EPILOGUE
TO THE PROMISED LAND
That night, we did a quick comparison of notes, planning to discuss the finer details on another day once things calmed down.
From Leon, I learned of his relationship with Chloe. They were once childhood friends, apparently, and practically raised like brother and sister, but he wouldn't go into further detail. Chloe probably forgot all about it, so it was kind of a mystery, although probably not a major one.
As cool as Leon was, there was no end to his doting on Chloe. His dedication was on an even more dangerous level, I think, than Treyni's devotion to Ramiris. He'd continually say stuff like "I swear my allegiance to you" with a straight face. I'm sure Chloe would laugh it off and say "I'll pass," though.
Speaking of Chloe, it turned out that she could take the form of an adult woman, too. Chronoa's consciousness was alive and well, and they now enjoyed a rapport like what Raphael and I had. They could therefore easily switch between who controlled her body, and whenever they were in a serious fight, Chloe could merge her consciousness with Chronoa to return to her true form. Of course, staying an adult all the time would probably confuse the other kids, so she told us that she'd stick with being a child for now.
Luminus, meanwhile, told me about Granville.
"I suppose it was the loss of his wife that truly drove him mad. And when Maribel, his final hope, died, he went crazy all over again…but then, I believe, he regained his sanity."
Serious, sincere, but also awkward and clumsy—that's how you could suitably describe Granville Rozzo. When his wife, Maria, died, he had a breakdown over being unable to protect his beloved. He pinned all his hopes on Maribel—but then she took me on and lost. I'm thinking that Yuuki may have killed her, although I don't have any real proof—but to Granville, the reason didn't matter. What did was that Maribel was dead, and the loss actually made him regain his sanity.
Talk about ironic. And when he regained his marbles, he came up with his plan to awaken a True Hero, a strategy that threatened to destroy the world if it failed. But Granville made that decision, and he really resolved to it. That much, there was no doubt about.
A Hero, of course, wasn't some infallible golden child. Anyone could become prejudiced—or insane for that matter. Granville had a lot of love for the human race, and I'm sure that's why the backlash from the loss of his sanity was so great.
And it's not like this couldn't apply to me. What if I lost someone I loved? I recalled the heartrending sense of loss I felt when my fellow countrymen were mowed down.
"…It's not just some dumb thought, no."
I think, just a little, I understood Granville's feelings.
The next day, we held that international concert.
It took place outdoors, behind the now-thoroughly destroyed cathedral, in front of an audience arranged in neat rows. Beautiful, melancholy music echoed high into the sky—a kind of funeral march, sent out to those we entrusted with our hopes for the future.
I had a dream. A very strange dream. In it, I was this very selfish little girl.
Maria, now awake, looked at Gren and smiled.
"Was it fun?"
"Yes. Very much so."
They looked at each other and grinned.
"Odd, isn't it? Why couldn't I trust in that slime?"
"Hmm, that's a tough question. I'd like to say 'Because it was a dream,' but that's not a very elegant answer."
"I'm serious!"
"Ha-ha-ha! Sorry. Well, like you say, Maria, if we accepted and trusted in everything, it'd be a really beautiful world. But we all have our cowardly side. We're afraid of people who live under different rules than us, afraid they might stab us in the back. Even worse, if you don't distrust anyone, people might say you have an innocent heart, but it certainly doesn't bode well for a career in politics. The thing any leader's asked for is to be more watchful of others than anyone else."
Maria scowled at this. "Ugh! Are you saying there's no hope for any of us to truly understand each other? Well, I don't like that. I don't like it at all! So
I'm gonna start believing next time."
"In your dreams, right?"
"Right. But if I have the same dream again, this time I'll definitely believe in that slime. I think we could really be friends!"
"Oh? Yeah, I'll bet."
Gren gently nodded at Maria's words.
"So, Gren, what kind of dream did you have?"
"Me? Well…"
Gren had a very long, and very sad, dream. But right at the end, he saw the light of hope.
"It was a nice one. A very nice one."
"Oh, that's good! Because if you're happy, then I'm happy."
"Me too. If it'll make you happy, I'll climb any mountain for you."
"If I'm here, and you're here, and we can live out our days in peace, then every day will be fun."
"Indeed."
"And we'll have kids, and our family will grow, and then we'll be happier than ever!"
"We certainly will be."
Gren gave Maria a gentle hug.
They could hear a beautiful melody. It was their signal to depart.
"Well, we don't want to leave Razul waiting. Want to get going?"
"All right. Did you forget anything? We can't come back here, can we?"
"No, I'm all right. As long as I have you, I don't need anything else."
So they walked off, hand in hand, toward the promised land where everyone was waiting.