Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Igraine
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I had a dream.
A happy dream.
A dream where all my duties were finished, and I was together with my companions.
We visited the elven village where Igraine lived, and had a beer with Ain amidst the boisterous dwarves.
The gallant figure of Melissa teaching knights, the sight of Saintess Elena offering a prayer in a grand temple—they all flashed by.
And with them, there was me, wandering the beautiful Astria Continent.
Basking in their affection, living not as a girl with strange memories etched into her soul, but as a girl of the Astria Continent.
If everything had gone as it should have, how would I have lived here?
If I still had the Holy Sword, would I have become an adventurer? Or maybe the emperors of the Alpharion and Betarion Empires would have offered me a position. If so, would wealth and honor have followed without me even asking?
And among them, there was a red-haired beauty.
I smiled.
"Oh, it's my sisters."
Someone who always looked at me with loving eyes.
Someone who made my heart flutter.
Her gaze, watching me alongside Igraine.
The warm look in both their eyes.
If I had been with Chris back then, too, I think I would have been truly happy.
Of course, even now.
Before me are Igraine and Chris.
Two kinds of affection, similar yet slightly different.
If I can live receiving these, I can be happy.
Here, on the Astria Continent, in this world.
"I... must leave."
With Igraine's cruel words.
My happy dream was abruptly dragged back to reality.
I was overcome with questions.
Why?
"Why... why?"
Igraine's face wavered. No, was it my eyes that were wavering?
Why are you making that face?
Why? We finally met.
"It is the natural order. The dead must return to the cycle of reincarnation. The old is reincarnated, making way for the new. ...But because that couldn't happen."
Does she mean a new priestess couldn't be born?
Igraine looked up, gazing at the green orbs circling around us.
"They have carried this burden for far too long. The priestesses who protect the World Tree, now spirits. For a thousand years, in this distorted world, they have watched over the elves, unable to return to the cycle of reincarnation."
Then she lowered her gaze to my face.
"At the same time, they've expended too much energy protecting the World Tree from the influence of the Tree of the Abyss. The power that allows us to exist in this world as spirits has now reached its limit."
With a sorrowful expression, she gently stroked my hair.
"Still, thanks to you, Rain, thanks to you who didn't forget and returned even after leaving this world, they can now lay down their burden."
No.
"With this, the priestesses of the World Tree will be born again, live, and spirits with new bonds will take their place. It's a return to the original cycle. ...Myself included."
I desperately shook my head.
"Don't go. Please? You're all I have left now, Igraine. I, I, I did my best, didn't I? We only just met again, sob."
My vision blurred.
No. I won't be able to see Igraine's face.
"Rain, Rain. A kind and timid, yet strong child. Rain, the Hero who loves this world."
Igraine's hand caressed my face. Its touch was growing faint.
No.
"Right now, you have a world where you must live, don't you? And there are people who cherish you there, aren't there? The new threat this world faces... with Chris by your side, you should be able to fend it off without much difficulty."
Igraine's gaze shifted to my side. I looked, too.
"You mustn't be tied to this place, Rain. You mustn't be trapped by the past. For your sake, I must return to the cycle. If I remain, you won't accept your new life. You might become obsessed with this place, forever living in the past."
Chris's face, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at me, came into view.
"Rain..."
"You can watch over this world from where you are. All you have to do is remember us."
I don't want to.
*Vwooom.*
The green light emanating from Igraine's body intensified.
And that light seeped into the belt at my waist.
"This is my remaining spirit power. I hope it will be of some help on your path ahead."
*Swoosh.*
My arms, which had been desperately clinging to Igraine, passed right through her body.
My hands grasped at empty air.
Igraine's body began to float into the air.
She gave a radiant smile.
"Rain, please smile. You're prettiest when you smile. You'll grant my request, won't you?"
I forced the corners of my mouth up, trying to form a smile.
"This isn't a farewell."
Through my tear-blurred vision.
"Please live on, over there. Please live happily."
So that Igraine's last memory of me wouldn't be of my sadness.
"Iseulbi."
A green light.
From the green light the spirits emitted.
The entire World Tree was engulfed.
Rain.
Iseulbi.
A kind child.
A strong Hero.
Someone who loves this world.
This is not a farewell.
We can meet again in a different form.
As long as you watch over this place, Rain.
As long as you love this world.
A swarm of green light filled my vision.
Embracing me one by one before disappearing.
Amidst those warm lights.
I cried my heart out.
***
Emerging from the heart of the World Tree, one could see the entire elven kingdom at a glance.
The trunk of the World Tree was like a hill in itself.
"Whoa."
I let out a gasp of awe.
Leaves blossomed in full from the branches of the revitalized World Tree. They emitted a gentle green light, scattering in all directions, drifting down to where the elves lived, and riding the wind to places farther beyond.
"Rain, look over there."
At the edge of the elven kingdom, the border between the frigid cold and the verdant green.
The teal hue of the life-filled trees was gradually expanding its reach.
"It's returning to how it was."
As if in a dream, I watched the elven forest slowly reclaim its environment.
*Squeeze.*
I felt a warm sensation in my hand.
A hand, slightly larger than mine, was holding my own tiny one tightly.
"......."
With a pout, I looked up at Chris, who looked like she was about to cry.
"Why are you crying, sis?"
"Sniff, I don't know."
Chris kept wiping at the corners of her eyes.
I subtly pulled my hand away, turned around, and gazed at the beautiful forest.
"Sis, I'm hungry. Let's log out and get something to eat."
"Rain...!"
Though I had my back to her and she couldn't see my face, I could hear the emotion in Chris's voice.
"You're hungry, right? What should we eat? Do we have any side dishes left... Should we go grocery shopping? Hmm, should I order you some chicken?"
"Chicken? That sounds great. But I'd rather go eat at the restaurant today instead of getting delivery."
I turned back around, hands clasped behind my back, and gave Chris a bashful smile. Then, filled with anticipation for the divine food known as chicken, I hopped on the spot a few times. Seeing my reaction, Chris giggled.
While we were chatting, we saw a familiar-faced elf moving swiftly, climbing up the trunk of the World Tree.
"Palman!"
"Hmph, what are you doing here?"
I waved, greeting him warmly. Chris scoffed.
*Thud.*
He leaped lightly and landed on the trunk where we were standing.
Palman's eyes widened for a moment when he saw me.
"Hero. ...Your face has changed a lot."
"Huh?"
I raised a hand to my face.
What does he mean? It seems the same as always.
I grabbed Chris's sleeve and pulled her head down. Then I brought my face close to hers.
"Sis, is there something on my face?"
"Gasp...! R-Rain! Too close!"
I watched Chris with a puzzled expression as she sucked in a breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and squirmed. Then I turned my gaze back to Palman.
"Anyway, what's going on?"
"There's a joyous occasion at home. I was hoping you'd join us."
*Step, step.*
Palman's house was very close to the World Tree.
As we approached his home, nestled in a gap between the giant roots of the World Tree and covered in cozy-looking leaves, we heard a strange cry.
*Waaah! Waaah!*
"Gasp."
"It's a baby crying."
Chris whispered in my ear.
Inside his house, which we entered with Palman, on the bed was...
"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much from my husband. The little adventurer."
An elf woman with vibrant green hair, looking exhausted but happy, was holding a bundle of blankets.
She bowed her head toward me.
"I'm Palman's wife. Thank you for saving the elves, adventurers from the stars."
"A-ahem. It was nothing."
Chris cleared her throat and turned her head away.
I walked closer to Palman's wife.
And I peeked into the bundle she was holding in her arms.
A baby.
A baby elf with long ears was nestled in her arms.
A strange feeling washed over me.
This world.
The Astria Continent, which had appeared before my eyes in the form of a game.
Even in a world like this, life was still being born.
Seeing the baby elf, I couldn't help but smile.
The color of the baby elf's hair, like soft down, was...
A pure white, like a snowflake.
"Hehe, isn't she cute? She's a little princess."
As I stood with Palman's wife, gazing at the baby, Palman's voice came from behind me.
"The priestess of the World Tree, a lineage that was broken for a thousand years. A princess with white hair has been born as our child."
I turned my head to look at Palman.
The male elf who couldn't become a priest.
He was smiling.
The look on his face was one of pride, of deep emotion.
And, the expression of a father.
"Among elves, there is a custom of letting a benefactor name the first child."
Palman's wife placed her child in my arms.
"Would you give our child her name?"
"Giggle!"
I looked down at the child in my arms, who was laughing as if she was happy.
*'Little Rain? Big Rain? Kehehe.'*
*'Hee, I'm just Rain.'*
*'Ain, don't tease our Rain.'*
*'Hey, Big Rain! Don't take Little Rain away!'*
*'That's right! We were here first!'*
*'Sigh... Melissa, Elena. You two are giving me a headache. You want to wait until Rain is all grown up and let her decide for herself?'*
*'W-what are you talking about!'*
*'A-ahem! Anyone would think we're trying to raise Little Rain for our own purposes!'*
Memories of my boisterous companions.
Among them, I recalled her, who had always watched over me with a benevolent smile.
I guess I'm the Big Rain now.
I looked at the child in my arms.
And I called out her name.
"Igraine."