Puck, puck, puck! The staff flies through the air. Asis Dragonas, who had beaten Kanut, who could not even make a sound, collapsed from exhaustion. But there were no tears on her face full of regret.
Asis slowly stood up and shook the sand off her body. Then she walked slowly and stood in front of the painting wizards.
“I’m sorry. I am truly sorry.”
Actually, the former guardian had nothing to be sorry about. Because Dragonas said that he accepted and tolerated all of Kanut’s foolishness. It wasn’t Asis’s fault that she hadn’t seen him in twenty years. Besides, she’s his grandmother, not his parent.
“It must have been painful… You must have suffered a lot.”
“… … .”
“Though our family line will end when that boy dies, a new guardian will be born… That boy will definitely be punished.”
Asis endlessly bowed her head and apologized. As the old woman, who was blind and had difficulty moving, repeated her apology again and again, some of the painting wizards burst into tears. Though the apology wasn’t direct to me, I, too, felt it emotionally overwhelming.
“Then, let’s go rescue the people who are still inside.”
The sun shone brightly above the princess’s head. Bathed in the rays of the sun, she is the first to take a step. The painting wizards, including Dua, followed behind as if in a trance.
“Shall we go with them?”
“No, you’ve exhausted enough life force. Better to stay here.”
Lacius didn’t care whether they left or stayed, focusing only on handing me a cold drink. I sat under the shaded tent, drinking water. The coolness soothed my throat, finally allowing me to regain some composure.
I crossed my legs as I looked at the guys who were kneeling in the scorching desert, unable to move. Lacius stood next to me, pressing a cool towel on my cheek.
“It’s not good to get heatstroke.”
I liked the way he looked at my condition with a worried face, so I smiled as he gathered my hair together and combed it. How he managed to bring a comb in such a situation was beyond me.
“Lashin, you know. I met a dragon.”
“Was it Dragonas?”
“Yeah. This bell, Dragonas, forcefully gave it to me. Now I can use it.”
He’s the kind of man who would believe me even if I pointed to the clear sky right now and said that was the sea. Despite how absurd that statement might seem, Lacius didn’t show the slightest bit of surprise. He simply believed whatever I said.
I continued speaking calmly.
“He prophesied that it would be hard for me to live a normal life. And that I might need this bell later.”
“A prophecy of Dragonas… … .”
Lacius’ voice lowered as if he were lost in thought. But after a while, he raised his head and looked straight at me.
“Shay.”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s go on a trip together after we get back from the desert.”
“A trip? Where to?”
“To a place where you and I can be ordinary.”
“Is there such a place? To be honest, we stand out just by our appearance.”
I reached out and cupped Lacius’ cheek. Lacius stared at me intently and opened his mouth.
“There is. A place where we won’t stand out.”
“Is it far?”
“Quite. But if we fly, we’ll get there quickly.”
I wondered where he was planning to take us but decided not to ask. Just like on Shay Island, he will definitely take me to somewhere magnificent.
‘Okay, I need to get some rest.’
It wasn’t a prophecy that I would live happily in the future, but simply a directive telling me to try my best to be happy. My life is really not easy.
‘Oh, and I mustn’t forget why I came to the desert in the first place.’
We had discussed the matter of menswear. However, I didn’t have a chance to say anything about Evershal’s amusement park because various incidents continued to occur.
‘But this is actually good. It’ll be hard for them to refuse my request now.’
After all, I’ve saved people countless times, even when I was involved in an accident just the other day. It would be difficult for them to decline any deal I proposed.
Especially since Daphne said she would visit the amusement park several times a year. They wouldn’t be able to stop her, and they would probably send some of their people to be her guards.
‘Good, very good. That is why they should hurry out.’
I stretched my stiff neck muscles and waited endlessly for the people who entered the temple to come out. After what felt like an eternity, a giant rumble shook the earth and a gust of sandy wind swept in. At the same time, a number of people dressed in rags appeared.
“Ah, sunlight… … .”
“It’s sunlight… … .”
Most of them closed their eyes, unable to look at the sun. There were also people who stopped at their place and sobbed. And when some people, who had barely gotten used to the light, finally opened their eyes and looked ahead, they found me.
“Shay!”
You’re alive!”
“No way… … Could it be that you… … .”
“Did you… did you save us?”
“Thank you, thank you so much… … .”
… … It was the first time that I was at a loss for words under the pouring gaze.
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