Epilogue
After staying in the dwarven country for a few days, Mars and the others decided to head to their next destination, the World Tree Forest.
They had already checked out the submarine, but first, they wanted to see what the World Tree Forest looked like.
The submarine they were able to confirm was reasonably large, with seating for six people.
The hull showed signs of barnacles and other debris. It was so dirty that it was unlikely to be used anytime soon, but it was said that the dwarves would repair the interior and exterior.
Mars and others stayed a little while because they wanted to see what had happened to Lucille.
Since their return from the dungeon, Lucille has been so busy with reports and other things that Mars and the others have not been able to even say hello to her.
「Are you really leaving? You guys could have stayed here forever.」
「I can't do that. The purpose of our journey, from the very beginning, has been to obtain a long life span.」
Mars pat Lucille's lonely face on the head.
Lucille Thardonix has been chosen to be the next queen.
She has the accomplishments to deserve it, and the blood to deserve it.
Onyx, who had also stepped down as well, stepped aside himself and recommended Lucille.
It will be some time before her father, the king, retires, and then it will be Lucille's turn to usher in the next era.
「Lucille, are you sure you don't want to go on a journey with us? The next throne has been confirmed, and you have a while to wait before you take over, don't you? You can stay with us at least for that time.」
「Thank you, Lilia. But you know, I can't go. I can't die anymore. Besides, I want to use my share of the money to buy and protect your people, and I can't learn enough about the country. I want to build a country where the differences between races don't matter. ......This has been the best adventure I've ever had. I have the companionship I wanted, the fulfillment I needed, and everything else I wanted. With these memories, I can live as a queen from now on.」
「Lucille-chan ......」
「I will never forget your slap in the face, Hazuki. Thank you for waking me up.」
Hazuki, who looks like she is about to cry, starts to cry at Lucille's thanks.
「Lucille-nyan, you study hard too-nyaa! Nemu will work hard too-nyaa!」
「Of course! Thinking back, Nemu, you have taught me so much. Thank you」
Catching Nemu, Lucille hugged her tightly.
Lucille was shedding tears as if she couldn't hold back anymore after saying goodbye.
Next, she comes to Mars and hugs him in the same way she hugged Nemu.
「Stroke my head one more time.」
「Mm-hmm.」
She nuzzled his chest, and her voice was trembling.
「I feel like I'm having a baby with you. Next time we meet, will you meet the child too?」
――I'm sure it's just an assumption. Long-lived races do not conceive easily, just as Lilia does.
Lilia shook her head, wondering if she thought the same thing as Mars.
「Of course.」
「Can you squat for me?」
「?」
When Mars squats down, Lucille whispers in his ear so that only Mars can hear.
「Lucille Fira.」
「What was that?」
「――That's my real name, the one I tell only to my husband. The throne is always open, so come home when you're tired.」
Lucille gives a big smile as she cries.
This time, Mars hugged her and whispered in her ear the same way.
「I'll come back with everyone again someday. Just wait until then.」
Lucille is crying raggedly, and he can tell by the way his clothes are wet.
Even so, Mars does not stop walking.
The end of the journey called life is yet to come.
I want this life to end the way I want it to end.
I want to live with someone I care about.
The prayer he had at the moment of his rebirth was for such an ideal way to die.
The journey continues. It goes on forever.
Till death do us part.
Till the death we desire divides us, divides us all――
Afterwords
If you notice, this is already the third volume.
Thank you for reading this far.
My name is Akari Hino, the author.
I am very moved to think that many of you have surely purchased the three volumes so far.
I started writing this work around November 2019.
With these three volumes, I have just passed around two years.
I realize that even though I created these characters myself, I feel like they are my friends after two years of being in a relationship with them.
Other artists often say that their character is like a child, but for me, they feel more like a friend.
By the way, my favorite character is Hazuki.
I think she is an eccentric character every time I look back on it to write more.
This volume was packed to the very limit of the number of pages.
In the first draft, there were more pages than this, but this is the limit of the number of pages.
I also packed in a lot of content.
The thing I wanted to include the most was Lilia, who is already my friend and lover in the first volume.
This volume was to unravel Lilia's background, which I had dared not to touch until now.
The eroticism is also within the permissible range and does not interfere with the storyline.
My personal impression is that it is somewhere between the first and second volumes.
At the end of the third volume, there were still a couple of areas that I felt were not fully explored.
I had hoped to include two more erotic parts in the story, but I decided that it would be a hard decision to reduce and include more of the story .......
I wanted to put in a blindfold play, so I hope to do that in the next volume.
I wrote this volume after much deliberation. I hope you enjoyed it.
I would like to thank the many people who worked hard on this volume.
The editor in charge, with whom I repeatedly asked to reschedule the production.
The illustrator Neibi, whose quality illustrations always exceeded my expectations.
And of course, to the readers who have supported this work up to this point.
Thank you very much for your continued support.
I hope you will continue to support us for many years to come.
Akari Hino
TLN: Pheew, I finally finished volume 3, because there's no one who donate/give me a raw epub, I'll be on hold for this novel, for the time being, thank you very much to all readers who read this till the end.
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Wait for vol.4
ReplyDelete