For an instant, the girl was overwhelmed by the bizarre feeling of having forgotten where she was. She blinked. In front of her eyes were the familiar faces of Yuri and Flynn, and not the faces of the young boys from when she had yet to meet them.
It felt as if a long journey had come to an end. Although she had a vague idea of the two of them — that they had grown up in the lower quarter while being influenced by many various factors and events along the way — she was still surprised to learn that so many things had happened to them.
But now that she thought about it, maybe it wasn’t so surprising. Even from the very beginning, there had always been something unusual about the two of them, that set them apart from the ordinary person. Perhaps it was more fitting to say that that much was to be expected, for the two of them.
Attempting to transport herself back in time once more, the girl closed her eyes. Amused by her actions, Yuri spoke.
“And that’s how we joined the Imperial Knights. Piece of cake, really.”
Yuri puffed out his chest and said. Hearing that, Flynn shot him a cold look.
“‘Piece of cake’...? I still remember the look on the examiner’s face back then. The practical test was one thing, but the written test, on the other hand…”
“Meh, details, details. After that, a bunch of other stuff happened, but I’m sure you’re tired from listening to us talk, so let’s save that story for a later time.”
The girl protested that she was fine and that she could still go on, but Yuri only smiled and said nothing further.
That being said, the girl did know to some extent what had happened after that. The Imperial Knights were different from what Yuri had thought them to be, and faced with that harsh reality, he soon left the knights, leaving Flynn behind. And then some time after that, the girl first met the two of them.
The girl then travelled around the world with Yuri, with Flynn occasionally joining them on their travels, and eventually they threw themselves into a final battle that would change the very way the world worked. Now, there were no more blastia, let alone the barrier that protected the city, and a new wall was being constructed — one that would surround both the imperial capital and the lower quarter.
Back then, when the two of them joined the Imperial Knights, there was no way they could have foreseen any of that. Thinking of it that way, she felt incredibly moved.
She didn’t know when, but sometime after that Yuri and Flynn had tried to talk to each other but ended up having a big fight, and after that they gradually drifted apart. There was a difference in the ‘everyone’ they wanted to save, a difference in the means they went about achieving that, and a difference in the position they were in, and before they knew it the roles of the one chasing after and the one who was being chased had been reversed. All these things strained their seemingly peaceful relationship. And so, rather than words, the two of them chose to communicate through their swords instead. They spoke how they truly felt, and confirmed that though their thoughts on the matter had changed, in reality, the feelings underlying them hadn’t changed a single bit.
Even now, the two of them were polar opposites of each other. And yet, no, it was because of that, that when they stood back to back their figures overlapped perfectly with each other. The girl was a little envious of the relationship the two of them had.
Still, to think that the woman named Jiri was such an incredible person. She felt like she finally understood why the elderly Hanks spoke with such deep feeling whenever he spoke of her from time to time. Even at her old age, she was such a distinguished person. Then, what must she have been like when she was young? Come to think of it, wasn’t she supposed to be an incredibly stunning beauty…?
When the girl said that, Yuri and Flynn exchanged glances. Quick to notice that, the girl immediately started questioning them, asking if they knew anything about that.
“Um… well… I guess.”
“Ah… yes.”
The two of them said and averted their eyes in a blatantly unconvincing manner—
****
Even after the funeral ended and everyone had left, Hanks was still standing there in front of Jiri’s grave. Any second now, Jiri would rise from the grave with a nonchalant look on her face, and tell him that it was all just a prank — of course, he wasn’t actually thinking anything like that. Hanks had always accepted everything as they came. He had accepted the death of his wife, and was simply thinking back on the fond memories of the days he had spent with her.
He recalled the day of their first meeting. The family they had built together. The joy of gaining and the sorrow of loss. The days of bearing all of that and swearing to keep on living.
Even though it had been decades since, it felt like time had passed by in a flash. Even back then, the ‘Dark Wings’ wasn’t a key part of their lives. He had been worried that she would be caught, but that was it. That, too, was a part of their daily lives.
But now all of that had entered the realm of the past. From now on, he would have to live on while relying solely on the few remaining mementoes he had of her to remember her by.
“Thanks, Granny. I enjoyed the days I spent with you.”
Hanks spoke to the dirt under him. He stood there for a while longer, as if expecting a reply, but eventually he turned his back and started to walk away. In the distance ahead he could see Yuri and Flynn standing there waiting patiently for him, as if they had purposely kept back to give him space.
Suddenly, Hanks felt a light shine from behind him. The light looked too unnatural to be sunlight. He saw Yuri and Flynn widen their eyes. They weren’t looking at Hanks, but at something behind him.
Wondering exasperatedly just what in the world could be happening at this point, Hanks turned around. And then, as if he had been struck by lightning, he froze.
Two figures floated above the grave. It was a man and a woman — a young couple. The woman couldn’t exactly be called slender or delicate, but she still looked incredibly beautiful. The man carried her in his arms, and she was dressed in a simple but gorgeous white dress — and smiling happily. The man was smiling too. Anyone could tell from the way they smiled that they were, from the bottom of their hearts, sincerely happy. Around the couple, countless petals fluttered and danced in the air, forever immortalised in this frozen fragment of time, blessing the marriage of the bride and groom.
Tears fell from Hanks’s eyes. They ran down his cheeks to the tip of his white beard and dripped onto the ground. Speechless, Yuri and Flynn stared at the scene in front of them.
The three of them watched as the figure of the man and woman floating above the grave started to fade, and eventually disappeared completely.
“Was that… the holo blastia?”
“Shh.”
Flynn shushed Yuri, who had murmured without thinking. Hanks had buried the blastia in Jiri’s possession along with her. What had occurred under the dirt that had caused it to activate at this very moment? Or — maybe.
Maybe miracles really existed in this world.
Before they knew it, Hanks was standing right in front of them. A trail of tears shone on his calm and gentle face.
“……Let’s keep this a secret between us.”
Smiling as he said that, like a little mischievous boy, Hanks left the two of them behind as he started walking briskly away.
****
Loud yet cheerful voices rang throughout the plaza.
The girl chased after Yuri and Flynn, who were trying to run away from her. No matter what, she was hell-bent on hearing what Jiri looked like when she was young before giving up, but Yuri and Flynn only smiled wryly, and showed no signs of being caught by her. Attracted by the commotion, their other friends also joined in the chase.
The noise of the commotion spread to every corner of the plaza, rousing an elderly man from his afternoon nap. Prior to that, he had been leaning back on a chair in the corner of the plaza, fast asleep.
“Heavens, what a racket they’re making.”
Hanks stirred in exasperation. He shifted his body slightly and was about to go back to sleep, when he suddenly lifted his head as if he had noticed something. Hanks raised his eyebrow, and opened his eyes slightly.
In the plaza, Yuri and the others were still running around the plaza, yelling.
“Our children are doing well. No need to be worried about me.”
Bathed in the gentle sunlight, the elderly man spoke as if conversing with someone, before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.
Crow’s Makin’ Trails, Chapter 12! Dengeki Online has been putting out an ongoing biweekly four-panel comic centering around Crow Armbrust, and I’ve decided to translate them. Stay tuned for updates!
Please support the original comic by viewing it (for free!) here!
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