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A shabby store located in a corner alley of the royal capital.
Raniel rested his chin and looked out the window.
A thin ray of sunlight was seeping into the store. Originally, this would have been a dark place even in broad daylight, where not even a little light could reach.
But the Demon King died, and because of the Demon King’s death, the sunlight became a little clearer. It illuminates a wider area.
The sunlight reached even this corner alley. Looking at the sunlight seeping in, Raniel slowly opened his mouth. What came out of his mouth was a light breath, but even the words spoken were not light.
“What do you plan to do now?”
Raniel asked a question.
“Cardi.”
To an elf who has fulfilled a thousand-year long wish.
Raniel was still looking out the window, but he could feel Cardi’s hand slightly stopping as he was cleaning the glass. After a moment of silence, Cardi opened his mouth.
“Why are you asking that?”
“Because I’m curious.”
Raniel blurted out.
“All of your companions were put to rest. Each of them met a satisfactory end. Even the queen you served was put to rest.”
She slowly turned her head.
I turned and looked at the elf who had been moaning for a thousand years. The elf was no longer moaning. He didn’t even make a painful expression like he always did.
“Now you have no regrets and no contracts binding you, right?”
Cardi laughed bitterly.
“Are you worried that I might commit suicide?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“Well… it’s not that I haven’t thought about it.”
He put down the glass he was cleaning.
Cardi’s hand as she put down the glass was light. It wasn’t just the touch that was light. My breathing, my shoulders, everything felt light. He looked like someone who had shed a long burden.
“As you said, right now I have no regrets, no goals to achieve, no responsibilities, and no contracts that bind me.”
I achieved everything I wanted to achieve.
Even things that were thought impossible were achieved. That’s why Cardi knew that there was nothing binding her now.
It has endured to bear responsibility for a thousand years.
I lived because I couldn’t die.
But now… all the reasons to die and the reasons not to die have disappeared. Whether you live or die is your own choice. It was a freedom and a sense of relief that I had only gained after almost a thousand years.
“I closed my eyes in Arcadia and thought about ending my life. When I lost all my mana, I thought about throwing away my lifespan as well.”
“······.”
“But then a thought occurred to me.”
“What,” asked Raniel.
“That day,” Cardi answered.
“That day, the day you encountered Gleria again.”
Cardi laughed bitterly.
“That day, at the end, she called me Cardi, not Armiel. It must have meant that I should no longer be buried in the past, but look forward and move forward.”
“···so?”
“So what’s the point?”
Cardi shrugged.
“I need to live a little more. If I don’t have a reason to live, shouldn’t I start looking for it now? I plan to live a little more as Cardi, not as Cardi Van Armiel.”
The war is over.
A long-cherished wish has come true.
Free from everything.
Therefore, an elf laughed.
“I plan to live freely and lightly, without being tied down to anything. I guess I should start looking for something to do from now on. If anything, I thought it would be a good idea to try getting a job at the academy you were at.”
“That’s a good idea. Let me know if you need any help. I might be able to write you a letter of recommendation.”
Raniel smiled faintly.
Be free, not tied down to anything, just be light. She stood up, thinking over what Cardi had said.
“Are you leaving already?”
“I have a lot of people to meet.”
“Well, since you are a great hero, it would be worth it.”
“Now that you’ve become truly great, it doesn’t really hurt you?”
Raniel laughed mischievously.
He stood up, put on his robe, and looked back at Cardi one last time. Raniel slowly lowered his head towards his senior, who seemed to have put down all his burdens and looked light.
“Thank you for your hard work, senior.”
“···What?”
“Don’t you know the tradition of the Gray Magic Tower? It’s common sense that late Jisoo congratulates his senior on his retirement.”
Cardi laughed as if it was absurd.
“Okay, thank you. You cocky junior.”
“Yes, long live your life. Damn you, senior.”
“Anyway, you gray guy.”
“Is this a compliment?”
“Is this a compliment?”
The sound of laughter echoed through the store.
See you next time, in a slightly brighter place.
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With those words, Raniel left. Cardi, left alone, leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face.
Looking at the sunlight streaming into the store.
Cardi slowly closed her eyes.
This is Cardi, who has stayed up all night for a thousand years. She couldn’t sleep, and her mind flashed back to the times she spent the night lying awake, afraid of what she was dreaming of.
But now…
I can sleep now.
There was a moment when Cardi felt like experiencing a nap for the first time in 1,000 years. Rattling, keeeeeeeek! The door opened loudly with a sound.
“We’re here, old man!”
“Shouldn’t I call you Archmage now instead of Youngjae? And no matter where you look, that’s not Youngjam. He looks younger than me…”
Cardi narrowed her eyes.
Chloe and Belnoir were standing in front of the open door. Cardi looked at the two and sighed.
“Anyway, they won’t leave me alone.”
He slowly got up.
Cardi smiled involuntarily as she looked at the two people who had grown tremendously. I guess this is what it must be like to raise a child.
“Come in.”
Is there any food you want to eat?
Cardi rolled up her sleeves, saying the same words as always. Even when everything is over, life goes on. Cardi suddenly realized that he didn’t have to look far for a reason to live.
Suddenly, Cardi looked at my face reflected in the dishes.
was laughing
More naturally than ever. And lightly.
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
Knight Commander Heinkel… No.
An old man who had retired from the battlefield laughed bitterly.
“Everyone asks me that.”
“So have you thought about anything?”
“I’ve thought about it a lot. There are a lot of places that call me. But I’m thinking about thinking about it for a while.”
The old man let out a long breath.
“Because my soul is still tied up in the battlefield. I guess I’ll have to get used to this daily routine for now. I plan on enjoying the peace a little more.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
Heinkel van Sieghard smiled.
“Thank you, Raniel.”
“This is Rania Van Trias.”
“You’re telling a lie that doesn’t work. It’s already been seven years since I found out, my friend.”
“···No, did you know from the beginning?”
“Then you don’t know? Are you a great person who will retire from the battlefield and do an ordinary job? I heard that someone who will carry on your name has appeared, so I wondered if it was you.”
Raniel smiled shyly.
I thought I had noticed, but I didn’t expect that I would have noticed so early.
“So, does that answer what I said?”
“···yes?”
“I don’t think you would ask such an out-of-the-blue question without a good reason, and it seems like you are trying to find an answer.”
Heinkel looked at Raniel.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about, but I hope my answer helps.”
“···You’re still the same, you’re quick-witted.”
“It’s the wisdom of an old man, my young friend.”
Leaving behind Heinkel, who was laughing, Raniel bowed his head and bowed. Raniel left the mansion and headed to the street. It’s already been a week since he returned.
On the first day, I talked to Master.
The next day, I met Sarah, Remia, and Kyle and chatted at a bar and talked about the past few years.
On the third day, I met Belnoa and Chloe and heard the story about the end of the black dragon, Belial.
Resti on the 4th day and Rak and Natida on the 5th day.
On the 6th day and today, I met the people who were indebted to me and asked them what they were going to do next. While talking with them, Raniel gathered his thoughts. He had a week that was leisurely, if he was that relaxed, busy, if he was busy.
“······.”
Raniel walked down the street wearing a robe.
The streets were crowded with preparations for the festival. It was full of energy and everyone was smiling. The sky was blue and the newspapers were full of praise for heroes.
Raniel listened as he blended into the street.
I listened to the voices I heard, the noise of people living in the world, and their lives. They are talking about the following. We chatted about the upcoming festival and laughed while talking about what we would do for the festival.
Raniel saw a young man passing on the street.
The young man’s gait was stuttering. He squinted his eyes as if the sunlight was dazzling, and kept looking up at the sky. He kept putting his hand on his waist, grabbing the air, and letting out his breath as if he was embarrassed.
There was no armor, no helmet, no sword.
Raniel could tell that the young man was a knight active on the battlefield. Although he was taking off his armor, he moved as if he were wearing armor, and although he was not wearing a sword, he was behaving as if he had a sword on his belt.
Everything seemed unfamiliar to him.
Despite his unfamiliarity, the young man who was a knight moved forward.
He waved to his lover, who seemed to have come to meet him, and talked about what he was going to do for the festival. It was unfamiliar, unfamiliar, but he was trying to move forward.
Raniel saw those people.
Raniel listened to the lives of those who talked about tomorrow, those who tried to move forward amidst unfamiliarity, those who tried to leave the past behind and look toward the future.
“···aha.”
Raniel, who wandered the streets with the crowd for a while, smiled under the setting sunset. A man laughs when he sees something truly beautiful. The same was true for Raniel.
Smiling, she let out a long breath.
As if he realized something.
Or, as if he had finally made up his mind.
She walked with her robe deeply pressed down.
I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.
About the existence of stars in the sky, about the rules surrounding the world, about everything.
I had to think about it.
Because I had the power and the qualifications.
My eyes could see the net hanging in the sky. By touching the constellations with my ten fingers, I was able to rewrite the rules of this sky to my liking. I had the power to do that.
If you build a tower and become qualified to ascend to the sky.
I had the power to do so many things. You can become a god if you want. If I wanted to, I could change the world to how I wanted it to be. In some ways, it was a power close to omnipotence.
That’s what a leader is.
A guide’s eyes, hand gestures, and breath can do so much. When I first realized this power, the first thing I felt was not a sense of omnipotence. In fact, it was quite far from that.
It was fear.
I felt scared.
I’m afraid I’m going astray. I’m afraid I’m wrong.
That scared me so much. If I reach the end of the road without realizing that I am wrong, I will engrave the wrong rules in the sky. My failure meant not my personal destruction but the destruction of the world.
That’s why I was afraid.
I had to be on guard because I was afraid.
I was always on guard and always agonized over whether my best was really the best, whether my beliefs were really right, whether my choices were really right. I didn’t let my guard down until the very end.
The guide is omnipotent, but not omniscient. A mere human cannot know everything. So in order for him to know, he had to try.
I suffered, I was on guard, I looked at the world with my own eyes, and I asked countless people for advice.
Through that process, I carved out a conclusion that had settled within me. It was carved, ground, refined and polished. The rough stone had suddenly become a sharp blade. I exhaled while holding the blade.
This was my best.
This was the conclusion I came to.
It may have become distant from its original form, or may have been refined… but at least the direction it was pointing was still the same. So my conclusion will remain unchanged in some sense.
“now.”
I opened my eyes.
I raised my head and looked up at the night sky.
“It’s time to let us go, Gletus.”
I stretched out my hand toward the twinkling constellations.
I spoke to the stars that were looking at me and listening to my voice.
“I’ll go find it.”
Someday soon.
To give you humanity’s answer.
fantasy,
