I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [465]

The setting sun, like a great ball of flame, stained the horizon a vivid crimson.

Soon, the moon would rise on the opposite end of the sky, and the dark veil draped across it would gradually replace the burning clouds overhead.

"Lady Frieren, it's getting late. Shouldn't we look for a place to rest soon?"

Fern still didn't know exactly where Frieren was headed, but she knew well enough that traveling at night was dangerous.

Frieren understood her concern, but shook her head.

"We're almost there. Let's keep going… Besides, if we wait until tomorrow, it'll be too late."

Before they knew it, the sky had darkened completely, blanketed by stars and night. A pale crescent moon cast its gentle glow.

Stark, clearly out of patience, grumbled, "Frieren, are we there yet?"

"Almost, almost. I'm pretty sure it should be around here somewhere…"

"Why do you sound so unsure when you're the one leading the way? Don't tell me we're actually lost?"

"I'm not Aesc, you know. I don't get lost that easily."

"…Why am I suddenly the butt of this conversation?"

Aesc took issue with the accusation—it felt completely uncalled for.

"Maybe the reason we can't find it is because it's already gone," Stark offered, rubbing his chin. "I mean, if it's something Frieren wants to see, it must be at least eighty years old, right? Maybe even older. Some human settlements don't last nearly that long."

But the one who replied wasn't Frieren—it was Aesc.

"It wouldn't just disappear."

She smiled calmly, but her tone was unwavering. "We worked really hard with Himmel and the others to make sure it would stay intact. Theoretically, it shouldn't be gone."

"What is this thing, anyway? Why all the mystery…" Stark scratched his head.

Fern turned to Frieren and asked gently, "Do you really want to see it, Lady Frieren?"

"…Not particularly. Honestly, I'd be fine either way. If we miss it, that's okay too."

Frieren's answer was oddly detached, almost at odds with her own insistence on pressing forward.

Her gaze lowered slightly, and after a brief silence, she spoke again—this time, with a quiet emotion laced through her words.

"It's just… Himmel said he regretted not getting to see it. And if I can… I'd like to make up for that regret."

Though softly spoken, her words felt like a stone weathered by the tides—resilient and enduring. The sincerity within them was deeply moving.

After hearing that, neither Fern nor Stark could bring themselves to protest.

The rest of the journey passed without a single monster encounter—a small relief, and a welcome one at that.

"Ah, found it. There it is."

Frieren let out a breath, as though a great weight had lifted from her shoulders.

What stood before them was a massive natural cavern.

But the cave mouth bore the distinct traces of a magical seal.

To Fern's eyes, the spellwork was incredibly refined—far beyond anything she could hope to unravel.

"Lady Frieren, is this…?"

"This is a seal that Aesc and I placed here back then."

Frieren raised her hand and gently touched the seal as she explained, "The thing inside attracts monsters. We created this barrier not only to conceal its presence, but to keep monsters from getting in."

Aesc spoke up beside her.

"Looking at it now, I can see all kinds of flaws."

"Well, it has been over eighty years. No wonder we're a little dissatisfied with our past work."

Before long, Frieren opened a small doorway in the seal.

She stepped in first, Aesc following right behind. Stark and Fern brought up the rear.

Outside, the cavern entrance seemed unremarkable. But once they entered, Fern immediately sensed it.

"…The mana gathered in here… it's much denser than outside."

Up ahead, Frieren and Aesc were speaking in hushed tones.

"Judging by the mana levels… it should be tonight."

"Good thing we made it in time. Who knows how long we would've had to wait otherwise."

"At least it wouldn't be another hundred years. Thanks to the seal, we didn't have to start from scratch. This time, it only took ten years to gather enough magic."

Their voices weren't loud, but they didn't try to lower them either—and in the closed space of the cave, Stark and Fern could hear them clearly.

"…Did they just casually drop a century-long timeframe?"

Stark's expression twisted into something between disbelief and dread.

A hundred years…

I probably won't even live that long.

Thanks to illumination magic, they didn't have to worry about losing sight of the path.

Following behind Frieren and Aesc, Fern and Stark began to take in their surroundings.

There was no sign of artificial construction—it looked completely natural.

The tunnel was spacious, wide enough for three people to walk side by side without crowding.

Without any clear landmarks, they couldn't tell how far they'd gone—or whether they were heading uphill or down.

No moonlight could reach this deep. Their only light source was the glowing orb in Frieren's hand… or so they thought.

Suddenly, Fern's eyes caught a faint glimmer.

Small, luminous shapes shimmered in the darkness. The light was soft, but in the dim surroundings, it stood out clearly.

"…What's that?"

Fern peered closer—and saw a few delicate flowers.

Their petals were the same pure white as Frieren's light orb, but with a crystalline luster.

"Crystal Blossoms?"

She'd heard of them, of course—but this was her first time seeing them in person.

The name really couldn't be more fitting, she thought.

As they continued along the rugged path, more and more crystal blossoms appeared along the way.

They had no idea how far they'd walked, or for how long.

Until—suddenly, everything was bathed in light.

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the brilliance.

And then… they instinctively held their breath.

What appeared before them looked like something out of a fantasy—an illusion, or a dream.

A massive subterranean chamber. Overhead, an opening let moonlight pour in.

A vast, mirror-like lake reflected the starry sky and silver moon above. Around it spread a sea of crystal blossoms in full bloom.

"…Is this the sight you wanted to see, Lady Frieren?"

Fern's mouth hung slightly open, but no words seemed adequate to describe what lay before her.

"It's… beautiful."

As Fern marveled at the breathtaking scene, Aesc spoke up beside her.

"It really is beautiful. But this—this isn't the real show. Not yet. It's not enough to be called 'a once-in-a-century sight.'"

Sensing something about to change, Aesc's lips curved in a small, expectant smile.

"Don't blink. What's coming next… is a dreamscape that transcends reality itself."

As Aesc's words fell, the cavern began to shift.

First, a pale mist began to rise from the lake's surface.

But it wasn't ordinary fog—it was condensed mana, gathering into what could only be described as a magical tide.

At the same time, the moon rose to its highest point in the sky, casting its pure, gentle light straight down.

The shimmering mist lifted slowly, like a stairway stretching up toward the silver moon.

The moonlight struck the mirror-lake and reflected outward, bathing the crystal blossoms in its glow. Each bloom shone like a tiny star.

And again, they held their breath.

It was a beauty beyond words.

A vision so stunning, it could make anyone lose themselves for a moment.

A sight so otherworldly, one might question whether they were still awake—or dreaming.

Too beautiful for this mortal world. Too beautiful even for dreams.

It was like something pulled from the very edge of human imagination—dreamlike, surreal, and utterly transcendent.

Their senses faded. Words slipped away.

They could neither think nor move.

All they could do was surrender—body and soul—to this beauty that surpassed both dream and reality.

...

Ever since learning about the existence of the underground chamber from the villagers of Glyss, Himmel had been overflowing with excitement and anticipation.

A lake that mirrored the starry sky like polished glass, surrounded by crystal blossoms that shimmered like constellations.

And most of all—the moment the magical tide surged forth, that dreamlike spectacle would appear.

Anyone who had seen it, without a doubt, would believe that there was no sight in the world more beautiful.

It was not something crafted by human hands. It was a miracle birthed by the world itself. In other words, it was the work of the goddess. Yes—only a miracle of the goddess was worthy of such a description.

Himmel had already collected countless breathtaking sights on his journey. Naturally, he wasn't about to miss this one.

But reality had a cold way of setting things straight.

The magical tide, dense with mana, had drawn in monsters from all around. Now, the area was swarming with them.

The magic they consumed had completely drained the gathered mana inside—and they hadn't stopped there. The monsters had also destroyed every last one of the crystal blossoms within.

When Himmel received the news, he was devastated. He sat on a stone, slouched and despondent, for the entire afternoon.

"…I've never seen Himmel this down before."

From a short distance away, Eisen remarked, "Not even when he accidentally lost that half-finished autobiography of his."

"Is it really okay to just leave him like that?"

Aesc stroked her smooth chin and frowned. "He's been sitting there all afternoon. What is this, seriously? He's not Frieren, you know."

"…Why am I suddenly being dragged into this?"

Frieren offered her protest in a flat tone.

Ignoring Frieren's complaint, Aesc turned to Heiter.

"You've spent the most time with Himmel. Got any ideas for how to snap him out of this?"

"Ahaha, you're always giving me the tough ones, aren't you?"

Heiter chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "Honestly, I've never seen Himmel this dejected either. Looks like this one hit him pretty hard. What to do…? If it's about cheering him up, I wonder if lifting Frieren's skirt in front of him would still work?"

"…Why are you saying that out loud in front of me, you fake monk?"

"Hah… hah… hah…"

Frieren tilted her head, not understanding why Heiter would ever lift her skirt—and in front of Himmel, no less.

Before Aesc and the others could come up with a proper solution, however, Himmel beat them to it and pulled himself together.

"All right, everyone. Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine now."

Watching him flick his hair and strike a cool pose, Aesc, Heiter, and Eisen all spoke in perfect sync:

"He's putting on a brave face."

"He's totally forcing it."

"He's just pretending to be okay."

"You three are being way too harsh!"

Himmel whirled on them, looking so flustered he seemed ready to start breathing fire.

After the playful round of bickering and laughter, Himmel turned to the group and made a suggestion.

"Let's go defeat those monsters!"

No one was surprised by the proposal.

Even if that vision was now out of reach, they weren't the kind to turn a blind eye to a place overrun by monsters—or to a village that could soon be under threat.

Still, those who knew Himmel well—Eisen, Aesc, and Heiter—could tell that he hadn't let go of the villagers' description of that wondrous sight.

"You can clear out all the monsters in the area, Himmel, but you're still not going to see that scenery."

Even though the villagers had already explained it, Eisen felt the need to repeat it.

"As for the crystal blossoms, fine. If you can eliminate the monsters and let them grow again, you'll get a sea of blooms in ten or so years. But as for the magic… it's been completely drained. To trigger another magical tide—that'll take nearly a hundred years."

"In a hundred years… you and Heiter probably won't be around. And I'll probably be too old to travel anymore."

Eisen wasn't trying to discourage Himmel on purpose. He just didn't want his friend clinging to an impossible hope.

"…I'll be okay, Eisen."

Himmel listened quietly, a gentle smile never leaving his face.

"Of course I'm disappointed I won't get to see that view—one that moved so many to tears. But some regrets are just part of the journey. They're unavoidable. So… I've decided to entrust this wish to the future—to Aesc and Frieren."

"If it's them, I know they'll fulfill this dream for me."

Those sky-blue eyes looked far, far ahead—as if reflecting a distant future, like starlight caught in a mirror lake.

"And besides… we didn't come away empty-handed."

"All the effort we put in over these past days—it'll give people a chance, a hundred years from now, to witness that extraordinary sight. If we manage to defeat the Demon King, if peace really does come to the world…"

"Then the day will come when everyone can see that scenery."

"And when that day arrives—when they're moved by the same dreamlike light—they'll surely feel grateful to the ones who made it possible. Even if… they don't know who we were."

Even if they really did defeat the Demon King, the day would come when they'd be forgotten.

Their stories would become legends, fragments of myth. New heroes would be born from retellings, shaped in their image.

But Himmel didn't mind.

"I didn't become a Hero just to defeat the Demon King."

"I did it so that the flowers blooming because of me—the stars shining because of me—could bring blessings to the people in the far-off future, who are still fighting, still striving."

"That… would be the greatest reward I could ever ask for."