I saw a familiar scene.
The desk I had used for a long time and the documents around it.
Of course, it wasn't exactly the same because everything was broken and in a mess.
A loud noise came from behind me.
"Hurry and do something! Rudy... Rudy!!"
"...Isn't that him?"
"...What?"
I turned around and locked eyes with Luna.
I saw Luna, her face a mess with tears.
Luna was holding onto Haruna's clothes next to her, crying.
"Hey, Luna. You're here."
"Eh...???"
Luna looked at me with a baffled expression.
"Didn't I tell you? I knew he'd manage on his own."
Haruna said, patting Luna's shoulder.
"Rudy?"
"What, you didn't believe me?"
I smiled at Luna.
"No, it's not that... It's just the atmosphere... sniff... I thought Rudy was going to sacrifice himself..."
sniff
"If I had to, I would."
I said, trying to approach Luna.
"Ah..."
"Rudy!"
But I couldn't move forward and collapsed on the spot.
My body had given out.
I had used too much mana, and the strong gravity I had faced head-on made my body feel damaged.
Luna quickly ran to me.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay but..."
I wasn't about to lose consciousness, but I couldn't muster any strength in my legs.
"We need to... heal you..."
Luna grabbed the spellbook in my hand and hurriedly moved.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Uh..."
But the spellbook didn't respond.
I stared at the book and muttered to myself.
"Did it overload..."
I didn't expect the book to stop working after I had put so much mana into distorting space with gravity.
It was a close call.
I could have been trapped there...
Of course, I was confident it would work.
It was an item made by Levian.
I didn't know it would be this risky.
But the outcome was good, so...
"Let's go get treated first..."
Luna supported me.
I glanced at Luna for a moment.
There was something I thought of before getting treated.
I cautiously looked at Luna and then spoke up.
"Treatment is fine but... there's a place I need to visit first."
"A place to visit?"
"The battlefield... I'm thinking of going there... Could you take me?"
"...What?"
Luna's teary expression hardened.
She looked at me angrily as if she were mad.
"Idiot! You're in no condition right now!"
"No, but the war has to stop. It's not like I'm going to fight."
If we don't hurry, meaningless sacrifices will only increase.
So, if I just go and announce that Aryandor is dead...
"You idiot! Fool! Going to the battlefield in this condition...!"
As Luna was shouting, a voice came from the corridor.
"Rudy Astria! Are you there?"
Luna and I turned our heads with puzzled looks.
Since the wall was already broken, we could clearly see the corridor just by turning our heads.
"...Brother?"
In the corridor, where the voice came from, was Ian Astria.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})He had come in a hurry, gasping for breath, his clothes in disarray, and covered in blood.
"Rudy Astria. Are you okay?"
Ian ran towards me.
I looked at him, confused.
"Shouldn't you be on the outskirts?"
"The outskirts are done. The others were rushing me so much that I came here first..."
Ian looked around.
"No need to look. I've already taken care of Aryandor."
"What?"
"It's complicated to explain, but basically, he won't be coming out of there alive."
Even if he did manage to come out alive, if there was a way to do so, it wouldn't matter...
The last face of Aryandor I saw.
I showed him that the magic and the future he relied on could be changed at any time, that it was just ordinary magic.
I had directly denied his life.
He was a person who would not try again.
It was all his mistake, and he realized that he could have saved Beatrice but didn't.
He was defeated.
In battle and in his beliefs.
So, he won't struggle anymore.
No, he wouldn't even think of it.
He would just disappear along with the holy land, engulfed in despair.
Ian let out a sigh of relief.
"Is that so... Then, is it all over?"
His face relaxed a bit.
After all, Ian was the commander of this battle.
"Ah, but we need to go to the battlefield. We need to hurry there now."
"Oh, right. Then you rest."
"...What?"
"...Why?"
"I will go too. I will go and..."
"...What are you talking about?"
"What?"
"Your role was to stop Aryandor, wasn't it? Then you've done your part. The fight is practically over, why would an injured person like you want to go?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})I was taken aback by Ian's words, looking at him with wide eyes.
"The fight is over. It's all over. So, what are you planning to do by going there?"
I just stared blankly at Ian.
Luna, who was supporting me, wiped away her tears and spoke up.
"That's right, it's all over now. Sniff... You really did well. Truly..."
Sniff
Haruna, standing next to us, was smiling and looking at me.
Hearing those words, the tension gradually began to fade.
The war is essentially over.
Aryandor is dead.
Everything... all that had been done is over.
"...That's right."
I realized I couldn't let go of the tension, even though it was over.
It's always been like this.
Even after finishing a task, as long as I could move, I'd focus on the next one.
All for this outcome.
For this moment.
I smiled.
"Luna, can you help me sit down...?"
"Okay...!"
I sat down on the floor, leaning against the desk.
"Then, I'll be going now. The war needs to be wrapped up."
"Yes, please do."
Ian disappeared with those words, likely heading to the battlefield.
If he went, the war would certainly come to a close.
Announcing Aryandor's death and adding his forces to the mix would certainly tip the balance on the battlefield.
"Rudy, don't you need to be healed?"
"It doesn't seem urgent."
I wasn't severely injured; I had just used a lot of mana.
"Besides, your face is a mess. Want me to clean your nose here?"
I offered my sleeve.
Luna, startled by my action, covered her face.
"Yo, you can't say that to a girl! At least offer a handkerchief when you say something like that!"
"Why bother with that? Come here."
I brought my sleeve to Luna's face, which was a mess, and rubbed it vigorously.
The tears on Luna's face were wiped off, but the soot on my sleeve smeared all over her face, making her look like a puppy that had rolled in the mud.
"...Pfft."
"Don't laugh after doing this!"
Luna pouted and grumbled.
Her appearance, looking like a sulky puppy, made me laugh even more.
"Phahaha!!"
"Stop laughing!"
The door to the room burst open.
"Oh, Rie. You're here?"
Rie widened her eyes upon seeing me lying down.
"Hey! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nah, just hurt my leg a bit and exhausted from using too much mana."
"...That's a relief."
"What about Astina? She isn't hurt, is she?"
"Hurt? She's the deputy commander of the Royal Army, so of course, she's busy with the cleanup."
The end of the war didn't take long.
A few minutes after Ian left, we could hear about the rebels surrendering.
With the war over, people came to me, and I was moved to a room.
"Eh~ Senior. Why didn't you look for me?"
Then, Yuni peeked her face through the open door.
"Yuni, you're here?"
"Is that all? I'm a bit disappointed~."
"You weren't going to get hurt anyway."
"Still~ Is it so hard to mention my name once~?"
Yuni walked towards me with a playful smile.
"But, for a war hero, this hospital room seems pretty empty."
"Now that the war is over, what else is there?"
"Is that so?"
I looked at the two of them.
"But, you two are Princesses, right? Shouldn't you be going?"
"My sister insisted on seeing the senior's face so much that everyone was given a bit of time to come visit."
At Yuni's words, Rie's eyes widened.
"What, what? When did I! It was you who coaxed me into coming!"
"In the end, it was you who mentioned it~. And you were the one who threw a fit."
"I did not throw a fit! I just said there was something I needed to do briefly..."
I smiled at the two of them.
It got a bit noisy, but somehow it felt more settled.
It felt like people were telling me it's truly over now.
As I enjoyed this peace, something suddenly crossed my mind.
"Ah, Rie. I wanted to ask you something."
Rie, who was bickering with Yuni, tilted her head at my question.
"Something you want to ask?"
"How did the war end? What happened to them?"
I didn't expect it to end this easily just by announcing Aryandor's death.
I thought there would be at least some resistance left.
"Daemon? It seems he and Astina had a conversation while fighting. I vaguely heard that they were deceived by Aryandor? Something like that."
"...Is that so."
The rebels must have realized to some extent.
That Aryandor had no interest in them and had a different agenda.
No matter how much Aryandor tried to deceive and use them, they must have felt something was off from his actions and words.
The rebels would have had their suspicions.
"So, what happened to them?"
"The leaders, as well as the rest of the rebels, have been captured. They're discussing what to do with them now. I guess a couple of the leaders might not escape execution.
Well, Venderwood is as good as dead anyway..."
"Dead?"
"Not dead, but he won't recover anymore. He's pretty much half-dead."
"...Is that so? What about Daemon?"
"He's alive. Both of them have been sent to the capital, and it seems like they'll be executed after the meeting."
"...Is that so?"
After a moment of thought, I spoke up.
"Could I see Daemon, just for a bit?"
"Daemon?"
Rie narrowed her eyebrows at my question.
"Just for a moment. Just briefly."
Rie looked at me disapprovingly.
I smiled at her, and her expression softened, followed by a sigh.
"...Alright. But really, just for a moment."
