Thus, the wise strive for light - to start over with a life in different worlds

The woman who has finished her work, breathes and leaves the castle.

Speaking to Meir, a servant she met on the road, but with no sincerity, she spoke lightly of false errands and escaped her pursuit.

The place to take it to her was one.

Once inside the city, go through the already idle shopping district, right at the gate of the castle town, and get permission to go out.

As she is not less of a heavy town for this country, it takes some time to get out of this time when the sun has already fallen, but it's no big deal compared to her daytime workload.

She finally finishes the process and starts walking along the walls.

A short walk away from the walls, there was one stone tablet.

The name inscribed on that tablet is' Bettenburg '.

A man who was also her parent and teacher.

She accompanied the flowers she had brought in advance to the stone tablet, paying with her hands the dust she was wearing, whining to herself.

"... Bettenburg, me too, I'm twenty tomorrow. I'm not a teenager anymore."

The stone tablet answers nothing to her, speaking in a self-derisive manner.

Of course, she knew that.

Still, I can't help but hope for something.

But of course that can't happen.

She's not the only one Bettenburg had a parental replacement for.

A young man named Lazareth, who could also be her brother, had been looked after under him in the same way as she did, including studies, swordsmanship, and table manners.

Bethenburg had difficulty flattering the seriousness, but she was nevertheless beneficial to the fact that she was responsible for taking care of her.

That's when I heard footsteps from behind her.

"... were you here, Sir Bettenburg"

"... zar"

The man, called Zahr, sits down next to her.

And instead of talking to her, he muttered to himself again.

"Bettenburg, huh? He took care of me."

……

"… but there are things that don't really fall. Really, is he dead?"

To his doubts, the woman also nods faintly.

She herself still believes he's alive somewhere.

But when the case ended three years ago, his body was nowhere to be found.

So at first, I believed he was alive.

I wanted to believe it.

"... No, I said boring things while I was at it. Forget it."

"I don't mind. I felt the same way."

"... well. It would help if you said so."

That's what Zahr said, laughing all the time.

As the woman was rounding her eyes to Zahr's smile, which she did not see much, he stood up and continued his words.

"Well, I'll be excused for this. Go home before it's too late. Even jokes about booze seats, such as heavy towns in the country that will be closed at the gates of the castle towns, are of poor quality"

That's all he says, he goes back the way he came.

She just stared at the stone tablet without even looking at him like that.

... I don't feel dead, the words echo in a woman's head over and over again.

But he's dead. He's dead.

With that in mind, she stood up and looked back, and there was a young man in a coat.

"Hey."

"... Lazareth too, are you visiting the grave?

"Yeah, I am, but I'm not..."

Called Lazareth. When he waves, he hands her the wrap he took out of his pocket.

"Yes, it was your birthday, wasn't it? Congratulations, Sophia."

When Lazareth gave Sophia every wrap, she looked at him several times and he nodded.

Look at that. When she opened the wrap, there was a round floral brooch in there.

"... thank you, sir"

"I didn't like it, did I?

When he panics openly, Sophia laughs when she crinkles at how funny he looked like that.

"No, my birthday is tomorrow, right?

"... ah"

"But you've already got it. I gave it to you. I'm sorry about Lasalles, right?

That said, Sophia laughs like a prank.

Seeing her like that, Lazareth smiled as if she was relieved.

Sophia looked at him like that and remembered to ask him something.

"Speaking of which, when is Lazareth's birthday?

"Mine? Sure... er..."

That way, he holds his head in.

Sophia smiles when she sees him like that.

"Normally, don't you remember about your birthday?

"You can't help it, can you? I forgot something."

"Really? Then you can't help it."

"Well, today is my birthday, and I'll give Lazareth one thing"

That word released by Sophia was enough to stiffen Lazareth.

After a while of stiffness, he finally squeezes out his words as he pampers his mouth.

"... what are you talking about?

"It means the same thing."

Of course, if he's a bastard in front of you, this word itself is dangerous.

But she couldn't believe he wouldn't do that.

In fact, I don't have the courage to say that to him.

He thought seriously for a while before finally opening his mouth.

"Well, then. The... uh..."

"What is it?

"Don't forget about me."

To his serious wishes, she rounds her eyes.

But that question raises one question for her.

"Is that a dot (...) eh (...) word?

"... I don't know. But I want you to remember that. That's all I want."

He stares at her with seriousness.

She looked at him like that and sighed haha.

"Are you stupid? You don't have to ask me to do that, I'm not going to forget it."

"... well. Good, then."

"Oh, you don't have a body. It's a lot of opportunities I've had now."

"... Sophia is getting mean, isn't she?"

"Come on? What is it?

He thinks of the first time we met.

For the first time, she had rejected Lazareth and Bethenburg and was stuck in her own world.

But she has no shadow of it now.

That's when he remembered one thing.

Speaking of which, Sophia.

"What is it?

"Remember when I was seven?

He told her of his origins when he was seven years old.

I didn't remember the content, but only the fact that I did.

She nodded slowly after staring at him.

"Yeah. Think about the end of that fairy tale, was it?

"Yeah. Maybe, yeah"

To the word "maybe," she smiles for a moment.

But I think it's rarer to remember things like when I was seven, and breathe and encourage the continuation of his words.

"Sophia, how do we end this?

"... right. When I was seven years old, I can't think of anything deep..."

I'll say it to him, in retribution.

But he didn't go through with it intentionally, just kept quietly waiting for the conversation to continue.

"... what about everyone around you who wasn't dead and was actually just hiding for a surprise,"

She thinks there's something going on with me.

But he didn't laugh at all and took her words sincerely.

"... you're sweet. I can't believe you prepared him for salvation."

"Salvation and nothing, is that too pathetic for the boy? Even at the bad end, the pulse is too abbreviated."

"Oh well. That's true."

He is a fairy tale protagonist.

Whatever she does, it doesn't change Lazareth's own life as a wise man.

Still, I was feeling salvation in her words somewhere.

"... thanks, Sophia"

"What, what is it? All of a sudden, thank you."

"... it could be weird indeed. But thanks."

He bows his head deeply, but Sophia panics about the sudden events.

Realizing how she was like that, he smiled and raised his face.

His smile felt strange to her.

When he sees the moon reaching almost directly above him already, Lazareth snaps.

"Then it's time for me to go home. Sophia, go home with care."

"Yes, Brooch, thank you"

He smiles back at Sophia's gratitude.

Seeing his smile like that, she learns what it feels like to have chest pains.

This isn't the first time this has happened, and I've felt it many times since I met him, but I don't know what the hell this is.

Is this what Lazareth was saying about 'liking'?

But she waves with the usual smile in order to maintain her grip as her sister.

The act felt strangely unceasing at that time.