He couldn’t remember how he got back to the cavern’s plaza.

Standing in the middle of the dimly lit plaza, Yuichiro blankly stared at the scene before his eyes. In his line of sight, dozens of people were collapsed on the ground, sobbing.

“What happened?” 

Looking down.

When he asked with a deflated voice, Kiki, who had been looking down, raised her face. Her face was wet with tears.

“Temeraire-sama has passed away.”

At her words, his mouth hardened in the shape of ‘ha’. In an instant, all the blood in his body drained away, and his fingertips became as cold as ice. Staring at Yuichiro, who remained motionless with his mouth open, Kiki continued in a painfully sad voice.

“The bleeding wouldn’t stop, and he started becoming delirious just now… By the time we noticed, he had stopped breathing…”

His mind was a blank, and he couldn’t understand what Kiki was saying.

Temeraire couldn’t have died. Such a beautiful and selfless man couldn’t possibly have died protecting him.

“It’s a joke, right?”

From his lips, a sound that resembled air being let out escaped. Yuichiro’s sight became unfocused, and the world wobbled before him.

At the edge of his vision, Kiki shook her head left and right. That moment, a sharp scream resounded.

“It’s all your fault!”

Yuichiro turned his gaze toward the direction of the voice. There was Noah, his face contorted in anger. Nearby, there was also the sight of Temeraire lying still with closed eyes. Temeraire’s chest was not rising and falling, and his skin had turned so pale that it seemed translucent.

“Te-“

“It’s all your fault! Temeraire died protecting you!”

Yuichiro’s attempt to call out his name was drowned out by Noah’s angry outburst. Touched by Noah’s intense rage, Yuichiro took a small breath.

“You were never a goddess in the first place! From the start, I’ve always thought you as a calamity god, a murderer! Why did you come to this world? There’s no way a murderer can save this world! There’s no way anyone can be saved!”

I didn’t come here because I wanted to. I was sent here against my will, arbitrarily called a goddess, and told to save this world…

In his mind, pointless excuses kept spinning round and round. Yuichiro  couldn’t take my eyes off Temeraire’s face, completely drained of color. Even in death, the man was divinely beautiful. It was just too sad.

With tears streaming down his face, Noah stared straight at Yuichiro. “Ogami Yuichiro, you will never be saved. You will never be forgiven by anyone.”

This is wrong, Noah would never say something like this. So, what is this? Who is this Noah in front of me? What am I seeing right now?

The world before Yuichiro’s eyes started to swirl around. He then covered his face with both hands as if to shield his eyes from this cruel world.

At that moment, Yuichiro could hear a voice whispering in his ear.

“Is this what you wished for?”

At the voice that sounded in his ear, he quickly lifted his head. As he did so, he saw Belz’ surprised face. Belz was holding a cloth in both hands, looking at Yuichiro.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you up? You looked cold, so I thought I’d cover you with this cloth.”

Taking his eyes off Belz, who muttered in a slightly high-pitched voice, Yuichiro looked around with a faint gaze. In the middle of the square, the surviving vigilante members were taking a nap, huddled together like emperor penguins.

There was no one sobbing like in the scene he had just seen.

“…Temeraire is…”

In a dry voice, I ask a small question. After looking puzzled, Belz turned his gaze to the end of the square.

“I think he’s resting now that his treatment is over.”

“Is that so…”

Yuichiro’s voice was hoarse, and he felt pathetic. As he tried to get up, Belz lent an arm to support him. With the man’s long arm for support, he stood up.

Belz spoke in a matter-of-fact tone to Yuichiro, who was beginning to walk unsteadily.

“We’re set to leave in two-eighths. Please get ready.”

Yuichiro nodded. 

“In about an hour, then?”

After returning a slight nod, Yuichiro suddenly realized something and looked at Bells. “Have you rested?”

“Yes.”

“Sleep more until we depart.”

Belz displayed a small wry smile on his face, but obediently replied, “Understood.”

Yuichiro then headed toward the edge of the square. The moment he saw a familiar beautiful face, a sense of relief that left him at a loss for words welled up, making his knees feel weak. Temeraire was sitting on a mat laid on the ground, appearing to be quietly exchanging words with Noah.

Yuichiro caught the attention of Temeraire and Noah. Temeraire gave a slightly troubled smile, while Noah furrowed his brows in annoyance. Yuichiro slowly approached and knelt down next to Temeraire.

“…Temeraire.”

As he called out the name softly, Temeraire tilted his head in curiosity.

“…Are you still alive?” It was a foolish question. He knew it, yet he couldn’t help but ask.

Temeraire chuckled softly, murmuring with a laugh in his voice. “I am alive.”

At those words, for some reason, Yuichiro felt his eyes welling up with tears. Covering his forehead with one hand, he looked down and whispered, “I see.”

“Yes. I couldn’t die and leave you behind.”

His heart ached at the words that had been spoken as if it were a given.

So, he won’t die. He won’t leave me alone.

Just then, Noah’s sharp voice cut through the air unexpectedly. “Hey, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Startled by the angry voice, Yuichiro lifted his face. He stared into Noah’s eyes, causing Noah to tighten his lips as if flustered. Looking at the boy’s face, which resembled a child trying to act tough, Yuichiro spoke in a hoarse whisper. 

“I… I…” The words caught in his throat.

It was a pathetic, miserable thing to say. He didn’t want to say it. He wouldn’t even say it if he were dying. Saying these words would rip off his facade. He was not an adult, not strong, just a fragile, weak human.

Yet, he couldn’t hold it back. A trembling voice, like that of a man on the verge of crying, escaped his lips. “Do you… hate me?”

The moment he asked, Noah’s eyes widened in surprise. However, the surprised expression quickly gave way to anger. Noah clenched his teeth tightly before snapping back in a biting tone. “There’s no way I could hate you!” His tone suggested he was upset with himself for not being able to hate Yuichiro.

The moment Yuichiro heard that answer, he could no longer hold everything back. As a small voice leaked out, a tiny tear dropped from one eye.

Once the tears started, they didn’t stop. His tears streamed from both eyes, falling onto his knees.

The moment they saw Yuichiro’s tears, both Noah and Temeraire widened their eyes in surprise. As if to hide his tears, Noah jumped up and pulled Yuichiro’s head into his arms. 

“Wha… There’s no need to cry that much… I’m… I’m sorry…” Noah apologized in a cracked voice. Temeraire extended his hand and squeezed Yuichiro’s tightly.

“What happened? Did something sad occur?”

For Yuichiro, he realized that he couldn’t answer the voice that was questioning him. He didn’t know what happened. But he found himself relieved.

That Temeraire is alive. That Noah doesn’t hate him.

And the relief he felt was unbearably painful.

He thought it was okay for this world to break. he thought it didn’t matter who died. As long as he got money, that should have been enough. But still, why does he feel such affection for someone, why doesn’t he want to lose them?

“Mine…”

It wass frustrating for him not to be able to speak well. He could usually speak any brutal words fluently, so why couldn’t he express the truth in words?

Swallowing down saliva into his parched throat, Yuichiro continued in a raspy voice.

“Listen to my story.”