Episode 3
Calling it “feeling under the weather” would have been a serious understatement given the damage my body had taken, but thanks to Teresia’s efforts I’d recovered almost completely.
Personally, I found it a little unsettling that I was back to full health after my body had turned into a demon lord and then had a sword shoved through its chest, but I supposed I should count it as a good thing that I could go outside again.
“Yurina. You’re not seriously saying you want to go out, are you?”
When I said I was going for a walk — a change of scenery and a bit of light rehabilitation — she stared at me like I’d said something unthinkable.
I mean, come on.
“Look, if I stay in bed forever my strength will just keep dropping, and a bit of movement will do me good.”
“But… Yurina, please reconsider. You can’t really say you’ve made a full recovery yet.”
“I’ll be fine. See, I’m well enough to move around!”
I threw a little fist pump, and Teresia studied my face for a long moment before sighing heavily.
“…I’m coming with you. And the moment I decide you’re overdoing it, I’m carrying you home on my back.”
“I’d really rather you didn’t carry me, Teresia.”
“Then maybe wait a little longer and see how you feel—”
“I’ll go out without overdoing it.”
So.
The town we were currently in was called Flower Lake.
The streets had a pleasant harmony with nature, and true to its name, flowers were blooming everywhere you looked. Perfume and potions were among its specialties, and it was known for drawing a lot of female visitors.
The demon lord’s influence had clouded what had once been beautiful clear water, making some of the town’s specialties impossible to produce and causing many of the flowers to wither. Now that Teresia had purified it in her role as the saint, things would start improving.
“It’s a beautiful town, isn’t it.”
I walked slowly, taking in the streets around me.
Trees lined the road, their branches heavy with flowers in a warm, slightly reddish pink I didn’t know the name of, and a sweet fragrance drifted through the air.
“Looking around properly like this, the flowers really are lovely. Gentle on the eyes.”
“They are. I’d heard the name for years as a famous destination, but standing here in person, I can feel for myself why.”
“You know, you used to say when we were little that you wanted to open a flower shop in Flower Lake.”
“That was ages ago. And honestly, how do you even remember that…”
“Because it’s a memory with you. Of course I remember.”
At that, Teresia laughed, a faint colour in her cheeks.
“I remember all our memories too, Yurina.”
“Thanks.”
“You used to say you wanted to be a confectioner so you could eat lots of cookies.”
“Any chance we could pretend I never said that?”
“I remember thinking at the time that it was very you — wanting to become a confectioner primarily so you could eat the products.”
“I was just a greedy kid…”
“But now that our journey is over, it might be worth thinking seriously about what comes next. Don’t you think?”
“I suppose so.”
When I actually thought about it…
…or maybe I’d just been trying not to.
The story of the saint and the demon lord was over, and from here on was a future I had no knowledge of.
“When you put it like that, I’m a little scared.”
“Of what?”
“Well, it’s maybe not the nicest way to put it, but… up until now, there was always something set out for us to do, you know?”
“That’s… true.”
“Lifting the demon lord’s influence, and at the end of all that, defeating the demon lord. And now that’s over.”
“Different people might see it differently, but it’s a fact that one chapter has closed.”
“I just wonder what kind of path we’ll walk from here.”
Teresia listened, then paused as if considering.
“That’s a little unexpected,” she said, with a quiet smile.
“I thought you were more easygoing than that, Yurina. The type who’d never seriously thought about the future.”
“That’s a bit too low an opinion of me. I think about things too — like what I’m going to do tomorrow, for instance.”
“Hehe. That’s true. You’d think very seriously about things like what to eat tomorrow, or where to go next—”
“Sure. Whether that qualifies as ‘serious thinking’ is another question.”
“But that’s exactly why I think it’s fine for you to be like that, Yurina.”
Teresia suddenly took my hand and held it tight.
Her hand, which had held mine so many times before, was very warm.
It was unusual for her to reach for my hand like that, unprompted. It surprised me.
“Getting thoroughly worked up over whatever little thing comes along each day — that’s you, Yurina.”
“Is that your way of calling me an idiot?”
“I’m not calling you an idiot. Though I do think you’re a bit of an idiot.”
“That’s terrible… but—”
I squeezed her hand back and turned my best smile on her.
I had no shortage of worries, but there was no point fretting over them now.
Time to change gears.
“Yeah, you’re right. Moping around like this isn’t really me anyway.”
“No. This is more ‘you,’ Yurina.”
“Okay then, what should we eat today? We haven’t had the galettes Flower Lake is famous for yet — want to go find some?”
“They’ll be too hard on your digestion. Absolutely not.”
“Oh come on.”
I don’t know how long it will last.
But in front of her, smiling is what feels like me.