Chapter 691: Goodbye [1]

Chapter 691: Goodbye [1]

“I’ve managed to pay off everything. It didn’t really cost much, and we still have a lot of money.”

Stepping out of the inn where we were staying, Anne casually tossed the bag of coins in her hand, the clinking sound echoing in the air as several people glanced her way. She paused mid-step, then turned to glance at An’as, who stood a short distance away. His face was still dazed, as if his thoughts hadn’t yet caught up with everything that had happened.

She clicked her tongue and mumbled, “Get over it.”

Looking at An’as, I felt a little bit of pity for him. How could he get over it so quickly?

A couple of days had passed since the incident, and from time to time, An’as would suddenly stop before looking at the air with the same dazed expression. This annoyed Anne to no end as she continuously clicked her tongue.

“I’m also a victim…”

In the end, ignoring him, she turned to look at me.

“What next?”

“What next…?”

Indeed, what next…

My job here was done. There was nothing else left for me to do. I could finally go back. But… looking around, and staring in the direction of An’as and Anne, I could only quietly sigh.

I could tell at a glance that the two of them were probably not going to follow me back to the Empire.

“I will probably be heading back.”

The area around us paused for a moment as An’as snapped out of his daze.

Eventually, however, Anne spoke.

“With that partner of yours?”

“Err…”

Staring at Anne’s face and seeing the subtle smirk on her face, I could only force out a smile.

“…Yes.”

Anne’s lips curled a little more, but she held back whatever words were forming. In the end, she simply lifted her head, her gaze drifting up to the dull gray sky that loomed above. Her expression turned a little complex.

“I’m not sure what I’ll do. I think I’ll probably use my cut to repair the ship and hire more crew members for my ship. We did lose quite a bit of them during the entire situation. Even though we were further away from Xa’hurl, several of my crewmates were still affected.”

“So you’ll still be a pirate?”

“But of course.”

Anne answered with a matter-of-fact expression.

“It’s the most lucrative job out there, and with both Sylas and another one of the seven lords gone, a new space opened up. There’s a lot of money to be made, and… well, this is all that I pretty much know how to do. I like being a pirate.”

“I see.”

I couldn’t argue with her words. After spending so much time with her and the crew as Lazarus, I knew just how deeply she cared for them and how much she loved the sea. It was a part of her. Expecting her to do anything else would’ve felt wrong… unnatural, even.

“Then what about you?”

Slowly turning my head, I looked at An’as, who seemed to have snapped out of it, his eyes eventually turning towards a tall spire in the distance.

His face turned complicated.

“…I’ve actually been contacted by the members of the church. They’ve offered me a good position there.”

“Oh.”

Yes, that made sense. While An’as no longer seemed obsessed with the church, he still had attachments to it. If he wanted to stay in the mirror dimension, this would probably be the best thing for him.

“Are you going to take it?”

“…I’ve already accepted it.”

I opened my mouth, but found the words stripped away. In the end, I just smiled.

‘As expected, both of them want to stay here.’

I had mixed feelings about this. Having spent quite a bit of time with them, I had grown attached to the two of them. However, I could not force them to come with me.

Furthermore, the person that whom the two of them were more attached was Lazarus, not me.

The lingering feelings of Lazarus still remained with me, and to him, the two of them were the two people who had influenced his life the most. They were the only two people that Lazarus could call ‘friends’ in his small, yet impactful life.

And for that reason, I didn’t insist or say anything more.

To Lazarus, they were his everything, but to me, they were merely passing winds that I would eventually have to part with.

It was time for me to say goodbye.

“I guess it looks like the two of you have everything sorted.”

“Yeah.”

“…We do.”

An awkward silence filled the space as we stood staring at each other. In the end, it was An’as who broke the silence.

“I can tell that you don’t belong here. You should also be leaving by today, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“I see.”

An’as nodded faintly, looking at Anne, who pursed her lips. Then, with a thin smile on his lips, An’as clenched his fist.

“Hell yeah!”

An’as suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, his face flushed red with excitement.

“Eh…?”

“Huh?”

Hold on. What was happening? Staring at the suddenly excited An’as, I was left at a total loss for words.

Why was he shouting? No, why did he look so excited?

I didn’t need to wait long to get my answer as An’as’s smile grew wide and he pointed at me.

“Do you have any idea of how much I’ve suffered because of you, eh? Not only did you drag me all across to the Remnant South, but I’ve also been targeted by a Primordial-ranked being, was chased by one of the seven lords, and even nearly died a couple of times. Now that you’re gone, I’m finally free!”

An’as suddenly started cackling like crazy. Almost to the point where he sounded like Kiera.

“Kakaka.”

My lip twitched at the sight as I turned to look at Anne, who blinked her eyes slowly before bringing her finger to her lips.

“Now that I think about it, you’re right. How much did the two of us suffer?”

She sounded quite emotional. In fact, it looked like she was choking up.

The fuck?

“We’re free!”

“We’re finally free!”

Without warning, they wrapped themselves in a tight embrace, murmuring the same words over and over like some sort of broken record. Watching them, my face crumpled up, and I couldn’t help but click my tongue again and again.

Where was the emotional farewell that I had planned?

‘Forget it. Fuck them.’

Flipping them off, I turned around and waved my hand in annoyance.

“Whatever. You’re free. Be happy now that I’m gone. Tsk.”

“He’s leaving!”

“Hahaha!”

The two of them continued to laugh as I marched ahead, entering the crowd in the distance. I continued to walk forward like that until their voices completely faded from my ears, and finally came to a stop.

That was when I suddenly smiled and shook my head.

‘Those two…’

I sighed.

“I guess this type of goodbye isn’t so bad after all.”

Looking up at the sky once more, I touched my face before eventually turning to face a different direction.

Finally, it was time for me to go back.

***

“…He’s gone.”

“Yup. He’s gone.”

Staring in the direction of where Lazarus had disappeared, the expressions of joy on both Anne and An’as’s faces faded. From the start, neither of the two was actually happy about him leaving.

Especially An’as, who looked in the direction where Lazarus had left with a complicated expression.

Although they hadn’t known each other for very long, his life had changed drastically since meeting him. While it was true that he had encountered all sorts of trouble and even died multiple times, it was also true that he had grown a lot since then.

With Xa’hurl gone, An’as remembered everything.

He remembered everything that happened in the Sinful Strait and the words that Lazarus had once told him.

‘Grow.’

Indeed, he had to grow.

He couldn’t remain like he was in the past.

As such, he had to let go of Lazarus. An’as understood more than ever that he couldn’t allow himself to worship others, or follow them. He had to focus on himself, and himself only.

The reason why he decided to accept the church’s offer wasn’t because he was still obsessed with them. The reason was that this was the path that An’as realized would benefit him the most in his growth.

He knew that he could climb higher, and becoming a Luminarch was probably not going to be hard anymore.

But he wasn’t satisfied with that anymore.

An’as wanted to grow even further.

He wanted to grow to the point where he could be like the Saint, and help those who were once like him. It was a silly goal, but it was at least a goal.

He no longer wanted to be in the church for the Goddess. He wanted to be there to help those who needed to grow… grow.

Just like how Lazarus had once helped him.

This was his goal, and he planned on fulfilling it.

An’as would’ve never thought he’d act and think like this in the past, but all the experiences had changed him to become who he was today.

And for that, he was thankful.

But on a different note…

“Hey.”

A soft voice whispered to his ear, prompting An’as to snap out of his thoughts as his head turned to meet a pair of emerald eyes that were right next to his face.

He blinked several times, then looked down, suddenly aware of the position he was in. His mouth hung open in shock as a faint imaginary steam began to rise from his head, curling upward like smoke from a smoldering fire.

*Puff*

As if something had exploded, his mind turned blank, and he finally let go of Anne, who covered her forehead while staring at him.

“Wha… That. Im… err…”

But at the same time she did, she couldn’t help but find her lips slowly pulling up into a smile.

He looked completely different from a moment ago when he looked all serious and pensive. Staring at his dazed expression and red face, for some reason, she found him to be rather…

Cute.

But with that being said…

Raising her head and looking around, the smile faded from her face as she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

“Hey, snap out of it. People are looking.”

Snap. Snap.

However, regardless of what she did, An’as wouldn’t budge.

In the end, Anne’s face contorted.

He was cute, but also quite stupid.

What was she going to do with him?