Ch.431Chapter 431 – Request (2)

Three days had passed since then.

“I think I’m never going to look at snow again after this trip is over,” Beatrice grumbled.

“The cold weather, the constantly falling snow making our clothes damp, the slippery paths, the endless snowfields. Honestly, I’m sick of it all.”

“But you shouldn’t be that cold thanks to the device Sera made, right?”

“It’s about the feeling, Helmet.”

I just shrugged at Beatrice’s comment and checked the condition of the lamp I was holding.

‘Should I add more fuel?’

Thinking the flame had weakened a bit, I poured a little of the prepared fuel into the lamp.

‘This would have been really tough without this.’

As the warmth intensified, I smiled slightly at the sight of Sera quietly moving closer along with Chris.

Everyone in our party was peacefully enjoying the blessing of the lamp that our alchemist had created with all her technical skills, and the atmosphere that had grown slightly tense due to Beatrice’s complaints earlier returned to a gentle calm.

However, even this lamp couldn’t do anything about the snow falling from the sky.

“The path keeps getting slippery, so everyone be careful.”

“Waaah!”

Right as Sia finished speaking, Chris fell down.

Everyone immediately stopped to help Chris up, who brushed off the snow with a slightly tearful expression.

“I’m sorry. It keeps getting slippery.”

“Are you hurt or bruised anywhere?”

“Fortunately not. I miss the carriage…”

Chris sighed, seemingly reminiscing about our days of carriage travel.

I wanted to tell her to get into the carriage pulled by Moo, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the carriage with us now.

As we had discussed beforehand, Moo and the carriage were safely hidden at the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

‘I wonder if Moo is doing okay.’

I had left plenty of hay for him, and since he was a clever creature, I thought he would stay hidden well, but I was still a bit worried.

Still, the sanctuary was safe, so he should be fine.

While I was thinking about Moo and the carriage, I heard Chris quietly muttering with a darkened expression.

“…The snow keeps falling, the path is slippery, clothes are wet, constantly falling down… It reminds me of when there was a heavy snowfall in the capital… No matter how much we cleared it, the snow wouldn’t go away, and I started thinking, ‘I wish this garbage would stop falling already’…”

“Was the church also struggling with snow removal?”

“…Well, it’s a church. We had to clear the entire surrounding area so visitors could come anytime… Back then, snow really looked like garbage to me.”

Looking at Chris reminiscing about her bitter memories, I felt a strong urge to sympathize.

“There’s nothing more annoying than waking up and having to clear snow.”

“I used to love snow when I was younger, but once I had to prepare for snow removal, I started hating it… I just kept wishing spring would come quickly.”

“If you let your guard down like that, you’ll end up clearing snow in spring with tools in hand.”

“Is Kei’s hometown some kind of hellhole?”

I added that it wasn’t all like that, just a neighborhood with particularly unpredictable weather.

Beatrice narrowed her eyes at me as I became unusually talkative, probably because I suddenly found someone who shared these bitter memories.

“Why do you two get along so well in conversation?”

“It’s the kind of annoyance only those who’ve experienced it understand.”

“It’s something people who’ve come to see snow as garbage would know.”

Chris extended her hand toward me.

As we touched hands for a small high-five, Beatrice grumbled quietly.

“…I wish I had that kind of shared experience too.”

“Me too…”

Sera agreed with Beatrice.

When I asked them about it, it turned out they hadn’t struggled much because they used tools or magic to clear the snow.

Then Noah spoke up with a bitter smile.

“Still, this weather is relatively good by comparison.”

“But it’s snowing?”

“At least there’s no blizzard.”

Noah said quietly.

“When a blizzard hits, visibility worsens, and paths become slippery faster. Even with this lamp, we’d barely be able to see ahead.”

“By that logic, you’re really lucky. You’ve never encountered a blizzard.”

Sonya sympathized with Noah.

Then, glancing at the lamp, she added:

“And we have convenient tools too. …Though I suppose that’s why monsters spot us more easily, which is a bit unfortunate…”

“Stop needlessly criticizing and just admit you’re envious, Sonya. Monsters appear when they’re bored anyway, with or without that thing.”

Sonya stuck out her tongue at Noah in response to his comment.

Laughter spread among our party as we watched her playful gesture.

However, there was one person who couldn’t laugh.

“…Kei.”

“Yes?”

“Why is Eve so depressed?”

Sia quietly asked, looking at Eve who was the only one not joining the conversation and wearing a gloomy expression.

Feeling others subtly listening in, I found myself speaking.

“I’m not sure.”

In reality, I knew.

I knew the cause was me.

Eve was somewhat angry because of what I had said to her when we were alone.

‘…Did I ask her to carry too heavy a burden?’

My expression darkened as I recalled the request I had made to Eve.

In truth, there had been an option not to say anything, which made it even worse.

‘…But I had to tell her.’

I recalled the moments right after fighting the shadow of the Hero’s party.

Thinking about the Priestess and the Hero.

I still felt it was something I absolutely had to say.

As I remained silent, I heard Beatrice and Sia sighing quietly.

It was a natural reaction since Eve’s silence and my excuses had been going on for days now.

Still, as I was thinking about how I wanted to see Eve smile again, Sera quietly approached me.

“Kei.”

“Yes?”

“I think you should apologize to Eve.”

This feels like déjà vu.

I don’t think I did anything wrong, but I remembered a certain nun once telling me that in situations like this, it’s always the man’s fault according to some book she read.

It was definitely a book with a title that seemed inappropriate for a nun to read, but what was it again?

While I was trying to remember and unconsciously avoiding reality, Sera quietly spoke up.

“I don’t necessarily think you did anything wrong, you know?”

“Really?”

Sera smiled at my reflexive response.

Then, creating some distance between herself and the rest of the party including Eve, she spoke to me quietly.

“You’re not the type to speak carelessly. I think you probably said what you felt was necessary. And that was probably something Eve didn’t want to hear or found uncomfortable.”

Sera spoke quietly, making sure no one else could hear.

“…I don’t think Eve is angry. She just seems to be deep in thought. Try apologizing quietly.”

“…But if I just say it now, it probably won’t seem sincere.”

“Then we just need to create a quiet atmosphere.”

Sera nodded and said:

“…Though she doesn’t say it, Eve probably feels responsible for darkening the mood too. If you two are alone, I’m sure she’ll open up.”

“Isn’t the ‘alone’ condition a bit difficult to achieve?”

“Leave that to me.”

Sera nodded confidently.

“How are you going to do it?”

“Please don’t ask about that.”

Sera said with slight emphasis.

Quietly realizing she intended to use force to resolve the situation, I backed off without saying anything.

“All you need to do is apologize to Eve and come back smiling together.”

I found myself thinking that Sera seemed quite dependable.

+

Evening time.

After Sera prepared dinner, she achieved the remarkable feat of dispersing everyone by forcefully assigning dishwashing, firewood collection, and scouting duties, culminating in punishing Noah who had protested that he wanted to watch the spectacle. Finally, Eve and I were alone again.

Usually when we were alone, Eve would quietly sit beside me to pass the time.

But this time, perhaps because of what I had said, Eve wasn’t coming to my side.

‘…What should I do.’

Secretly, I had harbored the somewhat cowardly hope that Eve might be the first to improve her mood.

But as expected, such cowardly thoughts never yield any results.

‘If this continues, all the time Sera worked hard to give us will be meaningless.’

Though their relationship had improved lately, Sera had once been at odds with Eve, yet she had made a big concession and offered her support in this situation.

I couldn’t let that go to waste.

Above all, I didn’t want Eve to continue wearing that dark expression.

I took a deep breath and stood up.

Then I quietly sat down beside Eve, who looked slightly surprised to see me.

“Kei?”

Somehow my mouth felt blocked and wouldn’t open easily.

But, as I had done before, I quietly spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

Eve opened her eyes in confusion, and I spoke once more.

“I’m sorry, Eve.”

“Kei.”

Eve seemed lost in thought for a moment.

Then, she looked at me and quietly asked:

“What exactly are you sorry for?”

It was a difficult question.

But I had a guess.

So I quietly answered:

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for making such a heavy request of you.”

Did she understand what I was referring to?

Eve’s expression darkened again.

“…Indeed, it was too heavy a request for me.”

“Yes.”

Eve fell into thought again.

Then, she quietly opened her mouth and said:

“…Please don’t misunderstand, Kei. I wasn’t really angry.”

Eve looked at me with a gentle smile.

“Have you been thinking these past few days that I was angry because I kept wearing a dark expression?”

“To be honest, yes.”

“I wasn’t angry. …But I couldn’t help having a lot on my mind.”

As I was surprised to find that Sera had been right, Eve continued quietly:

“Kei wouldn’t have said such things to me without reason.”

“That’s right.”

“So conversely, I had a lot to think about. Because you’re not the type of person who would say such things carelessly.”

Eve wore a slightly dark expression as she spoke quietly:

“…Asking me to take care of others if you die.”

The words I had quietly spoken to Eve on our last night at the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

Indeed, those words were the cause of Eve’s gloomy expression these past few days.

“I’m sorry. I unnecessarily made your heart heavy.”

“I won’t say it’s completely fine. Honestly, your words did give me a lot to think about.”

Eve sighed softly after saying this.

“But I should have talked with you again instead of just thinking about it alone. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“If we’re being fair, I’m partly to blame too.”

I apologized once more.

Eve nodded, seemingly accepting my apology.

Then she spoke again:

“Then, will you tell me the reason, Kei?”

“……”

“The reason you left me with those words that sounded like a last will.”

I was lost in thought for a moment.

As I made up my mind, Eve spoke again:

“Why did you leave me with such words?”

“Do you remember the shadow of the Hero’s party, the Priestess?”

Eve nodded at my question.

Looking at her, I continued:

“…That Priestess, enraged by the Hero’s death, made that choice after her companions died and she was left alone.”

I spoke quietly, recalling the final moments of the Shadow Priestess.

In her anger at losing the Hero and her grief at losing her companions, the Priestess ultimately made that choice.

“It suddenly made me wonder what would happen to those left behind if I were gone.”

I couldn’t help but overlap the images of Eve and the Priestess.

If I were to disappear.

What would happen to those left behind?

That scared me.

And there was something even more frightening.

“…At the very least, I hoped there wouldn’t be anyone throwing away their life for me, or following me in death.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I want you to live.”

I looked at Eve as I spoke.

“The people I love… I wanted them to continue living happily rather than dying because of me.”

Strictly speaking, my body was already in a state where it should have died but was forcibly kept alive by the dragon’s magic.

To throw away one’s life for someone like me.

I was grateful, but I still didn’t like it.

“That’s why I asked you. …I thought that even if I were gone, you could guide everyone to avoid making extreme choices.”

That’s what I believed when I made that heavy request to Eve.

“Why me?”

“Because we’ve known each other the longest. I thought you could lead everyone.”

“Not the others?”

“Sera and Chris would have their hands full just trying not to collapse themselves. …Sia already carries the weight of many deaths on her shoulders, so asking her to bear my death too would surely be too difficult. Beatrice is the most dangerous. She seems strong but she’s actually quite fragile.”

I could have asked anyone.

But among the people I knew, I thought Eve was the only one who could endure well enough to take care of others even if something happened to me.

Maybe I just wanted to believe that.

But in the end, there was only one reason why I left that request with her.

“Because I trusted you.”

I told Eve quietly.

“Because I trusted you, I made that heavy request of you.”

Eve looked at me for a moment.

Then she sighed softly.

“I see.”

Had she accepted my explanation?

With a slightly calmer but still somewhat dark expression, Eve spoke again:

“…Still, please don’t say things like ‘if I die, take care of what’s left behind.'”

Eve said quietly:

“I want to live with Kei for a very long time.”

“Eve.”

“As long as possible. Happily, that is.”

Eve spoke quietly:

“That’s why I, Sera, and everyone else came here with Kei. We want to be happy. With Kei, that is.”

Eve continued quietly:

“Even while carrying the anxiety of not knowing when your life might end, we came all this way with the hope that you can be healed now. In the midst of that, when you left words that sounded like a last will, I couldn’t help but see—no, think of ominous scenes.”

Eve lowered her head as she spoke:

“Because of that, I think I reacted too sensitively to your words. You must have thought deeply before leaving those words with me.”

“Eve.”

“I’m sorry, Kei. When I thought about you disappearing, I couldn’t maintain my composure.”

Eve said quietly:

“Overwhelmed by anxiety, I made things difficult for you.”

“…That’s what I should be saying.”

Because I had weakened and unnecessarily made things hard for Eve.

Sensing my feelings, Eve smiled slightly:

“…Let’s say we both made mistakes.”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s keep this in mind.”

Eve carefully placed her hand on top of mine.

“We’ll struggle to survive until the end. Until the day when everything is over and we can be together, let’s not give up.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps it was because we had shared our thoughts.

Both Eve and I felt lighter in expression.

We sat together watching the bonfire.

At some point, Eve rested her head on my shoulder, and I gently stroked her hair.

Then Eve quietly raised her head, and our eyes met.

She slowly moved her hand to remove my helmet.

No words were exchanged.

Quietly closing our eyes, our faces slowly moved toward each other.

I could feel Eve’s breath gently brushing against my cheek.

Her warmth almost touched my lips.

-SCREEEECH!!

If it weren’t for the sudden shriek and the sound of large wings, our lips would have met.

“What is that?!”

Eve rose with an angry voice at the broken mood, drawing her sword.

I also stood up with my weapon, and I could see our scattered companions returning with their weapons drawn at the sudden sound of flight.

And then, looking up at the sky.

Something was falling and shouting.

I saw the familiar silhouette of a halberd.

“Oh damn.”

Just as I thought, “No way,” that voice reached us.

“Finally caught up with youuuu!!!”

Rizanis was roaring.