34 - Astilbe (1)

But first, back to the beginning.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder to wake him up, but drowsiness overcame him and he answered with a mumbled, "Hmm..."

"Wake up." Louise tapped him on the shoulder again. Eriu, who still felt sleepy, gave the answer that was already in his mouth, "5 more minutes..."

"...You also said 5 minutes before, so it's already the 5 minutes you asked for." Louise replied. 

Eros rubbed his eyes with a yawn, sat up and turned to Louise who was waking Eriu. Two weeks had passed since that day and today was the day Eriu left home.

Before that, they decided to take him to her, the person who had prepared the medicine for Eriu previously. Ariadne trusted her because she was her friend.

She would be the one to decide whether to use this method or a different one.

Of course, it was a long way to get there. So they looked for someone who could deliver Eriu safely and unharmed. After much deliberation, they chose a merchant who had been doing business with them for a long time. First, because they trusted him, and second, because they used a contract that the villagers were used to.

Absolute contact.

The content of the contract was to deliver Eriu unharmed to his destination and in return they would pay according to the contract.

Eros suddenly looked grumpy before he got out of his bed. Of course, they already had their own beds. The original intention was to add another room, but unfortunately their house was only two floors and there was no other room that could be used, while the warehouse was full and of course the question would arise where to put all the items in the warehouse if everything was taken out.

So, as parents, they thought of a more efficient way to buy another mattress and ask Eriu's permission to put another mattress in his bedroom.

Haha, those days are long gone.

Eros approached the two and climbed onto Eriu's bed, where Eriu sat on the bed and looked down, indicating that he was still unconscious.

Louise couldn't do anything because of course it was still 3 in the morning. 

"...Then me and Mom will be waiting downstairs. Eros you also go back to sleep, it's still early." Louise stood up, taking a stick with him to prevent his feet from getting tangled. Eros nodded, "... Okay."

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs made Ariadne, who had been concentrating on rechecking Eriu's luggage, turn her head to see Louise walking alone without the person who was the main character in this story.

Ariadne surely knew why.

"You're too soft." Of course, it was just a joke, "At this rate, Eri won't leave and all our money will vanish into thin air."

"..."

"The morning will come and they will realize it and immediately make up some nonsense and say that Eriu is sick because he got too close to Eros."

"Give him five more minutes," Louise laughed awkwardly.

"I think Eros also wants to be with him before he leaves." The memory of the sad tone he had heard from Eros made him remember one thing, "...after all, they haven't been separated all this time and suddenly one of them is leaving for who knows how long...even I don't want to be apart from him."

Ariadne glanced down with no reply, "..."

Me too.

She remembered that it was Eriu who often made her angry and laugh with his strange behavior. 

It would be lonely if she didn't hear her son's voice...

As silence fell in the dining room, Eros fell silent as he embraced Eriu while crying softly, "..."

"Get well soon..." The sobs made Eriu's ghost, which had just entered his mouth, wake up. "I'll wait for you." His stiff body suddenly calmed down and he hugged Eros.

"Um..."

"I'll be back soon."

***

A merchant who was riding in the darkness of the forest was, of course, still unfamiliar with this forest. Every time he came here, he felt that this forest was very scary.

Immediately, he saw two people he knew.

The merchant was holding the reins to make the horse understand the merchant's intentions, and soon the merchant stopped in front of the two people.

"Good morning, Mrs. Grith. You look beautiful as always." Ariadne ignored the sentence and replied, "Good morning, Axel."

Axel smiled cheerfully and turned his head towards Eriu, who was staring back at him with a look of contempt and disgust.

The reason was of course that Eriu knew a secret that no one else knew.

That Axel liked his mother.

One day he accidentally reads a love letter addressed to Axel. Her lover is always waiting for him, but this heartless human is flirting with a married woman.

Seeing this, Axel looked puzzled as Ariadne felt Eriu's grip tighten.

"Thank you for agreeing to this request." Eriu's attitude in trying to pull her away must have panicked Ariadne. "May we have a moment then?"

Axel suddenly looked glum and nodded, "Sure. Then I'll bring the luggage in first." Axel slowly bent down and tried to carry the luggage, but Ariadne wouldn't let him.

Although the luggage looked heavy, it was actually very light and could even be blown away by the wind if not held tightly.

"No need, just let me..."

Here, their hands accidentally touched, and Eriu, seeing this, quickly became the person in the middle of the hand. Because Axel looked down, he could see Eriu's expression.

He was actually looking at him with a contemptuous look!

"Uncle, can you leave for a while?"

"..." Axel let go of the bag and laughed awkwardly, "Then I'll wait for you there." Axel walked with a body so limp that his hands couldn't even grip the controller strap.

...

Ariadne was silent for a moment before she bent down and stroked Eriu's face, "Are you nervous?"

Eriu nodded as he looked down again.

"I'm nervous myself, even though I'm not the one leaving." Ariadne smiled softly, "But I believe in you."

"That you can do it."

Eriu lifted his head immediately and looked at Ariadne, who was still smiling.

"If there's anything, tell Aunt Amiley, okay?"

"Yes."

"And if Aunt Amiley tells you to defeat a monster, defeat it by all means, understand?"

"Yes?" Wha- why monsters all of a sudden?

"Whatever it is, don't ever ask her anything related to the family!" Ariadne tapped Eriu's shoulder as if threatening him. 

Somehow, he felt more nervous now than before.

To be honest, he already knew why he shouldn't ask Aunt Amiley about the family.

Because Aunt Amiley's husband cheated on her.

Yesterday, just before his departure, there was a knock at the door of his room and Eros was there. Of course, Eriu panicked because Eros was still under Madam Quella's guard.

How could Eros sneak in when the house was locked?

He was about to tell this to Ariadne and Louise, but all of a sudden Eros told him something innocent and interesting.

"Don't tell Mommy and Daddy!" 

"..."

"Uh, um, I, I have something to tell you..."

Eros seemed to be giving me spoilers for the future by telling me where to go. Suddenly a sentence appeared that grabbed me.

"Aunt Amiley has a daughter..."

"?"

"But I heard she also had siblings, but strangely they were banished?" Even he remembered that his tone was full of question marks when he said it.

"It is said that her father was also banished along with her brother...? Huh, why were they banished?"

...

Ah...

After that, Louise was the one who caught Eros. They let him stay here for a while before he went back to Madam Quella's house. That was also the reason why he couldn't sleep well...

Because he suddenly remembered this shameless merchant.

Axel, who had eaten all the apple flesh, immediately put the seeds in his bag when he realized that the two of them were approaching him.

"Are you ready for your journey, little man?" Axel put on a smiling face again.

"..." Eriu ignored him and put his bag into the carriage. Ariadne herself felt that Eriu was being impertinent, but it was possible that Eriu was nervous and afraid. Even if they were friends with Axel, they had only met them when they returned with Eriu's medicine.

Eriu was about three years old, and that was when they left Eriu with Madam Quella.

"Ha.Ha.Ha," even Axel himself laughed awkwardly to bring the atmosphere back to normal. Eru got into the carriage and Axel's target returned to Ariadne, "Then wait for my news."

"Thank you." Ariadne smoothed Eriu's robe again while Axel continued his sentence before being stopped by Eriu.

"I will bring Eriu to his destination and home safely! I promise with all my heart and soul, for the sake of the future-"

There was a window in the carriage that allowed the person inside to communicate with the coachman, and it was there that Eriu whispered to Axel, causing Axel to open his eyes wide.

"?" A question mark appeared in Ariadne's mind.

"Then we'll see each other again, Mrs. Grith!" Axel couldn't stop smiling. Before the horse left, Eriu waved his hand, "I'll be home soon."

The sound of the carriage had disappeared along with their shadows. Ariadne, who had been smiling, began to cry.

She couldn't hold back anymore, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I believe in you because you are my son..."

"So hurry home."

... We will be there.

***

3 months passed very quickly, the scenery outside had even changed completely, looking out the window, Eriu could see giant trees surrounding the entire forest. There were huge roots clinging to the ground all over the forest, and even the trees were in the shape of lotuses!

There was a beautiful lake with flowers and exotic animals wandering about. He also saw animals that looked like mutant crocodiles.

The crocodile's skin has very sharp thorns. Every time he sees it, he can already feel how painful it is to be pierced by the needles.

Seems like the crocodile here has been levelled from 99 to 999...

Of course, he and Axel have become much closer during this trip.

In fact, Axel even told him that he was the illegitimate son of a nobleman. His sister died and now he was left alone, so he ran away to survive.

Nothing is ever fair, even if it's sad, but it's still life. 

...when I told him that Ariadne was very fond of Eros, there was one more thing that made him wonder why Axel was suddenly so moody. At that time he lied and said he would tell him what's most important to Ariadne and they left right away.

Maybe it's because Eros is not an easy person to get along with?

...

But coming back to it, I was also very mean to Eros, even after everything, Eros still came up to me and gave me encouragement... It must be very lonely for Eros, he suffers even more, especially if the theory that he is going to repeat his life is true, isn't Eros hurt a lot?

Even though I used his name for strange things and blamed him for everything, who can he blame?

The person he loved died in front of him, everyone around him was greedy for him, and now I have stolen the body of the person he loves the most.

I don't think it would be bad if we got married in the end, and I'm fine with anything...

Stay away from the academy and capture targets, but I feel like I'm cheating by giving him hope.

"What's on your mind?" Axel held two plates and put them on the table. Of course, they needed to rest, and so they stopped at an inn or tavern every time they passed one.

"Married..."

"Ngh?" Axel widened his eyes and sat back down, "Married? Who are you going to marry?"

"Hehe, shall I make a suggestion?"

Eriu held the spoon in his hand and poked at the rice before he put it in his mouth. When he saw the appearance of the bowl in front of him, it reminded him of the cat rice. Back when he was broke, he would buy that food.

"I don't want advice from those who don't have partners themselves." 

"How rude of you..." Axel took a sip of beer as he steadied himself on the chair. "Whatever." Eriu ignored him and continued to eat.

"Tch, kids these days." An annoyed Axel continued to cluck his tongue, not wanting to hear a single word from Eriu.

"I'm not like you, and even in my future..." Wiggling his short legs, Eriu hummed happily as they talked about what to eat tomorrow.

"Try to approach someone who is married-"

"without trying to see yourself reflected." Without even asking, Axel knew what Eriu meant, because Eriu had told him openly.

Tsk.

"Who taught you to talk like that?" Axel took another sip of his beer, his throat feeling dry and getting drier every time he heard that kid talk.

"Heh, from my soulmate, of course!" His ears heated up even more before he stopped sipping his beer and tried to remember Eriu's previous sentence, "...Don't tell me you want to marry the boy who likes to follow you around."

"Hm?" 

"Oh. It's a good likeness."

Who?

Don't tell me he means Eros?

Axel, who had been angry, soon laughed, "His mouth is also very sharp!"

"He immediately looked at me with a mocking look when I happily introduced him to the nobles!"

"You know what the boy said, he said her caste was lower than his, so why should he marry them!"

…

Really?

"The boy you mean is Eros?" Asked hesitatingly and answered without hesitating, "Yes!"

There is a phrase when talking about this game. That the protagonist was getting quieter and quieter with each arc... there was even someone who fell in love with him because of the protagonist's sharp mouth.

... Not to say that the protagonist... 

Wait, but he was never insulted like that by Eros. Eros always looks after him like my mother. 

Yes, Eros has to be suspicious, after all it is a must to be prejudiced against people like Axel!

Maybe so.

"Wow, you two are a match made in heaven..." Axel rubbed his hands and smiled mischievously, "I would say your marriage is possible, but I can make it 100% sure, so..."

"Can you tell me what your mother likes?" 

Eriu made an annoyed face with his mouth while he demonstrated Axel's way of speaking, "Blah, blah, blah, nope."

"Ughhhh..."

"Better find someone else and don't disturb other people's marriages."

.. Wait, what did that guy just say...

Eriu widened his eyes while pointing at Axel, "No wonder you got nervous when I said Eros is someone Ariadne loves!"

"Heh, old man, look at you, I'm going to complain to my mother!"

Axel shook his head several times and immediately changed the subject, "...so what's the reason you went to the elf territory?"

"Shut up, you shameless prick."

Axel, who didn't want to look at Eriu, turned his eyes in another direction before he finally raised his hand to call out to the waiter: "Order 4 giant beers!"

A cheerful song like at a festival.

I will never give up on you.

Even when you have someone in your arms.

Let's meet when the moon is never perfect.

***

Today was like any other day, just lonely. 

Eros opened the door and entered his temporary room. Water was dripping from his wet hair and a towel was draped over his shoulders. Eros approached the closet and opened a small book, of course there was no content inside, just an empty little book.

But this empty booklet once had a story where it saved over a hundred people from death.

Knock-knock.

A knock came from the window covered by the wooden door. He immediately turned his head and approached the window. Without any defense, he pushed the window door wide open, revealing tiny dust-like particles forming hands trying to reach him.

Zrttttttt!!!!

Before the hand could strangle him, a starflower appeared and shattered them like firecrackers. Casually, Eros leaned lazily against the window as he blew on the colorful starflowers.

Instantly, the starflowers spun around before disappearing like fireflies drowning in a river.

The particles seemed unwilling to give up and tried to attack back, but the flowers reappeared and burst them all at once.

Even now, the glittering sounds and popping sounds sounded like they were trying to destroy each other before the dust particles finally disappeared.

As if the show was over, Eros closed the window door.

.

Raindrops could be heard each time they fell on the surrounding objects. But despite the rain, the sky was still lit by the sun. A black-haired young man was running while dragging a golden-haired young man, who was only silent while being dragged resignedly in the rain.

The black-haired youth asked the golden-haired youth a question, "What does sunshower mean to you?

The golden-haired youth looked up at the blue sky scattered everywhere, "...a miracle?"

"For me, it is a sign of death."

Although he did not ask the black-haired youth back, he answered honestly with a laugh.

"Died very happily."

"So if you combine the meaning of your sunshower and me, it means I will love you until death."

"Even if I'm buried, I'm still going to love you."

"Forever!"

In a joking tone, the black-haired youth added, "Like I said, we are truly meant to love each other!"