Bonus Story:
After the Rain
“Looks like the rain’s finally stopped,” said Mile.
“Thank goodness,” Reina replied.
“It’s been three days now. Hopefully, we can finally go out and get some work done tomorrow.”
“But it’s still gonna be all damp and muddy out in the woods. Why don’t we stick to jobs in town for the next few days?” said Pauline, a bit peevishly.
“What are you talking about?! There are plenty of parties who go out and work in the rain. Pauline, you’re too soft! As a C-rank hunter, you need to have a bit more discipline.”
“Oh, yes, you’re right, I’m just soooooo awful!”
Perhaps as a result of being cooped up in the inn for three whole days with nothing to do, an unprecedented aura of discontent had begun to emanate from Pauline.
“Now now, that all depends on what’s on the job board, anyway…”
With Mile, the calmest of them all, as the rare voice of reason, the room settled down.
In her previous life, Mile had always been the indoors type, so being stuck in the inn with no amusements was no huge bother for her. Therefore, her mood had deteriorated little, and she had not grown so grouchy as her friends. As long as Mile had a paper and pen—and in fact, even without those, as long as she had her imagination—she could enjoy herself no matter how many days went by. She truly was an easygoing girl.
A rainbow…?
Mile clambered up to the roof, which was finally dry. She lay on her back looking up at the sky, pierced by the light of the sun, renewed after the storms.
It’s been thirteen and a half years since I was reincarnated. So, three and a half years since my reawakening…
She thought of the walks that she and her sister used to take with their family just after the rain had let up. Back then, too, there were the most beautiful rainbows…
Her sister, her father, her mother… Were they all doing well?
Well, with someone as steadfast as her sister there, she needn’t worry.
Mile smiled as she thought this, yet for some reason, even though the rain had stopped, there were streams running down her cheeks.
There’s a rainbow, huh?
As Reina stood out in the yard, looking up, she thought of a time long ago.
She had been traveling with her father, waiting out the rain with their cart parked beneath a big tree. The rain had stopped and the sun came out again, and then, above them appeared a beautiful rainbow.
Then, too, there was the grand, sky-spanning rainbow that she had witnessed from the top of a mountain while traveling with the Crimson Lightning…
For a long time, she had thought that, even if she were to see a rainbow once more, never again would she feel the emotion—the happiness—that she did back then.
But now, for some reason, she felt that perhaps that was not such an impossibility.
Why would she feel that way?
Somehow, she knew the answer, but she fooled herself into thinking that she didn’t.
Without Reina herself even realizing it, the corners of her mouth tugged at her cheeks, just a little.
A rainbow…?
When she was still very little, the sight of her elder brothers, forging themselves into knights, dazzled her.
And when they finally rose into the knightly ranks, she wanted to be just like them.
On the day of her eldest brother’s promotion ceremony, after the rain, a beautiful rainbow spread across the sky…
And she swore a vow upon that rainbow. That one day, without fail, she too would become a knight.
The rainbow swiftly faded away, but the feelings she felt on that day and the vow that she had made—those things would never vanish. That seed of brilliance had taken root deep inside her and would only continue to grow.
She could do it.
As long as her friends were there beside her, Mavis von Austien could seize that rainbow.
All the female guests at the inn who saw the brilliant smile upon her face stiffened, their cheeks going red, but that was none of Mavis’s concern.
Finally, the three of them returned to their room.
“Oh? Pauline, you haven’t been outside? There’s a lovely rainbow out there.”
“Looking at a rainbow isn’t going to make me any money. Instead of wasting time on that, I could be counting my coins…”
Reina and Mavis could only shrug at this ridiculous reply.
“Oh, that’s right,” said Mile. “In my country, there was an old tale that was passed down saying that there’s a pot of gold buried at the end of every rainbow, at least according to—wah!”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Pauline grabbed Mile by the shoulders, staring at her with wide, bloodshot eyes.
“Let’s go! What are you all waiting for? Hurry up and get ready to leave! You’ve got a shovel, right?!”
“Ah, ok, that’s—wait just a…”
“………”
Surely, any “pot of gold at the rainbow’s end” was not something that one could possibly hope to grasp. The moment you thought you had seized it, it would slip through your fingers and disappear.
Even knowing she was by no means a fool, upon seeing how Pauline’s eyes had instantly clouded with greed, Reina and Mavis could only shrug, having already grasped the truth from Mile’s description.
It was the same as always. Every. Single. Time.
“A rainbow then, is it? I wonder if somewhere out there, she’s looking up at this rainbow, too…”
“I’m sure she is. Adele always loved seeing rainbows, after all.”
“Yep. I bet you that right now, Adele’s saying something like, ‘I wonder if Marcela and the others are seeing this rainbow, too.’”
“Hehe. I’m sure you’re right. I’m certain of it.”
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