Chapter 240 – The [End]

The light faded.

Where the light had been, where Serr had stood, nothing remained. Not even a trace of magic, not her lingering presence, not her voice, not her laughter.

It was as if her existence had been erased from this world. Yet, she remained in my mind.

Her steps as she walked away from us. Her bright smile, for the first time. Her overwhelmed voice. Her eyes shining with joy. The sight of her holding a miracle in her hands. Her last, radiant laugh.

They were etched so vividly, so deeply, I knew I could never forget, even after death, they would never disappear.

Even so, I recalled her face again. I savored it. I thought of her again and again, endlessly, endlessly, endlessly.

When the overflowing emotion, the surging regret, and my heart that felt like it would burst finally began to settle, 

The world, once filled with light, began to be shrouded in darkness. The bright view grew dim. Rubia’s once warm hand started to turn cold.

“…Noah.”

A voice cracked with sorrow and pain.

“Noah.”

The owner of that voice, Rubia, called me.

“Aren’t you going to look at me?”

I didn’t answer. I just held her hand tightly.

It was cold. It was still growing colder.

So I held on even tighter. I wanted to catch that fading warmth.

But like water slipping through my fingers, the warmth that flowed away could never be held by my hands.

“What’s this? Just because I acted a little foolish, you won’t even look at me now?”

“That’s… that’s not it…”

“Then, ”

Slide.

Rubia’s hand, cold and trembling, cupped my cheek. She gently turned my face toward hers.

“Look at me. There isn’t much time left for us to see each other, is there?”

Rubia, lying with her head on my lap, smiled. It wasn’t a bright or joyful smile, but a somewhat bitter, forced smile. Still, it wasn’t a pained smile.

“What the… I made such a fuss crying and everything, but Noah, you didn’t shed a single tear.”

“…Adults can hold it in, you know.”

I smiled back at Rubia and gently kissed her forehead. Then I softly wiped away the tears that had run down her face.

“That was snot, actually.”

“Ew… I thought it felt a little different…”

“Hehehe…”

I wiped Rubia’s tears and snot from my hand onto my clothes, then gently held her hand.

“Serr’s magic… it really was beautiful, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“Even as someone who knows nothing about magic, I could tell. Hehehe… Only a genius like Serr could ever cast a spell like that.”

“That’s right…”

Just as Rubia said, the magic Serr had shown, the spell she declared was the end of magic, or rather, the miracle, was truly amazing. It was spectacular, overwhelming… brilliant, beautiful. No word that existed, no phrase to describe greatness, could do it justice.

“A miracle, huh…”

Rubia, staring blankly at the spot where Serr had stood, closed her eyes.

“To me, just meeting you, Noah, feels like a miracle that could never happen again.”

“It’s a miracle. Really.”

For someone like me, who lived in a completely different world, to enter the world I had only ever seen in a game, to meet someone as lovely as Rubia, if that isn’t a miracle,

What else could you call it?

Nothing else but the word miracle could ever replace it.

“My meeting Rubia… really is a miracle.”

That I, who was dying, or even already dead, could live again in this world, that’s a miracle.

That I could meet people here, laugh with them, that’s a miracle.

That I could save people, be called a hero, and be relied upon by so many, that’s a miracle.

Even if there was some unknown power guiding everything from behind, 

To me, every bit of it was a miracle.

“Hehehe, thank you. For saying that.”

“No… you don’t have to thank me.”

Rather, 

“I should be the one thanking you, Rubia… Thank you, Rubia. For loving someone like me. For believing in someone like me. For… seeing me.”

“What’s wrong with you, Noah?”

Slowly, Rubia’s hand pinched my nose.

“Yow!”

“What kind of person do you think you are? To me, Noah, you’re the strongest, coolest, cutest, and most lovable person in the world. Honestly, I’d like to tie you to my bed so only I could see you, lock you away at home so only I could touch and feel you, someone that lovable.”

“…That… doesn’t sound… uh… that’s not really the right way to describe love…”

Rubia giggled.

“Anyway, to me, you’re someone I could never trade for anything in the world. So, please, love yourself too, the way I love you.”

The hand that pinched my nose now cupped my cheek.

“Okay?”

“…I’ll try.”

At my slightly pouty reply, Rubia pinched my cheek. But her hand, now cold to the bone, had lost all its strength.

“Noah, when everything’s over, what do you want to do most?”

What I wanted to do most.

Even just the things that sprang to mind right now, there were so many I’d use up half my words just trying to say them all.

But, above all else…

“…I want to go on a trip.”

Not a mission.

Not running away.

Laughing together.

With no worries.

“I want to walk unknown roads, go to places I’ve never seen, meet new people… eat all the jellies and candies I haven’t tried yet. In a peaceful world, with you, Rubia.”

Rubia’s eyes widened.

But only for a moment, her beautifully curved eyes grew moist.

“It’s strange. How… how did you end up thinking exactly the same as me?”

“Rubia, you want to go on a trip too?”

“Yes. I want to travel with you, Noah. A peaceful trip, with no worries… a trip that’s only fun.”

As if picturing something, Rubia closed her eyes. Sparkling tears slid down her closed eyelids. The moment those tears touched my leg, Rubia spoke.

“Um… first, our trip can’t have a destination. I just want to go wherever our feet take us. Next, we’ll have to pack, right? But we don’t need to pack too much. Because, hehe… now we have plenty of money. We can just restock whatever we need whenever we come across a village.”

My vision was dark. I couldn’t really see where Rubia’s tears had fallen, or if they were still falling. Still, I gently wiped her face.

There were no more tears left there.

Rubia, who had kept her lips parted for a moment, finally caught her breath and spoke again.

“Next, we should get a horse, right? I don’t want a carriage. I think a trip with a bit of wildness would be more fun. Noah, you can handle the reins now, can’t you? But… just one horse would be nice. That way, that way… we can stay close together.”

A cold droplet fell on my thigh. More kept falling. My hand traced their path upward. I felt her eyelashes, her trembling eyelids, the furrow in her brow.

“Okay… now that we have our means of travel, all that’s left is to set off. I think we should start from Alrba. Before we go, heh… let’s have a coffee at the forge. After that, say goodbye to Hermilla. Once we’ve said goodbye to everyone… where should we go? The north is cold, so maybe save that for later. The south… would probably be too hot. We’d have to cross the sea. That leaves west and east. Last time, we went east, right? So, how about west this time?”

I shifted slightly. Bowing my head, I looked at Rubia’s face. Even in a world filled with darkness, I could see Rubia’s pale face. Not clearly, but I could see her.

She was still smiling.

In pain, in suffering, in utter anguish.

“Just like before, sleeping in the forest. Having a barbecue. Drinking coffee that you made. In the morning, dipping bread into warm soup. Haha… If we go on a trip this time, will you prepare breakfast again, Noah? Preparing it is fine, but… this time, don’t go hunting. Stay by my side. So that, when I open my eyes, the first thing I see is your face.”

I pressed my lips to Rubia’s twisted, tormented mouth. Her deep scent lingered in my mouth. In its place, there was a hint of dust and a slight salty taste.

“And when I open my eyes, we can kiss right away. Hold hands, get up, see each other’s disheveled faces, and laugh together. But of course, we can’t just laugh. We have to fix each other’s hair, wipe away any drool.”

Finishing, Rubia turned away.

With trembling arms, she propped herself up and, breathing hard, sat up. In the darkness, her faintly glowing blue eyes gazed at me.

“It sounds fun. Right?”

The light grew brighter. Our foreheads touched. Our breaths mingled. Her scent, the smell of blood, drifted closer.

“Yes. It sounds… really fun.”

Rubia smiled. The scent of blood grew stronger.

“Promise me. No matter what happens, we have to go on that trip.”

Her slender fingers hooked onto mine.

“Even if you’re alone, you still have to go. No, you won’t be alone anymore. There’s Hermilla, Yuria, Delia, Hephaestus… If you go a little overboard, there’s Charlotte, who’ll probably be Empress by then. Hehe… You’re not alone anymore. So you have to promise to go.”

I answered that promise.

Then, reaching inside my clothes, I took out the ring holding a warm light. I wrapped Rubia’s hand in mine. Gently opening her fingers, I slipped the ring onto her left ring finger.

“…What’s this?”

Rubia’s body trembled.

“A promise.”

I stroked the hand now wearing the ring.

With my vision completely gone, I pictured Rubia’s face in my mind.

“A promise that I’ll never forget our promise, the time we spent together, the feelings we shared, that I loved you, Rubia.”

I searched for her trembling lips and kissed her. Not heavy, just a bit lighter than before. Then I let go.

A moment later, Rubia’s lips pressed against mine. Heavy, deep, a kiss that seemed to remind me of my promise, her struggles, her feelings enveloped me.

In that moment, clatter! The rough sound of chains rang out before my eyes. I heard Rubia’s faint moan. Clink, the chains locked together.

Our lips parted.

“…I love you, Noah.”

I stood up.

I rose and gripped my greatsword.

“I love you… just a little more than you love me, Rubia.”

“Ahaha…”

Rubia laughed.

With that laugh, I heard her voice for the last time.

In its place, 

“Are you done saying goodbye?”

Another voice spoke.

“If you’re done, it’s about time we start.”

A voice familiar, yet strange.

A voice I could never have heard.

“Even if you’re sad, there’s still something to be done.”

A voice a little prouder than mine.

A voice a little louder than mine.

A voice a little clearer than mine.

“No, before that.”

It was the voice of the [End].

“And why don’t we talk for a bit first?”

‘My’ voice spoke.