Chapter 16

Elaine had defeated the Demon King and returned to the country.

First, she was admitted to the hospital to heal her battered body. It was important, but even that felt frustrating.

She asked too persistently,

"When can I be discharged!?"

and ended up angering the doctor.

After that, the words of gratitude, praise, and rewards from the country were conveyed to her. None of them appealed to her.

She wanted to see Elius as soon as possible. She wanted to ask if she could return to the party.

But what if she was told, "It's too late now"…? With a mix of hope and anxiety, she searched for Elius as soon as she was discharged. At the Adventurer's Guild, which she hadn't visited in a long time, she was told something unexpected.

"Elius? Oh, he's dead."

"Huh…?"

Taken aback by the unexpected news, Elaine was speechless. The man continued.

"What was it? Oh, he was killed by a woman named Lena."

Lena?

The girl who admired Elius so much?

She couldn't believe it. Personally, she had her own thoughts about the girl, but she could understand why Lena was so harsh towards Elaine. Elaine understood better than anyone the desire to be recognized by Elius and to be of use to him.

"Well, that's how it is. It's a shame, you couldn't even say a word to him in return…"

"Shut up."

"Huh? What are you talking about? He exiled you, didn't he? What you say about a guy like that…"

"I said, shut up…"

Angry at the man's words, she instinctively reached for her sword. Sensing the tense atmosphere Elaine exuded, the man fell on his butt.

"Ah!"

Seeing the man cower as if he had seen a monster, Elaine suddenly came to her senses.

This was a misplaced anger. Even though she was aware of it, she couldn't bring herself to apologize.

As she turned away… waves of regret washed over her.

At that time.

When she was asked to rejoin the party.

What if she had returned?

Foolish thoughts kept resurfacing and being dismissed.

During the adventure, when they were attacked by monsters, Elius would ask,

"Are you okay?"

He would help her, even though she was a burden.

If she had returned then. Even if Elius couldn't join the battle, she could have protected him. If she had done that, at least the tragedy of being killed by a comrade wouldn't have happened, right?

But could she have defeated the Demon King while protecting someone? No, that was impossible.

But if she had become stronger. If she had prepared a little more and had the strength to fight while protecting Elius, even in the battle against the Demon King?

Her thoughts kept going in circles.

No matter how much she thought about it now – it was too late.

Before she knew it, she was back at the inn.

And,

"Ah…"

A voice escaped her involuntarily. The voice gradually grew louder…

"Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah!"

Elaine couldn't stop her wailing until dawn. Even after the sun came up, the thoughts that kept circling in her head wouldn't stop.

"I was helped by Elius so many times, but when he really needed help, I couldn't help him! The Demon King's defeat could have waited! If I had known he was in trouble, I should have gone back to him no matter what! But I…!"

The regret that Elaine had carried for a year spilled out of her mouth like a dam breaking. Elius's mother, who had been watching her silently for a while, said something unexpected.

"That's not right, Elaine. Don't… belittle him too much."

"Huh?"

Unable to control her emotions, Elaine confessed while crying. For the first time, Elius's mother spoke to her in a stern voice. Surprised by the change, Elaine looked at her, and after a while, her mother's expression softened, and she spoke in a gentle, soothing voice.

"Would Elius say he wants to be saved more than defeating the Demon King? I don't think so. Elius would say, 'If you can defeat the Demon King, leave me alone.' I'm sure he would."

"That's…"

She was right. Elaine couldn't deny it.

She could easily imagine him saying that, so naturally, the scene came to mind.

"Yes, I think so, but…"

Even so, the feelings she carried didn't become any lighter. Perhaps unable to bear seeing her like this, Elius's mother said,

"Wait a moment."

She got up and went to another room, returning shortly with something in her hand.

"Here, take this."

Elaine took what was offered. It looked like a letter.

"A few months before he died… he came back here."

"Elius came here?"

"Yes. He hadn't shown his face for four years after leaving home, but when we finally met, he made a strange request. 'If Elaine comes to visit, please give this to her.' I told him he could give it to her himself, but…"

"Elius would make such a request…"

"He was a strange one, but… maybe he knew what was going to happen. Sometimes, strange things happened."

"Strange things?"

"Yes. The day he left on his journey. While I was cleaning up after breakfast, I dropped a dish. I thought it would fall and break, but he caught it in mid-air, as if he knew I was going to drop it."

"Such a thing…"

But she thought it was possible for Elius. Sometimes, he acted as if he could predict the future.

"Yes. So, Elaine, don't worry. I think he knew something was going to happen to him. It's a shame that Elius is gone, but we are still alive. Being alive means there are things we have to do."

"Like… encouraging me?"

"Hehe, yes. I don't know what's written in that letter, but when you read it… move forward. There are many things you can do, right?"

"Yes…"

Originally, Elaine had come here with the intention of making amends. If she couldn't return to Elius himself, she wanted to give something to his remaining family. She came here with that feeling.

But.

She had lost her son.

Her grief must have been much deeper than Elaine's. Yet, Elius's mother hardly showed any of it and encouraged Elaine.

If she tried to ease her guilt by offering money or goods to such a person, she would be turned away.

To the Holy Sword, to Elius, and to this person.

I have only received.

No matter how strong she thought she had become, she couldn't match them. Then, the only thing she could do was to learn from them.

She decided to think again about what she should do.

"Thank you. One more thing… if there is a grave for Elius, could you tell me where it is?"

"Yes, of course. I'm sure he would be happy if you visited."

After talking a little more about Elius with her and learning the location of the grave, Elaine returned home.

When night fell, she opened the letter with a bit of nervousness. For a moment, she worried that it might contain words of resentment, but then she thought it was silly to think that.

Elius wouldn't have asked his mother to give her such a letter. She started reading, and what was written there was unbelievable.

Elius had repeatedly experienced life and death. He had a skill that summoned a book that recorded his actions each time he repeated. If he revealed this skill to anyone, it would reset, so he couldn't tell anyone.

Because his power was not enough to defeat the Demon King, he had no choice but to exile Elaine from the party, and he ended up placing the burden of defeating the Demon King on her. He apologized for that.

And.

"You might not get it, but I always felt like we were fighting together."

With those words, memories of the days when Elaine and Elius were in the party came flooding back to her mind.