Chapter 16:
Farewells
WE STAYED IN THE VILLAGE for a few days, but the time had finally come for us to return to Jeepupp. Also, Loli Loli had decided to go back home to the Demon Kingdom.
“I’m sure my father will get super worried if I don’t come back soon! It’s really tough being the child of a doting parent!” she sang.
“I’m sure your father has it a whole lot tougher, being the father of such a rambunctious kid,” I teased.
Since we were all heading out, we decided that we’d travel at least part of the way together. Almost all the villagers came to see us off as we departed.
“Ashley, come on back soon!” said Moichi.
“Yep! I’ll definitely be back!” Ashley promised.
After Moichi playfully ruffled Ashley’s hair, he turned toward us. “And y’all are always welcome to come and visit too. This is a pretty boring little village, so I’m sure everyone will flock to see you when you’re back.”
“Yeah, we’ll definitely come,” I said.
“We’ll be sure to bring some kind of gift next time,” added Filia.
“And Loli Loli, you’re welcome anytime too, ya hear?” said Moichi.
“Okay! I’ll come and play again!”
After saying our goodbyes, we left the village. We rode the Earth Dragon Bus for a while together, until it was time to part ways with Loli Loli.
“This is where I say goodbye! I’m headed in a different direction!” When we got off the Earth Dragon Bus, she turned to me. “But there’s one last thing! I want you to do that thing again! The thing where you make your clothes go boom!”
Hm, well, if she was asking me to do it, I couldn’t just turn her down. I flexed my pectorals and exploded my jacket. The fabric fluttered through the air. “Satisfied?”
“Dang it, I can’t do it! I haven’t trained enough!” muttered Loli Loli in frustration as she looked at her own body, which was practically a stick.
The fact that she was trying to imitate me was admirable, though. She had a promising future ahead of her.
“I think it’s probably impossible for you right now. But fortunately, you’re still young. Train!”
“But don’t train too hard,” said Filia. “Otherwise, you’ll end up with muscles like that.”
“I don’t want that…” said Loli Loli.
She didn’t like them? But didn’t they look cool?
“I really don’t understand you at all…” muttered Ashley, giving me a repulsed look.
Yeah, well, she was just jealous that Loli Loli thought I was so awesome! Aw, what a cutie.
Meanwhile, Ashley boarded the Earth Dragon Bus once again. Then she came back out with her hands placed behind her back like she was hiding something.
“Hey, Loli Loli?” Ashley called with a slightly nervous tone.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Well, Big Sis and I have a present for you. I hope you’ll accept it. Here…”
“We worked really hard on it yesterday,” said Filia.
Ashley held out some kind of hair accessory—a red ribbon. It was so well-made that I could barely believe it was handcrafted. I’d wondered what the two of them were sneaking around doing yesterday. They’d been making this ribbon, huh? Filia aside, Ashley had a kind of awkward, inconsiderate air. But I supposed that people aren’t always what they seem.
“If you’d told me about this, I could have improved it—made it into a muscle-shaped ribbon or something,” I said.
Filia smiled. “So not telling you was the right choice after all, hmm?”
Huh? What was that supposed to mean?!
Beside us, Loli Loli accepted the ribbon from Ashley. “Wooow! This is really well-made!” she cooed like she was some kinda ribbon expert. She tied the ribbon into her hair and giggled, adjusting her flower crown as well. “Does it look good on me?”
“Yes, it suits you perfectly,” said Filia.
“I knew it, red is definitely your color, Loli Loli,” said Ashley.
“It does look good, doesn’t it?” I acknowledged.
The red ribbon really complemented her blonde hair. On top of that, it seemed to sort of go with her Gothic Lolita style.
Not that I was really interested in fashion or anything. I mean, I didn’t really get it.
Speaking of fashion, I was half-naked at that point, just wearing three-quarter length pants. I’d been wearing a jacket just a bit before, but now it was tattered rags.
“Oh ho ho—eh he he!” Loli Loli had a happy look on her face. Then she pulled the twisted screw figure out of her pocket, the one I’d won for her at the festival. “Yuri gave me this screwy toy! Ashley and Filia gave me this ribbon! The villagers gave me this flower crown! I’ve never had so many people treat me so nicely before! I’m so happy!”
Then, after tucking the figure in her pocket once again, Loli Loli flew off on her icy wings, holding the flower crown close to her head so that it wouldn’t fall off. “I’m going now! These past three days have been the most fun ever! Ashley, Filia, Yuri…and everyone in the village too! I love you all! I hope we meet again! Bye!”
She looked back at us now and again, waving as she flew away. Even up until the end, she was like a whirlwind.
“She’s gone…” said Filia, gazing off into the distance.
“She really was a bundle of energy,” I said.
I stepped up onto the Earth Dragon Bus. Up until then, our journey had been so lively and fun, but now I could already feel it getting lonelier. Before I knew it, I’d grown really close with Loli Loli. But it wasn’t like I could just keep on feeling lonely forever. Time was limited. And besides, it wasn’t like we wouldn’t ever see each other again.
The four of us had enjoyed a great time at the festival, and it had been a really nice change of pace. Thanks to that, I felt like I could get even more fired up in my training from here on out!
“Filia, Ashley. I know you miss her already, but it’s time to go.”
“Oh, yeah.” Filia boarded the bus behind me.
But Ashley didn’t show any sign that she was getting back on.
“Ashley? What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Big Sis…Yuri? There’s something I want to say.”
“What is it?” asked Filia.
“I’m not going back to Jeepupp. I’m going to train.”
As soon as those words left Ashley’s mouth, time seemed to stop.
Then Filia suddenly appeared by Ashley’s side, like she’d leaped forward. “Ashley?! What are you talking about—this is so sudden!”
This really is sudden, I thought as I stepped back onto the ground. I’d thought for sure that Ashley had wanted to be with Filia, but…
As we approached, Ashley straightened. She told us what she was really feeling. “I’m not very proud of this, but…for the longest time, people told me that I was a prodigy. I was really confident in my strengths. But then I lost against Yuri, and against Loli Loli…and I realized that I still have a long way to go. If I don’t get stronger, the next time something happens, I might not be able to save my village or the people precious to me. I can’t allow that. That’s why I’ve decided to go train in the mountains over there.”
Then, with a faint smile on her lips, she added, “It really took me a long time to come to this decision.”
She must have been thinking about her future even while she was enjoying the festival and showing us around her village. Ashley was a lot more mature than I’d realized.
I looked into her eyes. “Ashley, your life belongs to you. If that’s what you’ve decided, then go for it.”
“That’s…a surprisingly nice thing to say, Yuri. My opinion of you continues to improve,” said Ashley.
“I only say nice things!”
She giggled. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
Ashley turned her red eyes to Filia. The look in those eyes was so concerned, vulnerable to Filia’s reaction. If Filia tried to stop her, Ashley wouldn’t go. Filia meant too much to Ashley—she wouldn’t be able to resist.
Filia looked up. Even though Filia’s silver eyes were somewhat teary, they were crinkled in a smile full of loving compassion. She met Ashley’s look straight on. “I’m sure that you’ve come to this decision after giving it a lot of thought. I won’t stop you. Ashley, you’re a girl with a strong heart. And, well, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t going to miss you, but…” She swallowed. “But I want you to stick to your decision, Ashley. Because that’s the Ashley I love.” She placed an adoring hand on Ashley’s head.
“Y-yeah! Okay! Thank you! I love you too, Big Sis!” Ashley hugged Filia tightly, her eyes welling with tears. Filia embraced her in turn.
Finally, it was just the two of us again. Filia and I went on our way, two empty seats beside us. Since our group had dwindled from four to two, there was this sudden stillness. Filia had a lonely look on her face. As I was trying to figure out what to say, Filia opened her mouth to speak first.
“It does seem pretty spacious in here, doesn’t it?” she said quietly, like she was muttering to herself. “It’s lonely.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I said. “Are…you okay?”
“You needn’t worry. I won’t leave you, Yuri.” Filia came a bit closer to me. Close enough that our hands were almost touching.
“I mean, I wasn’t really worried about that or nothin’.”
Filia pouted. “What? Come on, that’s not your line. You’re supposed to say something like, oh, I don’t know… ‘Oh, dear Filia, thank you! You’re my emotional support, my anchor,’ or something—and hug me?”
“Do you want me to hug you?”
“I’d sue you for sexual harassment.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
Filia leaned against me. Her head rested against my shoulder. “Well, you seem like you’re feeling pretty lonely too, you know? So, as a special treat, I’ll spend allll day by your side.”
“Filia…thanks. Please do.”
It was obvious that she was hurting even more than I was, but I wasn’t gonna be uncouth and say it.
Filia’s head was a warmth on my shoulder all the way back to Jeepupp.