Dark Fantasy’s Extra – Chapter 217

Author: Dawn

Sephira, Eric, and I headed to where the old mansion was located.

It was quite troublesome since it would take at least a week to get there at my pace, but…

“Just get on someone’s back and let’s go.”

Eric said.

He meant for me to ride on Sephira’s back.

“No, that’s a bit…”

I hesitated a little.

Of course, Eric’s judgment was rational.

Someone just needed to carry me, the slowest one.

“At least on your back…”

“…I’d rather not.”

“Didn’t you say earlier you’d give your life?”

“That’s only for matters concerning Lady Rusalka. You’d probably prefer riding on your companion’s back too rather than mine.”

“I don’t mind.”

Sephira said.

No, more than just saying it, she was already turning her back to me as if ready to carry me.

I could sense tremendous enthusiasm from that back.

“We’re wasting time. Who knows when Snow White might catch up to us. Decide quickly.”

“…”

I had no choice but to get on Sephira’s back.

Of course, she was incomparably stronger than me.

But psychologically, I felt some resistance to being carried by a woman who was smaller and more delicate than me.

Especially when being carried, the physical differences become strongly noticeable with the close contact.

How should I put it… it’s hard to feel at ease.

“…!”

Sephira must have felt similarly uncomfortable, as her body trembled strongly the moment I got on her back.

Though I couldn’t see what expression she was making, it was probably quite different from her usual face.

“Um… please take care of me.”

I said awkwardly, but Sephira only nodded without answering.

I could see her ears turning red.

Was she that embarrassed?

I was a bit embarrassed too, but those feelings completely vanished less than a minute after we started moving.

“Hold on tight so you don’t fall.”

Eric said before running ahead first.

His speed was hard to follow even with my eyes, but he soon came back into view.

“…!”

Sephira’s speed while carrying me on her back was impressively fast too.

Everything passed by like we were moving at light speed between stars.

Trees, forests, rocks, clouds, even distant lights – everything disappeared in an instant.

In this world of such speed, only the moonlight remained fixed in place.

Though I sometimes sprint at full power using [Acceleration], I’ve never experienced this kind of sensation, or rather, this kind of scenery.

And I newly realized just how much Sephira had been matching my pace until now.

How terribly slow must I have seemed to someone used to this speed, this scenery?

Of course, I knew I was indebted to her, but actually experiencing it with my eyes and skin made it feel completely different.

Once I truly felt the difference between me and Sephira, I felt foolish for having declined earlier.

“We’ll rest in that forest ahead.”

Eric, who had been running in the lead, came closer and said.

Though I couldn’t see it, Sephira seemed to understand as she nodded and began slowing down.

And we arrived at a forest with a lake.

There were a few low-tier Beasts, but Eric killed them with his fists without even drawing his sword.

Those Beasts probably didn’t even know how they died.

“Doesn’t seem to be any other Beasts around here. Will an hour’s rest be enough?”

“Yes.”

I finally got off Sephira’s back.

My arms that had been holding her tightly were trembling slightly.

It felt like I had ridden an intense roller coaster to the point of exhaustion.

Though I had ridden some in my previous life before Noah, none were as fast as Sephira.

Of course, normal people wouldn’t be able to handle such speed.

Back then, I too was truly an ordinary human in the real sense.

Then the world was destroyed… and I became Noah…

“Mr. Eugene…”

“Ah, Ms. Sephira! I’m sorry. I’ll start a fire right now.”

Oh no.

I didn’t have time to get lost in those faint memories.

I should at least do what I can, having only been carried all the way here.

“No, that’s not what I…”

“Right. Get it done in 5 minutes.”

Eric said.

“2 minutes is plenty.”

I took out two iron rods used as flint and a small cotton ball from my bag, lit them with fallen branches from around us.

When I sprinkled some holy oil on it, a large fire quickly flared up.

“…Not bad.”

Eric said with what seemed like genuine admiration, though slight.

“What are those rods? Don’t tell me they’re flint?”

Not only that, but he came closer showing obvious interest.

“The key component of flint is iron.”

“Iron?”

Come to think of it, despite his high status as a prince during his human days, Eric spent more time on ships than in the palace, perhaps due to his wanderlust.

He even posed as a commoner and lived as a regular sailor at times.

Though he gave up that life after meeting Rusalka, there was even a setting where he sometimes missed those days.

Besides the flint, Eric asked me more about camping and survival stories, sharing what seemed to be his own experiences.

Though we belonged to completely different groups, somehow the barriers between us felt like they were crumbling a bit in this situation, with conversation flowing naturally.

“…”

We noticed Sephira staring intently at us and awkwardly separated.

“Then I’ll keep watch…”

I should do what I need to do first.

“No. Since I’m here, Mr. Eugene can just rest here.”

Sephira patted the spot beside her.

But I didn’t want to leave even this task to her after already being so indebted.

“Snow White probably couldn’t have followed us this far anyway. There are no other presences around either, so you just rest too. It must have been tiring enough holding onto your body like that.”

Eric said.

His tone had softened after our brief chat about topics he enjoyed.

“If you say so.”

I sat down next to Sephira.

The moonlight reflecting on the lake in front of us made it look like there were two moons.

Sephira in that moonlight was undoubtedly beautiful, but she no longer gave off the same holy impression as before.

Though her appearance was the same, her behavior had changed quite a bit, and lately she even felt familiar.

Of course, that was thanks to Sephira showing many sides different from her usual self.

“…Why are you looking at me?”

Realizing I was staring, Sephira turned to me.

“Nothing, just thinking you’re beautiful.”

“…!”

Sephira quickly turned her head away again.

I had just spoken my honest impression.

Sephira’s silver hair and blue eyes were beautiful.

“Your eyes are as beautiful as the moon.”

If Belle’s eyes were sapphire and Hilde’s were the sea, then Sephira’s eyes truly resembled moonlight.

While Hilde could also be compared to the moon, strictly speaking, the causality was reversed.

After all, the moon’s blue color was painted to match Hilde’s eye color.

“…!”

Sephira’s shoulders jolted strongly.

“…Really?”

“Yes. Come to think of it, I had a friend with such beautiful eyes long ago…”

When I was twelve, was it?

While working as an errand boy at the church, there was a child I took care of.

A girl with severe burns all over her body but incredible vitality that miraculously clung to life.

Except for her eyes, her face was completely burnt black so it was hard to call her good-looking even as empty words, but those beautiful eyes are still vivid in my memory.

After all, I saw those eyes every time I changed the bandages on her face…

Thinking about it now, those eyes resembled Sephira’s a lot.

“…”

Suddenly Sephira’s demeanor changed.

It’s hard to describe exactly how, but she was clearly very serious.

“…Could you perhaps tell me about that friend?”

“What? Ah, well… someone with severe burns all over their body…”

Come to think of it… wasn’t Sephira’s nightmare in Cheshire Village about burns all over her body?

“…No way?”

“…”

Sephira nodded.

“Really…?”

“Yes… That… was me…”

“Um… why didn’t you say anything?”

That was the first question that came to mind.

Though we hadn’t met privately much until now, we’d encountered each other many times during missions.

She could have told me then.

“…I was embarrassed.”

Sephira said with a reddened face while lowering her head.

And now, several questions about her were resolved.

“Originally… I planned to keep it secret forever. But now, it feels like you’re going somewhere too far away… so I got anxious… Actually, part of me hoped you would notice… I’m not sure myself. Just, just…”

I silently put my arm around Sephira’s shoulders.

She trembled violently as if startled.

But she didn’t avoid me.

“I’m glad.”

“What?”

“I kept worrying after that. Since you suddenly disappeared.”

“…Didn’t you think I had died?”

“No.”

“Why? Back then I was…”

“You were fighting to live. You were strong enough, and you were trying to live. I knew you definitely wouldn’t die. I just worried because you suddenly disappeared.”

I pulled Sephira a bit closer to me.

It wasn’t hard to guess what feelings she held for me.

No, she probably had emotions far more complex and deep than what I imagined.

However, more than that, I was just happy to be reunited with that child from long ago.

Back then, I visited Sephira every day and gave my all to save her.

I wiped away the discharge that constantly flowed from her burns, cleaned up her waste, and changed bandages soiled with all sorts of filth.

Though Sephira and I are the same age, even then I had memories of my past life and felt concern for her as an elder.

“I’m so glad we could meet again like this.”

“…You really haven’t changed.”

With my words, Sephira relaxed and leaned her body against me.

“I was always anxious. Afraid you might go away forever to someone else. And when I heard you were… a god, it felt like you were going somewhere too far away. Afraid you might become someone different from the person I knew. But you’re still the same person now as you were then. Kind and warm…”

“Is that so…”

I lifted my head to look at the moon.

In some sense, that moon could be called evidence of my crime of running away.

But thanks to that, I was also able to meet Sephira.

My heart felt a little lighter.

“…I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“Can I… keep following you?”

“…”

It’s difficult.

A difficult thing for both me and her.

I could well imagine that her meaning of “following” included even death.