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337. Childhood Ep – With Noah and Soya

Did you sleep well?

– This morning greeting was supposed to mark the start of another peaceful day.

Although I didn’t get much sleep, Reb woke up early, planning to help Mother prepare breakfast. However, lo and behold, a priest had arrived.

“Reb, the priest is urgently looking for you. Come out quickly.”

Oh dear.

I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems something has happened. Just a day into the scenario, the life of a valley boy was already in upheaval.

If it were Reb from the other day, he probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it. He would have definitely worried about his parents’ opinions and made excuses, but now he accepted the situation calmly. After all, he had commanded a whole legion before.

“Yes—what’s going on?”

“It’s urgent. Follow me.”

But given his appearance, the priest treated him like a child. Reb shrugged in response to his mother’s questioning gaze and followed the priest. Meanwhile, next door, Priest Leslie was bringing Leah out as well.

What on earth is happening?

This is the first time something like this has occurred.

Since the beginning of the scenario, all I had done was confess to Leah and contact Lean… Could it be that Lean pulled some tricks?

Leah looked conflicted. “Did you get rid of Koko-ren?” she said, acknowledging Reb with minimal enthusiasm, then followed the priest closely behind.

Maybe it was because of a dream she had.

Reb tried to think of something else to say, but just then, Priest Leslie placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from speaking. The reason for this would soon become clear upon their arrival at the church.

“It seems you’ve received a divine message. The Holy Woman contacted us yesterday.”

Leah shivered. It was Reb’s turn to ask.

“So what does that mean?”

“The Holy Woman mentioned she would contact you again in the morning, so wait patiently.”

“There’s no need for that. I don’t think… it will happen.”

At that moment, Leah stepped forward. Maybe uncertain, she hesitated, then reached out toward the divine object placed in the church. As her hand touched it, she shivered again.

It’s not a dream…!

Last night, Leah had slept deeply, engulfed in the {Holy}. She had used a basket instead of a pillow, and frighteningly enough, in her dream, Reb had confessed to her, just like he had in reality.

Yet, the content was vastly different.

He was crying and telling her to believe that he was living a life that repeated endlessly, something completely nonsensical.

Of course, she didn’t believe him. Just then, she spotted Koko-ren that had fallen (from Reb’s mirror) and clapped her hands together to wish for good luck before heading home. And that was just the beginning.

From there unfolded a series of ridiculous adventures. The valley girl and boy set out on a journey, meeting nobles, an insane knight bent on revenge, and ultimately capturing an ancient Evil God known as ‘Oriax.’ The kingdom’s monarchy fell, puppeteered by the Cardinal, and they ended up living as nobles of that place.

Pathetically.

Leah had cried throughout her sleep.

She had a lovely daughter and a clever son. Yes. She had them. They were truly beautiful children.

But the daughter was found with her head lodged in a blazing fireplace, and the son’s body wouldn’t be discovered until spring when he found his grave in the well.

The perpetrator was as obvious as the fire itself, and yet her husband, the Baron Leriana de Monarch, who had risen to become a Marquis, Count, and even a Duke—did not blame the “Princess.”

Her husband, who had battled with her, was—

– “Hahahahaha! Leriana! Le, Ri, A, na! This time it’s you who’s tearing my heart apart!!”

He was engulfed in madness.

He skipped the funeral and headed straight to the battlefield, returning only after the Duke Leriana had retired to cremate the bodies of his daughter and son. The ashes were spread in the Irotashi River, and thus, our lives lost all meaning.

Tears flowed again, and light burst forth from the divine object Leah touched. The priest mumbled foolishly.

“Ho, Holy Woman?”

Did he mistake Leah for the Holy Woman or think that the Holy Woman Maryel had contacted them? Whatever the case, Leah was indeed conversing with the Holy Woman.

Leah had regained her memories!

Reb felt joyful, finally thinking Leah shared the same sentiment. He approached her with excitement, placing a hand on her shoulder.

– Tap.

Leah shrugged off his hand. She was not on the same emotional wavelength. Soon, as Leah stepped aside, she spoke.

“Priest, please talk to the Holy Woman. She has something to tell you.”

“Leah. What is happening…?”

“Priest, I’m sorry. I need to be alone for a moment.”

Leah trudged out of the church. Reb exchanged perplexed glances with Priest Leslie and followed her. Leah had sat down on the church steps, burying her face in her sleeves.

Boo? Hiccup.

“…Leah.”

“Don’t talk to me right now. You idiot.”

“…”

Why is she crying?

Reb, who had never experienced anything that happened after the ending, could not understand.

He had no choice but to be quiet, and after a while, Leah finally looked up, letting out a long sigh.

Her eyes, pressed against her sleeves, were still red.

“You don’t even know our children’s names, do you?”

“…!”

“It’s ‘Noah’ and ‘Soya.’ Remember it. They were… truly beautiful. Really.”

“…I see.”

“No, you will.”

Leah’s gaze met Reb’s. Her eyes were clear and firm, promising to rise above the past and look toward the future.

*

The Holy Woman promised unlimited support.

She said they could take whatever they needed from her church immediately, and if they wanted, she would provide resources from every church within a hundred miles.

Reb wondered why she had been so quiet until now and why she chose now to act.

But in reality, there wouldn’t be that much to take. Would they need to visit the Aisel Kingdom and perhaps even the Asran Kingdom? They would need a certificate to freely cross borders and enough travel expense?

Oh, more than that…

‘The King of the Belita Kingdom said the Evil God is threatening him. Please catch him.’

He had Leah report this.

This would be the fastest and surest route to capture Astroth.

Naturally, it was flatly rejected.

“They say if you do that, Binard won’t let you off. Even now, he’s grumbling and bothering me.”

“…Can the Holy Woman really talk about a god like that?”

Leah shrugged.

“What else should I ask for?”

“Hmm… I guess that’s enough? Honestly, this time there’s not much to do. I just have to meet the King in the Aisel Kingdom. If possible, also in the Asran Kingdom.”

“Is that what you call ‘not much’ to do? Sure, meeting a king is one thing, but crossing half the continent is quite the undertaking. Isn’t that enough to ask for a horse and carriage?”

“I’m good on the carriage. I’ve got a horse. Now I have the achievement of ‘Mount’ too, so I can summon a horse. It’s amazing. I’ll show you later.”

“What about me?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t have a horse, and I don’t know how to ride! Do you think that horse would be strong enough to carry me too?”

“Ah… not exactly…”

If he summoned a horse, it would likely be Bante again, and there’s no way that lazy one could carry Leah.

Maybe Ray’s strong black horse, Kus, could, but that wasn’t the real issue. Reb said gloomily.

“You can’t come with me.”

“Why?”

“You need to go to the Monastery Church and take care of the brass goblet. This is our last round, so there’s no choice.”

“Are you an idiot? Brass goblet? I don’t know what that is, but if it’s at the monastery, just ask the Holy Woman to send it. Just wait for a moment…… Oh no. I can’t do that. That’s a holy item, and it can’t be transported by just anyone. Only someone blessed by the god can… what do we do?”

This time, Reb shrugged his shoulders. It was a bit sad. It was the last time, and he regretted not being able to be with Leah.

He didn’t show it, but Reb felt a bit angry.

They say ‘holy relics’ can’t be moved? It’s really rather petty. There shouldn’t be anything an omnipotent god “can’t” do.

Why the Holy Woman wouldn’t want to let him transport such a simple brass piece? He had no choice but to convince himself that it’s the reasoning for creatures not taking action.

‘Well… I won’t be parting with Leah forever.’

Reb assured himself of this.

Wait, no! It’s just a year they’ll be apart, and they’ll meet again. Surely, in the grand scheme of life, that’s just a very very ‘brief’ moment.

In fact… not at all.

Once the ending occurs, I’ll cease to exist.

Whoever lives after that is unknown, but once the ending hits, I will be ripped apart with Minseo and vanish. That “brief” moment represented everything to me.

Perhaps up until now, ‘I’— this existence—could be the fragments of minds that were torn apart in each round and stored in Minseo’s memories. Wait, does the world after the ending even exist? We’ve only witnessed a few lines of text.

– “‘Noah’ and ‘Soya.’ Remember. They were… truly beautiful. Really.”

When despair tries to seep into the heart, the names of the children, newly learned, shined brightly.

Yes. The future will exist. There’s no choice but to believe. There’s no other way… God.

It’s maddening.

But Reb even accepted that frustration. Toys are consumable. They disappear after use.

Ahh-! That’s when it happened.

“Hmm? Wait a second. Paper, paper.”

Leah began to fuss, searching for the paper.

To maintain communication with the Holy Woman, she kept one hand on the divine object while holding the quill in the other, scribbling down notes. Reb held the paper steady so it wouldn’t slip away.

“Reb, I think I calculated wrong. Isn’t this not the last time?”

“…It is the last time. The next round is about the engagement scenario. Ray and Lera will wrap things up. We will be part of it too, but…”

“That’s not my point. I mean, there’s a ‘next’ engagement scenario left.”

“…? Isn’t that exactly what I said? The next is the engagement scenario, so we…”

Leah waved her hands around.

“I mean, simply put. There are two rounds: ‘this time’ and ‘next time.’ Right?”

“…Is that… so?”

“Then why’s this the last time! You idiot! We’ve got the next time! So, all I have to do is go to the Monastery Church and grab that cup or whatever, right?”

“…??”

“That means I don’t have to go this time, right? Am I correct? Then I’m not going this time. Okay? I’ll go next time.”

“???”

“What are you looking at?”

“Wait, Leah. I think you’ve misunderstood. Once a round progresses, the next scenario will proceed as it did previously. If you don’t go to the Monastery Church this time, you won’t go next round either.”

“Who says so?”

“…It’s not about who says what; it’s what we’ve observed and experienced so far.”

Reb spoke with frustration. He himself was feeling stumped, and Leah’s lack of understanding only exasperated him more. But Leah stubbornly questioned back.

“So then what about that? You said other rounds can change when the round ends.”

“That only happens when it impacts the last round.”

With a huff, Leah took a breath. Her cheeks puffed up, looking a bit angry.

“Right. If we can influence it, then it’s settled. Okay? And I see how to do it right here.”

“…There’s nothing. Oh! We could contact each other through the mirror. But the engagement scenario begins in winter…”

“Not that! This!”

Leah pointed at the divine object she was touching.

“This! The Holy Woman is here! She contacted us today, and she said she isn’t affected by time.”

“…Huh?”

“The Holy Woman can tell us next time. This time, I must go to the Monastery Church! Then won’t that resolve everything? Surely she can do this much.”

“…Oh?”

“What are you looking at me for? Why are you— Ah!”

Reb cupped both of Leah’s puffy cheeks in his hands. Pfft! Pulling her squished face towards him, he planted kisses on her forehead.

“Leah! You’re a genius!”

Although he would have to part ways in the next round, they could be together this time. Even if it was merely a ruse, he couldn’t help but feel elated at the prospect of the short-lived toy of the gods.