I Healed the Cold Dark Goddess’s Loneliness, and Now She Won’t Let Me Go! - Chapter 32

Returning to Lady Reine’s temple, I found my flight surprisingly smooth—I’ve finally started getting the hang of it. I no longer need her to manually warp me to the upper floors; I can ascend on my own power now. It’s a small milestone, but it fills me with a strange sense of accomplishment.

“Welcome back, Haruno.”

“I’m home, Lady Reine!”

The second I landed, I threw myself into her arms. When I first heard about the sealing plan and realized I had to say my final goodbyes to Mina-chan and the others, Lady Reine had refused to come along. In the end, she never did show herself to the villagers but I suppose if she had been there, everyone would have been too stiff with nerves to say anything. It couldn’t be helped.

“……I was watching, Haruno.”

“Ah—haha… was that a no-no?”

I knew exactly what she was talking about. I’d been swept up in the moment, but the power I gave to Mina-chan was originally Lady Reine’s, and Lady Reine has always been particularly prickly when it comes to her.

“It is your power now, Haruno. It is not ‘wrong,’ and I shall not scold you.”

“Eh…?”

“Are you surprised? ……You may have misunderstood, but I do not harbor hatred for Mina. I, too, have watched her all this time. Setting aside her relationship with you, she is a girl worthy of sympathy. One who deserves to be rewarded.”

I was genuinely shocked. I had no idea Lady Reine thought of Mina-chan that way.

“Besides, no matter what happens now, my victory is absolute. Haruno is mine.”

“Well, yes, but you totally ruined the moment!”

So that’s what it’s really about! As I slumped over in exasperation, a voice called out from behind us.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I wasn’t waiting.”

“Lord Sulug!”

Sulug had returned after finished his mediation between the villagers and the people of the Light Domain. As usual, Lady Reine treated him with ice-cold indifference.

“Don’t be like that, Reine. This truly is the last time, isn’t it?”

“……Hmph.”

“Ah, so we’re starting right away…?”

This was Lady Reine’s plan: to isolate this temple, herself, and me within a sealed space cut off from the rest of the world, severing all ties to this reality and Sulug. Apparently, this would at least eliminate the danger of her power running rampant. We would spend our future in that void. It was a little daunting, but I would follow her anywhere.

“Reine. You and I did nothing but clash. But you were, without a doubt, someone precious to me.”

“……”

“I realized something just now when you spoke to me. Perhaps I lack the strength to respect ‘myself’ as an individual. If that is your domain, then I want you to pursue it. It may be presumptuous of me to say, but I want you to be happy. Enough for the both of us.”

“It is indeed presumptuous.”

Lady Reine snapped back at Sulug’s sentimental words and immediately looked away with a pout. Apparently, she had nothing more to say to him. Sulug didn’t take offense; instead, he turned his gaze toward me.

“Haruno. Once again, my apologies and my thanks. I am sorry for involving you and putting you through such hardship. And, thank you for saving Reine.”

“Oh, please! I’m just totally pampered by her, really…”

“To be able to do that without fear is because you truly understand her. It’s not something just anyone can do. And that, isn’t just a salvation for Reine. It’s a wonderful thing for me, and for this world, that’s how it feels to me.”

“Stop, you’re exaggerating!”

As I blushed under Sulug’s heavy praise, the “pressure” radiating from Lady Reine next to me started to intensify. Yikes, better wrap this up.

“U-um… Lord Sulug, what will you do now?”

“……Even with Reine gone, my calculations suggest there is a grace period before I lose control. Until then, I intend to finish explaining everything to the people and complete the distribution of my power.”

“I see…”

If it follows the game’s lore, that’s when Lord Sulug becomes a being of pure will… a ghost? Then again, the premise of the game has been completely shattered by now, so I don’t think it’s a reliable guide anymore.

“That’s enough. Begone already.”

Deciding that the conversation was over, Lady Reine shooed him away.

“……Right. One last thing, Haruno. You are a hero. In the time I have left, I will make sure your honor is protected—”

“……Huh? Hero? Honor? What on earth do you mean by—wait.”

Sulug said something very cryptic at the end, but he didn’t stick around to explain. He simply turned his back and vanished. It’s going to bug me! It’s really going to bug me… but I’ll probably never get the chance to ask now!

“……He’s finally gone. Now, let us begin.”

“Right, Lady Reine.”

She raised her right hand and closed her eyes. It happened in an instant. The scenery outside the window transformed, shifting from a dark forest to a starlit vista that looked like deep space.

“So, this is it…”

Before I could even process that our connection to the old world was gone, I felt a soft impact from the side.

“Lady Reine!?”

“Finally… finally, we are alone, Haruno.”

“I feel like we were always alone together, though…”

“It is not the same. Now, in the truest sense, Haruno has only me, and I have only Haruno. At last, the world is as it should be.”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if that was a “good” thing or not. But just feeling her presence against me, I felt like everything had worked out for the best. I’m such a pushover!

“……Haruno. Would you allow me to break one promise?”

As we held each other, Lady Reine murmured those words. I wasn’t sure which promise she meant… but if she was consulting me about it first, I don’t think it counts as “breaking” it.

“Lady Reine. We’re both changing, bit by bit. I’ve come to love you more and more every day. So, I think it’s okay to update the promises we made back then to fit who we are now.”

“Haruno… I see. You are right.”

She smiled. After stroking my hair with deep affection, she spoke again.

“We have nothing but time now. So, I thought we might try to challenge the thing I once told you was impossible.”

“Impossible…? Did you say something like that?”

“I did. I told you that it was impossible to return you to your original home.”

Ah… right, I think she did say that. Wait, does that mean the promise she wants to “update” is…!

“I promised I would never allow you to return to your homeland but I wish to change that. From now on, I want the two of us to find a way to reach your world together… would that be alright?”

“ーーーー! Yes, Lady Reine! I love you!”

Overcome with emotion, my heart spilled out of my mouth. I was happy that she had taken an interest in the place where I grew up, but more than that I was happy because of the trust she showed. She trusted that even if I could go home, I would still choose her.

“Fufu… I won’t lose to you when it comes to the depth of my love, you know?”

“Oh? You want to make it a competition? Hehe.”

And so, just the two of us, we began our new life. Between spending our days in a state of sweet, private bliss. The kind you couldn’t show to anyone else—we searched for a way back to Earth. And that is how we spent our ever-after.