“…”
Airn Preira looked around.
A Familiar sky
A Familiar wall
A Familiar yard
Nothing caught his eye. He was still in his room with his casual clothes on, not his training clothes.
Airn lifted his head and looked at his former life, Karen Winker.
How on Earth was it possible that he appeared here? As a young man rather than an elderly one as well?
“Do you really need an explanation?”
“This place, is it a dream?”
“It could be a dream or reality. It might or might not be true that the power of sorcery has been used to manifest this place’s existence.”
“…”
“Well, it isn’t important. Can you spare me a moment?”
“What do you want to say…”
“I doubt there will ever be another time like this.”
Karen Winker sat on a chair and ceased speaking. Airn was growing irritated at the sight of him savoring the incense of the teacup in his hand.
However, he couldn’t refute him.
“You’re probably quite frustrated right now, right?”
“…”
“You will be. This isn’t a light topic in which you can confide in anyone, but it’s not so heavy that you can’t share it with your friends. It’s fine. You can tell me. In some ways, this body has been breathing and communicating with you for far longer than anyone else has.”
“But…”
“I won’t bother you for long. Only ten minutes. Enough time for a cup of tea. I’ll listen to your concerns that have accumulated over the past year…”
Take it out with ease and speak.
… Airn’s mouth opened again about 5 minutes later.
“I, to save Ignet… I thought I should go out into the world again.”
For a fortnight since the subjugation of the Demon King, Airn thought deeply about how to purify Ignet. He concluded that he should head to the South, where she was born and raised.
“I developed a will to save Ignet and defeat the Demon King.”
“I thought that in order to purify Ignet, I had to make a heart for her, a flower in her heart that blooms.”
“And so, you moved south.”
“The place that Ignet wanted to change. She wanted to build a kingdom in the most desolate and chaotic part of the continent.”
Of course, it wasn’t entirely for Ignet.
It was Airn’s own belief that people would benefit from the world. It was also for Lulu, who was asleep.
He had to move. It didn’t matter if it was a tree or flowers that bloomed.
He only wanted to see the beauty of the world.
If only his actions could make the continent a little more peaceful… everything may change back to what it was before. Airn had such thoughts in him as he left.
“But you don’t seem good now.”
“…”
“Did the world do that to you?”
“… it isn’t that.”
Airn closed his eyes.
A lot of memories, memories he didn’t want to think of, began to come in.
The image of a young rich man gathering people in difficult circumstances and encouraging them to fight to the death.
When he stopped doing that, the man was furious about what he was doing and how much money he had lost thanks to them.
The chaos that ensued, the children and elderly who were exploited in the chaos, and the search for dead bodies with smiling faces.
There were too many incidents to describe, but they didn’t all need to be discussed.
“The problem is me.”
Airn mumbled.
After letting out a muffled voice, he nodded and said.
“I am the one in pain and dissatisfied with myself… the world has always been this way.”
At first, he thought the devils were the problem. He thought that if those creatures were vanquished, the continent would once again be peaceful and free of the corruption those beings caused in humans.
However, this did not occur. He felt it deeply two years ago when he went to rescue Ignet, who the Demon King had kidnapped. Those who do not repay good intentions with good faith. Evil people will not hesitate to commit violence for a few coins, and evil people will take the lives of others for fun.
Airn’s anger turned towards the world and away from the devils. The tree was unable to stand tall until he confronted the Demon King as a result of that.
… was what he thought.
But that was wrong.
“To be honest, I knew.”
“What do you mean?”
“The world isn’t beautiful. Humans are as terrible as the demons and devils around us.”
Right.
Airn knew it.
He realized it when he read the books in Durkali.
He felt it again when he stopped the half-elf from trafficking other elves. Even more terrible things had happened. There were times when his convictions didn’t shake because of such things.
It was arrogant. He wasn’t strong or firm.
A shallow mindset began to set in when it wasn’t the story of a distant nation having these things happen to themselves, but now it was the story of Airn and the things around him.
“I think I know why I couldn’t get a tree to grow in the sorcery sphere. Why the world was still looking crooked to me, despite ten years passing. I am full of anger because I know many people do good deeds….”
“…”
“It wasn’t because I didn’t have trust in the world anymore.”
He lost trust in himself.
Airn had lost faith in himself and sighed.
“… I am a fool.”
He vowed to walk the path of a hero.
Without knowing how difficult it was, he declared it in front of Karakum, but he was a frog in a well.
‘Are you uttering those words knowing the weight behind it?’
Karakum once asked a long time ago.
The voices of Ian, Joshua Lindsay, and many more could be heard. Airn’s relentless heart constantly pounded as he staggered.
He wanted to lie down. He wanted to rest. Honestly, he thought of hiding too.
At that moment, Airn, who remembered his childhood self, was about to head back to bed.
“You spoke the truth. You are indeed a fool. But why do you think so?”
“…”
“I haven’t finished drinking my tea yet. Are you going to cut this talk short and head back to sleep?”
“…Do I need to listen to how much of a fool I am?”
“Um, no. But I’m asking because I believe your reasoning differs from mine.”
“Uh?”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
When Airn looked at him, he noticed Karen Winker’s expression. The soft and warm voice seemed to empathize without criticizing what he had gone through.
Did he feel it?
His smile grew, and he continued to speak, not sipping the tea intentionally.
“That is what humans are. We make the same mistakes we did when we were younger as we get older, and we repeat the mistakes we made yesterday and today. Every time this happens, we get angry at our stupid selves and have doubts… it’s not a big deal.”
“Actually, there are wonderful people who make it seem trivial.”
“Don’t try to embrace all of it by yourself.”
“Lean on others occasionally, and if necessary, stand up and hold their hands.”
“On the other hand, lend your hand to someone who needs it.”
“…”
“Don’t you remember the contents of the note that the orc fortune teller gave you?”
Wheik!
Phat!
And that was it.
Karen Winker drank tea as if he’d said everything he needed to say. He then vanished in an instant. As if he hadn’t been there from the beginning. Airn was left bewildered.
It was then.
From his words, he went to a door he hadn’t opened for three days and opened it.
Kirill, his sister, was there.
He looked at the woman standing before him with a strange expression and heard,
“Get ready to go out. Wash up and put on clean clothes.”
“I will not say it twice; I don’t want to listen to what you say. Get ready and come out. I will be waiting.”
Kirill left after saying that. Airn was shocked again.
But apart from that, he moved as she said and prepared to leave.
She was his sister, who loved him more than anyone else and waited three days to take care of him when he was in trouble. She must have had a reason for speaking in that manner. He reasoned that someone other than Kirill might be waiting for him.
At that moment.
He recalled Karen’s words.
“… you don’t have to be alone to stand alone.”
“Still not done?”
“N-No! Almost done!”
Kirill seemed a bit angry.
Airn quickly dressed; it wasn’t a fancy suit but a daily one that looked noble.
For some reason, he paid attention to his frizzy-looking hair.
When he left his place, he checked his outfit and shoes again and paid attention to his facial expressions and his walk. Cherry, the griffin, greeted him alongside Kirill.
The moment he saw the sorcery wagon connected to the body, Airn was certain. Airn was a bit shocked, but he didn’t want to show it, so he got up and went into the wagon, which flew.
The time they spent flying wasn’t too long or too short. They followed a road of pretty yellow flowers.
…
….
….
The sorcery wagon landed. The flowers filled their vision and were welcoming to Airn.
He didn’t notice them, however.
Something more beautiful caught his eye. It was because someone more precious was staring at him.
“…”
“…”
Ilya Lindsay took a step towards him.
Airn took a step towards her as well. As the two got naturally closer, they kissed.
He could feel her eyes on him.
She approached him first, the man who had locked himself in his room, the man who was frail and handed a ring to the man who was terrible and inexperienced.
“Airn.”
“Yes, Ilya.”
“Let’s get married.”
The answer was decoded. Airn grabbed his lover’s hand.
“Thank you.”
He thought.
If he loves Ilya, then he should learn to love himself.
As much as Ilya believes in him, he should believe in himself too.
Because that was the best way, he could respect Ilya’s love for him.
Feeling that his surroundings were more beautiful than before, Airn smiled brightly.
One year later.
The wedding of the heroes Airn Pareira and Ilya Lindsay was held.
Comments