Chapter 36: Adonis
“Mm…….”
Ianna groaned as she opened her heavy eyes. It was dark. She blinked slowly as she looked to the window, from which the light was filtering in. It was only dark because the curtains were drawn, but it was bright outside.
She buried her cheek against her comfy pillow as she stared blankly at the light.
‘How many days has it been?’
She didn’t know.
Ianna swam through her hazy memories as she returned to the past.
To the day when the week-long battle against Bahamut had finally concluded.
Ianna and Arhad had dealt with the aftermath and returned to their castle with their people, who had been celebrating their victory like crazy. They had opened the state coffers and declared that everyone may eat and drink as much as they wished, and then they had handed over much of their work to the people who had been standing by back at home.
Ianna had joined the people in laughing, chatting, and binge drinking. And then, her legs had given out from under her where she stood as it finally hit her that she could truly rest now.
She was like a tree that had dropped her very last leaf. She had been whipping herself and racing hard without giving herself any time to rest, and she melted on the spot when her taut rationality and nerves finally loosened.
Arhad had carried her back to the castle. He then helped her wash herself clean, brought her to their bedroom, and laid her in bed. Then, he pulled her into his arms and tried to pat her back to help her fall asleep, but Ianna had taken his hand and had glared at him instead.
“Come here.”
She had lost her ability to reason, and all that had been left was her desire.
“…….”
Ianna clutched her head. She had tried to guess what day it was every time she awoke, but she never quite figured it out, and she only entertained the reckless thought that it didn’t really matter anyway.
She didn’t know how long it had been since the last time she had lived without a care in the world and without any goal in mind.
‘I think this might actually be the first.’
Her life had been a series of incidents ever since she had been born. And she had fought all her life because of her singular desire to grow stronger despite everything that had happened to her.
But she had no goals as of late.
Ianna lifted the large arm around her waist ever so slightly as she turned around. And she immediately saw Arhad, who looked picturesque with his eyes closed.
She flushed ever so slightly as she stared into his face. The memories of the nights she had been spending with Arhad while ignoring everything else warmed her up.
His lowered lashes. The light in his eyes that turned crazier and crazier with love and passion.
The perfect lines of his body, complete with his sturdy bones and solid muscles.
His calloused but lithe hands with which he held up her thighs and waist.
The alluring lines of his lips as he slowly teased her nape and collarbone.
Their ragged and intertwined breaths that heated up her soul. Their moistened flesh as they rubbed ever closer together. Sometimes their limbs sprawled out, and sometimes they twinned together, as they tasted each other. Their hearts were placed so close to each other that they beat as though they were one body.
Ianna and Arhad lusted for their personal world and savored it completely now that they had been liberated from all danger. They filled each other’s souls to the brim with their deep and dense love. They stuck so close together that they couldn’t possibly get any closer as they enjoyed the weight of safety.
They sank into a deeper love still as they robbed, stole, took, and possessed each other.
They were so ecstatic that they could not possibly put it into words, and they were in such bliss that it brought tears to their eyes.
Ianna believed that the man named Arhad was someone who was always in her sole possession. And she was very satisfied by her ownership.
But it was only after she’d had him for a few days that she finally realized that she’d been mistaken. It was only after they had spent a brain-melting time where they knew nothing but each other that Ianna finally understood what it truly meant to possess someone completely.
“…….”
And so, Ianna had finally properly experienced the raw and powerful lust that had been lurking inside her. She’d previously thought that she would always be capable of controlling her greed no matter what situation she was in, but now she knew that greed was a truly terrifying creature once it was freed from the reins of rationality.
She took, and she took, and it still wasn’t enough.
She took, and she took, and she still wanted more.
Her rampaging greed would not return to the restraints of her rationality to matter how hard she tried. And so, she had eventually lost sight of her goals and lost herself to greed.
They had drank like crazy and had taken each other like crazy last night. They had savored each other to the point where Ianna had thought her brain might melt and her heart might swell up and burst open.
‘I’m sure it was the same for Arhad too.’
Things were different today because she had her full wits about her. She couldn’t help but wonder if her ability to reason had returned because she had enjoyed herself a little too much yesterday.
‘We can’t be fooling around like this forever.’
Ianna caressed her man’s cheek.
She was still seized by the impulse to jump Arhad even now, but her sense of reality was slowly beginning to return too. And she remembered that she could not stay sequestered here like this forever because there was so much work to do that she had been ignoring.
‘I see why it’s so important to maintain a balance between rationality and greed.’
She would work hard when she worked.
And she would have Arhad when her greed boiled over.
“…….”
Ianna’s brushed over Arhad’s nose with her finger. She swiftly ran down the bridge of his nose and poked the tip of his nose. Then, she pulled back for a moment before she began tracing over the lines of his mouth.
He was so handsome that just admiring his face was enough to make her happy, like she was a young child playing with a very pretty doll. She even grew excited as he slowly opened his eyes and revealed the gold underneath.
“Having fun?”
“Yes.”
Ianna smiled lovingly, placed a quick kiss on Arhad’s chin, and buried herself inside his arms. Arhad looked down at her endearingly as she smuggled in his embrace as if his arms were the most comfortable place in the world.
Arhad was so happy that he almost wished he could pass out. He had never been this happy before. He had thought that he had been happy before, but what he was experiencing now was incomparable to what he had before.
“……Good.”
Arhad buried his nose into Ianna’s hair and crushed the solid lines of her waist. He liked the feeling of having her trapped inside his arms so much that it brought tears to his eyes.
He had held her awake and asleep during these past few days and nights. The sun had risen and set repeatedly, but Arhad had only known a string of nights where he had been blinded by greed.
Today, however, he felt like he was finally greeting the morning again. He hugged Ianna tight as he mumbled,
“It’s a truly perfect morning.”
He was no longer impatient.
Or rather, perhaps it was more accurate to say that it no longer mattered even if he wasn’t impatient.
The light in Arhad’s eyes swayed as he looked back at Ianna, and then he closed them.
The pleasure of nightfall would come again.
After all, night would come whenever he wanted it to now.
~~*~~
The first thing Ianna did after changing was to check the date.
‘Ten whole days…….’
It was preposterous and impressive even by Ianna’s standards.
Isphee, Karnitz, and Evelyn were the first people that Ianna and Arhad sought out once they finally left their bedchambers. Ianna was holding Arhad’s hand as they made their way to the gardens where Isphee and her family were, and then she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Kyaah!”
Evelyn was laughing brightly as she chased after a butterfly. Isphee and Karnitz were drinking tea at the tea table while watching over their daughter with warmth in their eyes.
Ianna felt like she was staring at a beautiful painting that had nothing to do with her. Her heart began aching for some reason.
It was Karnitz who noticed Ianna’s and Arhad’s presence first.
“Milady. Your Majesty.”
Karnitz jumped up to his feet, and Isphee greeted Ianna and Arhad with a bright smile on her face. Evelyn tilted her head to the side before she bowed from her waist as well.
Evelyn was healthy now that she had left Bahamut and had been treated in Ex-knights. She was so healthy that Saki had personally guaranteed that there was nothing to worry about anymore.
They all sat down around the tea table and spoke about all sorts of things before Ianna chuckled quietly and said,
“You don’t need to toil for me any longer now. All I want is for you to be happy in Ex-knights.”
“No. Please summon me whenever you need me. I don’t mind how dangerous it could get.”
“I will, if I truly need to. But Karnitz… Your first and foremost priorities should be Isphee, Evelyn, and your own life. Understand?”
Karnitz furrowed his brows ever so slightly.
“I know I always say this, but you are a priority for me as well, Milady.”
“He’s right, Miss! You’re making me so sad! Just how much longer will you keep pushing us away from you?!”
Isphee jumped up from her seat and shouted in agitation. She continued,
“I said this last time too. I see you as my own daughter. And Karnitz is my husband. That practically makes you our firstborn.”
“Oh…….”
Ianna finally realized that she had already been a part of that beautiful painting all along. And so, she smiled refreshingly and replied,
“All right. But I’m already an independent adult. I can walk my own path well on my own two feet, and I have Arhad here by my side.”
Ianna raised her hand, which was still locked with Arhad’s. Isphee and Karnitz looked warmly at their interwoven fingers. Ianna continued,
“So stop fussing over your adult daughter and pay more attention to Evelyn.”
“I’m so happy you said that. It was traumatizing when you abandoned us, you know?”
“Won’t you forget about that already? I promise I’ll never do it again.”
Isphee walked up to Ianna and hugged her tight.
“Yes, of course. As your nanny, it makes me so happy to be able to see how happy you are, Miss.”
Ianna hugged Isphee back.
Her nanny, who had always wished the best for her until the bitter end in her past life.
“Ianna,”
someone with a lisp said her name from somewhere near her legs. A goodhearted and innocent pair of eyes were glued on Ianna’s face. Evelyn clung to Ianna’s legs and continued,
“Beeg Sish!”
Isphee startled and reached out toward Ianna.
“She’s not your big sister, Evelyn…….”
“Weren’t you the one who said I was your daughter? That would make me her elder sister.”
Ianna stopped Isphee from dissuading Evelyn and reached out to pick the child up.
Evelyn giggled happily.
And Ianna smiled back.
She wanted to create a land where Isphee and Karnitz, the two people who had lived for her from the very, very beginning, and their daughter could live happily ever after. And she would do everything in her power to make it happen.
~~*~~
Arhad returned to the executive bureau first, and Ianna made her way to the information bureau where Eiji was.
“Hmmmm, it’s been a while, huh, Little Ianna? It’s been so long!”
Eiji smirked slyly as soon as he saw her.
Ianna ignored him and scrutinized his face. He looked very peaceful even though he was probably extremely busy. But of course he was at peace. All of his mortal enemies had died, after all.
“What? Is there something on my face?”
Ianna simply continued staring at him, uncaring as to whether her reaction was starting to make him nervous.
She and Arhad had laid bare their hearts and spoken about everything that they hadn’t had the chance to speak about at leisure previously as they spent their nights together. They confessed and shared all their thoughts and emotions to each other. This included the dark thoughts they had entertained in their past lives.
Arhad had told her that Eiji had killed himself after the Bahamut imperial family had been eliminated in the past.
Ianna suddenly raised her hands and grabbed Eiji by the shoulders.
“Live a happy, healthy, and long life, Eiji.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? Are you telling me to stop with the nonsense and work myself to the bone?”
“That’s what it sounds like,”
Dorcianni, who had walked up to Ianna from behind and was leaning against Ianna’s shoulder, whispered. She continued,
“Did you enjoy your hot and passionate nights, Your Majesty?”
Arhad had said that Dorcianni had voluntarily handed him her fragment and died, right?
Why had she done that? Was it because she had predicted that Arhad would kill her anyway? It was a riddle that Ianna would never be able to solve because even Arhad had known little about Dorcianni in the past.
Ianna took her hands off of Eiji’s shoulders and wrapped them around Dorcianni’s shoulders instead.
“I hope that both of you will live long and happy lives.”
“Those nights must’ve been phantasmal, judging by how romantic you’ve become, Your Majesty.”
“Seriously. Just how good is he?”
“Enough.”
The teasing ended with just one word from Ianna, and then Eiji slowly put aside his playfulness and extended his hand.
“You’ve worked really hard, Little Ianna.”
“You as well. And let’s keep working for the future too.”
Ianna shook his hand firmly.
“Of course I will! Work me to the bone until I’m old and ailing.”
Eiji smiled blindingly with his full sincerity.
“I want in on this too,”
Dorcianni said as she placed her hand over Ianna’s and Eiji’s. It was their promise to keep working together in this land for the distant futures to come.
Ianna immediately made her way over to the training grounds next.
But she wasn’t going there to train.
Ianna had truly been racing forward at full speed all this time. And she would continue to keep running until the day she died.
But she had only just made it over the climax that she had been working toward for so long. She needed to get plenty of rest if she wanted to obtain the momentum she needed to keep going.
She would take a moment to gather her breath before she climbed back up to her feet.
And so, the reason why she was heading over to the training grounds was to thank the people who had fought for her without caring about their own bodies. She hadn’t been able to hold a proper conversation with them yet because she had been drunk out of her mind on the day the war had ended, and because she had let go of her ability to think entirely these past few days.
“Oh. Captain!”
Ianna met Ryan on her way to the training grounds. He continued,
“All throughout the war, I was thinking about how glad I was that you and His Majesty convinced me into becoming a citizen of Ex-knights.”
Ianna and Ryan chatted happily as they made their way to the training grounds.
Ryan. He wholeheartedly supported any rising knights he spotted now that he was the vice-captain of the Knights of Rise, just as he had done as the department head of the Swordsmanship Department.
She had heard that it was none other than Ryan who had yelled, “Let’s go!” when everyone else had grown hesitant because Ianna was in danger. It reminded her of how he had been the first to toss a bouquet of flowers to her when she had been suffering during the school festival.
Arhad had told her that Ryan had been on friendly terms with him in the past as well. He hadn’t been able to keep Arhad’s madness in check, however, so he had simply ended up wandering the earth while helping people wherever he went.
And yet, he had decided to settle down in Ianna’s and Arhad’s kingdom in this life.
Ianna extended her hand to Ryan.
“I’ll make it so that you never regret coming here for the rest of your life, Sir.”
“Are you still addressing me as your senior? But of course I’ll follow your lead, my dear junior.”
Ryan took Ianna’s hand and grinned.
A lot of people were training in the training grounds even though the war had ended just a few days ago. The war had left many people with lasting impressions, such as the sense of lacking, indignation, resolve, enlightenment, and ecstasy. The Knights of Rise, who were exceptionally talented, had obtained more in terms of enlightenment than the rest.
“Haah! Haah!”
Ianna grew sentimental as she watched her knights rain down beads of sweat as they trained. Where had they all been in the past, and what had they been doing?
They noticed her presence quickly because she wasn’t going out of her way to hide herself.
“Captain!”
Their eyes were sparkling with rabid envy as they turned toward her.
Ianna was pleased as she accepted their envy.
“I felt as though I never took the time to thank you properly.”
It was only because she’d been busy out of her mind, but Ianna firmly remembered how they had dug through an opening to give her a chance to attack during her final showdown against Taylon. She continued,
“Thank you, all of you.”
“Not at all! We only did what we were supposed to do!”
The knights were delighted, but they turned down Ianna’s gratitude all the same.
Still, one member of the Knights of Rise —Konya—, nimbly raced up to Ianna and said,
“If yer really grateful, then keep standin’ in front of us and leadin’ us. We’ll keep followin’ ya even in death.”
Ianna smiled.
Regardless of who they had been in the past, they were her people now.
“I’ll work you until you’re at death’s door every day, just as you asked.”
The blood drained from the knights’ faces.
Despite that, however, the curved crescents of their lips and eyes were oozing with their anticipation and ecstasy.
Herrace was not present at the training grounds. Ianna made her way to the magic tower where the court mages resided. She found Heinrich and Herrace drinking tea once she had climbed all the way up to the very top.
“Oh, Little Ianna!”
Herrace jumped up and brought over another chair. He continued,
“How are you feeling?”
Ianna had to pause and think about what Herrace meant by that because of how much Eiji and Dorcianni had teased her earlier.
“Shouldn’t you rest a little longer after fighting such a difficult battle?”
To think that she had put someone as innocent as Herrace on the same level as Eiji. Ianna quietly apologized to Herrace in her mind as she sat down.
“I’m fine. I actually feel refreshed now that we’ve gotten rid of a huge pain in the neck.”
“Is that so? Then again, he was really strong,”
Herrace agreed enthusiastically as he sat back down. Heinrich watched over the two of them with a benevolent light in his eyes. Ianna stole a glimpse at him.
He hadn’t died of old age in the past like Ianna had originally thought, but had rather tried to kill Arhad because he was so afraid of him, only be to be killed in return. Ianna had recalled the fear and regret she had seen in Heinrich’s eyes back when he had told her about the Demon’s fragments as Arhad told her about this.
‘It was probably only because his terror and regret reached an extreme as he watch Arhad grow crueler.’
But his aged features only looked serene now.
“Please continue lending Ex-knights your assistance moving forward, Lord Heinrich.”
“Such kind words.”
Heinrich chuckled as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. He continued,
“But of course. I’ll live a long life and devote myself to your Ex-knights until the day I die, Little Ianna. I have to see Herrace get married and give me five or six great-grandchildren too, after all.”
“Ack, Grandfather…….”
Herrace flushed red, and Ianna smirked as she recalled something that Herrace had told her long ago.
“Didn’t you say that you wanted to be a henpecked husband? And that you wanted to have lots of children? When are you getting married?”
“Y-you remembered all that? It’s still my dream, even now. But I want to focus on my swordplay for a little longer, because I feel as though I’m sorely lacking. Though I’m sure that’ll change if I ever meet someone whom I don’t want to let go of.”
Ianna thought about Herrace’s bitter demise in his past life, which Arhad had told her about, as she watched him bashfully scratching his head.
Herrace had failed to be accepted into the Swordsmanship Department in the past, and he had given up the sword altogether. He had become a low-ranking government official who had worked with documents instead of the sword, and he had died when Heinrich had died because he shared Heinrich’s fragment. He had never managed to get married.
But now, Herrace’s talents had blossomed, and he was working actively in Ex-knights. He had even stood his ground against Taylon twice in order to defend Ianna.
And the rascal had been so timid and feeble just a few years ago.
“What are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?”
Herrace asked gingerly. Ianna was staring at him so openly.
“I’m grateful for you. I feel so reassured because you’ve always been here with me,”
Ianna said honestly, prompting Herrace to blush so furiously it was like the sun had suddenly fallen onto his face.
“I’m glad to hear that I was helpful to you, Little Ianna. I’ll keep working hard going forward too.”
“Sure. But don’t you dare run away if things get too hard.”
“Why would I do that?”
Herrace placed his hand over the left side of his chest. Then, he continued,
“I will always be a good colleague to you, and I will always defend my country.”
He smiled with his full sincerity.
“Thank you, Little Ianna. For holding onto me back then.”
Ianna visited Lalatua’s laboratory as she made her way down the magic tower. She saw Lalatua sitting in Taro’s lap as soon as she opened the door.
“Are you two dating?”
Ianna asked outright. But she wasn’t returned an answer. She continued,
“You can’t possibly still haven’t started dating yet, right? What on earth are you two doing?”
“To think that I’d hear that from you of all people, Little Ianna, when you used to be the king of denseness and a complete rookie when it came to romance.”
Ianna recalled Mad Magician Lalatua and how Taro had stood by her like a silent ghost in the past as she watched Lalatua grumbling even as she was sitting smugly in Taro’s lap.
Ianna had been shocked when Arhad had told her about their past lives.
Lalatua had raged like an evil spirit and had attacked Arhad after he had killed Heinrich in the past. Taro, who had tried to protect her, had died after Arhad had stabbed him in the heart, and Lalatua had turned him into a chimera.
In other words, Taro had already been dead by the time that Ianna had actually met him.
Mad Magician Lalatua had possessed many chimeras. And she had gone around kissing so many of them. But Taro had been the only one that she had never kissed.
‘I wonder why that was?’
Ianna couldn’t know for certain because she hadn’t known Lalatua very well in the past, but…….
“What are you staring at? Do you think we’re pathetic or something? We’re just going at our own pace, okay?”
The mirages of Lalatua and Taro from the past vanished, and the Lalatua and Taro of the present remained vividly before her.
Lalatua coyly remained inside of Taro’s lap even as she sulked, and Taro looked extremely happy as he grinned like a fool, which was a stark contrast to how expressionless he had been in the past.
In any event, Ianna was relieved to see them like this in the present.
“You’re twenty-six now, right, Taro?”
“Huh? Yeah, but why’d ya ask?”
Taro looked back at Ianna in bafflement, and Ianna recalled the conversation they had shared in the scorching deserts of Sidian and smiled as she replied,
“I’m glad you decided not to give up.”
“Huh? Shh! Shh!”
“Give up? What are you talking about?”
Lalatua narrowed her eyes sharply and glared at Taro, and Ianna walked out of the room and closed the door behind her upon realizing that she had made a slip of tongue.
Ianna quickly left the magic tower and finally made her way to the executive office. Everyone else that she still had left to meet were outside the royal castle, so she wanted to tell Arhad that she was leaving first.
Slam!
The government officials who were hard at work inside the office startled and jumped out of their seats as soon as they saw her. Ianna gestured at them to sit back down as she made her way over to Arhad’s desk.
“Ianna.”
Arhad, who was sitting behind a gigantic pile of documents, looked happy to see her even though it hadn’t been very long since they’d parted ways.
“It’s been a while.”
Rikijen, who was waiting for Arhad to improve several important documents, greeted Ianna while looking like he wouldn’t budge a single eyelash even if someone poked him with a needle. He continued,
“Did you have a nice rest?”
“I did. You, on the other hand, must’ve been busy.”
They exchanged awkward questions on the sly.
“Of course I was. Can’t you see the dark circles beneath my eyes?”
“I can. They were the first things I saw when I looked at you.”
Rikijen sighed as he pressed against the area below his eyes.
“I’m in the middle of purposefully overworking myself because I know I have to fulfil my duties, especially since I was safe and protected during a time of great danger.”
In wasn’t only Rikijen —after the war had ended, most combatants fell into an absentminded time of rest like dolls whose strings had been cut, whereas the noncombatants, whom the combatants had been keeping safe, started working busily to restore their cities and bring everything back to normal.
“You like working yourself to death anyway.”
Ianna took a document and scanned through it.
Arhad had been thorough in his defensive measures, but even Ex-knights had not emerged unscathed from the war. Additionally, there were a mountain of national issues that had to be resolved now that Bahamut had fallen.
Ianna pitied Arhad. She had only needed to focus on the battle, but Arhad was responsible for all sorts of miscellaneous things in addition to the battle, such as the national defense, state affairs, and restructuring.
“I’ll resume working today too.”
“Pardon? What are you talking about? Please rest a little longer. You should be resting for at least a full month.”
“I need to be doing something even if I’m resting because I’ve always been the diligent type. I’m planning to take a break from training for now. But I’ve fallen behind on state affairs, so it’ll be for the best that I catch up as quickly as possible.”
Ianna had quickly toured the changed world after she had awoken, but she had been so engrossed in the fighting that she barely had any idea about how the kingdom was currently running. She continued,
“I’ll still be taking it easy, though, so don’t worry about me. Besides, Arhad is working too, no?”
“That’s because this is supposed to be His Majesty’s main job. You were in charge of the fighting, Lady Ianna, so it’s all right for you to get a lot of rest now that the war is over, but His Majesty is responsible for the state affairs, which are only now starting to pick up the pace, so it’s natural for him to be working.”
“You’re surprisingly ruthless when it comes to Arhad, aren’t you?”
She’d thought that Rikijen would be the ever faithful retainer when it came to Arhad, but he was surprisingly holding the whip too.
Then, Rikijen turned serious and handed Ianna a thick notebook before she could say anything else.
“……Or so I said, but I made sure to prepare this ahead of time because I knew that you weren’t one to simply stay still, Lady Ianna. I’ve organized all the newest policies that we’ve implemented during your absence. Please read it over while you rest.”
It always moved Ianna deeply whenever Rikijen was kind to her. To think that someone who had wanted to kill her so desperately in their past lives would have changed so drastically. According to Arhad, Rikijen had truly, truly loathed her beyond all imagination in the past. Rikijen continued,
“What is it? Is there something wrong with how I organized my notes?”
“No. I was just feeling nostalgic about our institution days.”
Ianna flashed a grin as she accepted the notebook.
Rikijen’s outlines had always been trustworthy ever since they had been students at the Institution.
“All right. In that case, I think I’ll go on a quick tour around the world.”
“Why don’t the two of you go together? I think it’ll be better for Your Majesty to see the world with your own eyes too before you work through the documents.”
“I can’t refute that.”
Arhad stood up from his desk and grabbed the jacket that was hanging on the coatrack behind him.
“Oh, Rikijen,”
Arhad said just as he was about to follow Ianna out the door. He continued,
“We’re going to hold a large festival to celebrate our victory. Start working on it today.”
“I’ve already started.”
Rikijen, the exceptional government official who was always on top of things before his master even gave the orders, smirked as he bowed his head.
Ianna looked up at the sky as soon as she had left the royal castle.
The sky was so blue that it hurt her eyes —it was like nothing had ever happened to it at all. She stood there and stared for a while because the sky felt so beautiful and new to her with the clouds rolling in like a large flock of sheep.
“Oh, I was spacing out. Let’s go.”
Arhad had stopped and started staring up at the sky with her, so she took his hand and began walking.
The first place they visited was the shopping and culture street, which Priscilla and Saiwè had occupied, at the heart of Semastair.
The street was centered around Priscilla, who was a fashion genius, and littered with the theaters, museums, bookstores, and other centers of culture that Saiwè was sponsoring, and it was always jam-packed with people. An artisanal street filled with skilled dwarven craftsmen had also cropped up recently.
Ianna made her way to Priscilla’s boutique, and Arhad made his way to Saiwè’s office.
“Selene!”
Ianna heard Priscilla calling out loudly as soon as she stepped inside. Priscilla continued,
“You sewed on this lace backwards!”
“I-I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t be. It’s pretty, so let’s just stick with it!”
“What?”
Priscilla flinched as soon as Ianna opened the door and stepped inside the boutique. Then, she said,
“This feeling…”
She spun around to face the door and began jumping for joy when she spotted her perfect model.
“It’s Little Ianna, my hero!”
Priscilla spread open her arms and came running at Ianna with a measuring tape. Ianna hugged her with familiar ease. The measuring tape was already wrapped around her waist.
“Let me take your measurements to celebrate our victory!”
Priscilla shouted boldly with a smile.
The other designers in the boutique weren’t surprised by Priscilla’s attitude because her love for Ianna was rather infamous. Instead, they simply stole glances at Ianna, who was the greatest knight of their kingdom and the hero of the war, with envy in their eyes and leaned their ears in closer.
“I already have a lot of clothes.”
“You need more! Don’t you know that heroes are supposed to have tons of clothes?”
“Says who?”
“Says Priscilla.”
Priscilla stood at the epitome of fashion trends, and she was the greatest designer on the continent who started many trends herself. And so, the other designers took it to heart when Priscilla so bluntly said that heroes needed tons of clothes.
“Let’s do it later. There are still a lot of people I need to see. Like your husband, for one.”
“Oh, okay. Then you should hurry up! Let’s go see my hubby right now.”
Priscilla took Ianna by the hand and pulled her out the door. Then, she continued,
“I was actually trying to visit you in the castle all week long, but I was never able to meet you.”
She grinned treacherously as she whispered,
“Were you doing something lewd……?”
Ianna immediately covered Priscilla’s mouth as they made their way to Saiwè’s office.
They saw many artisans snooping around the beautiful building as soon as they arrived.
Saiwè had a great eye for things and pioneered and sponsored all kinds of culture and arts, such as theater, music, and fine arts. There were more than a few who wanted to stand out in his eyes.
Ianna and Priscilla made their way to the back entrance.
“My love! Babe!”
Priscilla spread open her arms and started running as soon as she opened the office door. Saiwè, who had been talking with Arhad on the sofa, caught her with practiced ease. He placed a quick kiss on Priscilla’s forehead before he greeted Ianna in an elegant manner.
“Welcome, Ianna.”
Ianna and Saiwè had done away with the honorifics and had decided to address each other comfortably as friends. Ianna took Arhad’s hand, which he had considerately held out for her, and sat down next to him on the sofa. Saiwè continued,
“We were talking about the festival. Rikijen reached out to me a few days ago to ask me for my opinions.”
Rikijen had immediately contacted Saiwè, who was the frontrunner of cultural enterprise and his fellow colleague who was devoted to their country, as soon as he realized that they would be holding a festival.
“I will be preparing for it in earnest, as His Majesty has finally approved the festival today and appointed me as the person in charge. There’s nothing better than a festival to bring the mood back up after the end of a war. Please let me know anytime if you have any good ideas.”
Ianna stared at Saiwè as he spoke fluidly.
As she had expected, Saiwè had abandoned his name as Saiwè Luria Roanne and had left for Bahamut in the past.
He had racked up lots of military achievements with his exceptional archery skills during the war, and he had led a culturally rich life in Bahamut too, but he had always remained cynical and had always had a shadow over his face.
In this life, however, he had kept his given name, had officially become a citizen of Ex-knights, and had taken on the surname ‘Frieders.’ He looked relaxed and happy with Priscilla in his arms, and he periodically rested his cheek against her petite head.
They made their way to the outer districts of Semastair after parting ways with Priscilla and Saiwè.
There was a food street in between the inner and outer districts. Elona’s Paradise was the most famous restaurant on the street.
“Welco……ahhhh!”
Dante, the owner, immediately put down the plates she had been carrying and ran toward the door. The customers inside the restaurants naturally turned to the door too, and their eyes went wide.
“Lady Ianna, and Your Majesty!”
Demna jumped out of the kitchen to greet them too after hearing Dante scream.
“We’ve been waiting for you! We’d love to treat you to a full course meal, but do you have enough time?”
Ianna had been a regular at Elona’s Paradise during her time at the Institution, and the owners, Denma and Dante, had packed up their restaurant and moved out of Roanne as soon as they’d learned that Ianna was planning to establish a new country after graduating.
It’d been difficult to move away from the home in which they had been living all their lives, but things had grown worse in Roanne because of Bahamut and the monsters had made a mess of everything.
Denma and Dante would have stayed put in Roanne, their homeland, even if it meant their deaths had they never met Ianna, but they had decided to move the very moment they had learned that Ianna, who they thought was the most powerful and responsible person in the world, was planning to establish a new country.
They had settled down in Ex-knights very early, and they had captivated the mythical races’ tastes after much trial and error. Elona’s Paradise was one of Ex-knights’ most popular restaurants not only because of its excellent food and prices but also because Ianna was known to frequent it. Ianna had even heard that they were considering opening a branch as of late.
“We’re only planning to have a quick lunch, since we have a lot of work to do,”
Ianna said as she smiled. She had known the couple ever since her past life, and it made her happy to know that they were living well in Ex-knights.
“Okay! This way, please…….”
“Lil’ Ianna! Yer Majesty Arhad!”
Absilot and his family, who were crowding an entire corner of the restaurant, called out to Ianna and Arhad before Dante could guide them to the VIP table.
“Tell me how ya managed to get so strong!”
Absilot asked excitedly as soon as they pulled up some chairs for Ianna and Arhad. Most of his questions had to do with the battle. Ianna answered him diligently until he was satisfied.
“What have you been up to these days?”
“I’ve been visitin’ all the good eateries. The other beastmen opened their eyes to good food and drink lately too, so yer guaranteed to find a bunch of our kind in every restaurant these days.”
Food tours had become popular with the beastmen now that things were peaceful. Absilot, in particular, had been strutting around different restaurants with Lanka, his wife, and their gigantic sons in tow, and the restaurant owners had been practically screaming with joy as he generously emptied his wallets.
Elona’s Paradise was his current favorite restaurant.
“But I won’t be able to keep eatin’ like this for long. I’m gettin’ too fat.”
Absilot wasn’t the only beastman who was already getting bored of the peace. The beastmen’s battle instincts hadn’t diminished in the slightest even after the war, and they regularly patted their full bellies as they made their way over to the arena to duke it out amongst themselves. And now, they were growing bored of that too.
“I’m plannin’ to put together an expedition party with my kids and go pioneer some new lands. In other words, I’m gonna expand Ex-knights’ territories by a whole lot. I’ll be subjugatin’ some monsters too, while I’m at it.”
The monsters hadn’t disappeared. They would remain in the world as a necessary evil so long as the beings of the world continued to eat each other.
“How dependable.”
“Right?”
Ianna smirked as she quietly as she stared into Absilot’s face.
Arhad had told her that he had quietly supported Absilot in eliminating the Black Fox and Wiffheimer from behind the scenes as he made a mess of the Bahamut imperial family in the past. Afterward, Absilot had secluded himself in the deserts of the West and had not been involved in the war between Bahamut and the Allied Forces.
This was probably because……Absilot had grown disgusted with humankind after something terrible had happened to Mursi, his dear friend, and Finn.
“I’ll go and pay.”
Arhad left his seat momentarily, and Absilot whispered in Ianna’s ear,
“So, Lil’ Ianna, are ya makin’ any progess with bringin’ yer husband to his knees, sneerin’ at him, and kickin’ him in the face?”
Ianna recalled something that had happened long ago as Absilot spoke. She had once gone to Absilot for advice while she was depressed by the idea that Arhad had been going easy on her.
“I won’t be sneering at him or kicking him in the face.”
“That’s just a figure of speech!”
Ianna guessed the time before she ever so seriously whispered back,
“I think we should be having another match soon.”
Ianna had not forgotten her life’s goal.
To reach the very peak of strength.
In other words, to defeat Arhad.
She had to defeat him, and she had to surpass him if she wanted to begin racing toward the infinity that could be called the second chapter of her goal.
Absilot grinned widely.
“I’ll be lookin’ forward to it. Make sure ya win!”
“I’ll do my best.”
The mere thought of finally being able to defeat Arhad was enough to make her giddy.
They toured the outer district of Semastair after leaving the restaurant. The first place they visited was the Cartner Research Institute.
Taryll and Lindsay were working together to develop their cities to best align with the changed world. They were designing balanced cities with Taryll in charge of the magical engineering and Lindsay in charge of keeping things in harmony with nature.
“Goodness, welcome.”
Taryll ran up to Ianna and Arhad with blueprints in her arms as soon as they entered the research institute. She was practically spitting in her hurry to explain her blueprints to Arhad, who was both the greatest investor she’d ever had in her life and the greatest mage she’d ever known.
Arhad studied the blueprints carefully as Taryll explained and pointed out a few modifications she could make, which Taryll immediately wrote down as she marveled.
“Don’t worry about the funding and just focus on bringing about the best results possible. That being said, I’ll be troubled if you bring me anything that’s too inefficient and clearly just for show.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ianna and Arhad made sure that Taryll made her way safely back inside her laboratory, with her precious blueprints in her arms, before they left the research institute.
Next, they visited Saki and Vistomanta, the elf, at the Shalino Research Institute nearby.
“Lady Ianna, Lord Arhad.”
Saki was continuing her research at Ex-knights with full permission from Miriam Elderia, the pope up the Great Temple of Jinzai.
Healing arts had reached new levels because it’d become easier to summon the spirits after the Cataclysm, but there were still things that the spirits could not easily affect, such as the brain, heart, soul, and mind. Saki wanted to research these things, and Ex-knights had the best facilities for research.
Vistomanta had also left the forest and was currently residing in the research institute.
They bowed to Ianna in greeting as soon as she arrived.
“You’ve been working so hard. So many lives were saved thanks to you, Lady Ianna. I can’t help but wonder if it was by heaven’s will that I met you in the deserts of Sidian that day.”
“I also think I was lucky to meet you and Vita, Saki.”
If she hadn’t met Saki in the desert that day, then it would have taken her far longer to learn about Life and clean up the Black Fox……in any case, so many things would’ve been so much more complicated if she had never met Saki. Ianna continued,
“I’ll continue to be in your care, Saki, Vita. I’m sure there will be many more lives that will be saved by your hands in the future to come.”
“I can only pray that will be the case.”
Saki smiled gently as Ianna returned her words right back to her. Vistomanta’s ears twitched as he nodded by Saki’s side.
“And thank you for supporting the research institute so generously, Your Majesty the King,”
Saki said to Arhad next.
“All for the sake of Ex-knights’ growth. I’d prefer that you thank me with results instead of words.”
“I shall not disappoint,”
Saki resolved firmly as she brought her hands together.
Next, they visited other cities outside of the capital where many of the mythical races lived.
Once such city was a city in the sky that was built on high grounds.
A colorful assortment of birds were soaring through the azure skies above. This was where the birdmen lived.
Ianna and Arhad met with Caesar —Mahirus— here.
Mahirus had retired and returned to the embrace of his brethren, and he was spending his days quietly while training up young birdmen.
Ianna had offered to restore his tongue multiple times, but he had decline at every turn. He would have healed himself already if he wanted to, and his wound was a reminder of his resolve to never lose his family again.
‘I will raise sharp eyes that will instantly catch sight of Ex-knights’ enemies and fierce talons that will rip them apart,’
Mahirus had signed with a smile. Birdmen were particularly skilled at reconnaissance because they could fly without the need for magic and their senses, especially their sight, were sharp. Ianna and Arhad welcomed his determination to foster new talent.
Then, they visited the seas in northern Ex-knights.
A large ocean with several islands had appeared in northern Ex-knights after the world had changed. This made it possible for them to visit the mermaids. The mermaids stopped the monsters from the sea from climbing onto land, and they mingled amongst the people by selling seafood.
Standing at the center of the sea was the Tower of Truth, which was now affiliated with Ex-knights. Silausa, the towermaster, and the mage Ensheila were still hard at work researching inside the tower. They hardly had any time to rest because there was so much more to research now that the structure of the world had altered.
“Please tell us about something —anything! I’m dying of curiosity!”
Ianna and Arhad were unable to beat back their desperate pleas and were only able to leave the tower after promising to aid their research to the best of their abilities.
Next, the visited the dwarves’ city.
The dwarves had completely forgotten about the slow and leisurely, but also frustrating and outdated, lives they had led back in the Karankell Rocky Mountains. They were busy out of their minds with developing new weapons and fixing broken ones. They screamed about how they would return to their homeland to rest once they were done with their work, but their screams were filled with their joy.
Chendelf had obtained sanction from the royal castle to take a break and visit the dwarves’ city after the war had ended.
“I hear that there are a lot of requests for decorative swords about the size of a finger these days.”
Chendelf said merrily about recent trends as she polished Ianna’s Rise. He continued,
“There were a lot of requests for those before too, but the requests have practically been flooding in as of late.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s because a sword is the symbol of Ex-knights. A lot of people are engraving their names into the swords and carrying them around like talismans or wearing them as necklaces. The requests come in all kinds of different designs, but swords designed after Rise are the most popular. It makes me proud as a craftsman. Here you go, all done!”
Rise was sparkling after passing through Chendelf’s hands.
“I’m sure you’re sick and tired of hearing me say this by now, Ianna……,”
Chendelf continued after watching quietly as Ianna delighted.
“But thank you for saving me, thank you for giving me the chance to forge your sword, and thank you for accepting me in your kingdom……. I’m truly, truly so thankful.”
Ianna listened quietly as Chendelf spoke with tears welling in his eyes and quietly nodded back.
“I’m grateful too. Thank you for making Rise for me, and thank you so much for coming to my kingdom to create amazing weapons and protecting my people. I see that we’re always finding ourselves thanking each other.”
Ianna smirked and extended her hand to Chendelf, prompting Chendelf to wipe away his tears and smile back. He grabbed Ianna’s hand and squeezed.
“Let’s keep working hard.”
“But of course.”
Then, after he had finished shaking Ianna’s hand, Chendelf turned to Arhad, who had been watching over their exchange from behind.
He wasn’t afraid of Arhad anymore. He had been so terrified of Arhad at first, but now Arhad felt so very, incredibly reliable that he wanted to stay near. What had changed?
In any event, he wasn’t afraid of Arhad anymore. Or rather, he was burning with aspiration.
“Um……. Your Majesty?”
Chendelf found the courage to say. Arhad raised an eyebrow in surprise. Chendelf continued,
“I would like to forge a set of armor as a gift for you. Will you please accept it?”
Chendelf had been on the battlefield during the final day of the war. And inspiration had struck him like a bolt of lightning as he witnessed Arhad protecting countless people with his own two eyes.
“I’ve no doubt that the results will be spectacular if they’re to be forged by the smith who crafted Ianna’s Rise. I’ll accept your gift with gratitude.”
Chendelf raised his hands to the air and cheered as Arhad gave him his consent.
The Great Forest of Shaob was the last place they visited before departing the kingdom. It had been greatly diminished in size, but the large hills and woods the region contained still warranted its dignified name.
Ianna and Arhad made their way to the forest where the elves lived. There, they met Finn, who was watering flowers with the other elven children, and Mursi, who was speaking with Lumiere.
“It’s Miss Ianna!”
Finn jumped up and began running toward Ianna as soon as he saw her. The other curious elven children also gathered cautiously around Ianna and Arhad and observed them.
Lumiere and Mursi also walked up to them shortly thereafter.
“Welcome, both of you,”
Lumiere said as she bowed elegantly like a tree bending its branches and leaves toward the earth. Mursi smiled pleasantly as he said something about how long it’d been.
“I was truly impressed by your work, Lady Ianna and Lord Arhad. I knew I always had a good eye for people. Lady Ianna was one thing, but it was also I who once hired Lord Arhad as a temporary mercenary, was it not? Haha!”
“Yes, it was,”
Ianna replied modestly and enthusiastically played along as Mursi joked magnanimously.
Mursi had focused on trading with countries outside of Ex-knights’ borders after he had returned to Ex-knights. After all, goods made by the other races were commonplace within Ex-knights, but they were still rare elsewhere.
Elven goods, in particular, were somewhat difficult to come by even in Ex-knights because the elves were not very open to trading. The elves valued faith and loyalty, and Mursi already had a monopoly when it came to that.
“Please come and look at the seedling that I’ve been raising, Miss!”
Finn had been spending his time learning how to raise plants from his elven friends in the forest. He was having great fun because the innocent elves treated him like he was family.
Ianna pulled Finn, who was a big boy now, into her arms and patted him on the back.
In the past……Arhad had told her that Finn had been kidnapped by some of Wiffheimer’s countless disciples on the day she had rescued him in this life, and that he had become one of Wiffheimer’s research subjects.
Just how much had he been forced to suffer?
And how had Mursi felt……?
“Miss? Is something wrong?”
Finn, who had grown bashful because he was all grown up now, asked worriedly when he felt Ianna squeezing him.
“I was just really glad.”
“Because I’ve been getting along with my elven friends? Please don’t worry about me. They’re all very kind,”
Finn said firmly as he pulled free from Ianna’s embrace. He continued,
“Besides, I’m not some little kid who cries because he’s lonely anymore!”
he said mischievously despite still being so young.
But Ianna was still proud of him, so she played along while tussling his hair.
Deep inside the forest was a completely open clearing surrounding by a boundary of trees, which stood as if they were worshiping something inside. At the center of that clearing was Phaemdra, the world tree and the mother of all flora.
Phaemdra had been fast asleep ever since it had helped Ianna struggle against Roberstein. Ianna couldn’t help but sigh when she saw that Phaemdra still had yet to stir. Arhad comforted her, saying,
“Its soul is fine. It’s just asleep. Don’t worry too much.”
“This happened because I was so impatient for no reason back then……. I’d like to apologize again properly once it awakes.”
Ianna and Arhad left the Great Forest of Shaob once they had concluded their business, only to meet someone they hadn’t expected to see waiting for them outside.
“It’s been a while.”
It was Kandemayon. She was in the form of an alluring girl wearing a luxurious one-piece dress. She was undoubtedly either a noblewoman or the daughter of a wealthy family, judging by the fact that she was even holding a parasol.
She had been waiting for them alone.
“What about Laos?”
“I left him behind.”
What was the rascal scheming this time?
Kandemayon folded up her parasol and got straight to the point when Ianna scrutinized her with doubt in her eyes.
“I have something to say to you. And I also want to ask you for a favor.”
A request from Kandemayon, of all people. Ianna wanted to give her a knuckle sandwich and ignore her outright in return for much she had gotten in their way, but she couldn’t deny that she was curious. Ianna turned to Arhad, and Arhad nodded back as if to say that she should do as she so pleased.
Ianna let out a sigh and crossed her arms.
“I’ll at least hear you out.”
Ianna and Arhad slowly made their way from the North to the West, then from the West to the South after setting up an appointment with Kandemayon.
The Bahamut Empire’s territory had been divided up after the empire had fallen. This was the result of the various factions in the Revolution Army establishing their own countries. Etonine was the biggest among them. It was ruled by Root Dorian, who had collaborated with Ex-knights during the war.
Most of those who had supported Taylon had been met with wretched fates, such as being executed, being sold as slaves, being forced to pay astronomical reparations in exchange for their freedom, or being driven out to unclaimed lands emptyhandedly.
Only the evilest of the bunch had been executed, because the people were exhausted by the sheer amount of death that had ravaged the continent already, and most of them were made into slaves and forced to help with the restoration efforts. Most countries on the continent still practiced slavery and the caste system.
There were also a lot of people who had voluntarily ventured into unknown lands. The four corners of the world, which had previously surrounded the continent like a fence, had been reduced in size after world’s crust had shifted. The dragons’ barrier, which had made people lose their way if they tried to venture beyond the four corners, had also vanished. And the number of monsters living in the four corners had been exponentially reduced as well.
No one had been able to explore or pioneer the unknown lands properly until now because of Bahamut. It was only now, after Taylon’s demise, that people were finally able to venture out into the unknown with the hopes of striking it big or whilst harboring high aspirations. They could claim new lands of their own just by declaring that it was so, and they could keep it all for themselves if they found a mine rich with jewels.
Ianna and Arhad ran into the four dragons —Terranodin, Gamadaian, Millanikonè, and Frillianu— while they were touring the continent.
Swoooooosh! Swoooosh!
The dragons had been doing nothing but flying freely through the skies as of late. They had been flying nonstop for over a week, but it still looked like they were having great fun.
They didn’t descend to speak with Ianna and Arhad, but they waved hello with their wings and tails before flying off into the distance.
“We’re in Roanne.”
Their final destination was Roanne. Roanne had absorbed the smaller countries that had previously existed in between Roanne and Ex-knights, so the two countries now shared a border.
As soon as they crossed into Roanne territory, Arhad nonchalantly asked,
“Do you want to visit the Roberstein lands too?”
“Why? I don’t even want to go near them.”
“Don’t you want to see whether the people there have changed their opinions about you now?”
“Is there a reason I must do that?”
Arhad shrugged because Ianna was genuinely curious when she asked.
“I’m just being childish because I want to see the people who used to torment you regretting their actions.”
“There’s no need for that. Those people no longer have anything to do with me, and I don’t care what they think about me now. Harchen is the only person from there whom I want to speak with, and he’s currently in Theodore.”
Ianna had done a lot of things for everyone, but that was over now. Moving forward, she wanted to focus only on caring for and loving her own people. And so, Ianna and Arhad promptly made their way to Theodore, the royal capital of Roanne.
Ianna felt awkward as soon as she stepped foot inside Theodore. She had spent her entire past life in Theodore, and she had spent an additional three years here in this one, but Semastair felt more familiar to her than Theodore did now.
They visited the royal castle and met with Schneider.
“I should have started trying to appease you when you were much younger, Dame Rise.”
Schneider sighed after they had finished discussing current events and about their alliance. Arhad glared back in displeasure, prompting Schneider to continue,
“I’m only griping, and I know that there’s no chance that anything will happen, so stop glaring at me. You’re the haves here, so can’t you be a little more magnanimous to the have-nots like me? Or is it that you still see me as a rival?”
“I don’t see you as a rival —I’m wary of you for making continuous advances on what is mine.”
Sparks erupted between Arhad and Schneider. They were still on relatively poor terms even despite having worked together for so long due to their alliance.
It was only after Ianna learned that Arhad had also retained his memory of their past lives that she finally understood why he loathed Schneider so much and why he was so wary of him. Schneider had been Ianna’s liege in her past life —just how much had Arhad despised him?
“Your grudges against me aside, I look forward to our continued alliance.”
“As do I. I’ll contact you once we’ve returned.”
Their personal relationship was only slightly better than being the absolute worst, but their public friendship was impeccable.
“As for you, Dame Rise, I’d like for you to keep devoting yourself and become much stronger than you are now. You’re still so young, and I’m excited to see how much stronger you’ll be in the future.”
Schneider looked back at Ianna with clear and unclouded eyes as he grinned. There were no tainted emotions in his smile, as he had put his earlier grumblings aside.
Ianna and Arhad made their way to Gerard Hephlood’s, Ianna’s teacher’s, office after parting ways with Schneider.
“Please, come inside.”
Gerard, who had been reading while sitting on his rocking chair in the terrace, exclaimed quietly and stood up when Ianna, his beloved student, and her husband Arhad entered his office.
“Please stay seated.”
“How could I?”
Gerard smiled proudly as he greeted Arhad,
“I believe this is the first time we’ve met in your current capacity, Your Royal Majesty the King of Ex-knights. It’s nice to meet you. I am Gerard Hephlood.”
“I am Arhad Rise Ex-knights. Please feel free to speak comfortably with me. You’re Ianna’s teacher, which makes you someone exalted in my eyes as well.”
“Not at all. I couldn’t dare speak recklessly before the ruler of a great land, even if he happens to be my student’s husband. This is far more comfortable for me.”
“If that is what you wish.”
“But you, Your Majesty, are free to speak comfortably with me…….”
“I also happen to find this more comfortable. I am grateful that you guided Ianna down the path of righteousness, and I’d like to show you my respect.”
There was genuine respect between the two of them as they exchanged words with great care. The basis for their mutual respect was their shared affections for Ianna.
The three of them sat down around the table, and Arhad spoke up and said,
“Anyone who is precious to Ianna is also precious to me. Please feel free to come knocking at Ex-knights’ gates should you ever need our assistance. I will do everything in my power to help you.”
Gerard smiled.
“I can see that Your Majesty loves Ianna a lot. Especially considering how you’re treating me, when I was nothing but a mere teacher to her long ago.”
“I love her more than words could ever say.”
“Enough of this.”
Ianna grew a little embarrassed and shoved Arhad gently on the shoulder, prompting Arhad to smile kindly while asking her why she was doing that when he was simply telling the truth. His smile was so filled with his love for her that it was practically dribbling with sweetness.
Gerard was even more pleased.
“This is truly a delight to see. It’s most fortunate that Ianna has found someone who’s so good to her.”
“It’s I who was lucky. I’m most fortunate that someone good like her decided to come to me.”
“…….”
Ianna was unable to say a word and lowered her face. Her ears were bright red, but all she did was to place her hand over Arhad’s on the table as she silently begged him to stop.
Arhad took her hand. Ianna shot a quick glare at him, but she quietly grabbed his hand back anyway.
Gerard reminisced over the distant past, which was so hazy to him now, as he watched over their overlapping hands.
The warm child who had frozen over because of her household’s cruel treatment of her. The girl who had seemed like she would live alone forever because of her deep-rooted distrust and hatred of humanity.
His student had suppressed her distrust and hatred under her nanny’s and personal knight’s care, had started getting along with others after spending time with good friends, and had learned how to love people after meeting her cherished lover.
‘I’m so glad.’
The pride in Gerard’s smile reached its zenith, and Ianna was so embarrassed when she saw it that wanted to leave immediately.
“I am always happy to hear about what you’ve been up to, Ianna.”
“It’s nothing much.”
“I beg to differ. You’ve accomplished great things, and no one can deny that. I am always very proud of the fact that you’re my student.”
“……Am I a student that you’re proud of?”
Ianna asked while looking like she wanted her teacher to praise her more.
Gerard had been the one and only ‘adult figure’ in Ianna’s past life. There were many adults in her life, of course, but he was the only one whom she had ever acknowledged, and she could not help but become a child again whenever she was with him. This was true even in her current life, though Ianna herself was unaware of this.
“Of course you are. I have never once not been proud of you.”
Ianna brightened up as Gerard chuckled.
“Ianna.”
“Yes?”
“Has everything in your life been the result of your own choices?”
Ianna recalled Gerard’s teachings as she answered,
“Yes.”
“In that case, the life you’re living must surely be your best life.”
Ianna smiled back.
“It is.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes. Very.”
“That’s good. That’s really good to hear.”
The smiling mature adult sitting before Gerard overlayed the small pitiful little girl inside him. And he knew that, moving forward, thinking about his student would only make him happier and not sad.
Ianna and Arhad visited Angelina’s palace after they had departed Schneider’s. Angelina spent most of her time in her private manor outside the castle these days, but she was in her palace today.
There was a small tea party being held in the middle of a garden where flowers were scattered beautifully about and the green of leaves were peeking through between them.
Angelina, Harchen, and Elly were enjoying tea time. Nissi was rolling around the ground near Elly while saving the warm sunlight.
“Welcome!”
Ianna’s and Arhad’s seats had already been prepared at the table because they had sent notice of their arrival ahead of time. Angelina continued,
“We were in the middle of discussing something fascinating.”
Ianna asked about what they had been talking about, because it looked like Angelina was itching for her to ask, and Angelina’s eyes sparkled as she answered,
“What would you think if there was a book where you were the main character, Ianna?”
“A book?”
“Elly said that the world will only keep expanding now that the war against Bahamut is finally over. The universe itself will keep growing bigger too.”
Angelina was also aware of Elly’s real identity. She continued,
“I thought it’d be a good idea for there to be a book that records exactly why that is.”
“You can simply write a normal history book for that. Why make me the main character?”
“Because a normal history book is just too boring. A novel would be so much better. There’ll be romance! And history! And world building! And it’s only natural for you to be the main character because you were at the center of history’s flow, Little Ianna. Though there are so many novels with you as the main character being published already, of course. Like heroic epics and romance novels, for example. They’ve been very fun to read. But so much of them are just pure fiction. What if people in the future stop being able to tell which parts are actually true?”
“I’ve been told that the historians have already recorded everything down…….”
“But there’s still so much that aren’t in those records.”
Angelina had learned about a lot of things as she spent time with Elly and Harchen. And her desires only grew bigger as she learned more of the truth. She continued,
“I know we’ll never be able to release it publicly, but I thought it’d be nice to have at least one book that includes the real story in its entirety hidden away somewhere in Ex-knights’ secret archives. Oh, but what if it doesn’t fit in just one volume? What if it’s an epic tale that spans over ten volumes? That’s fine too, right?!”
Angelina clenched her hands into tight fists.
“I can’t say…….”
Ianna thought it should be fine, but she was still skeptical.
There were a lot of secrets involves that could never be revealed, and more importantly…….
“Who would even write such a book? It can’t be released to the public, and it’ll only end up collecting dust in the archives.”
“The three of us here!”
Angelina boldly pointed at herself, Harchen, and Elly as she continued,
“I’ll be in charge of the romance! Harchen will be in charge of the history! And Elly will be in charge of the world building! And we’ll use all of you and everyone else living in this world as our references!”
They had already finished divvying up the roles.
“I don’t care about how much money the book makes or how popular it gets —I just want to see a good story. And, who knows? Maybe one day in the distant future, after hundreds and thousands of years have passed, the book will finally be released from the secret archives and the people will be able to read an ancient epic! They say that different worlds might exist in the universe one day as the world continues to expand, so maybe people from other worlds will be able to read it too!”
Angelina eventually lost her ability to reason as she excitedly laid out all her fantasies. Harchen saw that Ianna still wasn’t fully on board with the idea and chuckled.
“Most of that was just a joke. Don’t take it too seriously.”
“No! I really, really meant it!”
“Initially, Angelina only wanted to get to know you better and discuss secrets with you. And then the topic somehow ended up like this.”
“H-he’s right about that… But I still really meant it.”
Angelina suddenly grew gloomy. She continued,
“Why are you pretending that you weren’t serious about it too, Harchen? You’re the one who’s already decided on a title for the book. You’re only changing your mind because Ianna isn’t on board with it, aren’t you?”
“I was only playing along.”
“I really liked the title you came up with, you know?”
Harchen ever so casually avoided Ianna’s stare when Ianna turned to look at him.
“What was the title?”
Ianna asked, curious, prompting Angelina to quickly reply,
“Adonis!”
Indeed. It was a good title that only Harchen, who had been watching over Ianna’s life and had personally gifted Ianna the flowers, could have come up with. It was Ex-knights’ national flower, and it was something that could quickly summarize Ianna’s life and history…….
“I don’t care much for the idea at the moment.”
Angelian’s shoulders sagged when Ianna rejected the proposal.
“Will you please at least consider it……? I’m not going to give up on this.”
But Angelina quickly regained her cheer. Then, she continued,
“Anyway, I heard that there’s going to be a huge festival in Ex-knights soon?”
“You heard about it already?”
“My Lord Brother Saiwè told me about it.”
Saiwè was indifferent to Angelina, but he did communicate with her from time to time because Angelina was bright and sociable and because she contacted him nonstop. Angelina continued,
“He said that it wouldn’t overlap with any of Roanne’s festivities. I’m planning to stay in my manor in Ex-knights while Ex-knights’ festivities are taking place. I can’t wait.”
Angelina was a princess of Roanne, but she had bought a manor in Ex-knights and spent half her time posing as a citizen of Ex-knights.
Ianna listened to Angelina chat excitedly about the upcoming festival for some time before she suddenly turned to look at the clock. Harchen noticed this and asked,
“Did we catch you when you were busy?”
“No, but something unexpected came up this afternoon. I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to go soon.”
“Oh, is that so? I suppose we should slowly start wrapping up our tea time, then. That’s too bad…….”
“We can always have tea again later. Right?”
Harchen asked Ianna gingerly, prompting Ianna to smile and assent, which in turned made Harchen’s and Angelina’s visages brighten up.
“We’ll be taking Elly with us too.”
“Me?”
Elly was puzzled, but she picked up Nissi, who had been napping beneath the table, and stood up nonetheless.
“Please take some more time to consider that book I was talking about!”
Harchen and Angelina saw Arhad, Ianna, Elly, and her cat off as they departed the royal castle.
“Did something happen?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
The light from the Teleport that Arhad cast enveloped all three of them. Elly guessed where they were teleporting to as she confirmed the coordinates.
‘The heart of the Lotso Mountains? Kan? I know she suddenly disappeared off to somewhere, but why……?’
Sure enough, the Teleport brought them right in front of Kandemayon.
Kandemayon slowly walked up to them until she was standing directly in front of Elly —Laos.
“I’ll give you your reward for winning our bet, Laos,”
Kan said quietly.
“Our bet?”
Laos made a face. He continued,
“Right now?”
“Yes. You said that your wish was to grant me the ‘death’ that I want most.”
“Hey. Are you seriously bringing that up right now……?”
“And so, as you wished, I’ll will accept that death from you some day at a time of my choosing.”
Laos waited for Kan to continue because he had no idea why she was bringing this up. Kan continued,
“But what I want isn’t for you to die while being full of regrets. I want you to die only after all your wishes have come true and you no longer have any regrets. In other words, what I’m saying is that I’m going to give you what you really want right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you want to see Roberstein and Roygen again?”
Laos gasped when Kan brought up something that he had never even imagined he would hear.
Shaaaa!
Laos returned to his true form and glared furiously.
“Don’t try anything funny, Kan!”
“It’s nothing funny —I’m only going to take the two lives that you ruined and set them back on the right track with your consent.”
“The lives that I ruined? You’re going to set them back on the right track?”
Kan folded up her parasol and placed it on the ground.
“This world flows from birth to death, and from death again to new life. Roberstein and Roygen should have died during the End, but they couldn’t because of your lingering regrets. They experienced an abnormal reincarnation because they weren’t able to pass through the Akashic Records, and in the end, they had no choice but to vanish from this world in an abnormal manner after undergoing their respective complete extinctions. Their lives became a mess because of you, Laos.”
Kan then pointed to Arhad as she held back her laughter.
“We are tied to the same equilibrium, Laos, and I need to counterbalance everything you do. And right now, I am trying to sort out the very first providence that you made a mess of.”
“Wasn’t that all sorted out when my mom and dad’s hearts went extinct?”
“No.”
Kan stomped on the ground with her right foot, and the earth shattered as a door to the Akashic Records was created. The entrance to the Akashic Records drew everyone present inside.
They eventually found themselves at the very center of the Akashic Records. Everything had been returned to normal after Taylon had destroyed it.
Then, Kan reached out both her hands.
Shaaaaaa…….
Particles of light began gathering into her hands.
“I secretly collected the particles of their hearts and sealed them away, just like what you did when you collected the particles of Nissi’s heart by force back when she died.”
Laos froze up as he was completely blindsided by this situation, and Nissi snarled.
“Their fragments of chaos were completely disconnected from their souls as they were reduced to particles. But it’s still possible to create new hearts out of them by mixing them with different auras. Each and every particle still holds traces of their original souls, so they’ll become beings who remember their past lives but are not their past lives, just like Nissi, if you plant their original souls into the new hearts created from these particles.”
Kan ignored the fact that Nissi was clinging to her legs, scratching her, and biting her as she continued,
“But using this method would be wrong. After all, their souls have already become Ianna’s and Arhad’s souls in their entirely. And so, I…….”
A spiritual aura began gathering around Kan.
“I am planning to give Roberstein and Roygen the chance to be born again and live as ‘new souls.’”
“I already gave up on all my regrets! Why are you doing this?”
Laos shouted as he snapped. He continued,
“Just stop it already!”
“Are you sure? Do you want me to release these particles, then? I don’t mind either way —the extinction of imbalance is also one way to reestablish equilibrium, after all.”
The blood drained from Laos’ face as Kan threatened to let go.
“This is the one and only chance I’m giving to you, who poked open a hole into providence, and to them, who failed in their lives. Now choose, Laos!”
Kan’s black eyes began to blaze. She continued,
“Will you choose to erase them altogether, or will you give them the chance to be reborn as new beings?!”
“O-o-okay. What do I need to do?”
Laos asked in a trembling voice as he held back his tears. He continued,
“But I won’t let this influence Ianna’s or Arhad’s lives in any way. Never! I’d rather give up on this chance if that’s the case.”
“They two of them will need to help in order to bring everything back into the flow, but this will hold no influence over their lives. I’ve already explained everything to them and they’ve given their consent, assuming that this is what you want to do.”
Kan extended her hands toward Laos.
“If you agree, then use your power to bring the particles together.”
Laos turned to Ianna and Arhad. They nodded back at him, and then he eventually reached out in hesitation. Then, under Laos’ guidance, the chaos fragment particles began clumping together into the shape of hearts. But they had not turned fully into hearts just yet.
“You need to create something that will substitute for a mother’s womb. Wrap them in eggshells.”
Laos created eggshells, just as Kan had instructed, and placed them carefully over the clumped heart particles.
“Now, place your hands over them and imbue them with divine power.”
Laos placed his hands on top of the eggs in a daze and imbued them with divine power, and Kan followed suit from beneath.
“Ianna, Arhad.”
Ianna and Arhad walked up and placed their hands on the eggs too when Kan called for them.
Then, they began recalling each and every one of Roberstein’s and Roygen’s memories and emotions, all the way until the final thoughts that they thought up to the very moment of their extinction.
How much time had passed?
The heart particles, which had only been clumped together inside their shells until then, reacted by wriggling and began clumping again. The divine power surrounding the hearts resonated with the hearts and throbbed as they absorbed everything that Ianna and Arhad recalled.
“Their hearts are reacting to the memories and emotions they experienced in the past.”
The heart was both the container and the center of the soul. The particles, having encountered traces of their souls through the memories and emotions, wished strongly for their souls to return to them and make them whole again. But their souls had already been completely cut off from them.
But the clumped particles wished strongly even still.
And their craving was conveyed to the divine power surrounding them.
Souls were astral bodies that awakened egos by wishing strongly to live. And the base material needed to create an astral body was divine power.
If Roberstein’s and Roygen’s memories were filled with a power desire to live, then a synergistic effect would take place with that desire. Then, the divine power surrounding their hearts would be molded into astral bodies, and the astral bodies would clump together to birth new souls.
“It is finished. Everything else will depend on how badly Roberstein and Roygen desire to live. You just need to keep imbuing the eggs with divine power.”
Kan passed the eggs to Laos and continued,
“They might not be the same people you remember once they’re reborn. They could have changed after everything they’ve experienced. And, as I’m sure you already know, I wasn’t able to take hold of the Original Energy that used to be inside Roberstein’s heart because it was returned to the Balance’s plane.”
Laos knew this very well.
Roberstein’s Original Energy was inside the Balance’s plane now, and that was why he had been completely blind to Kandemayon’s plan.
“Roberstein’s new soul will have lost her Original Energy and will be free from the mission that the Balance had given her, so it’s possible that she will be different from the Roberstein in your memories.”
“……That’s okay.”
“Also, the two of them will have to live within the confines of the providence we constructed once they’ve been reborn.”
“That’s okay too,”
Laos mumbled as he hugged the eggs close to him.
“Is that so? That’s good. It’ll take a very long time to create new souls. It might take decades, or even centuries. Oh, and their new souls might not be born at all if they don’t have any desire to live in the first place, so be sure to keep that in mind.”
Kan let out a sigh after her apathetic warning. Then, she saw Nissi, who was at her feet, running up to the eggs. Nissi clung to the egg covering Roberstein’s heart and began crying sorrowfully.
“Meow! Meow!”
Nissi looked both sad and happy.
‘Oh.’
Ianna felt like she was being struck by lightning as she watched.
She had finally figured out who exactly Nissi was.
Ianna was about to say something, but then she changed her mind.
The Nissi whom I know now will disappear the moment I say that name out loud. Is that something she would want?
“Nissi.”
Nissi turned around when Ianna called for her. Then, she ran over to Ianna and began rubbing her head against Ianna’s legs. It looked like she was trying to love Ianna to death.
“…….”
Ianna peered into Nissi’s blue eyes.
Perhaps she could come clean one day, but that day was not today. Especially because it didn’t seem like the person in question wanted for it to happen either.
“Nissi.”
And so, Ianna decided to treat this being as Nissi, just as she had been doing until now.
“Meow!”
Nissi replied happily before running back to Laos. Laos was crying as he clutched the eggs close.
Ianna was glad. Regardless of how it had come to be, the day that they, too, could find happiness had finally come.
Ianna turned to Kan next.
“You actually do care about Laos, when all’s said and done.”
Kan pouted, but she did not refute Ianna’s claim.
“This wasn’t my original plan. I just so happened to change my mind along the way.”
Kan fell silent for a moment after she had said that. Then, she continued,
“I always thought that love was a weak and ridiculous emotion. I thought that it had more vices than virtues.”
Then, she slowly began confessing her true thoughts.
“I assumed that this age, too, would end in the worst way possible, just like the Holy Age did, and I scorned it. I saw the two of you as mere continuations of Roberstein and Roygen, and I predicted that you would meet the same ending as they.”
Kan looked directly back at Ianna and Arhad.
“But my beliefs started to be shaken ever since Arhad obtained the great power to erase the records of time.”
[Did you fall in love again?]
“…….”
[Are you so deeply in love that it surpasses the millennia of hatred you’ve built up?]
“It’s technically not correct to say that I’ve fallen in love again. That woman isn’t Roberstein. And I am not Roygen. Our previous incarnations are simply a means that I can use at my disposal.”
“I learned that you were indeed not Roberstein and Roygen on that day when Arhad came to the heart of the Lotso Mountains and faced the dangers that Bahamut posed even as his own heart broke down all just to rescue you, even if it meant ruining his own body to transform into his original form, but I doubted it even still.”
I tested Ianna and had her undergo the Balance’s trial, and it was only after she somehow managed to shatter the Balance and destroy Roberstein’s heart that I finally, truly acknowledged it.
“Roberstein and Roygen too, whom I had thought would never change, also changed because of you two. And then, I uncharacteristically took pity on Laos when I saw how sad he was after they went extinct. That is why I collected the particles of their hearts.”
That was when Kan had finally realized that she was about to lose her bet, but she gave up on the idea of meddling. And she had acknowledged her defeat completely after Ianna had finally slain Taylon.
“You’ve won,”
Kan said with a twisted smile.
“Now go and live happily ever after with that love of yours.”
~~*~~
“Haaah…….”
Ianna stretched as she savored the refreshing wind.
Arhad was walking behind her as she stretched out her body, and he was watching over with kindness and warmth in his eyes.
They returned to Ex-knights after exiting the Akashic Records. But they decided to take a stroll at a certain place they both liked first instead of returning directly to the royal castle.
That place was the field that Ianna had first seen after waking up from her long slumber. The field where golden Adonis flowers were scattered about…….
But the field was more colorful now because Arhad had also planted some crimson Adonis flowers too.
Shaaaaa…….
The gentle breeze caressed the grasses and flowers.
Ianna glanced up at the sky as she savored the refreshing wind, and then she ran up to a tree that was standing at the raised end of the field and sat down against it.
“Let’s sit down and take a quick break.”
“Sure.”
Arhad wanted to whatever it was that Ianna wanted, and he was always happy to do anything with her, so he joined her.
They quietly looked up at the sky together.
The sun was sinking below the horizon. The dark and peaceful night would fall soon.
The boundary between day and night.
The last scattered rays of the sun mixed into the darkness and dyed the sky in sunset colors while filling the field with a golden glow. The crimson and golden Adonis flowers took on the sky’s colors, as though they had always been a part of the sky all along, and broke apart the boundary between them.
It was impossible to tell whether this place was the sky, the earth, or the flowers.
The flowers were reflected in Ianna’s and Arhad’s eyes as well.
Ianna was happy.
She loved this time, this moment, so very much.
“Truly, so much has happened.”
Ianna slowly rested her head against Arhad’s shoulder. She continued,
“But none of this would have ever happened had you not erased time.”
It had only been because Arhad had erased time that Ianna had been able to walk down a completely different path in life.
“Thank you for giving me this chance. And thank you for not giving up on me.”
Ianna would never have been able to experience this bliss if Arhad had given up on her.
“I was only able to do it because you made me a vow.”
Arhad planted a kiss on Ianna’s forehead. Then, he continued,
“Even if I’d erased time anyway, it would’ve all been meaningless had you not come to me first.”
He pulled Ianna into his arms with all the love he had inside him.
“Thank you. For loving me. For letting me love you. And for making me happy.”
That’s what I’m supposed to be saying…….
“I’m the one who’s……,”
Ianna mumbled as she hugged Arhad back and buried her face into his chest. She felt like she was going to cry.
She was glad that she had worked so hard in life.
She had reminisced, she had recollected, and she had forgotten.
She had collapsed in exhaustion and fumed in anger sometimes too, but she was glad that she hadn’t given up and had always continued running as hard as she could.
Bliss had always been waiting for her like a single flower at the end of the road.
“I am happy.”
And Ianna had finally managed to reach it.
—“Adonis” End
ToC Chapter: Myth 4