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I Got a New Skill Every Time I Was Exiled, and After 100 Different Worlds, I Was Unmatched (Web Novel) - Chapter 378.3: Side Story 3: Memoirs of a Certain Elf: Part 3 Crossroads of Destiny
Chapter 378.3: Side Story 3: Memoirs of a Certain Elf: Part 3 Crossroads of Destiny
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
“Hey, Ed. Are you really okay?”“Hah… Hah… Ah, well… I’m fine…”
A year and a half into our journey together, Ed responded with a forced smile as I looked back at him on the rugged mountain path.
But it was clear to anyone that he was just putting on a brave face. Lately, Ed was truly reaching his limit.
“From the east, behind the rocks, a wyvern! Everyone, duck!”
At Alexis’s sudden command, we all lowered our heads. This was a necessary precaution against the wyvern swooping down from above, attempting to snatch its prey with its talons… Yet, Ed’s reaction was sluggish.
“Whoa!?”
“Ed!?”
“Tch, that idiot!”
Ed, who failed to duck in time, was nearly caught by the wyvern and lifted into the air. Fortunately, the weight of his backpack caused him to tumble down instead, but his bag was torn open by the claws, scattering its contents down the slope.
“Woah! Over here!”
“GYAOOOOO!”
“Tia, the wings! I’ll finish it off!”
“Got it!”
As Gonzo let out a battle cry, using his massive body as bait to draw the wyvern’s attention, I began my chant. A blade of wind I conjured sliced through the wyvern’s wing membrane.
“Take this!”
Alexis’s strike decapitated the struggling wyvern as it fell. The whole incident lasted only a minute or two, but the damage was significant.
“What are you doing!? Ah, damn it! Our supplies…”
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I truly apologize!”
“It can’t be helped. We need to descend the mountain and resupply.”
“…Tch, this incompetent!”
“…I’m sorry.”
Ed bowed his head as Alexis spat out those words, clenching his fists tightly. But I couldn’t say anything inappropriate here. I couldn’t defend Ed any further because…
—
“Hey, Ed. Can you come to the tent later? I have something to ask you.”
“Hm? Sure. Is in about ten minutes okay?”
“Yes, please.”
After returning to town and resupplying, we were camping in a forest on our way back to the mountain. There, I called Ed out… and made up my mind. One by one, I took off my clothes, pondering each thought… and then…
“Tia? Can I come in?”
“Please do.”
Ed called out from outside the tent, so I invited him in and took a deep breath.
“So, what did you need…?!”
“KYAA!”
“Whoa?! What?!”
“What’s going on?!”
At my scream, Ed stumbled back, and Alexis and Gonzo rushed over. I quickly grabbed the clothes I had shed and covered myself as I ran towards Alexis.
“Listen, Alexis! Ed was peeking while I was changing!”
“Huh? …Hey Ed, what’s this about?”
“Eh?! No, that’s not… I didn’t…”
“I’ve thought it was strange for a while! Even when we sleep in the tent at night, I hear weird noises like ‘ugh’ and ‘ugh’ coming from next to me…”
“Is that true?”
“That, is…”
Under Alexis’s piercing gaze, Ed faltered. I knew those were moans of enduring pain, but I said nothing.
“Hey, Alexis. I can’t take it anymore! I can’t stay with Ed any longer.”
“…I see. Look, Ed, I know you’ve been trying as hard as you can as a commoner. But between you and Tia, I would undoubtedly choose Tia. Moreover, I cannot keep someone who would commit such acts against a woman in the hero’s party.”
“…”
“Therefore, I am expelling you from my party right now! …We’re still close to town. Go back alone and do as you wish.”
With that, Alexis walked away without looking back. And to his departing figure, Ed bowed deeply.
“…Thank you for everything up to now. I will never forget this kindness.”
Then, Ed hesitantly entered his tent… our tent, and began to gather his few belongings. And then…
“…Sorry, Tia.”
“…!”
With a face that looked like he was about to cry, Ed said that and walked away. I suppressed my voice and my heart with all my might. As Ed’s figure disappeared from sight, I collapsed to the ground, and Gonzo approached me gently.
“Was that the right thing to do?”
“…It’s fine. If he had continued with us, Ed would surely have died. I can’t protect him with just my power anymore.”
“That’s true. Unless Alexis and I were to guard him with all our might, as a fellow traveler, he was indeed insufficient. Perhaps this was a good opportunity. So, don’t cry. Your decision was surely not wrong.”
“Uh, uhh… I’m sorry, Ed… I, I…”
I didn’t cry, as I shouldn’t have. Ed, who had the most reason to cry, didn’t, so it wouldn’t be right for me to do so. But tears kept flowing endlessly, and they wouldn’t stop… That was the last farewell between me and Ed.
—
“…Ah.”
A small sound escaped Lunaritia’s throat as she returned from the distant memory to reality.
She didn’t regret the decision she made that day. But that choice, made long ago, continued to affect her present.
“Hey, Ed. If I hadn’t driven you away back then… what would have become of us?”
Alexis and Gonzo were no longer around. They had sacrificed their lives to allow her to escape from the advancing demon army. And it all started when the porter who replaced Ed fled at the first sign of danger, caring only for himself.
If Ed had been there… Even though he wasn’t strong, he would never have chosen to flee alone. We would have all faced it together, and then…
“…Sigh.”
Turning off the stove, Lunaritia shook her head weakly. It was just a fantasy, thinking about it was meaningless. Everything was already over… and the past couldn’t be changed.
“Hey, Ed. If I met you now, what would you think of me?”
Alexis and Gonzo were confirmed dead. Her homeland forest had long been destroyed by the demon army, and her family and friends had died without her knowing.
But only Ed’s death was unconfirmed. Having been active in the hero’s party for a year and a half, there might be some trace of him somewhere… She had searched, but never found any sign.
“I want to meet you… Heh, you’d probably be disappointed.”
What would Ed, who never ran from a challenge, think of her now, hiding and running away from everything? Would he despise her? Or would he comfort her? Though she pondered various possibilities, the image that often came to mind was of Ed, smiling wryly and reaching out to pat her head.
“Really, I’m supposed to be the older sister… But still, I want to meet you, just one more time.”
She wanted to meet Alexis. She wanted to meet Gonzo. And… she wanted to meet Ed. If a reunion with her dear companions were possible, she wouldn’t mind dying the next moment.
“I want to meet you…”
Her wish dissolved into the void, a dream that would never be fulfilled. The true ending of this world was supposed to be a tragedy.
But there was one man who defied it. A man who, with an unyielding spirit, struggled through painful battles to shatter the impending tragedy.
The time for their reunion was still far off, unknown to those not divine. The tears of joy that would fill Lunaritia emerald eyes were still a year away.
