It was Sephy calling.
Since she initiated the call, it meant her Magic Power had likely mostly recovered.
“Hello…… Sephy? Is something the matter?”
So Lian hurried to the small courtyard behind the Shed Pavilion.
Since it was well past dinner time, this small courtyard where the well was located was very quiet, with no one else around.
But Lian still carefully confirmed repeatedly that there was no one around before daring to happily answer the communication.
“What have you been doing all day? I remember I entrusted Vera to you, didn’t I?”
“Oh, I was just about to report to you. I used Magic Power to forge a replica of my Frostblade for her, so she perked up instantly. After that, she spent the whole day wandering around outside with me——”
“Forged a replica of your Frostblade…… you mean the 『Holy Sword of Blazing Flames』?”
Before she could finish, Sephy interrupted her.
She seemed quite shocked.
“Yeah. A large part of that magic circle of yours was designed to mimic the Magic Power of the 『Holy Sword of Blazing Flames』, right? So I used Magic Power to make a replica and kept it near her, and it turned out to be unexpectedly effective.”
“You can actually do something like that now…… then where is that Frostblade now?”
“I let her carry it with her all day. As long as she circulates her Magic Power a bit, she should be able to suppress that illness.”
“You let her carry it on her person……? Did you tell her your identity?”
“No. She hadn’t woken up yet when I made that Frostblade. Of course, she felt a bit confused when she woke up…… but I later fooled her with the story you made up——the one about me being the Hero’s adopted daughter and disciple.”
“……Did she accept it?”
“I think she accepted it. You didn’t see how intimate she was today…… Was she like that when Milin was little? I’m almost getting goosebumps.”
“Stop lying to her.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“I said stop lying to her. Find a time to confess to her…… even if it’s only to her.”
“……What’s wrong with her?”
Sephy’s tone, which had become serious and sad, caused Lian’s originally lighthearted and cheerful mood to suddenly cool down.
She put down the bucket, wanting to clearly see Sephy’s current expression from the faint glow of Magic Power flowing through the Communication Pearl.
“That Frostblade. The Frostblade she used in the past has affected her spirit. I didn’t realize her spirit had been in a state of extreme suppression all along. And because she saw you—— Seeing you again, with your connection to Ren, has turned her back into this state where she could break down at any moment. Your presence reminds her of yourself…… Haven’t you felt it?”
“……I have. I also felt something was off with her sudden change. But I thought she was just looking after me as if I were a child left behind by an old friend, so……”
“I’m looking after her now——she had another episode in the Bathhouse. Meliya found my Doppelganger, and then I brought them both back to the Mansion. I didn’t have time to get that Frostblade you mentioned…… I’ll send a Doppelganger to find it.”
“I’ll bring it to you right now——”
“Don’t. I’ve got things under control here…… Just think about it carefully——when you should confess to her.”
“I’ll keep infusing that Frostblade with Magic Power…… then you can let her carry it with her all the time…… Won’t that work?”
“……That’s not a way to solve the problem. Vera is different from Meliya. In her current condition, she can’t wait for you any longer.”
“But you clearly said…… clearly said that what I’m doing now is right!”
“I was wrong. I can be wrong too…… Lian En. You are the Hero…… you should have been the one making the decisions from the start, just like when we were traveling, do you remember?”
“……I don’t want to make the decision, I can’t make the decision. I don’t have the right to make the decision.”
“You……”
“Because I’m not the Hero anymore! My name now is Lian! I’m just a Maid in the Honglian Palace! I only got married to Meliya about a week ago…… and now she has a sixteen-year-old daughter! For me and Vera, for me and Vera, it’s clearly only been a few days since we were apart, but she’s turned into this! And their behavior, their appearance, reminds me every single moment…… that the man named Lian En is a big bastard who abandoned his wife and daughter and broke his oaths!”
Lian let out a heart-wrenching scream, collapsing onto the ground like a doll with its strings cut, and began to cry.
“How could I be that kind of person? I can’t be that kind of person…… You call me the Hero…… I also feel like I must be the Hero. I really wanted to accompany that child Milin as she grew up…… I really wanted to stay by Meliya’s and Vera’s side…… I think about it every moment…… I even regret drinking with everyone that night…… maybe if I hadn’t had that drink, I wouldn’t have——”
“Lian En…… it’s not the alcohol’s fault. Everyone drank; it’s not your fault for drinking. This damn thing…… is harder than defeating the Demon King. This is Fate——”
Sephy wanted to tell her it was “Fate”.
But she remembered that she had scolded her not long ago, saying that since she was the Hero, she shouldn’t keep the word “Fate” on her lips.
Because she had once defeated the Demon King, should she be expected to immediately defeat the ridiculous fate currently lying before her without a trace of confusion or pain?
These were all things she had never anticipated…… a world that had changed drastically, a wife and partner who had suffered for sixteen years due to misunderstandings caused by Fate, and a daughter who had already grown up…… did she really have to put all this chaos in perfect order in just a few short days?
“Lian En, I was wrong.”
Lian suddenly lifted her head.
She realized that these words weren’t spoken by Sephy through the Communication Pearl——one of her Doppelgangers was standing right in front of her, under the melting moonlight.
She hadn’t noticed the arrival of this Doppelganger because of her own sobbing.
In her tear-blurred eyes, the Doppelganger’s face gradually took on the colors of emotion…… it was the familiar smile of Sephy.
“I was too harsh. Just like you said…… you are Lian. You are the Savior Hero who defeated the Demon King at nineteen and returned in triumph, the rare idiot in this world who was willing to give up all fame, fortune, and power for love. The despicable, shameless bastard in their current impressions could never be someone like you.”
“One day you’ll be able to change their minds…… no, if the two of us work together, we can definitely do it. After all, I’m the only one who knows you’ve turned into this ridiculous state.”
“Sephy…… I’m really pathetic right now…… aren’t I? Because I’m afraid of hurting them…… I’ve been running away all along.”
Lian asked in a trembling voice while hiding in Sephy’s petite embrace.
“That’s not true. No one in this world has ever experienced what you are going through right now…… You’ve already done very well. You’ve worked diligently for Meliya, and you’ve gotten along well with that child Milin. You’ve also done your best to save Vera…… you haven’t been running away.”
“『Lian』——the self you call by that name has never done anything to hurt them. If you feel that Lian is who you are…… then just be Lian. Make the choices that Lian would make.”
She held Lian’s head in her arms, gently stroking her hair.