Epilogue: Off on a New Journey!
“Thanks for coming to see me off,” Olivia said with a smile. Her eyes reflected the varied expressions of her companions.
A young man came up to her and said in a muttered sigh, “Usually you’d look a bit like you’re going to miss us at a time like this...”
He handed her a wicker box. Olivia opened the lid to find neatly packed sandwiches cut into rectangles.
She laughed. “Special homemade mustard sandwiches, huh? My favorite.”
When Z had said it would grant her a wish, Olivia had asked to resurrect the young man who now stood before her, bashfully scratching his cheek—Ashton Senefelder. When she’d seen Claudia crying her eyes out as she threw her arms around Ashton, Olivia had known she’d made the right choice. Incidentally, Ashton’s resurrection had led to an uproar like a bee’s nest that had been hit with a stick. And naturally Olivia, as the one who had brought Ashton back, had been bombarded with questions. It had almost been funny how people had gaped when she told them that Z had brought him back to life because she’d asked, but after that, they had concluded that a god probably could pull off a miracle or two, and that was that. However, in reality, it had not been so simple...
“I want Ashton to come back to life.”
That is your wish?
Olivia nodded vigorously.
I shall grant it. Just like that, she was surrounded by dazzling light. She soon sensed it fade, then slowly opened her eyes—and saw Ashton floating horizontally there.
“Ashton!” she cried, immediately reaching out to embrace him. She pressed her ear hard against his chest and confirmed that his heart was beating. It’s faint, but I can hear his heart. She gently laid him down on the ground, then threw her arms around Z.
“Thank you, Z! Thank you so, so much!” she said, her gratitude far greater than what could be expressed in words. Yet Z stayed silent. Something was clearly wrong. “Z...?”
Z’s form trembled, then it collapsed backward. In a panic, Olivia tried to help it up.
“What’s going on?! Are you okay?!” Olivia was frantic. She had never seen Z unsteady like this before.
It is nothing, said Z, gently refusing her assistance. I merely used too much power.
“Huh? Too much power...?” Olivia repeated. “You don’t mean because you brought Ashton back?”
In order to restore a once-withered vessel to life, one must undergo 999 steps. It is not a simple process.
“No...” Olivia had imagined that Z was all-powerful. She had even forgotten the obvious fact that works of power demanded an equivalent exchange. She was deeply horrified to discover that her own selfish request had done this to Z.
“Z, are you going to die?” she asked, voice trembling.
I will not die. I simply need to sleep for a time.
“How long is ‘a time’?”
A hundred years of slumber, at least.
Olivia, who had felt momentary relief at hearing that Z wasn’t going to die, was speechless.
“I’m sorry...” she said at length. “I just asked you without thinking...” No matter how many tears she wiped away, more welled up.
Z, gently brushing them away with its fingers, said, You are very much like your mother.
The unexpected words took Olivia completely by surprise. “You knew my mother?”
I did. We were friends.
“Huh...?” Olivia processed this. “So when you said you’d had one friend before, you were talking about my mother?!”
She was a girl most worthy of observation, just like you.
“You don’t say...”
Z, who had raised her, had been her mother’s friend. Olivia still couldn’t find it in herself to care about her parents, but she couldn’t help but feel something about this. But at that moment, she was more worried about Z’s condition than anything else.
You are too pretty to always be making that face, Z said. And everyone will be waiting for you to get back.
Z created a mirror. In it, Olivia could see her friends raising their fists and cheering. The sight made her feel a wave of relief, but at the same time, the black mist that always coiled around Z was fainter than she had ever seen it. From its body, she heard a number of cracks like breaking ice. Every one of them stabbed at her heart.
You are no longer alone, Z went on. You have many friends who will give you a full life. Forget about me.
“Like I could ever forget you!” Olivia exclaimed. “You’re my—?!”
Z’s embrace prevented her from saying any more. The smell of goodbye enveloped her in its sorrowful embrace.
I am a god of death. You are a human, Z said, slowly drawing away from Olivia. Our paths may cross, but only ever with the transience of a dream. Never can we walk side by side. It pointed away in the opposite direction from the mirror—
“Huh?”
Go back to where everyone is waiting for you.
Olivia paused for a moment, then said, “You can have this back. It’s your left arm, right?”
She held out the ebony blade, but Z declined to take it.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Z did not answer. Instead, a light note rang out as a black vortex swirled into existence behind it.
My observation of you is now over. Farewell...Olivia.
Olivia’s cry was drowned out by a swirling roar of thunder and lightning. Z was sucked up inside it, and the white space returned to its original tranquility. Olivia closed her eyes, her face still wet with tears, and clasped the ebony blade tight to her chest.
“Thank you for staying with me while I was sick. Thank you for teaching me how to hunt. Thank you for giving me loads of books. Thank you for teaching me so many things. Thank you for making me stronger. Thank you for raising me. Thank you so, so much.”
That was how she said goodbye to Z.
“Olivia, are you okay?” She looked around and saw her friends’ concerned eyes on her. Among them was Gile Marion.
“I’m glad you came back too, Gile,” she said.
Gile promptly dropped to his knees. “It is all thanks to you, Captain.”
“I was discharged. I’m not your captain anymore.”
“Discharged or not, you will always be my captain, as well as the goddess who gave me a second chance at life.” Gile’s eyes were gleaming.
Backing away slightly, Olivia said, “I mean, I wasn’t expecting you to come back to life...”
According to Z, Gile’s soul had been connected to Ashton’s to protect it. Simply put, he’d gotten inadvertently caught up in Ashton’s resurrection. Olivia had been surprised to hear this at the time, but then she thought that in a way, it seemed just like Gile.
“Oh...” Gile’s shoulders slumped dejectedly. It was of course Ellis who threw an arm around his neck and dragged him in close.
“You wouldn’t be begrudging my big sister Olivia’s generosity, would you?” she said pointedly.
“Of course not,” Gile retorted. “I’ve got nothing but gratitude for the captain.”
“Glad to hear it!” Ellis tousled Gile’s hair roughly, a big grin on her face.
Olivia said her goodbyes to everyone there, then picked up her bag from the ground and slung it onto her back.
“Right, I’m off to see the world. See you when I get back,” she said. A hand reached out to her. It was Claudia, her best friend.
Looking a little shy, she said, “Take care, Olivia.”
“You too, Claudia.” She paused. “You know, it feels seriously weird for you to not use my rank. Gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
“Honestly? Me too.” They held each other’s gaze for a long moment, then, smiling, they shook hands.
“See you later!” Olivia waved enthusiastically a few times, then walked away with a spring in her step. She disappeared from sight without looking back once.
“Just like that, she’s gone...”
“What’re you getting sentimental for, you big lout? We’ve got loads to do, so get it together. Just the fact that my big sister laid her hands on your grimy body to heal you is enough to make me sick...”
Gauss assumed his best scowl. “Hey, Ellis,” he growled, “you know I outrank you, right?”
“You expect me to defer to you after you napped through the greatest battle of all? Fine, if you insist. I’ll give you the full superior officer treatment.”
“Okay, okay, you win. I’m sorry.” Gauss sighed, his shoulders slumping. Evanson, who stood beside him, had a distant look in his eyes.
“Looking pretty forlorn there,” said Luke, his older brother.
“You aren’t?”
“It’s not as though we’ll never see her again.”
“Maybe so, but I’ll still miss her...”
Luke grinned. “You’d better go get that baker’s daughter to make you feel better, then.”
“Wh-What?! H-H-H-How did you...?!” Evanson spluttered. “Did General Olivia let something slip?!”
“It’s nothing to do with General Olivia. You just can’t hide anything from your big brother.”
The group that had come to see Olivia off made their way back to Galia Fortress, all of them talking about her.
As Ashton gazed after Olivia, who was completely out of sight, Claudia said hesitantly, “She really went...”
“Yes, and in true Olivia fashion—strolling off without a second thought.”
A brief silence passed between them, then, with some difficulty, Claudia said, “Didn’t you want to go with her? Aren’t you holding yourself back?”
“I’m not, ser,” Ashton replied. “The havoc Darmés wrought has thrown not only Fernest but every other country into utter chaos. I’m not sure how much help I can be, but I want to devote myself to recovery. What I want will have to wait until after that.”
“Oh...” Claudia said. “I see that even after coming back from the dead, you’re still you.”
“What are you on about?” The two of them exchanged a faint smile, then Claudia looked up aimlessly at the sky. The freshly blooming flowers Ashton could see told him that spring would soon arrive in earnest.
“B-By the way, Ashton, I...” Claudia mumbled. “I, um...”
“Listen!” Ashton blurted out suddenly, making Claudia jump. He went on without meeting her eyes. “Listen, ever since I was little, I’ve been bad at seeing the things that are really important. Because of that, I’m always making the wrong choice.”
Claudia looked at him in confusion. “Really?”
“Yes. But thanks to Olivia, I think I’m making the right choice this time.” He took a deep breath, then lightly clasped Claudia’s hand.
“A-Ashton...?!”
“Please, don’t let go of my hand.”
Claudia gaped at him. “M-Me? Are you sure?” There was a slight quaver in her voice. Ashton therefore answered with conviction.
“It could only ever be you.”
Claudia was quiet for a moment, then, with a shy smile, said, “You really are hopeless.” Her clear, blue eyes were wet with tears.
Another war ended, and peace returned to the continent of Duvedirica. However, peace would always be a breeding ground for fresh discord, as history had proved time and time again. For good or for ill, humankind was doomed to be unable to live without conflict. Humans were the most intelligent creatures to walk the earth, and thanks to this, their foolishness knew no bounds.
“All the same, it looks like we’ll be at peace for a while, so I’d better go see the world while I’ve got the chance.”
The birds wrote out their lovely songs on the stave of the sky. For the girl, a new journey was about to begin.
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