Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 348
Chapter Title: Regret (2)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Sorry."
"I can't do it, Raniel."
"Sorry, but... I can't become like you."
Rain poured down.
In the pouring rain, Kyle gave a bitter laugh.
"I'm not the one suited to be the Hero."
His finger pointed at me.
"It's you, Raniel."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're more than me..."
"Get up."
"A guy like me should never have become the Hero. The one suited to be the Hero isn't me—it's you, Raniel."
"Cut the bullshit and get up."
I grabbed him by the collar and hauled him to his feet.
I screamed. I screamed and screamed, but Kyle just expressionlessly pointed at me. I can't forget that memory from that day.
No.
I've been made unable to forget it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【Raniel van Trias.】 【Blessings upon the new Hero.】 The voice of the stars.
That damned voice of the stars rang in her ears.
Raniel slowly lowered her gaze. In her eyes, she could see starlight rising from her own body.
Starlight. The voice of the stars. And her own condition.
The given information pieced itself together.
Information connected to information, forming context. Damn it all, Raniel's mind spun quickly. Even though she didn't want to understand, the situation began to make sense.
She had become the Hero.
The starlight that couldn't be transferred had been transferred.
The impossible had happened.
To achieve the impossible, naturally, a fitting price was required. Offering a price to obtain what one desires—that's what mages called a trade. A trade had been made. By whom? And where?
'Trade.'
The moment that word came to mind, she remembered what had happened in the North. Kyle, who had made a contract with the stars of unknown nature. What expression had he worn, what words had he spoken to her as she screamed at him to break that contract?
「I can't do that.」
He had said it with a bitter smile.
「I can't let it go.」
He had looked at her with that bitter smile.
Only now did Raniel understand the meaning of that smile. She understood what Kyle had sought to achieve, even imposing such constraints upon himself.
"......"
Raniel's fingertips trembled.
Her pupils shook wildly as she stared at the starlight rising from her body. Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
Contract, trade, starlight.
Yes, Kyle had made some kind of contract.
She didn't know the method, but he had done something.
He passed the starlight to me, huh? That damned bastard. Saying I was the one suited to be the Hero, and he went and did it. Fine, whatever...
But.
But starlight isn't something that can just be passed on, is it?
It's not something that happens just because you wish it.
Imposing those constraints wouldn't be enough. To achieve this, something... some deed must have been required.
'Deed.'
The battle with the Sword of Death.
Kyle insisting they had to come here.
His suspicious movements.
'That guy said there's only one left now.'
If the next after the Sword of Death...
Then.
Next is.
Ah.
No way.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【Fulfill the given fate...】 "Shut your mouth."
Raniel cut off the voice of the stars whispering in her ear. She didn't trust the stars. And now, more than ever, she couldn't.
"...No."
Raniel exhaled.
"No. Way."
She laughed.
"No."
Her voice trembled as she muttered.
"No, that can't be. No."
She took a step.
Her body was completely back to normal, but for some reason, her legs were shaking. Raniel staggered and grabbed the door handle.
She opened the door and stepped outside.
As the door opened, Rosel shot to his feet and looked at her, but Raniel avoided his eyes. She walked.
'No.'
One step.
'No, right?'
Another step.
Staggering forward, Raniel looked around. Where would Kyle be, the one who passed the stars to her? He had to be here somewhere. She needed an explanation from him. She absolutely had to hear it.
The hypotheses swirling in her head were all just speculation. It couldn't be. She hoped he would deny every single one of them.
Clinging to that hope, Raniel walked.
She staggered through the mansion.
Searching for someone who surely wasn't there, Raniel moved. The mansion had never felt that big before, but now it seemed endlessly vast.
And then, suddenly.
Someone grabbed Raniel's wrist.
Raniel let out the breath she'd been holding. It wasn't her master's touch. Her body shuddered briefly as she slowly turned her head. And there...
"...Cardi."
Cardi stood there.
Not Kyle, but Cardi. Raniel looked at him and smiled. With trembling hands, she grabbed his arm.
"Hey, Cardi."
"......"
"Where's Kyle? Where's that idiot? There's no way that thick-headed moron came up with something like this alone."
You too, you cooperated too, didn't you?
That was just sleep incense, wasn't it? I know. I know you lied. Still, I went along with it just in case, because you looked so tormented back then.
But.
"...Raniel."
But why are you making that face even now?
"Kyle."
Raniel raised her voice.
"Where's Kyle, you bastard!"
Cardi answered.
"...He's not here."
"Then where is he?"
"I don't know. Somewhere in the Demon Realm, probably."
"Must be living it up, huh? Well, even without the starlight, that guy's basically superhuman..."
"Raniel."
"Listen."
Raniel gripped Cardi's arm tightly.
"Tell me I'm right, Cardi."
"......"
"It's not what I'm thinking, right? No?"
Tell me my thoughts are wrong.
In front of Raniel, who was practically begging, Cardi squeezed his eyes shut. Then, with effort, he forced out a single phrase.
"You already know, don't you, Raniel."
Cardi delivered the verdict.
"What you're thinking is correct."
He shoved the truth in her face.
Cardi couldn't speak lies. He plainly conveyed the facts as they were.
"Kyle Toben is dead."
Raniel said nothing.
She didn't even ask why.
Raniel laughed. Laughing, she spoke.
"...To save me?"
It wasn't a question seeking an answer.
She already knew the answer.
Raniel could no longer ignore the conclusion her mind had pieced together. She released Cardi's arm. Her legs, finding no reason to stand, gave out, and she collapsed right there.
Thud.
She bowed her head. She stared at her hands. Only the rising starlight filled her vision. Raniel fully understood the situation.
"Why."
Like a doll with cut strings, head bowed, Raniel muttered.
"Why the hell?"
No one was there to answer that question.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
Raniel understood her own condition perfectly. She should have been dead. Her lifespan had reached its limit, her body broken. Her soul was irreparably damaged.
Broken beyond repair.
More than anyone, she herself knew that her only remaining end was a pitiful death. Knowing that, she had feared it.
A death that left nothing behind.
A death full of regrets.
Raniel knew there was no escaping that death. She knew it was impossible. But now, the impossible had occurred.
"......"
Her body was fine.
Her broken soul was fully mended.
She was farther from death than ever before. Freed from that terror, but something heavier crushed her mind. Raniel slowly raised her head.
"Explain."
She glared at Cardi.
Glared as she demanded an explanation.
"First, get up..."
"I said explain."
"......"
With a short exhale, Cardi explained to Raniel. He described Kyle's plan, omitting information about future Raniel, and admitted his own cooperation.
"The stars dwelling in you."
Means he succeeded.
When I came to get you, he was already dead. That's why I only brought you. As Cardi explained, Raniel let out a laugh.
An unbelievable story.
She couldn't even believe he'd slain the Demon King. That he went back there to face the Demon King he'd feared so much? To accomplish that feat?
Nothing but unbelievable tales.
But the evidence that it was true was right here. Her survival, the starlight dwelling within her—that was the proof. Listening blankly to Cardi's story...
Raniel suddenly let out a laugh.
"...Ha."
The laugh that escaped was dry.
"For real."
Raniel muttered.
"I'm starting to hate myself."
"...What do you mean."
"You know what I mean, right, Cardi?"
Raniel laughed.
"Even now, in this moment, I'm picking out the gaps in your words. And I found them."
It was a habit.
A terrible habit.
"Cardi."
She slowly stood up.
She reached out and grabbed his collar.
"The body?"
"......"
"Where's his body?"
"That's."
"You didn't bring it because he was dead? Don't lie. If that were true, you'd have brought the corpse at least. Or said you burned it. You know the Demon Realm—you wouldn't leave a body there. Where's the corpse?"
"...Raniel."
"He's not dead."
"Wait..."
"He's not dead."
Raniel's lips trembled.
"He couldn't even die, could he?"
"......"
"Want me to tell you what this damned constellation is whispering in my ear right now, Cardi?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 【Fulfill the given fate.】 【Slay the calamity, Kyle Toben.】 "Slay the calamity, Kyle Toben."
Cardi's eyes shook.
Raniel laughed.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Kyle Toben had become a calamity.
Cardi had explained that slaying the Demon King was the feat he sought. The stars said Kyle had become a calamity. Raniel could easily guess what had happened between those two statements.
Ganikalt van Galatric.
Kyle had met the same end as him.
The boy who had admired and sought to emulate Ganikalt had ultimately mirrored even his final fate. Raniel's lips parted and closed repeatedly.
"Cardi."
With great effort, Raniel squeezed out a phrase.
"Did you... know it would end like this?"
"...That's."
"You knew and still cooperated."
Cardi closed his eyes.
As if whatever she said, he'd accept it—vent your anger if you must. In front of the closed-eyed Cardi, Raniel raised her hand. She clenched her fist, then let it drop limply.
"No."
Raniel muttered.
"This isn't it."
"......"
"You know I wouldn't have wanted this. Why? Why did you do it?"
Her voice trembled.
Releasing his collar, Raniel clutched her throat with trembling hands. Her slender neck. Her nails dug into the pale skin.
Blood trickled out.
But the small wound healed in an instant. Starlight rose, the flesh swelling and pushing out her nails. There was blood, but no wound. Regeneration symbolic of the Hero.
"Why did I have to become the Hero?"
The moment he looked into Raniel's eyes, Cardi swallowed hard. For there was Raniel, wearing the same expression as the one from the future.
"I didn't want to die. I did think I wanted to live. I did think I hated this kind of end. But this... this isn't it. This..."
"Raniel."
"This isn't it."
Raniel laughed.
Laughed and cried.
She thought she should write to Kyle once she got up. After so long, really so long, she should have an open talk with him. With so little time left to her...
At least she wouldn't have regrets.
But that chance was gone.
Raniel couldn't wear her mask as always. Once stripped away, the mask wouldn't cover her face again. With her true face exposed, Raniel was just an ordinary human.
Fearing death.
Fearing loss.
A human whose old wounds had festered hidden for so long.
"I... I..."
All that remained was regret.
A choked sob escaped Raniel's lips.
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