At the end of a metastasis that fell into a rift in dimension.

"Why did you say that?"

My father asks me in a serious voice.

I didn't expect to be blamed, so there's nothing particularly wolfish about it.

I have a sense that I said something ridiculous myself.

Inside the ruins there is a danger. Even my mother has a dangerous opponent when I do bad things.

I can definitely see that my teeth don't stand, and there's no point in following them. Nothing.

But still, I wanted to follow him.

"You'll find out when you see the boy and Strelia working together."

Of course I do.

It won't do me any good if I follow him, or rather it will get in the way.

You don't have to look at me with your mother. I know that.

"Figured it all out, that's a bummer. I'll never give you permission."

My father's sharp gaze pierces me. As it is, you will certainly not be allowed to accompany the ruins.

If you try to accompany them on your own without permission, there may also be compulsory detention.

If you don't answer what Father can convince you, you'll never be able to follow him.

"... I want to give up."

"Am I?"

To my answer, Father raises a single eyebrow and raises his voice in surprise.

My mother, who was staring at us in silence, was also leaning her neck small.

"What do you want to give up?"

"I want to give up martial arts. For that reason, I want to see what he really means."

I intend to work hard with Wen Wu until now.

To succeed your father, who is the Grand Duke. So that your mother can fight even after her death.

I think so, and I've been trying my best.

But I can't. If I look at that, I can't think about that anymore.

If you see your mother's real battle for the first time, it will break easily.

I was dominated by the thought, "What are those monsters?" when I was watching the two of them fight.

No matter how hard I try, I don't feel like reaching those monsters.

I don't feel like I can continue my martial arts as before.

"It's not a game like today. I want to see him fight for real and give up the martial arts completely. That's what I thought."

"Then you don't have to accompany the ruins. Why don't you show me at the demon opponent's battle around here? If you need me to go to Umur and take you where the dangerous demons are."

"Maybe, maybe. But I can't do that."

I'm sure it's the same thing on reason.

It must be the same thing to see him butcher a demon that I can't possibly be enemies of, and to see him defeat a monster of ruins.

I understand it myself. But my feelings don't convince me of that.

"I don't know what you care, but I don't know if we need to get to his realm. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm talking about. I can't fight like you."

"That, of course, I know"

Father always spoke of his mother's strength.

Until now, I felt like a dream story somewhere, but it was now that I was poked out that it was real.

He said it was only if you knew that strength that you would be safe if you were with your mother.

"All, I know. What you're saying is ridiculous, or annoying him. Still, I want to see him fight to convince myself of his feelings."

I already know I can't make it to that realm for sure.

I can't see him fighting, but in the end I will give up my martial arts.

Rather, from what I've seen, I'm not sure I can give up feeling good.

However, if even your mother is in danger, you may see something that you can give up neatly.

It was such a joke, a wish that came out of childish thinking.

It was a word from the desire to do something about the black heart swirling in the back of my chest.

"Sarah, don't you want to be strong?

"... Mother, I, like Mother, cannot be sure. That's what I felt today."

There's no way I hate being strong. Until now, I was aiming for my mother.

Because I yearned for that strength that the knights of the country would not contend with.

Because I admired it, I want to sort out how I realized I would never get to that admiration.

"In order to reach that realm, I'm sure you won't be able to trace it unless you have something broken or something. I don't have enough to get to that world."

"... well, surely he would be some kind of broken person. Like me, something's wrong with people. He's a little unscrewed in the head."

Apparently, to your mother, he felt like himself.

He said he was a strong person because there was a broken part of him as a person.

I didn't know that much about boulders.

I was just feeling if it wasn't for one of the things I just said, it wouldn't reach that world.

"How can you not be convinced not to look at the kid's battle at the ruins?

"... To be honest, I don't even know if I can convince myself with that. I was wondering if I could still see something, if I could show you something that I would give up."

I say things that are hard to understand. You scare yourself into thinking you're a little kid.

I know exactly what it's like for my father to be frightened and sigh. I stink of trouble on top of this today.

Still, I really, really want to follow him.

"Hey, son. By following the ruins, you mean you could see more monsters than you did today, and you could get in the way of fighting him?

"... understand, I'm here. I'm going to be there."

"Still wanting to follow you means you need to be ready to die, right?

"Oh, I know, I'm here"

I'm scared to death. If you ask me if I'm ready, I'll have to say I'm not.

I wish I had accompanied you, even though I was not prepared to say so.

I'm aware of that, and that's why I feel like I'm kidding.

"Huh..."

Father sighed loudly as he held his head and stopped moving out of that position for a while.

And he looks up like a pain in the ass and opens his mouth like this is another pain in the ass.

"Permission, I'll do it."

"Father... thank you..."

"But definitely follow the lad's instructions. If you can't do that, I won't let you go."

Father, who blocks my words in an attempt to thank you and comes to strengthen me.

I don't need to be told that.

"Of course. I know you're my best friend at the time of your request, and I'll follow all his instructions."

"Then good. It doesn't matter how much you want it, it depends on Miss Steele's response."

"... yes, I understand"

I bow my head firmly to answer how my father refused to accept but gave me permission.

I still don't know for myself if this will freshen something up.

But I want you to show me something. Something I can give up. I can't help but hope so.