107 – Afterword – Waltz for a Happy Ending (13)
***
– Time is up. Lastly, I would also like to hear from you. In the past, I was always watching Riku, a country boy. When I go back to those days, to me at that time…
Maru headed for the stable, recalling old memories.
“Coo-goo, goo-goo.”
Lexi looked at him and gasped.
A few weeks ago, I was attacked by a wyvern and my chest and wings were torn, but fortunately the wounds are now well healed and my feathers have grown.
“I have somewhere to go with you.”
“coo.”
I rode Lexy and flew up.
I opened the window at the castle and saw Lucy, Natalie, and Luciella waving goodbye.
“I’ll be right back!”
Maru responded to them and quickly flew in the sky.
His destination is South.
It was the town where Riku lived.
“nine… ”
After flying for about an hour, I could feel Lexie struggling.
The wound was healed, but the wing muscles seemed to be sore.
It would have been better if I had practiced flying in the meantime, but it seems that the long flight suddenly took a toll on my body.
Maru hit his forehead.
“It’s my fault… ”
To be honest, I had no time to worry about anything else because I was playing with the three brides-to-be recently.
It was his fault for neglecting Griffon management.
“Let’s go down.”
“coo.”
I had no choice but to land on the ground and walk through the forest side by side with Lexi.
Since it was in the south, the sun was shining, and the branches of the trees were thick.
Fallen leaves piled up on the floor, and my feet sank.
But the air was clear and it was a refreshing forest.
“It feels good to walk. Isn’t that Lexi?”
“coo!”
I smiled brightly and stroked Lexi’s hair when I suddenly heard the sound of a fight nearby.
It was as if a person was being attacked by a beast.
Maru immediately grabbed a one-handed ax and ran.
A boy was surrounded by two bigger wolves, holding a wretched sword.
Blood was dripping from his arm, as if he had already been bitten.
And on the floor I saw a dead wolf.
“Go away if you don’t want to die!”
The boy’s eyes were firm and his momentum was brave.
It wasn’t a frightened look.
He looked at Maru, who came closer, and saw the one-handed ax in his hand, relieved and urgently asked for help.
“Help me!”
Maru threw a one-handed axe.
The ax flew round and round and landed on the wolf’s head.
At the same time, the wolf’s head exploded and Peek fell.
When Maru reached out, the ax that fell on the floor bounced back and returned to him.
The boy’s mouth fell open.
“Wow… !”
The one-handed ax Maru threw now was the ‘Vortex’, a top-notch luxury ax used by a hero who saved the world a long time ago.
It’s an ax that my mother bought with expensive money in the past.
As soon as I killed one wolf, I immediately tried to throw it at another, but it woke up and ran away into the bush.
Maru hung the ax on his back because he had no intention of killing meaningless anymore.
“Did you get a bite on your arm?”
“yes. I was bitten, but the bleeding is not severe. It will be fine. Thank you for your help.”
“Come here. I’ll see you.”
Maru rolled up the boy’s sleeve and examined the wound.
“I’ll give you some medicine.”
I took the healing medicine from the bag hung on Lexy’s saddle and sprayed it on her arm with a hole in her teeth, and the wound quickly healed.
“Wow… You also have this. I heard it’s expensive. And isn’t that a griffon?”
The boy admired Lexi and talked loudly for a while.
Such as saying that he is strange and cool, etc. Asking if it is okay to call Maru hyung, etc. Which country is he a knight from?
I had a lot of questions.
After hearing the boy’s name later, Maru was surprised inside.
“My name is Riku… ?”
“yes! Being a knight is my dream!”
I had no intention of meeting Riku in the first place.
I was going to leave after only seeing Hergantia, the goddess of sword… He said he wanted to treat him to dinner as a reward for saving him, so he had no choice but to tie up at Riku’s house tonight.
I followed him to the village.
“brother! There he is!”
“It’s in a scenic spot.”
Riku lived with his parents as the three of them.
The situation didn’t look bad.
Dinner that night was very hearty.
“Thank you for saving my son.”
“Have a good rest. If there is something missing, tell me.”
Thanks to the delicious alcohol and meat, the number of horses increased, and although Maru did not reveal that he was the crown prince, he told Riku various experiences, including the mindset of a knight.
“Eat here again.”
“thank you.”
Maru’s story was so interesting that his glass was filled with Riku’s mother’s liquor several times.
It was a really sweet and delicious drink.
***
next day.
woke up at noon
The alcohol was good, but there was no hangover.
I slept soundly and was refreshed.
I was having lunch with Riku and he begged me to stay one more day.
“brother! Please teach me! I don’t want to miss this opportunity!”
Maru nodded, saying he knew.
So I stayed one more day.
In the afternoon, I took Riku to a clearing and spent time demonstrating various things with wooden sticks and explaining things.
Riku studied diligently while sweating profusely, but was discouraged after realizing his infinitely poor talent compared to Maru.
“There is only a 3 year age difference between me and my older brother, but he is really amazing. I was nothing.”
“If the future looks bleak, how about farming and living a normal life?”
“ah… really should be I was intimidated by what he was doing. Maybe I have no talent.”
In the evening, Riku’s childhood friend came to visit.
Her name was Sabrina.
“hello. I am Riku’s friend.”
She said she was leaving home to become a priestess and staying at a nearby temple.
Then, when he heard the news that a wonderful knight riding a griffon had appeared in the village, he took a day off to see it.
“You look exotically handsome.”
Although she was a girl in her mid-teens, she was expected to grow up to be a beauty.
The eyes were big, the mouth was big, and the face was small.
The body was a little plump.
And it was emitting a dense color from its body.
Curiously, it wasn’t that she was doing anything particularly raunchy, but her way of speaking and every action seemed raunchy.
“Do you like fruit? Would you like me to slice one?”
“no. it’s okay.”
Maru felt uncomfortable just looking at her because she seemed to be tempting him.
It was a prize that would attract a lot of men around.
I looked back at Riku, comforting him in advance about who would become my boyfriend in the future.
“If you want to be a knight, you must never date a woman. This is really important. Be mindful.”
“Yes, brother! I’ll keep that in mind!”
Sabrina asked with a smile.
“Why not?”
“Because it works out later and I have to date the princess.”
“Ha ha ha, are you kidding me? How does Riku date the princess?”
Dinner was quite pleasant.
Sabrina’s reaction to the story was good, making the table lively.
On the way, she suggested dancing, so we danced together.
after eating.
Maru said he was taking a walk outside.
Then Sabrina crossed her arms abruptly.
“I’m coming too!”
“I will go alone.”
“I wanted to get to know you, but you are cold.”
“I am the one who will leave tomorrow.”
Maru took her hand and untied her arms and went out alone.
It was a brilliant full moon night.
I left the entrance of the village and went into the forest without people.
And I looked up at the night sky.
cried out loud
“You must be wondering who the brave man who suddenly appeared in front of Riku is, right? I know you’re watching! Come down!”
Waited a while.
Nothing happened.
cried again.
“Are you not going to show up? Phaedra!”
Suddenly, the forest was thick with smoke.
Soon a fresh wind blew and pushed the smoke away, revealing a dazzling goddess.
-Who are you to know my name when I was a human after 5,000 years?
Maru smiled and confidently revealed.
“I am called the Hanmaru sent by you from the future.”
– The future me?
“Yes, you. You in the future don’t want Riku to become a hero. Stop paying attention.”
Hergantia slightly frowned.
-impolite. Be polite before God and reveal who you are!
“It is long to explain. I will replace it with the magic words that you from the future taught me.”
Maru said without hesitation with a serious expression.
“I’m sorry, Riku.”
“… … ?”
A strong wind blew and her white hair blew hard.
Before long, her hair calmly settled down, and the oppressive and authoritative atmosphere she felt from Hergantia just before had completely disappeared.
“A lot of lives almost disappeared because of my fault… ”
She put her hand on her chest and came to Maru, relieved, and leaned her head on his chest.
“Thank you, friend.”
Maru’s hand slowly brushed her hair.
“It’s nice to meet Riku before making him a hero.”
“yes. I didn’t deserve to be a god and he didn’t deserve to be a warrior. It would be right for both of you to stop.”
There was a deep trust and friendship between the two people who had been together for a long time in the future.
Hergantia, whose emotions were revived, opened her mouth warmly while being held in Maru’s arms.
“I miss the dishes you cooked. I have never eaten it with this body, but I remember that it was delicious.”
“I can do it whenever I want. Except for tonight. I am full now.”
“Can I eat it tomorrow?”
“Shouldn’t we go up?”
As Maru pointed to the night sky, Hergantia’s clothes changed into a robe with a hood.
She pulled the hood over her head and smiled.
“Because following you wasn’t bad. In this life, I will stay by your side until the end of your life.”
“Oh My God.”
Maru burst into laughter.
felt good.
“You have an unexpected colleague.”
“I consider myself more than a colleague.”
Hergantia looked at the floor with a loving look and reached out her hand.
A sword in a white scabbard appeared on her cold white palm.
“This is the weapon you used, Gigantia. Get it.”
It meant a lot for God to hand over his weapon.
To believe in, follow, and obey.
Maru readily accepted.
“This sword. I missed you.”
He looked at the sword for a moment, then turned his head and kissed Hergantia.
Although it was a sudden act, Hergantia did not push him away and accepted the kiss as expected.
It was not a kiss between lovers, but a kiss of trust and a sign of intimacy with an old friend.
together for 60 years,
who comforted him for his sins.
She watched over her until the moment of her death.
The two enjoyed the joy of reunion for a while.