I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 96

The only words I could manage to utter to Reina, who smiled gently, were:

“Ha, I don’t regret it.”

That was all.

“I’m just having a hard time right now. Yes, I’m feeling unusually tired today.”

“Aike.”

But as I desperately tried to come up with excuses, Reina quietly shook her head.

“If you’re saying that much, then there must be a reason.”

“Y-Yeah, there’s a reason. It’s difficult to explain, but there’s definitely a reason…”

“And that must be for my sake, right?”

“Uh, yes. It’s for you. I want you to be happy…”

“Then, can you smile for me? If you genuinely smile, I’ll think about it.”

Reina suddenly asked me to smile.

But it didn’t matter.

It was such an easy request.

Besides, she said that if I just smiled, she would consider my proposal.

This surely was an opportunity.

Really.

“Reina.”

“Yeah.”

Such an easy request.

“Reina.”

“Yeah.”

It should have been such an easy request.

“How have I smiled until now?”

Why on earth can’t I lift the corners of my mouth?

“It’s strange. Why can’t I smile? Can you tell me?”

That was somewhat a question where I was pushing the answer onto Reina, hoping for salvation.

And Reina—

The person I liked—

“Aike. Get a grip.”

She was unreasonably strict.

“Don’t think about running away or shifting responsibilities onto others. The person I know, my knight, is not this weak.”

“Me, that you know?”

What kind of person am I?

Who is the Aike Akses you know right now?

I don’t know.

I don’t know anything.

“Get a grip, Aike!”

Slap! The sound echoed.

Before I knew it, I was being grabbed by Reina by the collar.

“In the end, you can’t smile or cry. You’ll just regret it later, so stop with the strange suggestions! Stop trying to hide your true feelings with weird stories!”

It hurts.

The slap from Reina hurts so much.

It feels even worse than the injury I sustained while fighting Es.

“Don’t just run away. Answer me. If I run away with you from the Empire, and when everything settles down and we return, do you think things can go back to the way they were?”

“I’ll try. No matter how long it takes.”

“No. That’s not what I mean. I’m asking if everything can go back to the way it was.”

Reina’s violet eyes pierced through me.

Her gaze said she would absolutely not tolerate lies.

“…We can’t go back. Things won’t return.”

“What can’t return?”

“Dean Ender and Ellyn won’t return.”

The dead do not come back.

This is an immutable law that doesn’t change even in this fantasy world of swords and magic.

“Andrew’s arm won’t come back either.”

Healing magic only works on areas that have magical power flowing through them.

In other words, Andrew’s arm, which was completely destroyed by Es, will not come back.

“Just because you run away doesn’t erase the past.”

“Dean Ender’s last words. I was barely conscious and heard some of it. What did he want from you, while sacrificing his life to protect you?”

Ender Dean’s last message.

“So you, keep pushing forward towards your goal. Just remembering the death of this old man once in a while is enough.”

“He wanted me to move forward toward my goal.”

“Aike. So what’s your goal?”

“I want you, Reina, to have a happy future…”

“No. That’s not it. What do you truly want? What did you train for, and swing your sword for? Why did you work so hard?”

The reason I extended my training time.

The reason I swung my sword.

The reason I put in effort.

“I wanted to be strong.”

“Why did you want to be strong?”

“Because I wanted to protect.”

“Protect who?”

“…Everyone.”

I wanted to protect all the precious bonds I had gained through what seemed like a miracle.

I didn’t want to be alone anymore; being alone is lonely.

I didn’t want to go back to who I was when I had nothing.

I wanted to ensure no one died.

“That’s a really greedy wish.”

Reina looked at me as if she were looking at a child, then stood up and slowly approached me.

And she quietly embraced me.

“But I like you, Aike, who has such greedy wishes.”

“…!”

Reina’s hand, stroking my head without a word, enveloped me so warmly.

“I like how you usually keep quiet but are more observant than anyone else.

I like how you have no hesitation in calling others great.

I like how you treasure even the smallest relationships with kindness.

I like how you never give up and strive to overcome any tough situation.

I like you so much, Aike, more than I can express in words.”

And in Reina’s eyes, tears were surely welling up.

“So let’s not give up, okay? Let’s do our best to create a happy future where everyone can smile. I will never give up on helping you. I’ll stay by your side until the very end, no matter what happens.”

“…Reina. Why do you believe in me this much?”

Even before I asked, I already predicted what her answer would be.

But I wanted to hear her answer.

And when she heard my foolish question, Reina chuckled.

“Aike, you are my knight who has saved me time and again. You’re the most amazing and wonderful person in the world to me.”

“Am I amazing?”

“Yes. To me, you are the most amazing and wonderful.”

“More amazing than Crown Prince Leon?”

“Of course, he doesn’t compare at all. Crown Prince Leon already lost to you in the duel.”

“I see.”

I am a truly amazing person in Reina’s eyes.

“But even if I know so much, carrying everything alone isn’t the answer. No matter how hard it gets, remember there are people who will move for you.”

I finally understood Dean Ender’s words properly.

“Reina. I really worked hard.”

“Yes.”

As I realized this, tears that had never flowed before finally began to spill.

“I wanted to save everyone, and I didn’t want to lose anyone. I truly worked hard without resting!”

“Yes.”

“But when Dean Ender and Ellyn passed away, and I couldn’t heal Senior Andrew’s arm, my mind went blank…!”

“Yes.”

“It was too scary. I was scared that if everything I worked for led to everyone dying. I started to think that it was too scary, too scary for you…”

Tears and snot began soaking my clothes, yet Reina said nothing.

She just continued to smile gently while stroking my head.

“So, I thought about running away. Even knowing it wasn’t right, I wanted to turn my back on responsibility and just run away.”

“But isn’t that scarier and you hate it more?”

“It’s scary. The thought that when I run away and everything ends, someone might be missing when I return terrifies me, and I hate it.”

“So what do you want to do moving forward?”

I hadn’t wanted to imagine it on purpose.

But I had already drawn conclusions about what lay ahead.

“I want to fight to save everyone.”

“Do you hate the ones who killed Dean Ender and Ellyn?”

“I do. I hate them very much. But… I don’t want to fight for revenge.”

“…Okay. That’s enough. That’s the gentle Aike I know and really like.”

Upon hearing Reina’s answer, I slowly pulled away her hand and looked up.

There she was, looking at me with violet eyes, gently watching me while shedding tears.

“Reina, I am weak.”

“No, Aike is strong.”

“I am not kind.”

“You are kinder than anyone else.”

“And I am a coward.”

“Hmm, that might be true.”

We both erupted into laughter simultaneously.

It was undeniably a very natural laugh.

“…But I want to be your knight, so I’ll be someone amazing.”

“Right.”

“So I’ll try. I won’t give up to become the person you believe in.”

“Is that a promise?”

Reina extended her pinky finger to me.

“Yeah.”

And without hesitation, I linked my pinky with hers.

“Then Aike, there’s one last thing I want to hear.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like me?”

Reina looked at me with wide eyes, as if she wanted a reward.

And I—

“…I don’t hate you.”

Just like I had said before, I gave the same answer to Reina.

“What a terrible sight.”

After Reina left, I looked into the mirror and saw my face, a mess of tears and snot.

To think I had such a conversation while looking like this.

So embarrassing.

But there wasn’t time to indulge in these feelings.

Now that I had decided to fight, there was only one thing I had to do.

“Phew.”

I sat at the desk and pulled out a notebook that had been tucked away on the shelf.

It was the notebook where I had written down all the information and plans that came to me right after reincarnating in this world.

I flipped through the pages I had written before, reaching the last one, and declared with a single sentence as if announcing:

“I will get stronger!”

Did I do my best until now?

If so, then let’s surpass that limit and work even harder.

So that she wouldn’t regret believing in me.

If I have no talent, I’ll work myself to the bone to become even a little stronger.

No matter how solid and high the walls are, I must not give up and keep knocking.

Even if the answer isn’t visible, I must not stop.

There is only one thing I want.

A happy ending where everyone can smile in the end.

So I must work hard enough to bleed from my mouth and grind my bones.

What I can do as someone with no talent is nothing but working harder than anyone else.