Epilogue
All Gates the world over had vanished. Every Queen that had opened a Gate and was lurking on the other side of it had perished.
There was some confusion.
A number of Queens had quickly opened Gates and fled to Earth to escape the Black Hole Gate, wreaking havoc as they took their last stand. The smart ones fled to Europe, which was still under Jave control, extending their lives for now. Some awaited destruction at the hands of the Alliance, while others opened Gates to other worlds and fled through them. It seemed there would be plenty of work for Maneuver Cavalleria for the time being.
The Empire was focused on clearing the Jave out of the territories where the Gates had been. There were still a number of Queens on the mainland, and it would take time to purge the last of them. To that end, the Empire elected to make a new military school on the southern islands—or, more accurately, reopen the old one.
Jogen Maneuver Academy may have been demolished in the attack, but it was open for business again.
It was December, one month after the Jave world had been destroyed.
There was one corner of the Jogen Maneuver Academy’s grounds that had a cape that faced the Jogen ocean. On that cape stood a shrine to all the students who died in the school attack and during Operation Jave World Annihilation. The souls of all 376 lost slept here, watching over Jogen.
Fuji had begun spending more time alone and was even more focused on his duties. Sometimes he could be found staring blankly up at the sky. He hadn’t quite broken the habit of choosing wedding dresses, but the occasions on which tears started flowing on their own were growing further apart. He intended to remain single the rest of his life but knew Nao would not want that, so for now he was left to wrestle with his emotions.
Rin’s new right leg was artificial flesh, just like En’s body. It was indistinguishable from her old leg, but magical enhancements made it extremely light, sturdy, and powerful, so she soon added somersault kicks to her repertoire. When she called it a “charge down into an up kick,” Hanabi looked blank, but Okayama burst out laughing, so maybe he was the right boy for her after all.
Kaede formally adopted Tooka, who became a resident of the Empire and had her name officially changed to Nanahoshi Nürburg Tooka. Tooka adjusted the Junryu until even Division 3s could pilot then, which mass-produced heroes. She then began working on research to prevent the opening of Gates from other worlds. She still lived at the Nanahoshi mansion, and when Kuon and Hanabi went to visit, she was very insistent they all bathe together, which was certainly alarming. She was apparently quite a fan of the Empire’s baths.
✦ ✦ ✦
This was all Rin’s fault.
It was a sunny day at the Motegi mansion. A white arch had been placed before the stunning view from the second building, where they’d gathered for the fireworks. There was something church-like about it. Kuon stood in front of it, fidgeting in a white tuxedo. The fingers on his artificial flesh hand were twitching busily.
There were two benches in front of the arch, placed in a row. Fuji, Rin, and Okayama sat on one; Kaede, Tooka, and the large-sized En on the other. There was, of course, a red carpet rolled out between the benches, and walking down that carpet on Rin’s mother’s arm was, naturally, Hanabi.
Wearing a wedding dress.
A week earlier, during a squad meeting, Rin had suddenly said, “Hanabi and Kyuu-kun, you should have an engagement ceremony.”
“Huh?”
Hanabi, Kuon, and Fuji all turned to gape at her. Okayama chuckled like he’d seen this coming.
“Kyuu-kun’s still only thirteen, so an engagement’s the best you can get. Let’s do it at our place by the second building! Squad Leader, show Hanabi your folder of wedding dresses.”
“I can do that, but…”
“Wait, wait, wait!” both Hanabi and Kuon protested.
“Don’t get flustered in harmony! We’re doing this!”
They had no idea what she was thinking. They never did, but still…really?
“Squad Leader, you’re in, right? You wanna see these two engaged?” Okayama said, asking what no one else would have dared.
Fuji looked baffled that anyone was asking his opinion. “Wha—? Oh, I see. Right. No need to worry about me; I’ll be fine. Actually, I think it’s better to get it taken care of while you still can. And I genuinely want the two of you to be happy.”
“Squad Leader approved! This means you’ve gotta do it. Right?”
“No, no, no, no, no!”
“Then it’s decided! I’ll call Mom and make her set up a church… Oh, this is gonna be so much work!”
The next week flew past in the blink of an eye, and now Kuon was standing there in a white tuxedo, facing straight ahead, waiting for Hanabi.
Hero, are you gonna die?
It was a strange feeling. The girl he’d saved shortly before his death in his previous life had become his fiancée in his new one. Was that how fate worked?
There was no telling when he’d die. Or Hanabi. From that perspective, Rin’s proposal made sense. Like Fuji said, it was better to do these things while you still could. As those thoughts ran through his head, his white-clad bride reached his side.
The moment he laid eyes on her, he was sure that no matter how many lives he led, no matter how many times he was reincarnated, he would always find his way back to her.
Hanabi smiled. “Let’s live together, Kuon.”
She was the most beautiful girl in all the world.
Kuon nodded and then stretched himself up as high as he could and kissed her. He hoped that even if he someday grew to be as tall as her or taller, they would always be together.
The skies over Jogen were blue once more.
✦ ✦ ✦
Several decades had passed since humanity’s natural predators, the Jave, first appeared. They may have crushed their nest, but the threat of the Jave was still very real. The Maneuver Cavalleria had a long fight ahead of them…
But the Hero was no longer alone.