I am back – Chapter 212

Have I ever regretted my life?

Is there anyone who lives a life without regrets? I’ve had my share of regrets throughout my life.

Like when I wasted study time during exam season and my grades slipped a bit, or that time I forgot an assignment and scrambled to finish it in the morning, or when I was sprinting to avoid being late for school.

Or when I couldn’t save people on the battlefield, or when a series of tough events kept happening. When I ended up chewing salted meat for over ten days straight.

I’ve never fully regretted the words of the Goddess. I know well that because I was there, countless lives were saved.

But even so, sometimes I think it’s too late to turn back, and I regret my choices a few times.

In the end, I still feel grateful that I made those choices. That’s the conclusion I always come to.

The reason I’m here now is all thanks to the choices I made.

“Ah.”

As I blankly stared out the window from the terrace, I heard my sister’s voice from behind.

“Yeah?”

“There’s a message from Ga-young.”

“Is she asking when I’ll be back?”

“No, not really.”

Ga-young and her mother attended the wedding. They gave us their congratulations and quietly sat in the back after generously offering a hefty amount of wedding gifts, as if they didn’t need to do so much.

I haven’t revealed our true identities to those two yet.

It’s not that I’m particularly distant or close… It’s just that I feel like I’m not mentally ready to accept that fact yet.

“They’re saying to enjoy and take lots of pictures.”

“…I see.”

Well, Ga-young wasn’t the type to make excessive demands of us. I’m not exactly sure if telling someone to ‘come back soon’ counts as a proper request, though.

Did Ga-young also regret that moment?

If she hadn’t crossed that crosswalk back then, would none of this have happened?

She would probably regret it. That’s why, after so many years, she must’ve come to apologize to my sister.

“You’re going to tell Ga-young, right?”

“I have to.”

I replied, turning my gaze back outside the terrace.

“We need to show Ga-young our child too.”

“True.”

My sister chuckled softly. The sound of her laughter was near, as if she had come closer.

“It’s natural for a couple who just got married to have a child, but no one else would know what the child looks like.”

“Right.”

I don’t really care if complete strangers misunderstand us.

But I don’t want those we know to misunderstand us. Both my sister and I are quite greedy in that regard; we wish all those around us to cheer for our happiness.

“Slowly, when you have time.”

“Yeah, we still have time.”

Finally, my sister came next to me and linked her arm with mine.

The soft and warm feeling of skin against skin.

“What will others think?”

“Elf don’t feel shy about such things.”

She wasn’t properly dressed, wearing just a thin blanket over the same clothes she had on the previous night.

“…Looks like you’ve adapted well to Elf society.”

“You weren’t exactly decked out either.”

When I praised her adaptability, my sister threw back a playful jab.

“But I still wore clothes.”

It was a thin garment, and actually, calling it dressed up like my sister would be iffy at best.

Well, honestly, anyone else would probably think our outfits were not that different. Only the Elves, who didn’t feel shy about their natural appearance, wouldn’t care about the way we were dressed.

Ah, wait. Arna might be a different story. After living among humans for several years, Arna had perhaps adapted somewhat to our side.

Can this also be said to be the innocence being invaded by reality?

…Well, typically, people who have lived in a different place for too long tend to end up like that.

“By the way, sis…”

“‘Sis?’”

She interrupted me mid-sentence.

“Are you planning to keep calling me that?”

“….”

I could feel her staring at me.

Despite still being a bit shorter than me… Whenever she looks at me like this, I start to think she looks oddly taller.

“We’re married now?”

“Hmm…”

Her question made things slightly awkward.

After registering our marriage in the Elf region, right, so I suppose we need to sort out the titles.

Calling my wife “sis” does seem a bit off.

“How about ‘older sister’?”

“…”

When I silently stared at her, my sister burst into laughter. The sound spread past the Elf forest, and a few Elves passing below looked up at us.

Of course, they didn’t hold interest for long. They quickly went back to whatever they were doing.

“Ah, I really like those people.”

My sister said, her face still lit up with laughter.

“They probably weren’t trying to be considerate or anything.”

“I know that.”

My words made her nod.

“But they don’t interfere with us. No matter how we choose to live.”

Some might express that as being too cold and indifferent.

But for Elves, who have to live for a long time, losing interest in something is a form of courtesy. That’s why they don’t really care about same-sex marriages and such. It’s more like, ‘Why should I care if they’re happy?’ You could even argue it’s a positive facet of individualism.

And those Elves were uniting their strengths against a Demon King that was incredibly strong, to treat someone like me, who played a part in bringing him down, with such regard.

“So, what about it?”

My sister let go of her arms crossed and wrapped both her arms around my waist. Maybe I should say I’ve grown a lot since I didn’t get flustered at her sudden move.

“…Honey?”

“Uhm, well, okay.”

With my casual expression, she seemed to give me a ‘let it slide’ look.

“So what was it you wanted to say?”

“What I wanted to say?”

“You know, the thing you called me earlier.”

“Oh.”

Having gone off on a title discussion with my sister, I forgot what I initially wanted to say.

“Um, I wanted to ask how your body is holding up.”

“Ah.”

My sister unnecessarily turned around.

Though turning around wouldn’t reveal much. Dana’s magic device had been set up inside the bed.

She had put quite a bit of effort into creating that.

Dana had been super disappointed that she couldn’t experiment right after the wedding. But she said it meant she could perfect it more during the waiting time.

I’ve heard she’s thinking about tailoring it to nobles who have trouble having children.

Well, that’s Dana’s business.

“But I wanted it to be you guys who used it first.”

I almost burst out laughing at Dana’s remark.


And indeed, it ended up happening just as Dana wished.

“No matter what, I wouldn’t feel anything happening right from the first night.”

“No, well, it’s magic…”

I was a bit embarrassed by what my sister said, so I replied like that, making her giggle once more.

“Who was it that said not to worry too much because the magic is safe?”

“….”

When she puts it that way, I have nothing to say.

“And besides, you might eventually experience it yourself.”

“Uh!?”

I was taken aback by my sister’s words and exclaimed loudly. A few passing Elves turned to look up at us, but soon went back to what they were doing.

My face turned bright red.

“So they say Elves don’t care about things like that.”

“I know.”

My sister teased me, and in return, I just tossed out a casual remark.

“….”

“….”

There was a brief silence between us.

“…So.”

The first to break the silence was my sister.

“So it’s a new beginning from now on.”

“Yeah.”

I quietly nodded at my sister’s words.

That’s right. We will keep having new beginnings from now on.

Having children, watching them go to school, grow up… Eventually, they might even get married someday.

Perhaps those children, and even their children, will come to learn about the existence of this world throughout generations. Nothing is eternal, so it’s hard to say how long it will continue on.

“Um…”

My sister paused as if deep in thought before saying, “It doesn’t feel like much has changed, even though it’s a new start.”

“Isn’t the first day when you can’t feel anything physically?”

I answered with a laugh at her words, showing disbelief.

“Yuri said that, you know. After some time, it might feel more difficult than you expect.”

“Still, it’s something necessary.”

“….”

“….”

“…Wanna touch it?”

So, she was saying it didn’t feel much different, huh?

Thinking that, I hesitantly placed my hand lightly on my sister’s belly.

Indeed, I still can’t feel anything different.

But…

“What if I feel like something has changed just by touching it like this?”

“R-Really?”

After all, changes don’t happen overnight.

Slowly, slowly, our lives will continue changing.

From now on, always.

With my sister.