CH 292

Episode 292 – Unbelievable Truth

“D-Dead…? What do you mean Ahmed died?!” (Lewin)

“……She fought against an Executive of the Demon King’s Army and died.” (Dion)

“Y-You’re joking, aren’t you? There’s no way that Ahmed could die.” (Lewin)

“Unfortunately, I’m not lying. We thought that you might have wanted to see her before she gets cremated, so she’s now in a deep frozen state. We came here… to tell you exactly this.” (Dion)

The seriousness in his eyes told me that he wasn’t lying. My panicked breaths felt painful, and my entire body broke out into a cold sweat.

―No way. I don’t want to believe it.

My feelings were stopping me from facing Dion’s words head-on.

“….I-I don’t believe it. Ahmed can’t be dead.” (Lewin)

Hearing my words of denial, Dion and Smash had extremely distraught expressions.

“I’m really not lying. Right now, Ahmed is being kept in a special morgue, so let’s go there now. Once you see… I think you’ll understand.” (Dion)

As I walked behind the two of them, I couldn’t help averting my eyes from the harsh, difficult reality. I was desperately trying to convince myself that the two of them were just playing a bad joke on me, even though I knew deep in a corner of my heart that they weren’t lying, based on their serious expressions and character.

Without exchanging a single word, we arrived at the Healer’s Guild. Since I had worked here in the past, I knew that there was always a place in the Healer’s Guilds where corpses were temporarily stored.

Becoming aware of the fact that things were unfolding in too logical of a manner, I suddenly felt myself faced with the overwhelming weight of reality. My heavy gait became even more ponderous, and I felt my body’s exhaustion piling up at a terrible rate.

Unaware of my state of mind, the two of them went into the Healer’s Guild, which was rather empty because it was night time. They eventually stopped before a room that had the words ‘Special Morgue’ written on the signboard in front of it.

“This is where Ahmed-san is resting.” (Dion)

“….Lewin. Are ye alright?” (Smash)

“Y-Yeah… I believe that Ahmed wouldn’t die like this.” (Lewin)

To be honest, I wanted to walk away from this place right now without confirming the truth. If I found out the truth, I felt like I would go crazy and my life would lose its meaning.

“Then I’m opening the door.” (Dion)

Dion placed his hand on the door and entered the Special Morgue. The room was unusually cold, to the point that each of my breaths were visible, like white fog.

“Ahmed-san is in there.” (Dion)

Dion pointed to one of the several coffins lined up in a row and urged me to check inside. I swallowed my saliva, unsure whether I was trembling from the cold or the fear… and slowly lifted the lid of the coffin.

The person who lay inside was unmistakably Ahmed. However, unlike usual, she was lying there unmoving, as if she was asleep. Her face had numerous wounds on it that I had never seen before, showing that she had fought a hard battle to the death.

…..I see. I didn’t manage to fulfill my promise to Ahmed, did I?

When I saw Ahmed lying there lifelessly in the coffin, I realized for the first time that she was truly dead.

―No. I knew it in my head this whole time, but I was only forced to realize it now.

“Please… laugh loudly again like you used to. Show me your funny bantering with Dion and Smash again… please.” (Lewin)

Unable to stop the tears from overflowing, I found myself spilling the contents of my heart to the dead Ahmed. I hated my stubborn, selfish self for it, but no matter what, I couldn’t bring myself to accept this reality.

“….Dion-san, Smash-san. How long can we keep Ahmed-san’s body here?” (Lewin)

“Eh? I think we can continue to keep it here as long as we keep paying for it, but… why do you ask?” Dion answered, looking puzzled by my sudden question.

As long as we continued paying for it, we could keep her body here… In that case, there was one possibility that came to mind.

In my mind, a certain conversation began replaying in my ears.

It was on the day that I first visited Elf’s Tears.

While we were talking about the effect of Immunity Grass, the grandma had suddenly mentioned that there was a plant that could bring the dead back to life. At the time, she did say that such a plant was only mentioned in fairytales, but on the contrary, the fact that it was mentioned in fairytales at all meant something.

There was a good chance that the story was completely fictional, but there was also a possibility that it was based on a true story, like the legend of a hero. If there was even the slightest possibility, I didn’t want to give up on it. Rather― I couldn’t bring myself to give up.

“In that case, I’ll keep paying to preserve her body here as long as possible. Is that okay?” (Lewin)

“Do you have something in mind?” (Smash)

“Yes. I have a vague idea, but I want to find a way to bring Ahmed-san back to life.” (Lewin)

“B-Bring her back to life… Is such a thing really possible?!” (Dion)

“I’m not sure. However, as long as there’s even the slightest possibility, I want to go after it.” (Lewin)

“If there really is such a method, we want to look for it too, but… We’ve never heard of a person being brought back to life before. Also, there was one thing that Ahmed asked of us right before she died.” (Dion)

“She asked something of the two of you?” (Lewin)

“Yes, she told us to take care of you, Lewin-kun. I don’t think Ahmed would have wanted you to spend your time doing something this reckless. Because she’s entrusted us with this wish, I think it’s our role to stop you from doing this.” (Dion)

Dion tried to persuade me with a serious expression on his face. Thinking about it calmly, it was normally impossible to resurrect a dead person, so it was natural to think that searching for such a method would be a waste of time.

―However, I had already made up my mind.

“Without completely getting to the bottom of this idea, I can’t just give up. I want to talk to her one more time… just one more time. Even if I don’t manage to find a way to bring her back to life and all of it ends up being in vain, I won’t have any regrets,” I asserted, looking Dion straight in the eyes.

My feelings had been the same from the beginning, and this was just me being selfish. I wanted to find a way to bring Ahmed back to life not for her own sake, but for mine.

Originally, I should have lost my life when I was struck by disaster at Mount Cornello, but Ahmed handed my life back to me.

I wouldn’t have any regrets, even if this took me the rest of my life.

I looked Dion straight in the eyes and told him everything that I felt without holding anything back.