Ch. 43 Trinity ②

ー I will never forget the despair I felt at that time.

I continue to have nightmares about that time almost every day.

I thought that by defeating the root cause that was leading the world to collapse, the world would finally return to peace. We rejoiced that a world without war would finally come.

There would be no need for Aria-chan and Licia-chan to get hurt anymore - they could return to their everyday lives filled with smiles.

I don't know how many times I failed.

After being crushed by the cruel reality time and time again, we ended up missing our beloved, going our separate ways, and even crossing swords with each other.

It was painful, difficult and sad.

My days consisted of simply swinging my sword, its blade wearing down, creating hell on earth, mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

But still, I kept walking, I was able to keep walking.

The memories that I had buried deep in my heart were so warm, so dazzling, and so full of happiness.

For the bright future...

And so we can reach that future.

Relying on a heat haze of hope, I continued to move forward through the darkness with no clear future.

But those days are now over.

The darkness cleared.

My wish came true.

I made countless mistakes, but I still managed to grasp the future.

So let's go home.

To the world filled with light that we have always dreamed of.

ーOr so I thought.

The world was cruel after all.

A power that the disaster left behind as a parting gift.

If it goes out of control, the world will truly be destroyed this time.

So we made up our mind.

We nod to each other and take off.

Be prepared to suppress it even if it means sacrificing ourself.

In the end, my wish did not come true.

I have regrets.

Anger, sadness, and grief.

I wanted to cook my own meals for these girls again and see their smiles.

But there was no fear.

I don't want to die. I want to go back to my normal life.

But I thought it would be fine if I could die together with these girls.

It's far from a happy ending, but it's not a bad ending either.

But that girl alone would not accept that outcome.

"ー Sorry Kaguya-senpai, Licia."

As she whispered this, she destroyed our flight unit.

Since I have flying magic, flying is no problem.

However, having lost our main thruster, there was no way we could catch up to her.

The girl smiled apologetically as we screamed at her.

"Look, I'm a reincarnated person, and I have lived nearly twice as long as you two. So for me, I don't think it would be right to let you die."

She continued as if she's convincing herself.

"Yeah, you should both live after all."

Soー bye bye.

Waving her hand, the girl flies off into the distance.

Why? Why? Stop it. Don't go.

Please don't leave me behind.

Our scream disappeared into thin air, and a light exploded in the distance.

I wailed through my throat.

The girl never came back.

The girl who had been at the mercy of fate all this time, the girl I was supposed to save, was scattered without a single shred of flesh left behind.

The world is saved.

People were protected.

The battle is over.

There was no longer any need to hold a sword, and peace came to us.

But she's is not there.

The everyday life I wanted to get back has vanished, never to be reached again.

I'll never see that girl's smile again.

That girl will never again be able to enjoy my cooking.

I'll never have her walk beside me again.

There was no way I could bear such a reality.

I wanted to die.

I wanted to die so badly.

But I couldn't die.

Because if I did, all of her feelings would go to waste.

That's all.

That's all.

ーAria-chan. Hey, Aria-chan.

Why did you do that?

If I could die with you, then that would be good, right?

What will happen to my feelings now that I've lost you, and how will I feel now that I survived by sacrificing you?

The only thing that's engraved in my mind is the curse to live.

Did you think that if I lived, my wounds would just heal one day?

Did you really think you were that insignificant to me?

ー Aria-chan. Aria-chan.

Peace is painful.

Right now, is the most painful I've ever feel.

◇◆◇

I was seated facing Kaguya-senpai and Licia.

In the heavy silence, the sound of Kaguya-senpai sniffing echoed.

Kaguya-senpai was concentrating on calming herself down, while Licia seemed to be intently watching my reaction.

On the other hand, I...

I can only opening and closing my mouth repeatedly, and i feel pathetic.

There are so many things I want to ask.

But where should I start?

To begin with, my heart was not able to keep up with my understanding, and I was unable to find the right words.

There was a sense of distance between us now, as if we were separated by a thick wall.

...Or rather, maybe I'm the only one feeling this way.

That being said, things can't continue like this for sure.

I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

I somehow managed to calm myself down and asked timidly.

"...Are you, are you two actually real?"

Even the silence felt heavy.

"Do you think we're fake?"

Licia's voice was flat and emotionless.

I looked at the two of them again.

To be honest, it's impossible to judge someone by their appearance alone.

After all, this is a VR space.

We are fully diving into two-dimensional character-like avatars that resemble ourselves.

But.

"No, sorry. That was a rude thing to ask."

My soul was telling me that the two people in front of me were the real Kaguya-senpai and Licia.

Licia shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, Licia understand how you feel. But have you ever thought about the possibility? Licia thinks it's perfectly possible."

There was something about those words that made sense.

"...I see. So it was Licia who helped me with the programming."

So it's only natural that you work faster than me.

After all, Licia is a talented programmer with a record of developing various games and apps in that world too.

The knowledge and experience is unmatched.

"It seems you haven't even given it a second thought..."

"Well, it's just too unexpected."

"Says you, Alpheria?"

"You're right"

I give a wry smile.

Being reincarnated in another world and then reincarnated back on Earth is a rare story.

"...So the two of you are on Earth now, right?"

"Yeah"

"How... I don't even need to think about it."

It's musical arts.

"It's as you have guessed."

"But how much pneuma does it take to cross worlds?"

"Let's leave that to your imagination. But the only thing Licia can say is that there is no place left in the Blue Sphere for Licia and Kaguya-oneesama to return to."

"………… I see."

The reason why the two of them came to Earth even though it meant paying such a high price was... well, that'd be rude of me to judge them.

I feel 30% happy and 70% sorry.

After all, even though there was no guarantee that I would be reincarnated on Earth, they put their lives on the line in a gamble called a glimmer of hope.

No, surely they must have at least searched for my soul's location beforehand.

 ...Either way works, I guess.

Anyway, it's clear that I have no right to criticize their choices.

That's how bad the wound i left behind was.

What I did was probably wrong.

Self-sacrifice is an extremely burdensome act to acquaintances and friends.

What's best for you and what's best for others.

It can change depending on the time, situation, and position.

I know that.

But.

But.

But still, I wanted them to live.

Unlike me, I truly believed that the future of those girls should be protected.

Even if what I did was wrong.

There's no way that wanting the people you love to stay alive is wrong.

"ーAlpheria, please stand up."

"Okay"

I responded immediately to Licia's words.

I walk towards her myself.

 andー.

*Slap!* Licia slapped me hard across the cheek.

My vision shot to the left and a burning pain rose up from my right cheek.

"Li, Licia-chan?! What are you doing?!"

Taken aback, Kaguya-senpai spoke up.

But Licia didn't answer. She just looked straight at me.

"Do you understand why Licia hits you?"

"I understand."

One more slap.

This time it was on the left cheek.

"...Kaguya-oneesama is a kind person, so I'm sure she will forgive Alpheria. But Licia will never forgive Alpheria...!"

 Licia's eyes wavered as she glared at me.

I can see that a multitude of inexpressible emotions are rushing about desperately, searching for an answer.

There was a long silence, and only Licia's trembling breathing could be heard.

Her mouth was all clenched, her shoulders were shaking, and she was spitting out blood.

"Even if Alpheria's feelings were not wrong, the human heart is not mature enough to be able to handle the truth!"

She cried out, tears overflowing from both her eyes.

"Do you know how much Kaguya-oneesama has been hurt? How much... how much... how much...! How much... Licia is... we...!"

The hand that was raised again slowly lost its strength.

Stumbling one step, then another, Licia closed the distance between us and pressed her face into my shoulder.

"Bakapheria... Bakapheeria... Bakapheria...!"

"Sorry"

That was all I could say to her as she sobbed.

"Licia will never forgive you... Absolutely... Absolutely not...! Alpheria should be an idiot for the rest of her life...!"

Do I have the right to hold this child in my arms?

As I let myself just standing there, Kaguya-senpai approaches me with a smile on her face.

"Kaguya-senpai...that"

"It's fine."

"Eh?"

Cutting my hesitation, Kaguya-senpai pulled both me and Licia into her arms.

The warmth between the two of them gradually comes through to me.

"You don't have to say anything right now. So please, let's stay like this for a little longer."

That gentle voice was so familiar to me that tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.

But, I close my eyes tightly and suppress it.

Whatever my feelings may have been, I have hurt them so badly that I have no right to cry.

"ー Kaguya-senpai, you really should choose your friends carefully."

When Licia slowly stoped crying, I spoke up.

"Ara, that should be my line."

Even though it was sudden, Kaguya-senpai replied with a relaxed smile as if it was the most obvious thing to say.

"I came all the way across the world just to see you. There's no one more burdensome, troublesome, and vindictive than me."

Now that I think about it, that's true.

This is the kind of person Kaguya-senpai was.

Calm, kind, modest, dedicated and hardworking.

She is a perfect superhuman who truly embodies the Yamato Nadeshiko.

 And - her feelings are extremely heavy.

After all, she was the girl who had once made the whole world her enemy just for me. Her real self was completely different.

When she gets carried away, she's more aggressive than me.

It's so amazing that a spatial jump not just to the other side of the world is not enough to depict it.

Having caused such a person to experience the tragic loss, perhaps it was inevitable that something like this would happen.

"Unfortunately, it's too late now."

The tightness of her embrace grew stronger.

Warm breath caresses the nape of my neck.

"No matter what happens, I'll never let you go again."

Kaguya-senpai's smile was seductive and exuded a sensuality so captivating that it was almost dizzying.

I thought I was fully prepared, but now I'm troubled, thinking I can't compete with her.

"Don't forget about Licia!"

Licia popped her head in between us.

We looked at each other and laughed as she puffed out her cheeks.

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TL note :

I changed her name from Risha to Licia cuz Risha sounds so awkward.

Tbh, i thought she wouldn't appear after the 1st chapter so i didn't think much about it at the time.

I should have known that this would happen. Sigh...