If that was what Sloth believed, then I would believe it too. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll try.”
“You can do it, Myne.”
Just to be sure, I made sure Eris was still well hidden, then stood. Even then, Fate didn’t notice me. He simply sat there, gazing up at the sky.
I approached him. “Fate!”
He was surprised to find me standing next to him. “Ah!” he cried. “Myne! Uh, what is it?”
I wanted to make him happy, so I choked back my tears and held out my black axe.
“I will give you Sloth.”
“Whaaaa?! What? Huh? What are you talking about?!”
Fate wouldn’t take the axe from me.
“You lost Greed. I know you must be lonely. You can have Sloth.”
“No, no, the axe is important to you, right? I can’t possibly take it while you’re standing there all dewy-eyed like that.”
“But…”
“I appreciate the gesture. I do. But that’s enough.”
I had thrown all of my wiles into that attack, but it had failed. Sloth cried out as she was given back to me.
“Myne! Why did you even think that giving me away was a good idea?! What a shock! I was so surprised I couldn’t even speak!”
Upon hearing Sloth’s voice, Fate laughed so hard he clutched his stomach.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. Nobody can replace Greed,” he said. “But really, thanks. I’m surprised, though. Even without Telepathy, I can still talk with Sloth.”
“I don’t really talk to anyone besides Myne,” said Sloth. “She doesn’t like it when I do. Thank you for always looking out for her.”
“No, no. She’s the one who’s always looking out for me,” said Fate, who seemed happy to talk with Sloth like this. “But you know, when I last heard your voice, it was with my Telepathy. You were fast asleep. I think this is the first time we’re actually talking.”
“That’s because I spend most of my time sleeping. I get called lazy a lot.”
“I see… But when you’re awake, you talk quite a bit.”
“I guess. That’s because my wielder doesn’t talk enough. It’s more accurate to say this is just how things ended up.”
Fate nodded and looked at me. I found myself getting annoyed by how much he agreed.
“You’re talking about me like I’m not standing right here!”
“Whoa, whoa! Don’t get mad now!”
When they finally managed to calm me down, I sat down next to Fate.
“Greed…where is he?” I asked.
“Always straight to the point, aren’t you? He’s in my room.”
“He’s not with you, then?”
“I wanted some time to think by myself,” Fate said. He looked up and chuckled. “He’s gone. I knew how important he was to me, but it hurts to have to feel it like this. To be made to understand it so viscerally. Kairos entrusted Greed to me…”
Fate put a hand to his chest and sighed.
“I feel like a wound opened up in my chest.”
Fate gazed into the middle distance, in the direction of the floating continent of Galia.
“The fight is still so far from over,” he said. “But…look at me. What would Greed say if he saw me like this?”
I took Fate’s hand in my own and squeezed it so he couldn’t run away. “I’m here.”
Fate’s gaze turned from Galia and met my own. “Myne…”
“You showed me something when we met in that world of mine. I was hiding there because I was scared. I found a reason not to look back at the past. To not try and understand how Luna and the others felt. But because you brought me together with Luna, my sister, I finally understood. I wanted to see her so badly, even though I knew I never could. I was selfish.”
“You weren’t selfish. You were doing it for them.”
“Those feelings trapped Luna. They tethered her to this world. I was the reason Haniel was so close to immortality. Luna couldn’t stand to see me left alone in this world, and so she chose to remain as Haniel.”
“But…”
“So, if you still have Greed in your heart, perhaps he’s still here somewhere.”
“There’s still a chance, you mean?”
“Yes.”
What Luna had left me was important. She was no longer within me, but still I thanked her from the bottom of my heart.
Fate’s features relaxed a little. “Thanks, Myne. I feel better.”
“I’m glad.”
Fate stood and reached his arms up high. “Well, it’s time we did something about Galia! I’m going to grab the black sword. I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
I knew before he asked. I knew the moment he put his hands together in a pleading gesture. But he always asked anyway. It was how we communicated.
“Do some rounds of sparring with me?”
“I knew that’s what you wanted.”
“I unlocked the Fifth Level, the gauntlets, but Greed only showed me how they feel to use. I don’t know if I can actually use them myself yet.”
“So you want to use me to practice.”
“Please?”
I closed my eyes for just a moment and pretended like I was considering his request. But my mind was already made up. “Okay.”
“Thank you! I’ll be back in a minute!”
Fate was like an excited child, and he dashed off with incredible haste. He really wouldn’t need much more than a minute.
“Looks like you don’t need me anymore,” said Sloth, her voice sleepy.
“Even so, no sleeping yet.”
“Right, right. Wouldn’t want to sleep through your oh-so-important sparring session.”
“Grr…”
“I’m relieved, though. I’m glad to see you two together again.”
“Wh-wh-what?!”
“You had said it yourself, back in your inner world. You said you loved him.”
I didn’t reply.
“Even in silence, your face has gone red,” said Sloth.
It was true. I had said it. But since meeting Fate again, he’d seemed no different from usual.
Seeing me lost in thought, Sloth added, “If you ask me, I don’t think he heard what you said. He probably doesn’t know how you feel.”
“He doesn’t?”
“I’m certain of it, after watching the two of you. He’s got no idea!”
“Aaaaaaahhh…”
I fell to my knees. What was this…exhaustion? It was a weight heavier than when I’d fought the holy beastfolk, way back in the past.
It was then that Fate returned, his face filled with a smile, completely unaware of my feelings.
“I’m back! Thanks so much for helping me out, Myne!”
“Indeed. Training will be tough today! Prepare yourself!”
“Whoa! Why are you so aggressive all of a sudden?”
“Does it matter?”
I hefted the black axe overhead and launched myself at Fate. He dodged my attack skillfully and transformed his black sword into the black gauntlets.
“I see you’ve gotten stronger!” I said. “But I won’t lose!”
“Wait! Why are you coming at me so hard?!”
“You get what you ask for!”
I didn’t even give Fate the chance to use his gauntlets. I hit him with the flat of the axe with full force.
“What? Ahhhhhhhhhh!”
I watched Fate fly off far into the distance. “That should give you some time to think,” I whispered.
“I feel bad for him. Makes me kind of worried for your future together.”
I didn’t care that Sloth sympathized with Fate—it wasn’t any of her business. But then, just minutes later, I dropped to my knees as I came back to my senses.
“Oh…I just did that.”
“And what might that have been, Myne?”
I looked up to find Eris smirking at me. The Eros was the last person I wanted to see me like this. Had she seen everything? Was there no time to rest?
“Knocking me out like that… Are you drunk? I’m the most important person in the kingdom.”
“Leave me alone. I’m busy.”
“What are you so down about? Don’t tell me—Fate dumped you?”
I climbed to my feet without a word. My body acted in one smooth motion. I had no choice but to knock her out once more.
“Sorry! I know that was going too far. Wait, wait!”
“It’s too late.”
“Hear me out. All you ever did was fight, but now there’s this new side to you. I just wanted to, you know, bring that out a little.”
“Grr… Is that a confession?”
“Er…what’s the verdict if it is?”
Eris waited with nervous anticipation, but the answer was already decided.
“Guilty.”
“Eeeeek!”
I would hear no more of it, so I knocked her out.
“Finally, some peace,” said Sloth. “I guess that’s what Eris meant by the ‘perfect chance.’”
“Then it was especially mean.” I said, hiding the unconscious Eris once more in the greenery. “She won’t be waking up again for a while.”
With that out of the way, I returned to my room.