left and returned to my own world, what would Raphtalia do?
Filo had Melty, but Raphtalia had no one.
Sometimes she asked me why I wanted to return to my old world. Maybe she was worried about the same thing—about what would happen when all this was over. Maybe she was afraid that I would leave her alone.
“I . . . .”
Raphtalia’s voice came soft. It was barely a whisper. I listened in silence.
“I . . . I’ll live enough for all of them. I want to save everyone from the misery of the waves. Coming here now, I feel that even stronger than I had before.”
“I know. And now we have the country’s support. We can save more of them now.”
People had refused to cooperate with me because I was the Shield Hero, and because of that, more people had died than necessary.
But now I had support. Now we could fight the waves together. I hoped to save more people than we’d been able to before.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble.”
“Stop that. The important thing is that . . . well . . . let’s get going.”
“You’re right. I’m going! Father . . . Mother . . . Rifana . . . .”
Raphtalia waved to the graves and climbed back into the carriage.
When the next wave was over, I’d have to think more about Raphtalia.
It was my responsibility to ensure her happiness.
What about her village and all that she’d lost? Was there a way to bring it all back?
When we defeated the nobleman that had tortured her, Raphtalia had said, “I’ll get back the flag I saw that day. I’ll get it back.”
I couldn’t bring the dead back—but there must have been survivors.
We’d found a child that was still alive in the nobleman’s basement. I’m pretty sure his name had been Keel.
Couldn’t I bring the survivors together and find a place for them to start over?
Yes, I nodded to myself. When I had the chance to do it, I’d search them out. I had to do it for Raphtalia.
If I didn’t I wasn’t sure I’d be able to forgive myself.
The plan was for all the heroes to meet in the harbor town and ride on the same ship. Obviously, the ship’s departure time was set in advance, so even though the other heroes had left before we had, that didn’t get them to the islands any faster. When we arrived, they all looked grumpy and irritated by the wait.
After all that we’d been through and all that we’d discussed, why were they all still competing to be the best? A bunch of idiots—that’s what they were.
There was still time to kill before the ship’s scheduled departure time. Everyone was lined up along the seawall, waiting to board the ship.
The guy in front of me in line seemed to have too much spare time on his hands. He was fidgeting, like he didn’t know what to do with himself.
“L’Arc, calm down, will you?”
“I know, I know! But I can’t help it. Ships get me so excited.”
Sigh. This guy sounded like he had the maturity of a kindergartener.
Apparently hearing my sigh, he spun on his heels and faced me.
“What’s the matter, kiddo?”
“Kiddo?”
I was 20. I didn’t like being called kiddo.
I sized him up. His hair was cropped short and stood up in styled spikes.
He must have held it up with some sort of hair band. Or maybe that’s just how his hair was naturally?
You didn’t normally run into people with a hairstyle like that. Maybe it was normal in this world—but it wasn’t normal in mine.
He was handsome enough. The girls probably liked him.
His eyes showed confidence. He looked like the sort of person you could depend on.
His muscles stood out from his body, clearly built through battle. His shoulders were massive. I bet he could handle himself in a fight.
It was hard to judge his age. If I had to guess, I’d say he was probably in his late 20s.
All in all, he gave the impression of a cool, experienced adventurer. For some reason, a large scythe hung from his waist.
“I’m no kiddo. I’m 20.”
“Oh, forgive me then. I didn’t mean anything by it. It just
Filo had Melty, but Raphtalia had no one.
Sometimes she asked me why I wanted to return to my old world. Maybe she was worried about the same thing—about what would happen when all this was over. Maybe she was afraid that I would leave her alone.
“I . . . .”
Raphtalia’s voice came soft. It was barely a whisper. I listened in silence.
“I . . . I’ll live enough for all of them. I want to save everyone from the misery of the waves. Coming here now, I feel that even stronger than I had before.”
“I know. And now we have the country’s support. We can save more of them now.”
People had refused to cooperate with me because I was the Shield Hero, and because of that, more people had died than necessary.
But now I had support. Now we could fight the waves together. I hoped to save more people than we’d been able to before.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble.”
“Stop that. The important thing is that . . . well . . . let’s get going.”
“You’re right. I’m going! Father . . . Mother . . . Rifana . . . .”
Raphtalia waved to the graves and climbed back into the carriage.
When the next wave was over, I’d have to think more about Raphtalia.
It was my responsibility to ensure her happiness.
What about her village and all that she’d lost? Was there a way to bring it all back?
When we defeated the nobleman that had tortured her, Raphtalia had said, “I’ll get back the flag I saw that day. I’ll get it back.”
I couldn’t bring the dead back—but there must have been survivors.
We’d found a child that was still alive in the nobleman’s basement. I’m pretty sure his name had been Keel.
Couldn’t I bring the survivors together and find a place for them to start over?
Yes, I nodded to myself. When I had the chance to do it, I’d search them out. I had to do it for Raphtalia.
If I didn’t I wasn’t sure I’d be able to forgive myself.
The plan was for all the heroes to meet in the harbor town and ride on the same ship. Obviously, the ship’s departure time was set in advance, so even though the other heroes had left before we had, that didn’t get them to the islands any faster. When we arrived, they all looked grumpy and irritated by the wait.
After all that we’d been through and all that we’d discussed, why were they all still competing to be the best? A bunch of idiots—that’s what they were.
There was still time to kill before the ship’s scheduled departure time. Everyone was lined up along the seawall, waiting to board the ship.
The guy in front of me in line seemed to have too much spare time on his hands. He was fidgeting, like he didn’t know what to do with himself.
“L’Arc, calm down, will you?”
“I know, I know! But I can’t help it. Ships get me so excited.”
Sigh. This guy sounded like he had the maturity of a kindergartener.
Apparently hearing my sigh, he spun on his heels and faced me.
“What’s the matter, kiddo?”
“Kiddo?”
I was 20. I didn’t like being called kiddo.
I sized him up. His hair was cropped short and stood up in styled spikes.
He must have held it up with some sort of hair band. Or maybe that’s just how his hair was naturally?
You didn’t normally run into people with a hairstyle like that. Maybe it was normal in this world—but it wasn’t normal in mine.
He was handsome enough. The girls probably liked him.
His eyes showed confidence. He looked like the sort of person you could depend on.
His muscles stood out from his body, clearly built through battle. His shoulders were massive. I bet he could handle himself in a fight.
It was hard to judge his age. If I had to guess, I’d say he was probably in his late 20s.
All in all, he gave the impression of a cool, experienced adventurer. For some reason, a large scythe hung from his waist.
“I’m no kiddo. I’m 20.”
“Oh, forgive me then. I didn’t mean anything by it. It just
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