episode_0059

Decades Ago

“Agapé’s eye color is quite unique, I think.”

Long after dusk had settled, as stars of unknown age lit up the night sky.

Perched on the roof of the cabin, I once said that to my beloved.

“My eyes?”

His gaze, which had been fixed on the sky, lowered.

Despite being cursed to neither hold nor see stars, he always gazed at the sky with me by my side, simply because I loved watching the night sky.

“Yes.”

Even though it must have been boring for him, and even though the thought of not being able to see the stars must have brought a bitter feeling.

Yet, his presence, looking up at the night sky with me as if he wasn’t bored at all, felt particularly endearing today, and I gazed at Agapé with tender eyes.

His eyes, dark as the moonless night sky, reflected countless starlight like a mirror.

“Your eyes are black, aren’t they?”

“Is having black eyes unique?”

“At least in this city, I’ve never seen anyone with black eyes except for you, Agapé.”

“Hmm…”

Agapé hummed thoughtfully, pondering if what I said was true.

After a moment of deep thought, he nodded, saying, “Now that you mention it, I suppose that’s true.”

“Right, now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with black eyes except my mother.”

“So, do your eyes resemble your mother’s, Agapé?”

“Hmm… I suppose so? I’ve never met my father, so I wouldn’t know, and if black eyes aren’t common outside either, then that must be it.”

“Mm-hm…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Roland says that eyes are mirrors reflecting emotions.”

“Roland said that?”

I nodded.

“Because of that, your expression is often blank, making it hard to tell how you’re feeling, but thanks to your eyes, it’s incredibly easy to know your mood, Agapé.”

“…Am I that easy to read?”

“Of course!”

A grin spread across my face.

“When you look at me with eyes full of affection, as if saying ‘I like you~’ with your gaze, how could I not know?”

At those words, Agapé’s face instantly turned bright red.

Then, as if uncomfortable, he cleared his throat a few times before asking the same question again.

“Did Roland say that too?”

“Oh, come on, you know Roland, even if he’s sly, he doesn’t usually say such embarrassing things. I learned that from the romance novel Roland brought.”

“…People outside sure say such embarrassing things easily.”

“That’s not something you should say, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You also once told me that my eyes were like the dawn sky. That the moon and starlight floating in the sky seemed to be reflected in my eyes.”

“That…”

Having nothing to say, Agapé pressed his lips together.

That sight was adorable too, and as I quietly chuckled to myself, Agapé held my hand tightly and spoke.

“Once we leave the city, what do you want to do first?”

“What, are you changing the subject now?”

“Ahem. No, it’s not like that. It just suddenly came to mind, so I asked.”

Though he showed momentary embarrassment, I quickly realized Agapé was sincere and repeated the story I had told him dozens of times.

“First, I want to go to the plains!”

“The plains?”

“Yes! I’m curious how refreshing the wind is on the vast plains, and how fragrant the flowers blooming there are!”

“And?”

“I also want to visit a place called the Great Plain! I heard it’s a wheat field as vast as Crisseldora, the granary of the Elven Empire, and that beer there, drunk at sunset, is incredibly delicious!”

“…You’ve never had beer before.”

“Even so! When I see a picture of a golden drink with white foam, it reminds me of the setting sun, making it look delicious!”

Unlike her, he had never seen a setting sun, but Agapé nodded with a small, understanding smile.

“That’s true. And?”

“And then, I want to see cities, and mountains, and how dense forests are… Hmm… Oh! I also want to see how vast the sea is!”

Kara’s eyes began to sparkle, especially when she spoke of the sea.

“Unlike the small lakes or rivers within the city, it’s just salty water endlessly stretching beyond the horizon, and the food made from the seafood and marine life there is supposedly so delicious!”

“Seafood?”

“Yes! They say it’s incredibly delicious because of its unique, rich ocean flavor; it must have a completely different taste from land meat!”

“You want to eat seafood that much?”

“Yes. When I go outside, I want to try it most of all!”

My bright, childlike smile, even though I was soon to become an adult.

Whenever I made such an expression and vividly recounted stories of the outside world, as if I had truly experienced them, he would listen with a warm smile.

Even though it was a story he had heard countless times, to the point of tedium.

Still, he always asked me about it, knowing how excited I got when I told this story.

As if he would never tire of it, as if he were hearing it for the very first time.

In a city where the future was restricted, he allowed me to embrace a future, to dream.

Looking into my eyes, which were like the dawn sky, even though no stars could possibly reflect there.

Just as I gazed at the starlight reflected like a mirror in his night-sky-like black eyes.

We looked at the most brilliant starlight in each other’s eyes, holding stars for each other in a city where stars were forbidden.

That moment was so incredibly happy.

And I miss it terribly.

Very much, to the core.

***

A fortnight.

Half a month had passed since I was confined to the VIP room.

Whoosh—

I stepped out onto the VIP room’s patio-like terrace, crossed the small garden, and leaned against the terrace railing.

And I looked down at the endless Gothic-style buildings spread out below the Imperial Palace terrace, the highest building in the capital.

Once at sunrise and once at sunset.

Facing the cool wind that descended from the peak of the snow-capped mountains, Mount Minerva.

Wooosh—

And occasionally gazing at Feanor’s Lighthouse, which performed its duty with a sound similar to a ship’s horn.

Before anyone else awoke, I would go out alone and observe the city scenery.

…

Ever since arriving in the capital, I found myself thinking of home particularly often.

Sirius, and also Ember, the cursed city that had transformed into Fallen.

Perhaps because both were cities designed by Feanor himself, elements reminiscent of my hometown would occasionally emerge in the capital.

Although Fallen’s buildings weren’t Gothic stone structures like those in the capital, there was the Temple of Prophets soaring high in the landmark Malchut district.

And even the grand avenues made of similarly shaped tiles.

Especially whenever I saw the Henri D. Stund Clock Tower in the Keter district, I thought of home even more.

Because the Bell of Infinity, crafted with Golden Age technology, one of only three on the entire continent, was also in Fallen.

Every day at noon, whenever I heard that bell, which rang so often it became tedious, I would find myself reminiscing about those times, even if my mind had been elsewhere.

…Myself, beaten by thugs and in pain.

Agapé’s face, who saved me at that moment, when the Bell of Infinity chimed.

Even after ten years, I still clearly remembered that face and those memories, and so my longing for him only grew.

“Sir Kara.”

Captain Idel called out to me.

“Captain Idel.”

“You’re diligent even in the early morning.”

“Diligent? I’m just watching the sunrise.”

“You’re not just watching the sun, are you?”

Idel, approaching her with the restrained footsteps characteristic of an Imperial officer, looked down at the city scenery.

“You were thinking of home, weren’t you?”

“…How did you know?”

“It’s easy. Especially for me, who has been rolling around on battlefields for nearly 50 years since my youth, it’s a very simple matter.”

Her eyes.

Clear, transparent indigo eyes, reminiscent of the night sky.

Captain Idel looked at those mysterious eyes and smiled bitterly.

“Eyes are mirrors that reflect emotions.”

Idel’s brown eyes reflected longing and sorrow.

“From my time as a junior officer, I’ve seen countless soldiers to the point of being sick of it. After the fear of death, the most prevalent emotion they exude is homesickness, so at least these two emotions can be recognized immediately just by looking into their eyes from afar.”

“Especially if they are the mysterious and beautiful eyes of the Hero of Verdure.”

‘…Beautiful eyes.’

It was a phrase I had heard countless times since coming outside, to the point of tedium.

To the extent that I heard it more often than praises for my face, claiming my beauty surpassed even that of the famously beautiful High Elves.

However, despite hearing such diverse poetic expressions and praises for my eyes from so many different people.

‘Beautiful. The most beautiful in the world.’

Unlike when I heard Agapé’s compliment, which lacked even elaborate poetic flair, hearing this praise from others brought me not a single speck of happiness.

No, rather, I felt a chilling sensation in my chest.

Instead, it felt as though I was forcibly yanked from dreamlike old memories and thrown back into cold reality once more.

Therefore, her compliment wasn’t entirely welcome, but knowing that a person of her noble character wouldn’t have said such a thing if she knew my feelings, I simply offered an awkward smile.

“Such praise is… a bit embarrassing.”

Although she thought she was giving an awkward smile, Kara’s beauty was so perfect that Captain Idel didn’t perceive even a hint of awkwardness in her smile.

Responding to her smile with one of her own, Captain Idel abruptly asked her.

“What do you think will happen from now on?”

“From now on?”

“The Empire has virtually fallen.”

It wasn’t a statement one would expect from a general of a nation.

Especially from a war hero who had risen to the position of Captain of the Imperial Army, a hero who had dedicated half her life to the Empire.

“No matter how perfectly Feanor established the Empire’s foundation, the Empire has long been suffering from a deep-seated illness due to 50 years of fierce warfare.”

As a nation founded by Feanor, the first Prophet, the Shahlnu Empire had enjoyed prosperity and military strength for a long time, to the extent that it could be considered the most perfect nation in history.

But having witnessed the fall of countless nations through long wars, Captain Idel knew how to read the unique, quiet, and eerie current that characterized a nation approaching its demise.

As such, she was certain.

That the Empire’s downfall was practically a certainty.

Even if Sir Orlando, who brought victory from Numenlora, and the remaining heroes returned and eliminated all of the Gram, no one could prevent the Empire’s collapse.

With the coup having begun and the Prophets’ foresight rendered useless, there was no hope that they could revive the Empire.

“The Empire is on the brink of ruin. No, perhaps it has already fallen.”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

“What do you plan to do from now on?”

“What do I plan to do? I merely—”

“I know all about how heroes are made and how they become heroes. No, it’s common knowledge among those who need to know among the Empire’s high-ranking officials.”

The glowing remnants left in the sky by legends who achieved great deeds and died, guided by fate.

Those glowing remnants were scattered across the continent, falling upon individuals of various nationalities, races, and social statuses, and the Prophets found them and brought them to Mount Minerva, the Prophets’ abode.

And they forced rigorous training upon these heroes, who were made to bear the power of the stars, compelling them to go to war and cut down their enemies.

It was a story the Prophets hushed up, not widely known, but she, as one of the Empire’s high-ranking officials, already knew everything.

That while not all heroes were like that, a significant number were forcibly sent to the battlefield through such abusive training and threats.

And Idel already knew that Kara was also one of them.

That’s why she was asking.

Because she knew that Kara, having been forcibly dragged to the battlefield and being someone she had a certain level of familiarity with, wasn’t someone who would fight for a grand cause.

“So I will ask again. What do you think will happen from now on? No. What kind of life do you plan to lead?”

“Will you remain Kara the hero?”

“Or will you return to being Kara from before you became a hero?”

Captain Idel was asking that.

“…Ah…”

And Kara, upon hearing that, remained silent for a long time. Then, she fell into thought.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t decide on an answer.

She had already decided on her answer, and even though she wanted to rush straight towards her dream, a formidable obstacle stood in her way, preventing her from answering rashly.

‘If the Empire truly falls.’

‘What will happen to the Prophets?’

‘Agapé is being held hostage by the Prophet of Light.’

He was the one who threatened to kill Agapé there if I so much as showed a sign of rushing to Fallen.

He and the Prophets he controlled on Mount Minerva were still active.

Even if defeating the calamity meant becoming free through their ‘promise’.

If the Empire falls, can I truly be free?

…

Even with a little thought, I knew I couldn’t.

He was someone who desperately tried to use me from the start.

He was a cunning man who, fearing I would immediately rush home after the war with the calamity ended, delayed my return and forcibly arranged my engagement with Astolfo to exploit me for as long as possible.

Would such a man truly let me go, even with the downfall of his family, Impurity, and the Empire?

Never.

Instead, even if it meant breaking his ‘promise’ and abandoning his own divinity as a Prophet, he would try to use me by leveraging the power he held.

Even if he lost his divinity, his standing among the Prophets of Mount Minerva was absolute.

…

A shadow fell across Kara’s face.

What was the difference between her and a bird in a cage?

No, perhaps it would be even more miserable than that.

At least a bird can fly freely if its cage breaks.

But I had shackles, so even if the cage broke, I couldn’t be free.

I…

…I.

Whoosh—

A fierce gust of wind struck my cheek.

“…Sir Kara?”

Captain Idel’s gaze, which had been looking at her with pity, shifted behind her.

Her long ears, which hung down almost to the ground, twitched slightly, following Captain Idel’s gaze behind her.

And then.

“That’s…”

Immediately after, at the sight of the capital below, her pupils constricted.

A chaotic roar!

Countless citizens were marching through the streets, holding torches.

Each held a large poster like a door, their faces filled with anger.

They were approaching the Imperial Palace.

“What in the world is that—”

Just then.

Creak—

The VIP room door creaked open, and an old man with distinctive attire, typical of a Prophet and resembling a king’s robes, appeared.

The old man, characterized by his long, curly beard, briefly greeted the two who were already awake and spoke in a gentle tone.

“I hope you have been comfortable. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Third Judge, Sargon.”

The old man, who introduced himself as Sargon, gave a slight eye-smile with a refined gesture.

“The Creator calls, so please come out when you are ready.”