Although we had spent a long time together, this was my first time visiting Yuna’s home.
Thinking about that made me feel strange in a lot of ways.
I realized I didn’t know nearly as much about Yuna as I thought I did.
And yet, I’d been so confident that I understood her well. How laughable was that?
A small rural village where you could see all the houses at a glance,
And even in that village, this cabin was located far off on its own.
The moment I stepped inside, what I felt was desolation.
“It’s shabby, right?”
“Huh? No, I mean… it makes sense if it’s a place you only visit from time to time.”
It had only the bare necessities for living.
No, even that might be generous. It felt like a place meant just for sleeping before leaving again.
Was this really even a home?
“You know… I didn’t realize it, but I think I have way more feelings of inferiority than I thought.”
“……”
“Well, I guess it makes sense. What kind of daughter who killed her own father would dare dream of living in luxury?”
“Yuna…”
“Come on in, Johan. At the very least, this place will keep out the wind.”
Led by Yuna’s hand, I stepped into the cabin.
It felt like I was stepping into the vulnerable part of her heart she’d never revealed until now.
But just as she said,
This cabin was enough to keep out the cold wind blowing outside.
Yeah, it was warm.
***
Between the girl who had once been Yuna Salos and the one now known as Yuna Hermod—
This was a memory from when she was simply “Yuna”.
She had killed her parent and fallen into despair, but she found her resolve again by gazing at the vast sea and its crashing waves.
That didn’t mean the sins she had committed vanished.
The first assassination she ever carried out had been paid for with a single flower.
She had taken a life in exchange for a small flower blooming by the roadside.
That didn’t mean she took human life lightly.
She just thought… that was all she was worth.
“You’ll be okay now.”
And the first assassination request she ever received was to kill a noble.
The wish came from a child who, just like her, had lost their parents unjustly.
She had seen the poison in the child’s eyes, and fearing that this girl might one day make the same choice as her, she chose to dirty her own hands instead.
Her hands were already stained. If she committed sins in her place, maybe she could save at least one person.
With such thoughts, she killed people and lived like a righteous outlaw.
In the process, there were times when she earned quite a lot of money.
It was money the clients had forced into her hands.
And so, she became rich… but she had never once used that money for personal reasons.
At least not until she met Johan.
“I’ve never had anything of my own. Even the money I earned… I always thought I was just holding onto it.”
“……”
Yuna opened up about her past, buried deep within her heart.
A bleak and desolate past.
A life where she mechanically took on requests and killed people, over and over.
No matter how noble the cause, it wasn’t a life worth boasting about.
She had never once thought of herself as a heroic figure.
To her, she was nothing more than a butcher who took on the dirtiest, ugliest jobs.
“Maybe that’s why. I think I was afraid of losing the first thing that was truly mine. That’s probably why I was so impatient.”
Yuna had been pushing herself too hard.
Because she believed she was someone insignificant.
That’s why she thought she had to try harder than others.
That she had to be in a leading position for it to be a fair fight at all.
“Johan, should we go see the sea?”
After pausing to find her words, Yuna spoke, almost evasively.
“Suddenly? Well… I mean, we’ve come all this way. Sure.”
“Then why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll catch up after tidying up here a bit. It’s been a while since I came, so there’s a lot of dust.”
“Alright.”
At Yuna’s words, Johan tactfully gave her some space.
Left alone in the cabin, Yuna quietly looked around.
It felt like she was coming face-to-face with the shabby depths of her heart for the first time in a long while.
***
Before I knew it, the sun was starting to set.
A slightly chilly breeze brushed against me as I gazed out over the sea’s surface.
The gentle sound of waves filled the air.
I think I understood now why people visit the sea in winter.
Maybe it was because there were no people. The quiet sounds were clearer than ever.
And in that still moment, I heard another sound.
Swish, swish.
The sound of footsteps in the sand.
As I sat on the beach, I turned my head and saw Yuna walking toward me.
For some reason, she had a blanket draped around her shoulders.
“Hi there!”
Yuna looked cheerful, like she had finally sorted out her thoughts.
Though I couldn’t tell whether she was truly smiling or just pretending.
“If you were cold, you should’ve just dressed warmer.”
“For someone saying that, your lips sure aren’t frowning.”
“Ahem.”
Yuna was barefoot.
I kept finding my gaze drawn to her pale legs peeking out from beneath the blanket.
“I’m glad you seem to like it.”
A swimsuit? Yeah, it had to be a swimsuit. We were by the sea, after all.
“Up we go.”
Yuna plopped down beside me with a grin.
I had a lot of questions, but for now, I stayed quiet.
“Johan, thank you so, so much for going along with all my selfishness.”
“How could anything be called selfish when I’m with you?”
In fact, it was thanks to Yuna that I could finally relax a little.
Just having her by my side gave me peace of mind.
“You know, like I said earlier, I’ve never had anything that was truly mine.
Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that even when I had the chance, I never tried to claim anything.”
“……”
“That’s probably why… I didn’t want to lose you to Princess Ariel.”
“There’s nothing strange about that. Anyone would feel the same way.
It’s just… the circumstances around you were a little twisted, that’s all.”
“But still, I keep getting anxious.
I think that’s why I keep stirring up conflict because I want to be your number one.”
“Yuna…”
“Huh, but even now, you’re not saying I’m your number one, not even as a white lie?”
“……”
“Puhihi, I’m just teasing.”
I had nothing to say.
Because the truth was, I couldn’t say who was first.
And I shouldn’t, either.
There’s no way I could assign a rank between the two of them.
More importantly, I believed that emotions weren’t something you should ever try to rank.
“But you know, after coming back to my house today, I realized something.”
“What did you realize?”
“I need a bookshelf.”
“…Huh?”
“And I think I need a new frying pan and kitchen knife too.”
“……I’m guessing there’s more than just that, right?”
“Mhmm, I noticed there were a lot of things I need. Now I feel like it’s time to start filling the place up.”
Filling the emptiness in my heart. Making things my own.
If I keep doing that, one day I’ll feel full. So full I won’t need to feel jealous or anxious anymore.
“Johan, will you help me?”
“Of course, just say the word. I could even build you a new house if you want.”
“Puhihi, that actually doesn’t sound too bad.”
Rustle.
Yuna sat up.
Then, as if she was about to twirl, she turned and faced me directly.
“So I’ll only push myself until today. Forcing myself to move forward, today’s the last time for that.”
“Really?”
“Mhmm.”
Before I knew it, the sun had set, and stars had begun to appear in the night sky.
“Johan, do you want to see me in my swimsuit?”
“Of course I do.”
“Puhihi, I guess I should give a reward to a good boy who doesn’t lie, huh?”
Yuna stepped closer and then pulled open the blanket she’d been wrapped in.
Right in front of me, just for my eyes, she revealed herself. Her face was flushed red.
Her simple, unadorned black bikini made her pale skin stand out even more.
“Does it look good on me?”
“I think the swimsuit doesn’t even do you justice.”
“Johan… I know that’s a compliment, but maybe work on saying it a little more naturally?”
Did I overdo it? I suddenly felt awkward.
But Yuna looked amused by the expression on my face and giggled softly.
If my awkward face helped ease her nerves, then I didn’t mind.
“Hey, Johan.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
Still holding the blanket in her hands, Yuna clung to me.
It looked kind of like a flying squirrel, which made it cute in a way.
But that thought vanished instantly as the space between us disappeared.
We were so close we could feel each other’s breath.
Close enough to hear each other’s heartbeat. Close enough to feel each other’s warmth.
And since she was wearing a swimsuit instead of regular clothes, I could clearly feel the softness and the weight of her.
“I’m about to test my limits, so Johan, you just stay still, okay?”
“This isn’t going to be easy…”
To stay still like this, without doing anything at all.
It’s frustrating in more ways than one.
But if this is the distance Yuna wants, then I can’t argue.
After all, I don’t want my girlfriend to hate me.
“Mmm…”
Our first kiss took place on the rooftop, under a sky full of stars.
Back then, I truly believed everything was going to change. I believed our relationship would transform dramatically.
But Yuna was more innocent than I expected, easily flustered, shy….and things never went any further.
At least, that’s what I thought.
But today…right now, when we’re so completely lost in each other that we’ve lost all sense of time—
I realized that we had only just taken our second step forward.
Only after time flowed naturally did Yuna finally pull away.
We faced each other at a distance close enough to feel each other’s breath, smiling softly.
“I forgot to keep track of the time.”
“Me too.”
This time, Yuna didn’t hurriedly run away or avoid my gaze.
Instead, she looked at me with eyes bold enough to be called mischievous and said,
“Guess we’ll have to do it again, huh?”
After that, we kissed again and again.
But not once did we check the time.
***
Meanwhile, Immun was standing face to face with Theseus.
To be precise, this was already their fourth meeting.
“Prince Theseus. Are you truly planning to stay silent like this?”
“…I’ve told you over and over. I don’t want to get involved any further.”
“That thing is nothing more than a machine. The scriptwriter is probably still alive. Maybe even waiting for us right now.”
“That’s not what matters.”
In the Velldani Mountains, Theseus had struck down Deus’s machine.
He hadn’t hesitated in the slightest.
In fact, he had discovered in himself a raw, unfiltered violence.
And so, Theseus understood.
That this was who he truly was.
“You can’t let things end like this. Deus was like a father to you, wasn’t he?!”
“Immun, I’m not the kind of great person you think I am. The reason I avoid killing has nothing to do with ideals or justice. I’m just afraid. Afraid of the very idea of death itself. That’s all.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“……”
Theseus had been avoiding Immun’s steady, unwavering gaze all this time.
Only now did he finally turn to face him.
“I respect you. But it’s not your sense of justice that I respect. Justice isn’t something a person claims for themselves. It’s something others see and judge.”
“……”
“I respect you because you tried not to kill people.”
“As I said earlier, I was just afraid.”
“Even so, people are wired to hate each other. There are those whose words are disgusting to hear and those whose actions make you want to look away the moment you see them.”
There is that much ugliness in the world.
And yet, even after seeing so much of that ugliness, Theseus remained consistent.
“No one is truly unafraid of death. And there are certainly people who don’t hesitate to kill. Still, sometimes people risk death to take a life. Because their hatred for someone outweighs their hesitation. Do you think I’m any different?”
“……”
“Your Highness, you overcame all of that. You overcame hatred and disgust and made fair, just decisions.”
The reason doesn’t matter.
Theseus had formed his own convictions and lived by them.
“Everyone has moments of doubt. The human heart is full of contradictions, and there’s no such thing as something truly absolute.”
Theseus believed that what he had done was no different from killing.
When he swung his sword without hesitation, it was as if his convictions had shattered.
And so he lost himself. He was consumed by fear.
He began to believe everything he had stood for was a mistake.
“But stumbling once doesn’t mean everything is over. How can anyone grow if they don’t reflect on their past and learn from it? There’s no such thing as someone who never fails.”
“……”
“Everyone is doing their best. And we need your strength, Your Highness. So you don’t have to be righteous. You don’t need to be great.”
Immun bowed his head.
He had asked again and again. He had no intention of clinging to past failures.
“Please, help us.”
“……”
“Even now, Johan is probably working tirelessly, day and night.”
Immun had no doubt that Johan would be the one to resolve this.
“So please, lend us your strength… if only for that young boy’s sake.”
Meanwhile, Johan was off enjoying a date with Yuna by the sea.
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