Evan was at a loss for words for a while.
‘You must have suffered a lot…’
It was only natural.
It was only natural that she must have suffered a great deal.
What was he saying that was so obvious?
To think “I didn’t know” when considering all the sacrifices Aria had already made would be a gross oversight, wouldn’t it?
A person born with congenital disabilities in both sight and hearing, unable to enjoy things that anyone should naturally enjoy, was chosen as the Saint and endowed with the duty to slay the Demon King, who is nothing less than a terror to all living beings.
With that duty came an ability that, while a salvation to humanity, was nothing but a sacrifice to her—a half-complete power that required her to endure an unbearable toll, in exchange for healing others; a power that made little sense.
An ordinary person would have surely questioned why they were bestowed with such a terrible ability, would have been too afraid of the pain that comes with healing someone to ever fully use their ability.
Apparently, all the previous Saints throughout history were the same.
They suffered so much in the act of healing that they wanted to give up their duty and throw everything away.
The end for most Saints wasn’t a happy one.
This was a fact Evan had learned from the Pope.
Most either went mad, or even if they didn’t, they lived with trauma for the rest of their lives, becoming fragile and eventually dying.
It didn’t matter whether the Demon King had been properly sealed, not sealed, defeated, or not defeated…
Such facts were irrelevant.
For anyone to simply heal someone else and be forced to bear all their pain was an impossible task for someone of ordinary capacity.
Even a Saint, chosen by the goddess, couldn’t possibly endure such a burden.
Evan was certain after only half a year.
She had tried to bear all that agony.
With her half-complete power, she had attempted to save an incalculable number of people.
Until now, she had worked tirelessly, bearing the countless pains of innumerable people in her small frame.
It was truly remarkable.
That was right.
Aria was not a machine created to slay the Demon King.
Aria was human.
‘What the hell was I thinking…?’
Evan began to feel disdain for himself.
Though he never showed it outwardly to Aria, he had thought that since she was Aria, she would probably not hesitate to sacrifice her body to slay the Demon King or save people.
Indeed, up to now, Aria never spared herself when it came to helping others.
But Evan now felt disdain for himself for never once considering how Aria might feel about that.
‘Even though I said I admired her, that I cared for her, I never once stopped to think about what she was feeling while carrying this obligation…!’
He hadn’t thought about it at all.
Or perhaps he had avoided thinking about it.
He had been imposing his own arbitrary standards on her, thinking that A Saint must behave in a certain way.
No, it wasn’t about Saints being obligated to behave a certain way—it was that Evan had only ever observed the surface of Aria’s actions and assumed, without warrant, that Aria surely thought this or that.
He hadn’t thought a thing about what Aria truly felt inside.
Still, he had harbored resentment towards the goddess for bestowing that unrealistic ability on someone so young.
It was laughable when he thought about it.
Ultimately, his disdain was just as hypocritical.
It was pathetic.
Evan lowered his head solemnly.
The silence dragged on.
He didn’t know what to say.
Merely ten minutes—the short duration it took for the Ferris wheel to make one rotation in the air—felt to him like an eternity.
Amid this long period of silence, Aria, who had maintained her silence until now, suddenly spoke.
“…I’m sorry.”
Caught off guard by the sudden apology, Evan shuddered.
What did she have to apologize for?
Aria had done nothing wrong, yet she spoke as if she were truly at fault, stirring Evan’s emotions.
He wanted to yell at her to stop apologizing.
But he couldn’t.
No, he couldn’t.
‘Even if it was due to my own disdain for how pathetic I was…’
To the listener, such words would only sound accusatory, and Evan did not wish for Aria to interpret his words that way.
Evan silently gazed down at Aria.
Aria, unable to let go of her regretful feelings, looked out the window with a nostalgic gaze.
He didn’t know what to say.
He wanted to comfort her, but when he tried to think of something to say, he was at a loss—he didn’t know what words would be right for comfort in this situation.
She looked so fragile, like a glass that would shatter at the slightest touch.
And so, while Evan extended his hand into the air, he remained still, unable to offer the comfort he wished to give.
For quite a while.
…
…
He didn’t want to let this pass without doing anything.
Evan gritted his teeth.
When he had thought about wanting to comfort and support her, what was he doing by not doing anything here?
‘…I don’t want it to be like this.’
Evan took a deep breath.
What he could do here,
or rather, what he wanted to do, was to console Aria.
He wanted to share the burdens of this stubborn person who tried to shoulder everything alone.
Suavely,
“…Ah.”
Evan naturally moved closer and pressed himself slightly next to Aria.
He didn’t embrace her tightly.
It wasn’t that he leaned against her back either.
He just stood a little closer than usual, that’s all.
Evan didn’t say anything.
In such a situation, he had no idea what words would console Aria.
But did he really need words?
To Evan, he understood nothing of the emotions Aria had endured so far.
Moreover, could anyone truly understand unless they were born with a congenital disability, chosen as the saint, and saddled with the duty of slaying the Demon King?
Even Evan, who also carried a duty to slay the Demon King due to his wielding the Sacred Sword, couldn’t compare to Aria’s burdens.
It was the small comfort he could offer as someone destined to share the same burden.
“I will… definitely slay the Demon King.”
“Evan…”
Looking at Evan’s earnest vow to definitely slay the Demon King, Aria’s eyes widened.
“And…”
Raising his hand, Evan gently brushed Aria’s cheek.
He had no grand goal in mind.
Up until now, he had only felt the obligation to slay the Demon King because he had drawn the Sacred Sword.
While he had participated in trials, it was all because Aria had thought it was best for him to do so—nothing he did was out of an intention to get stronger for the purpose of defeating the Demon King.
But now, maybe things were a little different.
After all, he had new goals, new dreams.
“Somewhere down the line, I want to show you the light.”
For this precious girl in front of him,
he would give everything he had.
Once more, Evan sincerely reaffirmed it.
The strong resolve to slay the Demon King.
“…”
Aria gently held Evan’s hand as it touched her cheek with both of her hands.
Warmth that felt too real to be a mere mirage filled her as she quietly closed her eyes.
The phantasmal world was over.
“…Is this…?”
As the world around them began to distort, Evan looked around in surprise, noticing the environment crumbling.
The world, differing but identical, the world within the Trial, was collapsing.
In the midst of this situation, Aria, who had her eyes closed, continued to smile and softly spoke to Evan who was looking around bewildered.
“Thank you, Evan.”
Even if all of this would eventually dissolve like a dream,
“It’s okay to like someone.”
To say “I like you” at least once wouldn’t hurt.
Though no one could tell if the sentiment was truly one of romantic affection or if it was akin to liking a favorite character,
“…”
Evan froze upon hearing the faint but unmistakably clear words.
Finally,
the world completely crumbled away.
