The White Hyacinth's Message

Creak. The floorboards of the old inn groaned. I had thought fixing the front door that had started making those bizarre noises would be enough, but at this rate, rebuilding the entire structure from scratch might actually be faster. Fortunately, the Innkeeper was still dozing off at the counter. If I can just open the door quietly... But the moment I pushed the door open—

"Alan?"

Wyss was standing right in front of me, holding a basket in one hand. Is she back already? I had timed my escape attempt for the exact moment she went out to buy groceries. But I had been apprehended before I could even take a step outside.

"I told you to stay put in your room. You haven't even fully recovered yet, really..." She pointed at my arm. It was secured in a splint and wrapped tightly in bandages—the price of recklessly swinging my sword in the recent battle against the Demon King.

"I just... wanted to get some fresh air." I scratched my head with my good left arm and offered a sheepish smile. Wyss leaned in closer.

"Wyss?"

"The Innkeeper is really fast asleep. In that case..." She smiled softly. "I'll pretend I didn't see anything. But you mustn't do anything dangerous."

I nodded quickly. "Of course."

"Ahhh..." Getting outside after so long made me feel alive again. Of course, even while cooped up in my room, I had kept busy planning my next steps and training my Wind Authority, but I couldn't stand how stiff my body had felt.

Now, I should do what needs to be done. I took advantage of a moment when no one was looking to pull a flower from my inventory. The white flower, now withered and stripped of its original luster, was the one Finn had discarded in the flowerbed. When I returned to the village, almost none of the flowers had survived, so I had barely managed to salvage this single one and keep it in my inventory.

It was somewhere around here... There was definitely a girl who sold flowers on one side of the village square. Looking around for her, I finally spotted her. I approached her with the withered flower in hand.

"Alan? What's up?" The girl looked at me with a puzzled expression as I approached her stall and examined the flowers. "You've never cared about flowers before. What's gotten into you?"

"Just looking for a specific flower."

But I couldn't see any flowers like the withered one on her stall. Left with no choice, I showed her the flower. "Do you happen to know what this flower is?"

"Huh? A hyacinth?"

So the flower's name was a hyacinth. But in the next moment, she asked an unexpected question.

"But how do you have that flower?"

I hesitated, wondering what to say, before deciding to tell the truth. "I found it lying in the grass near the empty lot."

The girl let out a heavy sigh. "Sigh. I guess that mister failed in the end."

"Failed?"

"No, nothing. There was a mister who bought all of those flowers a while ago."

It must have been Finn. "Are you not selling this flower anymore?"

At my question, the girl's expression stiffened slightly. "Well, it's a bit complicated."

"What kind of complication?"

"..."

She didn't seem to have any intention of telling me. In the end, I pulled a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few coins from my pocket. "Here, is this enough?"

"Huh? Uh, what?" Her eyes went wide. "It's not even that big of a deal, you don't have to go this far..."

It was a very important matter to me. I pushed the coins toward the hesitant girl. She took them as if she had no choice and smiled. "Well, since I have no choice, I'll tell you. Actually, the adults forbade us from going there."

She reached out and pointed toward the distance. It was the barrier.

"This flower only grows at the foot of the hill near the northern barrier of the village."

Near the barrier. It might be different if it were outside, but for me, it wasn't particularly dangerous. "Thanks for telling me."

I thanked her. Just as I was about to rush off to find the flower—

"Are you planning to go pick some?"

Her sharp question made me flinch. Even if I was treated like an adult these days, to anyone who didn't know my combat capabilities, approaching the barrier seemed like a reckless stunt. If Wyss or the Innkeeper found out, a simple scolding would be the least of my worries.

Suddenly, Wyss's words from when I left the inn came back to me. "I'll pretend I didn't see anything. But you mustn't do anything dangerous." My conscience pricked. Worst-case scenario, house arrest? Still, I couldn't give up. This was something I absolutely had to do.

"This should do it, right?" I handed her another coin. The girl took it with a satisfied look. Her attitude had completely flipped from when she was acting hesitant earlier.

"Since you paid me well, I'll tell you one more thing. That flower only blooms during the transition from winter to spring. They'll probably all wither before spring fully arrives. So, I recommend you hurry."

It wasn't particularly useful information, since I was planning to go right now anyway. The weather is still chilly, so they shouldn't have withered yet.

This is harder than I thought. At the foot of the hill near the northern barrier. It was incredibly vague directions. I had hoped that if the flowers grew in clusters, I would be able to spot them from a distance, but that wasn't the case.

I need to hurry... I searched for the flowers for about two hours. The sun was already starting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to set. I was going to get scolded by the Innkeeper anyway, but I had to get back before dinner if I wanted to minimize the scolding from Wyss.

Should I give up for today? The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I shook my head. If I went back today, I didn't know when I'd be able to slip out again. By then, the flowers would have already withered.

I have to find it, no matter what. I activated my Wind Authority. Having trained it constantly in the corner of my room, and accelerated by the effects of Precocious, it had finally reached B- rank. As a result, I was now able to apply Wind Authority to my feet to some extent.

Though I'm not used to it yet. I could apply it, but I hadn't given it a proper test run. All I had done was spin around in my cramped room, trip, and get scolded by Wyss a few times.

Fast! Along with the sensation of wind wrapping around my feet, my steps became incredibly light. Soon, I was running up the hill at a speed far greater than normal. It felt like I might soon catch up to the speed I had when I was a track athlete in the real world.

Just a little, a little faster... Driven by a sudden competitive streak, I pushed for more speed. But because I wasn't fully accustomed to it yet, my control over Wind Authority slipped. As a result, I was thrown violently onto the ground.

Ah, Wyss is definitely going to scold me for this. If I went back with my clothes covered in dirt and dust, I was bound to get yelled at. That concern was far more pressing than the immediate pain. As I rolled across the ground—

Huh? In my upside-down vision, something white caught my eye. Found it! I scrambled up from the dirt and ran toward the white flowers I had just spotted. It was indeed the flower I was looking for.

Did she say it was a hyacinth? It hadn't withered yet. The moment I saw the hyacinth with its petals in full bloom, I couldn't help but think: This flower... It resembled Wyss. I finally realized the source of the strange sense of incongruity I had felt while looking at the withered hyacinth.

Finn must have thought of Wyss when he saw the hyacinth as well. But in the end, he couldn't deliver the flower to her. Instead, he sacrificed his life to protect her. My original plan—to ambush the Demon King using Amyah and finish him off with my Demon King form as a trump card—had fallen apart. If Finn hadn't stopped the Demon King's movements of his own free will, it would have been impossible for me to kill him.

"Finn..." I plucked a white hyacinth, held it gently, and looked out past the hill. To the man who had died beyond the barrier, leaving not even a corpse behind, I whispered, "I will deliver your feelings."

Creak. I opened the door to the inn and stepped inside, but there was no one at the counter. Thank goodness. Are they away? Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief and stepping further inside—

"Alan."

A chilling voice called my name. I turned my head to see the Innkeeper sitting on the sofa. Beside him, Wyss was wearing an awkward smile.

"Where have you been?"

"I was feeling cooped up, so I went to get some fresh air."

"You're not the god of wind, how does it make sense to get 'fresh air' for half a day?"

Well, I do actually have Wind Authority, but...

"Oh? That flower?" At that moment, Wyss noticed the flower in my hand. "Isn't that a hyacinth?"

She sprang up from her seat and rushed over to me. Her eyes were already locked onto the flower.

"Do you know this flower?"

"Of course. It's one of the few flowers that bloomed in my hometown. I didn't expect to see it here."

I didn't know it was a flower from Wyss's hometown. Come to think of it, the northern part of the village was close to the Ice Valley.

"But where did you get this?"

"Ah, this is from the village..." I was about to say the northern hill of the village out of habit, but I corrected myself. "...I met Finn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the village."

"Finn?" Wyss's eyes widened. "I was actually worried because I hadn't seen him lately... Did he look okay?"

I nodded. My conscience pricked, but what I was about to tell her was a lie. A necessary lie for both Finn and Wyss.

I can't tell Wyss that another version of her, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who became the Demon King, killed Finn. So...

I gave myself a command. Don't look sad. Smile.

I felt the corners of my mouth curl upward. Good. I began my lie.

"He said he went outside the barrier recently to look for relics. Apparently, he found a pretty decent one. He said he was going to take it to a big city, sell it, and use the money to set up a street stall there."

From beginning to end, not a single word of it was true. Yet, Wyss seemed to believe it without a shred of doubt. Is really the same Wyss as the Demon King? She's just as gullible as Finn. Well, if she fell for it, it was for the best. I held the flower out to her.

"Finn asked me to deliver this to you."

"Finn is... still in the village, right?"

"No, he left the village right after handing me this flower." I pushed the flower closer to her. "Please take it."

Wyss's hands trembled as she took the hyacinth. "Is it really okay for me to accept this? I..." Her eyes welled with tears. "I haven't even returned his bracelet yet, and I haven't been able to repay him for saving me. And yet, I feel like I only ended up hurting him..."

She had to take it. Finn hadn't been hurt at all. In fact, he... "Finn asked me to tell you this along with the flower." What I was about to say now was the truth. After all, that was what the language of the flower meant.

"I was happy to love you comfortably."

Finn had definitely loved Wyss until his very last breath. I had to convey that truth to her. It was the only thing I could do for Finn, who had sacrificed himself. That was why I had gone to find this flower. Wyss absolutely had to accept it.

"Finn..." She finally accepted the flower and held it in her hands. Tears streamed down her face.

This is enough.

My mouth was still forced into a smile under the effect of Absolute Obedience. Yet, a single warm drop rolled down my cheek.