“…Stop it. I didn’t return to Kamian. In the first place, my heart wasn’t attached to Kamian.”
“…Apologies. I heard he joined the local militia to catch me.”
“Oh my, it seems that Kamian must finally cease his thieving of the gifts, Liv.”
Whether in the Academy or the town, people were always disappointed whenever they couldn’t receive anything from Kamian. He would nonchalantly spread out the gifts he had brought as if to say, “Take what you want,” and I would enjoy the delicious treats and use the necessary items. Kamian never uttered a word about it.
“I thought you were broad-minded, but it seems you harboured that all along. How distasteful.”
I held a pillow dressed in new clothes and admired Debra. She delicately brushed her fingers over the soft duvet, then suddenly turned to me.
“So, Liv?”
“Yes?”
“You haven’t answered what you want yet.”
…In the end, we were back to square one.
I scratched my cheek and cast my gaze onto the pillow. Should I also express my desire to join the militia like Kamian? If my stamina improved a little, enough for me to walk from home to the Academy on my own two feet, perhaps I could easily patrol the peaceful town together with Kamian.
And with Debra, Jex, and Kamian, the four of us could continue to wash blankets with each passing season, dip our feet in the stream during summer, work busily during harvest season, and tease the tipsy Kamian on party nights. I felt that my current life, just as it was, couldn’t be more fulfilling.
Ah, Debra. That is the future I wish for…
“I want to continue living as we are now.”
It may not be a significant answer. However, the moment it left my lips, I knew I truly longed for this ordinary yet precious everyday life. I might even break down in sobs and seek solace in Debra’s embrace. I didn’t want to let go of the time that remained, clutching it tightly in my hands, reluctant to release the past that had already slipped away. I had to forge a resilient heart, like a blacksmith pounding on weakened metal, so that it could withstand the onslaught of excessive emotions and engrave in my bones that the future I wished for would not come to pass.
I took a slow breath, inflating my lungs. Then, I composed my face as if nothing were amiss and looked straight at Debra.
“Well… for now, I should focus on safely passing the graduation test. My grades are just scraping by…”
However, Debra’s expression was peculiar. Her compassionate smile gradually faded, and her eyes and mouth widened in astonishment.
“Oh.”
At that moment, a moist sensation trickled beneath my nose. Reflexively, I wiped it away with the back of my hand.
“Liv, you’re bleeding.”
A crimson stain spread across my hand. What in the… the blood flowed so profusely that it was impossible to stem without wiping. I discreetly swiped my nose once more, only to find an even greater quantity of red blood covering half of my hand.
“My goodness, Liv.”
Debra approached me with a face filled with concern. First, I needed to calm her startled expression. Rising from my seat, I covered my nose with the back of my hand. [Thump] In the instant I reached down to pick up Kamian’s fallen pillow from the floor, the blood, unbeknownst to me, snaked its way out from beneath my hand, leaving its marks on the newly laundered pillowcase.
“What is happening? Why is it bleeding? It’s all right, Debra. It will soon cease.”
“…Stop it. I didn’t return to Kamian. In the first place, my heart wasn’t attached to Kamian.”
“…Apologies. I heard he joined the local militia to catch me.”
“Oh my, it seems that Kamian must finally cease his thieving of the gifts, Liv.”
Whether in the Academy or the town, people were always disappointed whenever they couldn’t receive anything from Kamian. He would nonchalantly spread out the gifts he had brought as if to say, “Take what you want,” and I would enjoy the delicious treats and use the necessary items. Kamian never uttered a word about it.
“I thought you were broad-minded, but it seems you harboured that all along. How distasteful.”
I held a pillow dressed in new clothes and admired Debra. She delicately brushed her fingers over the soft duvet, then suddenly turned to me.
“So, Liv?”
“Yes?”
“You haven’t answered what you want yet.”
…In the end, we were back to square one.
I scratched my cheek and cast my gaze onto the pillow. Should I also express my desire to join the militia like Kamian? If my stamina improved a little, enough for me to walk from home to the Academy on my own two feet, perhaps I could easily patrol the peaceful town together with Kamian.
And with Debra, Jex, and Kamian, the four of us could continue to wash blankets with each passing season, dip our feet in the stream during summer, work busily during harvest season, and tease the tipsy Kamian on party nights. I felt that my current life, just as it was, couldn’t be more fulfilling.
Ah, Debra. That is the future I wish for…
“I want to continue living as we are now.”
It may not be a significant answer. However, the moment it left my lips, I knew I truly longed for this ordinary yet precious everyday life. I might even break down in sobs and seek solace in Debra’s embrace. I didn’t want to let go of the time that remained, clutching it tightly in my hands, reluctant to release the past that had already slipped away. I had to forge a resilient heart, like a blacksmith pounding on weakened metal, so that it could withstand the onslaught of excessive emotions and engrave in my bones that the future I wished for would not come to pass.
I took a slow breath, inflating my lungs. Then, I composed my face as if nothing were amiss and looked straight at Debra.
“Well… for now, I should focus on safely passing the graduation test. My grades are just scraping by…”
However, Debra’s expression was peculiar. Her compassionate smile gradually faded, and her eyes and mouth widened in astonishment.
“Oh.”
At that moment, a moist sensation trickled beneath my nose. Reflexively, I wiped it away with the back of my hand.
“Liv, you’re bleeding.”
A crimson stain spread across my hand. What in the… the blood flowed so profusely that it was impossible to stem without wiping. I discreetly swiped my nose once more, only to find an even greater quantity of red blood covering half of my hand.
“My goodness, Liv.”
Debra approached me with a face filled with concern. First, I needed to calm her startled expression. Rising from my seat, I covered my nose with the back of my hand. [Thump] In the instant I reached down to pick up Kamian’s fallen pillow from the floor, the blood, unbeknownst to me, snaked its way out from beneath my hand, leaving its marks on the newly laundered pillowcase.
“What is happening? Why is it bleeding? It’s all right, Debra. It will soon cease.”
