121 120. The pinnacle of Valfuura.txt (1/2)

The young man's name is Rowen Alais.

He is the guardian, the one who steals the reason of the earth.

He's also the one who stands at the top of the Glory, having been awarded the titles of the Strongest and the Sage of Swords.

And he is my master of the sword and my best friend.

At the same time as our eyes meet, the announcement of our entrance rings out.

”-- In contrast, coming in from the other side is Aikawa Kanami, the 'hero' of the north!　For the past few days, the rumors about him have never ceased!　Rumor has it that he started as a master of the guild Epic Seeker, a knight of the Dragon Slayer, fiancée of Lady Snow, the daughter of the great noble house Walker, and is currently eloping with Princess Rustyala of the Fusyars and the Apostle Sith!　And yet, for some reason, we're entering with the leaper players who are supposed to be on the Loewen team, ah!

The North Area host, who was familiar to me, was holding the magic tool (microphone) in the finals.

I was expecting someone else for the finals, but reality was hard on me.

I gave the moderator a quick glance and then walked towards the center.

Rowen also slips out of the crowd of stuffy guards and walks towards the center.

A lot of things had happened before I got here.

But I call out to her like a friend I hadn't seen in a long time.

...... See, Rowen. I'm here, right?

”Kanami ......, you're here ....... Reaper also .......

I'm sorry and happy to hear that,” Rowen said, sounding apologetic and happy.

I threw a homemade scarf I was holding in my hand to Rowen. It's a carmine red scarf that matches his hair.

'Here, scarf. The one I promised you.'

A scarf?　Oh, yeah, ......, and come to think of it, you promised to do that too: ....... It's discipline. Kanami is really disciplined: ......

Rowen reminds me of my promise.

Then she wraps the scarf around her right shoulder and thanks me for my help.

'I remembered yesterday. --I've got to make good on my promise.

I will make good on all my promises to Rowen.

To show it, I draw my sword.

'Body and soul are one (・・・・・・), (・・・・・) ......, and your memory is back, too: ......

Seeing my stance, Rowen sees through it all.

Rowen understood everything, not with or without the 'bracelet', but by watching my behavior.

'So what is the real 'Kanami' going to do with me ......?'

Rowen makes one last check.

I reply as a matter of course.

No matter what (・・・・・・), Aikawa Uzumi is Rowen's friend. I can't leave my friend who is suffering. Let's fight, Rowen. That's how we'll find out all the answers. --Lowen's 'regrets' will be cleared, and the promise will be fulfilled.

No more mistakes.

With Arti, he couldn't even treat her as a 'person'. Because of my own weakness.

But this time it's different. I'm going to see Rowen off as my best friend.

I swing my sword at my side.

The flash is faster than when Rowen was teaching me in the labyrinth before.

I'm in perfect condition, stronger than before, and I'm standing here now as the strongest enemy Rowen could ever want. I'll tell you that.

Rowen opened his mouth in silence.

What I had hoped for is right in front of me, more than what I had hoped for. So it's as if a small child is watching a hero show, with a mixture of surprise and longing. And yet, there's also a mixture of nostalgia and love, as if an adult is watching a hero show from their childhood.

He is stunned before the unexpected joy, and after a few moments, he closes his mouth.

And then I bite down hard on the emotion.

I narrow my eyes, get down a bit, and mutter.

'...... I see.'

Then Rowen looks up and slowly apologizes.

'I guess it was all unfounded on my part ....... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry .......

He let out his heart with a serious expression.

'When I heard about Palinclone Legacy, my mind was reeling. I was sure that Kanami would take revenge first ....... That's all Kanami had been done ....... But still--

Rowen draws her sword, too.

I can tell that my feelings have been well received.

And, with a belligerent smile--

-Kanami is going to fight me, isn't she?

He comes closer to me.

I try to do the same.

But a shadow interrupts me.

It's the Reaper.

The Reaper, who can no longer hear, shakes his head, shaking between us.

Seeing this, Rowen smiles kindly.

Her face looked like a parent looking at their child ...... but it also looked like a dead man floating in the air.

'Reaper, see to it. At last, I will have my answer.

Rowen: ”Rowen: ......

The Reaper squeezes out his voice.

'Don't look so sad. Can you just smile and send me off?'

...... right? Hey. Doesn't Rowen want to stay in this world?　Don't you want to live ......?

'...... What are you talking about?'　I'm a dead man, okay?

The rift between Rowen and the Reapers is deep.

Before she can even speak of it, she already knows it.

So she shuddered.

That's why the girl didn't want to come here.

So she didn't want to get involved with Rowen and try to help him behind the scenes.

The Reaper shuddered, but still bet on her last hope.

'But we're here for a reason, right?　Well, then, I don't mind getting a little greedy...

Greedy. Greedy, and now I'm getting the answers I've been waiting for from my best friend. A dead man's luxury in my opinion.

I don't mean that!　When you get that answer, Rowen will be gone!　This time, he's going away!　Lowen Alais is really good at that!　With an ending like this!

'Good...' ...... Reaper, don't get me wrong. I've learned. The 'heroes' of this era have taught me--

The Reaper finally shouts.

But Rowen, by contrast, is calm.

I didn't expect this calmness, and I didn't expect it either.

The current Rowen doesn't have the agitation of a few days ago.

Glenn Walker, the greatest hero, taught me that this fool Rowen's dream is a dream. Fenrir Arrais, the 'Hero of the Swordsman', told me that the House of Arrais as I knew it was no more--

While I was running through the 'Dancing Tournament' with Snow, Rustyala and the others, Rowen was also running through Rowen's 'Dancing Tournament'.

That was a very telling line.

I guess he won over Mr. Glenn and learned the substance of modern 'heroes' and saw the reality of the aristocracy by fighting with his descendants (Fenrir Arrais).

That's why he has such a similar expression to me.

'-- There's no such thing as a Lowen Arrais here. There's no such man, Reaper. Long before you, the day you signed on to become The Reason of the Earth, Lowen Ares vanished from the face of the earth. Here we have an unnamed corpse that moves in regret. --It's just a 'thing that steals the reason of the earth' (monster).

As a friend, the answer is a little sad.

But it's the truth.

Like Snow, Rowen had come close to her own answer, on her own strength.

'Mr. Glenn taught me the 'future' and Fenrir taught me the 'now'. But it's still not enough. The most important thing for the guardians (guardians) is still missing--

But we're not there yet.

I haven't gotten rid of it.

Rowen shifts her eyes from the Reaper and looks at me.

”I believe Kanami is my answer to my past. I trust that she will tell me what my 'unconscious' is.

Only one thing remains.

The only thing that's left is my obsession.

Of course, I intend to do the same.

I nod back.

But the Reaper keeps shaking his head.

'No, Rowen ....... But I'm still attainted, attainted ......!

And I will disappear. No matter what, I will disappear here today.

Rowen patted the Reaper's head and then walked past him.

Rowen moved forward.

One of them went onward--.

To confirm that true wish.

'Ah, ah, .......'

Sobbing, the Reaper stops shaking his head.

'I knew it was ......, I knew it was .......'

There was no hesitation in Rowen.

He only stared ahead with a powerful look in his eyes that made it hard to believe that he didn't know what he wanted. The Reaper would understand that and know that he would never stop.

The answers Rowen seeks are just within reach. All that's left is to reach out a little further. There's no stopping the Reaper anymore.

'You can't do it anymore, can you? I can't--

It's over, Reaper. I'm sorry, my friend. I guess the long game is over.

Rowen walks past.

'Ugh, ugh. ......!

The Reaper turned around and clenched his hands tightly - and quickly loosened them. I was flooded with an enormous amount of wariness for a moment, but it didn't last.

If I tried to stop the match, in that case, it would be me and Rowen against him. Against the two of us with the skill 'Sensitivity', no matter how much magic power we have, we can't win with Reaper.

Knowing this, the Reaper could only lament.

I covered my face with my palms and shook my shoulders.

I watched the end of the Reaper's battle and called out to the moderator

'When the game starts, take the reaper with you and stand back to safety. It's not safe. ......

'Yes, yes ......'

The moderator nodded honestly in front of the participant girl's lamentations.

Even if he didn't know the details of the situation, he could tell that he had lost the will to fight from the Reaper.

''Then it's fine for the two of you to play one-on-one ....... Please set the rules: ......

Urging the two of us to play one last game, the MC distances himself with the Reaper.

Me and Rowen are the only ones left.

I'm worried about the Reaper, but we can't start the match in the dark.

We'll set the rules.

That's all it takes, but this is the equivalent of saying goodbye.

I'd like to say goodbye with a smile at the end.

With that in mind, me and Rowen talk in our usual fashion.

'I think I'd like to try a 'weapons drop'.

Wait, Kanami. This is the final, the final. Don't we deserve a 'deathmatch' where we can go to the limit?

''But I have to have a sword master and apprentice showdown with Rowen. ......

Hmm, I think I said something like that.

I remember it word-for-word. ”A student and master battle for supremacy in the final of the tournament. Alais-style sword dances gracefully in the final of the tournament and the people are fascinated by their beautiful sword fights.

'As usual, your memory is handy: ....... So, the rules are 'deathmatch', but why don't we do our own 'weapon drop' first?　Let's go through the stages and get the game going.

'Let's do that. ...... But there's no tension in the rules when you play a match with someone you know.

'Indeed. Because of our participation, the last part of the convention is all about personal warfare.

We laugh and talk to each other.

I wanted to tell the girl, who was spilling tears right beside me, that there was nothing to be sad about, that no one would regret it.

The discussion pauses and the host speaks to us.

'Well, don't you take bets?　Personally, I was very excited about the bet, since you two know each other: ....... Doesn't Rowen have a sideways love affair with Kanami's girlfriend or something like that, or is there some kind of female competition?

You look like you're having a great time and have been very rude to me.

I'm going to try to avenge my past grudges.

You can't be serious. I wouldn't bet anything on it, and neither would Rowen. I've been sick, and I've had to put up with it, but you have to--

'No, Kanami. Actually, I have something to bet on.

But it is interrupted by Rowen.

'What?'

'Bet your sword (・・・・・・). Whoever loses gives the sword they have to their opponent.

The sword?　I don't mind, but I don't mind: ......

And I'll bet my sword on it.

Rowen draws a sword from one of the two scabbards at her waist.

[The Treasured Sword of the Modified Aleis Family]

Attack power 2

It was the sword of Deer that I once entrusted to Rowen.

It had been restored by Alibers-san's hands. The melted blade was prepared with ray crystals and the hilt was elaborately decorated with crystal designs. However, perhaps because of the forceful restoration, the sharpness of the blade has not returned.

'That's mine ....... No, technically, it's Dia's, but .......

It's the best thing that ever happened to me and Alibers. It's costing me some money. If you win, I'll give it back to you for free.