“I might not have been sure about what truly interested me, but I was certain about what didn’t interest me.”*
*Albert Camus, The Stranger
After that, Raffaelo continued to vent his frustration to us, but unfortunately, none of us could fully understand what he was saying. Even Simone was openly showing signs of boredom.
“By the way, when will Ghieuspe come?”
“Yeah, it should be about time for him to appear….”
Just as we were talking, Ghieuspe finally showed up.
We had been worried that Ghieuspe might encounter hallucinations related to the Tower Master, but somehow, his expression was surprisingly calm. He even looked somewhat triumphant.
“Ghieuspe, are you alright?”
“Of course.”
Ghieuspe nodded curtly.
“I had a hallucination where I fought with my family. It means that the Tower Master no longer scares me. When I realized that, I felt relieved, and the hallucination vanished.”
So Ghieuspe had proven his growth through that hallucination once again.
“Now, we need to set out again to find Aurora.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, as if shaking off the unsettling hallucinations.
Soon after, Raffaelo pointed toward something he discovered.
“Ah, here it is.”
He gestured toward a tree and spoke up.
“The grass is flattened, and the branches are broken. Someone passed through here. If you look closely, you can even see motorcycle tracks under this.”
“Then let’s hurry and track them.”
“Aurora is still human, so she must rest while moving. We can catch her during one of those breaks.”
Raffaelo’s eyes burned with determination as he said this. Seeing him return to his usual self indicated that he had fully shaken off the hallucinations.
At that moment, I witnessed Simone and Ghieuspe disappearing somewhere together.
‘…They must need some time as well.’
I decided to pretend I hadn’t seen them.
***
“Simone.”
“Yes, Ghieuspe?”
Simone looked at Ghieuspe with a peculiar expression. Ghieuspe, too, wore an unreadable expression.
“Well, I guess it’s about time we settle things.”
In truth, their relationship was complicated.
Despite meeting in completely opposite circumstances within the Tower, they had pretended not to notice it all this time.
It was, in a way, a defense mechanism to maintain their friendship, but at the same time, it was also a form of avoidance.
Ghieuspe harbored a strange sense of guilt toward Simone. He believed he had contributed to Simone’s suffering in the Tower.
On the other hand, Simone didn’t like being pitied by Ghieuspe. Fearing that Ghieuspe would see his past as a weakness, Simone avoided mentioning it.
Thus, even though they had been friends for years, they had avoided discussing that matter until now.
“First of all, thank you for today.”
Ghieuspe stammered as he spoke.
“Thank you for saving Seraphina and helping me fight the Tower Master.”
“Well, it was the right thing to do. I also wanted to save Seraphina, and I don’t exactly have good feelings toward the Tower Master.”
“………”
When the Tower Master was mentioned, Ghieuspe lowered his head again. Seeing that, Simone’s expression slightly furrowed in concern.
“Ghieuspe, what do you think of me?”
“…….?”
“I despise the Tower, but I don’t have any trauma from it. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Still….”
“And besides, it wasn’t your fault. I’m more concerned that you’re still suffering because of the Tower.”
Ghieuspe hesitated, but soon gathered the courage to speak.
“No, it’s not like that. Thanks to it, I’m no longer afraid of the Tower.”
“Well, that’s good.”
Simone extended his hand to Ghieuspe, as if offering a handshake.
“You’ve resolved an old enemy, and because of that, I feel somewhat relieved. Isn’t that enough?”
Simone seemed eager to conclude this issue, but Ghieuspe had something to say.
“I’m sorry, Simone.”
“………..”
“When we first became friends, it would have been better to talk about this. Although it wasn’t intentional, you were the victim.”
“You didn’t harm me….”
“Still, I’m sorry for avoiding it until now. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”
Upon hearing those words, Simone chuckled. He hadn’t even realized it himself until that moment….
‘It seems this is what I wanted to hear.’
Perhaps, deep down, he had wanted Ghieuspe to address this issue first and settle it cleanly.
After hearing Ghieuspe’s apology, Simone felt unexpectedly relieved.
Ghieuspe grasped Simone’s hand, and Simone squeezed it firmly in return.
“It’s resolved now. Thank you for saying that.”
“………”
“And thanks to this, I think our friendship will be smoother moving forward.”
Ghieuspe faintly smiled at those words.
Even after becoming friends, Simone had been slow to open up to them.
But just now, Simone had, with his own words, acknowledged them as friends.
As they returned to the group, both Ghieuspe and Simone had gentle smiles on their faces.
***
‘Looks like things went well.’
I thought to myself as I saw Ghieuspe and Simone return, looking more at ease than before.
It felt as though the tangled relationships within the group had unraveled a bit, making me feel refreshed as well.
‘We shouldn’t suffer together, but enjoy each other’s company. That’s how friendships are formed.’*
*Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human
By experiencing the battle against the Tower Master together, they were no longer just companions bound by pain but could now enjoy being together.
This is how friendships grow, I suppose.
‘But I wonder, is the invention made by Princess Eva a humanoid?’
Taking advantage of a brief moment of downtime, I began pondering the true nature of Princess Eva’s invention.
If Princess Eva really created a humanoid, could it be that this humanoid became uncontrollable and caused Seraphina to flee in fear?
No, that still doesn’t explain the deep fear etched into her diary.
I still need to investigate further.
As I was lost in thought, I made eye contact with Ghieuspe, who was walking toward me.
Ghieuspe smiled, as if indicating that things with Simone had been resolved. I smiled back at him.
‘Ghieuspe seems to have resolved all his concerns now.’
He had overcome his fears of the Tower Master and mended his relationship with Simone.
In a way, I envied Ghieuspe. He had found his dream and was now working toward it.
‘I used to have dreams, too, back in my previous life….’
I remembered the feeling when I gave up on graduate school in the humanities and became a math teacher.
“You know we don’t have enough money to send you to grad school….”
“I know. That’s why I applied for scholarships….”
“To be honest, it would be better if you started earning money to help the family.”
Yes, that’s when I realized the reality of things.
Just as I reflected on that, Simone helped me onto the motorcycle and asked.
“Seraphina, is something wrong?”
“Haha, no. I was just lost in thought.”
“Were you thinking about Ghieuspe?”
“Huh? No, it wasn’t that.”
When I met Simone’s eyes, wondering what he meant, he shrugged lightly, as if to say it was nothing. Hmm, what was that about?
“Alright, let’s get going!”
Just then, Raffaelo’s voice rang out, and I turned my attention to him.
Yes, now’s not the time to dwell on this. I have to get away from Princess Eva and catch Aurora.
