"Hmm, is that so... What a shame."
Several days later, I went to Loki Familia and completed the quest.
Guarding Ais. If I considered the mishap in the middle, it should probably count as a failure, but... perhaps Finn judged Ais's change in a favorable light. Smiling, he informed me that the quest was complete.
And today, after finishing my life in Loki Familia, it was time to return to where I had originally been.
"Where I originally was, huh."
In truth, that place wasn't my original place either. Maybe because it was such a nostalgic place, I kept getting confused.
"Still no intention of taking the offer?"
"...I'm sorry."
The offer. Finn's proposal that I stay in Loki Familia and bury my bones here, as they say, was politely declined.
If you asked whether I was tempted for a moment, I couldn't exactly say no. Unlike the others, this place had many familiar faces I missed.
But. No meant no. I couldn't let myself forget my duty, drunk on a moment's peace.
As I held back tears and refused, Riveria, standing beside him, spoke with a disappointed air.
"What a pity. I even thought up names for your and Ais's children."
"Huh?"
"If it's a boy, Zelda... if it's a girl, Link..."
What on earth was this elf talking about?
I knew it was disrespectful to think this way toward royalty, but it felt like watching some shameless auntie at work.
"Hey, you stupid elf, you're showing your age, so stop acting so ridiculous."
"...Shut up, you frivolous dwarf. This is important. You have to think ahead."
"That's why Loki only ever calls you Mom. Ah, come to think of it, these days she's lost her daughter too, so maybe she's not even a mom anymore?"
"You little—!"
In an instant, the place turned noisy.
Somehow, this was different from the impression I had in my memories. Maybe this was the raw, unfiltered Loki Familia.
Seeing a side of them I hadn't known after coming here from the past left me feeling a little strange.
"Haha, sorry about those two making such a racket."
"Ah, no."
"Still, isn't there even a little chance? Ais really likes you, after all. Even today, when she thought you were leaving, she looked terribly disappointed."
Disappointed, huh... Now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen Ais at all today.
Well, I had seen her, but I pretended not to notice because she was hiding.
Come to think of it, Ais's attitude really had changed completely since that day.
She still went into the Dungeon every day, but she could clearly keep her boundaries. She wasn't exactly close with others, but she wasn't awkward with them either.
And toward me as well. Normally, she would have kept the distance of a friendly neighbor, but lately I could feel her treating me almost like an older brother or a father.
Tch. Had we gotten closer than I expected? For someone whose end was already decided, it wasn't exactly a welcome reaction.
Maybe I should keep some distance for now. That's worrying.
"I'm truly grateful to you."
It was clear that those words came not as the usual words of a hero, but as Finn Deimne himself.
For them too, Ais must have been a sore spot. Watching her throw herself into danger every day must have worn them down.
Thinking that she would never have to do that again made me certain my choice hadn't been wrong.
The price was only my existence.
It was a bargain more than worth it.
"No, I'm the one who had fun."
With that final farewell, my life in Loki Familia came to an end.
"Huh?"
"..."
At the main gate of Loki Familia. Once I stepped outside, I would no longer be someone with any connection to this place.
After exchanging my last goodbyes with the members I had lived with all this time, just as I thought it was finally time to bring things to a close, the final barrier was waiting for me.
"Ais."
"..."
The girl standing near the gate, waiting for me.
She no longer seemed to have any intention of hiding and showed herself openly.
Ais puffed out her cheeks, as if she wanted me to know she was sulking, and turned her face away without even looking at me.
What had made her so upset? I had plenty of guesses, but soothing her came first. I slowly walked toward Ais as if approaching a wary cat.
Her eyes weren't on me, but it was easy to tell that every nerve in her body was focused on me.
Impressive. It had taken me until around Level 4 to learn to sense that kind of thing without relying on sight.
"Come to think of it, when did I become Level 4...?"
Probably about half a year ago, more or less.
Wasn't Ais still in her first year as an adventurer?
...My head hurts. Let's stop thinking about this. The more I thought about it, the less sense my life made.
"Were you waiting for me?"
Even to my question, there was no answer.
She was really, seriously sulking.
Even so, she kept sneaking glances at me, and whenever our eyes met, she would quickly turn her head away.
Mm, that was a little painful to see.
"Why are you puffing your cheeks out like that?"
I poked at her plump cheeks.
The soft, springy baby fat and flesh unique to a child flowed through my fingertips.
Huh, this is kind of addictive...?
"...Stop it."
"Ah."
Lost in the act of poking her cheeks, I heard Ais say that in a grumpy voice.
Hah, for me to get this absorbed. What an addictive sensation.
Still, it didn't seem like she hated it completely; her expression was sullen, but the corners of her mouth were twitching a little.
So cute. It was only natural that I would think that—the current Ais really had become adorable.
It was a sight I could never have imagined from the future Ais. No, it was also a sight I would never have seen if I hadn't changed things myself.
That much must have been how harsh her fate was.
Suddenly, the image of Ais came to mind. Not the Ais standing before me, but the Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein I had admired.
Had she carried such a heavy fate from childhood?
What had she felt when she took up her sword? What kind of heart had she had when she swung it?
The more I thought about it, the sadder I felt. More than anything, the fact that she no longer existed anywhere tore at my heart.
Moved by some pointless sentiment, I hugged the Ais in front of me. She stiffened for a moment in surprise, but soon hugged me back just the same.
"Don't go..."
A weak voice. At the sound of that aching, regret-soaked plea, I let out a bitter smile.
She was still too young to accept parting.
Though, in truth, parting wasn't something you could accept just because you grew older.
"We're not saying goodbye forever."
This farewell was like that. I was only leaving the Familia, so why was she acting as if we were parting forever?
"But..."
"I'll come by often."
The future was already decided. But there was no need to tell her that.
In truth, that might have been a deception aimed at her...
"Well, whatever."
Since I was going to disappear anyway, I figured I wouldn't be punished for indulging my own selfishness a little.
Even as I made excuses to myself, I soothed and comforted her.
"Hiiing..."
"Ahaha."
Now, looking at the tearful Ais, I broke out in a cold sweat inside.
I never expected her to cry. I was happy that she cared about me this much, but I was also flustered.
Come to think of it, our distance really had shrunk a lot lately. Training had become all laughter and chatter, and Dungeon trips felt like little strolls.
We ate together, and she even tried to come into the bath with me.
On top of that, we slept together. It had become routine for her to sneak into my room and fall asleep with my arm as her pillow.
Of course, if you called that a romantic relationship, that would be absolutely wrong.
If I had to describe it, it was more like a father and daughter.
"A father and daughter, huh..."
Come to think of it, if I had gotten married, I'd probably be at the age where I'd have a child like Ais.
No, maybe I would have married even earlier?
"Come to think of it, are my parents alive right now too?"
After looking into it, this was about a year before I was born. If that was the case, maybe the woman carrying me in her womb right now existed in this world.
Thinking about that brought on a feeling I could hardly put into words.
And a question too.
"What would happen if my parents died?"
Would I vanish immediately? If so, maybe I really should avoid changing the past too much.
If my interference snowballed into my parents dying, then it would be like being struck by lightning out of a clear blue sky—dying suddenly and for no reason at all.
Apparently not liking my pointless attempt to escape reality through such thoughts, Ais hugged my body even tighter.
Did she somehow realize I was thinking about something else? How did she know?
Was this what they called a woman's intuition, along with divine instinct and all that nonsense?
"I think I should go now."
"..."
There was no answer. Was she planning to hold on like this in silence?
It was a childish but effective tactic. I couldn't exactly keep hugging Ais and wandering around like this forever.
"Sigh."
With a sigh, I pulled Ais away by force.
It shouldn't have hurt. I could control my strength that much.
Ais tried to resist, but unfortunately, a Level 2 had no way to stand against my strength.
In the end, all she could do was turn her face away with the most sulky expression she could manage.
"Do you hate me leaving that much?"
"..."
"Still, I can't help it. I'm not a member of Loki Familia."
A Familia is, quite literally, a family. Of course, whether or not you had a Falna wasn't all that important, but even so, I, as an outsider, couldn't just settle down here indefinitely.
In the end, this was a battle of stubbornness between me and Ais, and I had never lost one of those.
...Still, well, she was just a child.
"Here."
"...?"
I held out my left hand, pinky finger extended, toward the sulking Ais.
Ais looked puzzled.
There was no way she wouldn't know what this meant...
"Come on, promise me."
"Promise?"
"Yes, a promise that we'll meet again tomorrow."
"...!"
Ais clung to me like this because she was afraid we would never meet again.
However you looked at it, she was still just a child. And for a child, something like this was far more effective than a bunch of explanations or a contract.
"You're not going to do it?"
She shook her head vigorously.
At my words, Ais immediately shook her head and held out her hand in return, hooking her pinky around mine.
Pinky promise.
One of the most widely known customs passed down by the gods.
Just a promise made by linking pinkies.
It was nothing more than that, and yet Ais wore a truly happy expression.
Seeing her smile so happily, I found myself smiling too.
Because Ais was able to wear a smile that made the people around her happy.
So I prayed inwardly.
That this promise would last just one day longer.
That her smile would last just one day longer.
Deep in my heart, I prayed for that.
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