Epilogue (2/2)

“Hm? Is she trying to say something, I wonder……?”

“Uuu— ahh—”

“Lily, come closer for a minute.”

After being told this, I met eyes with the baby again. This time, she seemed to be laughing happily. Crying and then laughing—how busy this child was. It was fine to be honest, but not to outwardly show everything you were feeling. It seemed that I would have to discipline her on the etiquette and modesty of being a lady in the near future.

“Ah, come to think of it, she’s been holding something in her hand this entire time.”

“Uuu— uu—”

Making wordless sounds, she stared intently at me while waving her hand.

“……Is it for me?”

She touched my hand softly with hers. Held tightly in her grip was a small seash.e.l.l.

“Oh… it’s so pretty! If I remember, this is the seash.e.l.l we picked up when we went to the beach yesterday.”

“…..Thank you.”

The baby laughed again. It was a golden sh.e.l.l. As I looked at that sh.e.l.l, which was shaped almost like a wing, I felt my eyes grown hot. It was said that in the human world, you cried more easily once you grew older; right now, I was finding that that was quite a bit of truth in that.

No matter what age it was, time always pa.s.ses without slowing down to allow rest.

It’ll be alright; this time, I will be the one to protect—this world that you all loved, and them, as well. So that’s why, there is no need to worry.

“….Do you smell something burning from downstairs?”

“Ahh……!  I completely forgot that I was heating up the stew!”

“G-goodness!”

We hurriedly rushed downstairs together. The stew would probably have to be redone.

I had a feeling that someone who wasn’t here in this place, was smiling right about now.

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