Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Pure Love
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Arthin had been gone for a week.
Unicorn was still dying, her body filled to the brim with demonic energy. But thanks to the southern church's priestesses bathing her daily with holy water and tending to her with utmost devotion, she hadn't died yet, nor had she fallen to corruption.
-"The last time? Don't say such weak things...!! In one month, no matter what, I'll bring it back. You just rest easy and wait for me, Unicorn...!!"-
When Arthin had yelled at her like that, Unicorn's heart had ached as if it were stung. She usually loved it when he half-heartedly got mad at her pranks with a smile, but seeing him truly on the verge of tears and angry had hurt not her body or soul, but her very heart.
'Arthin... Arthin is such a fool. A leaf from the World Tree? There's no way he could obtain something so precious...'
The World Tree was the sacred tree said to hold the souls of deceased elves, treated with utmost reverence—even a single branch or leaf was considered a holy relic.
Even though unicorns maintained close ties with the elves, exporting a relic from the World Tree was a gravely important matter. In the long-lived elves' society, such issues required years of discussion to resolve.
Much less for a non-elf like Arthin to enter the notoriously isolationist elves' forest and obtain a World Tree leaf in time—it was nearly impossible. Even they both knew that slaying a dragon would be more feasible.
Yet Arthin had left. With the resolve to save Unicorn herself, he had departed for the elves' forest with only Kaiyen.
Unicorn suddenly felt afraid. The thought that her final memory of Arthin might be him yelling at her terrified her more than the unknown prospect of death itself.
'Arthin... Arthin...'
Unicorn clutched the heart-shaped pendant tightly in her trembling hands. It was a cheap necklace she had nagged Arthin into buying her at the academy's summer festival a year ago. Not made of glittering gold or adorned with valuable gems, it was still Unicorn's treasured possession, kept safe all this time.
'Even if you fail, just please come back unharmed and smile for me at the end...'
Unicorn's body, burning with fever from the demonic energy, was unknowingly gripped by another fever entirely. It was a sickness everyone knew well.
*
And on the morning of the one-month mark.
Unicorn was completely on the brink of death. She could no longer maintain consciousness even for an hour a day, only murmuring Arthin's name in a faint voice now and then.
Neither the herbs blessed by the King of the Plains nor the seawater filled with Leviathan's holy power could fully cleanse the demonic energy. The church's high priests, with somber faces, estimated she wouldn't last three more days.
"In the end, it seems Sir Arthin won't make it back in time."
"It's unavoidable. The elves' isolationism is infamous... In his absence, let us pray together for the divine beast."
"Sniff... But Lady Unicorn waited so desperately for Sir Arthin..."
"There's nothing to be done. Didn't the priestesses do their utmost? Holding out this long against the Demon King's vicious curse is already a miracle."
As the priestesses who had stayed by Unicorn's side for the past month burst into tears, the high priests let out heavy sighs and comforted them.
Many had prayed for a miracle from the gods, but this time, none came. The sorrow felt even greater for Unicorn, whom the church had cared for so long.
Thud. Thud.
At that moment, the familiar sound of firm footsteps echoed through the temple's marble floors. The priests, turning toward the sound they had all awaited, were struck with shock and bewilderment.
*
Unicorn dreamed. A dream where Arthin came to greet her.
In the dream, Arthin wasn't angry. Instead, he looked at her with worried eyes, gently stroking her hair with a tender hand.
The past month's memories had been nothing but pain, but this moment felt utterly blissful. The agony squeezing her heart and hammering her head thousands of times over was gone.
'Arthin... thank you for smiling for me at the end...'
Though she hadn't seen his real smile, this happiness was enough to let her face death peacefully. She regretted not hearing his voice, but Unicorn had come to accept her end with serenity.
And then Unicorn awoke from her sleep.
"...This lady's body... it doesn't hurt?"
There was no pain at all. The turbid demonic energy that had filled her instead of holy power was gone. No—stronger holy power than before her illness now coursed through her body.
And what that meant was clear. Arthin had saved her! Though he hadn't waited by her side until she woke, she decided to forgive that minor fault.
"To fetch even a World Tree leaf for my sake! Though a man, when I see Arthin, I shall embrace him tightly and stroke his hair!"
Unicorn burst out of the room and spotted a startled priestess at her healthy appearance, then headed straight for Arthin's room. Driven by her desperate longing to see him right now, she flung open the door without knocking.
"Behold, Arthin! This lady has become so healthy! All thanks to... you... But..."
Entering with a vigorous laugh, she found Arthin sitting on the bed as usual, inspecting his gear. His startled face, not expecting her, would normally be perfect for teasing.
"See? You're better now! The World Tree leaf worked, just like I said. Told you to trust only me, right?"
"M-More than that... what happened, Arthin? That hand...?"
Unicorn pointed with trembling fingers at Arthin's right hand, which smiled welcomingly at her. In its place was a metal prosthetic, not the hand that had always stroked her.
"Oh, this? No big deal. Got injured helping the elves, and they gave me a mithril prosthetic arm as thanks. Pretty sweet deal, huh!"
He spoke as if it were nothing, boldly even, but Arthin subtly hid the prosthetic behind him. As Unicorn calmed down, she began noticing how much Arthin had changed in just one month.
The cute face that had been his pride now bore a massive diagonal scar across its center. One ear looked ragged, forcibly regenerated after being severed, and burn scars extended to his left hand, impossible to hide even under long sleeves.
"W-What is this? Why are you covered in such wounds! Why!"
"Eh, what can I say. Without you, I got hurt more often than expected. I always bragged I could handle it fine alone, but it's kinda embarrassing now."
Watching him speak so casually, Unicorn felt her vision blur. She couldn't hold back the tears, nor did she want to. Instead, she rushed to Arthin and hugged his scarred body fiercely.
"Aw, come on. It's only been a month—throwing a tantrum already? I'm fine. Actually, I'm way stronger than before now?"
Don't spout nonsense, you fool. How can you call this "fine" with such grave injuries?
Why did you do something so stupid! Your severed right hand can't be fixed without an elixir.
You went with Kaiyen, who's far stronger than you—why come back so battered, you idiot?
She had so much to say, but the words wouldn't come out.
The moment she opened her tightly shut mouth, sobs would burst forth, and she might hurl harsh words at Arthin, who had suffered so much for her sake.
"So don't look at me with such sad eyes. Saving a friend for this price? Total bargain, right?"
Just like in her dream, Arthin gazed at her gently and stroked her head tenderly. But the fact that it was his left hand, not right, pierced Unicorn's heart even deeper.
And right there, she made a firm resolve in her heart. She would never let Arthin suffer such pain again. She would grow stronger and more sensible, ensuring he never had to struggle.
The warmth of Arthin after a month felt so incredibly tender, vivid memories flooding back.
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Arthin's body was so terribly cold.
"...This is strange. Arthin's body shouldn't be this cold..."
Unicorn hugged Arthin's body tightly, his lips turned blue. She even wiped his mouth with a napkin, cleaning the red wine dribbling messily from the corner.
"Are you sleepy? Hmm? I told you you've been pushing yourself too hard lately—food coma this bad?"
For the past few months, Arthin had been meeting people, fighting nonstop day and night to help a debauched woman named Lucy. So it wasn't odd for exhaustion to claim him mid-meal.
"No helping it. This lady shall graciously provide a lap pillow—sleep away."
Unicorn shoved aside the corpse of one of Arthin's comrades, who had vomited blood in death, sat in the luxurious chair, and rested his sleeping head on her lap. So deeply asleep he wasn't even snoring as usual—like he was dead—she gently stroked his hair.
"This lady has given it some thought. Why is it that seeing you fills me with such joy and excitement? Why does every moment with you feel so happy?"
Thud. The corpse of the woman called Lucy, sitting opposite Arthin, toppled to the floor. Unicorn thought it unavoidable—she had warned her countless times of the danger, but she hadn't listened.
"At first, I thought it was because you were my first friend. But even with the other friends I made following you, I never feel this way."
Suddenly, a fishy stench pierced her nose, mingling with the sweet aroma from the wine glass before her, souring Unicorn's mood. She considered hurling it at the wall but worried it might wake Arthin, so she channeled holy power into the wine instead, dispelling the poison and foul scent within.
"Do you know? They say unicorns love only one male for life. As a child, I envied that feeling. How happy it must be to live forever with the male you love."
Gently brushing back Arthin's hair, she closed his unfocused eyes. His body still felt so deathly cold—worried he might catch a chill, Unicorn enveloped him in warm holy light.
"Yet every moment with you is happy and joyful. I want to be with you forever. I didn't realize sooner this was love. Like you said, I must truly be a fool in some ways."
Hahaha! Unicorn laughed loudly from her mouth, but her eyes couldn't join in. Instead, hot red tears streamed down, dripping onto Arthin's chilled cheek.
"Do you know, Arthin? Unicorns live for that pure love. That's why, at our mate's final moment, we close our eyes together and embrace a happy death..."
Footsteps approached from afar—the people who had invited Arthin and his comrades to dine. Vengeance flashed in her mind for an instant, but Unicorn shook her head.
Arthin had lived kindly, so he must have gone to heaven. To meet him again, she couldn't stain her hands with filthy blood.
"Arthin, if I can see you in heaven, this time I'll become a splendid woman who can embrace you—one tall and magnificent enough to stroke your hair."
You cheekily liked big-breasted women. I wanted to gouge out your eyes when you stole glances at others' hips. With my short limbs, you always carried me—next time, it'll be my turn to carry you. In death, your hand won't be prosthetic, so I want to interlace our right fingers and face you. And, and—
"Next time, I'll say it first: I love you."
They say a unicorn who loses her mate, bearer of pure love, loses her vitality and dies on the spot. As a child, Unicorn found that ending heartbreaking, but now, strangely, it didn't feel sad. There were too many things she wanted to do upon reuniting with Arthin in death.
Pressing her lips to Arthin's cold forehead, Unicorn slowly closed her eyes. Hoping that when she opened them again, she would meet the brightly smiling Arthin from before.