“I’ve delivered it.”

Even at Esh’s report, Rubellan’s back remained motionless where he sat turned away. He was staring blankly out the window, seemingly asleep with his eyes open.

“Lord Rubellan, you’re alright, aren’t you?”

Unable to watch any longer, Esh asked him out of frustration.

“…Go.”

That was all the answer that finally came back.

“Yes. Then…”

Esh had to take reluctant steps away.

Red sunset light settled over Rubellan’s body as he was left alone.

Since Rael had left, he had stopped everything. Like a being who had lost his reason for living, he remained empty of purpose, paying attention to nothing. His desires seemed to have vanished.

Anything that pursued happiness was a luxury to Rubellan. He simply watched the sun rise and set.

How many times would that sun rise and set before she completely disappeared from this world? And how was he supposed to endure the vast time he would have to live embracing this emotion even after she was gone?

This was what it meant to be unable to die.

To endure while holding all the time that had passed.

“…Rael.”

The name he had been repeating inwardly suddenly slipped out of his mouth. How many times had he mulled it over? That name.

Now it was a name too precious to waste on mulling over and repeating.

“Rael…”

His powerless arm dropped from the chair’s armrest with a thud. His body tilted, but in his lethargy where he lacked even the will to straighten up, Rubellan simply remained tilted.

The sunset-stained window tilted.

Rubellan’s world had been tilted for a long time. Because the being who could be his center wasn’t by his side.

* * *

“Isn’t this really serious?”

Esh told Joseph, Chapir, and Yuswen about what had happened today.

[Well, he’ll probably be like that for a while and then stop.]

Human lifespans were only about 100 years at most. Joseph had been expecting this kind of situation to inevitably come someday. He thought this time had just been moved up a little, and that like always, it would pass like the wind.

But Esh thought differently.

“What do you think demons live on?”

[Hmm. Well. Desire?]

“Right! You know well! We live on desire. To fill our lacking desires! But look at Lord Rubellan now. There’s nothing. He has no desire!”

Esh jumped up from the chair she had barely settled into and spoke.

“That’s no different from being dead. What’s the point of just breathing? He’s going to go crazy one day at this rate.”

“I agree.”

Chapir nodded.

“Do you think His Majesty would go crazy gracefully if he did?”

[No, what’s that supposed to…]

Joseph, who was about to argue that it was a leap, closed his mouth. Because it sounded somewhat plausible.

“Even so, the fact that there’s nothing we can do doesn’t change, does it?”

Yuswen calmly answered the excited Esh.

“…Well, that’s true.”

Esh quietly sat back down. No matter how much of a fuss she made, there was nothing they could do, just like Yuswen said.

“I never thought the day would come when I’d worry about Lord Rubellan.”

Her face darkened, and the others weren’t much different. But no matter how much they thought and put their heads together, there was no answer.

“We can only wait for time to pass and for it to be forgotten.”

No one could argue with Yuswen’s words. And at the same time, they couldn’t agree either.

Esh thought that a demon’s eternal life wasn’t a blessing but a punishment. Because demons were beings who could never forget their memories.

“How terrible.”

What was truly terrible was that this punishment was only just beginning.

* * *

Listening to the sound of birds chirping, Rael was taking light steps.

“The weather’s nice today too.”

Spring had come at some point. Regardless of the reason, spring remained a season to look forward to.

“The wind is nice, and lots of flowers have bloomed.”

Though weeds were growing thick in the flower bed in front of the shop she had prettily decorated, her mood was still good. Since she had decided to be diligent anyway, having one more task wasn’t bad.

Ding.

The door of the potion shop opened with the sound of a bell.

The potion shop that had started as a small store close to a street stall was still small, but had become a shop with a solid roof and walls.

Over the past few months, Rael had really worked hard making magic potions. The times when she couldn’t shake off her thoughts without concentrating on something had forced her to be diligent. As a result, she had become so famous for being the most diligent person in the village.

Perhaps because Rael’s efforts were admirable, she had been able to grow her shop quickly.

Though the popularity of the fever-reducing potions she had mainly sold had waned as spring came and the weather became warm, now she just had to make potions useful for summer.

“I failed at the mixture yesterday. I wonder if it’ll be okay today.”

Making magic medicine could result in vastly different outcomes with even the smallest differences. It wasn’t much different from living life. Just like how very small actions could completely change one’s life.

“At least the workshop won’t blow up.”

Rael first tied on the apron hanging in the corner of the workshop.

When making new potions, her heart beat faster than usual. She liked this excitement. Making potions was the only moment in her current daily life that made her feel alive.

Rael tied her hair up and carefully checked the materials she would use today.

“The Perpel herbs have wilted.”

The herbs needed for making potions were usually dried thoroughly and then ground into powder for use, but she had forgotten to dry the herbs she bought yesterday, making them unusable.

“What should I do…”

Rael scratched the back of her neck in difficulty. It was too early in the morning to go buy them now. She had deliberately come to the shop early to make them quickly and start right away, but this was a disaster.

“Ah! I should have some herb powder collected somewhere.”

She remembered collecting and organizing leftover materials at some point. So Rael immediately headed to the storage room.

“Wow… Did I stack this many things here?”

She had put all sorts of things in the shop’s storage room while extensively repairing the aging house, and now the storage room was about to burst.

“Hmm… I think I put it in a wooden box.”

Rael diligently rummaged through the storage room looking for herb powder.

“Oh. This is still here.”

Finding things she didn’t even know she had was a bonus. Thanks to this, Rael was being forced on a trip down memory lane.

“My goodness, I still had these clothes. Wow. These are shoes I wore as a child. I guess I couldn’t bear to throw them away and kept them.”

Even things her grandmother had left behind – the items that saw the light of day thanks to the herbs kept increasing.

“How interesting.”

Since she couldn’t make magic potions anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to close the shop today and spend the whole day organizing the storage room.

“Huh… Inside this…”

Rael’s hands, which had been moving things enthusiastically, suddenly stopped. She saw a familiar box inside a large box. A box she had wrapped up layer by layer with her own hands long ago to hide it from view.

With similar boxes lined up everywhere, she never imagined this would be the box containing it.

“……”

Rael unconsciously took out the box. And like she was entranced, she stroked the box’s lid with her hand. Though no dust had settled, strangely she felt a rough sensation at her fingertips.

This box that seemed familiar yet strange was the one Esh had brought.

After receiving the box, for a while she had touched it several times, wondering if she should open it. She had been curious about what Rubellan might have put inside.

The reason she ultimately couldn’t open it was because she felt whatever was inside would be sad.

Swoosh—

Had her heart found a little more peace than back then? Strangely, today she felt it might be okay to open it.

Tap. Tap.

But her fingertips, still hesitating, tapped the box.

What could he have put inside? A letter? Or a gift? Maybe he had put in jewels, worried about her making a living. All sorts of speculation followed one after another.

Finally, Rael firmly grasped the box’s lid with both hands. This was really just because she was curious about the contents. Without any intention or emotion, just curiosity.

Brainwashing herself, Rael slowly opened the lid.

“…Ah.”

She had probably thought Rubellan would have put in a letter. Since it had been too sudden a farewell to say everything he wanted to say.

She had expected he might have conveyed the words he couldn’t finish.

What was inside the box was baby shoes. The child’s shoes that Rubellan had carefully chosen and bought when they lived in the house on the hill.

Only then did she remember that when they buried the clothes in the grave, they hadn’t put the shoes in together.

“So you were here.”

Rael slowly took out those small shoes. Even placing both on one hand left space remaining.

“They really are small.”

Even the times when she had been excited looking at these small things were all pulled out from her memories.

Rael blankly stroked the baby shoes on her palm with her hand. She felt their soft texture. It felt like returning to that day when she had been embroidering baby clothes.

Rael remained frozen in that spot for a long time. She sat with her bottom on another box, endlessly staring at the child’s shoes.

Then her hand holding the shoes moved toward her heart. The shoes, due to the soft fabric, became distorted in shape and nestled into her embrace. Why did this small, soft thing make her heart flutter so?

“…Sob.”

Tears came naturally.

She had thought she was living somewhat forgetting in her busy daily life.

She wasn’t. Like water in a bucket that had been precariously pooled, ready to overflow with just one drop falling at any time.

Today, Rael’s sadness finally overflowed.