As I followed without knowing where we were going, the crowd grew larger, and loud shouts that sounded like someone was fighting drowned out the boisterous noise.
"How dare you block me when I'm just trying to beat up a lowly fellow who stands in my way? Do you know who I am?!"
“Who are you?”
Lainerio was standing in a standoff with a pot-bellied man.
Judging by the situation, it appeared that the pot-bellied nobleman had deliberately driven his carriage through this crowded street and struck someone; the boy kneeling between the nobleman and Lainerio looked to be in very bad condition. Blood was flowing from various parts of his body, and he was even bleeding from his nose, presumably from an injury to his face.
It was clear to anyone that the victim was a boy, but since it was an era with a strict social hierarchy, that nobleman seemed to be the one going berserk and trying to hunt the boy down like a rat.
"What? You don't recognize me even after looking at my face? My father is the Marquis Clid. How dare you block my path? Who are you?!"
"I am Lainerio Atrox. The child is seriously injured. Treatment is urgent, so let's wrap this up here."
Podia's gaze seemed fixed on Lainerio. Like someone looking at something fascinating, her eyes, which had been expressionless all along, even began to heat up for the first time.
'What was I drawn to?'
I tilted my head and looked at Lainerio.
Lainerio exuded the aura of an upright and steadfast knight, so despite having a face similar to Thierry's, he seemed like a completely different person. And although it certainly wasn't there just moments ago, a beautiful aura, like flames, suddenly spread intensely from around him.
Was Podia watching that? Lainerio's appearance was very beautiful, but compared to that aura, it was nothing.
Podia had clearly fallen in love at first sight. I, too, understood Podia's feelings in an instant, to the point where I wondered if this was what an indescribable attraction felt like.
Anyway, did they want to show the beginning of these two rather than Iker?
Ever since I saw him in my dream, I thought it was strange that he just left Iker alone despite him being such a nuisance and causing all sorts of trouble. However, regardless of the circumstances, since Iker helped me meet Lainerio, it seems he let him off the hook in his own way...
Iker had clearly come out wanting to be with Podia, but since her attention was stolen in an instant, he was bound to harbor even deeper ill feelings toward Lainerio.
Look at it now; I noticed Podia's change, and her expression completely changed.
I looked at Iker, who was in a state of mixed anxiety and wariness, and rubbed my brow with a sigh. I closed my eyes tightly and bowed my head for a moment, but when I raised it again, the scenery had changed the moment I opened my eyes, just like before.
'Ah...'
This scenery was a place I had seen once before.
It was the scene right before waging war against countless humans.
"I'm sorry. Because of me, you ended up having a hard time. If it weren't for my stubbornness, you could have gotten through this peacefully without getting caught up in this fight..."
Lainerio held Podia's hand tightly and furrowed his brow in agony. Podia chuckled as she gazed at his face, which bore traces of guilt yet also a lingering attachment to being unable to leave.
"Don't apologize. I was captivated by your upright character."
"That's a relief. If I had abandoned everything and left, you would have been disappointed."
"That's not what I mean. You have no intention of leaving."
"..."
"I was indeed drawn to you because I was fascinated by how you brilliantly burned the flame of life for someone, but that was just curiosity, and now I simply like you for who you are. And you know it, too. That, from the start, I would actually prefer it when you act selfishly."
"Haha..."
Lainerio smiled weakly. As if apologizing, yet at the same time as if he was very happy.
Podia embraced him, his complex emotions clearly visible. At the touch of her hand slowly stroking his back, he rested his head on her shoulder as if collapsing.
"In that case, in my next life, I will live only for you. I won't think about anything else; I will live my life centering solely on you."
"I'm looking forward to it. We should meet again in the next life."
"...Please do so."
My heart fluttered. Just moments ago, I had merely watched them from the sidelines, but strangely, my emotions surged as if I were gradually becoming one with Podia.
It was merely a fragment of the distant past, yet I earnestly hoped that Lainerio's future, destined to fade away into death, would never come to pass.
It was hard to watch anymore. I wanted to see Thierry right now.
I turned my head and squeezed my eyes shut.
"I must have been thinking too deeply."
A soft breeze brushed against my cheek. My hair swayed, revealing my ear, and a low voice burrowed into it.
As I slowly opened my eyes, it was the meadow I had seen at first. Looking to the side with dazed eyes, I saw Podia looking up at the distant sky.
I quietly watched her face, which looked relieved yet sorrowful, then followed her gaze toward the distant sky.
"Now that I think it's all over, I have a lot on my mind. So, as I recalled the beginning, it seems the aftermath has reached you."
Ah... So that’s why I had a dream a long time ago.
I slowly nodded my head as I watched the orange light beginning to spread across the sky. Then, just as the yellow and red hues began to slowly spread from the edges, I asked a question.
"What will happen to Iker?"
"... Since you have repeatedly defied orders and practiced abstinence for such a long time, receiving a new life might be difficult."
"Ah. Then I don't need to worry about it appearing again."
"That won't happen."
It was a firm voice. At those words, which left not even the slightest hint of doubt, my lingering doubts completely subsided.
A moment of silence followed. Even though it was a dream, a vivid breeze brushed past the nape of my neck.
I swept back the hair that was blurring my vision and looked to the side, only to meet the eyes of Podia, who had been staring at me for some time.
"This is the last part, so if you have any questions, you'd better ask right away. We don't have much time left."
Ah. It's the last time.
I nodded slowly, then opened my eyes slightly as something I wanted to ask came to mind.
"Come to think of it, I read a book about this place when I was in another world."
"A book..."
I intended to explain in more detail. That Thierry was the protagonist and that I had read a novel about his life. Pordia spoke first, as if there was no need to hear any more.
"It seems to be the result of my Dragon Language and his aspirations intermingling. The world arranged a path in its own way to summon you, a soul of the same nature as mine, to this world. There was some reaction at first because your nature didn't match, but seeing how you somehow found a suitable body afterward, I suppose it is fair to say that the world made an effort to keep its promise."
"Is the power of dragons that great?"
"Of course. Dragons were once the race that sustained most of the natural forces of this world. Of course, the intensity of your desires must have played a significant role, and while it may have been easier for you to settle down since your soul has already departed, I suppose we should consider this to be the natural order of things in its own way."
"Ah..."
"There is no right answer anyway. Isn't the very fact that you are meeting me right now unrealistic?"
“I guess so.”
I chuckled. There was no particular reason not to accept it. After all, the present is what matters, not the past.
"Now that I think about it, it really isn't a big deal."
"That's just how it is. The scale of the work is bound to change depending on your mindset."
Podia also smiled at me. Her face, looking even more relieved than before, now held not a trace of lingering regret.
The sky turned red, and her hair, red as if the sun were blazing, fluttered in the air. It was so dazzling that I closed my eyes tightly.
"Please be happy."
It was like the voice of the wind whispering and leaving.
When I opened my eyes, the space in front of me was completely empty. For some reason, I felt as though the phrase "my share, too" would follow those last words.
"Rest in peace."
My voice scattered in the air. And soon, the world turned upside down, and the light vanished.
***
"Ah..."
A husky voice escaped softly. As if swallowing the sound that had escaped my sleep, I rubbed my cheek against the pillow and buried one side of my face completely.
“Are you awake?”
I flinched. My eyelids trembled. As I slowly began to wake up, fatigue washed over me like a tidal wave.
I barely managed to lift my eyelids, which felt as if they were being pressed down by a stone, but my vision was still blurry.
As I closed my eyes again and squinted slightly, I felt a hand caressing the corner of my eye.
"I want to let you sleep longer, but I think you might be hungry."
I slightly opened one eye, then soon opened the other and blinked my unfocused pupil several times.
As Thierry, stroking my cheek soothingly, became increasingly clear, the bright surroundings also came into view.
"...What time is it?"
"It's lunchtime. Are you feeling okay?"
His hand brushing back my disheveled hair was so languid that I almost dozed off again, but I rubbed my eyes and slowly nodded.
Ah. Am I the only one who feels like I'm going to die? He held on all night long and wouldn't let go...
Wait a minute, what about my clothes?
I lowered my gaze belatedly and saw my body wearing white pajamas.
"I dressed you because I thought it might bother you."
“...Your Majesty?”
"Yeah, but why Your Majesty again? You called me by my name so nicely all night."
Lips landed on my forehead with words laced with a smile. Then, the lips pressed firmly before pulling away, settling once again on my eyelids, and moving down to my cheek, leaving behind small kisses.
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