"That person… is the one in your necklace, isn't she? Did you… eventually marry her?"
"Yes, although it was just a wedding between the two of us, just exchanging rings, with no one to witness our wedding. After all… we couldn't attract too much attention."
Although Victorica's father had died, the remaining remnants were still searching for Victorica, searching for the descendants of the [Grey Wolf], so they had to act carefully.
Although they couldn't have a formal wedding, they were finally together, for decades, until Victorica grew old, until Victorica died.
Inaba Tsukiyo still clearly remembered the feeling she had when Victorica passed away.
"It's really strange. Little Vi didn't die due to artificial reasons, so I didn't resent it. Little Vi died because her body grew old, so I shouldn't have bad feelings. But… I… I don't know how to describe how I felt at the time."
It was a feeling different from joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't find suitable words to describe her emotions.
Perhaps when an elder in the family passes away, your heart will be very calm as you send them off.
Even if they died due to illness, they had completed their lives. Although they might have experienced many hardships in the past, they did not leave in pain.
However, facing Victorica's departure, Inaba Tsukiyo's heart truly ached at the time. It was a pain so profound that she couldn't even cry, proof of extreme sorrow.
"That was the first time I, this coward who feared death, had the thought of wanting to die, because choosing death might be easier. However, Little Vi wanted me to continue living, so… I chose to live."
"But you closed off your heart, preventing yourself from allowing others in? To avoid the pain of seeing someone close to you die again?"
Kurumi fell silent. Regarding longevity, she also had some insights. After becoming a Spirit, her body would stop growing, just like Nia, who, despite being over forty, still had the appearance of a teenager.
However, Inaba Tsukiyo's pain was undoubtedly deeper than theirs.
She somewhat regretted asking Inaba Tsukiyo to reveal her past. Recalling such sad memories must have been a huge blow to her.
At the same time, Victorica, listening to their conversation, also shed tears uncontrollably.
Although she still looked the same as when she first met Inaba Tsukiyo, she had lived with Inaba Tsukiyo for decades, and her psychological age was much higher than her physical age.
Victorica had thought about Inaba Tsukiyo's situation when she died, but she hadn't expected Inaba Tsukiyo to be so tormented, closing off her heart to prevent it from breaking, and even avoiding overly intimate relationships with others.
To some extent, this was also the sorrow of long-lived beings.
Immortality was not a good thing; instead, it was a curse, just like Midas in Greek mythology, the king greedy for wealth who prayed to the gods for the power to turn everything he touched into gold.
In the end, although he gained this ability, he eventually turned even his beloved daughter and the food he touched into gold.
What seems like a gift is actually a curse, watching the people you love and the people who love you grow old one by one, watching everything around you become increasingly unfamiliar.
"This idiot… he really is a hopeless, big idiot. Why doesn't he forget me? Wouldn't that be easier?"
"Some things, you just can't let go of. Even if you know this memory will bring you pain, you can't bear to give it up."
Herrscher Tsukiyo saw it very clearly; she had seen Inaba Tsukiyo's memories of this period—very painful, very empty, very bitter, and very tiring.
But it was precisely this extremely painful memory that sustained Inaba Tsukiyo and kept her alive.
Every time Herrscher Tsukiyo thought of this, she would sigh with emotion, humans truly are amazing creatures.
Despite such immense suffering, they can endure this suffocating pain and survive, thereby becoming more powerful than others.
This… this is human resilience.
The other kind, however, is defeated by this suffering, and their future life becomes a mess, lamenting their misfortune every day, lamenting life's unfairness to her.
This is human weakness, and also the most contemptible existence.
Although Inaba Tsukiyo hasn't fully recovered, she also wasn't defeated by the fact of Victorica's departure; she has persevered until now, which is why she has been able to meet so many people.
Unconsciously, Herrscher Tsukiyo's evaluation of Inaba Tsukiyo grew higher and higher.
From initial disdain, to curiosity, then appreciation, and finally… finally… she didn't know.
The preceding words were all things she knew from Inaba Tsukiyo's memories, but this final feeling… she didn't know what word to use to describe it.
Not only had she never experienced this feeling before, but she also didn't know what words to use to describe her current emotions.
Dinner was quickly prepared. Just as everyone sat around the table, waiting for Miku and Natsumi to return, Miku appeared before everyone, pulling a shy and fidgeting Natsumi.
At this moment, she was not wearing Inaba Tsukiyo's clothes, but a very cute Western-style dress.
At the same time, her appearance had undergone a huge change. Hmm… how to put it?
From a wild chicken to… a phoenix? An ugly duckling to a white swan?
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