7. Jealousy is my strength (61)
‘Tears are the most powerful weapon a woman possesses.’
Now I was realizing the power of that old adage. In a corner of the unconscious, in this strange space without a single light.
Watery eyes, sobbing breaths, and thin trembling shoulders hit the five senses in turn. The girl who faced me was letting out a sad cry.
My heart ached.
How could it be otherwise?
Although he has no memory of me, the other person was in the form of my fiancé. With my already shaken heart, I had to force myself to swallow the comforting words that leaked out inadvertently.
It had to be.
Elsie’s worries weren’t the kind that could end just by comforting her. I, too, had already said it over and over again, so I knew it better than anyone else.
Not too long ago, I was just about to come up with an answer.
There was no way Elsie would have reached the correct answer before me.
Unlike me, Elsie-senpai didn’t have a chance to realize what was at stake in this fight.
Everything dies and collapses.
A collapsed civilization and bleeding precious people, the horrors of which could only be fully understood by those who witnessed the future.
just like me
But I couldn’t just sit there crying forever.
“Hey, being weak is a sin… … ?”
With a voice full of anger, the girl asked.
There was a deep hostility in those blue eyes. It’s just that it’s not about my feelings.
Eventually, senior Elsie began pouring out all the buried words.
“You’ve been rolling around like a dog! I couldn’t sleep, I lay on my stomach and studied… I only trained until the blood vessels in my body were torn! do you know that’s all He even risked his life to fight monsters from all kinds of myths!”
Instead of answering, I stayed silent.
Then Elsie-senpai’s voice rose even higher.
Glitched teeth and swollen eyes stained the dew with blood.
“Now, now… That’s it! Even if it’s not me, there are many people who will fight… I don’t want to fight anymore! Because I, I am weak… … .”
“Yes. Because I am weak.”
Receiving Elsie-senpai’s words, I repeated the previous words.
“It’s because I’m weak that I suffer like that. Rolling on the ground, getting wrecked and almost dying… I lost all sorts of insults, pain, and precious people. Isn’t it?”
All of the words spoken were aimed at Elsie-senpai’s wounds.
It was Elsie-senpai who had been on the verge of dying several times.
Didn’t he even lose a precious family member after a fight not too long ago?
The uncle and archmage he had longed for, Reynold Rainella.
Of course, there was no way he would be fine without any injuries. It was a reasonable step for Elsie to vent her anger.
“Yeah, so… … !”
“Because I did too.”
But I blocked Elsie’s words first.
At the unexpected confession, Elsie closed her lips. An incomprehensible expression turned to me.
“I almost died several times. I pretended nothing was wrong, but deep down I was scared. So, I asked myself every day. why is it me Why does it have to be me.”
Fortunately, the other person seemed to have decided to listen to me.
Of course, there were still strong doubts in those eyes.
Then why?
Even though she was well aware of Elsie’s feelings, she noticed that she couldn’t figure out why she was being so cold-hearted.
So I continued speaking in a stronger tone.
“No matter how much I asked, there was no answer. Maybe it was just bad luck.”
“It was just bad luck… … ?”
“Yeah, I was out of luck. What other reason could you need? Anyway, the important thing is, no matter how much you ask yourself, nothing changes.”
Then I picked up a pitch-black rod that had fallen to the ground.
It was something that Elsie dropped when she fell over. It was also the only memento left by Reynold Rainella.
Is it because the meaning contained in this small stick is too enormous?
Elsie-senpai kept silent, but did not accept the stick I handed her. A watery gaze turned to me without a word.
“Are you going to keep crying?”
“I, I… … .”
“You can’t get anywhere just by running away. Because we are carrying the fate of the world.”
Yes. This was the reality we faced.
Even if you want to run away, there is no place to run to. No matter how much I tried to step back, it was a situation where only the cliff remained behind my back.
Are you still able to escape?
It was impossible. Because the number of lives we carry is innumerable.
Sometimes, while feeling the pressure to be weighed down by that weight, it was impossible to choose to lose it all.
Under this premise, unstoppable persuasion continued.
“Let’s go back together.”
“I am, I am… … .”
“You can’t just live with being hurt, senior Elsie.”
Those words were the decisive blow.
Elsie-senpai, who flinched and stiffened her body once, began to noticeably subside. And even the eyes that gradually disappear water, and the face that takes on a strangely determined light.
Yes, the ‘Elsie Rainella’ I knew had to be like this.
A bad-tempered woman who hates to be looked down upon.
Wasn’t that Elsie Rainella?
Before long, a low voice escaped from between Elsie’s lips.
“… … no.”
However, the content is the exact opposite of what was expected.
I couldn’t open my mouth for a while. How many times did your lips open and close like that?
Senior Elsie asked me back.
“Why should I?”
“Elsie-senpai, I told you… Because there’s nowhere to run to anyway? Countless lives on our shoulders… … !”
“so what?”
It was a short but penetrating question.
I kept my mouth shut at that confident attitude. Now, a thought crossed my mind.
why did i forget
My opponent was that ‘Elsie Rainella’.
“What do I care if other people die? That I should be sick and hurt because of such a trivial sense of justice? Do not be ridiculous… No, absolutely no! Whether the world is ruined or not, what do I know?!”
A woman with the strongest personality in the academy, a selfish mind and a sensitive temperament.
“Because I will never go back, I know that… Won’t you come back?”
Senior Elsie before being corrected by me was always like this. No, in fact, this is his nature, but he may be trying hard to hide it only in front of me.
I was so flustered that it was before I even uttered a refutation.
Pak, I felt a pounding in my heart.
It was lightning magic. Somehow, he was so calm, it seemed that he was contemplating a way to defeat me.
I was so flustered that there was no time to stop it. Maybe it was because it was an unconscious world in the first place, and I couldn’t even feel the sense of mana moving.
An afterimage of Elsie sunbaenim formed between her whitening vision.
Looking at those hostile eyes, I thought.
I can’t, but I have to take him back… … .
that’s the last one
I immediately lost consciousness and woke up again.
on the bed of the temple.
And the Great Witch, who greeted me as I jumped up and gasped, announced the news like thunder from the sky with a grumpy face.
“… … We ate a room.”
As a result, the power of the swordsman is gone.
It was an obvious rain.
**
It was around evening when Seria woke up.
Even if it wasn’t so, she was suffering from an unknown headache recently. After passing out, I couldn’t help but feel my head pounding even more. It was to the point that a vague moan leaked out through his teeth.
I couldn’t remember the last scenery I saw. I only remember the fact that I lost consciousness at the moment I said “oh”.
Could it be that he was hit with such a swift blow that he couldn’t even react?
But where the heck is that strong man?
The unanswerable question only made the headache worse. When Seria raised her upper body by touching her forehead, a clear voice burst out from somewhere.
“Oh, are you awake?”
Seria’s gaze naturally turned to the epicenter.
A cute girl with dark blue hair was sitting there. The sight of her sewing while humming a song reminded me of a teenage girl.
The 5th Princess of the Empire, Shien.
In her hand was a familiar stuffed toy. It was a doll modeled after the man Seria had a crush on, and it was a work that stood out for its meticulous touch.
How much would that work be?
Calmly counting the gold coins inside, Seria let out a calm voice.
“This place… … ?”
“It is a temple. Sir Lee Ahn left because he had another business, and I stayed because I was asked to take care of my senior.”
Shien’s eyes, which continued to answer without interruption, were fixed on the stuffed toy. The hand of the girl who sewed stitch by stitch was very sincere.
He didn’t seem particularly interested in Seria’s physical condition.
It was something I hadn’t even expected in the first place. Because the princess basically had no interest in anyone other than Ian.
Seria answered the second question without even sighing.
“You mean it?”
This time, Shien opened his mouth in a cheerful tone.
Wait, the swordsmith die?!
How did you even get that stupid conclusion?