* * *
Ah, so this is why I tried to keep things as concise and factual as possible… but it’s not easy to speak without emotion.
While I was part of the Hero’s party, I was always afraid, always in pain—yet, even then, I looked at the Hero and held onto hope.
Every memory I left behind is soaked with emotions I can’t shake off.
…But is it really okay for me to speak like I’m protesting now?
Sure, maybe the reason we couldn’t defeat the Demon King was because the gods tied the use of the holy sword to some vague condition like “true love.”
But wasn’t it me who ruined the one chance we got?
Didn’t I snatch away an opportunity earned through everyone’s efforts, just to show off? Isn’t this just pathetic?
Even though Bati is dating me now—yes, he does seem to understand love more than before—but someone like me… do I really qualify as a recipient of “true love”?
Is this really okay? Shouldn’t I be apologizing to Bati first…?
Bati kissed my cheek.
“Eep!”
“I see. I was too hasty.”
“Uh… huh?”
“So? What happened next?”
My heart’s pounding like crazy.
Bati must be letting this go because he’s generous.
Am I really allowed to be in a relationship this one-sidedly blessed?
I seriously wonder, but since Bati is asking what happened next, I should keep going.
“No, but… you’re right. We couldn’t beat the Demon King. Two of the other party members died, and only you and I barely managed to escape, incapacitated. I was on the verge of death too.”
Bati’s eyes narrowed.
His sharp gaze swept over my entire body.
The way he examined me so intently made me embarrassed.
“I’m fine now! I’m in the past, so any wounds I had in the future are gone!”
“I see.”
He gave a small nod.
A sign to go on.
But when I tried to speak, I was so nervous I had to swallow first.
Now I really had to tell him about the regression.
“Even as we ran away so miserably… there was still hope. The gods gave us one more chance. They opened a door that would let us go back to the past.”
I clenched my fists.
My heart thumped so loud it almost hurt.
“They also told us why we failed. It was because… we didn’t understand ‘true love,’ and that’s why we couldn’t fully wield the holy sword.”
“…True love?”
See? Isn’t that ridiculous?
Even Bati is repeating it in disbelief!
Who comes up with such an abstract requirement?
Not that I can complain to a god…
But if a god decides the love I have with Bati isn’t “true love,” then it’s not?!
That’s terrifying!
If, by any chance, a god is listening right now… um, please don’t get mad at me for blasphemy.
I don’t have the right to demand anything.
It’s not like I did anything right.
“You did draw the holy sword, but it stopped glowing the moment you pulled it out. That’s what the gods said—it was because you didn’t know true love.”
“Heh.”
That dry laugh—I really get it.
Even faithful Bati thinks the requirement is absurd!
“But when you heard that, you hesitated. You said you weren’t confident you knew what true love was.”
My throat tightened.
“I… was dying, and yet…”
The words wouldn’t come out.
My body went cold, and everything blurred. I trembled uncontrollably.
My breath grew ragged.
I’d forgotten, or tried to forget, that terrifying moment of death and despair—but now it came rushing back.
Strong arms pulled me in and held me close.
I leaned against a warm chest, and finally managed to steady my breathing.
“It’s okay.”
Bati whispered.
The one who gave me hope, who calmed me more than anyone else—the strongest and most amazing Hero in the world.
My beloved Batista.
“So, I…”
How can I say this to someone like you?
“I saw the portal narrowing and couldn’t hold back. I jumped in instead.”
How pathetic of me—the one you trusted.
“It was your second chance… but I was scared to die…”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I tensed up.
His silence made me freeze even more.
Even in Bati’s arms, I trembled from the chill. I was scared.
I was sure he’d respond coldly.
That he’d criticize me for giving in to a moment of fear and stealing such a precious opportunity.
I thought I couldn’t blame him if he pushed me away.
But—
‘…He’s not saying anything.’
Bati just held me quietly.
He didn’t let go of my body, damp with cold sweat.
As if telling me I could lean on him like this anytime.
As if my mistake didn’t matter—as if what really mattered was that I was trembling in fear.
I opened my eyes, cautiously.
Bati was smiling down at me.
“So you finally told me.”
No way.
That response didn’t match any of the worst-case scenarios I’d imagined.
The best I’d hoped for was that he’d shrug it off, saying the result turned out fine.
But he smiled.
His voice was happy, even content.
How could something like this be real?
I trembled again—but not from fear. It was overwhelming emotion.
I had prepared myself to face his anger, to accept his criticism.
But my real, hidden wish had been—
I wanted Bati to say it was okay.
That anyone would be afraid of dying.
That it couldn’t be helped. That he understood.
That even someone as pathetic and flawed as me could be accepted.
“Ba…ti.”
But Bati’s response went even further.
He didn’t just say it was okay—he welcomed my confession.
My heart stirred. Feelings I’d tried to bury deep inside surged up.
My voice trembled.
My eyes burned. Tears of relief and joy ran down my cheeks.
“Bati…”
“Why are you crying again?”
He gently wiped my tears.
But I couldn’t stop crying. I was just so relieved—so at ease—that all the worry I’d carried poured out at once.
“You cry so easily.”
Even if he says that, I have no excuse!
In the end, I sobbed in Bati’s arms.
All those anxious moments—wondering if he wouldn’t believe me, if he’d look at me with contempt for stealing his chance—they all became part of the past.
This ending was almost too ideal.
Bati really is an unbelievably kind Hero.
He held me the whole time, patting my back as I cried.
His kindness made me cry even harder.
“…You’re not mad?”
I finally asked, after calming down a little.
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because… it was your chance to go back. But I stole it because I couldn’t wait even a little…”
“If I didn’t want that, I would’ve stopped you.”
I had considered that too.
“But you were badly injured… maybe too shocked to move…”
“Even then, I could’ve at least spoken. Do you think you would’ve ignored me if I told you to stop?”
“Ah…”
I hadn’t even considered that.
Come to think of it, if Bati had shouted for me to stop, I probably wouldn’t have made it through the portal.
I had barely enough strength left to lunge forward in my final moments.
If someone had tried to stop me, I probably would’ve collapsed right then and there.
So… does that mean the future Bati intentionally let me into the gate?
In his place?
What could he possibly be trusting in me?
* * *
