Ep.10 - A Brief Encounter
'Huh?'
'What did I just hear?'
"W-wait a moment. What did you just say?"
"I said they all died young. But do not worry too much. They all lived contentedly in their own ways."
Revi smiled faintly as if it were nothing. But the fact that the already short lives of a short-lived species were cut even shorter was nothing short of a shock.
"That's a lie... right...?"
"I have no reason to lie, so how could I speak a falsehood?"
My head was spinning. No, from the Twins I'd met before to the Dragon... each and every one of them told me something horrifying and hard to believe.
The Twins' words were more like curses or mockery, so I could somehow ignore them, but what Revi said was absolutely impossible to ignore.
"Th-then I'm going to die soon too! That's what you mean!"
"Ah, do not worry. Your case is a little special."
"Really? Phew... th-that's a relief..."
The world isn't always bleak. Indeed, they say there's always a way out even when the world collapses.
I anxiously waited for the special fact or blessing Revi would tell me about. A special truth that would wash away the headache of death...
"Your purple mana has grown deeper. Among all the mana of this kind I have seen, boy, yours is the most vividly swirling."
"So that's a good thing...?"
"Well, I can't be sure about that, but it is certainly a highly unusual case for a male like you to harbor such mana. Even so, this mana is hard to find because its presence is faint, but I have seen several such individuals myself, so there is no doubt."
It wasn't exactly comforting. Still, it was better than being told I'd die soon. Because at least I could cling to a shred of hope.
"Oh dear. I spoke needlessly and troubled you. Still, such magic power is rare and tends to benefit everyone. You have given me strength, boy. Not the kind of strength that makes one stronger. A natural force and flow that brings tranquility... Thanks to you, my body is much more at ease."
"...I'll just head back quickly. Even while we're here, the pursuit keeps closing in."
"Do not worry. I've paused time for a moment."
At first I wondered what she meant, but as I was led out of the cave by Revi's thoughtful gesture, I finally understood.
It felt like we'd stayed for hours, yet the moon still hung in the night sky and dawn still hadn't come.
"I-is this also an ability?"
"Yes. However, do not misunderstand—time has not completely stopped."
Revi's intense cold gripped even time. Even the passing breeze was slow. Even the leaves trembling in it were slow. So slow you couldn't notice with the naked eye.
"Boy, when you live for a long time... sometimes you come to feel something futile. The hot-bloodedness of youth, when you constantly tested your strength, fades, and you come to live quietly, seeking something unchanging."
Honestly, I couldn't concentrate on her words. After hearing I might die soon, I had little energy left to listen to such gentle sermons.
"Once, I too challenged the world. In fact, I achieved almost everything. Who could have opposed me?"
And yet,
"Yet... some rather decent fellows would gather and block my path. Every one of them would speak with a face that looked ready to die. 'Dragon Lord Leviathan, calamity that freezes all, your end is here. Your evil deeds are over. I will defeat you and become a hero. I have come to judge you...'"
Her voice was so sorrowful that it was impossible not to listen, ill-suited to the quiet night.
"They all said that and then crumbled with the ages. Wrinkles formed on the faces of those who came to kill me, and sometimes their children came to kill me. Their children's children, and even their children after that..."
A warm sorrow within the cold was conveyed. The soft sound of ice cracking accompanied Revi's steps, and even that sound felt a little sorrowful.
"Watching them, I no longer knew. Those who came to kill me gradually lost their radiance and clung only to slaughter. It was meaningless. So I stopped and decided to live quietly instead. It meant that they should no longer seek me and walk their own paths. But once I vanished, they then began to find my sins in each other..."
We reached a lake. Revi dipped her feet into the quiet, almost frozen-looking lake, and as if enjoying the water, she moved her feet this way and that, smiling brightly.
"Such is the world. Always something happens, something disappears, and something new appears again. When the weary leave the stage, new ones appear and sing. That is the world... Your song will also ring out quite beautifully."
I sat beside her and dipped my feet in for a moment. But even just dipping the tips, I felt an icy coldness like a sheet of ice.
"Ah, it's cold...!"
"Ahaha..."
Revi laughed aloud and looked up at the sky. The sky was full of stars, and in the middle of those stars, a single blue moon was quietly watching over us.
"I have rambled on quite annoyingly to a male I've just met. Consider it the ramblings of an old creature. It seems I got excited after a long time."
"Yeah, well... it's fine. You told me various things, after all."
"I want to ask one more thing. Why are you heading to the Demon King?"
"Uh... it's a bit long. First of all, this Demon King is said to be incredibly strong. And it seems like they'll invade this continent. So we have to go and stop it. Otherwise, everyone will die, they say."
"Oh dear. That's quite a serious matter. So your women have been playing the role of heroes."
"Yes, that's right."
"And what was that about being chased?"
"Ah, that's... I'd rather not say. Things ended badly with the Albator side..."
"Alright, do your best. I'll be cheering for you."
"Yes, we'll have to..."
The conversation ended rather blandly. To be precise, it was Revi who stopped asking questions.
She seemed to be picturing something in her mind for a moment.
"...I was thinking of staying here and cheering, but I feel a little sorry. I should pack more alcohol to send with you."
"Huh?"
"I suddenly feel regret about this parting. It's nice to have the silence broken after spending a long time alone."
"Ah... Revi-ssi, don't you have something like family?"
"No. I've never had such a thing."
So this Dragon had been alone since she was born a very long time ago?
"Ah, hmm... that's sad..."
"There is no reason to be sad, so do not be sad. I've always been this way, so I'm fine. I just want to hold on to today's memory a little."
Revi submerged her entire body in the lake. Only her neck and above floated on the quiet lake like the moon, and she slowly moved toward the center of the lake.
"It's about time I left this tiresome world, but I've lived far too long."
"S-suddenly the conversation is getting a little sad..."
"Boy, just as you constantly fear death, I now fear life. I want to quietly close my eyes in this tranquil daily life, but day by day I only grow stronger, and my thread of life refuses to be severed."
Revi looked at me with her red eyes. At the subtle feelings in those eyes, my chest tightened without me realizing.
"Boy, when you go to the Demon King's castle, seek out a garden there."
And from Revi, I heard truly unexpected words. She too brought up the story of God's Garden to me.
"On the Demon Continent, there are still cathedrals that serve forgotten gods. Near the Demon King's castle, I've heard there's a garden for a forgotten god."
"...Ah, wow...? I-is that so...?"
"Once you defeat the Demon King, you can probably enter. If you go there, you might meet a god forgotten by all."
"Might meet? That sounds a bit ambiguous..."
"Yes. It can only be ambiguous. I don't even know if it truly exists, and even if it does, whether it will grant a request is another matter. At least I've never met such a god. Even though I've been aging alongside this star..."
'Huh.'
'That's not good.'
"Still, go there. Playing hero is fine, but doesn't that journey of sacrifice and dedication deserve a reward? Go there and, if it exists, make a wish. The wishes I can grant have limits, but if that one grants a wish, there will be no limits."
Revi fell silent for a moment. And closed her eyes.
For a while, no conversation passed between us. It was night in a forest where even the sounds of night birds and night insects couldn't be heard, where ice crystals quietly glistened.
Again, it was Revi who opened her mouth first. She spoke to me in a slightly more serious voice.
"...If ever you go, and meet that god..."
"Meet that god...?"
"...It's nothing. Forget it. Now, it's slowly time to part. I will fill a bottle with the alcohol I carefully brewed and give it to you. Share it with your women and drink."
"Ah, yes..."
Revi's request was ultimately left unspoken. Perhaps she didn't want to burden me as I was about to leave.
Our brief encounter and brief conversation ended like that. Now it was time to return to our respective lives.
"I shall go and wake all your women. Once they're awake, let us discuss our promise again. The fact that we spent the night is a secret—we merely held hands, sealed our lips, and spent the night meditating together. We must get our story straight. Do you understand?"
I nodded as hard as I could, matching words with Revi. 'Because if we get caught here, I'm the only one who suffers, so I have to put on an amazing performance and avoid suspicion.'
"Now, come into my arms. Let us go to grant your small wish to be sent far to the south. Quickly..."
"Ah, about that wish! Since we're at it, could you take us all the way to the Demon Continent..."
"...If I fly that far, the world will be in an uproar—are you fine with that? You might suffer greatly before you even reach the Demon King because of the chaos."
"Th-then just to the southern tip..."
"That's fine too, but didn't you say you were riding that stupid whale? It dislikes me greatly, so if I flap my wings, it will probably flee far away."
"...Then just take us to the front of the Elf Nation."
"I-I'm sorry. Are you disappointed?"
"No..."
"I-I'll give you more of my alcohol! A special alcohol brewed with the water of my lake!"
"Yeah..."
My spirits drained away at a wish with so many limitations.
'At this rate, is it going to be the same when I meet a god later...'