Chapter 461

Chapter 461

I woke up to a chill rising from the ground.
“Ugh.”
I was lying in the middle of a dark forest. I could see the night sky through the swaying treetops. Sunrise was just around the corner, and the stars were almost out.
I slowly tried to move my limbs. Fortunately, nothing was immobile. Even the knife was hanging calmly at my waist.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa–shit.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
The crack seemed to have somehow slipped through.
“Woof.”
A sudden wave of nausea washed over me. Going through the crack this time was particularly nauseating.
Akasha’s security particles of mana were ten times heavier than they had ever been before.
A small mistake could have prevented me from escaping.
“Asshole.”
I cursed and stood up. I felt more than a little dirty.
I felt like I was being told off by Akasha for helping you but not being on the same side.
“By the way—.”
I wandered around like a hillbilly on a shopping spree. The arrangement of trees and stones around me was familiar. I looked at the black bloodstains on the bushes where the dew had fallen overnight. The conclusion came quickly.
“This is where I left off.
I was sure of it. This was the place where Sarante from the future and I had met. Everything was the same as it was then, except for the color of the sky.
“How long has it been?
I just couldn’t guess the time.
I thought it would be a quick trip and then I’d be back, but it turned into an adventure of almost half a year. Maybe even longer here.
An ominous premonition flashed through my mind. What if Adeshan had already given birth to a child and married another gnome, unable to wait for me?
“No way.”
Even though you know it’s not possible, your imagination runs wild.
I walk into the house with a smile on my face. In my hands, I hold a bouquet of flowers. Adeshan is washing dishes in an apron. Her eyes meet mine. A plate breaks. Two people come out of the room, startled by the sound. One is a kid who looks half and half like me and her, and the other is a man I don’t recognize. He’s a desk jockey with bad glasses. He looks back and forth between me and Adeshan, then asks politely, “What’s up?
‘Excuse me, sir. Are you sure you’re not at the wrong house?’
At that moment, I draw my sword. The holy sword, which has killed only the Bald King four times, slices through the spectacled man faster than lightning. Hundreds of red lines are drawn across his skinny body. Blood and flesh explode. Screams erupt from the living room that has turned into hell.
Adeshan calls out. “Honey!
A snotty dog calls out. “Daddy!
Of course, it’s not me, it’s the glasses lying in a pool of blood.
“No.”
I couldn’t stand the thought of going this far. I started sprinting for the least treeless place.
Something was going to come out of my run. A twig whips past your face. My bangs flipped in the wind. Soon the bushes parted to reveal an open space.
“—this.”
His eyebrows were raised. His head had turned into a crow’s nest.
A bonfire burned in the center of a clearing strewn with building rubble. The flames, having consumed most of the wood, were dying out with a crackling sound. A red-haired dwarf curled up in front of it, asleep.
“Asel.”
It was a tearful welcome. My friend Asel was dressed the same as the day he left for the parallel world. His tattered work robes were caked with dirt.
“Hmph—oh, no—!”
He was moaning, his sleeping bag off, as if he was having a nightmare. His face was red and his breathing was ragged. Asel waved his hands in the air and muttered something in a squeezed voice.
“Marja–no more–I have human rights, too.”
“What the hell is this guy dreaming?”
I frowned. I whimpered in my sleep. Seeing as it was Marja who was begging for mercy, it seemed fitting that I had returned to my original world.
I thought about waking him up right away, but stopped myself. If I started a conversation with him now, he’d probably ramble on endlessly about his parallel-world adventures. Suddenly, the tip of my nose twitched like I’d chewed on horseradish.
I greeted him, draping a blanket over his tiny body.
“I’m back.”
“Da, five times is too much—save me!”
He answered with a filthy muttering in his sleep. I looked up and saw the half-destroyed city in the distance. It was the center of an archipelago under reconstruction.
I stared at the sight and said to myself.
“—You’re really back.”
Everything was as it was the day I set out on my journey. The only thing that had changed was me. My coat fluttered in the early morning breeze, telling me that what I had experienced was not a dream.
“That’s right.
Suddenly, Adeshan’s face flashed before my eyes again. An image of his eyeglasses followed.
In my mind’s eye, she was feverishly adjusting her glasses. Any moment longer and she would look back at me and shout in a hateful voice, “Why did you come back? Why did you abandon us?
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I didn’t expect to hear that, not even in my wildest dreams.
I turned my back on Asher and started running toward the city center.
She should be drifting off into dreamland by now. As a high-ranking member of the Imperial Restoration Council, she was strict about her sleep schedule, otherwise she couldn’t cope with the mountain of work and her friend’s tantrums.
‘Nothing’s going to happen. What kind of crazy person would go into my sister’s house and mess with her boyfriend?’
I flicked my bangs out of my face and steadied myself.
Of course, nothing would happen. Just a few hours. He knew now that the dog’s bones hadn’t been there long enough to erode his home.
But I was nervous all the same. After all, I hadn’t seen Adeshan in nearly half a year. The memories of our hand-in-hand walks, the nights we slept cuddled up together, and the conversations we’d had with our ears pressed to the lifeboat now seemed like a distant memory.
“Whoa.”
The day was getting brighter. The world was no longer bathed in blue shadows, and I could see clearly without a torch. I ran without stopping. The closer I got to the center of the city, the more restored buildings I saw.
“Dude, that’s a killer outfit!”
“Wasn’t that Ronan?”
“Surprise, surprise, where are you going in such a hurry?”
His voice echoed as he passed by people.
Most of them were laborers working the early morning shift. Every familiar face was covered in sweat or fatigue. As I realized, there are many heroes in this world.
“Thank you, everyone.”
I crossed the city in a daze. My destination was my sister’s house in front of the Pileon.
Adeshan and I were living together in my sister’s house. The safe house we bought when I was at Pileon was one of the lucky ones that escaped destruction. It was only temporary, so we were living in a large room on the second floor.
The hilt of the sword at his waistband vibrated loudly.
“Everything will be fine, Ronan. You’re good at nights.”
“Lean—!”
“Yes. Trust me, based on the information we have, the probability of Adeshan cheating is zero.”
It was Rin, the Spirit of the Holy Sword. I was too busy to check, but it seemed to have returned, attached to the sword. I was so happy for her, but the circumstances were not favorable.
“Good to see you. But I really don’t feel like cussing you out today.”
“Uh huh. I’m sorry. I was just happy to see you.”
Lin immediately fell silent. After another fifteen minutes or so, the outline of a house appeared. The eastern part of the sky was now a pale golden color.
“Utscha.”
I thought this distance would be fine. My thighs bulged. I maintained my speed and leaped toward the house. My body flew in a low parabolic arc and landed on the second-floor balcony. My heels made no sound. The curtains were drawn so I couldn’t see inside from the outside.
Not the glasses guy. The glasses guy.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the glass door.
“Adeshan?”
He whispered just loud enough for Adeshan to hear. The joy of reunion was enough to share after she woke up.
The room I expected to be dark was unexpectedly lit. I looked around and narrowed my eyes.
“Huh?”
There was no one in the room. I wanted a silent hush to hang over the room.
My gaze froze on the bed as I looked around the room for something.
“—No.”
My heart sank. Both pillows on the bunk bed were pressed down. The pillow where my head usually rested had a few strands of purple hair stuck to it.
An imaginary optician was being resurrected. His body had been repaired around his glasses, and his hair was glowing a grape color.
He ties his glasses with a bad hand gesture.
‘Sir. What the hell is this?’
I couldn’t move a step on the balcony. It was as if a paralyzing poison had been injected into my every pore. Suddenly, the sound of gurgling water echoed from the bathroom in my room.
“——!”
My eyes widened. Someone was washing themselves.
Hopefully it’s Adeshan, but maybe not. Maybe there would be two of them together. The pounding of his heart was getting louder. Not much different than when I’d seen Akasha.
My hand on the hilt of my sword, I was about to enter the room.
“Ronan. What are you doing there?”
A soft humming sounded behind him.
My head turned slowly at the sound of the wistful voice.
“—Adeshan?”
“Why did you come out on the balcony? You’re wearing a strange outfit.”
Adeshan was standing there. She was dressed in overalls and smirking at me. She had just gotten out of the shower, and her dark hair was dripping with water.
It’s been half a year. The moment my eyes met his ashen ones, my brain bleached.
The lips that had been silent for so long finally spat out the words.
“—There’s someone in the bathroom.”
“Huh? Alas, Eri must be washing up. I slept with her yesterday because she helped me with the recovery.”
“Aha. Erzebeth.”
I nodded unnaturally.
All my doubts were melting like snow in front of her beautiful face.
So that’s what happened, I thought, wondering why the purple hair was giving me an odd sensation.
Adeshan narrowed his eyes.
“What’s with the look on your face, you didn’t spy on me, did you?”
“Ahaha… Hahaha…”
I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.
Adeshan’s eyes narrowed, and he placed his hands on his hips.
“I’m suspicious—come here for a minute.”
I did so. The hem of my coat flapped like the wings of a great bird. Adeshan flinched in surprise, but quickly regained his composure. He was so tall that we were at eye level.
She asked, tugging lightly on both my cheeks.
“You’re asking if I’ve been snooping.”
“I didn’t see it.”
“Really?”
“Look at that, what’s the point? I have you.”
“—Okay, I believe you.”
The ball was released. I caught it for fun and it didn’t hurt.
Adeshan turned to face me and smiled at me. It was the kind of smile that comes naturally because we like each other so much. I slowly lifted my hand and stroked her hair. She was alive.
“You’re up early.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Aren’t you tired? You should have slept more.”
“I thought about it, but I miss Ronan so much—I thought I’d come see him for a minute before work, and I know he misses you….”
Adeshan patted his lower belly. A flush of embarrassment rose over his white face.
I wondered why I woke up early, but there was a reason.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled the back of her head and kissed her.
“Ugh—!”
Adeshan’s face flushed. She whirled around and slapped my forearm.
But I had no intention of quitting. I grabbed his waist with my other hand and pulled him tight. Adeshan, who had stopped resisting, wrapped his arms around my neck. When I pulled away, he was on top of me and our lips met.
We did it again and again and again. Like lovers who know the world will end tomorrow.
You hear someone stumbling on the balcony.
“——?!”
Erzebet had just gotten out of the bath. She was staring at us, her hands clasped over her mouth. She was shivering, but her gaze was fixed on us.
“Eek.”
Somehow, I felt like I was in the position of the optician.
I scooped Adeshan up like a princess and leaped toward Phileon Academy. I landed atop the tallest castle tower. I could see the sun rising over the horizon, the city bathed in golden colors, and the grounds of my alma mater, Pileon Academy.
It was a beautiful sunrise.
I kissed him again, then pulled my face away.
“Lo, Ronan—?”
Adeshan had lost the ability to speak and was breathing heavily. His disheveled face was almost unbearably adorable, his ashen eyes a mixture of fiery and serious. At this moment, I couldn’t think of Akasha or my adventures in the parallel world.
“Adeshan.”
I thought I could tell you now.
Slowly, I lifted my hand and cupped her face gently.
“I love you. Let’s get married.”
Adeshan’s eyes widened. His hazel eyes filled with water. It was the proposal he’d been putting off. Our hair was on fire in the cool morning breeze.
She nodded, tears streaming down her face.
“——Yes.”
I was no longer afraid of the future. No matter how it ended up.
The here and now was too glorious to live in fear of what might not happen.
The Academy’s Genius KnifemanChapter 511