Chapter 136
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I was originally a timid person.
When I say this, would you laugh carelessly and call it a lie?
From a young age, I’ve been treating injuries and illnesses.
Back then, I always had dreams on the nights of treatments.
In these dreams, I always fail the treatment.
Patients writhe in agony and pass away, their families clinging to them. Standing before them, I have no words to offer. I repeatedly say 「I’m sorry,」 helplessly frozen in place.
I know dreams are just dreams.
However, this was a dream that could easily become reality at any moment.
I tried to recall when I stopped having these dreams.
Strangely, it coincided with the time I began to feign calmness for the sake of the people.
Following the bishop’s teaching that I shouldn’t show much emotional fluctuation, I unconsciously protected my timid self by suppressing my emotions.
I only realized this after meeting you.
The days with you were warm, and each day was more enjoyable than I had ever experienced in my life.
Do you remember?
As a member of the clergy, it’s not appropriate to express likes and dislikes about food. So I never said I liked sweets. But somehow, you seemed to figure out that I had a sweet tooth. Being read by others is a sign of immaturity and should be embarrassing, but your perception came from pure goodwill.
Whenever you found time, you’d invite me to sweet shops, and sometimes you’d even make sweets for me with your own hands.
You might say it’s not a big deal.
But your kindness always warmed my heart.
Also, the day after returning from dungeon exploration, we’d spend the whole day training 「while the sensation is still fresh,」 right up until sunset.
Usually, you’d take care of me, but during training, you’d get so absorbed that you’d forget about meals. So I, who finished earlier, would prepare food. Being not very skilled at cooking, I struggled in the inn’s kitchen, trying to make the meal as delicious as possible.
Cooking for someone else’s sake was like lighting a candle in darkness, gently illuminating my inner self – an irreplaceable experience.
You also taught me a lot about the world you grew up in.
Besides the various stories I begged you to tell – tragic love stories from your world, exciting adventure tales, fables full of lessons, and supernatural horror stories – you also told me about your own life, the school you attended, and sweets that don’t exist here.
It was too embarrassing to say, but every time I heard about your world, at night, I would imagine what it would be like if I had been born there.
Attending the same school as you, sitting in adjacent seats, spending peaceful days without conflict. You might think it’s nothing special, but for me, it was a dream – an impossible dream.
Of course, life with you wasn’t always fun. The prime example was dungeon exploration. Although, considering we came together for the purpose of dungeon exploration, it might seem contradictory to say this.
It’s not that I disliked having each other’s backs. No, rather, the dungeon explorations where I could touch your heart more deeply were irreplaceable moments.
But there was just one thing.
I was afraid.
Afraid of you getting hurt.
I was scared.
Scared that you might die.
I told you I could heal any injury as long as you didn’t die.
I did say that, but it didn’t mean that anything was okay as long as you didn’t die.
Yet you always came back covered in wounds – no, that doesn’t even begin to describe how badly injured you’d be.
You’d tell me, 「The healer is the key to the party,」 and always went ahead of me.
Watching you put your body on the line, advancing step by step into uncharted territory, I gradually began to feel fear.
As days passed and time with you accumulated, this fear gradually grew stronger. With you getting injured daily, protecting me while claiming 「gotta protect the healer,」 my fear intensified.
The fear of someone getting hurt.
It was an emotion I thought I had discarded long ago.
That feeling of near despair I felt when my father was seriously injured resurfaced and tormented me repeatedly every time my dear you jumped into danger and got hurt.
How I felt.
How much I cared for you.
You probably don’t understand.
But now, I’m really glad you didn’t know these feelings.
I believe in your world, the vision of one’s life from birth to death that can be seen at the moment of death is called 「Flowing Lanterns,」 right?
If so, my thoughts at this final moment must be something similar to 「Flowing Lanterns.」
This will probably be the last time, but still,
「Ichiro, are you alright… I’m glad you’re safe.」
This time, I’m really glad you weren’t hurt.
What I wanted to say was-
「Ah, Ichiro… I’m sor…ry…」
Well then, goodbye.
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As Ashley rushes over and grasps Saint Mika’s hand, Mika leaves her final words. Ashley feels all strength leave Mika’s hand.
It happened in an instant. The Sacred Sword’s final blow had severed both of Mika’s arms and gouged out her side from her ribs to her navel.
Angelica uses all the healing potions she has without hesitation, and Holy Knight Ashley attempts healing magic using all her available mana.
Their efforts seem to work, restoring Mika’s body to an almost perfect state. But her soul is no longer present in that body. Both of them can clearly understand this. Unable to accept it, they continue to call Saint Mika’s name over and over, almost shouting through their tears.
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The young Holy Knight is still far away.
The path to her is-
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