Volume 6 Chapter 45-2 Two Fires Buried
Sebas, with his distant gaze, was left behind.
* * *
In a quiet alley of Heisenberg, a small, unassuming cottage stood.
Once the legendary designer's final hermitage, it seemed a bit too modest, yet it was the current residence of Madame.
This tranquil space, freed from the hustle and bustle, was also a favorite spot for Madame... or rather, Elris Valmoir.
Elris had run through life with all her might to reach this point.
She rose to prominence as an adventurer, amassed wealth, and opened a shop to fulfill her dreams.
At the same time, she became partners and spouses with her companion.
But the mountain path they were climbing began to rapidly crumble from there.
Her husband, targeted by a mysterious organization, left to destroy it and never returned.
Morning and evening in sorrow, Elris picked up the needle again, thinking of her husband who had bet his life for her dreams.
The status she built as Madame was undoubtedly at the peak of a mountain that everyone envied.
From such a busy and fulfilling life, there was a sudden turn.
Elris had thought to spend the last of her days quietly, reminiscent of those times, in a nonchalant manner.
That's why she chose to live in a harbor town similar to the street they once shared, and in this small house reminiscent of those days, she intended to take it slow...
"Life is a mystery. Even an old lady like me still has people saying I'm necessary."
In the dimly lit room at noon.
The darkness to which Elris spoke gave no reply.
"Who you are, I don't know, but I feel like I can burn a little more of this life. It's a relief if you'll let me."
Chuckling, Elris was met with several shadows emerging from the darkness.
"Heh, phew, meh... Being an old lady's escort is quite the hassle, isn't it?"
A closer look revealed they were no more than a dozen.
Facing such assassins, Madame, without a hint of retreat, placed her sewing box on the floor.
"If you leave now, I won't pursue you."
Elris, with a smile, lightly kicked the sewing box with her foot.
The sewing box opened, revealing a void within ── a magic bag ── from which Elris pulled out 2 rapiers.
"Even though I was a somewhat renowned adventurer back in the day."
As Elris stood with 2 rapiers at the ready, the shadowy figure drew a short sword from their hip.
The tension that ran between them was shattered by the sound of a door creaking open with a "CREAK!" behind Elris.
Standing there was a man dressed just like the shadowy figure.
"Hmph. Looks like I'm caught in the middle."
At the moment Elris bit down on her frustration, the man at the door croaked out a strained "Run..." and collapsed with a THUD.
""Huh?""
As Elris and the shadowy figure instinctively echoed the same moment of surprise, a black flash swept past Elris's side.
That was all.
Just like that, the countless shadows in the darkness fell in an instant, and in their place stood a single elderly man, his back straight as a pin.
Elris couldn't help but bite her lip at the sight of his shadow.
Despite being apart for so long.
Despite having only run together for a few years.
Despite both having aged.
Elris knew.
Just from the back, who it was.
And that it was the person she had longed to see.
There were mountains of things she wanted to say.
Where had he been?
Why hadn't he sent a single message?
She had been worried.
As various words raced through Elris's mind, the old man in the darkness slowly turned around.
No mistake.
Without a doubt, it was the man she had been waiting for.
As Elris confirmed this, a faint tear welled up in her eye.
"Sorry. I've kept you waiting."
It was a different tone from Keith's usual one.
But to Elris, it was the familiar voice of the man she knew.
Even slightly hoarse, it was unmistakably the same as it had been back then.
Without even being asked, Keith had always appeared gallantly in Elris's moments of trouble, always coming to her aid.
And he always said the same thing.
"Sorry. I've kept you waiting."
That's why Elris had to respond.
Just like back then.
"I wasn't waiting for you."
Such a spiteful retort.
It should have been enough.
Having kept her waiting all this time.
Suddenly showing up.
That's why she had to say it.
She hadn't been waiting.
She needed to make him realize that... but still.
"You..."
Elris couldn't manage to turn the breath she had taken into words.
──I'm not waiting.
That phrase just won't come out.
It should be something like this.
So, Elris took a deep breath once more... trusting her heart, she spat out the words.
"Y... you're late, aren't you?"
Elris, holding back her tears, heard Keith smile and say, "I'm sorry."
"I got a little lost."
"You idiot. You're such a fool. I──"
Saying that, Elris rushed over to Keith and hugged him tightly.
Keith gently embraced her in return.
With tears of mixed laughter, Elris hit Keith's chest repeatedly, shouting, "Fool, fool..."
Keith, quietly enduring it all, slowly but firmly hugged Elris back.
In the dim light, the two held each other tightly for what felt like forever.
"...Huh? She's not hitting him?"
Randy, hiding nearby with a camera, pouted and said, "What the heck?"
Through the window, Keith and Madame were still caught up in their embrace.
"This is nice. It's beautiful."
Watching from the shadows like before was Liz, who had unwittingly swapped places with Ellie.
With her hands on her cheeks, Liz smiled and said, "It's beautiful," looking genuinely happy.
On the other hand, Randy wasn't amused.
He expected to be hit hard by Madame's spirited vibe, asking, "Where have you been wandering around?"
It was indeed a joyful occasion for the two's reunion, and that there were no issues between Keith and Madame was also worth celebrating.
It should be something to celebrate, but...
"This is boring. I wanted to capture the moment he got hit..."
What Randy held was a photo of the two embracing, visible through the window.
"Well, they seem happy, so I guess it's fine."
Raising an eyebrow, Randy peered through it into the blue sky.
"'Even the heat of the smoldering embers does not wane, as I cross the years, this is my Aoisaka barrier,' it may be a bit excessive, but it fits well for the two ablaze──"
The moment Randy murmured that, Keith looked over from behind the window.
Sensing the gaze, Randy squeaked, "Yikes!" and ducked his head, but it was already too late.
Fearfully raising his head again, as he peeked through the window... there was Keith still smiling, holding Madame close.
"Crap. We gotta get outta here!"
"H-Hey! I was the one who stopped you, you know!"
Randy, who had Liz clutched in a princess carry with a sharp tongue, quickly left the scene.
The godlike strength Keith had displayed earlier was off the charts.
To take out all those assassins without killing them, neutralizing them in an instant.
Even someone other than Randy could tell how abnormal that was.
In fact, the members of [Dark Tide] were so terrified by Keith's skill that they could only manage to round up the assassins lying around the house.
"That was sketchy. Seriously sketchy. Absolutely sketchy. Truly sketchy."
Randy, with his vocabulary exhausted, later said that his escape that day must have been the fastest in history.
If it weren't for that suppression Rune, he would have surely crossed over.
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