Chapter 362: Epilogue (5) Part 3

#20. Ria

... Time flowed on, and since that day it had never stopped, instead sparkling with color from moment to moment or sinking into darkness at times, as if blessing the lives of all creatures on the continent.

Time had changed the continent, and after the unexpected death of Empress Sophien, Creáto announced her will, a declaration of the Republic.

It was a book of nearly five hundred pages, a work detailing the reform of the Empire into a Republic, where the basic framework of a house would be maintained for a time, but the class system would remain as a mere formality and be entirely abolished as time passed. This final will of the Empress was published as a book and was read by everyone on the continent.

This would, by social convention, have been a great upheaval that could never have been accepted.

However, Yeriel of the great house Yukline, Sylvia of Iliade, Zeit of Freyden, and even Sophien’s younger sibling Creáto—who should have been the most opposed to it—all gave their active consent, and now, a year later, the Empire was gradually becoming a Republic, in that way changing her.

[Subquest Completed : A Cave Where There’s Never a Moment’s Peace]

"Is that it~?" Ria muttered, her body stretching as she heard the quest notification.

It was a cave in the Southern Region that was said to be frequented by mad monsters, and as the vice captain of the Red Garnet Adventure Team, Ria was in the middle of a mission.

Oh, it just ended,

Ria thought.

“

Hoo.

”

Thump—

Lying on the ground, Ria looked up at the dark stone ceiling, where the stalactites hanging like icicles were a beautiful sight.

Maybe it was because of the quiet, silent atmosphere...

“... Has it been about a year?”

Ria was staring blankly when the one she had barely managed to forget came to mind, and as she counted the time flowing like water, the man who returned to her thoughts each year was Deculein.

No, Kim Woo-Jin. No, Deculein. No, Kim Woo-Jin.

“I wonder what he's doing at this moment?”

Ria knew it now and could admit that Deculein was no longer Kim Woo-Jin—the man she had once loved passionately.

“But...”

Of course, Ria wasn’t all that sad, though she couldn’t help but fall into her sentiments once in a while, and even that was a memory that colored her days.

“It’s fun to be alive, isn’t it?” Ria muttered, as though addressing him. “I’m having fun, even though I can’t be with you.”

Ria could not meet Deculein, for the person known as Ria was under the protection of the focus of the world—the System—and if she were to meet him, he would be noticed by the world once more and all their efforts would be in vain.

“... We are in the same world, though we cannot meet...”

As if I were some kind of tragic heroine or something,

Ria thought.

Ria chattered on, her lips curling into a smile.

“But I was there with you in your final moments, wasn’t I?” Ria concluded.

The words that Deculein had said to her in his final moments as Kim Woo-Jin remained within Ria’s heart...

“Ria! Ria!”

A loud shout from Leo was met with a resounding echo that spread throughout the cave.

"Over here, Ria! Come here! There's something weird here!" Leo added.

“

Sigh.

”

Is he really like that, even though he's almost grown up now?

"Ria! Hurry up and come here! I'm stuck in the mud!"

Nevertheless, this continent remained full of unknowns, a multitude of things that needed to be resolved, a continuous supply of villains, and a tremendous number of interesting dungeons.

“Riaaaaaaaaa~!”

"I mean, what's Carlos doing?"

“He went and ditched me!”

Therefore, every time Ria went on an adventure, her heart would pound, for she enjoyed exploring the unknown and was happy to encounter new lands, people, and lives, which might also have been because of her

Adventurer

attribute.

"When are you two going to stop fighting?"

“Quickly!”

It doesn't matter anymore. Just as you are Kim Woo-Jin and also Deculein, I feel that I am Ria and also Yoo Ah-Ra,

Ria thought.

“Okay, okay, I’m going~!”

With a sigh on her lips and a smile in her eyes, Ria ran, and a small letter fluttered out of her pocket and settled down.

Flutter, Flutter.

The sentences on the paper, which had fallen to the ground without Ria knowing and was now being swallowed by the darkness of the lighthouse, were the feelings of her heart, carefully filled with humble and sincere emotions.

... Hey, Woo-Jin.

I now know, for certain, as you said, my world is not you. I now know, for certain, what you meant by those words.

My world is everything I see, hear, feel, and experience—this continent, this planet that is so different from Earth.

Therefore, I'm glad that I'm an adventurer. I'm glad that there are so many adventures to be had on this continent.

Why, don't you remember what the giant once said? That the blessing granted to our humans was about our foolishness, our tiny eyes, our short legs, and our lives that were destined to crumble and die.

No matter how much I run and run and run, this continent will have no end, will it? There will be infinite new meetings and countless unknowns to explore, won’t there?

And so I find myself thinking that this land without boundaries, this sky without limit, this unconquerable continent is the happiness that has been given to me, and I know that this happiness is all because of you.

Umm...

Honestly, I'm not even sure what I want to write to you in this letter right now. So if I were to put it simply, I'm happy on this continent. I think it would be fine if I didn’t go back to the original world. With that in mind, I hope you're happy too. I hope you're doing well.

Okay?

... Hehe.

Writing this letter is making me remember the past... but, never mind.

I don’t think I’ll be able to deliver you this letter.

But I hope you're doing well. Please, be well, Woo-Jin. For only then can I be happy, because if you're well, then I will be well too.

And, lastly...

... Lastly...

I really loved you.

Yeah.

That comes from my heart.

Goodbye.

#21. Knot

In the library of the most magnificent Yukline mansion in Hadecaine, the metropolis of the Republic of Crebaim—a city with an advanced, modern landscape—I sat in a rocking chair, reading a book on magical theory released by Louina.

Rustle—

Rustle—

It was a daily routine I had never wished for, turning pages in peace and trying to enjoy it, while Yeriel was busy elsewhere.

When she first met me, she cried and sobbed, unable to say a word, but now, about a year later, it seemed as if she had grown tired of me.

I suppose this is actually very Yeriel-like, which is a good thing,

I thought.

“... I suppose the days remained just as dull as ever,” I muttered.

Tap—

I closed the book in my hands.

Louina’s theory remained simple, which was only natural, considering that teaching was her specialty.

I finished my reading in just fifteen minutes and looked up at the view outside the window once more.

“It’s a clear day."

The sky was a cloudless blue, the sun burned with brilliant light, and amidst that nature I was still alive, all because of a rather impressive plan that had taken advantage of the gap between the past and the present.

However, at first, I was dissatisfied, for a villain’s proper end and certain fate was to die in that way, and therefore I was neither happy nor could I be happy about being brought back to life.

“... Your Majesty.”

I remained reminiscing about Sophien—the Empress who, despite everything, sacrificed herself to give me the world and to give the Empire freedom.

"The reward from Your Majesty is, I must say, far too generous for me to accept."

The time that Sophien had granted me probably wouldn’t be exceptionally long, and it was possible it was nothing more than a gradual death.

“However, if this is Your Majesty’s wish...”

However, if it was her wish for me to live on, and if it was her happiness for me to be satisfied with the time given to me and be faithful to the present...

"I will live this life to its fullest, and then,” I continued with a smile, “to keep a promise that has not yet been fulfilled..."

I remained Deculein and Kim Woo-Jin, and that identity could not be conveyed by a simple name alone.

However, there remained a promise I hadn’t been able to keep.

"... I will come to you at its very end,” I continued.

To keep that final promise, I would continue to try for as long as I lived.

—

Come on, brother! What are you doing, not coming out?!

All of a sudden, a loud noise rang out from the crystal orb, and it was Yeriel.

—

The dinner is all ready, you know?!

I wonder when she will ever learn some dignity?

I thought.

I shook my head, put the book down, got up from my seat, and walked down into the garden of the mansion.

On the lawn, which was reserved for Deculein alone and shielded on all four sides where no one could see it, there were many familiar faces—Delic, Gawain, Sylvia, Epherene, Yeriel, Arlos, Idnik, Jackal and Carla, Ellie, Yulie, and Maho.

"Brother! What took you so long?!"

There was Yeriel, who was shouting my name with a vein throbbing at her temple, and Epherene, who, eating a Roahawk, had noticed me a little late, and Sylvia, who was giving me a smile, and even Yulie, who was hesitantly trying to read the room.

“Hurry up!”

I followed Yeriel’s insolent shouting, preparing to flick her forehead and intending to smash the brow of the impertinent child even with guests present.

I walked right up toward Yeriel, holding my fingers clenched for a flick on her forehead, and...

“

Argh!

”

Then I heard a resounding sound of a flick.

The laughter they all shared together, the transparent sunlight that was falling, the horizon that was turning blue, and the grass swaying with the wind’s grain and the soughing of the branches were all part of that moment.

... Rustle.

... Rustle.

In that clear and peaceful afternoon, fallen leaves were scattered throughout the garden, red maples colored by autumn, their trails falling as if in a fine, bright, smiling arc.

“Professor.”

In a world without an Empress, as I was met by the autumn leaves that resembled her and saw Epherene who had come to me and was now smiling, I stood still and thought a simple thought, one that was nothing grandiose.

“You know.”

The life that Sophien had given me, the years her sacrifice had extended, and now, in this remaining time, because they are with me and because I have people by my side whom I can trust...

“Welcome back.”

... Even a villain held the will to survive.

FIN.