Having safely found the mithril, we left the tower behind.
We walked along the road leading to Snowlake...
During that time, Horn-san continued the story from earlier.
"Lady Nonoka and I traveled the world together. A human and a fairy — different species, but strangely enough, we got along well."
"Well, Nonoka was a bit of a weirdo. If she gave a human a sword, I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to travel with them."
"……"
Sofia and I exchanged looks that clearly said: Licorice, the biggest weirdo of all, is calling someone else a weirdo?
But Licorice didn’t seem to notice.
"What kind of journey was it?"
"We didn’t have a specific goal. We visited different towns, saw all kinds of nature, collected various treasures... It was like going wherever the wind took us."
"Wow."
That kind of journey was something to admire.
Someday, I too would like to travel like that with Sofia...
"Fate?"
"Huh?"
"What’s wrong? Your face is red."
"N-No! It’s nothing, really!"
"?"
"Ho ho ho."
Sofia looked puzzled, but Horn-san seemed to understand what I was thinking and chuckled warmly.
But that smile soon faded.
"As I said, Lady Nonoka and I traveled the world... but it couldn’t last forever."
Seeing the change in Horn-san’s demeanor, our smiles faded too.
"Have you heard of fairy hunting?"
"Ah, yes... because fairies are rare and beautiful, they get hunted..."
"...Lady Nonoka became one of the victims."
"...!"
I gasped involuntarily.
I couldn’t believe something like that had happened...
"……"
Licorice, apparently already aware of it, showed no surprise.
But there was no emotion on her face at all...
She looked like a lifeless doll.
"Of course, I rescued her right away. The one who took Lady Nonoka was a nobleman, but I didn’t care and stormed into his mansion. I saved her... but in the end, it was still a human — someone like me — who tried to harm her. After that, we couldn’t stay together anymore... So we decided to part ways."
"……"
Maybe he was remembering the pain and frustration of that moment.
Horn-san clenched his fists tightly.
"Lady Nonoka said she was going back to where her friends were. I saw her off... and before we parted, we made a promise. Hoping to meet again someday, we went our separate ways."
"I see..."
"If possible, I would’ve loved to travel with her again... But now I see, she’s no longer in this world."
Just moments ago, we had talked about Nonoka...
Now knowing that, Horn-san spoke with a lonely tone.
"Before we parted, I returned the Snow Crystal Sword."
"Why?"
"The Snow Crystal Sword is a symbol of friendship between humans and fairies. And yet, a human harmed Lady Nonoka. I had no right to use it anymore."
"That’s...!"
It wasn’t Horn-san’s fault.
It was the fault of that noble who kidnapped Nonoka.
I wanted to say that to comfort him...
But seeing the regret carved into Horn-san’s expression, I realized that any words of comfort would be meaningless.
Even if he didn’t commit the act himself...
It was still done by another human — and that truth didn’t change.
And worst of all, he couldn’t stop it from happening.
There must be deep guilt and regret.
And that must have bound Horn-san’s heart, leading him to give up the Snow Crystal Sword.
"I was... a failure of a human being..."
Horn-san let out a deep, heavy sigh...
"...I don’t think so."
Suddenly, Licorice quietly denied Horn-san’s regret.
"What do you mean?"
"I know how Nonoka's final moments went. In fact, I was there when she passed."
"......"
"One day, Nonoka came back looking incredibly exhausted... then she rested. She got better, but one day, an adventurer came and..."
"I see."
"But she survived. She fought to live. It was such a fitting end for Nonoka."
"......"
"And... Nonoka didn't hold any resentment toward you or humans."
"What...?"
Horn-san lifted his face, which had been lowered in sadness.
And then, his eyes met Licorice’s.
Licorice looked lonely, but she was smiling.
A small smile was on her face.
"That girl was foolish. Even though she had been through such terrible things, she didn’t hate humans. In fact, she was grateful."
"Grateful...?"
"Yes, grateful. She was thankful for all the places she got to go, for all the experiences she had, for all the fun she had... She said 'Thank you.'"
"...!"
Horn-san's face twisted in pain.
But he managed to hold back the tears.
"This too is fate. Let me tell you the last words she directed at you."
"...Yes, please."
"I’ll go ahead and explore in heaven, okay? So, you take your time and live your life. Then, when you're ready, come join me. Let’s adventure together again... She said that."
"I see..."
This time, he couldn't hold back.
Horn-san placed his hands over his face as if to hide it...
And for a while, his shoulders trembled.
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