Chapter 199 …
Even so, she once again examined the earnestness in her heart.
Why—why was she feeling this way?
To answer the question that kept rising within herself. To interpret and convince herself. And through that, to convince others—everyone—and him.
“If Gid asks why I came… I’ll have to give him an answer.”
Lillietta took a step back and looked carefully at the shape of her own heart.
Her feelings were not that deep. They had only just begun to sprout—nothing more than an extension of friendship and everyday life.
Not something powerful enough to throw everything away for. Not something she could blindly cling to while abandoning family, friends, comrades, the world, morality, and her beliefs.
Just ordinary, gentle affection.
“Even so…”
Even so.
Even if it was different from the shape of his “love.”
“Still… I just…”
She wanted to save him.
She wanted to see him again.
She wanted to fill the vast gap that had been hidden between them—two people she once thought were endlessly close.
She wanted to talk with him. She wanted to hear his thoughts. She wanted to understand the parts of him that had changed, and mend the parts where they had grown out of sync.
She didn’t want a world without him.
Right after waking again as Lillietta, she had desperately wanted to return somehow to the world of ashes.
Even after learning that this place was her true hometown, she had decided that after spending enough time with her family, she would someday return to her comrades.
If she stripped away the clutter of thoughts and rational judgments, what remained—her honest desire—was simple.
She wanted to live together.
With them. Especially with him.
Ever since she met Gid, she had never lived in a world without him.
She had never even imagined herself living in such a world.
Even in that brief gap after death—before they reunited as Lillietta and Gideon—she had felt a strange anxiety and a vast emptiness.
Only after meeting him again had that hollow been filled.
Only then had she been able to decide to put down roots in this world.
Looking back, it was only natural.
He was carved far too deeply into her life.
Since the moment she chose her goal among the snow-covered gravestones.
Or perhaps since the moment she pointed her gun at the squad leader who had stabbed a boy in the eye.
No… maybe even before that.
Since the moment the boy gave up passing Pascal’s graduation exam and came to find her.
Since the first time he brought her a gun.
Since the moment they created their own hand signals for communication.
Rita Pascal could not abandon Gid Pascal.
She didn’t want to.
“I can’t live without you.”
That was the answer she would give him.
Suddenly, she understood—just a little—the choices he had made after she died.
Only after he disappeared.
Only after she faced the possibility of losing him.
Now it truly reached her heart.
“So… I have to go.”
She had no certainty.
She didn’t know what she should do.
The future felt as vast and empty as being surrounded by a distant horizon.
But if there was even the tiniest possibility—if she could see even a single light at the end of the black sea—then that alone was enough for her.
Suddenly, she lifted her head.
Something had entered the range she was monitoring by spreading her Od as widely as possible.
“A person.”
And then, behind that person, violent presences far more savage than animals flooded into her detection range.
There was no sign of magical corruption.
Monsters.
“They’re being chased.”
Quietly, she stood up and pulled Silver Grace from her bracelet. After estimating the number of monsters, she glanced briefly at Lucas, who was sleeping soundly.
“Let’s not wake him.”
Luca needed rest. The enemies were easy enough to deal with. It would be better to finish it alone before he sensed anything unusual.
Rita placed her thumb on the butterfly engraving on the revolver’s grip and injected Od.
A faint light shimmered as the artificial spirit awakened.
[Notification: The current time is 3:49 AM.]
[Suggestion: Insomnia is harmful to your health, user. Would you like little Gnug to sing you a cute lullaby?]
“Skip the lullaby. Night vision, please.”
Rita answered calmly—she had already gotten used to Gnug’s nonsense.
[Notification: Activating night vision.]
Transparent butterflies fluttered up and settled over her eyes.
Through their wings, the dark mountain path became far clearer.
[Question: Is the enemy approaching? Baby Gnug doesn’t quite understand. How exactly does your detection work, user?]
“I spread my Od out like a thin band. Since I’m not a transfer-type, spreading Od is tricky, but if you practice the range increases.”
As Lillietta moved into the darkness, she opened one hand, forming several silent bullets on her palm while answering Gnug’s question.
“When that band senses the natural Od waves in the environment, I can detect things farther than the limit where I can actually spread my Od. It’s kind of like a seismograph… though I guess this era doesn’t have those.”
[Notification: Baby Gnug received vast knowledge from its creator, including common knowledge from the ‘Ashen Age.’ Therefore, this artificial spirit knows what a seismograph is.]
[Analysis: Since the user is a fabrication-type and cannot spread Od far, she created a band of Od and used it like a seismograph to greatly extend her detection range. It is surprising that your techniques can still amaze me.]
[Pride: Gnug perfectly understood your analogy!]
“Smart, aren’t you, Gnug?”
[Observation: This artificial spirit is certain the user has begun to find Gnug adorable. The cute baby strategy has succeeded.]
Lillietta chuckled softly and stopped at the edge of a cliff along the mountain path.
Below, the descending road twisted clearly in her night vision.
And along that road ran a man in a desperate sprint—followed by a pack of monsters.
Humanoid creatures with hyena-like heads and bodies covered in fur.
Gnolls.
“…Twelve.”
She switched Silver Grace to sniper mode. A scope clicked into place, and she aimed at the head of the gnoll chasing the man.
“At this distance, I can shoot standing up. And it’s better if that guy knows someone’s here.”
To an ordinary person, the monster’s head would look no bigger than a fingernail.
Through the scope, it looked the size of a fist.
Though honestly—even if it were fingernail-sized, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Pfft.
With a suppressed shot like air escaping, the hyena-like head burst apart.
She didn’t watch the result. She moved the barrel.
Next.
Then the next.
The gnoll pack only realized they were under attack when the third target died.
They stopped chasing the man and began panicking. When the fourth head exploded, they finally identified the direction of the attack.
Yellow and red eyes looked through the darkness toward the woman standing on the cliff.
They turned and charged toward her.
But Lillietta remained perfectly calm.
She loaded the silent bullets she had prepared into the empty chambers and continued sniping.
The sound of air slicing through the wind echoed at steady intervals.
Each time, an unseen bullet pierced a head, splattering green blood.
Before they could even reach the cliff, four more collapsed.
The remaining gnolls lost their nerve and scattered.
But that meant nothing within the range of a magic gunner.
Even the ones running in different directions were struck cleanly in the head.
Dead.
After eliminating the last monster, Rita lowered the gun.
Then Gnug’s solemn voice sounded.
[Notification: All hostile targets eliminated. Rescue operation complete.]
“Huh?”
[Observation: During the previous ‘Ghost’ and ‘Gift’ rescue missions, the user’s declaration of ‘complete’ left a deep impression on Gnug. I learned it and applied it.]
That phrase had been used to inform Hannah that the operation was over… and there wasn’t anyone to report to now.
But since the artificial spirit seemed pleased with itself, Rita simply nodded and let it pass.
The man who had been running on the mountain road stopped and looked up toward her.
Rita gestured for him to come this way and turned from the cliff back toward the road.
After waiting briefly, the panting man appeared.
He stopped before her, drenched in sweat, and bowed deeply.
“Th-th-thank… you… gasp… very much…”
“Who are you? Running through the mountains at this hour?”
“I-I’m a… messenger from Winterfield… gasp… there’s an urgent message that needs to be delivered… Are you… pant… a mercenary?”
“Not a mercenary. Just a traveler.”
A messenger running through the mountains at night.
A bad feeling crept in.
Rita asked urgently.
“You said you’re a messenger from Winterfield?”
“Yes.”
“What message are you delivering?”
“Well… that is…”
The man hesitated.
Rita immediately understood why and turned around.
“You were heading this way anyway, right? Come with me.”
After walking a short distance along the path, a campfire came into view.
Beside it lay living proof of identity that anyone from Winterfield would recognize.
Lucas had been sleeping soundly but immediately opened his eyes when he sensed unfamiliar presence instead of a comrade.
“Big sis?”
“Luca, this guy says he’s a messenger from Winterfield.”
“Huh?”
Lucas wiped his mouth and turned his head.
The man’s eyes went wide.
“S-Second Young Master?!”
“Huh? Jacques?”
Apparently they already knew each other.
The conversation immediately moved to the main issue.
