Free Web NovelThe next day.
The sky at the horizon turned pale.
The sharp sunlight made Vieya slowly awaken. It seemed she’d drunk too much fake wine last night — her head still throbbed faintly.
When her eyes focused on her surroundings, she froze. The same cracked old walls, the ashes of a burnt-out fire pit... wasn’t this the place where they held the meeting yesterday?
Wait—how did I end up back inside the house?
And, what exactly happened last night? What did the Demon King do to me? Why am I here? Where did she go?
A torrent of confusion filled the slime girl’s head — and then, she remembered what happened on the hill last night.
Her face went pale. I’m already a slime... why is she still so interested in my body?
Come to think of it, two females shouldn’t be able to have children, right?
And also... why were her clothes changed? Who did that?
Nervously, Vieya checked herself over. After confirming she was only a bit sore from exhaustion and had no injuries, she finally relaxed.
Phew. No problem.
Just... consider it a parting gift.
As she recalled bits and pieces from last night, Vieya’s cheeks flushed red again. Sitting on the straw bed, she stared blankly down at her body.
It was embarrassing, but last night... she hadn’t even had to move. So, even as a slime girl, she could still feel that strange kind of pleasure?
“Ehehe...” The slime girl let out a suspicious giggle.
Creak!
The rickety old door slowly opened, and dazzling sunlight poured in. Vieya jolted upright.
What on earth am I thinking about?!
At the doorway, Liufir peeked her small head inside and asked shyly, “Sister Vieya, are you awake? We’re about to leave!”
“!”
Vieya hurriedly shook off all the nonsense in her mind, scrambling off the bed as she answered,
“W-wait a sec... I’ll be right out!”
“Okay... then I’m coming in, Sister Vieya.”
Liufir pushed the door fully open and happily stepped inside. Last night, when the Demon King had carried the unconscious Vieya back, everyone had nearly panicked.
Thankfully, the Demon King had said that Vieya was just exhausted and would wake up soon after some rest.
Menesis, the party’s most skilled in healing, had checked her thoroughly and confirmed she was only suffering from temporary fatigue-induced sleep. Everyone finally relaxed.
At the same time, Liufir had been blaming herself — feeling it was her fault for not taking better care of Sister Vieya, and feeling both guilty and heartbroken for her collapse.
“Sister Vieya, are you okay now? You scared us so much last night!”
Liufir bounded over in two quick steps, looking her up and down anxiously. When she saw Vieya’s healthy complexion, she finally exhaled and laughed brightly.
“Phew... everyone’s fine. That’s such a relief...”
But Vieya had caught a crucial word from that sentence — last night.
Wait—was I even wearing clothes when I came back last night? The slime girl’s natural °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° “body paint” mode — was it on or off? Well, it was off when I woke up this morning...
After a pause, she asked uneasily, “How did I get back?”
“The Demon King carried you back. Don’t worry! We were all watching her, and only let her leave once we made sure you were fine.”
Liufir’s eyes curved happily. “And you were so well-behaved too, Sister Vieya. You slept really soundly — it was super easy to get you settled in.”
“That’s... good.”
Vieya let out a slow breath, lifting her gaze toward the crimson sun. Though the brightness made her squint, a quiet warmth spread in her chest.
Parting was near.
Yet strangely, she didn’t feel sorrow or anxiety — no flood of loneliness or loss washing over her.
Instead, she felt a powerful anticipation for their next meeting.
Like a sunflower in a twilight field, bidding farewell to the sun — not halting for the coming darkness, but striving harder to live, until the day the sun rose again. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
“Hmph... just wait.”
Vieya wrapped the Holy Sword in the white cloth Flaviel had left her and slung it across her back.
Turning around, she saw Liufir, Luna, and the others standing outside, waving to her in the sunlight.
“Hurry up, Sister Vieya! Let’s go back, get our gold coins, and buy some good food!” Liufir cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted cheerfully.
“Coming, coming... what’s the rush?”
Vieya smiled helplessly and followed them out.
...
On the same hill as yesterday, Flaviel now wore a simple white ceremonial dress. Her golden hair and the hem of her skirt swayed gently in the wind, light as a dandelion seed that might scatter at any moment.
She stood there, silently watching the adventurer party depart.
Then, a woman dressed in red, a sword hanging at her waist, approached from behind — not making the slightest sound as she came.
“Flaviel, you could’ve kept her here for a few more days.”
“Hm?”
Flaviel turned her head. Seeing the figure behind her, she paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“To let someone important to me linger in the past and stop moving forward — that’s not my style. And besides, since when did my decisions need your approval?”
The red-clad woman said nothing, only stood quietly and murmured, “It’s me who wronged the two of you. All I can do now is offer a few words, so you could’ve had a little more time together... Besides, you’re overthinking it. No matter what, she’s still my student.”
“Heh...”
Flaviel laughed softly, full of irony. “If I had to choose between saving ten thousand people and demons, or saving Vieya, I’d choose her. Even if it made me sad, I’d still choose her.”
Her voice quieted into a smile. “But you — you’d choose to save the ten thousand, wouldn’t you? You’re the kind who lives for the grand cause, whose heart carries the future of humanity. Even if your student wanted to stop fighting, you’d find a way to push her back into the war, filled with anger again... right?”
“My student and I share the same goal. That’s why she could be summoned by me in the first place — all of this was fate’s choice.”
The red woman sighed. “It was your appearance that changed everything. You forgot your original purpose for being by her side, and the mission you bore. You two merely spent too much time together — and by accident, love sparked.”
“There’s nothing left for us to talk about,” Flaviel said flatly. “Leave.”
“Maybe. But once, you used to have plenty to say to me.”
The red-clad woman turned to go, her tone calm and indifferent. “Still, once she arrives at the Royal Capital, I’ll make sure she reclaims what’s hers. She’s the most exceptional weapon this world’s ever seen — she shouldn’t just rust away in your little pretend domestic life.”
“......”
She won’t become what you want her to be.
Flaviel glanced at the woman’s departing back but said nothing.
Only when the adventurer group’s figures were about to disappear from sight did she finally turn her gaze back, her eyes resting on the small figure trailing at the end of the line.
“Goodbye... my love.”
At the moment the words left her lips, a formless gale swept across Mount Aisa. freewёbnoνel.com
Countless brick houses and towering mining machines scattered like leaves in the wind — their shapes dissolving into dust, turning into a storm of gray-white snow.
Standing at the center of the blizzard, she softly hummed a song no one could understand.
Frozen moments, melting fables,
In the pale snow, a trembling cocoon.
Touching your fingerprints burns the years,
Tides retreat into eternity.
La...
You are the frozen moment, the melting fable,
In the pale snow, a trembling cocoon.
Touching your fingerprints burns the years,
Tides retreat into eternity,
And their rise begins anew, in the first year.
“Goodbye.”
...
