly.
Rin’s parents were happy to see many Academy friends visiting, so at least that was a relief.
“What are you doing there?”
“Daniel?”
Sitting on the roof of her own home, watching the moon, Rin jumped in surprise upon seeing me while coming to grab Diana’s bedding.
Even though the sloped roof appeared precarious with a book laid out on top, Rin sat there effortlessly, as if she had done it many times before.
Upon seeing me, Rin flashed a playful smile and waved her hand.
“Come up here.”
“I have to go right now. Kurika said he’s hungry.”
If I wasn’t careful, I could end up as his dinner. Magical beasts eat human flesh; I heard most beastmen don’t have a big aversion to it.
It was a joke, but thinking about it seriously, he might actually be able to eat me, right?
“Ugh, come up here.”
Rin clicked her tongue like an older sister, patting the spot next to her. Finally, I tucked the bedding under my arm, stepped on the cart next to the house, and leaped to her side.
“Wow! Amazing!”
Rin laughed, clapping her hands softly. Her little curled-up form was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.
“Sit next to me; let’s enjoy the moon together.”
“Didn’t you have something to say?”
I thought she’d pulled me up for something important, but now she was being so random.
Rin tilted her head innocently and replied.
“I don’t have anything like that; I just wanted to enjoy the moon with you.”
“…”
“Hurry up and sit; you climbed all the way up here.”
Well, even if Rin didn’t have anything to say, I had things to say to her. So, I naturally took my seat beside her.
It turned out to be more challenging to balance on the roof than I expected, so I couldn’t curl up like Rin and stretched my legs flat on the roof as supports.
“Isn’t it beautiful? I used to watch the moon like this sometimes. I hadn’t seen it for a while while at the Academy, so it feels even better now.”
“The moon can be seen from the Academy too.”
Rin should have been able to see the moon through her window at night from her room. But perhaps my response wasn’t very perceptive, as Rin shook her head in disappointment.
“Our village has a much prettier moon.”
“Oh, really.”
If I said ‘the moon is just the same everywhere,’ Rin’s army probably would rise against me and push me off the roof.
A serene silence began. Like savoring exquisite food, we were indulging in the dark night sky, the moonlight illuminating it, and the stars densely scattered across it.
Even I, who read many books yet lacked sensitivity, found my gaze unexpectedly captured by the scene.
A light touch suddenly brushed against me.
As our shoulders touched, Rin giggled shyly and turned her body slightly.
Thanks to that, I gathered my thoughts and cautiously asked, “Are you feeling okay?”
“Hmm?”
“You swallowed the Priestess of Time, right? If it’s that woman, I was a bit concerned.”
I knew the only way to send the Priestess of Time to complete death was through Rin’s power, but honestly, I was worried.
What if she tried something mischievous?
But Rin shook her head, smiling.
“No, not at all. The Priestess of Time is completely dead now. Her body remains, but her mind has perished.”
“…I see.”
With Rin’s reassurance, I felt a strange heaviness lift from my heart. I hadn’t expected to feel this relieved that I wouldn’t have to encounter that light year again.
Seeing me calm made Rin relax her expression and reach out to touch the bracelet on my wrist – the Love Bracelet that Hayun had given me.
“Hayun really made this strong. It hasn’t even broken despite all that chaos.”
Hearing that, I glanced at the bracelet. It had gone through a lot, yet it seemed to be holding on surprisingly well.
“It might be ragged, but it’s still durable.”
“If it stays intact until next year, does that mean it’ll connect with Eris?”
“…It’s just a superstition.”
“Yeah, just a superstition.”
As Rin slowly released her hand and hugged her legs, it felt as if she was overtly showing her intention to do nothing at all.
“Is that the Madame’s butterfly?”
Suddenly, I snatched at the butterfly of the Madame that had fluttered over to cut my bracelet. Rin lowered her head and pretended not to hear.
“I don’t know when you touched the Madame’s body and the Chokugen Faction’s corpse… But I’ll let it slide for now.”
I didn’t say the follow-up, “Because I trust you,” as I felt a bit shy saying it.
But as I slightly turned my face to look at her, I could see her blushing expression that suggested she had already caught on to what I didn’t say.
Whooosh.
Then, a slightly strong wind blew in.
It seemed that as we were about to transition from autumn to winter, Rin shivered slightly.
I almost suggested we go down, but Rin looked a little disappointed. I couldn’t just let her catch a cold here.
I paused time for a moment, unfolded my sister’s blanket, and draped it over Rin’s shoulders.
“Oh? What’s this?”
“Magic. I’m planning to be a magician after graduation.”
As I made a silly joke, Rin chuckled softly and peeked beneath the blanket.
“Aren’t you cold? Come over and share it.”
Though the blanket was large enough for both of us, I wasn’t too inclined.
However, somehow, the darkness covering the roof naturally pulled my rear towards her side.
“What’s this?”
Is this even possible?
“You used your ability as well. You didn’t touch anything weird, did you?”
“…No way.”
“There was a moment of hesitation there.”
“Not at all.”
Honestly, when I first received this power, I did think a bit in that direction. I mean, I’m a healthy man. If I could stop time, I’d think of various things, right?
But then the Goddess’s threat came right after.
– If you dare to film adult material with my power, I’ll freeze your reproductive organs in place immediately.
In simple terms, she meant she would render me completely non-functional. I sensed her seriousness in her matter-of-fact tone about making me urinate in the opposite direction.
Thud.
Rin’s head softly landed on my shoulder.
She smiled like a child again.
“If you’re going to do something, just tell me. It’s fine even if time isn’t stopped.”
“No… I won’t.”
“Hehe, really?”
“Kids only learn bad things at the Academy.”
“It couldn’t be helped since that guy became way too popular.”
With that response, there was nothing left for me to say.
As I kept my mouth shut, Rin didn’t press further either.
“Alright.”
She shook her head gracefully, looking content.
