IF. True End. Person. (2)
A few more days passed. Or maybe it was weeks. Time in the village dragged on slowly. In the mornings, I'd wash my face, stand in front of the mirror to tie up my silver hair, and head outside. I'd greet the baker, stop by the market, draw water from the well. Then, by evening, I'd climb to the hill at the village edge and sit watching the sun set. It was the same every day. Maybe that's why, at the end of each one, an emptiness gnawed inside my chest.
I tried not to rely on Ethan. This is the man I killed. The one whose throat I slit before turning back time. Still, he kept showing up. Probably couldn't stand seeing me isolated among the villagers. The ponytail I'd tie myself would come undone after half a day. No matter how many days I practiced, I couldn't get it like Adelaide did. When she tied it, it stayed perfect all day.
Doing laundry by the stream, I caught my reflection in the water. Silver hair, red eyes. Nothing had changed. Just the shadows under my eyes had deepened. I wasn't sleeping well at night.
Walking back with the laundry, I'd sometimes freeze. A gust from the back hills would feel especially cold, and memories would flood in of Adelaide stepping in front of me to block the wind. The memories didn't fade. Even turning back time couldn't rewind the time inside me.
The villagers were kind. The baker always handed me bread as I passed. Raoul at the general store told me to ask if I needed anything. But the fact that I'd killed these people never changed. Maybe I'd remain a stranger here until I died.
That thought crossed my mind when a kid came running up. This time, instead of grabbing my hair, she held out her hand.
"Ailin sis, here."
"...What's this."
"A flower! Picked it from the field."
"...You can't steal."
"It's not stealing. It's our field."
It was a small yellow flower with a short stem and five petals. Memories overlapped of Adelaide plucking one by the roadside and offering it to me. The stem had been too weak and it crumbled right away, but what mattered was that she'd given it.
Same here. The flower would wilt soon, but I'd received it.
"Thanks."
"Heehee."
I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. All I could do now was give it water before it died. I took the flower to my room and stuck it in a cup of water. The yellow petals glowed vividly in the light from the window. The one Adelaide gave me had crumbled between my fingers, but this one was still alive.
Being alive was good. I knew that much now.
I climbed the hill again today. Sat on the grass and hugged my knees. As the sunset crept over the village roofs, the wind tousled my silver hair. I hadn't bothered retying it after it came loose before evening. No point—it'd just unravel anyway.
Ethan didn't come today. Something about being bored, probably.
When the sun was halfway down, I spotted dust rising at the village entrance. I tried to look away, figuring it was just a merchant passing through. Then a horse's neigh made me turn back.
There, a silhouette approached against the sunset. Dismounting. Longsword at the hip. Blue hair to the shoulders fluttering in the wind.
My breath caught.
"...No way."
I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't hold. On the second try, I managed to rise, and on the third, took a step. Stumbled. Thought I'd fall any second. But I didn't stop. My pace quickened down the hill. Through the grass, onto the dirt path, into the village streets. A few villagers turned to stare. They'd never seen me run before.
In the sunset glow, she came into sharp focus. No armor—just a black coat over a white shirt, ordinary clothes. Her black eyes fixed solely on me, even from afar.
A dream. Has to be a dream. Or a hallucination.
My steps halted. So did hers. Ten paces apart, neither of us moved first.
"...Adel?"
My voice trembled. It was mine, but it didn't feel like it.
"Knew you'd be here."
That voice. Low and steady, with that slight softness at the ends sometimes. No mistaking it. Couldn't forget it. It couldn't be this perfect even in my nightly dreams.
"You remember? Me? How? I turned back time—"
"Told you."
Adelaide paused. Five paces away.
"I'd remember you in the next life. And the one after."
Those words... When the hero's power awakened. The moment golden light exploded through the inn, shattering it—Adelaide had shouted them.
Had I not remembered until now because of the battle's shock? Or because I wanted to forget?
"...It actually works?"
"Guess so. That's why I'm here."
Her calm answer felt unreal. But that was Adelaide.
"...How'd you find me."
"Only place you could be. This village."
"..."
"You said it yourself. You're from another world. This body's not yours."
She remembered my possession confession, everything I'd spilled that night in the cave.
I took a step. Not running—slowly. Adelaide matched it. Another step, the same. When we faced each other, just one remained.
Up close, things had changed. Her hair was a bit shorter. Her face had color. But her eyes were the same. That unwavering gaze from our first meeting.
"...Sorry."
It was all that came out. Nothing else came to mind. Or too much, and I didn't know where to start.
"Everything. All of it."
Adelaide looked down at me. The height difference meant I still had to look up.
"I know."
A beat.
"Told you I accepted it."
"...Back then, was it real?"
"No reason to lie."
And then.
"...Don't cry. We haven't done anything yet."
"...Not crying."
"You are."
I touched my cheek. It was wet. Tears had started flowing without me noticing. I tried to hold back, but couldn't. I hadn't cried until now. Not when Adelaide died, not after turning back time, not waking from nightmares every night. No right to.
But with her standing there, everything I'd held back collapsed.
One more step. My forehead touched her shoulder. Her hand rose, gently stroking my back.
"It's okay to cry. No one's watching."
"..."
Liar. The villagers were all staring from afar. The baker, Raoul, the kid with the flower. But it didn't matter. In that moment, it felt like just us two existed.
How long? When the sobs faded, I pulled back. Her shoulder was soaked.
We sat side by side on the village-end hill. The spot I'd occupied alone until moments ago. Tall grass, perfect view of the whole village. The sunset had half-faded. Stars began to peek out.
Wind blew, scattering my silver hair. I reached instinctively to tuck it, but her hand got there first. Adelaide's fingers caught the strands, hooking them behind my ear. The gesture was so natural, it left me speechless.
This is really happening. Reality.
"...What happened to you, Adel."
"What?"
"I turned back time."
"Eh, nothing much."
"Then how...?"
"Woke up after dying."
"...Did it hurt?"
"I'm fine."
"...Asked if it hurt."
"..."
It did. Seeing my wilted expression, Adelaide let out a small chuckle.
"My subordinates are all fine too. Zenon, Kairin, Derek, the rest."
"...Good."
The word slipped out naturally, and her eyes widened a fraction. Then she nodded, adding,
"Yeah. Really good."
By now, the night sky brimmed with twinkling stars. Darkness and light coexisting. It reminded me of the mural—the King of Darkness and Sword of Light.
Demon King and Hero repeat. But not this time. No Demon King, no Hero. Just two people sitting side by side.
"Hey, Adel."
"Yeah."
"Let's go see the sea."
The words left my mouth, and Adelaide froze. She looked at me. Her expression softened slowly, eyes narrowing into a genuine smile.
"...Yeah. Let's go together."
Not it'd be nice if you went—let's go. Future, not past. We could talk about what lay ahead.
"Adel."
"Yeah."
"...Thanks. For finding me."
"Of course."
I leaned on Adelaide's shoulder and closed my eyes. I'd thought NPCs weren't people. That's why it was okay to kill them. But they were. People from the start. And so am I.
People can be by other people's sides.
Wind blew from afar, tousling hair. I didn't need to see the village lights flickering on. The warmth beside me was enough.
True End.
She finally learned how to be by a person's side.