The Path We Four Walk Together
"Originally, that was my most important goal."
But then, Gayul said—
"Right now, my most important goal is you."
"Ahem."
"Ahem!"
"…All of you."
Hoeyeon couldn't help but snort with laughter.
"I see."
"If you ask whether returning to the throne is the right thing to do, I have no answer. But the world is at peace now, so I question whether stirring up trouble would be worth it."
"Then if we set aside any sense of duty for a moment and just ask what you actually want?"
At Hoeyeon's question, Gayul's face twisted.
"It was a dull life."
Short. Simple. And precisely because of that, the perfect answer.
"Yeah."
Hoeyeon smiled, satisfied.
She savored that reply for a moment, then asked Gayul something else.
"Can you whistle?"
"What on earth are you talking about all of a sudden? Like this—"
The instant Gayul pursed her lips to whistle, Hoeyeon kissed her.
"……………!?"
Even after Hoeyeon's lips pulled away, Gayul stayed frozen for several seconds, staring blankly. The moment understanding hit, she flushed scarlet and clapped both hands over her mouth.
"Must you do that right in front of this humble one—"
"Arang. Hands."
"What are you saying all of a sudden!?"
"Hands. Both of them."
Flustered as she was, Arang did as she was told and placed both hands in Hoeyeon's. Hoeyeon clasped them tight so she couldn't pull away—and stole Arang's lips.
"……!!"
Arang went rigid too, and even after Hoeyeon drew back she simply kept holding her hands together, still raised, unmoving.
"Yujeong."
"Y-Yes…!"
"Let's hug. Arms out."
"I-I haven't even confessed yet—"
"I'll do it."
"Hwah!?!?"
"Come on. Big hug."
"B-Big hug…."
Hoeyeon stepped into Yujeong's open arms and pulled her in hard.
"H-Haahnn…."
"Yujeong."
"Heeehh…."
A whisper against her ear drew a soft moan from Yujeong.
"I like you. Truly. Because of you, I was able to open my heart to people again."
"Uhyat."
"You've always been dazzling. I hope you'll keep shining brightly at my side. Will you stay with me?"
"Y-Yeees…… S-Sajeo…! I-I-I love you!"
"Mm. I love you too. Let's kiss."
"K-Kiiiss—!! !?!?!?!? !?!???!!"
Lips met lips, then parted. Yujeong locked up exactly as she was, still babbling incoherently.
"…What is this all of a sudden?"
Gayul, having been first and thus recovered fastest, asked.
"Gayul."
The lover who had taught her what love was—braver than anyone, and broad of heart.
"Arang."
The lover who was captivating, fond of mischief, and deeply loyal.
"Yujeong."
The lover who clung and fussed, bright and warm, who had melted the frozen version of herself.
"Let's live happily."
The Masu were howling all around them, and somehow that only made it better. This was a declaration of war against a world overflowing with hardship and sorrow.
"The four of us—let's be happy. Really, really happy. Joyfully, freely, unbound by anything. Doing whatever we want. All of us, happy together."
Smiling as she spoke, Hoeyeon held out her hand in the middle.
"You truly do stride straight into a person's heart without the slightest hesitation. And I love you for it."
Gayul laid her hand on top.
"The price for stealing this humble one's heart—a lifetime would not suffice to pay it. Brace yourself."
Arang laid hers on top.
"M-Me! From the very beginning! And from now on, always! I love you! I'll keep loving you!"
Yujeong laid hers on top.
"Promise!"
"I promise!"
"I so swear!"
"I promise!"
And the four of them flung their hands upward together with all their might.
Before leaving Geumdo behind, they went down once more to where the white-haired girl was, then came back up. Yujeong spoke.
"So… how are we getting out?"
Word that four humans were gathered amicably in this place must have spread among the Masu; their numbers had swelled until they now swarmed around the building in a writhing mass.
"Hmm… I do have one idea."
Hoeyeon crossed her arms and looked at Arang.
"…Why are you looking at this humble one?"
"Your fox form uses magic power, right?"
"It is not mere magic, but for the moment, yes."
"So if you have more magic power, you can get bigger and hold the form longer?"
"That is so… but there is a limit to how large I can grow in the first place, and simply being large will not let me sweep those things away, will it?"
"We don't need to sweep them away."
"…What?"
"We just need to get out, right?"
Hoeyeon laughed—ahaha. Arang felt a distinct sense of foreboding.
Five minutes later.
"If it weren't for the rest of you!! The moment that proposal left her mouth I would have struck her neck!!!!!!!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!"
A gigantic fox was tearing through the ruined city. It was Arang.
And the other three were riding on her back.
"How magnificent this is! Finer than any steed I have ever ridden!!"
"Do not treat this humble one as a horse!!!!!!"
"Sajeo, that way!"
"Got it!"
Cutting down the attacking Masu with sword and magic, the four of them raced through Geumdo.
"Are we not destroying rather too many buildings!? Annihilating Spark Garden!!!!"
⟨ Annihilating Spark Garden ⟩
"You're one to talk while turning everything into a sea of fire!!!"
"It goes out on its own!"
"This humble one's fur!? The fur has not caught, has it!? My tail! A tuft of my tail fur just got sheared off!?"
"Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Isn't there anything stronger!!! Huh—what's that?"
"You called for it, so of course it showed up!!!!!"
The entire escape from Geumdo was pure chaos.
Once they were out, the rebound left them silent for a while. They quietly caught their breath, then started walking without a word.
They walked like that across the wasteland for some time before Hoeyeon finally glanced back over her shoulder and spoke again.
"Feels like a dream."
Geumdo was nowhere in sight—only the endless stretch of wasteland.
"Come to think of it… do you think there's anything on the other side?"
"…Yeah. There must be, right? Whether people live there, I don't know."
"I'd like to go someday."
While Hoeyeon and Yujeong talked, Gayul and Arang launched into more practical discussion.
"How many houses do you suppose we will need? One each in Hwi, Sang, and Se might be nice."
"Finding houses is easy enough, but will we not need someone to look after them when we are not living there?"
"The wet nurse is getting on in years… and there is only one of her to begin with. Do you have anyone trustworthy?"
"If the work is merely occasional cleaning and repairs, a few suitable candidates come to mind, depending on the pay."
Everyone was in high spirits.
Long-held questions had been answered. Their future together had been made clear. And they had cut loose on a scale they never could have outside.
"So are we heading to Arang's village today?"
"If we push hard we could arrive tonight, but this humble one needs to prepare herself as well. Shall we make it tomorrow afternoon?"
"Sounds good. Then where do we sleep tonight?"
"I am not particular, but let us choose a town that is not too small. This humble one would like a drink."
"Drinks. Good idea. Today is a day worth celebrating."
And Gayul looked at Hoeyeon with a smile.
"Is it not our betrothal day?"
That gaze. That beauty. That expression of pure joy.
Hoeyeon's heart gave a great, hard thump.
"Be-Betrothal."
"Sajeo, you proposed three times in a row and now you're embarrassed? Or was it simultaneous rather than in a row?"
Yujeong asked, but now that the word marriage had been brought into sharp focus, there was nothing Hoeyeon could do about it.
"Yujeong, perhaps it is time you found something other than 'Sajeo' to call her?"
"Ah. Uh, ah… Y-You're right… I'm her lover now too… so, hehehe…."
Yujeong twiddled her fingers together, smiling shyly.
"W-What would be good… hehe…."
Gayul rested her chin on her hand with a thoughtful hum.
"When and where shall we hold the wedding…."
Yujeong kept fidgeting with her fingers, trying out different words.
"'You'… overlaps with Gayul and Arang… D-Da… Darling…… hweeehh……. This one is after we're married, f-fweeehh… H-Honey too… heueueu… B-B-B-B-Ba, bae, baby… uhet, ehet, hehehehehehehehet."
"…Hoeyeon. Is this all right?"
"You're the one who set her off……."
"Where shall we commission the rings? Hmm."
The pure-white girl was dreaming once more inside her prison.
It seemed those had been her first visitors in a hundred and twenty years. This time, the interval had been relatively short.
Dreaming of a death she would never reach, the pure-white girl thought of the young man who had come seeking power a hundred and twenty years ago.
Child… in the end, did you claim the world alone, and give your body for the sake of the world that had driven you to such despair?
That resolve had been noble and beautiful. The path of a great person. And a lonely path.
But the child who is your descendant has found those with whom to share her heart, and walks a road different from yours.
She did not know when the next time this infinite dream would break.
Or perhaps there would be no next time, and she would remain forever alone on this boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness.
If it is possible… I should like to know how the path you walked concluded. My distant, distant children—descendants of descendants.
And before she sank deeper into unconsciousness, the First King thought one last thing.
Of the gentle ashen swordsman who had looked back at her at the end.
—Someday, I'll come back to set you free.
As empty a promise as a child swearing to pluck down the stars for their mother.
And yet it had been an endearing one.
Endearing enough that, wry though it was, she had found herself smiling.
"Hey, though."
In their luxurious lodgings, Hoeyeon suddenly spoke to Gayul.
"Can I… touch your ears?"
"You may not."
"Why not?"
As Hoeyeon edged closer across the large bed, Gayul retreated by the same distance.
"I do not even know myself… what it would feel like. I have no idea what kind of spectacle I might make if you touched them, so no."
"Ohhh…."
Retreating, Gayul bumped into something. Arang's chest.
"Is that so? Sensitive enough that even you yourself do not know the extent…."
"Arang, what on earth are you—" Gayul broke off. "Hoeyeon? Your eyes are rather frightening…?"
Gayul's ears gave a little twitch, flushing red all the way to their pointed tips.
As if, contrary to their owner's words, they were inviting her.