Chapter 102

“Nggghhh… I’m done. I can’t lift another finger…” “…Me too…” Euphie and I lay down to watch the sky just as dawn was breaking. After Lilana disappeared, we landed somewhere nearby to rest our weary bodies. Now that I had no more strength or magical energy to speak of, lying down really was my only option. Besides, if we stayed put, Allie and the others would find us soon. “…Anis?” Euphie said. “Yeah?” I turned to face her, just in time for her to graze my cheek with her fingers. At her soft touch, I let out a sigh of relief. “Your eyes…,” Euphie murmured. “My eyes?” I repeated. “Ah, did the color go strange after Lilana bit me?” “There’s that, too… For a while, your pupils were vertical, like a dragon’s eyes…” “No way! Really?” “They’re back to normal now, though. So don’t worry.” I lifted a hand to my face, but I wouldn’t be able to see for myself until I had a chance to look in a mirror. Still—eyes like a dragon. I would have to thoroughly check myself over once I got back. If these eyes gave me some strange ability like vampires, it could be a serious problem. “What about the rest of you? Do you feel all right?” Euphie asked. “Hmm… I don’t think so.” “…?! What’s wrong?!” “I can’t wait to find out how it’s changed!” “…Ah, right. Yes, I see.” “Don’t get mad at me, Euphie! I was just kidding!” “Who’s angry? I’m just a little heartbroken.” This casual conversation was like music to my ears, medicine for my exhausted muscles. Come to think of it, this whole affair had unfolded like a raging gale, one wave after the next. We had encountered that vampire in Filwach Forest, and after going to report to Euphie, we had learned that other vampires were active on the frontier as well. Lilana attacked us right as we arrived to investigate. She had almost succeeded in turning me into a vampire, but I had been transformed into a dragon instead. It was only natural that I was exhausted. “…I’m just glad you’re okay,” Euphie said in a sweet voice, her fingers interlocking with my own. Her touch was almost ticklish. “When Lilana bit you, when your eyes turned crimson… I really thought I was going to lose you, Anis.” “Ha-ha… You sure were very distraught.” “You remember?” “It was like I was dreaming. I saw how dire it was over here after she bit me.” “Dreaming… Lilana said something about that, too. What did she show you…?” “A world where everyone knew I had memories of my past life and took it for granted. I could use magic there, too.” Euphie caught her breath, staring deep into my face. “…What for?” “Sounds like a happy world, doesn’t it? No problems whatsoever.” “…Yes, it does…” “But it was just a mirage. Like an endless cycle of small conveniences. I couldn’t accept that.” “…Why not?” Euphie asked with worry. “It sounds like she showed you a place where all your dreams had come true.” “She did.” “…I’m not sure I could have resisted if she had done the same to me.” “It was sweet, but it was poison. That’s all.” “Poison…?” “Yeah. A gentle poison, slowly eating away at the meaning of life, at your energy to live.” When I thought of Lilana now, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow. It was like I had crushed her wishes with my own hands and ended her very life. “You know what they say, how the dose makes the poison? Just like how Lainie’s vampire powers can be used to heal, Lilana could have found a way to do good, but she was alone. Even among her own people, she was all alone. She was let down so many times…” “Anis…” “I’m sad that we never managed to truly understand each other, and I think I always will be. But I don’t want to forget that she existed, or what she lived for.” That was my responsibility to bear after ending her life. I denied her the chance to end the world and bring life itself to a joyous close, so the duty was mine to make sure the world kept on turning, that people could live their lives in peace and happiness. “If I dwell too much on it, though, the dragon will probably laugh at me again,” I joked. “The dragon?” Euphie answered. “Don’t tell me that magicite has a will of its own?” “Maybe I was just imagining things. But even in that dream, it had such an awful mean streak!” “…A mean streak?” “It really got on my nerves! But I think it gave me the push I needed. I think the dragon’s will must live on inside me. That’s why it was scolding me and telling me not to give myself a miserable existence.” “Are you sure you’ll be all right? It’s not going to take over, is it?” Euphie peppered me with anxious questions like a lost child. She truly was worried about me, I realized. I forced my tired body upright, and then I fell on her with a deep kiss, as if to say I’m here. Euphie closed her eyes to accept my touch. Lifting my body, I kissed her over and over—on her lips and her face, again and again. “I’m all right…but it’s a little inconvenient, I guess,” I answered at last. “Inconvenient? How so?” “It’s like I’m starved for magical energy now. Maybe we’ll have to put together some special meals or something…” Even now, my body was complaining about a hunger that had nothing to do with food. It had me a little on edge. “I don’t think I’ll have to eat raw magicite or anything like that. I really don’t want to have to waste good materials…” “…Bah! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” “Eu-Euphie?” “Heh… That’s just like you, to be more concerned about your materials than your own body,” she said, holding back tears of laughter. She wrapped her arms around me, and her face relaxed into a relieved smile. “I really am glad Lilana didn’t take you away from me, Anis.” “It’s all right… Lilana and the other vampires, I’m sure they all rushed too fast to their conclusions. That’s why they stopped looking forward, why they gave up on the future. All they could think about were their goals.” “What makes you think they rushed ahead?” “All living creatures die. That’s the way of the world. Even with an immortal body, there will always be an end. It doesn’t matter if you’re a spirit covenantor or a vampire, there’s still no avoiding that. I think they realized that. They were more exceptional than most, so they ran too far ahead.” As the old proverb said, one word is enough for the wise. The best of us are often faster to understand than others. But at the same time, having too many answers can lead to its own ironic consequences. “What do you think lies at the end of it all, Euphie?” I asked. “…The end. That’s it. No matter how successful you are, everything must come to an end. Just like how we brought the age of spirits to a close.” “Yes. Lilana wanted it to be a gentle end…” A world without suffering, filled only with joy and happiness. A world without need, without pain. But that was incredibly selfish of her. Just because vampires were more capable than other people didn’t mean that their conclusion was the only one possible. All the same, all things came to an end one day. I didn’t want to hold it against Lilana for wanting it to be a peaceful one. But now wasn’t the time for it. That was why I had fought so hard to reject her future. That was the whole point of our pitched battle. “We should live in a way that doesn’t mean giving up on the future. Without hurrying to conclusions. Moving forward with others, step by step. We might get annoyed and impatient. We might even want to give up at times. But it’s too hard to keep going alone…so I want you to stick by me, Euphie…always.” Now that I had denied Lilana, that was now my mission. I had to make the eternity that I believed in real. An eternity in which people could connect. In which the past wasn’t discarded but led to the present. In which we could trust others to carry it forward into the future. Generations of people would come and go, old eras would end, and others would keep on pushing forward. We couldn’t forget the teachings of the past, but at the same time, we had to always be aiming to improve. Passing our hopes and dreams into the future was the foundation of everything. “So we’ll move forward, inheriting the past. That’s the kind of person I want to be. If I were alone, I would probably be crushed under the flow of time. I would probably lose myself along the way. So I want you to stand by me and watch over me.” “Anis…” “I won’t leave you behind, Euphie. So please, stay with me—live with me—forever.” Euphie swept me up in a tight hug, her whole body trembling with emotion. The next moment, she raised her head, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. We stared into each other’s eyes, breathing each other’s breath. Euphie was smiling, but that didn’t stop a lone tear from trickling down her cheek. I smiled, too. “…You really have turned into a dragon, haven’t you, Anis?” “Yeah.” “Did your lifespan increase, too, then…?” “It did.” “…I see.” Euphie pulled me closer. She was still shaking, clearly overcome with emotion. “I was hoping something like this would happen,” she said. “Life would be too cruel if I had to keep on going without you.” “I made you worry, huh?” “If it’s what you want, I’ll spoil you to your heart’s desire, Anis.” “Yes…” “I don’t want to be alone, either. I want to be with you forever…” “I feel the same way.” We exchanged soft laughs, pressing our foreheads against each other as we held hands. We were about to exchange vows that would remain constant for all eternity. “Will you keep on living with me? Will you spend this unknowable future with me?” “I will. I’ll stay by your side until I can’t go on anymore, and then we’ll choose our end together.” We would pass our lives together from now on, hand in hand. We would never be separated. We would dream the same dream. “There they are!” “Lady Anis! Lady Euphyllia!” “Anis! Euphyllia! You’re all right!” Our gazes remained interlocked as voices began to sound in the distance. Acryl was the first to cry out; she must have tracked us down by smell. Next were Lainie and Allie. A wave of relief washed over Euphie’s face—when I grabbed her, pulling her into a passionate kiss. She melted into it at first—only to frown with annoyance and push me away. Naturally. After all, I had just drained more magical energy from her. “What are you doing?!” she cried, pulling herself away. “I couldn’t help myself. I mean, Allie and the others are coming to pick us up.” Euphie wiped her lips with an exasperated groan, fixing me with a glare—an incredibly cute reaction that helped to lift my spirits. “…Ah. I think I see why you’re always teasing me,” I murmured. “…Have you forgotten that I’m the one showing a little forbearance now, Anis?” Now I had thrown her own tactics back at her, perhaps taking the joke too far. I might have a difficult time ahead of me getting her back into a good mood, I thought with a laugh. Yes. We would do everything in our power to keep on laughing, to keep on living. Lilana might think this world unfair. She might think it forced upon her. Maybe it is a place of inevitable sadness and hatred. But it won’t always be that way. There’s no telling what the future holds until it comes. That’s why I can keep trusting in tomorrow. I’ll transform the world with new miracles born of magic. I’ll make sure tomorrow is better than today, alongside all those who matter so much to me.