"...She's gone."
"I guess time ran out..."
Luna and Hare had watched the old man from beginning to end.
They were hiding behind a tree, holding their breath.
Luna expressed her regret in a small voice.
"That lady seemed to really like the old man though..."
"...That's true."
Hare turned her gaze to look at the old man, now alone.
*What is the old man thinking right now...*
He stood still for a long while, not moving at all.
He simply stared at the empty air where Aina had faded away and disappeared.
Hare wanted to run to him right now and embrace him.
"...The old man is pitiful. No matter how I think about it, I hate that woman."
"I don't hate or like her... I think that lady is pitiful."
She barely managed to convey her feelings at the end.
But she had to leave for somewhere far away.
*How would I feel if I were Aina...*
Luna erased the thought, feeling like she might cry just imagining it.
And when the old man still hadn't moved after a long time.
Luna and Hare looked at each other and nodded.
*...Should we go now?*
*Yeah! Let's go!*
A silent signal.
The two emerged from behind the tree and approached Lee Jun-woo.
Even when they reached nearby, Lee Jun-woo was so shocked he didn't notice them.
Luna carefully grabbed his sleeve to make him aware of her presence.
"Old man...? Are you okay...?"
"...Luna, it's you. Why are you here?"
"I was worried about you, so I followed you..."
"...I see."
Lee Jun-woo closed his eyes for about 10 seconds, then opened them again.
And as if nothing had happened, he started walking and said.
"It's late. Let's go home and have dinner."
"...Yes."
The old man acting as if nothing had happened.
He took hollow steps as if floating 1cm above the ground.
Seeing this, Luna and Hare felt a somehow frightening and unfamiliar sensation.
After the old man returned home.
The old man acted normally as usual, as if nothing had happened.
He made food, told them not to be picky eaters, and washed the dishes.
It was a very strange scene, as if he had instantly forgotten about Aina.
"...I'm anxious."
"You too? I'm super anxious too! The old man is weird!"
The Hero Party gathered in Luna's room after finishing their meal.
Saten, who didn't know the exact situation, raised her hand and asked.
"Certainly, it is strange. The old man's eyes have become similar to mine."
"R-right! Now that I think about it, they're like Saten's eyes!"
"Are you talking about the color?"
"No, the look in his eyes is similar!"
Luna pointed at Saten's eyes with her finger.
Looking closely at her eyes, Hare nodded.
"...Right, the old man's eyes now resemble Saten's. They're empty eyes."
"Are you saying I'm empty? I can't let that comment slide."
Unable to tolerate it, Saten frowned and stood up abruptly from her chair.
A strong scent of battle emanated from Saten.
Luna panicked and decided to correct Hare's words.
"Not that your chest is empty! Your eyes are empty! Don't misunderstand, Saten!"
"...I got angry thinking you meant my brain was empty."
"O-oh really? I didn't know, hehe."
"..."
Saten was displeased, but seeing Luna's smile, she calmed her anger.
In the past, she would have spat in a smiling face, but now Saten tried her best to control her emotions.
It was thanks to the old man's teachings.
"So, is it bad that the old man's eyes resemble mine? I'm happy to become the same existence as the old man."
"That's the problem! You're saying the old man changed to become like Saten overnight!"
People die if they change all at once!
Estia agreed with Luna's outcry.
"Right, people should always stay the same! Without the Saint's miracle, it's hard to change all at once! So that means Oppa is in danger!"
"Specifically, how is he in danger?"
"...You probably know that well, Saten."
Swoosh—
Hare raised her head and met Saten's eyes.
*Those empty eyes just like the old man's...*
That's the only thing similar to the old man.
Still, that idiot's words might help with thinking.
Hare asked Saten, whose eyes resembled the old man's, with jealousy.
"...What would you do if your beloved lover disappeared before your eyes? I would kill the enemy who made them disappear and die together."
"Hmm, I'm not curious about your opinion, but I'll answer. If it were me, I think at first I'd have no thoughts, then realize later."
"...Realize what?"
"When I'm alone. Ah, my lover is really gone, and I think I'd end my life. Of course, I've never had a lover though."
"..."
Hearing Saten speak proudly, Hare fell into thought for a moment.
*If...*
What if Saten's thoughts were similar to the old man's thoughts?
*...No way, would the old man leave us and depart from this world?*
No way.
That can't be.
The old man wouldn't leave us...
*I'll be your guardian until you can defeat the Demon King.*
At that moment, the old man's words flashed through Hare's mind.
Feeling an ominous premonition, Hare hastily opened the door and ran out.
Startled, Luna shouted loudly.
"What are you doing, Hare?!"
"The old man said before...!! That he'd only be our guardian until then...!!"
"What?"
He didn't talk about what would happen after that.
The old man, who had now lost his master, had lost his motivation to live, just as Saten said.
So it wouldn't be strange if he took his own life.
"The old man...!! Might leave us behind...!!"
Hare ran toward the old man's room, leading her unbalanced body.
Bad thoughts crossed her mind and imagination arose.
The moment she opened the door to the room where the old man should be.
"...Old man."
Hare's imagination had become reality.
"...He couldn't have gone far. Find the old man."
Leaving behind a single book placed on the bed, Hare left the house and pursued the old man's traces.
A square wheel cannot roll if the slope is low, and it stops in place after losing momentum.
For a wheel to roll, it must maintain a circular shape.
That's the basic principle of carriages that anyone who's seen one knows.
However, the wheels of my carriage seemed to be square.
"...I've come back again, Aina."
A scenic view overlooking the city where Aina scattered and disappeared.
From a distance, a beautiful cityscape unfolds.
But if you turn your gaze downward, a high cliff appears below.
Though the method of dying differs, the result of death remains the same.
"I'm sorry to the Hero Party, but... I didn't make a promise, so it's okay, right Aina?"
The moment I lost you.
I lost my reason to live.
The Hero Party can walk on their own now.
So now I want to rest comfortably.
"It would be more hellish for me to survive alone, so please understand."
I looked down below the cliff.
Though I could see the bottom, it would be hard to maintain life if I fell with my bare body.
"Just in case..."
Let me make the end certain.
I floated a thin thorn in the air with Non-elemental Magic.
It was meant to pierce me as I fell.
And so I stood at the edge of the cliff where cold wind blew.
[Doesn't it weigh on your mind, Jun-woo? The Hero Party you raised will be waiting for you at home.]
[1. It weighs on my mind.]
[2. It doesn't weigh on my mind.]
"...It would be a lie to say it doesn't weigh on my mind. I'm sorry for making you record my death, Minerva."
[If I stop you, do you have any intention of giving up?]
[1. I do.]
[2. I don't.]
"I don't."
I answered firmly.
This decision was one I'd made over a period of more than 10 years, and it wouldn't be wrong to say I'd lived to fulfill this decision.
From the beginning, my purpose was revenge against the Demon King of Envy.
"Still, when Aina came back, I turned my thoughts elsewhere. But in the end, it's come to this."
"...I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, Jun-woo."
Pat—
Minerva placed her trembling hand on my back.
I didn't expect this.
"Is it okay for you to come outside? It'll be dangerous."
"It's okay, the Grimoire didn't exist in the future. And..."
You're my Apostle.
Along with sniffling sounds from behind, Minerva spoke.
"So, I'll send you off, *sniff*... If you decide alone and jump, it's too sad..."
"...Thank you, Minerva. And I'm sorry. For leaving you alone."
"It's okay... I have Meowng... When the Hero Party defeats the Demon King, people will remember me too..."
Minerva must know from seeing the future.
She must know well that this is the only way for me to be happy.
That's why Minerva came all the way here to push me.
Knowing this about Minerva, I quietly closed my eyes.
"Thank you for sending me off, Minerva."
"Okay... I understand..."
Minerva pushed my back with weak force.
But it was fine.
I had the will to move forward, and the wind was helping me.
*Is this the end now...*
And so I could finally achieve what I wanted.
The moment the thin needle pierced my heart and I fell flashed before my eyes.
And naturally, the image of the Hero Party came to mind.
*They say you see your life flash before your eyes when you die...*
Why is the Hero Party's image coming to mind now of all times?
Even when I try to eliminate attachments, what remains can't be helped.
Hero Luna.
Thief Hare.
Mage Saten.
Saint Estia.
I left a book on the bed, so if they see it, they'll be able to handle the remaining Demon Kings well even if the path is blocked.
It's fair to say they handled the last Demon King without my help, and Minerva sent me off without holding me back.
The Hero Party will somehow catch the Demon King and save the world.
*However, those children will be immersed in sadness for a while after seeing my death...*
Even knowing that, I'm a selfish bastard for dying.
Thud—
A small sound rang in my ear and I felt slight pain in my back.
The moment the needle pierced my heart, my eyes closed and I couldn't hear the wind.
When these eyes fully close, I'll die.
"...I'm sorry, kids. I wasn't strong enough."
The moment I drew closer to death, muttering those regretful words softly.
From atop that cliff, screams and voices loud enough to be heard here rang out.
—...ng...!! D...n't...! ...ero...!!
I couldn't properly hear what the screams were saying.
But I think I heard what the voice was saying to me.
However, that was a story in a realm I couldn't understand.
And so I met my second death.