NOVEL NEXT chapter 31
31 – End of the Festival (8)
─ “There’s no special reason.”
─ “You don’t seem like such a bad person.”
─ “It won’t happen.”
─ “Because I’ll stop it.”
─ “Because I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“Ah…”
With trembling eyes, Estelle continued to watch Wade’s ongoing fight.
His words, his visible actions, etched vividly in her mind and struck a chord in her heart.
Watching his inexplicable actions, his relentless determination, Estelle found herself thinking.
She wanted to trust him.
Somewhere in her heart, someone whispered about foolishness, betrayal looming again.
It might indeed be a foolish action.
It might result in betrayal once more.
However, she found herself leaning toward trusting him.
His gaze, his words, his deeds.
The human called Wade Heblon.
She simply wanted to trust him.
Even if it stemmed from her own vulnerability.
Even if despair awaits at the end once again.
To the extent that one might think so, Wade’s actions were peculiar and, at the same time, warm.
And continuing the fight, fueled by that gaze─
Wade emerged victorious at last.
“…….”
With his body covered in blood, Wade pointed his sword at the leader of the outlaws, Zern’s throat.
“…This can’t be.”
Zern stared at the tip of the sword with trembling eyes, facing the impending death.
“How could someone like you…! Why, of all people…!”
With eyes filled with injustice, he looked up at Wade.
“If it weren’t for you…!”
As the man vented his frustration, Wade gazed down with sunken eyes.
And then.
Swoosh─
The fight was over.
“…….”
Having concluded the battle, Wade slowly sheathed his sword and began to walk.
The direction his footsteps were heading was none other than where Estelle was.
Seeing that, Estelle, whipping her legs that kept trying to give way, struggled to rise.
Their distance gradually narrowed, and finally, Wade approached Estelle.
“Ugh….”
Wade staggered with a brief groan.
His appearance seemed precarious, as if he could collapse at any moment.
However, Wade didn’t fall.
Because Estelle had caught his falling body.
“Ah… Thank you.”
After expressing his gratitude briefly, Wade stood up again.
“Who in the world….”
He was about to say something.
However, Estelle couldn’t finish her words.
Due to something rising up inside, Wade’s throat was clogged.
“Why are you crying like that?”
Wade said weakly, looking at Estelle.
“Who said I’m crying…”
Estelle denied it outright, but she couldn’t hide the sparkle in her eyes in the moonlight.
It was because Wade looked so disheveled.
Due to wounds and cuts all over, Wade was in a state where one couldn’t call him normal even in empty words.
Standing like this seemed miraculous, so ragged.
Why like this?
The sight was so miserable that forgotten questions began to rise again.
But those questions didn’t come out.
Because it was no longer necessary.
“…This isn’t how it should be. Go back quickly and heal your wounds—”
His condition was not suitable for idle chatter or sharing. With such thoughts, Estelle was about to suggest to Wade to go back.
Swoosh—
The sound of stepping on grass reached their ears.
Naturally, both of their gazes turned to the source.
“…”
Standing there was someone they both knew well.
The appearance was quite different from what was stored in their memories.
“…Rene.”
A trembling voice flowed from Estelle’s lips.
As she said, it was indeed Rene.
Due to the burns all over her body, it wasn’t easy to recognize, but it was undoubtedly Rene.
“…”
Swoosh.
Without saying a word, Rene took another step.
Very slow and seemed fragile. Still, she was definitely moving forward.
Towards none other than Estelle.
It wasn’t difficult to speculate the purpose behind that determined step.
Especially when you saw the sword limp in her hand.
“I…,” Wade began.
“No.”
Wade tried to step forward, but Estelle blocked his way.
“Leave it to me here.”
Wade gazed silently at Estelle’s face, then retreated a step without saying a word.
And then, René took one step closer.
Estelle, with a gaze filled with complex emotions, spoke.
“…I trusted you.”
As if expressing sadness, calmly.
“That’s why, at first, I couldn’t understand why you betrayed me.”
Swoosh─
“When I finally understood the background, I couldn’t bear it. Thinking that everything you showed me was a lie, I couldn’t endure it.”
Swoosh─
“I despaired. To the point where I wanted to turn away from reality, feeling that life had no meaning anymore.”
Swoosh─
“However, even so, I decided to keep living. Embracing the faintest hope, believing, and moving forward.”
Swoosh─
“It’s still confusing, but strangely, my mood feels lighter than before. It’s like I’ve let go of a burden. Thinking about it that way, maybe I should be thankful to you for at least that.”
Finally, René reached Estelle.
Looking into the eyes with a faint glimmer, Estelle spoke softly.
“But, no matter what, I can’t forgive you…”
René slowly raised the sword.
The slowly raised sword seemed ready to fall towards Estelle at any moment.
However, the sword never swung.
Thud─
René, who was wavering, collapsed.
Looking down at the fallen René, Estelle added quietly.
“If we ever meet again someday. At that time, let’s have another conversation.”
There was no response to that.
And René did not move anymore.
“……”
Estelle silently stared at the motionless René with eyes filled with various emotions.
How long had passed like that?
Thump.
A weight fell on top of her head.
As she looked up with a puzzled look on her face, she could identify its identity.
It was none other than Wade’s hand.
“……”
Without saying anything, Wade lightly tapped the hand resting on Estelle’s head.
That sensation, that faint warmth, burrowed into her chest.
“…Arrogant.”
Estelle could only mutter a complaint under her breath.
While she was doing so.
Boom!
With a loud sound, the night sky became bright for a moment.
“Ah….”
Estelle opened her eyes wide and looked up at the sky.
What brightly colored fireworks were decorating the dark sky.
The fireworks marking the end of the festival.
It signified the end of the festival and the long fight.
“It’s beautiful.”
Lost in admiration as she watched the fireworks, Estelle nodded quietly at the suddenly heard voice.
Just as they said, the fireworks were beautiful.
To the point where Estelle had to widen her eyes in amazement.
Although she had seen the same fireworks last year, the way she felt now could not be compared to back then.
Back then, she just looked at the fireworks that covered the sky with indifferent eyes.
Why do the fireworks feel so beautiful now?
Was it because today was an unusually difficult day?
Or was it because her perspective on the world had changed?
Estelle, as herself, could not find the answer.
And she didn’t bother trying to find it.
She simply gazed at the flames in silence.
That’s when it happened.
“…?!”
Estelle suddenly realized that the weight on her body had become heavier.
At the same time, Estelle also realized the cause of it.
Blaming Wade for leaning on her.
“Just a moment… This…!”
Additionally, a story she had heard somewhere before flashed through her mind.
The fireworks that decorated the end of the festival were said to be the moment when relationships between men and women peaked.
As the student council president, it was only natural for her to pay attention to the happenings within the academy, so it wasn’t strange for such stories to reach her ears.
She was aware of it.
But she didn’t pay much mind to it.
She thought it had nothing to do with her.
She never expected to experience it firsthand like this.
“W-Wade…! Calm down…!”
Certainly, there was no romantic interest towards him.
But what if there was?
What if she had hidden it so well that it never showed?
That assumption quickly opened up numerous possibilities and futures in Estelle’s mind, causing her to appear more flustered than she had ever been in her life.
“In a situation like this…!”
Contrary to her words, Estelle soon realized how passively she was moving her body.
Usually, Wade, who would have said a few words in a situation like this, remained quiet and there was no sign of movement either.
“Wade…?”
Estelle cautiously separated Wade’s body that seemed to be hanging onto her with a gentle touch, and checked his face.
And she realized that he had closed his eyes and wasn’t opening them.
“W-Wade…! Open your eyes!!”
Feeling a sensation akin to blood turning cold, Estelle was so startled that her hands trembled, but she quickly regained her composure and checked her breathing.
Fortunately, she was still in a state of clinging to life.
However, it wasn’t a state she could be reassured about.
Literally, she barely clung to life, and the exhaled breath was feeble.
It was a natural outcome.
Having suffered numerous wounds and shed an equal amount of blood, being alive in such a condition was, in fact, a grave state.
Estelle’s hands trembled slightly.
Negative thoughts flowed down her spine.
However, she soon shook her head.
There was no time for this.
Estelle lifted Wade onto her back and began to run.
With her untrained body, it was a burdensome weight, but using magic to forcibly strengthen her body, she ran tirelessly, putting all her strength into it.