By Zephyria Ivan pondered for exactly three seconds before standing up immediately.
His hands moved swiftly as he put on the coat he had set aside. Unthinkingly, I also put on my coat.
Ivan turned to me and nodded. It meant ‘follow me.’ He seemed like a completely different person from the one who had been pouting cutely just moments before. Ivan lowered his voice and asked the messenger.
“Did Annabella Sendo Yulan and Gerald Sendo Yulan deliver that message?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they now?”
“Their condition was dire, so I had them wait at a safe house closest to the Royal Palace. They should be receiving Restoration Magic and Clean Magic by now.”
“Well done. We’ll head there now.”
We didn’t walk. We ran. Following the messenger, we dashed through a winding secret passage. By the time we reached the reception room where the Princess and Prince were, our breaths were ragged.
Ivan threw open the door without hesitation and immediately shouted.
“Princess Annabella, First Princess, you must issue an evacuation order for the entire Yulan coast immediately!”
“Wh-what? Who are you…”
“I am Ivan Bikoff, acting Second Prince. Hurry! If you don’t mobilize all Spirit Masters and Wizards in the kingdom, everyone will die!”
“Ah, I understand.”
The surprised faces of the Princess and Prince were far younger and more pitiable than I had expected. Ivan pressed the short-range Communication Artifact the messenger had been carrying into the First Princess’s hand. A person who had been by the Prince and Princess’s side guided them somewhere.
Ivan ran back in the opposite direction. As I stood there, bewildered, watching the Prince and Princess’s retreating backs, Ivan grabbed my hand. Just like that day we had knocked down the sailors together. Following Ivan immediately, I asked in a daze,
“Where, where are we going now?”
“Let’s go to Songbrue. Nova and the children are in danger.”
“—!”
The first notification of their disappearance came at four in the morning.
It was half a day’s journey by carriage from Palmir to Songbrue Port. Even riding at top speed, it would take at least five hours. Fortunately, both I, who had wandered as a merchant for a long time, and Ivan, who had learned to handle horses from a young age in a prestigious family, were skilled riders.
So we took the lead. We rode non-stop on the fine horses provided by the Sierren Nobility Yearbook department. Not just us, but countless informants from the Nobility Yearbook and Yulan’s Knights rode along the same path.
From high above, I could see lights shooting like arrows towards the coast. They were Spirits. The Spirit Masters of Palmir were summoning every Spirit they could find and sending them towards the coast.
Six in the morning.
It was winter, so the sun rose late. Through the still dark pre-dawn air, a faint light flickered in the distance. All the buildings in Yulan were low. The wide, flat plains offered a clear view for miles.
Even without knowing Spirit Arts, I could tell something strange was happening, as a distinctly massive beam of light shone in place of the sun.
Bright lights burst forth at intervals of about fifteen minutes, then thirty minutes, from this side and that. It was as if the Spirits were colliding to summon the sun. The sun was supposed to rise in the east, but all the light illuminating the sky now came from the south. White, blue, and desperate lights.
Ivan’s jaw, bulging as he clenched his teeth, flashed into my vision.
We didn’t slow down at all. The horses, panting, seemed to sense something too. Though their mouths gaped and their tongues lolled out, they galloped even more vigorously with every spur.
The lights grew closer. Spirits clashing on this side were blocked by those on the other, and Spirits attacking from the other were blocked by those on this side.
Nine in the morning.
As we reached the outskirts of the town, Ivan shouted loudly.
“Prioritize rescue! Guide all evacuable personnel to high, open areas!”
“Rescue!”
“Disperse temporarily!”
“Disperse!”
Ivan and I had lived in Songbrue for the entire past year. Because of that, all the scenery was incredibly familiar. The wide open space filled with all sorts of fish and catches at dawn, the crudely carved stone benches where villagers often rested, the trees bent by the sea breeze, and the low buildings shining white like seashells—all of it.
Amidst that scenery, Sierren informants, including Windy, were leading people out with Yulan’s Knights, pushing them outwards, outwards. The fruit vendor who used to whistle and tease us whenever Ivan and I walked hand-in-hand, the stall merchants who often tried to hard-sell accessories, the children who played with dried starfish—they were all there.
Among them, I searched for faces that were particularly familiar.
Nova and her husband, Ella, Rio, Finn. All five were safe. Just as I was about to ask if they were alright.
The wall of water, standing high above, collapsed.
I didn’t faint because one of ‘our side’s’ Spirits protected my head. Clinging to my head and covering my entire back of the head with its body, the small ball of light flowed with the rushing water without resistance, kicking and swatting away obstacles that came at me.
I narrowly avoided a lush, ancient tree that had provided ample shade in the summer, and kicked away a cart floating in the distance.
The Spirits, having been pushed back once, raised a high wall of water again. Many people fell and rolled on the path swept clean by the sea. I saw horses that had been swept away being nudged onto land by the Spirits.
Ivan. Where is Ivan?
The children, the children…
“Senya!”
“Mom! Mommy!”
A mother’s heart-wrenching scream, having lost her child’s hand, rose high. Behind her, hearing the wails of adults and little ones, I raised my head. The water from the sea was pushed back into the sea. The Spirits, feeling more pity for animals than humans, were busy rescuing livestock and horses that had been swept away.
Ivan, standing stock-still in the distance like me, counting the number of people around, gestured with his chin. ‘Let’s go together.’
…Maybe this is why I fell for that guy. It wasn’t the time, but I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. Without hesitation, I plunged into the sea.
It wasn’t clear or warm, but it was bearable, sustained by the power of love.
Fortunately, the people of the port city were mostly skilled swimmers.
Those who were conscious mostly tried to swim towards the harbor, and even if they ran out of strength, they could stay afloat. Ivan, the Knights, and I jumped into the sea to pull out those waiting for rescue or to haul ashore those who had run out of strength near the harbor.
A few severely injured people immediately received help from Healing Artifacts. It would have been prohibitively expensive for ordinary commoners, but it was possible because all of Yulan’s Knights were doing their utmost for rescue.
There were two major floods. The first tidal wave passed without incident, but during the second tidal wave, Ivan, who had been swept far away, managed to rescue one more person while panting. I was so proud that I had taught Ivan to swim beforehand.
Still, it was fortunate that after the two tidal waves, Spirits of unknown origin began to help the human-aligned Spirits. The Spirits that rushed in chattered, buzzed, and chirped. Though I didn’t know what they were saying, they seemed to be having fun amongst themselves, and the high wall of waves they rebuilt was sturdier than before, which put my mind at ease.
Thanks to the newly arrived Spirits, all the stunned people could regain some composure. They all gathered together, counting their numbers. If anyone was missing, they pleaded with the Spirits to retrieve them. Still, there were those who could not be saved in the end…
I threw off my soaked, heavy outer coat. Everyone was in light clothing, running around without sleep. With the towering waves threatening to engulf the town at any moment, I had no intention of resting.
A day passed like that.
My wet body dried, covered in salt. The clothes I had to change into were all ones that had already been soaked once, and with the uncertainty of when I might have to jump into the water again, I didn’t have the luxury to waste Clean Artifacts, so I just wandered the harbor in a short-sleeved shirt.
Suddenly, a person emerged from the harbor. Seeing the long, disheveled black hair, I was startled, thinking a drowned corpse had surfaced, and took three steps back. But seeing the elegant way they swept their hair back without a single cough, I barely recognized them as the Second Prince.
Beside him, a hand suddenly rose again. I instinctively grabbed it and pulled them up.
And so, the seventy-eighth person I pulled out of the water was…
It was him.
Michael Ernhardt.
“Thank you.”
He was alive.
Ah, fuck. He truly looked more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. He had always been radiant, but now, with his hair and clothes clinging wetly, he was exceptionally, divinely beautiful. I wished I could just cut through the waves and the sea with my sword like back then. I had waited so long, I felt I could even boldly embrace him right now.
“But why are you so wet, Baroness?”
“…Ah, well.”
But before I could commit any rudeness, Ivan quickly stepped in and interrupted.
“That’s my line. What is the state of both of you? Making people swim in the middle of winter.”
Ivan naturally pulled me close to his side and stood facing the Second Prince. Listening to Ivan’s curt report, I tilted my head back and subtly straightened my shoulders. Finally at ease, I had the leisure to look at my own body. My arm hurt. No, my shoulders hurt, my arms hurt, my neck hurt, and my back hurt.
Lights gathered from afar, creating a space at Mikael’s feet.
I slowly sank to the ground. It felt like entering a theater to watch a grand and magnificent musical. I stretched out my trembling legs and sat down. Ivan placed a hand on my shoulder and gently massaged it. I leaned my upper body against Ivan’s legs and tilted my head back.
A dazzling aura of light enveloped the returned hero. From the tip of his sword, which leaped high like the sun, the tangled waves collapsed.
Clash*, the sound of waves could be heard. From nearby, from very far away. The sound of waves, washing away the listener’s heart, echoed everywhere like a song.
The man who leaped from this side walked as if flying. Foam rose with every step he took, and droplets of water, tangled in circles or haphazardly, bounced up. Laughter and sobbing could be heard together. The waves no longer surged to engulf the town.
The waves… leaped to embrace Michael Ernhardt. And then they broke.
Dozens of rainbows appeared simultaneously. The magic painted by the midday sun on the broken water droplets was dreamlike and beautiful. It felt like a waste to close my eyes even for a moment. Not just me, but everyone stared up at him, mesmerized.
After gazing blankly at his swordsmanship, which resembled a dance, for a long time.
Michael Ernhardt descended from the sky to the ground.
There were no more waves. Instead, a golden island suddenly rose from the sea behind him. No, it wasn’t an island. A golden turtle, with its eyes peacefully closed, floated on the water, carrying the shining rainbows on its back, twinkling brightly.
Finn, held tightly in Nova’s arms, shouted in a loud voice.
“Mom, look! It’s a Golden Turtle. Is it sleeping?”
“It is… a Golden Turtle.”
Somehow, I felt overwhelmed. I didn’t want to cry, but tears welled up. It felt like swallowing a whole inflated fish bladder. The humming of various Spirits, sung with nasal tones, entered my ears and exited my navel. My chest, swept up by the song, beat very fast.
Had there ever been a day when the calm sea looked so beautiful? Unable to hold back, I sobbed. Ivan held my hand tightly throughout my childish weeping.
It was truly a moment of witnessing a myth.