Chapter 18

He could now see two new girls drawing nearer from the airship. One was a face he knew well, and the other was one he didn’t know at all—but that, too, matched the description he heard earlier. It seemed there was no doubt that this was one of the two faeries sent to the surface. Rhantolk Ytri Historia, designated compatible with dug weapon Historia. Now he knew they were both safe, Willem felt his worries ease. “The Beast on Island No. 15 must’ve been strong. Yeah, it’s not normal that we could only win if Chtholly opened the gates. And you’re all in one piece, so she musta done it. She opened the gates, didn’t she?” “Ah…” Nephren very obviously didn’t know what to say. He’d never seen her like this before. “She probably said it was to protect everyone, didn’t she? She’s so straightforward and really pretends like it’s no big, but I’m pretty sure she was super scared but talked like it was nothing, and I know—” The binds on her heart must have come loose since this was the first time in a long while she was seeing her fellow faeries from the warehouse. The more she talked, the more nonsensical her words became. She herself would probably soon wonder what on earth she was talking about. The indigo-haired faerie, Rhantolk, tapped her on the shoulder. “Nopht.” “What? I’m busy right now.” Nopht sniffled lightly, stopping her ramble. “Take a deep breath.” “Huh?” “Breathe in, breathe out. Then when you calm down, turn around.” She was an obedient kid at her core. Nopht did as she was told and took a deep breath, exhaled, then turned around to look behind her with a confused expression— And she froze. “…Um…” A red-and-blue gradation waved with changes in the wind. There was Chtholly, standing there with a guilty expression on her face. “I guess, um… Long time no see?” Chtholly for some reason spoke with a rising inflection, and though she was facing Nopht, her gaze was pointed in the wrong direction. “Muh…” “Muh?” “Monsteeer!!” Nopht released Nephren and sprang off into a run at an astonishing speed, one where the unstable footing on the sand was absolutely no problem. “H-hold on, wait a second!!” Chtholly followed after her. Chtholly was rather fast on her own. Even though she wasn’t fast enough to catch up, she kept the distance equal, not letting her get too far ahead. The two lively girls ran through the husk of the ruined city on the destroyed earth. “Who do you think will win?” “Hmm… I bet my dessert that Nopht will fall and Chtholly will catch up.” “Then I bet the same on Chtholly getting tired out first… It’s been a while, Rhantolk. I’m glad you’re safe.” “And I can say exactly the same back to you… I am truly glad you’re both all right. Truly.” Rhantolk squeezed her palm around Nephren’s tiny hand. As he listened to the conversation beside him, Willem murmured, “They sure are happy…,” and watched carefully as the two ran into the distance.