TL/Editor: Butter Cat

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    〈 Chapter 88 〉 Hope. (The End)

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    Fairy tales, stories born from the hopes and dreams of many.

    But even within those diverse fairy tales, which seem so different that they share no common ground, there exists a single, absolute rule.

    That is, a child who sets off on an adventure will eventually, at the end of their long journey, be reunited with their loved ones.

    The girl who fell asleep while napping peacefully in a field and followed a rabbit into Wonderland.

    The country bumpkin who was suddenly swept away by a tornado and dropped into the magical land of Oz.

    And the dutiful girl who crossed a dangerous forest where a wolf roamed, to visit her sick grandmother, all of them.

    At the end of those stories, sometimes grand, sometimes childish, all conclude with the courageous child who defeats the villains with their wisdom and wit finds their own bluebird and returns to the side of their loved ones.

    Even if the fairy tale ends with the girl being eaten by a wolf, or being forever trapped in the magical land, unable to return to her original home, it doesn''t matter.

    Because we all saw clearly how the children, in their perilous adventures that could have broken their spirits, persevered with kind hearts until the very end.

    And because those who believe in the most valuable and important principle in this world - that good children should rightfully be rewarded - have continuously tried to revise those sorrowful endings.

    Therefore.

    "Hmm? Answer me, Sis Sia…!"

    "....I, I."

    What I need to say now.

    What I must do now.

    Wasn''t some trivial question and answer like whether flowers should be forcibly transplanted or if we should do what flowers want.

    Nor was it a story about seeds or flowers, inanimate objects that couldn''t even comfort the child weeping sadly before me.

    Rather, it had to be an action so obvious, so natural, that it didn''t even need to be said.

    "....I, I."

    Clench, I tightened my fist.

    Even though my hand was turning white and blood was slowly seeping out, I didn''t stop.

    If it meant I muster the resolve to shatter this damned tragedy before me, I could endure even worse than this.

    "....I──!"

    In the past, I had only been able to cry alone and desolately in the forest.

    Having lost all hope, surrendering to this world that tormented me, living with the thought of just letting my body drift wherever it may go.

    But even to that wretched me, a small hand reached out.

    —Swish.

    ''Here. Sis, a present for you!''

    ''.........''

    A single child who approached me first.

    Through that child, I caught a glimpse of hope.

    Although what lay ahead of me when I finally lifted my head and looked forward wasn''t always filled with pleasant and exciting things, and sometimes held sad and difficult moments.

    If there''s one thing I could say for sure, it was that.

    ''Hey, Han. You go on this subjugation mission.''

    ''....Eh!? Boss, you''re not trying to dump work on me again, are you?''

    ''....When your superior tells you to go, you go. Why are you talking back so much.''

    I was able to have.

    ''Sia! Do you want to go to the library together? They said new books arrived!''

    ''...Tessa, you''re just trying to make me carry books for you again, aren''t you?''

    ''....Tch, I don''t like perceptive people like you.''

    The opportunity to create.

    ''—Sis, heeheehee! I made this in the greenhouse!''

    ''Thank you, Alice! But… are you allowed to just pick flowers from there…?''

    ''Ah.''

    ''Ah.''

    One by one, the happy future I had only dreamed of, one so incredibly happy.

    And it wasn''t just me.

    Saelli and Remi Akaia, and Anna Akaia.

    Tessa, Alice''s parents, even the people in the royal palace waiting for her return.

    Countless people had enjoyed, and were still enjoying, happy times thanks to a single child.

    Yes.

    Therefore, this was simply a matter of course.

    The very obvious principle that good children should be rewarded.

    Just like my past self, crying alone and desolately in the forest, the child weeping sadly before me in this greenhouse filled with blooming flowers deserved to be happy more than anyone else.

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    "──I’ll choose the path where you can be the happiest."

    "....What?"

    None other than because I decided so.

    Because it was my choice.

    At the fork in the road split in two directions.

    A crossroads where a choice wasn''t even needed in the first place.

    What I chose on that path was──

    "Because I''m hoping for your happiness."

    To warmly embrace the child before me.

    And to pray for the happiness of this kind child.

    My legs were light, and my resolve was more than enough.

    So I walked forward.

    "Alice."

    Because Alice was in front of me.

    **

    My mind, which had been hazy as if covered in fog, cleared up as if a refreshing breeze had passed through.

    —Tap.

    "If I had to choose between the two, I''ll choose the path where you, Alice, can be happy."

    "Ah... No… That''s not the answer I wanted, Sis…!"

    One step.

    I firmly planted my foot towards the dark boundary line that existed between us.

    As I approached with big strides, Alice backed away little by little with a fearful expression, but the distance between us was steadily closing as my speed increased, gaining momentum.

    The bright flower bed and the dark flower bed, and between them, a distinct black shadow.

    That dark shape, which had seemed impossible to cross just moments ago, no longer held any meaning beyond a mere shadow before me now.

    For something without even a physical form to hold my ankle back.

    My steps were filled with more certainty than at any other time in my life.

    Yes.

    This was my choice.

    "I, I asked you to choose between the, two—"

    "—And I chose, Alice."

    I''m choosing for you to be happy, okay?

    —Tap.

    "....Hee!?"

    Alice, seeing me walking towards her without stopping, took a step back as if she couldn''t believe what she was seeing.

    But I, not to be outdone, closed the distance even further than the distance she had retreated.

    If Alice took one step back, I took two steps forward.

    If Alice quickly ran away, I ran forward with all my might.

    You think you can run away from me, the one who, when given gifts or treats from someone, would forcefully stuff money or snacks back into their pockets even if they refused, until satisfied?

    I wouldn''t let you go, not until I had given you back the amount of happiness you had given me, no, even more than that.

    Call me greedy if you want.

    Because this is my way of life, this is how I, Han Sia, want to live.

    "It doesn''t matter whether you transplant the flowers or leave them be. I''m… somewhat curious what you want, but if there''s something more important than that──"

    "....No… Don''t say it, Sis…!"

    "──I want you, Alice, to be happy."

    "Don''t say it, don''t say it!!"

    A loving family welcoming back the returned girl.

    Hot food waiting for the girl tired from her journey.

    Even the playful antics of animals greeting their long-awaited owner.

    All of these things, the simple things that anyone would call happiness.

    I will give them all to you.

    Because—

    "——You deserve to be happy."

    "....Hieeek!?"

    Tap.

    Slowly, Alice''s back, as she had been fearfully stepping backwards, bumped into the transparent wall of the greenhouse.

    Looking back and seeing there was nowhere else to retreat, Alice''s face turned pale with despair. Looking at me, who had now come right up to her, she took a small, sharp breath.

    Watching this, believing that at this close distance, my feelings would surely reach Alice.

    I deeply hoped that my thoughts would be conveyed to Alice without any distortion or alteration.

    I carefully uttered each word, one by one, cherishing them.

    "N-No… Don''t. Look, look at this…! I-I''m a child with only one arm…!"

    "That has nothing to do with you being happy, Alice."

    I still couldn''t fully understand what Alice was so afraid of.

    What the flowers Alice mentioned meant, what the seeds symbolized, unraveling those hidden secrets was still too difficult for me who lacked understanding.

    The only thing I could vaguely sense was that Alice believed her existence would somehow cause us trouble, and that she was trying to distance herself from us because of that.

    And the fact that we hadn''t noticed this pain until now.

    But.

    Not having an arm isn''t a reason to not pursue happiness.

    Even if one becomes a being who can''t help others and only receives help, that''s not a reason for that person to live an unhappy life.

    I, myself, had learned that from none other than Alice herself.

    I took another step forward.

    "I, I can''t even hold things properly anymore. If this continues, you and everyone will have to help me with everything, even if it bothers you…!"

    "Me and those guys would gladly do that, we wouldn''t find it bothersome at all."

    Alice continued to list all the inconveniences we would experience because of her.

    She talked and talked.

    But despite that, the value of the happiness Alice had given us couldn''t be diminished by such trivial matters.

    No.

    Rather, it was far, far from enough.

    I spread my arms wide.

    "M-My ears. My ears aren''t working well either, Sis? See. Look. Look. I keep hearing this ringing sound, constantly…!"

    "I will be your ears. Your hands, your arms, your legs. All of it."

    Alice even revealed a shocking fact.

    The child, saying that something was wrong with her hearing, that the reason she had been responding vaguely all this time was because of that.

    For a moment, I wished it was a lie, a bluff to somehow escape this situation, but believing in the child who had never lied to me before, I accepted that reality.

    Yes, so that''s how it was.

    You must have been struggling a lot, Alice.

    I''ll help you with everything.

    —Step.

    "So, let''s go together."

    "Ah.... Aaah....! No… This isn''t it… Sis… This isn''t right!!"

    But even as my heart ached at the secret Alice had been hiding all this time, I didn''t stop walking.

    The distance between us was now so close.

    Close enough that not even a fist could fit between us, close enough to hear each other''s heartbeats.

    "That''s the problem, Sis Sia! My eyes, even my eyes are getting blurry now too! If this continues, I''ll really become completely useless…!!"

    "People aren''t defined by their usefulness."

    I was like that too, in the beginning.

    In the beginning, I really was completely useless, just a freeloader eating Saelli''s food, as she had said.

    But now, how about it?

    I had succeeded beyond everyone''s expectations, earning money on my own, even reaching a position where others addressed me with respect.

    It was all thanks to you, Alice.

    —Tap.

    And I took the last, final step.

    "I’m really nothing but a burden to you all now!"

    "——You''re not a burden!!!"

    "Hwaa!?"

    Shouting.

    I tightly embraced Alice''s body.

    I could feel Alice''s slightly cold body temperature, colder than the warmth of the greenhouse, through my clothes.

    Thump, thump, Alice weakly pushed me away with her one arm, pleading to be let go, but I ignored her and instead tightened my grip on the child.

    Don''t try to escape, Alice.

    I still have so many things I want to tell you.

    Good and evil.

    Right and wrong.

    Good things and bad things.

    None of that holds any meaning here and now.

    Hugging a crying child is apart from all these tiresome thoughts.

    Isn’t that the most natural thing a human being should do, something that doesn''t even need to be considered.

    I said.

    "Alice. Actually, I died once and came back to life?"

    ".....Huh?"

    A sudden confession.

    A truth I had never shared with anyone before.

    A memory that no one would believe even if I told them.

    I quietly, but clearly, recounted those eighteen frames of film, one by one.

    "I was living my life like that, meaninglessly, and then, bam, I met you."

    ".....Why?"

    I used to think that my second life was nothing but a curse.

    A life trapped in a hamster wheel, unable to go forward or backward, just following the movements of those around me.

    A life where I couldn''t find value in anything around me, or a reason to live within myself, a life spent weighing my own life on a scale.

    I thought it was God''s curse, to torment me.

    "I had already lived a full life, and had no regrets...."

    "......Why?"

    "So I didn''t have anything I particularly wanted to do, and just chased after fun, which is how I ended up here, but."

    —But not anymore.

    I realized the reason I had to start a second life in this unknown world.

    If this was the plan the world had prepared for me and Alice.

    I wanted to shout out loud, I wanted to boldly say to the world, well done.

    "I will live my second life for you. For your happiness, for you to be able to live with a smile. And If even that''s not possible, I''ll share my own happiness with you."

    "......Why, me..."

    "—Because I like you."

    My second life that seemed like it wouldn’t have any meaning or purpose.

    But in this world, all things rightfully have their reasons for being.

    I had realized that.

    A second life.

    "It seems this was a blessing for me, after all."

    ".......How… How...."

    I decided.

    I firmly established my purpose in this world.

    The value of my life.

    The mission I had to fulfill from now on.

    All of it.

    I will choose.

    "So, Alice."

    "..........."

    Don''t cry.

    Because a smile suits you best.

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