A New Beginning (End)
"Lucete."
Particles of light gathered and took shape — a sword of pure sunlight. She closed her hand around the blade and gave it a shallow swing. For an instant the sword flared brilliant white, and from within the steel a human figure sprang free.
"Ohh!"
The person who emerged from the blade was none other than the Sword Saint. He landed safely on the ground, then rested a thoughtful hand against his chin and studied her sword with open fascination.
"What a curious blade. To actually experience becoming one with a sword…"
"I'm not giving it to you, so give it up."
Carlos smacked his lips a few times in regret, then stroked his beard and looked at her with warm satisfaction.
"Your expression looks good. Did things work out smoothly?"
She regarded him in silence for a moment.
Come to think of it, it really had turned out the way Carlos said it would. If she had only listened to him from the start, perhaps she never would have hurt Hera at all.
…No.
Regret changed nothing. It was all her own fault. What mattered now was what came next.
"Yeah. It worked out."
Hearing her answer, Carlos threw his head back and laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! That's a relief. A real relief."
She faced him and let a small smile of her own slip free.
A little time passed, and once the Sword Saint had laughed himself out, he asked,
"By the way — what about that young lady?"
Her body gave a faint tremor at his words, but she managed not to let it show.
"I won't be able to see her for a while."
"Hm? Did something happen?"
She looked up at the sky. Dazzling sunlight wrapped her face in gentle warmth.
"…She said it would be better if we took some time."
The Sword Saint watched her quietly for a spell, then nodded and turned his gaze skyward as well.
"I see. Not my place to interfere."
"So. What will you do from here?"
"I suppose I should start reaping what I've sown."
Yes. There was a great deal left to do.
Only now did she finally understand how wrong the path she had walked had been. How precious love truly was. And that you must never trample on another person's heart.
She had only just learned it. Without meeting Hera, she probably never would have known for the rest of her life.
All the sins she had committed until now. People who had suffered because of her foolish past — people like Bordin — there had to be more than a few of them.
In the time Hera had given her, she would go to every last one of them and beg their forgiveness. She might never receive it, not even if she spent her whole life trying. But she would not give up.
"And why did you follow me?"
She turned and looked back at the girl behind her.
Short brown hair. Alina — once a maid in her own estate. The girl was watching her with a calm, unreadable expression.
"…I cannot trust you."
"Hmm?"
"Lady Athena has already inflicted an irreversible wound upon Miss Hera. There is no guarantee you will not do so again."
"…"
Athena's brow furrowed slightly at the words, but they were not wrong, so she let them pass.
"And so?"
"Please allow me to watch. To see how you will change."
Quite bold of her. Well — that was fine. Having someone to talk to would at least keep things from getting dull.
"Do as you like."
She turned her back on Alina and started walking. Quietly, Alina fell into step behind her.
…How long had it even been since they parted?
She already missed her.
Still — someday Hera would come to see her face again. Surely.
They had formed a Master-Slave Contract. And not the kind sealed with mere mana — the truly vicious kind, in which a servant offered up their very soul to their master. A single gesture from Hera could probably destroy Athena's soul in an instant.
Even so, she had no regrets.
She was the one who had proposed offering her soul. Hera could not handle mana and so could not form a contract herself; Athena had been the one to suggest it.
"Heh. To think I'd end up a slave."
At first she thought she had misheard. But when she met the fierce intensity in Hera's eyes, refusal became impossible. As long as she could keep her relationship with Hera, she would do whatever Hera wanted a hundred times over — so without hesitation, she had decided to become her slave.
……Though I'm not exactly thrilled with the order itself.
— Let's take some time apart, Athena.
Hera's first command to her.
Until the day Hera came looking for her again, she was to stay healthy, commit no evil, and live kindly. Hera had said she still could not bring herself to face Athena properly.
Of course she couldn't.
If anything, Athena was grateful. That Hera had not cast her aside after everything she had done — that she had taken her back in. Right up to the very end, she had been far too kind. A truly lovable woman.
"Well then. Shall we go."
Thinking of her, Athena strode forward with resolve burning in her eyes.
A few months, maybe. Then they would see each other again… wouldn't they?
"Mom. What are you thinking about?"
"Mm… nothing."
Mari, a little taller than before, sat on my lap and looked up at me. Her face was still impossibly cute and precious. When I stroked her hair, she smiled contentedly and nestled straight into my arms.
A whole year had already passed since then. Time had rushed by like a river in full flood.
I opened the window, and bright sunlight and green trees filled my vision. This place lay deep in a forest on the outskirts beyond the Empire — so remote that even someone deliberately searching would never find it.
We had come here on Sepheer's recommendation. A wooden cabin in the middle of the woods; Sepheer said it was an old dwelling abandoned by elves. Moving into a house that still felt like it had an owner made me a little uneasy, but according to her it hadn't been used in a hundred years, so it was fine.
When we first arrived it had been thick with mold and dust and reeked terribly, but thankfully Mari's magic cleaned it in an instant.
A year since then. With no human footsteps ever reaching this far, we had been able to live in perfect quiet.
"…I wonder if I should go see her soon."
I rested a hand lightly over my heart and pictured her in my mind. Athena — the one who had offered me her soul, who was now my slave.
Had she felt like this too?
Perhaps because I carried her soul within me, it was nothing like when I had simply held her mana. Even this far apart, I always felt as though she were right beside me. Maybe that was why the urge to go find her and meet her had faded so much.
A full year later and that feeling still held, so I probably wouldn't go looking for her anytime soon. Athena would have a rough time of it, of course.
"Heh…"
Imagining Athena fretting and floundering drew a laugh out of me before I could stop it.
…Suffer a little longer, Athena.
My feelings toward her still hadn't fully settled. The betrayal I had felt had been too vast to put into words. Even so, I no longer hated her enough to want her dead. Give it a little more time, and I would be able to face her properly.
I heard news of Athena through Alina. She was traveling from place to place, living for the sake of others. Alina said it was as if she had truly been reborn.
"…I'm still the same, though."
I was still afraid of facing someone. Even when Mari and I shared small gestures of affection, my body would start trembling on its own — a deep, lingering revulsion still lived in my flesh. There was nothing I could do about it. Even if Athena had staged the whole thing, the self-loathing I had felt in that moment had been real. Simply knowing it was a lie was not enough to overcome it.
Think happy thoughts.
Still — I was clearly much better than before. My body had recovered its health, and a healthy color had returned to my face.
Jingle-jingle—
The sound of a small bell rang from the doorway.
"Hera! I'm back!"
Sepheer, in her human form, came into the house carrying bags stuffed full of groceries in both hands.
"Thanks for the hard work, Sepheer."
When I smiled and spoke to her, Sepheer twisted her legs together and said shyly,
"Mmm… th-then… could you maybe lick my ears again…? It's been a while…"
"…Alright. Later."
At my words, Sepheer's face lit up at once. She must have really enjoyed it when I did it for her before — she had been asking me for ear-licking steadily ever since. Lily had said it was a pleasant kind of massage, and it certainly seemed to be true.
Crunch—
"Mm…? Mari…?"
"…It's nothing, Mom."
…What was that?
For a second I thought I felt a chill radiating from around Mari. Must have been my imagination.
I looked up at the especially bright sun today and murmured to myself,
"Come to think of it… next year the original story starts, doesn't it…"
"Hm? Original?"
Mari tilted her head at me. Apparently my muttering had reached her ears. When I brushed it off and said it was nothing, she gave a little shrug and settled back into my arms.
…I shouldn't think about the original story anymore. There was no need to worry about it now.
Athena had become a wise and just ruler. That alone would make Robin's path far smoother. Sepheer no longer aided the Demon King either — so the whole mess of her troublesome charm magic turning allies against each other would never happen. The rest was entirely up to Robin.
"…Do your best, protagonist."
I propped my chin in my hand and gazed at the bright sunlight. I would not concern myself with the original story any longer. I must have made that vow dozens of times already — but this time, I meant it.
Thinking that, I closed my eyes and savored the warm sun.
But as the saying goes — when do things in this world ever go the way people want?
Mischievously enough, another year passed. And thanks to a rumor that shook the entire Empire, my resolve shattered into pieces once again.
The news that the Hero of the Holy Sword — appearing in the Empire for the first time in a hundred years — was a woman.