Chapter 352: Adulthood (1)
“Yura.”
The moment that name was heard, Lucia’s time froze.
“Yura? Yura, you say?”
Her response was uncharacteristically slow, but it was only for a fleeting moment.
Her dazed golden eyes immediately turned to the woman clutching her sleeve and crying.
Plain brown hair. A smooth face without a single freckle. Her violet eyes, streaming with tears, were extraordinary, but aside from that, she was a rural girl one could find anywhere on the continent.
Of course, she was pretty enough to enchant the village boys she played house with, but at best, she was a country bumpkin. She could never compare to Lucia, who had been maintained with the finest cosmetics and magical skin treatments available to the nobility.
“No, that’s not the point.”
Lucia shook her head to dispel such thoughts.
Was it because of a year spent in seclusion or because jealousy had clouded her judgment? She was struggling to hold onto her composure.“I heard you were dead… but it really is you, Yura.”
Meanwhile, Seira had approached close enough to stand right in front of Lucia, who still couldn’t pull herself together. Like Yura, Seira was shedding hot tears.
“Where have you been all this time? Weren’t you dead?”
“Se-Seira…”
“I really thought you were gone, and I regretted so much… so much…”
Seira couldn’t finish her sentence.
There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so many grievances she wanted to air, but her body refused to allow her to.
In the end, Seira covered her mouth and sobbed.
Her emotions surged like a tidal wave, and she wanted to wail like a child. Yet the joy of reunion, resentment, regret—all these complex emotions—made it impossible.
“What… What is this?! Where on earth have you been all this time? Huh? And why did you show up with a kid?!”
Tears blurred her vision, yet even through the haze, Seira spotted Shiron.
“Kid, what exactly did you do? You said you were going to capture the Demon God, so why is Yura here with you? And where’s the little angel? What’s this you’ve got at your side?”
“Let’s start by stopping the tears.”
[Yes, calm yourself, my friend. In moments like this, one must maintain peace of mind…]
“How do you expect me to calm down?!”
Seira lashed out at the voice that interrupted, and Shiron, thinking her anger was directed at him, paused mid-motion as he reached for his handkerchief.
‘What the hell is going on here?’
He sighed deeply, as if to vent his frustration.
Before leaving the gray space, Yura had been excited to reunite with her comrades after so long. Shiron had felt the same anticipation.
A reunion after 500 years. Honestly, they had hoped for an emotional scene so touching it would move even an observer to tears.
“I anxiously waited for the kid who went off to defeat the Demon God to return. And now, a friend I thought was long dead shows up shamelessly? And they call my name as if curses don’t affect them?!”
“Yura? Yura, you say?”
What the hell was this?
Seira was still bawling, venting her frustration. Lucia, still disoriented, remained clueless.
It was chaos.
Far from an emotional reunion, it was utter chaos. Yet, even amidst this mess, Shiron knew what needed to be done.
“Still, someone has to restore order.”
Resolving himself, Shiron hugged Seira, who was a sobbing mess.
Startled by the sudden embrace, Seira struggled to break free, but Shiron only tightened his arms around her.
“What… What are you doing?! Let me go!”
“Not until you calm down.”
“This guy?!”
No matter how much she thrashed, the embrace didn’t loosen, leaving Seira flustered. She hurriedly turned her head.
Specifically, toward Lucia, who had just begun crying as well, and Yura, whose face was more tear-streaked than anyone’s.
“What the hell?! Cha Hyun-jun, you bastard! You’re dumping your girlfriend?!”
“Y-Yura, it really is you!”
Tear-soaked Yura flailed as she tried to pull Seira away from Shiron, while Lucia finally displayed a face of overwhelmed emotion.
It was a total mess.
‘Cha Hyun… Cha Hyun-jun? What’s that? And why is Lucia reacting so late?’
Looking dumbfounded, with his gaze darting aimlessly, Shiron felt an urge to break everything out of anger and betrayal. Yet, bound by Shiron’s iron grip, Seira couldn’t do anything.
“Let me go…”
“Have you calmed down?”
“Seira told you to let go! Why are you still hugging her?!”
“I said I’m calm now, so let go.”
Only then did Shiron release Seira.
Was it from suffocation? Or sheer embarrassment?
Seira’s face turned as red as an apple, and she squirmed, rubbing the parts of her body that had touched his arms.
[Bold girl. Taking the good parts even in this chaos.]
‘Shut up.’
Ignoring the voice in her head, Seira cleared her throat. Finally, the tears had stopped, and her racing heart began to settle.
“Yura.”
“Y-Yes?”
At the sound of her name, Yura flinched.
She had been blinded by anger at seeing her lover taken away, but as time passed, her mind began to clear.
“Can I hug you?”
“…Okay.”
With a tearful smile, Seira embraced Yura.
There were countless things she wanted to ask, countless things she wanted to blame her for. Yet, in this moment, such trivial matters didn’t matter.
Yura, the friend she had thought dead for 500 years, was standing here alive. How could she focus on anything else?
After all, Yura’s death had been over something as trivial as a petty argument. Seira resolved not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“Sorry for leaving you behind back then.”
“W-What are you saying?”
“…Don’t you remember? I selfishly… ran to the rear. And because of that, you…”
“Don’t say something so absurd… That wasn’t your fault, so stop crying.”
Yura patted Seira’s back. Only then did her overlapping memories come together. But they weren’t memories of Seira.
Kyrie.
Kyrie, who was a head taller, often comforted her like this. Reflecting on it, she realized she hadn’t had such close physical interactions with Seira before.
“If you think about it, it was my fault too. I should’ve explained things better. Instead, I acted rashly…”
“No. Sniff. You did your best. No one worked harder than you, and I know because I was watching.”
“…Thank you.”
Yura chuckled softly as she stroked Seira’s hair.
It would have been better if they had opened up like this sooner. Why couldn’t they do it back then?
Regret came flooding in belatedly.
“…”
Meanwhile, there was someone watching the two from a short distance away.
‘What should I do?’
Lucia Prient. Even in this emotional scene, she couldn’t decide how to act.
‘Should I run to Yura too?’
She was filled with the desire to do so, but she couldn’t bring herself to, as just a few minutes ago, she had flatly rejected Yura’s embrace.
The touching reunion she had only dreamed of in her sleep.
To think she would still cling to such regrets despite failing to recognize Yura at first glance—there was nothing she could do.
Partly because her mind had gone blank when Yura called her “Kyrie” out of the blue.
And partly because the last time she saw Yura was 500 years ago.
Even though her memories were intact from the moment of Yura’s death until her reincarnation, Lucia was now 23 years old.
It had been 23 years since her reincarnation.
At nine years old, she could still vividly recall Yura’s face if she tried.
Even at fifteen, when she followed Shiron to Daviard and first met Latera, she could still vividly picture Yura’s face.
But after that, the memories grew hazy.
As she lived her reincarnated life, Kyrie’s life gradually transformed into Lucia’s life.
The happy life she had searched so desperately for.
It wasn’t like there weren’t any happy moments, but the overwhelming misfortunes of that past life gradually caused her to forget her past memories.
What could she do? Yura was already dead. Lucia Prient’s life had been filled with happiness.
Shiron had transformed the dark canvas of her sorrow and grief into one of bright white happiness.
The day they first went on a picnic.
The day they held hands and faced Eldrina together.
The day they joined forces to hunt down a witch.
The day they worked side by side to defeat the demonic beasts at the Subjugation Festival.
…And the day they played in the ocean, teasing each other, exploring their bodies, and engaging in playful mischief.
When she saw Latera, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Yura, vague memories of Yura’s face would surface.
But the overwhelming pleasure of being with Shiron pushed Yura’s memories below the surface.
‘Ugh! What an idiot I am! Why am I so stupid?!’
Lucia blamed herself, furiously knocking on her own head. But in truth, there was room for understanding.
Really, forgetting someone’s face wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
For instance, the children she had met during the academy entrance ceremony—she couldn’t even recall their names now.
The officer they encountered during their first outing? Who even was that?
Lucia was a genius swordswoman, but her intellect was, frankly speaking, about average for the empire.
Not the academy’s average, mind you. Somewhere between the country bumpkins from the far-flung provinces and Seira Romer, the empire’s brightest mind.
‘Still… it feels like I’ve forgotten something important.’
While tapping her head, Lucia suddenly noticed dirt falling onto her hand.
‘Something really important…’
“Kyrie!”
“Huh?”
Lucia looked up from the dirt on her hands. Yura and Seira were standing with open arms, waiting for her.
“What are you doing? Come here already.”
“…Okay.”
“Why are you hesitating and looking at me like that?”
Shiron motioned to Lucia as if granting her permission.
‘Did Shiron already know…?’
With a sigh, Lucia trudged over to the two.
“Yura.”
“Yes, Kyrie.”
Lucia threw herself into Yura’s embrace, her eyes glistening with tears.
“I missed you.”
“Pfft. What’s this? Pretending not to know me earlier.”
“I wasn’t… trying to forget you….”
“I’m just teasing!”
Yura patted the sobbing Lucia on the back.
The path to this moment hadn’t been easy, but no matter the method, the goal had been achieved, and that was enough.
“I missed you too, Kyrie.”
“And me too, Brother.”