Chapter 17 : Period

The street vendor that Ruina led me to, holding my hand, was an ordinary potato vendor.

It was a vendor selling potatoes that had slits carved in a cross pattern, topped with sugar, cream, and other things after being steamed perfectly.

Although it was a somewhat indulgent yet delicious food that seemed perfect for a festival day, for some reason, the fact that there were no customers at all was a bit puzzling…

But in the end, I could buy the potatoes without waiting, so wasn’t that a good thing?

“Here you go, customer.”

And with the hot potatoes freshly made and packed in a paper bag, I continued to follow Ruina’s guiding hand as she led me along.

Step by step—

The number of people, which had already been dwindling, decreased even further, and eventually, there was no one in sight in the outskirts of Hagen Village.

There, Ruina began to walk ahead, following the path that led up to the back hill of Hagen Village.

“Let’s hurry, Kael!”

“Yeah. But I don’t see anyone around here. It seems like a nice place with good scenery.”

“Hmm… maybe everyone is gathered in the town center? On a noisy festival day, they probably didn’t want to come to a quiet place like this.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

I thought there would be many people who would want to enjoy the festival in such a quiet spot, but I couldn’t disagree with Ruina’s explanation either.

Since it had been a long time since the Mage Tower was hosting a festival, people might have wanted to enjoy the bustle with others.

So, dismissing my doubt without much thought, I finally reached the top of the hill and sat down next to Ruina on the bench placed there.

Thud—

As I sat on the bench, a cool breeze from the summer night swept across my face.

The cool breeze, which eased the slight sweat on the back of my neck, made me exhale a breath full of relaxation for a moment.

In the air, where the laughter of people and the sounds of summer night insects echoed faintly from afar, I heard Ruina’s voice.

“Kael, do you remember… when we first met?”

“When we first met… was it at the northwest front?”

The day I first met Ruina.

That day was something I clearly remembered without needing to revisit it.

It was about a month after the war had started.

I had been sent to the northwest front, which was the most pressed, and I met Ruina at the forward base there.

“At that time, I was pretty sensitive. I had killed many demons, but more than that, the soldiers I was with kept dying, and every time I slept, I heard resentful screams in my dreams. Because of that, I couldn’t sleep properly… I was despairing, not knowing how much longer this war would go on.”

“Yeah, it was such a large-scale war.”

What Ruina said was true.

No matter how many demons we killed, our side kept losing more soldiers.

Watching people you ate with and talked to die in front of you was never a pleasant experience.

Moreover, there was no sign of the war ending, so despair was a natural result.

And it was during that time, when Ruina was on the verge of despair, that I first met her.

“At first, I thought you weren’t much different from the others. The troops that were sent to the most pressed northwest didn’t last more than three days, and the front kept getting pushed back, in a vicious cycle.”

“So, you thought I would die after three days?”

“Hm… At first? You looked strong, but I thought if you lasted three days, it would be a blessing.”

Boom—

From a distance, another explosion of fireworks lit up the sky, turning it into a bright, colorful display as the sun set.

And the sunset reflected on Ruina’s face, making her look nostalgic, as if she were reminiscing about the past.

It was as if she was retracing that unforgettable memory of that day.

Soon after, as if she had finished that wistful recollection, Ruina turned her head back toward me and spoke.

“But that day, when the demons sent their secret weapon to completely finish off the northwest front… you saved me when I almost died.”

“You mean that demon lord’s officer, right? I remember. You were in danger, and I rushed to save you.”

When the officer of the demon lord appeared on the front line, most of the soldiers had already met their deaths, and many others had fled in fear.

Amidst that, I couldn’t just let Ruina, who was fighting beside me until the end, die.

Ignoring my wounds, I gathered all my remaining strength and ran to save her.

I carried her, who had been seriously injured, back to the forward base, and after killing the officer, we pushed the northwest front again.

And that day.

That moment when it all happened.

“I think it was then. That’s when I started to like you.”

Ruina quietly murmured in a calm tone that she had started to like me.

The setting sun cast its glow on her face, making it impossible to tell whether her face was flushed or simply bathed in red light.

However, at the very least, whatever emotions she was feeling at that moment, the emotions contained in her words just now were clear.

Just by uttering those words, it was evident what kind of feelings she was confessing to me, leaving me momentarily speechless.

I had sensed the atmosphere and had clumsily prepared a response in my mind.

But the moment I truly received her emotions, my mind went completely blank, making it impossible for me to recall the poorly prepared response.

Yet, even though I gave no reaction, Ruina continued speaking as if she hadn’t yet finished saying what she needed to say.

“I don’t really know much about love. I never had many opportunities to see it, and I never once had the chance to feel it. But what I first felt that day, and what I still feel to this day—I now know better than anyone that this is love.”

“At first, I thought maybe I had mistaken my emotions in the urgency of that life-threatening situation. But the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“……Ruina.”

Barely able to move my lips, the only words that escaped them were her name, spoken with great difficulty.

Though I had called her name countless times before, this time, it was different.

Unlike the usual emotionless way I had spoken her name, this time, it carried feelings I couldn’t put into words.

And perhaps, she had sensed what those emotions were.

Thinking that I was now ready to give a complete answer, Ruina let out a short breath.

“Hoo…….”

Unlike the calm tone she had spoken with just moments ago, tension was now visible on her face.

With no one else around but the two of us, I could almost hear her heart pounding faster with excitement.

And within the sound of that heartbeat, as Ruina gathered her resolve, her lips parted, and a single ray of light fell from the sky.

“I love you, Kael. Won’t you marry me?”

Paang—!

Her words pierced my ears, and the falling ray of light created a vast flower field around us.

At the same time, the wind roared, swirling petals into a storm that painted the sky.

Even without looking up, it was obvious whose magic had caused this blessing.

Standing within this magical spectacle, I, too, gathered my resolve and opened my mouth.

“I’m sorry. I should have realized sooner—I made you suffer alone with your feelings.”

At my initial apology, Ruina flinched, but as she listened to my next words, her face gradually became filled with happiness.

Then, looking at her, I nodded and gave the exact answer she had been hoping for.

“………I love you too, Ruina. Please, marry me.”

“A-Ah…….!”

Perhaps because she finally heard the answer she had been longing for, Ruina closed her teary eyes, letting her tears fall freely.

She kept wiping them away, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

Sniffling, her voice filled with relief, she spoke through her tears.

“Sniff…… I was so scared. I was terrified that Kael, you might reject me………… Even though Zenre reassured me, I was afraid that if my confession failed, I’d never see you again…………”

“That would never happen. If anything, I thought I was the one undeserving of your love, Ruina.”

I truly believed that.

That someone like me was not worthy of receiving Ruina’s love.

No matter how much people praised me as a war hero, I felt inadequate to receive someone’s love—especially the love of someone as perfect as Ruina.

So, I could only feel incredibly grateful, yet also deeply sorry, to the woman who had confessed to me first.

“Don’t cry too much. Today is a happy day—for both of us.”

Then, I reached out, removed Ruina’s mask, and wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes.

And slowly, her tears began to stop.

After they finally ceased, Ruina gazed at me with her slightly reddened eyes.

Then, gently closing them, she nervously fluttered her eyelids, as if peeking at me from behind them.

Even though I couldn’t see her eyes, I could clearly feel her gaze through her closed eyelids.

And today, having received the emotions she had so bravely confessed, I was no longer blind to them.

I now fully understood what her current actions meant.

And so, there was only one thing left for me to do—give her the response she desired.

Click—

I, too, removed the mask I had been wearing on my face.

There was no one around to interrupt us, so I had no hesitation.

As I took off the stifling mask, the almost-set sun cast its final light, dazzling my eyes.

And within that sunset, I moved closer to Ruina.

To mark the shortest, yet most significant, conclusion of today.