Only one wish (2)

Helios was saved and Ouroboros was killed, but the war is not over yet.

No, rather, the war entered a new phase.

The emperor, who had not appeared since the outbreak of the Dimensional War, finally came to the battlefield with his own strength.

The war will escalate, and now it is nearing its final phase.

Both demons and humans.

They were concentrating all their efforts to end this bloody war.

We are nearing the end of this long war.

And now, before the final battle.

A long school closure order was issued in Helios.

“…the lecture ends here. Do you have any questions?”

The hand holding the chalk fell off the blackboard, but the usual questions did not follow.

Today is the last day of the Grand Mathematics lecture before the school closure order.

After today, we won’t be able to meet until the war is over.

Maybe that’s why the eyes of the students were full of depression instead of the usual firearms and concentration.

“If there are no questions, that’s fine.”

I had no intention of rebuking the fear and despondency of children.

I know the horrors of war.

I’ve been through more than anyone else, and I’ve seen a lot of people break down because of it.

So I lectured as usual. The content was also not significantly different from usual.

Read at noblemtl.com

Just because the war and school closings were ahead, I didn’t want to attach much importance to them.

This is but a passing thing, and I did not want the students to waste their energy in a moment’s hardship.

“Then, this time I will ask you a question.”

They raise their heads one by one.

Because this is the first time I’ve asked them a question.

He took off his hat and lowered his mask.

I unwrapped the clock pointing to 4 o’clock and set it face down on the desk.

For the first time, I met them with their ‘real’ faces.

“What do you think war is?”

They looked at each other at the question thrown in the middle of the day.

“I’m not discussing the philosophical meaning. Tell me about the war each of you thinks.”

At that, one student raised his hand.

Setra Miller.

He was the 43rd major in Mathematics.

“I think it’s aggression and resistance.”

“The reason is.”

“The Witchbeast’s goal is to invade, and mankind always opposes…”

“It’s a flat approach, but that’s true.”

Meaning is given based on the history they have seen.

A female student named Setra grew up watching the dimensional war from birth, so it was not strange to give it such a meaning.

I readily agreed to her opinion.

“Is there another one?”

“I think it’s a clash of ideologies.”

Cézanne Camuer.

He was the 39th major in Mathematics.

“The reason is.”

“Because wars are always caused by conflicting ideologies colliding!”

“That’s right too.”

ideology and ideology.

The long history of war has always started with it.

War breaks out when mutual wishes must harm each other.

“Is there another one?”

Raise your hands here and there.

My lecture had 50 majors, and there were 50 hands to raise.

It was like there were 50 different perspectives on war.

“We have a purpose…”

“Always brings destruction.”

“I think it’s sad.”

Everyone’s opinion, each person’s thoughts are pouring in from all sides.

Each view of the war was slightly different, but there was no wrong answer among them.

Because everything they said was correct.

And finally, the two of them raised their hands at once.

Cynthia and Encia.

He always sat in the front row, and he was the first and second major student with the best grades than anyone else in this class.

“I think it’s goodbye.”

They both gave the same answer at the same time.

The reason is, war is always a place where someone dies.

Cynthia’s mother and father died while buying time for Karina and Cynthia to return to the Allied Forces.

Ensia’s father also died while trying to protect her from the monster’s attack.

For them, war meant parting with someone.

“…That’s right too.”

I also lost someone, many people, so I sympathize with the meaning.

I agree with everyone’s opinions, not just the two of them.

Because that was my war that I had been through for over 10 years, a long time.

I looked at them and talked.

“There is no answer. Everything you said is correct. Then.”

from left to right.

I looked around at the 50 students who filled the classroom.

“What do you think they have in common?”

Everyone there was silent.

50 answers and 50 glances.

The common point that encompassed it was that the answer did not come out easily.

maybe it was natural

After all, what all wars have in common is that only those who have overcome them can know.

“The answer is, ‘eventually it will pass’.”

He said with strength in his voice.

“Aggression and opposition. Clash of ideologies. Mutual purpose, destruction, and sorrow.”

Each of the opinions they had, he said while facing the main character.

“And farewell too.”

“·······.”

“Eventually, it will pass.”

The crowd is silent.

The lecture has already ended a long time ago, but I continued to reinforce the first and last day.

“So this is not the end. There is a war that will pass, just waiting for the meeting to return.”

Read at noblemtl.com

Just like the will of the person he loved who said he would definitely meet again.

“What lies behind that meeting?”

put the hat on right away.

I put on my mask and put on my watch again.

Carrying a bag filled with papers, I came down the podium.

“The answer, you guys have to find out for yourself.”

I left the classroom like that.

*

The village of Rhodes, which I found after a long time, was quiet.

Since the evacuation took place one step ahead of the school, the village, which was always bustling with students and merchants, was suddenly filled with a lonely wind.

Crossing such a quiet village, I entered an isolated alley.

A corner of an alley that is hard to see.

There, there was a gunsmith named ‘Blue Rose’.

“Nothing has changed here.”

This building, which had collapsed when I first saw it, has barely changed its location or appearance compared to then.

All I had to do was sharpen the rotten planks and apply a little paint.

Looking at the gunsmith, who was consistent in some ways, I quietly opened the door and entered.

with my daughter-

“Huh? Who are you… Professor?”

“You’re there too.”

Even though everyone left the village, Lana was still protecting Blue Rose.

In the same place, she was grooming her gun in the same work clothes as the first meeting.

“Aren’t you going to evacuate?”

“I’m going~ I don’t want to die either.”

As if that wasn’t a lie, there was a suitcase that had already been sorted out next to her.

“Just. I’m just going to give them some grooming before we go. There’s still some time left until the general evacuates anyway.”

“Can’t you ride the warp gate for VIPs?”

“Ahh. That’s very burdensome. I just sent my disciples to ride.”

She waved her hands, smiled, and went back to work.

Apply oil and tighten bolts.

It must have been foolish now, but her hands were unstoppable.

“Then would you like me to do something for you?”

“Professor’s gun is always welcome~”

As he puts the revolver on it, a heavy sound echoes over the wooden counter.

A revolver designed by me and made by her, designed exclusively for me.

Even though it must have been a long time since I saw it, Lana skillfully took care of the revolver as if it were something she had handled every day.

“Wow. You’ve managed very meticulously all this time, right?”

“It’s a habit.”

There are some small scratches or wear, but I did not forget to take care of it.

On Earth, a weapon breakdown is directly related to death, so no matter how tired you are, you have been constantly grooming your weapon, but now it has completely become a habit.

“The chamber works well, and there is no bent part in the barrel… I am very proud of the maker.”

“Then I’m glad.”

Wipe the inside clean and re-tighten the slightly loose bolts.

rick rick rick.

The blue rose, which only flows dryly with the sound of wiping and tightening, felt a strange familiarity as if it had gone back to the old days.

“Do you remember when you first came here?”

“I remember.”

“It’s only been a little over a year now, but something feels very old.”

She smiled bitterly when she recalled the store, which was still in the minority, and was only running a deficit.

“Compared to that time, I really struggled with Gaecheon.”

Beyond being an ordinary firearms master, he became the chief researcher of Maria Brand, and earned a lot of money and high honors that he never had in his life.

She had several students, and now there was no one in the society who didn’t know Lana’s name.

In a corner of the village, a person who had been forgotten without anyone knowing has now risen to such a high place.

“How do you feel when you succeed?”

“It’s so good you can’t even imagine!”

Good food and good sleep.

She was more than satisfied with her abundant life.

Suddenly, she stopped talking and gave a meaningless smile.

While holding the revolver silently, he looked at himself reflected on the surface and opened his mouth as if passing by.

“But sometimes I think of the old days.”

As if recalling a time in the past that had passed, the voice had a nostalgia as thick as the years.

“There are no customers, guns are not sold, and I am afraid that I cannot pay the rent, so I eat tasteless calorie bars every day.”

As I said it, my shoulders drooped a little.

Even though she said it herself, she burst out laughing.

“There were days when I didn’t really get an answer.”

She looked up and looked at the shelf.

The guns lined up in a row were polished despite the passage of time, as if representing her life she had been running without rest.

“I often think of those days when I could only sigh in a crowded store and a full bank account.”

A soft smile formed on her lips.

“By the way, you know. Sometimes I miss that time.”

I didn’t answer, but she continued talking with silence as an answer.

“All alone, surrounded by so many guns… The days when I wore clothes that smelled like oil and wiped and tightened and groomed my babies every day…”

“·······.”

“Perhaps I liked it then.”

Even if there is no reciprocation.

even if not acknowledged.

The days when I just enjoyed living doing what I love.

She hasn’t changed since that day.

“You know, professor. People don’t change.”

she said, wiping the revolver with a smile on her face.

“No matter how strong the wind and waves hit us…”

tuk tuk-

she tapped her chest.

“Our ‘origin’ is here forever.”

“·······.”

She smiled and waved her hands, as if she was embarrassed to say it.

“Ah…what the hell am I supposed to do. I’m sorry.”

“Nope.”

I shook my head.

“It’s a good lesson.”

It must have been a very good teaching containing the life of a craftsman named Rana.

At least, I thought so.

“Whoops. Is that so? If that’s the case, I’m glad.”

She finally held out her polished gun.

“Come on! It’s done!”

“thank you.”

She casually wiped the grease off her hands and picked up the suitcase with a grin.

“Then, see you again when the opportunity arises, Yujin Kang.”

“Yes.”

After a short handshake, we left the Blue Rose like that.

*

Moving my steps, I headed towards a cold forest.

A world where only the cloudy sky and snow piled up are the same.

Deep in the winter forest, I found an old, dilapidated cabin.

“·······.”

There, where the exhaled breath crumbled to white, I looked at each of the picture frames hanging on the wall.

My colleagues spent their time here, their past I don’t know.

And among all the countless photos, there is only one photo of me together.

“Yes. It was an immature time.”

A photo taken while laughing like an idiot at the subject of a messy mess in the eyes.

However, above all, my gaze stayed on for a long time in the past, which looked brilliant.

“Don’t eavesdrop and come in.”

“I didn’t eavesdrop.”

Then, at the sound of my voice, a person entered the cabin.

A blonde girl who is a lot shorter than me.

Estelle quietly approached me and stood by my side.

“How did you know this place?”

“By mental control.”

She smiled softly at me.

“Your professor taught me.”

“···Right.”

Did you read my existence from afar?

It’s called Cheongchuleoram.

It has grown a lot since then.

“Do you remember when you first came here?”

“yes.”

Perhaps, not long after I was appointed here, I visited this place after stopping the invasion of Helios by Aragos.

“It’s not that long, but there’s been a lot more than I thought.”

teach many disciples.

Meet the corps commander and the emperor.

Acquire the power of the Constellation.

yes.

So many things happened.

“·······.”

A moment when I was quiet for such a long time.

Estelle’s hand, which was carefully extended, took my hand.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“Yeah.”

Looking at the picture on the wall, she affirmed.

“But, later.”

Shaking her head, she turned and looked at me.

“Someday, when spring comes to this forest…”

A little harder, she squeezed my hand.

“I’ll tell you then.”

She laughed and said so.

when we first met

The emotionless girl with no expression has become someone who can smile beautifully like that before she knew it.

“yes.”

Time flies.

Beyond the silence like the night before a storm, it flows towards the time of fierce battle.

And, surely this too shall pass.

As always.

We quietly waited for our fate to come.