The End of Lies (4)
"I lost quite spectacularly, didn't I?"
Elsie, who had poured every ounce of her strength into the duel, collapsed flat onto the ground.
Lacking even the strength to maintain her Optical Modification, her appearance had reverted to its original state.
Blue eyes and short, shoulder-length blonde hair. Covered in a thick layer of dust from the battle, she looked exactly like the Elsie I remembered.
Though she's grown up quite a bit.
I leaned against a nearby tree, doing my best to catch my ragged breath.
It had been a while since I'd engaged in such an intense duel, and I, too, felt a wave of exhaustion washing over me.
In the first place, my stamina stat was lower than hers.
Just then, Elsie, who was lying down and staring blankly up at the sky, spoke up.
"All this time, I wanted nothing more than to become your companion, Alan."
When I had told her I would grant her any wish, she had immediately blurted out her desire to become my companion.
Why on earth was she so obsessed with being my companion?
It was something I found difficult to comprehend.
"Tell me, Elsie. Why are you so fixated on becoming my companion?"
I had assumed her fierce venom stemmed purely from a desire for revenge against the coup faction.
But through this battle, I had realized something.
Her goal lay far beyond mere vengeance against those who had staged the coup.
"Because I am deeply indebted to you. I spent so much time agonizing over how I could ever repay that debt. And what I finally came up with was..."
And that goal was...
"To become your strength. Your letter, promising we would meet again soon... and your introduction to such an incredible mentor as Gwen. Everything pointed toward that one path."
"Is that why you honed your swordsmanship so relentlessly? Without even caring for your own body?"
I hadn't noticed it until now, but with her Optical Modification undone, it was finally laid bare.
There wasn't a single unblemished spot on Elsie's body.
When I saved her two years ago, she had merely been starving and exhausted; her body hadn't been covered in bruises and scars like this.
No matter how harsh Gwen could be, she would never have pushed her this recklessly. Elsie must have driven herself to this extreme.
"Yes. Because I had to give it everything I had. Gwen told me quite a lot about you. Though your time together was brief, you seemed to have left a deep impression on her. Come to think of it, Gwen wanted to see you too, Alan."
She didn't need to worry about that.
I had already met Gwen on the day of the entrance ceremony.
...Though I did feel a bit guilty for not having a proper conversation with her.
"I didn't realize it when I first resolved to become your strength, but Gwen told me you were far stronger than I imagined. So, even though I knew absolutely nothing about swordsmanship, I pushed myself to the limit. I knew that you, having left Basil in such a hurry, wouldn't have been standing idle either."
In truth, I had gone through an immense amount of trials during that time.
I became Libero's disciple and learned his swordsmanship.
I challenged the second Trial and spent an eternity within it.
And I had slain two Demon Kings.
"I poured blood and sweat into my training... but then, a few months before enrolling in the Hero Academy, I heard the news. I heard that you had defeated three Demon Kings. Can you even begin to imagine what I felt back then?"
"..."
"Don't worry. It wasn't a negative feeling. It was just a massive wake-up call. I realized that if I wanted to be of any help to you, this wouldn't be nearly enough. From that moment on, for several months, I trained myself to the absolute brink of death. Because I had no way of knowing when I would ever see you again."
At that moment, I saw her eyes grow red and well with tears.
"And then, when I came to the academy and saw you disguised as Sung Yu-rang... my reason couldn't be sure, but my instincts immediately knew you were Alan Flake. I was just so incredibly happy to finally see you again. I understood that you must have had your reasons for hiding your identity, and I was more than willing to accept that."
Elsie's voice grew increasingly emotional, her words spilling out faster.
"So I decided to wait. Until the day you would ask me to be your companion. I firmly resolved to wait, but... to my shame, the moment you took Yoo Seora as your companion first, I couldn't bear it anymore. It felt as though I had been abandoned by you. But..."
Tears spilled over her eyelids and ran down her cheeks.
"Now, though, I feel a sense of relief. Having confirmed firsthand just how weak I am. No matter how hard I tried, I suppose I was simply never enough to stand by your side."
She looked utterly resigned now.
The tears she shed seemed to wash away whatever lingering attachments remained in her heart.
On the other hand, I had technically achieved the goal I set when entering the Trial with her.
And yet...
I didn't know back then.
I hadn't known before entering this Trial.
Just how much effort Elsie had poured into everything.
How deeply sincere her wish to become my companion truly was.
I had been completely blind to it.
But now, I know.
I had entered this Trial with the intention of showing her the gap in our strength.
While I had succeeded to some extent, I felt too ashamed to call it a success now.
Because through our battle in this Trial, Elsie had shown me so much as well.
The sheer effort she had exerted to become my strength.
I finally understood just how desperate and earnest it had been.
She had always been entirely sincere with me.
If so, I no longer wanted to face her with lies.
At least to her, it was time to bring this deceptive play to an end.
From this day forward, I would not return to being Sung Yu-rang in front of Elsie.
Optical Modification
The skill enveloping my face, Optical Modification, vanished.
With its disappearance, the slender, refined features of Alan's true face and his dull gold hair returned.
Seeing this, Elsie let out a bittersweet smile.
"You've grown a bit more manly since I last saw you. Back then, your face was so slender I almost mistook you for a girl."
Elsie didn't know this, but I had actually taken advantage of that fact back when I was cleaning up her messes.
At the time, I didn't think of this body as truly mine, so I hadn't felt particularly embarrassed about it.
"As I thought, this face suits you best. You're clever and incredibly capable, but you still have that soft, slightly foolish look of a good-natured man."
I couldn't tell if that was an insult or a compliment.
But one thing was certain: I agreed with her.
And the words I was about to say had to be spoken as myself.
Before that...
God, could you alter this space to the place I am thinking of?
It didn't take long for the space to shift.
The clear blue sky vanished in an instant.
In its place, a sky painted in the deep hues of twilight stretched overhead.
"This place..."
Elsie's face filled with astonishment.
After all, she knew this place all too well.
"You remember, don't you?"
There was no way she could have forgotten.
She was the one who had brought me here in the first place.
Vasilium. Specifically, the hill with the most beautiful view overlooking the ruins.
"How could I ever forget?"
We had returned to that very hill, both of us now fully grown.
Though, for some reason, Elsie was crying now just as she had been back then.
With this, my appearance, the location, and everything else had returned to Alan Flake.
So now, I could finally say it.
"Elsie, become my companion."
Elsie, who had been staring blankly at the scenery of Vasilium, widened her eyes in shock.
"What? But... you said you couldn't accept me..."
She was wrong.
"That was what Sung Yu-rang said. I, Alan Flake, want you as my companion."
At those words, the corners of Elsie's lips twitched upward.
She looked overjoyed, yet hesitant to let herself feel that joy.
"No... as we just saw in our duel, I am weak. If I join you, I'll only be a burden..."
She was wrong about that, too.
That guy named Sung Yu-rang had been entirely mistaken.
He was a fool who thought he knew everything just because he possessed the knowledge of a player.
"No, you are plenty strong. If you achieve good results and get your hands on a decent Holy Relic, you will be an invaluable asset."
Furthermore, Elsie was a classic late-blooming character.
She would only continue to grow stronger from here on out.
At this rate, she would undoubtedly surpass me one day.
And if we resolved the kingdom's current crisis, and she succeeded in claiming the Sword of the Kingdom...
She was someone who might very well become the strongest of all.
If I were to reject her despite all that, there would be only one reason.
The heavy burden of responsibility that came with accepting her as a companion.
It was a dilemma I had agonized over repeatedly during our mock battles.
Could I truly take responsibility for my companions in a real, life-or-death battle?
To be honest, I still hadn't found the answer to that question.
It was something I would have to keep wrestling with in the future.
But at the very least, when it came to Elsie, I was certain.
I could take responsibility for her.
No, I wanted to take responsibility for her.
And so, I reached out my hand to her as she lay on the ground.
"I apologize for everything Sung Yu-rang said to you. So... will you be my companion?"
"Your companion..."
Without a moment's hesitation, she firmly grasped my hand.
"Of course. I've been waiting for those exact words for the past two years."
Though Elsie's face was still stained with tears, her radiant smile was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her pure, bright smile was so dazzling that I found myself momentarily unable to look her in the eye.
I couldn't even meet her gaze properly.
"So, are you satisfied now?"
After all, this had all started because I promised to grant her one wish.
In the end, what mattered most was whether she was happy with this.
"No, I'm not satisfied yet."
At her words, I turned my head back to look at her.
For some reason, she was wearing that dangerously intense smile again.
Suddenly, a foreboding premonition washed over me.
"Let's just start as companions for now."
"Start as companions?"
"It's nothing. I'm just... so incredibly happy to finally be by your side."
The twilight sky, unique to the Basil region, dyed her blonde hair in a warm, crimson glow as we finally reunited.
