Chapter 163. You Won’t Be Forgotten

My eyes wavered in confusion.

Take my place…?

At first, I had wished for it, then after returning, I feared being replaced, but at the moment I resolved to die, I had accepted it… Aveline filling my position.

Hearing those words directly from Aveline’s mouth, in her voice, gave me a strange feeling.

However, it was far from fear.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

I’m not sure if the question was directed at me, but I answered, pushing Johann and Claude aside. I remembered how the two men had been watching my reaction.

“Isn’t that right?”

I turned my head and asked, as if seeking agreement from Johann and Claude. The two looked flustered.

But why?

“In terms of purification ability alone, Miss Aveline is better than me, so she’s perfect for the Grodes Mountains. Since you need to keep subjugating the naturally occurring undead.”

“That may be true, but…”

Claude trailed off, examining my expression.

By this point, I really couldn’t miss it.

What is it?

Why are they watching my reaction so closely?

Is it because the newspapers kept comparing me and Aveline, so they’re being considerate? Because I made a few comments about being conscious of her in Ponitan?

But it didn’t seem like the two of them would be so delicate as to consider such personal feelings when it came to personnel placement.

However, the next moment I had to admit that my thoughts were wrong. In other words, I was surprised to find that the two were more sensitive than I thought.

Johann asked.

“Are you okay with this?”

“With what?”

“There are many regions clamoring for a purifier to be dispatched. There’s no need to overlap with you specifically.”

“I… don’t mind if it overlaps?”

“……”

Johann narrowed his brows with a dubious expression. Claude, right next to him, had a similar look.

“Don’t sulk later, speak plainly now.”

Claude said bluntly.

Such a consistently rough guy.

I had no intention of sulking, so I retorted immediately.

“I am speaking plainly. I don’t mind if it overlaps.”

…As I answered, I realized.

That the two men were worried about my feelings.

It felt like someone had hit the back of my head with a blunt object.

I was too dull.

Would Johann and Claude act like this just because I mentioned Aveline’s name a few times in Ponitan? After making such conscious comments about Aveline, did they read my anxiety because I was really worried about it all along?

Probably, knowingly or unknowingly, it had been showing continuously.

My fear of being replaced by Aveline.

That she would be recognized first as a capable purifier, be naturally accepted by the Northern Knight Order, capture the hearts of the three heroes while going through the triangle of dispatches I had been through, and finally, that Johann would fall in love with Aveline…

“……”

I was caught up in complex emotions.

Just as Johann and Claude had been watching my reaction all this time, I glanced at Aveline.

Her expression was dark. Though she was trying hard to seem okay, she looked precarious, as if trying to keep balance on shaky ground.

It felt like something covering my eyelids was being peeled off.

In the suddenly brightened view, I saw things I hadn’t seen before.

Ah.

I wasn’t the only one who was afraid.

<Why can’t I take Miss Seraphina’s place?>

The news that appeared in the newspapers about Aveline being a record-breaking purifier was accompanied by the fact that despite this, the three heroes were still searching for me.

Not just the purification ability, but the feeling of having one’s very worth compared — Aveline must have felt it too, not just me.

Realizing this, the words she had spoken in the past days came to me differently.

<I may be lacking, but I’m doing my best not to fall behind.>

<I’ll repay your kindness by doing my best as a purifier. Just as Your Majesty saved our village, I’ll use this power for others.>

<I’m constantly trying to draw out the wand’s power. Please believe in me and wait a little longer.>

<You two seem very close. You must have been at the dispatch site all along, when did that happen?>

Doing one’s best. Effort. Asking to believe and wait.

Aveline had been seeking recognition all along. Especially from the three heroes who had saved the world and were respected by all the people of the continent.

“Miss Aveline.”

I looked at her, feeling a sense of empathy.

At my moist voice, Aveline’s green eyes wavered slightly. She answered softly.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to Elmon with His Majesty and the Imperial Knight Order.”

Aveline looked bewildered.

Her face said she didn’t understand why I was telling her something she already knew.

I took a step towards her and grasped both her hands.

She flinched at my sudden action, seemingly quite surprised. But she didn’t pull away.

“The Grodes Mountains are the harshest among the dispatch sites.”

“I know.”

“Don’t you want to go somewhere else?”

“I…”

Aveline hesitated, lowering her gaze. Soon, meeting my eyes again, she continued.

“I want to go where I’m needed most.”

“You think that’s Hilton?”

“Yes.”

As Aveline answered, her gaze moved to the side. She must be looking at Johann and Claude behind me.

Continuing to look in that direction, Aveline spoke clearly.

“Everyone I met compared my abilities to yours, Miss Seraphina. The media, the people I met at the palace, in Hilton, and the Northern knights too. It’s been like this since before you appeared.”

My heart fluttered uneasily as I listened.

Aveline’s feelings were just like mine.

“I think it’s because everyone wants someone with strong purification abilities.”

If there was one difference, it was that she was a much better person than me.

“I understand. I almost lost my hometown to undead attacks too. So if I’ve been freely given this level of purification ability by God, I want to fulfill that responsibility.”

She was talking about protecting and guarding.

No matter how you look at it, her mindset is more protagonist-like.

Well, there are all kinds of people in the world.

Maybe there’s room for one protagonist like me who cowardly ran away and then came back?

I was no longer afraid.

Aveline is Aveline, and I am me.

“To be honest, I was a bit scared.”

“……?”

Aveline’s eyes widened at my confession.

I grinned and continued speaking.

“I kept comparing internally. You and me.”

“Ah…”

“So I thought, if something happens to me, Miss Aveline will fill my place. I’ll be quickly forgotten. That’s what I thought. Well, not anymore.”

“……”

Aveline’s lips quivered for a while, like someone who couldn’t find the right words to say. Then tears slowly began to well up in her eyes.

Huh?

Why is she like this?

I was flustered.

I didn’t mean to make her cry, but seeing moisture gather in those beautifully sparkling green eyes, I didn’t know what to do. My mind went blank.

Don’t cry!

It seems I’m weak to women’s tears after all!

“You won’t be forgotten.”

“……?”

At that moment, in contrast to her fragile appearance that looked like she might collapse if touched, Aveline spoke with a firm voice.

I couldn’t say anything for a while.

“Because I will remember you, Miss Seraphina.”

* * *

In the end, everyone withdrew from the Grodes Mountains together.

The Northern Knight Order and the Imperial Knight Order headed to Hilton Castle after finishing their long expedition. After staying there for just one night, Johann was leading the Imperial Knight Order southward.

And at an inn in a village about halfway down, I was having a simple meal with Johann.

“So Aveline ended up staying in Hilton.”

“Your Majesty told her to do so, didn’t he?”

“……”

When there was no response, I stopped midway bringing a jam-spread bread to my mouth and looked up. Johann was looking at me with a strange expression.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. It’s just nice to see you eating well.”

“That’s not it.”

“It is.”

“If you ask honestly what it is, I’ll answer right away.”

“About Aveline…”

As I thought.

Johann slightly revealed his true feelings. With a face that seemed to be debating whether to ask or not, he squinted one eye and then opened his mouth.

“Did Aveline appear in that strange dream too?”

“What?”

“In the book you read in that dream, was there something written about Aveline replacing you? That’s what I’m asking.”

Johann expressed slight dissatisfaction at me for not understanding at once and gave a proper explanation, rambling on.

And I was honestly quite surprised by his guess that hit the mark.

“Uh…”

How should I answer this?

“You’re taking that dream very seriously, aren’t you?”

“Because it’s related to you.”

“I told you the letters moved and it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“So something was written.”

Ugh.

He’s sharp.

I just stared at him, at a loss for words. And the silence soon became an affirmative answer.

Whatever was written before, it doesn’t matter now.

Because the future has changed.

Because I, who was once an extra, am now the protagonist of that book.

But why do I feel this way?

No matter how unlikely it is to happen, how can I say this with my own mouth?

“Did Aveline like me or something?”

“……”

There’s a limit to delusions.

When Johann, who had guessed everything else surprisingly accurately, slipped at the last moment, I found myself speaking without realizing.

“It’s the opposite. Your Majesty was chasing after, saying you liked her.”