To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 25

Dandeleon was surprised.

“Are you saying that Jelokal dedicated his magical power to that lighthouse instead of Yggdrasil?”

To the people of Benoit, Jelokal was a more familiar figure than other High Elves. The story of a High Elf who had wandered the continent happening to settle on the coast of Benoit strongly stimulated people’s interest. His eccentric personality, choosing isolation despite being a genius of the century, also helped to make Jelokal’s character more vivid.

That was why there were many stories in Benoit based on Jelokal. Novels, plays, operas… various stories interpreted Jelokal in their own ways. There was a man who fell in love with an ordinary village girl, a genius tormented by his inability to uncover the secrets of magic, and there was even a radical story that Jelokal was actually a human, not an elf.

But no matter what the story, the ending was always the same.

Jelokal, on his one-hundredth birthday, returns to the Elf Forest and dedicates his magical power to Yggdrasil. The leaves of Yggdrasil bloom greener than ever before, and Jelokal’s body loses its life and withers away.

Dedicating magical power to Yggdrasil was the duty of a High Elf and the foundation that sustained this continent. No one dared to doubt that fact.

But now, Kellewen was saying something that shook that very foundation.

“But, Jelokal’s lighthouse was made by gathering the magical power of many people….”

Dandeleon, being a layman when it comes to magic, did not know the details. But any ordinary person would naturally have questions upon seeing Jelokal’s lighthouse.

What was the power that purified the demonic energy constantly surging in from the sea?

Since it purified demonic energy, it was obviously magic, but all of Jelokal’s magical power had been dedicated to Yggdrasil. If so, where did the magical power that ran the lighthouse come from?

The answer lay in Jelokal’s research. Jelokal had dedicated his entire life to developing a way to collect magical power.

There were ordinary elves who were not High Elves, or, though rare, those of other races who were born with magical power. Jelokal believed that if he could extract their magical power and gather it in one place, Yggdrasil could be maintained without the sacrifice of a High Elf.

Jelokal’s lighthouse was the culmination of his research. Although it was a great misfortune for the continent that all his research data was lost in an unforeseen accident, the lighthouse he left behind shone brilliantly on the shores of Benoit like a beacon of hope.

“I thought so too, until I came here.”

Kellewen said, gazing at the lighthouse shining in the distance.

“But seeing it in person, I understand. The magical power of the lighthouse is pure. There is no other magical power mixed in. Any mage could tell just by looking at it, no, they could feel it even with their eyes closed and ears covered.”

Dandeleon thought.

A lighthouse that purifies monsters, built by the eccentric genius Jelokal. The fact that the lighthouse’s magical power belongs to a single person, a fact any mage would naturally know. The elves who periodically visit to study Jelokal’s lighthouse. Jelokal, who is praised just the same as the other High Elves who dedicated their magical power to Yggdrasil to save the continent.

The smell of lies and deceit.

“The Elf Forest must have already known.”

Dandeleon muttered.

“They knew, and yet they covered up the truth….”

They spread the story that Jelokal had dedicated his magical power to Yggdrasil just like the other High Elves.

Because nothing good would come from the truth being revealed. Dandeleon raised the corner of his mouth in a wry smile. The news of a failure to extend Yggdrasil’s lifespan would have only caused anxiety among the continent’s people. But Dandeleon thought that what the Elf Forest truly feared was something else.

If a High Elf born after Jelokal were to hear this story, how would he react?

There was nothing to be gained by leaving a precedent of breaking the rules. For the command to sacrifice one’s life to carry weight, the fact that all who came before had done so was necessary.

So the Elf Forest concealed Jelokal’s disobedience and erased it from history. And on top of that, they overlaid the lie that everything had proceeded as it should have.

It was a very unpleasant story.

Dandeleon raised his head and studied Kellewen’s expression. And he discovered that while there was pain and resignation in his eyes, there was no surprise.

“Did you expect this?”

“…I had hoped not.”

Kellewen answered slowly.

“At first, it was a simple question… but yes, I think I expected it. Perhaps for a long time… I expected it, but to confirm it in person….”

Kellewen could not continue. He opened his lips, then closed them repeatedly without making a sound. The sea breeze kept disheveling Kellewen’s long hair, but his gaze, fixed on the lighthouse, was in even greater disarray.

He looked so fragile, as if he might collapse at any moment. Dandeleon approached Kellewen but did not know how he should comfort him.

So Dandeleon took Kellewen’s hand.

Kellewen’s hand was as warm as always. Dandeleon had meant to offer comfort, but he was the one who ended up receiving the warmth. Not wanting to let go of the warmth transmitted through their touching hands, his grip tightened.

Kellewen turned his head and looked at Dandeleon.

The moment their eyes met, Dandeleon had a premonition.

There are things one can know without special powers, without seeing the future directly.

The sunlight shining down from overhead is unusually warm, and even the ceaselessly blowing wind pauses for a moment. The chaos-filled eyes find their calm as soon as they turn to him, only to then be swept up in passion, his expression becoming as if he is about to cry. A blush spreads across his white cheeks, and his red lips part. Everything else fades to white, and only the two of them remain in this world.

In the middle of a world of just the two of them, Dandeleon suddenly feels the urge to run away.

“Dandeleon, I love you.”

Thump. Dandeleon’s heart sank with an anxious sound.

“At first, I was angry at your words, and I was offended… but deep down, I knew. You are too kind a person, and those words were actually for my sake.”

Those words were probably about when he had called Kellewen livestock. This was the first time in his life he had ever been called kind. His old self would have wanted to laugh at such words, but he was not in the mood for that. He just closed his eyes against a wave of inexplicable dizziness.

“So I wanted to see it with you. If there was a High Elf who made a different choice than the Guardian Tree, if that was true, I wanted to confirm it. Perhaps for me, too….”

Kellewen’s voice trembled.

“There might be another option….”

Dandeleon’s eyes flew open.

Kellewen had always been single-minded. He was the one who had sincerely said that since he now wanted to live, he had to suppress that desire—a ridiculous statement. His single-mindedness, cultivated for the sole purpose of sacrifice, seemed so unshakable that it looked as if Dandeleon could not even make a scratch on it, no matter how hard he tried.

But now, Kellewen himself had uttered the words “another option.”

It was Kellewen’s first attempt. A clumsy but clear first step, like a child taking his first steps, to break free from a life born to die.

“You want to live now?”

Dandeleon asked.

Kellewen’s face contorted as if he were about to cry. He could not answer readily and remained silent for a long time with his eyes cast down, before finally speaking.

“…I want to spend just a little more time together.”

Kellewen lifted his head. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, glistening.

“With you, just a little longer….”

The shimmering light that gathered in Kellewen’s tears was so dazzling that Dandeleon could not bring himself to look at him. Just as his gaze wavered indecisively, his heart also wavered in confusion.

There was a tightness in his chest. A sparkling light felt as if it was swelling up inside him, about to burst, but something was holding it back tightly.

He was happy about Kellewen’s change. The man who said he wanted to spend time together was so lovely it brought tears to his eyes. He wanted to reach out his arms and hug him. He wanted to be held in his embrace, to look into his eyes and reply.

I, too, you….

‘Fall in love, Leon.’

A chill ran down his spine. Dandeleon flinched and shuddered.

“Leon?”

Kellewen’s voice, directed at him, suddenly felt unfamiliar. His heart began to beat rapidly. The sensation of the sand beneath his feet was vivid. The soft sand did not support him firmly and felt as if it would collapse at any moment.

Dandeleon abruptly pulled Kellewen into a hug. Urgently, like someone being chased.

Kellewen seemed somewhat surprised, but he did not stumble and held him back firmly. Dandeleon gasped for breath in Kellewen’s embrace.

The arms that held him without wavering, the warmth that enveloped his entire body, felt unbelievably good.

It felt so good it made him anxious. It felt so good that he thought it might disappear.

“Kellen.”

Dandeleon said, looking into Kellewen’s eyes.

“Do you want me?”

The green eyes widened with bewilderment. His already flushed face turned even redder, the blush spreading to his ears. Kellewen hesitated for a long time before barely managing to answer.

“I do. But, I….”

Kellewen’s words were cut off. Before he could finish his answer, Dandeleon’s lips covered Kellewen’s mouth.

“……!”

Dandeleon bit Kellewen’s lips several times. The movements were rather rough and urgent. Without a moment to enjoy the sensation of their lips meeting, Dandeleon just desperately devoured Kellewen’s lips.

Surprised by the unexpected action, Kellewen could not react properly to the sudden kiss. Even in the midst of his confusion, he noticed that something was off about Dandeleon. Kellewen gently pushed Dandeleon’s body away and opened his mouth.

“Leon, for a moment….”

But Dandeleon did not yield so easily. He wrapped his arms around Kellewen’s neck, pressing his body even closer. And he pushed his tongue between Kellewen’s parted lips.

He could feel Kellewen’s whole body stiffen in surprise. Dandeleon smiled silently and slowly traced the inside of Kellewen’s mouth with his tongue. A thrilling sensation took over his entire body.

It felt as if he had wanted to do this for a long time. From the moment he lay on his bed and looked up at him, or maybe from when he saw his face, gasping with stifled sounds at the dead prince’s fountain, no, maybe from the first time they met, when he thought he had met the most beautiful creature in the world….

“…Heup!”

Dandeleon, who had been momentarily lost in the past, was brought back to his senses by a sudden movement. Kellewen, who until a moment ago had been swept away by Dandeleon and unable to move, began to move assertively. Kellewen’s tongue intertwined with Dandeleon’s before pushing roughly into his mouth.

“Ngh….”

Kellewen pushed against Dandeleon like an unbridled beast. He bit, sucked, and swallowed Dandeleon’s lips like a starving person craving water. Each time his tongue stimulated the inside of his mouth, Dandeleon gasped and trembled. His whole body was hot and he was short of breath. His lower body was already twitching.

“Haa….”

After ravishing Dandeleon for a good while, Kellewen finally pulled his mouth away and let out a long sigh.

By then, Dandeleon’s mind was already half-melted. The anxiety and impatience he had felt just moments before were gone from his head. Only the heat that had started from his lips and spread throughout his body captivated him.

“Leon, any more than this….”

Unexpected words flew into Dandeleon’s ear.

“The place isn’t right, and we still haven’t….”

Kellewen said as he tidied Dandeleon’s disheveled hair. For the one who had been practically tearing at his lips just moments ago to act this way, Dandeleon was dumbfounded.

“Sit down.”

“Pardon?”