55 – Knowing not to take a step
Someone who taught the candidates once said this.
Fight with a heart that loves everyone, but don’t love just one.
That will make it even more difficult. So don’t forget
At first, everyone wondered what that meant.
To love all but not one?
Isn’t that strange? Is that possible or even possible?
However, that teaching was soon forgotten from everyone’s memory.
Tough training, painful combat, and a path to the tower of no return.
Even Enlil who survived the ordeal was the same.
I couldn’t understand what he meant by that.
If you’re a warrior, it’s right to fight with a loving heart.
To love all but not to love one?
That question that had been blurred for a long time, that word that was hard to accept.
That, Enlil finally understood what it meant.
“….”
Because I love everyone, I fought with all my heart.
Of course, I thought that if I loved someone that much, I would become stronger.
But that wasn’t the case. Rather, it turned out to be the exact opposite.
I was scared for the first time. To die
I’m hoping for the first time. Not to die
The warmth you felt on your lips, the beating of your heart that was beating like crazy.
The foolish appearance of not pushing each other away even though they were embarrassed.
I want to see you again. I want to keep seeing you. I don’t want to lose
We have to fight. For them. But at the same time, I don’t want to fight.
I want to see all the things I faced today, tomorrow, two days later, three days later, and after that, endlessly. Because if you don’t fight, you can.
“… No.”
Muttering involuntarily to himself, Enlil clenched his fists.
You mustn’t be weak. It’s a stupid thing to deny yourself so far.
Of course, it’s like insulting the seniors who gave up on everything.
And above all, Leon wouldn’t want that to happen because of him.
I am a warrior. He is the one who has the duty to tear down the tower.
It is a person who cannot escape forever by avoiding that fate.
Calm down. If you act like an idiot, you’ll feel sorry for yourself and go crazy.
Taking my cheek lightly, Enlil inhaled! It was the moment to take a breath.
“What are you doing from now on?”
“Hick?!”
Amazed, Enlil hurriedly looked back.
Sitting there, Leone tilted her head crookedly, with a bandage wrapped around her chest.
With an expression that seemed to want to see what they were doing.
“Lee, Leone?! Uh, since when?”
“From a while ago. What do you do more than He was restless and suddenly slapped me on the cheek.”
Rion, who has quietly risen from her seat, approaches.
“The sun sets soon here.”
“Yes? Ah yes. Yes. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of mountains around, so there’s no such feeling.”
“I remember that the year at the academy was quite long.”
A small talk that doesn’t mean much, and a brief moment of silence.
I feel like I should say something, but I don’t know what to say.
All I can think of is what happened earlier. I can’t even think of anything else.
But talking about it makes me feel like I’m going to die of shame.
“When was it? Chief Instructor Edmund once said this.”
In the midst of this, it was Leon who spoke first.
“Avoid personal feelings.”
“Personal feelings….”
“At the time, I wondered what it was, but I said it was nonsense.”
It seems Enlil wasn’t the only one confused.
No, it turned out that she was even more confused than she was.
‘f*ck.’
I had to stop it. Had to build She was right about restraining herself somehow.
I just had to let go of that momentary atmosphere, I just had to be patient a little bit.
She wanted to build a special relationship with Enlil. I don’t deny it.
Because she had something to gain and something to draw from doing so.
She felt sorry for her, but she felt it was inevitable for everyone.
But it wasn’t like this. This, this went too far.
When this happens, Enlil is not alone. Leone himself is also swept away.
And no one knows what will happen in the future in the aftermath.
“What happened earlier….”
Let’s just say it was nothing. Okay. Let’s treat it as a brief happening.
Let’s not say anything more, let’s not even think about it anymore, let’s forget it completely.
I like that now. That’s the right thing she was about to say that.
From noble mtl dot com
“Just for a moment—”
A momentary harmony, or a momentary laxity. Whatever i have to say
Is this really true? Can I just say this? Really?
Unspeakable, she looks at Enlil standing next to her.
She didn’t say anything. She’s just waiting
However, this feeling of being asked to stop saying ‘that word’ beyond that is probably not just Rion’s misunderstanding.
“… Wouldn’t it be too much to call it a fleeting happening?”
I don’t know. Just go with what your heart tells you to do.
You don’t have to pretend to be a nice guy now, do you?
If I go later, I’ll have to dig through everything and hack it up.
If I cared about that, I shouldn’t have even started from scratch.
“….”
I wonder if it was a bit unexpected. Or was he relieved that it wasn’t the answer he was worried about?
After her moment of silent staring at Leon, Enlil slowly nodded her head.
“Maybe… Is that right?”
“Damn it. Crazy I was suddenly swept away by the atmosphere.”
This isn’t acting, it’s sincerity. Complaining about being really frustrated with yourself.
Rion, who had been muttering to herself for so long, looked sideways at her and she said,
“Would you answer me if I asked why?”
“Will you answer me if I ask why you didn’t push?”
“… If you answer that you don’t know.”
“I think I will answer that too.”
It goes round and round, it’s the starting point. If this is the case, nothing will change.
The meaning of Enlil is clear. She won’t reveal her inner feelings first.
Is it embarrassing, or is my defense mechanism activated without my knowledge?
One thing is for sure, we’ve come too far to stop here.
“I am, Enlil. I hope you don’t die.”
First as the owner of the tower, as a stranger who wants to escape this world.
The words that came to her mind are her that she hopes to achieve her own goal sooner rather than later.
“Really, I hope you don’t die. I wish I could live for a very long time.”
But the next answer is from a completely different meaning.
Because I have a good feeling. Because it’s lovely Because I couldn’t see it falling apart.
Please live a peaceful life. Be sure to laugh happily.
Since you are such a brilliant person, I hope you live like that.
“This is my answer.”
Sabak―
Having heard the answer, Enlil took a step to the side.
And very slowly and carefully took Leon’s hand.
“Don’t die. I want you to live. For a long, very long time.”
“….”
“Then my answer is this, Leon.”
One more step, closer. Just like the moment we kissed for the first time.
“I do. Instead, together. Together.”
*
Tension remained in the village after the monsters arrived.
But even after time passed, I couldn’t see the demon’s nose anymore.
All the animals that reacted to the monsters first came back.
If it’s like this, now it’s a stage where you can say that the surroundings are safe.
Thanks to this, the village was able to return to normal.
“You can’t move yet!”
“It’s okay. There is no more bleeding, and the pain is gone.”
There is still quite a bit of time left to spend here.
I can’t stay in bed all that time.
Even though he is the owner of the tower, he doesn’t have a conscience enough to continue eating without hesitation.
So Leone found simple things to do with the villagers.
At first, Enlil tried to stop him, but he soon became silent as if he had given up.
The first kiss of each other. And a little more sincere conversation that brought out the inside.
After that, neither Enlil nor Rion said much more.
It was as usual. Saying hello, having a conversation, and occasionally training.
But they both knew that something had changed.
Now I can’t go back to the past. They became a little more special to each other.
I don’t even think about stepping back. Rather, whether to approach or not, that is the only concern.
“… I have to go back in three days.”
On my way back to my room after dinner.
Leone spat out a word, and Enlil nodded her head.
“Yes. It’s already that time.”
“You will have to go back and get into the tower in a little while.”
Time does not stop and moves forward steadily.
And the time has come to return to the Tower once again.
“Aren’t you feeling relieved?”
“Don’t worry. Because I will live according to Leon’s words. For a long time.”
“Together?”
This answer was half a joke. Naughty prank, wanting to see Enlil blush on her face.
But Enlil never meant to take it as a joke.
“Yes. Together. So, I’ll be back. Win or lose.”
Hearing that, Leon looked at Enlil for a moment and held out her hand.
And without realizing it, I gently brushed her hair once.
I’m sorry. Everything. And I’ll be sorry again. Everything to do in the future.