༺ Return ༻
Jenny raised her hand and waved it around as if trying to grab something.
Others who were present could tell what it was, purely due to the light cluster that emerged as she formed a fist shape.
“Master…!”
Jenny’s eyes lit up.
She could immediately sense the nature of the light that had entered her grasp.
“You’re here…!” Jenny exclaimed.
She then slowly placed the light over Hodrick’s chest.
The white crown floating above Jenny’s head emitted an even stronger light.
Kiiing—!
Hodrick’s chest lit up along with the bright light’s noise.
At last, Hodrick’s body shook uncontrollably.
Vera’s eyes widened.
Valak, who had his arms crossed until now, released them.
At that time, Annalise’s murmur rang out.
[Did she put his soul back into his body? No, you can’t just fuse his broken soul like that. At this rate…]
Annalise mulled over it again.
Given her limited knowledge of the Crown of Rebirth, she needed to put together as many clues as she could in this situation.
The white color of that glowing light was likely caused by the Lord’s power contained within.
What Jenny grabbed must be Hodrick’s fleeing soul.
Which meant Hodrick’s convulsion just now…
[…She reduced the size of his soul.]
She must have forced the entirety of Hodrick’s soul into one of the two split souls that held his existence.
That way, she could lessen the weight of his existence and bind him to this world.
Annalise felt like a dry laugh would erupt.
‘Could that really work?’
She wanted to say that it seemed absurd… but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Wasn’t it the power of the Lord?
Wasn’t it a miraculous power that manifested all possibilities into reality?
Moreover, it wasn’t just the Lord’s power.
The Crown of Rebirth was a relic that Ardain created to evenly distribute the power of all nine gods that resided within him.
In short, what was happening right now defied every Providence that constituted this land.
Annalise had just realized why Vera and his group were searching for that crown and why Alaysia had her eyes set on it.
‘…With this, the resurrection of Ardain is no longer a far-fetched idea.’
This item should not fall into Alaysia’s hands under any circumstances.
But she found it unsettling that Maleus, who had the crown, didn’t aim for Ardain’s resurrection.
While Annalise was musing for a long time, Hodrick let out a groan.
[…Uhhm.]
“Master!”
Smiling broadly, Jenny clung to Hodrick.
A clanking sound echoed as Hodrick raised his head. His gaze went from Jenny, lying face down on his chest, to Vera, who was next to her, and then Valak, who stood one step away.
[…Young Lady? Sir Vera? What is going on?]
His voice was filled with confusion.
In Hodrick’s case, that was a reasonable reaction.
How could he not be puzzled when he lost consciousness shortly after arriving on the hill, died and later came back to life in this state?
Hodrick’s somewhat absentminded question brought tears to Jenny’s eyes.
Vera’s face showed a clear joy when he knelt down, then grabbed Hodrick’s shoulder.
“What a relief…”
[Hmm? No, before that, please explain…]
“It’s really a huge relief…”
[Um…]
Hodrick scratched his helmet while his other hand patted Jenny on the back as she started to bawl her eyes out.
The Crown of Rebirth sitting above Jenny’s head had disappeared.
Hodrick only learned about what happened after hearing Valak’s excited ramble on their way back to the castle.
***
At the old castle’s entrance.
Soon after that miraculous moment, Hodrick somehow managed to persuade Jenny to enter the castle even though she clung to him more than usual. After somehow managing to usher Jenny inside, he finally opened his mouth once he was alone with Vera.
[…Thank you.]
Vera glanced at Hodrick.
Hodrick bowed his head when he met Vera’s gaze.
[Even though you ignored my request, it is only right for me to show gratitude since you managed to save my life and prevent the young lady from being sad.]
Vera, who was taken aback by Hodrick’s gesture, tried to dissuade him.
“No, that’s not true. I don’t deserve your gratitude.”
Vera wasn’t trying to be humble, he was simply speaking his mind.
“…I would like to apologize. I brought Jenny there because of my own greediness. I was aware that there would be danger, but I decided to go anyway since I didn’t want to lose anything.”
He was speaking the truth.
It was obvious that Jenny would be targeted next if Vera was unable to awaken his Intention there and was defeated by Hodrick.
Looking back, it was truly a dangerous situation considering that Annalise was a doll with barely any magic to even move, and Valak was a fighter who would rather die than running away.
[But did you not succeed in the end, Sir Vera?]
Hodrick raised his head.
Despite his face being covered by a helmet and his expression obscured, Vera could sense that he was smiling.
[You finally awakened your Intention. Moreover, by choosing to take the young lady to that place, you saved her heart and my existence. So you have made the best choice.]
Vera paused. His face was filled with embarrassment before he dropped his head.
“…”
He reacted that way as he couldn’t adjust to the strange emotions. He was at a loss as to what to do because he never received someone’s sincere gratitude.
Hodrick chuckled as he watched Vera.
[So what is the answer you found, Sir Vera? Can you give me a hint?]
Hodrick changed the topic out of consideration of Vera’s embarrassment.
However, it made Vera even more embarrassed.
Hodrick became puzzled.
[Hm?]
“…I found it.”
A faint blush crept up Vera’s face.
He got even more embarrassed than before.
Vera struggled to say that ‘Love’ was the answer he found.
He got goosebumps all over his body at the thought of saying it out loud. It made his toes and fingers curl.
Vera, who looked away for a moment, let out a sigh and said.
“…I apologize.”
Since Vera was still blushing as he spoke, Hodrick could take a rough guess about what it was that Vera found.
After all, he had a rough idea of who Vera was from their time together.
[Hooh…]
Clank, clank—
Hodrick nodded.
Then Hodrick approached Vera to tap him on the shoulder and said.
[…I have a rough idea. Cheer up.]
As Hodrick raised a thumbs-up, Vera felt more embarrassed than ever.
***
Vera went straight to the reception room, where Renee was waiting once he finished speaking with Hodrick.
That was only to be expected.
Renee was the one who worried the most for him.
She was the one who hid her own anxiety in order to be there for him.
It was incredibly rude and absurd to leave Renee alone and go somewhere else first.
He must open the door in front of him and face Renee.
He must inform her of his return and report the outcome of the fight.
…He should have done that, but he hesitated.
Vera didn’t open the door.
No, he couldn’t open it.
He did nothing except stand still in front of the door as his mind raced with such thoughts.
It was for no other reason than the fact that he had completely acknowledged and confronted his feelings.
After realizing his feelings for Renee, he was unsure about how he should treat her.
A storm was brewing in his mind.
He kept thinking about going in, what he would say once he was there, and what Renee would say in response.
‘I’m here. I have returned. I have a report to make.’
All three sentences were too stiff.
‘I’m here…’
Clench—!
Vera clenched his fists.
He thought this wasn’t a big deal.
‘…Damn it.’
He had surely run into situations like this before, but Vera couldn’t recall what he said back then.
Things that weren’t a big deal before suddenly become difficult.
Vera’s pupils shook like an earthquake.
He was torn between entering right away, and what he would do once he was inside.
The moment he was drawn deeper into his thoughts…
Clack—!
The door opened from the inside.
Vera’s breath caught in his throat.
He trembled greatly because the grumpy-looking Renee stood in front of the open door.
“How did you…?”
He meant to ask how she knew he was there, but Renee raised her cane and shook it before he could finish speaking.
“Did you forget its function? It can detect presences in a single swipe.”
Vera was dejected.
‘…That damn cane.’
Why did it have such a useless function that wouldn’t even give him time to think?
As he had this thought, Vera began to make up an answer in his mind.
…He tried to come up with something.
But he couldn’t do it.
Vera’s head went blank.
At that moment, Renee interrupted him before he could respond.
“…Why didn’t you come in?”
It was a question tinged with hesitation, and her voice carried a mixture of anger and anxiety in it.
Only then did it dawn upon him.
Vera became flustered and clenched his fists.
He stopped musing about a suitable excuse and confessed the truth with his head down.
He knew that she wasn’t gullible enough to fall for his lies.
“…I apologize. I suppose it took me a while to think about how to announce my return.”
“You’re taking too long to think.”
“I apolo—”
“And you’re late.”
“…”
Vera shut his mouth, but not because he was speechless.
It was because Renee had a sad expression, as if she was on the verge of tears when she looked up.
There was a silent pause between the two.
Renee mumbled for a while before spreading her arms wide.
“You’re making me worry, so hug me.”
She said with her head down, which allowed Vera to get a look at her reddening ears.
It turned red because she was trying to hold back tears rather than because she got what she wanted.
He knew that Renee wasn’t the type to get shy for getting what she wanted.
Vera felt as though his heart was being torn at this exact moment by her pitiful appearance, so he took a step closer and embraced Renee in a careful but firm manner.
Then, Renee wrapped her arms around Vera’s waist.
“I knew Vera would win.”
“Yes. I’m thankful that you have faith in me.”
“I’ve been sitting here thinking about how to tease Vera when he returns.”
“…Yes.”
“Are you annoyed now? Are you embarrassed?”
“…”
Vera couldn’t move his hands or pat Renee, so he just hugged her, worried that Renee might start crying if he added more gestures.
Renee was quite prideful, after all.
She probably spoke in this manner to hold back from crying.
Therefore, it was the right decision for Vera to keep his mouth shut to prevent Renee from crying.
“Vera is annoying.”
Thud.
Renee bumped her head against Vera’s chest.
Then she shut her mouth again.
There was a long silence before Renee opened her mouth.
“…You’ve worked hard.”
Vera’s expression was briefly shaken by her remark, and he replied.
“…Yes.”
After that, he hugged Renee a little more tightly.
At that moment, a warm glow emanated from the oath engraved in his soul.
As Vera’s vision was filled with the top of Renee’s head, he felt the warmth radiating from within.
Renee had waited too long because he had trouble facing his own emotions, so it was time to put an end to it.
