# 158. Returned First Love (7)
Luna, assimilated among the roses as if she were a flower herself.
She was smiling, lost in the illusion that she had become a flower.
"Where, where am I~?"
Luna made a flower cup with her hands, her face resembling a sunflower more than a rose.
I flicked Luna on the head with the feeling of plucking a sunflower.
"Ahhh-!"
"Don't fall into the delusion that you've become a flower just because you're in a flower garden, Luna."
"That hurts! Besides, it was a joke! You're too narrow-minded to play along!"
"I'm not playing along because this isn't a situation for jokes."
If it were any other time, I'd humor her a bit.
But now the story is a little different.
I took in the Hero Party, excluding Hare, at a glance and asked them.
"Answer me seriously. How did you get in here?"
Security should have been quite tight.
How could they enter this park?
When I asked the Hero Party that fact, Luna wiped the cold sweat running down her cheek.
"Well, you see! We, we used a little force, I guess... Really just a little..."
"...You used force on the security guards?"
"Just enough to send them to dreamland for a bit? Hehe-"
Luna answered with an awkward laugh.
I wanted to flick her forehead repeatedly at that face, but I decided to hold back for now.
"You idiots..."
Because now wasn't the time for that.
"I'm not an idiot, mister. These fools are the idiots."
"I'm not an idiot!"
"...Stop bickering. Everyone just move. If you idiots knocked out the guards, the knights will be dispatched here soon."
"What are the odds?"
"One hundred percent."
They'll definitely be dispatched.
The moment they touched the guards.
The magical devices attached to their bodies would have sent a signal to the security center.
And if the Hero Party is now in this section far from the exit...
"They'll arrive soon."
The moment I spoke those words.
In the distance, there was a girl being chased by countless security guards.
She was so fast that the guards could never catch her, but
her expression clearly showed signs of panic.
"M-mister...!! Run...! We have to run...!!"
Hare approached us, waving her hands.
Aina watched the scene from beside me and offered her commentary.
"But wouldn't it be better to run the other way? Why is she running toward us?"
"...Exactly."
She even waved her hands at us.
A situation where we couldn't pretend not to know.
Watching Hare getting closer to us while being chased by guards,
I slowly lifted Aina and placed her on my shoulders.
"I'll carry Aina and run. Luna, I'm counting on you for Estia and Saten."
"Huh? You want me to carry two people?"
"That's about right. You're the Hero, so bear the weight."
Leaving those words behind, I started running forward.
The last thing I saw in my vision was Luna's dumbfounded expression, but
as I began running, regret about today filled my head, and I couldn't help but quickly forget it.
*'...There wasn't much left until the confession spot.'*
How unfortunate.
Having planned to convey my feelings to Aina at the final location,
I felt the Hero Party's interference today was too regrettable.
After the incident at Rose Island, though Hare was quite exhausted from the excessive running, the Hero Party safely returned home.
And in the early morning when most of the members were asleep,
Aina stuck her face out the window, getting some fresh air.
She couldn't easily fall asleep.
"Ah, the breeze is nice. I feel good too."
She closed her eyes, felt the quiet dawn air, and welcomed the wind.
"Soon I won't be able to feel this good feeling much longer. It's a shame."
Even sleeping time feels precious.
I want to live more enjoyably too.
I wonder if there's any way around it.
"Hmm."
Aina rested her arms on the window and felt troubled emotions.
She'd always been curious about what lay beyond death, but
actually being in a position to experience that death made her head complicated.
"If only I'd at least received that confession today, I wouldn't have any lingering regrets. Deliberately interfering like that. That Thief."
Still, I'm grateful.
If Jun-woo had actually confessed to me, I wouldn't have been able to resist and would have accepted the confession.
And I would have left Jun-woo with indelible regrets.
"Right, I shouldn't be greedy about receiving a confession when I'm the one disappearing..."
This is right.
For the sake of my remaining disciple's future.
This must be right.
Aina repeated her thoughts to herself, pondered for a moment, and closed the window.
And the moment she turned around to lie back down on the bed,
she noticed something strange about the door.
"...What? Have they come to take me?"
By my estimate, I should have one more day left.
Have they come for me already?
"Is this what death is? Still, I'm a bit curious. Suddenly being guided by a door."
A being who explores magic.
A Mage.
Even in a situation where death was near, Aina felt curiosity and approached the door to open it.
"A door to the afterlife without any gold? Total garbage. Am I going to hell?"
Creak-
Aina grumbled as she opened the door and entered.
There, she saw ordinary stairs leading to a library.
Aina blinked in confusion.
"...Don't tell me the afterlife is actually a library. It's not something like that, right?"
No way.
That can't be.
The end of life being a library.
That's a bit much, isn't it?
"I wanted to go out stylishly at the end. What kind of library is this."
Tsk-
Aina clicked her tongue and, with disappointment, stepped onto the path leading to the library.
She climbed the stairs and passed through, and the form of a massive library came into view.
And at the library's information desk stood a giant owl.
"Hoot-"
"...It looks stupid."
"Hoot-! Hoot-!"
"What, you want me to follow you?"
"Hoot."
Meowng flapped its wings, telling Aina to follow, and guided her through the library.
It was a massive library with a variety of books, and as she walked, Aina's curiosity about the library welled up.
*'What's that book? And why are there so many books here? I want to read them all. I'm curious...'*
Having such small thoughts while following Meowng,
the moment Aina was looking around absentmindedly,
she bumped into Meowng's back as it suddenly stopped.
"Huh?"
"Hoot-"
"What are you saying? We've arrived?"
"Hoot- Hoot-"
Meowng, an owl that nodded its head.
She quietly watched Meowng return to its place.
"It's big enough that it would taste good if Jun-woo cooked it."
"That won't do. That one's my Apostle."
Aina jumped in surprise and followed the voice.
There lay a young child who appeared to be about 15 years old on a sofa.
She was reading a book with a languid expression.
Aina squinted and asked.
"A kid...?"
"Not a kid. A Goddess."
Rustle-
Minerva stood up from her seat and faced Aina.
Then she immediately scrunched up her face.
"Seeing you in person makes you look even more annoying."
"...What?"
"The source of trouble for my Apostle. Honestly, I don't like you."
Though you did have a good influence on Jun-woo,
since the result ultimately leads to Jun-woo's death,
Minerva couldn't like Aina even if she wanted to.
"I'm Minerva, Goddess of Knowledge and Records. Jun-woo probably told you about me roughly."
"...That there's someone helping him? He did say he occasionally receives help. But that was a Goddess? Why did he hide this information from me...?"
"Yeah, I've been helping Jun-woo. I'm also the one who told him not to tell you. Don't be too hurt."
More than that.
Minerva gently handed over the book she was reading.
"I think we need to have a talk... First, want to read a book?"
"Suddenly?"
Aina was flustered.
When did she say she disliked me, and now she's handing me a book?
Why does this Goddess seem so immature?
This Goddess had an atmosphere similar to the Hero Party somehow.
"As expected, childish."
"...I don't want to talk to you, so just read it quickly."
"Pfft."
Aina snorted at the Goddess's childish side and began reading the book.
The book's title was 'Lee Jun-woo's Future.'
She felt something strange about it, but Aina decided to read it as the Goddess said.
And the moment she finished reading the entire book,
Aina slammed the book down and shouted.
"...What's your reason for giving me this book, Goddess?"
Aina glared at Minerva with burning eyes.
Minerva recited with a cold gaze.
"Jun-woo dies because of you. That's Jun-woo's future. A future that will never change."
"N-no! This is strange! I worked so hard not to leave any regrets for Jun-woo after waking from the sealing stone!! Why, why does Jun-woo lose his life-!! And in that way-!!"
I absolutely can't accept this.
A future where my disciple dies in this way is unacceptable.
I'll reject this future.
However, contrary to Aina's thoughts, Minerva answered with certainty.
"Even if you don't, Jun-woo will. That's who Jun-woo is. Even I, a Goddess, can't stop it, and honestly, that result is the best."
"What...? Best...? Is that something you can say to your own Apostle...?"
"Not that it's good for Jun-woo. I mean it's good for the world. If Jun-woo dies, the Hero Party will save the world very easily."
By giving pain for growth, becoming nourishment for the Hero Party's growth, Jun-woo's death has meaning.
Minerva spoke the truth, but she was biting her teeth tightly.
Sometimes the truth hurts.
"...I don't want to let Jun-woo die either. But what can I do? That's the only future left."
"Is there a way to change it...?"
"There isn't."
Aina despaired at the words that there wasn't.
She had been confident that she hadn't been greedy and had done well, but
hearing about the hopeless future felt like her heart was being torn apart.
However, as if telling her not to despair yet,
Minerva approached Aina and handed her a book.
"Do you like Jun-woo? Do you want Jun-woo to be happy? Then..."
Read this book.
And act according to the future written in this book.
If you do that...
"Jun-woo can't be happy here, but he can be happy somewhere else."
Instead, Aina.
You have to do one thing.
"If it's okay, take this book and leave the library."
"...Are you certain it will help my disciple? No, Jun-woo...?"
Nod-
When Minerva nodded, Aina left the library with the book without hesitation.
She wanted her disciple to be happy.
Even without her, she thought it would be good if he was happy somewhere.
Though she was born into a noble family and lived a life unloved by her family,
the person who first gave her love was Lee Jun-woo.
"...As long as you're happy, I can be satisfied."
Even if their hearts don't connect.
She thought she wanted the other person to be happy.
That was the way Aina loved Lee Jun-woo.