Renge was a giant sweet tooth, after all. Once the spice field in Deshmel works out, maybe I can make him chocolate…wait, no!
“…You remember how I healed Dad’s arm?” I asked, trying to get us off the subject of chocolate.
“Yeah?”
“And Lico’s face, too. And I never really got to repay Elysis for everything she did for me, but I want to do that by becoming a great alchemical apothecary!” I declared.
“O-Okay?”
“So that just leaves you. You’re the only one I haven’t repaid for everything yet!”
“Like I said, chocola—”
“Enough with the chocolates already!” I shouted.
Baking him stuff falls under my hobbies, anyway!
“…I want you to answer me truthfully,” I said seriously. “Can’t the Spherit Stone in my forehead…can’t it help you destroy the Sugula if it becomes a Stone of Daybreak?”
“What?!” he seemed taken aback by my question. “Well, I, hm…I don’t really know how it would help me, so…”
“…I see…”
So it’s a no-go…
I couldn’t come up with a good way to repay Renge for everything. He was just too selfless.
Well, Dad and Lico were pretty selfless in their own way, too…
But in their case, they had injuries that I could heal, which wasn’t the case with Renge. I didn’t know how I could make Renge happy. It was something I agonized over so much, and before I knew it, I realized I was gradually thinking more and more about him. And at the same time, I wanted to find a way to make good use of the Stone of Daybreak.
“…Tina,” Renge called my name.
“Hm?”
“Is the Stone of Daybreak…weighing on you?”
As he gazed straight at me, I had to look away. Both because having him look me in the eye was embarrassing, and because he was right.
If it wasn’t for the Stone of Daybreak, I’d be…
“Then I have an idea. If it is, then why don’t you make the Stone of Daybreak a vessel?”
“A vessel?”
“Remember how when Curalius held onto the Stella for Akari, she used her heart as a vessel so that it wouldn’t harm her?”
“…Oh, right. I remember that.” I nodded.
“When you decide to let go of the Stella, you can just use the Stone of Daybreak as a vessel to contain it. And you could hide the Stone of Daybreak here until that time comes.”
“Here?” I asked.
Renge pointed at the well. There was nothing at the bottom, and I could hide it there.
“And we just happened to get a glass jar capable of shutting off the Stella’s power,” Renge said.
“You have it with you?!”
“It made me curious. I figured maybe we could use it to gather Kaguya and burn it all at once, so I figured I should hold on to it for experiments?”
He was right. If I placed the stone in the jar and buried it at the bottom of the well, no one would ever discover it.
“That said, I don’t think you can let go of the Stella that easily, but having that as an option puts you at peace, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right… Yeah!” I said.
I never considered relinquishing the Stella. And I didn’t quite realize it before, but this was where Renge’s home used to be. Where his mother, Akari, used to live with him.
“Wait… So the well Keria threw his Elixir of Life into was this one…?” I pondered.
“Yes, it was right here. He said Mother’s words made him realize the truth…that all life…”
All life has an end. That was the lesson Akari imparted to Renge and Keria.
Right here, at this very place. That all life…
“Someday, I, too…” I murmured, looking up.
I was met with Renge’s gaze as he looked down at me. Renge’s father was a Mythical who was not of this world. And so, Renge…
“Yes,” he said. “Someday, you’ll pass away too. And when you do, I want you to leave the Stella in this world, for the next Holy Woman…just like my mother did.”
“…Renge, are you going to protect the next Holy Woman, too?” I asked.
“I will… So that the world can go on.”
“Because Lady Akari loved this world?”
“Yes.”
“Renge, do you love this world?”
This time he didn’t answer immediately.
Oh, you bothersome man. If you make that sad face of yours, I—
“Well, I love this world.” I brought my hands together and pressed my lips against them in prayer. For some reason, I really felt like crying.
Renge’s so…lonely…
The way he acted reminded me of my grandmother, Elysis. He’s protecting the world because someone else loved it, and in the process of doing that, he always gets himself hurt.
That’s no good. I can’t accept that. I can’t bear to think you’ll spend the rest of your life all alone.
“So I want you to protect the next Holy Woman too, Renge,” I said.
“…Tina…”
“And I want you to say loud and clear that you love this world.”
“…I…I can’t…” He shook his head.
I closed my eyes. I got the feeling the Air around the peak was thicker than before. When I opened my eyes, I found the Air rising from the ground increased in density. Specks of light danced. It felt like the Air was trying to urge me forward. And while I might have imagined it, I felt like Akari was spurring me on, too.
“B-Because, I love you Renge… I love you more than anyone else… So I want you to love this world, and I want our…well, I don’t know if it’ll be our children, or grandchildren, or maybe their grandchildren…but I want the next Holy Woman to be one of them. So please, protect this world’s future. With me…”
I looked up, finding that Renge was watching me with wide eyes. I felt a warm lump fill my throat.
Don’t give up here. No, just say it. This is my wish. But…
“Please marry me!” I proposed.