“Nothing you say will change my mind! I’m about to go back to a life of loneliness, so at least let me have my forest friends!”
“You won’t be completely alone. You’ve got Kia-chan still, remember?”
“She’s got an inn to run, so she can’t be with me all the time. Plus, it’s not even in the Pale Forest! One of these days, she’s definitely going to say something like, ‘Sorry, I’m busy. It’ll be a while before I can come again,’ and then I’ll be left all alone forever!” Lyutillis wailed. Sadly, the moment she’d decided to go make her trial a barrage of millions of cockroaches, her comrades had basically given up all hope of reforming her.
It was honestly amazing that Kiara had willingly offered to be Lyutillis’s one conduit to the outside world after learning what she was like. Rabbitmen truly were the strongest of all races.
Ignoring Lyutillis’s crying, Miledi took a picture out of her pocket and looked at it nostalgically. It was a group picture of all seven of them standing on a hill overlooking the promontory where Belta’s grave was. They’d taken it just before they’d started making their respective labyrinths.
Oscar had suggested they all have pictures of each other to help remember each other, and this was just one of the many, many that he’d taken. This, over everything else, was Miledi’s most prized possession.
“He he, O-chan. Thanks for giving me this.”
In the end, Miledi hadn’t been able to return to calling Oscar O-kun. It was proof that she’d well and truly given up on living a normal life.
“That’s the picture from seven years ago, isn’t it? You already thanked me for it a bunch of times back then.”
“Well, I’ll keep thanking you! This is the best picture ever! Plus, it shows me when I was at my prettiest!”
“That reminds me, why did your spirit form have the appearance of you from seven years ago?”
“Don’t worry about it!”
Oscar gazed sadly down at Miledi, and she purposely chose not to comment on his expression. Instead, she smiled even more cheerfully back up at him.
Suddenly, the seven of them sensed a familiar presence in the distance.
“It’s time...” Miledi said, looking over at the apostle sent to monitor them.
Behind each of the Liberators was a magic circle. Once they stepped into them, they’d be teleported to their labyrinths and the teleporters would be destroyed. This was their final farewell.
“All right, everyone, I guess this is goodbye! Don’t get so lonely you leave your labyrinths to come see me, okay?”
It was precisely because they would never see each other again that Miledi was determined to remain cheerful and smiling to the very end. All of the things she wanted to say, she already had over the past seven years.
Oscar and the others stared at her, burning her appearance into their memories. Miledi could feel the love in all of their gazes.
The first one to turn around was Naiz. He stopped just before he reached the teleporter, though, and looked back over his shoulder at Miledi and said, “It was an honor to travel with you. Thank you, Miledi.”
“Nacchan...if anything, I’m the one who should be thanking you. Thanks for fighting by my side.”
Naiz gave Miledi one last smile, then disappeared through his teleporter.
The next one to go was Lyutillis, who said, “Miledi, you showed me a dream, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I will continue to believe that the day will come when that dream is fulfilled.”
“Yeah, I won’t stop believing either. Goodbye, Lyu-chan.”
The queen of the forest’s smile was as firm and unshakable as the sacred tree. She stepped into her teleportation circle and disappeared in a bright green flash. The circle then dulled, its duty completed.
After her, the next to go was Laus.
“Belta made the right choice in picking you,” Laus said in a voice full of conviction.
“Lau-chan...”
“That’s all I wanted to say. Be proud of yourself, Miledi Reisen.”
The world’s strongest knight’s expression was so gentle it hurt.
Once Laus was gone, Vandre started walking toward his circle. Just before he left, however, he glanced over to where Oscar was. He then turned to Miledi, and with a deep sigh walked back over to her.
“Huh?” Miledi muttered, confused. Vandre squatted down and flicked her on the forehead.
“Owww! Hey, what was that for?!”
“That’s what you get for being stubborn,” Vandre stated. He then turned on his heel as if nothing had happened, and as he walked away, he said, “You’re more charming when you’re being annoying. Never forget that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Miledi couldn’t believe that this was how they were going to part, but Vandre just laughed and vanished into his teleportation circle.
“Heh, it’s just like Van-kun to leave like that. Now then, Miledi-chan.”
“What is it, Meru-nee?”
“You may have grown over these past seven years, but your boobs never got any bigger.”
“Who cares about my bust size?!”
Don’t tell me you’re just gonna leave like this too, Meru-nee! Miledi thought, but then Meiru suddenly hugged her.
“I’m so glad I met you. I wanted to spend so much more time with you.”
“Me too, Meru-nee.”
The two of them embraced for a while, but then Meiru finally got up.
“Remember, you’re not alone. Even if I die before you, I’ll be thinking about you for all eternity.”
“He he he, I know.”
They smiled at each other. Of course, in Miledi’s case, the smile was permanently plastered onto her mask, but Meiru knew she was smiling inside. Meiru kept her gaze fixed on Miledi even as she walked back to the teleporter, smiling up until the moment she vanished. It was almost as if the two of them really were sisters, seeing how lovingly they looked at each other.
“I guess the others wanted to let us have our moment alone,” Oscar said with an awkward smile.
“O-chan...I’m sorry for being so selfish.”
Oscar shook his head, and for once, it was Miledi who turned her back first. She headed straight toward her magic circle.
“You have no idea how grateful I am to you, O-chan. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it this far. You were the one who supported me the most through everything.”
Miledi knew she was turning her back on the promise she’d made with him, so she wanted to at least convey what she genuinely felt.
She stopped one step away from her circle, sensing Oscar’s gaze on her back. But then, Oscar also turned around and began walking to his magic circle.
I wonder if he finally got fed up with me? I wanted to at least see him off with a smile, but I guess I messed up again... Miledi thought as she stroked her mask with a metallic finger.
“Even if an eternity passes...” Oscar said suddenly.
“Huh?”
“Even if we’re both reduced to nothing but souls...”
“......”
“I swear I’ll come for you.”
For the first time, Miledi was glad she had a golem body...because it meant Oscar wouldn’t hear her gasp.
“These past seven years, I kept looking for a way to keep you from being alone forever. I even scoured through fairy tales. But in the end, I couldn’t find anything. Though, I did read a bunch of stories about people being reunited even after hopping between worlds or being reborn.”
One fairy tale had already proven to be based on real magic, so Oscar Orcus chose to believe that the others he’d found were as well.
“Next time, I’ll be the one to find you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re at the far end of the world or even the very depths of hell, I swear I’ll find you.”
Miledi wanted to turn back and reach out to Oscar. But if she did that, she’d return to being a normal girl, and a normal girl wouldn’t be able to endure the long journey she was about to embark on. And so, she didn’t turn around.
Besides, she knew that Oscar Orcus, more than anyone else, would understand and respect her decision...and her feelings.
“I don’t plan on throwing away the happiness I found by meeting you, so I’m not going to say farewell.”
“O...chan...”
“That’s right. I’m O-chan.”
Even now, he approved of and supported Miledi’s decision to remain the Liberators’ leader above all else. It was thanks to Oscar that Miledi felt like she’d be able to pull through.
“See you later, Miledi. One way or another, we’ll meet again.”
“Yeah, see you later, O-chan!”
And thus, the two of them parted ways, holding their feelings—their greatest treasures—close to their hearts. They stepped into their magic circles with their backs straight and tears streaming down their smiling faces.
Neither of them turned back even once.
With the defeat of the so-called mavericks, the world returned to a modicum of peace. Ten years passed, then a hundred. Memories of that age of turmoil began to fade, and a new rumor began to spread.
Supposedly, there were seven labyrinths scattered across the world, and an amazing reward would be granted to anyone who could clear them.
Rumor had it that those seven labyrinths had been created by the mavericks of ages past, and eventually, those labyrinths came to be named after their creators. Yet more time passed and the labyrinths themselves were forgotten, but strangely enough, the Liberators’ names continued to live on in the memories of the people.
It was almost as if there were people constantly passing down the tale to ensure the Liberators would never be forgotten, so that their desire for freedom would burn as bright as ever.