Even after that day, I visited the Misfits’ hideout several more times.
“Why are you here?”
“You’ve gotten way too vicious lately. That’s no way for a future bride to act.”
“Do you want to die?”
First, I took care of my daily routine.
From now until the wedding with Jeff, I’m definitely going to keep teasing her.
“Do I need permission just to come see my little brother?”
“Hmph.”
Ah, this brat. If it were pure skill alone, I could crush her completely.
But she’s shamelessly wrapped head to toe in that prophet-exclusive divine power buff, so there’s nothing I can do about it.
This is unbelievably unfair.
Did all those final-boss candidates I killed feel like this too?
Having to be intimidated by someone this weak makes my situation feel utterly pathetic.
“Next time, I’m bringing Yuna with me.”
Let’s see if you can still act so cocky then, Melana. You’re not terminally ill anymore, so I’m not going easy on you just because you’re a patient.
Just as I was making that vow to myself, Helena appeared carrying a basket of laundry.
“Teacher, please stop bullying big sister Melana.”
“Helena, you have no right to say that. You came to watch too, remember? You little accomplice.”
“Ahem! I was only worried about big sister, that’s all.”
“Does the god you serve say it’s okay to lie?”
“I’m an atheist.”
“No, you’re not.”
A prophet shouldn’t be saying that.
Or can they? Maybe that’s allowed?
Considering Helena’s background, telling her to believe in a god feels a little questionable.
After seeing all that and still believing in one would honestly be insane instead.
She was designed as a tool from the start.
“Anyway, I’m the one being bullied here. You saw it, didn’t you? That brat keeps threatening me.”
“That’s because you tease her every time you visit. Please understand. Big sister Melana thought she was going to die, so she finally poured out everything she’d been holding inside. Now all of a sudden she can live, so of course she’s confused.”
“That’s an impressively accurate summary. Make sure you say that in front of Melana too.”
There’s no mental attack more painful than pure facts. In that sense, Helena has talent too.
“Where’s Chris?”
“Training with big brother Dietrich.”
“Hmm…”
I’m glad Chris seems to be doing well. But honestly, hearing that he’s doing combat training still makes me worry a little.
When it came to pure physical ability alone, he was far beyond anything I could even compare myself to, but he was family, so I couldn’t help it.
His current hulking appearance was shocking enough to feel burned into my memory, but somewhere in my heart, I still remembered the sight of him wasting away in the darkness.
I probably would never forget it.
Back then, I truly thought Chris was going to die. Of course, I had no intention of forcing these worries onto him. Chris has his own life to live, after all.
“Then that’s enough.”
So I’d just keep it to myself.
“So what did you actually come here for today, Teacher?”
“Well, maybe I should check your homework?”
“Do you even know what I’ve been studying lately?”
“Basic arithmetic?”
“Algebraic geometry.”
“Study hard.”
I had no idea what that was, but I knew for certain nothing good would come from me getting involved with it.
Just hearing the name made part of my head start throbbing already.
My instincts were screaming at me not to touch it under any circumstances.
“How’s Ollie been lately?”
“Teacher, your introductions are getting longer and longer. Today’s real topic was about big sister Ollie too, wasn’t it?”
“That just means I’m being careful.”
“Then instead of asking like this, why not go check for yourself? Consider it guidance from a prophet.”
“Wow, you really have become a full-on cult leader.”
“Ahem!”
That wasn’t a compliment.
“Things going well with Dietrich?”
“Why are you suddenly bringing up big brother Dietrich?”
Helena suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked at me warily.
Ha! She’s still just a kid after all. She’s got a long way to go before she can get the upper hand on me.
“It’s not like I asked anything strange. He’s your guardian, isn’t he?”
“I’m already past the age where I need a guardian.”
“By social standards, I’m technically still at an age where I need one too, so what’s a brat whose blood hasn’t even dried yet talking about?”
At best, she was still middle-school age.
If studying difficult things made someone an adult, then Professor Georg would’ve become one long ago.
That childish man is only considered an adult because of his age.
That’s just how the world works. No matter what people say, adulthood and childhood are divided by age.
“Ahem! Well, big brother Dietrich is always hardworking. He never skips his training and never avoids difficult work either.”
“Sounds admirable.”
“…Yeah.”
Would you look at that? Maybe this group needs a new name.
Turns out this wasn’t the Misfits’ hideout after all. It was practically a newlywed home.
“Big sister Ollie’s probably near the World Tree around this time.”
“What’s she doing there?”
“Not doing anything. Just taking a nap under the shade of a big tree?”
“Must be nice.”
Even as I said it, I felt relieved inside.
It meant she still had that much peace of mind left in her.
“I’ll head over.”
“Take care.”
“Just asking in advance in case, but what’s for dinner tonight?”
“Lamb stew.”
“Got it.”
Ah, damn it. What should I do? Maybe I should stay and eat before leaving?
***
Just like Helena said, Ollie was leaning against the World Tree.
Resting her back against the massive trunk, Ollie stared up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
I could tell her expression had become brighter than before.
“Mr. Johan.”
“…….”
“I think I’m going to leave.”
“I see.”
It wasn’t all that surprising.
The moment I saw the peaceful look on her face, I had a feeling this was coming.
“Thank you for calling for me.”
“Yeah, you should be thankful.”
At my shameless self-affirmation, Ollie let out a bitter smile.
Raven, who was sitting beside her, waved at me.
“You’re not trying to stop me this time?”
“If you were running away, I would’ve stopped you. But that’s not what this is, right?”
“That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“That you’re more perceptive than I thought.”
“If I weren’t perceptive, I’d have ended up with a kitchen knife stuck in me a long time ago.”
When you’re walking a tightrope between girlfriends who both have power and authority, you need to stay sharp. In my case, though, I was forcibly thrown onto the rope.
“Did you know there’s a huge observatory in the southern Pleta territory?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“I want to go there.”
“Sounds fun.”
“On the way, I’ll eat at fancy restaurants and take shelter from the rain in shabby little teahouses.”
She looked like someone lost in a dream.
She happily went on about her travel plans. They were rigid and inflexible plans, yet dreamlike all the same.
She probably knew herself that she wouldn’t be able to accomplish all of them.
“I’m going to look at the stars and get my fortune told by a famous fortune teller.”
“There’s actually a fortune teller among the people I know too.”
“If it’s someone you know, Mr. Johan, they’d probably be able to see the future for real, so I’ll pass.”
An accurate assessment.
Oracles really can see the future.
“If I get a bad fortune, it’ll just ruin my mood, right? I plan to accept the good fortunes and let the bad ones go in one ear and out the other.”
“You really do live however you want, you little brat.”
Wasn’t that basically saying she’d swallow the sweet and spit out the bitter?
“So? What are you going to ask about?”
“…….”
Ollie looked up at the sky for a moment.
She squinted at the densely scattered light filtering through the leaves, then soon smiled as she looked at Raven crouching beside her.
“Whether I’ll be able to do well.”
“……You’re thinking of becoming a mercenary?”
“Yes.”
Being a mercenary probably wasn’t her dream.
It might not suit her temperament. No, it definitely wouldn’t.
“But it’s something I’ve always wanted to try at least once. I was curious about the kind of life my boyfriend, whom I’m so proud of, has lived. Hmm, although now that I think about it, doing it full-time might be a bit difficult. Maybe just as an experience?”
“That’s a wise choice. That industry’s practically headed for mass funerals right now. I wiped out all the terrorist groups, so there’s barely any work left.”
That wasn’t a joke. It was true.
Unfortunately, the outlook for the mercenary industry was bleak.
As long as Abraham was dead set on pursuing world peace, mercenary jobs were going to decrease quite a bit.
“And then?”
“Hmm?”
“And what else are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure. I came out here every morning thinking about it, but nothing much comes to mind.”
“Then maybe it’d be good to just go wherever your feet take you. That’s the charm of traveling, isn’t it?”
As I said that, I pulled a silver mirror from my coat and tossed it to her.
Knowing how expensive silver mirrors were, Ollie hurriedly caught it after I casually threw it over.
“This is……?”
“Ah, this is called a silver mirror.”
“I know that much already. Are you making fun of me?”
“It’s a silver mirror connected to a merchant I know. If you need anything while you’re traveling, try contacting them.”
“How would you know where I’ll go?”
“It probably won’t matter where.”
If it was Andvaranaut that was expanding its business at a terrifying pace, there would probably be a branch no matter where she went.
There might even be an Andvaranaut branch in some remote mountain village. After all, one had already opened in our Damus territory.
“Thank you.”
“You should be.”
“……Have you ever considered trying to be a little humble once in a while?”
“I live enjoying how great I am. Why would I be humble?”
“…….”
I’m going to brag about everything I’ve done well. Humility? That’s for people who are insecure about what’s behind them.
“When are you leaving?”
“Hmm, right now?”
“Take care. You too, Raven.”
I turned away without hesitation.
I knew very well what this journey meant to Ollie.
“No matter what you do, there’ll always be regrets left behind. But maybe there can be fewer of them.”
This was her farewell journey.
A journey to let go of the lingering attachments she still had before sending Raven away.
The places she wanted to visit with Raven, the things she wanted to do together.
Ollie and Raven’s bucket list.
She had already made her decision. She was going to set Raven free. This was the beginning of her journey toward standing on her own.
***
I didn’t say much.
Since I had confirmed that Ollie had made her choice, I had no lingering attachment left.
I didn’t add any words to her final farewell with Raven. It seemed better to show her a clean goodbye without regrets.
“What are you doing here?”
After parting ways with the two of them, I faced another presence standing near the World Tree.
“Mephi.”
I had been wondering why she’d been so quiet lately. So this was where she’d been.
I looked toward where Mephi was staring. There was a grave made by roughly piling together pieces of wood.
“A grave like this suits that bastard perfectly. He wasn’t decent enough to deserve some grand burial.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Johan, Faust was a coward.”
“Yeah.”
“He was even more cowardly than you. And despite that, he was a sneaky bastard.”
“The kind of person people naturally dislike.”
“That bastard doesn’t deserve a proper grave. Honestly, the fact that we even made one for him is already more than generous.”
“…….”
Contrary to how it sounded on the surface, it felt more like an excuse.
“Do you know what he was like when I first met him?”
“Didn’t you say he was on the verge of being killed by his family?”
“That was when we made our contract.”
“Then?”
“He was a brat constantly watching his parents’ reactions, afraid of getting scolded.”
“I see.”
“He was always the type to watch other people’s reactions. He was constantly afraid of how others saw him.”
Coward.
Now I understood where that assessment came from.
The fear Mephi spoke of wasn’t death.
It was people’s judgment.
That was what killed Faust.
“……He was a foolish bastard. He spent his whole life worrying about what other people thought of him. And so he lived all those countless years pretending to be a sage, without ever having anyone truly understand who he was.”
Mephi looked up at me with a crooked expression. As always, it was the kind of face that made me want to punch her.
“Forgive him.”
“…….”
“Looking back on it, I was probably the only one he could ever show his true feelings to.”
Faust always said it. Whenever he saw Mephi, he called her an old friend.
“Do you regret it?”
“I do.”
“Now of all times?”
“Johan, I’m a demon. Whatever my nature may be, the fact that I was born that way remains true.”
The only being who understood Faust’s true nature, and likewise, the only friend Faust could truly open his heart to.
“To someone like me, who has lived a life close to eternity, humans were no different from mayflies. I never felt the need for friendship, nor did I think it possible.”
But Faust was different.
He had lived countless years in a human body.
A mayfly that survived beyond a single day.
“If he hadn’t existed, if I hadn’t kept remembering that shameless face of his, Johan, perhaps I wouldn’t even be talking to you like this right now.”
“…….”
“He was my old friend.”
Mephi said it with a crooked grin.
“Though his sins were great, he paid the price with his death, didn’t he? So for my sake, at least, forgive him.”
“You’re missing the bold font in your voice right now.”
“I know.”
“…….”
I looked at Faust’s grave.
It was such a pitiful little grave that a strong gust of wind would probably knock it over.
It had likely been made that way on purpose.
So that it could fall over.
It meant that someone who had spent his entire life being pushed around by the expectations of others was finally allowed to stop enduring and simply collapse.
“Ugh.”
I had no intention of forgiving Faust. He had toyed with far too many lives.
He had torn open people’s wounds.
Even if he had no malicious intent, even if he was already dead, there was no way I could forgive the things he had done.
“A demon making requests instead of contracts, huh.”
Still, what could I do? The living had to come before the dead.
“Let’s go take a look at the World Tree. Get up.”
“Understood.”
“There’s the bold font in your voice again, you bastard. Are you discriminating against people now?”
“I am. You’re exactly the kind of person who deserves discrimination.”
“You little—”
For now, at least for Mephi’s sake, I decided to set aside my resentment.
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