GIRL IN TWILIGHT
“Leooon! Wanna read Argonaut together?”
Adi Varma was an odd girl.
A Level 3 adventurer in Ganesha Familia, she was one year older than Lyu. Her older sister, Shakti, was strict and stern, but Adi was surprisingly warm, kind, and open with everyone. She was also innocent and childlike and had a somewhat troubling habit of hugging people without warning. When they first met, she had even excitedly tried to hug Lyu.
“…I’m Leon. Nice to meet you.”
“Ooooh, so pretty! Even with the mask, you’re obviously really cute! Can I give you a hug? So nice! I’m Adi Varma! Nice to meet you, too, yay!”
“Don’t touch me!!!”
“Argh?!”
Lyu had sent her reeling with a sonic slap.
It was not just Lyu, though. Any elf who had someone they just met try to latch onto them like that would likely do the same. After that, Lyu was always on guard when she ran into Adi, but as she got to know her and her open personality and respectable character, she relaxed around her and stopped the violent reactions. Which meant the moment she left an opening, Adi would end up wrapped around her.
Lyu would get red-faced and warn her not to go around randomly hugging people, but the response was always “You’re the only one I hug, so it’s fine!”
Or so she claimed. In the end that did not change the embarrassment Lyu suffered, though, so she was certain it was decidedly not fine.
Were it not for the hugging incident, Adi would probably have been the second person to be able to take Lyu’s hand on their first meeting.
“Adi…you don’t have to read a book here, there are plenty of other places…” Lyu grumbled, approaching as if drawn to Adi.
“You can read anywhere if you have a book!” Adi innocently answered from her seat on the ground. “But it’s dangerous to read while walking around, so maybe not there!”
Adi was lovely in the twilight and refreshing breeze, and now she looked even more beautiful. Her swaying, pale blue hair was tied up short, and at a glance she looked almost boyish, but she had a much more feminine body shape than the slender Lyu.
If the ever-boisterous Alize was the sun, then Adi was like a gentle spring breeze.
She was always a refuge for Lyu.
“C’mon, sit next to me?”
“I suppose…”
It was always Lyu who caved in, in the end.
Sighing just for appearances, Lyu sat down where the girl had been patting the ground. She was a little embarrassed by her soft and warm body, but Adi just cheerfully started flipping the pages.
“I love this scene! Seeing a girl in town who was looking down, he grabs her hand and starts dancing with her in the middle of the street!”
“If that actually happened, the girl would scream, and we’d probably rush over to help…”
“A-ha-ha! Probably! But you know, Argonaut takes her hand, and as her eyes widen, he says ‘Let us dance, lovely lady. A cheerful dance, so that I can see your pretty smile!’”
“I know. You’ve told me that line before. While grabbing my hand and forcing me to dance…”
“Really? Is that what happened?”
Adi smiled delightedly as she pointed to an illustrated page and explained the scene.
Even as Lyu grumbled a bit at that pure smile, she was lighthearted. It was so warm next to Adi that she would have liked the moment to continue forever.
The people around her smiled. So long as she was there, Lyu was sure she could believe in the good in people and face forward without losing sight of justice.
“You too, Leon. Smile!”
“Huh?”
“Like Argonaut! Everyone will be happy seeing your smiling face, and it will make other people smile, too! Like this!”
Adi seemed to see right through her.
Putting her a finger on either cheek, she turned up the corners of her mouth in a smile. Lyu’s eyes widened, and finding the sight silly, she smiled despite herself.
“Yeah, that’s the spirit! A bit bigger though!”
“W-wait, Adi! Don’t force it…agh?!”
Adi reached out to shape Lyu’s face into a smile, but she resisted in a panic, and they both fell over into a sea of wheat.
Adi was lying on top of her, holding her close in a hug, and, apparently finding something funny, she burst into laughter, drawing Lyu into a laugh with her. The book had landed on Lyu’s stomach as she lay on her back, and it seemed to smile, too, hearing their joyful laughter.
“Adi…thank you. For always sharing your smile with me.”
Finally, Lyu slowly sat up, returning the book, whose pages were rippling in the wind.
“I’m always being saved by you. When I was in doubt, you guided me and gave me faith in justice. I am truly grateful to you.”
She put her feelings into words, though she could not say why. The overflowing memories, Adi’s cheerful, ringing voice, all the smiles, for some reason it brought a tear to her sky-blue eyes.
“You…were my hope.”
Had she not met Adi, Lyu would not have figured out what her justice was. Lyu had been able to complete her journey because she had met the traveler Adi.
“…?”
And that was when Lyu realized it.
It would be many years in the future when she’d finish her journey. Well after Adi had passed from her sight, much like Alize and the others. When in deep grief and despair, she would finally realize what they all had left for her.
“No. You would have found your answer, even without me.”
As if their minds were linking, Adi responded again to the thoughts deep in her heart.
Adi stood up. Picking up the book, basking in the beautiful, awe-inspiring, tender twilight.
Lyu realized again. The place they were standing was an amber field of wheat bathed in twilight. An impossibly large sea of grain. And a sky the same color as the wheat. A golden space where the line between heaven and earth became blurred.
“Thank you, Leon. For carrying on their justice and mine, too.”
A miraculous dream scene where she could share a good-bye with her.
“I was so happy that there was a place for me inside your heart.”
The smile that was so close just moments ago, but in the dazzling sunset, Lyu could hardly see it anymore. No matter how much she tried, the tears welling in her eyes got in the way, and she couldn’t properly see her anymore.
“But, Leon, don’t try to carry too much all alone.” Adi turned away and started walking into the twilight. “Don’t burden yourself with justice. No matter how much you hide it, there’s a limit.”
Even though Lyu didn’t want her to leave, she could not stop it.
“So, when the time comes, share it with others.”
Her shadow extended and grew distant. The wind was cool and the scent in the air was nostalgic. To Lyu, it was the scent of tears.
“Don’t force it, just share it. I’m sure that will become a seed for someone else and bloom into a different flower.” The girl stopped finally and turned around. “That will also return, too! Together with our feelings!”
—Justice will go on.
With a smile just like that day, Adi hugged the book to her breast.
“Don’t forget, Leon! Smile!”
That is why, to reassure her, Lyu’s lips…
“You’re so pretty and I love you, but…your smile can bring everyone joy!”
…blossomed into a smile like a small, white flower.
When Lyu felt the drop trickling down her cheek, her eyelashes quivered.
The tranquil smell of the forest and the quiet surrounded her like a gently hummed lullaby.
It felt like she had seen a dream. A beautiful, tender, warm twilight that held her close.
Lyu was not sad that she could not remember even a fragment of the dream anymore. Because the tear that had dripped down her cheek was so warm. She was sure she had seen a happy dream. The reverie washed away the slight doubt left in her heart, and smiled at her. And knowing that was enough.
Sitting up in bed, she prepared herself for the day.
It was early morning on her fourth day in Zolingam. She had to work hard again today to adapt to her status so she could rush back to the boy and his friends. Slipping on her short swords and picking up the girl’s wooden sword that she ended up using out of convenience, she stepped out into the hallway of Stars’ Rest.
“Ah, good morning, Lyu. Did you just wake up?…Wait, you’re smiling?! Huh? Why?! I mean, I’ve seen the barest little smile before, but you look incredible, like crazy beautiful, just blowing away the cold impression you always give off—ugh, never mind, just pretend you didn’t hear any of that! Anyway, why are you smiling?! Did something good happen?! What do you mean, ‘let’s go’?…W-wait up! C’mon, please tell me!”
The girl she ran into in the hall chased after her excitedly for some reason.
Even with Lyu’s warning that it was inconsiderate to cause a ruckus early in the morning, the girl did not dwindle in her excitement. Even after they went outside and met up with the other two wide-eyed girls.
It was an odd thing. Lyu did not really know what had happened. But the way her juniors were smiling so happily at her did not feel bad.
So she decided to be a bit more honest with the feelings lingering on her lips.
Just like the dream she could not remember anymore seemed to have been telling her…
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login