♣♣♣
“TINA, do you have a minute?” Renge asked me in Fort Deshmel’s corridor.
“What are you doing here, Renge?” I asked, surprised to see him.
“…King Curalius told me to conserve my strength, and she’s basically leaving me out of all the work.”
“You too, huh?”
Renge really was at the heart of the plan this time around, since destroying the Sugula fell to him. And with less than ten days left, I was surprised either of us had any kind of time. I understood why they wanted us to conserve our energy, but still…
“I just wish there was something I could do,” I voiced my concerns.
“Hmm. Well, you could brew some medicine…ah!” Renge paused in realization. “Right, Tina, why don’t you make lots of mana restoratives? It’s harder to use magic with the Air of the earth being sucked away. If the mages and alchemists defending the continent can use them to replenish their Air, they’ll be able to fight at full strength.”
“Right! Renge, you’re a genius!” I exclaimed.
“I just wish I could help you with making them…” he said gloomily.
“Well, you’ll get the chance to help everyone in ten days. Just rest like Curalius told you to.”
“…I will.”
Now, time to do what I can!
Handling the evacuation with mass teleportation and other assorted methods was the bigwigs’ job. Lico and Dad looked like they were at their wits’ end, but they said they’d do what they could, so I was confident they’d pull it off. Renge said he was stronger than the last time and that he could destroy more of the Sugula this time. And we had Shida and Revi on our side, too!
We’ll be fine. I’m sure of it… I…hope. So I’ll just make mana restoratives for the moment of truth, ten days from now. Right now, this is probably all I can really do to help.
“But won’t they find out?” I asked.
“About what?” Renge blinked.
“I mean, if I keep making mana restoratives, won’t they find out I’m a Spherit Folk?”
“Oh…” Renge muttered in surprise.
Did he forget?
Just as I was about to enter my room, I turned around and looked up at Renge, who was trailing behind me.
“I think I’m all right even if they do find out now,” I told him.
“You are? But—”
“I mean, even if someone goes after me because of that, you’ll protect me, right?”
“…Well, yes…?” he said, sounding unsure, but I was confident he would.
He came to save me from Edesa Kura, and he’d do the same if something else were to happen to me. And why did he do that anyway? Was I important to him because I was the Holy Woman? I wished I could ask him, but I felt like if I did, whatever answer he gave would be a final, decisive one, and I was scared to find out.
“Oh, right… I still have to apologize to you about that,” Renge said.
“About what?”
“…I’m sorry for letting them abduct you right under my nose.”
I fell silent. It did weigh on him, even though it was my fault.
“It’s all right, you made up for that by coming to save me,” I said. “I mean, it’s not like I paid you to guard me or anything…”
“But… That might be true, but I still said I’d protect you…”
Oh, no, he’s getting depressed. Hmmm, how am I going to handle this…?
“Renge…” I came up with an idea. “Can we go to Mount Rofola’s peak? Just for a little bit.”
“Why?” He cocked his head at me.
“I just want to breathe some fresh air. Can we?”
When Edesa Kura abducted me, I only wanted one thing—to go back to Rofola. Given the situation, I felt like if I didn’t go there now, I’d never get a chance to take another lungful of that clean air again.
“…Okay,” he agreed. “I’m sure no one will find out if we’re gone for ten minutes.”
“Yeah.”
Renge reached out his hand, and I wrapped my fingers around his. I felt a brief sensation of weightlessness, and in the blink of an eye, Deshmel’s dry air gave way to a refreshing forest breeze. Before I knew it, the scenery around me changed from the fort’s corridor to that of greenery.
“It’s dark.”
“Yeah…”
The place looked completely different from the last time we came. A faint light was rising up from the mountain and climbing toward the sky. Those specks of light were Air, being sucked up from the earth by the Sugula. The lights were just barely visible. The world looked like it was blanketed by darkness, except the clear night sky that was usually visible from Rofola was nowhere to be seen.
This scenery I loved so much had changed entirely…
But even so, thanks to the faint light, it was still recognizable. We were by the well at the peak of Mount Rofola.
“The air’s still as clean as ever. That’s good,” I said.
“…Yes, it is,” Renge nodded.
We both took a deep breath. For both Renge and me, this was our childhood home. And yet, when we looked up at the sky, we could see demise visually approaching us. How many times has it been that I’ve looked death in the eye like this since the day I was born in this world?
…Death.
I had already experienced death once. I could remember it. Regardless of if my eyes were open or closed, the world was now pitch-black. Death is always closer than you know.
And if that’s how it is—I…I don’t want to die with regrets ever again.
The memory of the regrets I was left with from my past life spurred me to confront what I might regret in this life.
“Renge, I… I’ve always wanted to repay you for everything…” I said, breaking the peaceful silence between us.
“Hm?” He looked at me. “Didn’t we settle that with the promise of chocolate…?”
“Well, hm, yes, that’s what we agreed upon last time…” I mumbled.