Chapter 660 - "And Thus, The Goddess Laughed"
Compared to the God Realm, the Sanctuary is but a small island. Still, it has quite the size…… However, unnn. Somehow, I knew that Shiro-san would be in this place.
Even though the skies above our heads are different from that time…… This place, with flowers blooming all around our feet, is where Shiro-san and I first met.
The edge of the flower field, illuminated by the stars in the skies…… The sight of Shiro-san standing in a place where she can look down on the God Realm is truly artistic, and I couldn’t help but admire her beauty.
[……Kaito-san? Why are you here?][Errr, I really had to tell Shiro-san something……]
Shiro-san’s eyes seemed to shake a bit at my appearance, but with her usual expressionless face and intonationless voice, she asked.
[Something…… you really had to tell me?]
[……Yes.]
As I nodded my head, I was reminded of the fortune-telling I received from Elise-san back then. The reversed door…… That for me, victory in the true sense of the word isn’t achieved by simply beating Shiro-san, but by finding the key to open that door.
Throughout the final ordeal, I had also been thinking about this matter too. What this key is, and what could the real victory be……
And I found something…… that I think would be the key. However, I’m not really sure…… if it really was the correct answer or not.It’s just my hunch but…… I think this would probably be my “first and final chance”. I only have one chance to turn that key, and if I make a mistake…… That door will never open again. I feel like Shiro-san herself would tightly lock that door, never to be opened again.
That’s why, I hesitated for a moment. However…… Well, at the end of the day, all I can do is just be honest about my feelings, and even though I don’t know whether my answer is correct or not…… I’ll just tell Shiro-san exactly how I feel right now.
[……”If I were the one who first met you…… If it was me who had saved you…… Would I have become…… special to you?”]
[!? ]
As soon as I said those words, agitation could be clearly seen appearing in Shiro-san’s eyes.
[……I don’t remember where or from whom I heard these words. However, just these words remained strongly in my mind. I guess these really are…… words said to me by Shiro-san, aren’t they?]
[………………….]
These words have been stuck in my head ever since the Six Kings Festival. I don’t even remember who told me those words, but I felt that I should never forget them……
Shiro-san didn’t say anything. However, her silence itself made me sure. It was her who said these words, and that these words contain her wish……
[My answer to this question is this. “Even if the order in which we met changed, I’m sure that today won’t change.”]
[…………………]
For a moment, a hint of sadness flashed across Shiro-san’s face, but her expression changed with my next words.
[Because even now, Shiro-san is still “special” to me, “someone that couldn’t be replaced by others”…… I can’t think of any idea how you can be more special than that. So, I guess it won’t change.]
[……Eh?]
[I mean, honestly speaking, I don’t really think there’s anyone that’s as airheaded and absurd as Shiro-san, you know?]
[……Eh? Eh?]
How should I say this…… I saw something very unusual. Shiro-san looked clearly bewildered. It’s like she doesn’t understand what’s going on……
[……Special? I am special…… Even though I didn’t save Kaito-san……]
[You’re very particular about that, aren’t you…… Hmm, then, who was it that treated me when I was badly injured in Rigforeshia?]
[……It was me.]
[Then, doesn’t that mean Shiro-san saved me?]
[……Is that how it is?]
[That, it is.]
It seems that Shiro-san is obsessed with the idea of saving me, so even if it’s a bit forceful, I decided to push her in that direction.
Well, of course, I know that what Shiro-san meant when she talked about “saving” is something else, but I can’t really do anything about that without my memory being erased, so I’ll have to convince her with something else.
[……And one more thing. Do you remember? The first time Shiro-san and I met…… Shiro-san said you’d give me what I wanted, to which I turned down, didn’t I?]
[Yes.]
[I know it’s too late to say this now, but thank you very much. It’s because Shiro-san brought that kind of choice in front of me…… that I’ve figured out what I really want.]
[……………]
[But well…… It’s that.]
Stopping my words that sounds like I’m trying to convince the shaken Shiro-san for the moment…… I walked before Shiro-san and expressed my feelings.
[……It doesn’t matter. Whether the order we met or what you’ve done…… Shiro-san has helped me many times. There were many times when I was being swung around, but the time we spent together was really fun and made me feel happy. I was drawn to Shallow Vernal, who wasn’t like any other…… So, I’ll say it again. You’ve been special to me for a long time…… No one can take your place, for you’re someone special to me.]
[…………………]
When I told Shiro-san that she was special and irreplaceable with a smile, her eyes opened wide and she fell silent. Then after a little while…… She suddenly lowered her head.
[……F- Fufu……]
[Shiro-san?]
[……Haha, fufufu, is that so…… I’ve already been special to Kaito-san huh…… Ahaha, even though I should have always been reading your mind…… How is it that I didn’t know this?]
I had seen Shiro-san smile several times before. But this was the first time I’d ever seen her laugh with such genuine joy.
Shiro-san then laughed like that for a while, before she turned her gaze to the Sanctuary’s sky.
[……Ahh…… “I’m really glad…… that I created this world”.]
[……………….]
[In this world, there are things I don’t know…… and things I can’t do……]
Saying this, Shiro-san turned her eyes that had some tears on its corners to me and filled with deep emotions, she spoke.
[……and I have…… ” a story I can’t end”…… Ahh, this is……]
I’ll probably never forget the expression on Shiro-san’s face today. In the field of flowers illuminated by the stars, a surprisingly gentle smile appeared on the Goddess’ lips.
[……This is…… quite the “happiness”.]
The look on her face as she seemed to sing about how happy she is that there are things she can’t do…… looked so inexplicably beautiful that I was lost for words.
[Thank you, Kaito-san…… and, congratulations. My beloved, my singularity…… You had indeed defeated the “God of the End that I am”. For the first time in my life…… I now stand in a place that is not at the end.]
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but apparently, the key I found was the right one. I see, indeed…… It seems like behind the door, I really had found an amazing hidden treasure.
I think that the best reward of the ordeal is seeing the expression on Shiro-san’s face now…… her unbelievably heartfelt, gentle smile.
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