#5
Alphren was an orphan without parents. It wasn’t because of the war, and it seems that he was abandoned by his parents from day one. He must have been growing up in an orphanage that had already disappeared until he was about six years old.
I wondered where and how Alfren spent his time while he was away from me. It was strange how she happened to become the adopted daughter of a duke. I asked you last time, but you said you would tell me later. I thought so and passed.
But- the words that just came out of Stella’s mouth made it possible to predict to some extent what had happened to Stella.
He said he was brought to the forefront.
Was it that a child who could not have even entered elementary school by age was conscripted into the war that took place 10 years ago? A lot of confusion arose in my mind. That’s absurd… …
North, East, West, South.
Out of the continent of Altima, including the central continent—— A great expedition to conquer the Demon Realm, a completely different world beyond the ‘boundary’. or great war. Days of bloody and bloody things that made a bloody loss with the corpses of humans and demons.
The battlefield of history that finally came to an end with a devastating victory for mankind after a long struggle and became an opportunity for the empire, which had been the main axis of the Allied Forces, to grow stronger.
I suddenly imagined the sight of young Alphren standing on the wretched ground. Immediately, I groaned inwardly. There were only bad pictures that came to mind.
“Don’t look so serious. It is already a thing of the past.”
What should I say, or is it the best respect to just remain silent? Stella looked at me and smiled while thinking.
Even if there was no way to know the details, it must have been a terrible thing. Still, there was no sign of fading in Stella’s bright smile.
At the height of the war, I would have gone down to the remote countryside with my parents.
Although the world at that time was atrocious, it was a war that was waged on a very distant continent. A few months later, when the news of the victory came, even small pieces of anxiety and worry were blown away. Anyway, to us who were so young that we couldn’t really understand the true face of war, things wouldn’t have touched us much.
It was a very contrasting position. So I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even ask or hear what had happened there. He simply nodded silently.
In fact, in Stella’s room last time, I had shared some of my childhood stories. The peaceful times spent with Rubia. He even smiled as if he had fun talking about such things in front of Stella. I suddenly felt a sense of guilt for no apparent reason. On the other side, while Stella was going through an indescribable torture, I… …
“Well, why don’t you make a serious face?”
Stella poked my stiff cheek with her finger.
When I turned to the side, my face was a little pouty.
You’re fine, but why are you taking the lead? It was indeed what he said. It’s a thing of the past, and Stella has grown into such a wonderful princess. maybe that’s what happened When you smile as if in trouble, Stella smiles.
“I must have suffered.”
To my short words, the response back was also short.
“right. great job.”
In fact, I had a bright smile on my face, so I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting a lot more exhausted.
“Did you just say something? Anyway… That was the first time I heard the voice of a star.”
then i asked
“It was a voice that suddenly came to my mind.”
“yes.”
“Are the stars directly telling you the future?”
“yes? Well… Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.”
“I’m curious.”
“What?”
“What kind of voice is the voice of a star? There must be something I can’t imagine. Aren’t the stars you’re talking about the same as the gods in the sky? It is to the extent of controlling a person’s fate.”
“Well… ? I’ve never thought of myself as a god yet. It may be, but the feeling of a star approaching me is very special and familiar. It’s like a friend I’ve known for a long time. I don’t think it’s God. More than anything… … ”
“More than anything?”
“I don’t know how it will look when I say this, but I don’t believe in God.”
“… … really? why?”
be an atheist When I asked about the unexpected fact, Stella tilted her head slightly toward the night sky and said:
“Because I believe only what I believe.”
“… … ”
“When I was having a hard time, it was the stars who finally came to me, not God. What I believed in when I was having a hard time was not God but a star. So I don’t believe in God. Even if you know it exists, you won’t believe it. I decided to do that.”
As if filled with certainty, he shook his head in a resolute tone. No matter what other people’s beliefs were, there was no reason for me to worry too much about it. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what Stella was saying.
Stella, who lowered her head from the sky like a falling star, looks at me.
“That’s right, Ezio. Were you curious?”
“… … uh?”
“The voice of a star.”
“I did, but… why?”
“If you want, I want to hear from you.”
Stella laughed bashfully.
“Actually, I still have one left.”
“… … left?”
“yes. The last time you lost consciousness, you were going to visit the hospital, but someone from your family came to see you. You need my help to lead the family, so you came to ask me… … refused To be precise, I lied that I had already used the opportunity.”
“Why are you lying like that? … ?”
“Um, I was a little angry because he came to me without saying a word and stopped me from going to your hospital. Should I say that you seem to be too dependent on me these days? … Actually, your adoptive father was against entering Frontier? It was the first and last time I was forced to come in.”
I thought she was a courteous princess who listens well. Surprisingly, he was expressing his own opinions.
“And, I saw it. my destiny.”
Stella looked directly into my eyes. As if the Milky Way had melted as it was, her sparkling, silvery white eyes. The most beautiful girl then smiled broadly.
“After all, I think coming here was the right choice.”
#6
“Ezio. did i tell you before? There was something I wanted to show you, but the location and timing aren’t right, so it’s a little different now.”
“Ah oh.”
“That was it. To give you the voice of a star.”
Then, I put the question that came to my mind as it was.
“… … So you’re not just showing me something, you’re telling me, aren’t you?”
“Different, different. That’s what I mean. Sometimes you hear it really, but most of the time you leave it as a memory. Instead, just like waking up in the morning and vaguely recalling a dream you had in your sleep, it really passes by in a fleeting moment, so if you don’t focus on it, it won’t be of any use.”
“… … So, are you going to show me now?”
“yes. I think today is the best day I can see the stars very well, and my mood and condition are very good. Maybe the star is in a good mood, so he can show you more than usual.”
There was something unrealistic about the story, so he just nodded his head at the end of Stella’s words. show your destiny What do you mean how to show? Stella looked around for a moment, then quietly spoke to me.
“It’s not bad here either… … I think we should go to a better place. Follow me, Ezio.”
“uh… … really? It’s very late now… … ”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re past the age to care about that. Let’s go, Ezio. Come on, get up.”
As if it was never a lie to say that it felt good, Stella’s movements seemed to be so refreshing that she stood up from the bench.
A thin cardigan that fluffs with your footsteps. I have no way of knowing what song it was, but I followed Stella’s back as she hummed in front of me with a gentle hum.
The image of Alfren who led me to the top of the garden with excitement to show me a wonderful landscape that only she knows is overlapping. I felt like I was missing something because of the memories. That’s how it was back then, I quietly followed Stella’s with the same thoughts.
“I wish there was Let’s go up!”
Under a street lamp at an ambitious time, where neither freshmen nor seniors can be seen, they stretch out their hands somewhere and look back at me with a smile.
“… okay. Don’t run too much. Then you will get hurt.”
I was dazed for a moment and continued walking.
Suddenly – I thought I wanted to leave it as a photo.
… … not.
I don’t want to have to do that.
Because this moment will remain in my memory for a long time even if I don’t record it clearly.
#7
“Why are there stairs in this place…? … ”
“Aren’t there people who thought the same as us? That’s good. Still, there was another taste of climbing an unpolished mountain road. It’s a little disappointing.”
Stella and I headed to a certain hill.
The vegetation in this huge city. A green hill located behind the men’s dormitory in Building 1. Is it close to a small mountain? However, we thought that we had to go up blindly because we couldn’t find the access road, but after walking for a while, we found a stone staircase that looked quite old.
sting… …
The sound of grasshoppers in the thick forest was widespread. The room was really quiet as if dead rats, but only the sound of our footsteps walking down the stairs and the sound of leaves rustling in the sudden wind felt like everything in this space.
Climb up the ridge of the hill Stella had dirt all over her white socks, but she didn’t seem to care at all. I’m excited to go up the stairs. I followed her and looked around just in case, but my body became lighter at the same time.
how far did you walk
“Ah, here-.”
We finally reached the ridge of this little hill, a little closer to the sky than where we had just been.
“Wow… … ”
panoramic view. I thought I had just come up, but I could see the roof of the dormitory in Building 1 in the distance. It’s because I don’t have much time to feel it. Stella exhaled, breathing in the fresher and clearer air. Beads of sweat and a face that looks a little reminiscent. Stella seemed to be purely happy right now.
If you turn your gaze to the left, you can see the 3rd building and the scenery behind it, but it was not enough to cover the entire night sky. An uncountable number of light sources flashed. Stella’s eyes, looking up at it endlessly, were also twinkling.
“I can see the stars really well today… … I think you will be impressed.”
“That’s right. Very pretty.”
Since we are different now than we used to be, if we had used magic, we might have been able to climb up a little more comfortably. Stella was outdated and didn’t do that.
Well, if it was Alphren, not Stella, it would have been okay. Because I was a child who loved nature more than anyone, and liked to play with my body in the mountains and fields.
“Come here, Ezio. Let’s sit here.”
Stella beckoned to me in front of me.
“I would bury it… … Are you okay?”
“Today is fine. And, there is magic.”
“ah… but.”
I was about to take off my cardigan.
It doesn’t matter as long as you deal with it before it goes down. The daughter of the duke of the most powerful empire on the continent, with a smile on her face, sat with her buttocks on the stone-rolling dirt floor. After putting her knees together and hugging her, she turns to look at me and promptly urges her to sit next to me with her eyes.
“Oh, the car.”
The ground was very cool. But since my pants are made of fabric, Stella sitting next to me will be colder. Still, I was just smiling as if it was a good feeling, so I decided not to care any more.
“I think I did well to come out today. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so excited.”
Stella murmured, shaking her body rhythmically from side to side like a pendulum.
“… I’m good too. I feel a little refreshed.”
It was as if the feeling of being choked up until before was washed away in an instant.
Of course, it cannot be completely erased, but it was nice to have the time to forget all the worries even for a short time like this.
To be able to gaze at the stars and the sky endlessly with your head empty. I didn’t know if a couple of hours would pass if I left the bruise like this.
“I’m glad you liked it too, Ezio. For today, no, for now, forget all the troubles that bother you.”
“… … Did you know?”
“If I sat down on a bench with a very serious face, would anyone think so?”
“… … ”
Because it was true, he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. After all, as Gabriel said, it would have been better to just go in and sleep.
No, if it were, I wouldn’t have been able to come up here with Stella. It turned out to be a good experience. Old memories come to mind.
“You know, Ezio.”
“… … yes?”
While I tilted my head and looked towards the night sky, I looked around at Stella’s voice calling me.
He made eye contact with Stella right next to him. I was startled by how close it was to me, but calmly blinked my eyes and asked.
OK.
Stella gently tilted her head and held out her hand.
“Wait, can you give me a hand?”
What are you trying to do? I said.
“Why are your hands… … ”
“Why, I told you before.”
“ah… … ”
Was it the voice of a star? I still can’t get a good feel for it. How do you show the future?
If I hold your hand, will I see something too? As Stella instructed, she gently took her hand. It was so small and so soft that it almost gave me goosebumps. When I looked at Stella to ask about something that came to mind for a moment, somehow her face was a little more red than before.
“But, Stella.”
“… yes?”
“Didn’t you say you can listen to it once every set period?”
“yes.”
“I don’t know how long, but I don’t think it will be short… … Can I use such an important opportunity for me? As I said before, if your family comes all the way here and asks… … ”
“… … ”
Stella looked at me blankly.
“Fuh,” he said, covering his mouth with the other hand and smiling.
“What are you talking about, Ezio?”
And then, he said.
“It’s you, so I want to write.”
“… … ”
“I always wanted to help you. Ezio, you were, after all, the first friend I made. It was a really short time, but I’ve never had more fun than that time in my life. So it’s not worth it at all. I wanted to write for you from the beginning.”
“… … ”
Hearing those words, Stella’s warmth in my hand seemed to warm up even more. At the words that softened my heart, I finally smiled face to face.
“… Thanks, Stella.”
“I am very grateful. For making good memories.”
immediately after.
Stella murmured in a low voice.
“And, if it weren’t for you, I would… … ”
“… … ?”
“Ugh, no.”
Stella, who had a small flirtation, suddenly turned her head toward the night sky instead of me.
The constellations were shining brightly. Alkyd, Mizar, Arcturus, Spica, Denebola… … The constellations of springtime that I saw earlier are shining brightly from far beyond.
Stella closed her eyes for a moment and seemed to be thinking about something, then opened her eyelids again and smiled softly.
“… So, shall we start now?”
Pfft…..you say it will remain in memory when you have already lost important memories