I was able to make peace with Lena.
We became friends.
That made me really happy, but…
I couldn’t just celebrate without thinking ahead.
“What will you do now, Lena?”
Even though we became friends, it didn’t seem like Lena had left the Dawn Alliance.
Which meant that we might end up as enemies again…
“Hm… I don’t mind helping you, Fate. You came to the royal capital to settle things with the Dawn Alliance, right?”
““Huh?””
Her words were so unexpected that even Sofia and I both let out surprised voices.
“I-Is that okay…?”
“Are you going to betray your comrades?”
I was stunned.
Sofia shot her a sharp look.
Meanwhile, Licorice, Aisha, and Snow were taking a post-meal nap.
Honestly… I couldn’t tell whether this situation was peaceful or not.
“Betray…? I guess I just want to set things right.”
Lena gave a bitter smile…
A truly pained expression as she continued.
“When I fought you and Sofia back then… and got scolded… I realized something. I can’t keep going the way I am.”
Then Lena began to talk about herself.
Her parents were members of the Dawn Alliance.
So from the moment she was born, she too became a member.
To avenge the divine beasts that had been unjustly slain in the past.
Hatred, resentment, anger…
Dispelling those emotions was justice—and the path to live.
That was what she believed her purpose in life to be.
Then Lena was found to have a high compatibility with a magic sword.
On rare occasions, someone inherits their ancestors’ blood strongly enough to wield a magic sword freely without being consumed by it.
Lena was one of those people.
Her parents placed their hopes in her.
Her comrades did too.
“You will avenge our hatred.”
“You will carry out justice.”
“What you must do is spread the justice of the divine beasts.”
Hearing those words over and over, Lena came to believe them.
She thought revenge was what she was meant to do—and that it was justified.
But…
“This was the first time… someone actually scolded me… It really was the first time.”
“I might have sounded arrogant… but yeah. If the same thing happened again, I think I’d do the same.”
I sympathize with the divine beasts who suffered in the past.
But the people living now have nothing to do with it.
And sacrificing your own kind for revenge… that’s just wrong.
There’s no justice in that.
There’s only hatred.
“Maybe that’s why… you woke me up, Fate.”
Lena said that with a happy expression.
“Even though I did something terrible… you didn’t abandon me. You kept facing me seriously again and again. You desperately called out to me. You reached out your hand to me… I was really, really happy…”
“…Lena…”
“I wasn’t just a member of the Dawn Alliance, or some rare magic sword wielder… To you, I was just ‘Lena Summerfield.’”
With tears in her eyes, Lena looked at me.
But her face was clear and bright.
“Thank you, Fate.”
“…Yeah, you’re welcome.”
It’s not like I did anything that amazing.
I just wanted to be her friend.
But somehow, that must have deeply reached her heart.
And realizing that… made me happy too.
“So… I want to go with you, Fate. And just like what happened to me, I want everyone in the organization to rethink things. Now that I think about it, it really is strange… haha, a bit late for that, though.”
“No.”
Sofia gently took Lena’s hand.
“Sofia…?”
“The Dawn Alliance is like family to you, isn’t it? Trying to correct them must take incredible courage. You shouldn’t laugh it off as ‘too late.’ If anyone does, I’ll be the one to get angry for you.”
“…”
“I respect you.”
“…Haha… honestly, I never thought I’d hear something like that in my life.”
Lena lowered her head.
I couldn’t see her expression…
But I chose not to say anything.
“…Thank you…”
After a moment, Lena raised her face again, looking somehow refreshed.
“So I’m going to do what I can. Even if that means fighting my comrades, I’ll keep moving forward.”
“Yeah.”
I held out my hand to her.
“Let’s do our best together.”
“Yeah!”
With a bright smile, Lena took my hand.
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