Chapter 73 - The Castle and the Forest

Rhema stared at Azriel who was a few steps away from him. He seemed to think similar to her. Looking down at his arm that Azriel held on to, he slowly spoke with a still face.

“Even if we stay together again, it wouldn’t be the same as those days.”

“…”

“I wanted to preserve those days forever if possible.”

“… I also wanted it to be that way, Rhema.”

“Yes, it was me who ended it like that,” he stayed silent for a moment and murmured, “we can’t go back… It’s not a bad feeling.”

Azriel was startled by his words. It was not a bad feeling— What was? The way he ended things like that? Was he satisfied not being able to go back to that time?

‘No, he must not mean that.’

She denied what came to her mind immediately. She did not want to misunderstand him. Thoughts would turn negative the more she contemplated over them alone. She asked him right away because Rhema would be fine if he was asked straightforward questions.

“Why do you feel that way all of a sudden?”

“Though it wouldn’t be the days I wanted to preserve, I will still be happy.”

He smiled. It was a faint smile that barely raised the tip of his mouth, with his eyes narrowed only a little.

“Since a very long time until a recent date, my life has barely changed. I never wanted it to change,” he continued.

He could not allow it to change. It was because the long and slow life that continued without a change made him endure it.

“Despite that, I didn’t dislike the changes you made. The time I spend with you must be more valuable than other times.”

It would be the time that is hard to earn and maintain and that is not as long and would end quickly the more he rejoiced, Rhema murmured to himself inside. The way he looked at her was soft and gentle.

How much weight would a valuable thing have to the Wizard of Horizon who could have anything? Azriel was lost for words. She looked at him who had a faint smile on, for a while and narrowly managed to open her mouth.

“Rhema— You speak in a way that’s easy for others to misunderstand. You almost got me wrong again.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“What you just said— It sounded like you were happy to have ended things that way.”

His eyes were slightly widened. Then he fiddled with his lip.

“I’m sorry, Azriel. I didn’t know it sounded that way.”

“It’s alright because I now know you didn’t mean that.”

Rhema seemed to have lived almost without getting along with people. No wonder he was not used to having conversations with others.

‘He sounded okay when he explained about magic though.’

Unlike Azriel who smiled and said it was fine, Rhema was not going to let it pass like this. He turned his eyes toward her from the air.

“I will fix it.”

“What? No, It’s really fine. Besides, I didn’t actually misunderstand you.”

“But it means you can misunderstand me.”

“I will know the truth soon if I ask you. I won’t misunderstand you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Azriel, I—” Rhema, who was going to continue, hesitated. It seemed that he was choosing his words carefully before speaking. “I always want to know your opinions, thoughts, emotions, and such but I’m not good at figuring those things out. So, you need to talk to me frequently— I mean, if you have to think about what I mean and consider the real intention, it means you’re in a state of tension, then you’ll feel uncomfortable and you’ll—”

She was not sure what he was trying to say. Rhema, who was rambling on, closed his mouth when he saw Azriel’s blank face. Then he began to agonize again. Seeing him struggling as he tried, Azriel felt like laughing. Rhema was struggling, what in the world. 

“So Rhema, what you mean is that you want me to speak to you comfortably and you’d like to correct the way of speaking. Is that it?” she spoke as she chuckled for a moment.

“Yes.” He, who answered her hesitantly, added in a low voice. “I hope that speaking to me would be would be enjoyable for you, Azriel. That way, I can have conversations with you more often.”

Azriel felt strange hearing him speak such words straightforwardly and seriously. She repeatedly realized how much he valued her. And the more she realized it, the more she wanted to know why he abandoned her and said that he would kill her someday.

“… It’s enough that you think of it that way.”

“It’s not enough, Azriel. I’ll give it a try,” Rhema moved his steps again. Walking behind him, Azriel asked. “Well, how much more do we have to walk?”

“We’ll arrive there soon.”

When they passed the bridge on the can*l, a street where huge mansions were gathered. As if it were an area where nobles lived, there were not a lot of people seen except for the people who looked like servants. Several carriages bearing the arms of a family passed by.

Looking at the direction where Rhema was heading, Azriel was shook. She saw a mansion that was a half time bigger and much more luxurious than other mansions.

“Rhema.”

“Yes.”

“It can’t be that place, is it?”

“No,” he shook his head when he saw the mansion she pointed to.

“That’s great, that place is a little…”

“It’s that place, Azriel.”

Rhema pointed to the direction behind the mansion. Beyond the roof of the mansion, she could see a forest consisting of cypresses.

“There is a forest within the city! Is this a house in the forest?”

“It’s not a forest. It’s a garden.”

“… What?”

“It’d be faster to cross it. Let me take your hand for a moment.”

He stretched out his hand toward her. When Azriel put her hand on top of his, he lightly held hers and guided her.

“Reshith,” he let out his incantation.

Azriel could see stars gathering below her and Rhema’s feet. He stepped on to the mana as if he were stepping on the stairs. She also stepped on to the air as he guided her.

“Whoa—”

The mana that gathered underneath their feet, forming the staircase of wind, looked like a staircase made of the milky way to her. That staircase became a bridge that drew a smooth arch and continued to the cypress forest. She held his hand and held the hem of her skirt with the other hand and walked in the air. Her cheeks were flushed in red.