Mushi:Vol6 Ragnarok xx

Ragnarok xx: The twilight of the aftermath...

Hahaha.

With a disdainful smile, the magician Moon Rainbow clapped her hands a few times and silently turned her back to the end of a story.

She had thought it was going to be a big drama. Little did she know it would end in the most naïve way possible.

Whatever. I don’t mind comedies. I already finished the job Broken Hair gave me, so it made sense to depart immediately.

The job Broken Hair gave me was to modify her flesh according to her commands, and to make the split bodies she made using her infinite reproduction into monsters. I did that job. I don’t see any issues with it.

I had mostly guessed her true goal. She was so narrowly focused on the present and had zero concerns for herself. It felt like she was on a path of self-destruction. Also, the way she challenged the entire world? It felt like she was seeking death from the start.

That was why I gave her a push… but our opponents seemed more naïve than Broken Hair had expected. They forgave her despite how much of a mess she made, pointed out how she could live her life, and dissipated her despair.

Broken Hair would probably need a long time to adjust before she can live normally.

She got to know such powerful immortals, and even God Herself. There is nothing truly impossible in this world – even her loneliness would be soothed after some time.

Congratulations. How wonderful.

I was getting tired of my life at the end of many years of wandering. I was a bit jealous of the ravaged Queen of Insects, since she got her release from her endlessly repeating life.

Sigh. Moon rode her precious motorbike that she used as a convenient mode of transport in this country and left Broken Hair as soon as she could. I was just helping. I won’t be able to handle it if they thought I was the actual enemy and start to chase me down. Sure, I can’t get one half of the world now, but I had never been interested in such things from the start.

Praises only count if they are given spontaneously by other people, not when they were forced to sing your tributes. What’s the point in having your split bodies clap for you? Fenrir, the spear that Broken Hair carried, said that I had died pathetically in my previous reincarnation because I had wanted to become God.

I don’t care about that anymore. Seriously.

I’m just a has-been magician who skipped out on her performance, so I don’t know when I’ll get my next job. Financially, Broken Hair gave me a huge sum of money, so I can manage even if I just loiter around in this town.

Then, what should I do?

Honestly, I think this is becoming my catchphrase.

“Feels like there’s nothing fun here…”

Feeling empty inside, Moon passed through a few towns. That was when something happened. She was resting on the side of the road and smoking a cigarette when she heard that voice.

“Ah, the lady magician!”

Moon turned to the familiar sound. Ume-chan, the silly little girl, was standing there. She still didn’t look like a middle-schooler. She was very short, and her behavior and appearances were rather childish.

When Moon saw the Baguenaudier in Ume’s hands and how she had already solved a little bit of it, Moon felt genuinely happy.

She snuffed out the cigarette and smiled gently at the girl. She always felt such an expression didn’t fit her face, and she probably never smiled like this for even once in her previous life.

Ume smiled sweetly in return and lifted the Baguenaudier with both hands.

“This is the thing you gave me. It’s so hard. I tried my best, but I’ve only managed to solve this much.”

“How much? Let me see.”

Here she was, instructing a clumsy girl on how to solve puzzles in the corner of some small town. It was such a small moment of peace, but this failure of a magician still felt rather happy.

Probably.

I think – this feels just right.

-\-\-\-\-\-

As promised, I took Rinne sightseeing in this world once everything was over. She seemed rushed for time, and we only had a few days in our disposal.

We visited Breaksun and Single Room in Poison Valley. We visited the Sakaki family and Tatsue at the World Institute. We also met up with the Saibara sisters and Nageki in the nostalgic town of Kannonsakazaki. Sakaki was still a high school teacher, so he let us into the campus. Rinne smiled nostalgically when she touched the desks of her classroom. The graffiti on the wood were full of reminiscences.

This dream-like experience was almost over. Rinne didn’t want to leave, but she still made the decision to go back. I don’t know what methods she could use to go back. She said this time her visit wasn’t because she was near death’s door. This time she was just trying to escape reality, which meant she could go back whenever she wanted.

I had questioned her while we were in the Kannonsakazaki High School classroom. “Why are you running away, then? I don’t get it…what are you escaping from? Is someone bullying you again? Or are your parents abusing you?”

“No. Those things don’t happen anymore. I’m actually pretty happy these days.”

Rinne smiled contently and took out a few books.

Those books had green covers with portraits of familiar-looking people. The author had a strange name and odd titles. It was a series of 5 books.

“What’s this?”

I took a volume and skimmed through the pages. Dense novels full of words put me asleep, so I never read those. But the illustrations of this novel read like a manga. How odd. Sakaki was looking at these books in shock as well.

Right, Sakaki and Rinne had resumed being a disgusting couple in just a few days. It really pissed me off, so I decided to ban Sakaki from appearing within my sight. I just felt annoyed whenever I see them being lovey-dovey together…No, I just feel annoyed. I’m not jealous. At all.

“Um, actually…” Rinne blushed in embarrassment, making me wonder if something had happened. She indicated towards the books and said: “I wrote these. It’s a story about us.”

Maybe she was really embarrassed. She was mumbling in such a small voice that I could barely hear her.

“I want you, Guriko, to read it. More than anyone else, I want you to read it. I will stay in this world till the end of tonight. Let’s use this book to talk about our past. Let’s talk about the stories in this world where Sensei, Guriko, and everyone else had lived with me.”

After that…

We spent the entire night in the school, chatting about trivial stuff, complaining about Rinne’s novel, making a mess, and having a happy time that made me feel sad.

Happy times passed so quickly.

How I wished I could spend just one more second with her…but I was so tired that I started to fall asleep…Rinne got up from next to me and muttered: “Guriko, Sensei…”

Just like how she had promised a second meeting, she used those same words when she bid us farewell.

“Goodbye.”

The God of this world disappeared after a contented smile.

After the long night, at the moment the sun rose above the horizon –

My most important person returned to her reality.

The same goes for me. Though I now slumbered while reminiscing my time with Rinne, I need to get up early tomorrow, go cut my hair, then head to prep school, and try my best to make it into university this year.

I will conquer this bloodless, but vitally important battlefield.

I will be able to raise my head just a little more the next time she visited this world.

-\-\-\-\-\-

The girl walked in this world towards the dawn, dragging a long shadow behind her.

She wore a pointed hat, like a clown, and donned a frock like a priest.

Her crimson, Mushi-like eyes were full of energy and spirit.

“Oh time, stop thy steps. You are so beautiful. I had thought I had grown tired of seeing the dawn… I feel today is especially beautiful.”

This was a lonely journey of exploration, without a goal or a destination.

No…

“Gah gah! Gagaga - !”

The spear that emitted an animalistic stench laughed loudly in her hands, as if stressing his presence as a noisy companion. The girl did not show any displeasure. Instead, she clutched it tightly with an indulgent smile.

She was still wandering the world as she crossed towns, mountains, plains, and rivers that were just waking up to the sun.

She was wasting time before the coming of the End, but somehow, she no longer considered it a form of suffering.

She had friends around Kannonsakazaki who were still alive, friends who were immortals. If she missed them, she could just go see them. She could talk about the things she saw on her journey. Then, when she was tired of her friends, she could restart her travels. The world was still changing all the time.

She had always thought that she achieved nothing.

She had always thought her life was a boring and repetitive cycle.

She thought her life was as boring as an endlessly growing sedimentary rock layer below her feet.

But I was wrong.

“Fenrir…” The girl – Broken Hair – asked the spear in her hands with trepidation: “Are you sure you want to follow me? I do not know where I am heading to, and I embark on a spontaneous yet boring journey… you must grow tired of it eventually, right? Spending time with someone like me will be joyless…”

“No such thing, Master.”

The spear named Fenrir guffawed loudly with its crackling laughter.

“You are the one who found me, so you are now my owner. I will follow you till the ends of the earth… and always act as your travel companion! Gagaga! After all, I’m the Poisoned Apple destined to kill God! Even if the world was nearly destroyed – no, even if it was completely destroyed – I will last till the end of time, and remember everything about Broken Hair!”

My life was a cycle that never stopped, over and over.

I always thought there was no meaning to anything, and it was just a pointless accumulation.

But I was wrong. All that time I spent living and reincarnating was not wasted. Dusk is always followed by night, but soon the brilliant morning will arrive. Every dawn was different in this apparently monotonous cycle – moreover, it was always beautiful no matter how many times I looked at it.

If this endless cycle of a life could become as brilliant as this golden spear, then it was enough. I could endure – no, I could enjoy this endlessly circling life.

Even if Broken Hair dies and forgot everything when she restarted, this spear would tell her everything she had experienced in her life so far. She had always thought her life was as meaningless as evaporating mist, but it was not true. It would no longer disappear, and will genuinely build on it and remain in this world.

If this was true, then this journey – this endless wandering – would no longer be meaningless.

If this was not pointless, then she could endure this – no, enjoy this!

“Let’s go, Fenrir. Let’s start walking, go wherever we want, and reach the end of the horizon… The world is vast, and we have a lot to see.”

The Queen of Insects smiled naturally as she confidently walked towards the horizon.

The annoying servant in her hands was also accompanying her without complaints.

“Gaga! Gagaga--! Understood. Understood, Master! Gagaga! Tell me whatever you want me to do! No matter what, I’m your best tool, and your best friend! Gagagag - !”

“Also, this may sound very stubborn…” Broken Hair said something that she would probably have to repeat later.

“Don’t call me Master.”

The two of them walked forward together.

It will be a happy and free journey until the End.

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