Chapter 356: A Thousand-Year Promise, A Thousand-Year Wait
Chapter 356: A Thousand-Year Promise, A Thousand-Year Wait
"Please help me... Maman."
It wasn't the half-joking "Maman, Maman" he usually tossed around, but a voice making a genuinely serious appeal.
At this, Cyclic Life hesitated for a moment, then began scratching her head frantically as she shouted.
"Ugh! Fine! I'll do it, alright?! I'll do it! There’s no reason for you to take after him, so how are you exactly like Fafnir...?"
Come to think of it, the Fafnir I saw in those memories had also forced unreasonable requests upon Cyclic Life.
As I scratched my head, feeling a bit sheepish, Cyclic Life let out a long sigh and continued.
"But it’s impossible right this second. The current time distortion is ultimately meant to keep intruders out. If you use it as is, your mind will break. I need time to finish making adjustments for that."
"How long will it take?"
"It won't take long. Ten minutes at most? In the meantime, go say your goodbyes to your party. ...From our perspective, it’ll only be a few days, but for you, who knows how many years it will take."
"Thank you."
I gave a light nod, and Cyclic Life walked away, still sighing repeatedly. She sat in a chair and quietly closed her eyes, seemingly beginning the adjustments immediately.
I watched her for a moment, but the second I turned my head—
"Sit down there for a moment, Master."
"You? Do you realize what you just said?"
"Uh, well..."
I expected it, but the reaction was more intense than I thought. I tried to sneak backward, gauging their expressions, but...
"Where do you think you're going, Master?"
"Ju-Junior. We need to talk for a second."
I was caught by Iris and Fay and forced into a chair.
The others didn't say anything, but they seemed to feel the same way, judging by the sharp glares they were sending my way.
Just in case, I looked over toward where Milone and Nariel were standing, but...
"...Your Majesty. It seems we can monitor the battle situation outside from here as well."
"T-That’s good! Even though I left general instructions, something could always happen in the meantime!"
"Indeed. Even if communication via magical tools is impossible, we can check directly like this. If something unexpected occurs, we can head down immediately."
"Then... I suppose we should stay here and keep watch to see if any problems arise."
"Quite so."
As if they didn't want to get involved, they turned their heads away and began a cozy conversation between themselves.
Yeah. I didn't expect anything from them from the start. Really.
While I clicked my tongue inwardly, Elisha cupped my face with both hands and forced me to look straight at her.
"You. You asked us to put our lives on the line. And yet, are you trying to sacrifice yourself alone again? Without even knowing what it feels like to convert vitality into mana?"
"Whether I know what it feels like or not isn't important. It’s something I have to endure regardless. Besides, there’s no other way, is there? Even if the Chairman or Sir Havel rushed here right now, it would already be too late."
"How can you say that...!"
"And listen. When I asked you to put your lives on the line, I wasn't just saying it. No matter how much mana I gather and bring back, if Ugly Prosperity is fully released or if Yggdrasil has collapsed, it’s truly over. So, please, buy me time somehow until I return. Slow down the unsealing process even a little, and protect Yggdrasil so it doesn't fall. It won't be easy since I've left the front lines, but it’s absolutely necessary."
"......"
It was true that Ugly Prosperity couldn't topple Yggdrasil right this moment, and that only its arms had emerged so far.
But how long would that last?
Cyclic Life had said that a few years wouldn't be enough.
No matter how much time distortion was applied, the longer I stayed, the more time would pass in reality.
Someone had to keep interfering with Ugly Prosperity.
It didn't matter if they couldn't even leave a scratch; they had to stop those trying to offer themselves as sacrifices, stop the cultists, and destroy the Birthing Chamber even slightly to slow down the rate of birth.
These were things I, who would be shut away inside the World Tree, could never do.
"And it will be dangerous, too."
"...I understand what you're saying. But regardless of that, I can't help but have questions."
"Like what?"
"Why do you have to be the one to suffer like this?"
"Huh?"
It was something I had never deeply considered.
In the first place, if I didn't step up, this world would perish, and both I and my women would die.
That was why it was a topic I never bothered to look into deeply. Protecting myself and protecting my people was only natural.
But Elisha seemed to think differently.
"I knew you back when you were still weak. I remember the moment you tried to win a duel despite only knowing a single low-grade magic spell. I remember you winning against cultists who were clearly superior to you, even when you were covered in wounds. I remember you overturning battlefields so disadvantageous that it was foolish to even charge in. I remember it all."
I suppose she would. While Carla had been by my side the longest, Elisha had fought beside me for nearly as long.
"You brilliantly accomplished things everyone said were impossible. You stopped the Academy attack, cleared numerous hidden dungeons, revealed the existence of hidden spies, wiped out half of the undead army prepared for war, and saved Solaris and Righteous Light when they were on the brink of collapse."
Elisha spoke rapidly, as if even breathing was a waste of time. Only after saying all that did she let out the breath she had been holding.
"Phew... I know. I know you were made to defeat the Evil God, and that you were born with that kind of talent. I know that well now. But."
She gently loosened the grip of the hands holding my face and softly stroked from my forehead down to my cheek with her fingertips.
"But why did it have to be you? I can't help but feel that way."
"...I wonder. Why was it me? But one thing is certain: if I'm not here, this world will end."
The one who answered that wasn't Elisha, but Iris, who was gripping my shoulder from the side.
"If this is a world that can only continue if Master sacrifices himself, then I have no need for such a thing. Let it all go to ruin."
"What...?"
Her tone was so resolute that a dumbfounded voice escaped me involuntarily.
Helena and Solari also flinched, but they deliberately took a step back, perhaps feeling it wasn't their place to intervene right now.
At this, Iris gave a light nod of thanks and stood beside Elisha, speaking once more.
"Elisha said that if it is a choice Master made himself, she would stay with you even if it leads to death. However, I think differently."
"Differently?"
"Yes."
Iris nodded once and squeezed my hand tightly as she spoke.
"Haven't you done enough?"
"......"
"If Master is trying to sacrifice himself because of a duty imposed on him since birth, regardless of his own will... I will say it as many times as it takes. You have done enough."
"......"
"Master, you can be happy now with a clear conscience. Even if the world perishes, it will be because it was time for it to end. It is not your fault. Even if you were to turn to the Evil God, it would merely be a struggle to survive. No one would dare point a finger at you."
Having said that much, Iris continued in a slightly tearful voice.
"I... I am not like Elisha. I am different from the others. I vowed to revive Alfheim with elemental magic, but in the end, I am the fool who laid hands on spirit magic. No matter what I say outwardly, I have abandoned the goal I held for the past three hundred years with my own hands."
"That's..."
"But because of that, I don't want Master to suffer. I don't care if I die, but I don't want Master to die. To me, Master is... no, my spouse is more precious than this entire world!"
Even if the world were to perish. Even if her mind were to be contaminated by the energy of the Evil God.
Iris wept, saying that her top priority would always be me.
I watched her for a moment, then slowly wiped away her tears. Feeling the warmth from her skin, a faint, unintended chuckle escaped me.
"Why, why are you laughing, Master? I was being serious."
"I know. It’s just that both you, Iris, and Elisha seem to be under a misunderstanding."
"...A misunderstanding. About what?"
"I'm not fighting for some grand cause. And certainly not out of a sense of duty. Of course, at first, I fought simply to survive... but that’s not the case anymore."
"Then what is it that makes Master push himself so hard?"
"It’s simple. We made a promise, didn't we?"
I raised my pinky and gave it a little wag.
"A thousand years."
"......Ah."
People often call a marriage vow a 'Centennial Vow.' For most races whose lifespan is barely a hundred years, it’s a romantic phrase promising eternal love.
But for Elves, a long-lived species, a hundred years was a long time, but not long enough to be considered one's entire life.
That was why the Thousand Year Vow existed.
The words of the oath that Elisha and Iris had half-pestered me into making—this time, I spoke them voluntarily.
"Half of a soul, a pair of wings, intertwined roots—these are our other names. I engrave here a vow that shall not fade, even after a thousand years pass."
"......"
"......"
I shrugged at Elisha and Iris, who were staring at me blankly, lost for words.
"No matter how much time passes within the distortion, it’s nothing compared to a thousand years, right?"
I truly believed that.
The reason I fought now wasn't to survive, but because there were people I wanted to live happily with.