I am back – Chapter 11

It was a life so beautiful.

It was a life so radiant.

Though their lives might not burn forever like the moon or twinkle like stars in the night sky, I thought it was even more splendid and lovely for them to blaze brightly, if only for a brief moment.

Arna has seen a meteor shower.

Unlike the slowly flowing stars, a meteor strikes down, leaving behind a long and beautiful trail for just an instant. Human lives resemble meteors, each one drawing beautiful trails as hundreds and thousands fall in the blink of an eye. You can’t hold on to that light; you can only watch, dazed, from afar, admiring the beautiful trails.

Elves live for a long time. Once a relationship turns cold, they might leave it for decades, waiting for time to heal things, or they plan in hundreds of years. Their emotions move slowly and steadily. Compared to humans, their relationships develop at an incredibly slow pace.

But humans are not like that.

Their lives are far too short to put everything on hold. They easily get angry, easily feel sadness. They easily fight and create disputes.

But just as easily, they can understand others quickly. They accept differences and seek ways to mend relationships. They forgive easily and laugh easily. They sing and dance to enjoy life, greedily learning, teaching, writing, and reading in those brief moments.

“My name is Knight Commander Kalia. I’ve heard that not only is your skill as an archer remarkable, but your swordsmanship is excellent as well. We have much to learn from one another. I look forward to working with you.”

Unlike elves who approach slowly, keeping their distance to read the situation, she came forward with a smile to greet him first.

“How can there be such magic…? This is the first time I’ve seen something like this. How did you even do it? As the master of the Magic Tower, I can’t just let this go! Please tell me! I beg you, let me know!”

She was willing to set aside her pride for the sake of learning.

“Getting wounded like this, why haven’t you mentioned it until now? Huh? Using divine power to heal such a small wound is inefficient…? Stop talking nonsense and just show me the injury already.”

She became angry even at the logical conclusion that elves would have understood and accepted.

From Arna’s perspective, all of these actions seemed somewhat silly. They appeared so naive and innocent. They were illogical and impractical. Clearly, all those actions wouldn’t yield the best outcome.

But.

But she liked all of that.

Helping each other without weighing the pros and cons.

Having someone she could discuss her ignorance with, without embarrassment.

Being able to empathize with the pain of a stranger whose name she didn’t even know and shed tears.

Arna loved it so much.

“Why do you go this far?”

One day, Arna asked the hero. Why risk your life for a place that isn’t even your hometown, for someone you’ve just met?

She wasn’t trying to be difficult. She just wanted to know. This wasn’t something that came from logical reasoning or calculations. Perhaps by mixing with her illogical party members, illogic had seeped into her.

“Just…”

The hero looked a bit troubled, staring into the distance, where the stars seemed to flood the sky. Under that starlight, he looked up and said.

“Just… it’s this kind of world.”

Then, with a smile, he lowered his gaze and looked directly at Arna.

“Because it’s this kind of world, how wonderful would it be if we lived helping each other?”

“……”

Still, she couldn’t understand.

It was a story that couldn’t be grasped simply by logic. To survive, for money, for honor…

None of those reasons mattered. Just because it’s this kind of world.

She thought it was absurd.

Having power but not using it for oneself. Holding authority but not trying to accumulate wealth. Tossing all that away and throwing oneself into a journey that could cost one’s life. Helping others wouldn’t guarantee help would come back in return. The other party might betray you or blame you for being too late.

Yet he said it. How nice it would be if we helped each other.

Because it’s this kind of world.

It’s absurd. It’s nonsensical, but…

The truly absurd thing was that Arna was understanding this story. Not logically, but empathizing with it from somewhere in her heart.

An emotion that couldn’t be explained logically, simply “it feels good.”

Through these people, Arna learned that feeling.

She felt that all of them were so lovable.

So, she wished that the people she loved wouldn’t die.

Though their lives might be short, she wished they could still leave behind beautiful trails for a long time.

She began calculating her own life as a basis. Dying in dangerous moments wasn’t the right fate for those who still had lives to live.

One hundred and fifty years was enough time to be considered a lifetime. For those who had just crossed twenty, death was too cruel.

If someone had to die, wouldn’t it be better for the elderly to go before the young?

This was the third year since she joined the hero’s party.

*

“…So, you’re saying you’ll die.”

Arna did not easily get angry. No matter how much she’d been influenced by spending years among people, she was still an elf. She hadn’t completely discarded rational thinking.

Therefore, her anger signified a great deal. It was a rightful and necessary anger to express.

“The holy sword you’re holding can only be wielded by a hero. If you die, who will deal with the remaining demon race?”

“……”

At Arna’s words, the hero fell silent. However, it didn’t seem like he was quiet in agreement with her but rather in a mood of not wanting to respond. This made Arna even more frustrated.

It wasn’t just her.

Among those present, only the saintess and the hero did not express anger. The saintess had a slightly different atmosphere. As if she had been convinced by the hero, she sat with her head bowed.

“Say something, hero.”

Kalia said in exasperation. The mage Dana, with her arms crossed, was staring at the hero, as if thinking she could read his thoughts that way.

“……I…”

The hero hesitated for a moment and finally spoke up.

“I am already someone who has died once.”

“……What?”

For the first time, a confused sound escaped Arna’s mouth.

“……Are you saying you’ve become undead?”

Knowing that couldn’t possibly be true, Arna asked. Could it be referring to a miraculous resurrection from legends?

But the story that came from the hero’s mouth was different.

“I have already lived and died in another world. My soul has crossed over to this side, at the goddess’s request.”

“……”

All eyes turned to the saintess, who was sitting with her head bowed. The saintess was merely shaking her shoulders.

“This has nothing to do with Pia. This is a story between the goddess and me.”

“……”

Arna fell silent for a moment before saying, “Sure, I know you wouldn’t lie about something like this upon coming back. We can discuss that story later.”

With that, she let out a small sigh.

“So, what’s the reason you need to die? I’ve heard that previous heroes also died at the demon king’s last struggle. But we can do it. There’s a way to handle it without sacrificing anyone. Dana is looking for methods too.”

“Yeah. That’s right. The theory has already been established.”

The mage, Dana, nodded in agreement while listening to the conversation.

“But we don’t have much time left now.”

However, nobody could properly refute the hero’s next words.

There is a method.

But no one could guarantee how long it would take to put that method into practice so it could be properly utilized.

Even if that method were to be used, nobody knew whether it could definitely stop the demon king.

“I’m not saying I will definitely die. But if sacrificing someone at the end can minimize the damage, then that’s my duty.”

“Why does it have to be you?”

Arna’s voice trembled. She had seldom been this angry.

Even if it weren’t the hero, someone here—

…….

But this person clearly wouldn’t be satisfied even if someone else tried to sacrifice themselves.

“I’ve already decided to go back.”

…….

Silence filled the room once again.

This time, truly, nobody could say anything.

Perhaps sensing the awkwardness in the atmosphere, the hero spoke with an awkward smile on his face.

“Even if I die, I can go back to that world. So that’s why I’m willing to do it.”

Arna bit her lip.

If he spoke this far, she had no way to argue anymore.

The hero, blessed by the goddess. The one who wields the most powerful holy sword to slay the demon king and was destined to save humanity.

If such a hero says something like that using the name of the goddess…

“……”

Yeah, logically, there was no way to refute it.