........A week has passed since then.

　The impact that Iris had left behind in various places was great, and the guilds and knights were forced to deal with it.
　Rebuilding the village of Pagos.
　Treating the injured.
　Investigating for similar seals.
　The guilds and knightly orders are working together to deal with the situation in various places.

　As for me........
　Despite the fact that I violated my orders with a double violation of the order with a dogmatic action, there was no punishment.

　My disregard for orders was to get insurance in case the mission failed.
　And acting on my own, I noticed Iris's trap beforehand and took it upon myself to help everyone else.
　That's how I found out, and that's how the story was completed.

　I just did whatever I wanted...
　But, well, as it turns out, there's no blame, so I let it go.
　There was a lot going on, but it's not like I want to stop being an adventurer.

　If Axe and Cell had accused me of everything, maybe this wouldn't have happened, but....
　They said nothing and walked away.
　Maybe that was kindness in their own way.

　But they didn't say goodbye to each other...
　I was reminded once again that I was no longer connected to the two of them.
　It was something I was prepared for, but when it came down to it, I was a little sad.

　After the hearing was over, we joined in the post-processing.
　We thought that by moving our bodies, we would be able to stop thinking about something else.
　We wanted time to collect our thoughts and feelings.

　And so the week went by in the blink of an eye...



----------



　I had come to the mountain where Iris was sealed.
　However, it wasn't the site of the shrine.
　I had moved to a better vantage point.

'Rain, is this where we are?'

　Kanade showed me a flower he'd picked nearby.

'Yeah, that's enough. Thank you.
No, this is as easy as it gets.
Okay, we're done.

　Tania brought me a cross made of wood.
　It's quite beautiful.

"Thank you, Tania.
Well, I'll give you this whenever you want.

　As she said it, Tania made a cross on the ground.
　Then Kanade added a flower.

'Holy Breath,'

　Sola and Luna chanted their magic.
　A pale light spread around the cross.
　It's a magic used mainly by priests and others to give a blessing to the target.

''........''

　Nina is on her knees in front of the cross, hands clasped together, eyes closed, praying.
　The kettle on top of her head the kettle..........................Tina was also still.
　She must be praying, just like Nina was.

".........

　I followed them, and I prayed for them.
　Kanade, Tania, Sola and Luna followed.

'Phew.'

　After a while, I gently open my eyes.
　They opened their eyes, just as I did.

　Seeing them, I said softly to them.

"Thank you, guys. For being so selfish.

　After all the post-processing was done, the first thing I did was....
　The idea was to build a tomb for Iris.

　Since he caused such an incident, of course, there would be no tomb for Iris.
　Rather, she would be talked about as a demon who spread fear and destruction.

　But ... that seemed too sad.
　So I decided to at least make a tomb.
　I don't know where the Heavenly Clan lived, so........
　I chose this place so that you could sleep peacefully in a place with a good view.

....

　Looking at the grave of Iris is an indescribable feeling.
　There is no Iris down here.
　In fact, along with the ruins....

　It still hurts to think about that time.
　Couldn't there have been a better way to do it?
　What if we do whatever it takes to keep our hands on it?

　That's all I can think about.
　It's not a good thing to think about, but...
　But it doesn't take away the regret.

Rain.

　The next thing I knew, Kanade was holding my hand in both of hers.

'Rain did his best,'
Kanade...
'I wasn't there but... but I think Rain's feelings reached Iris. Because........she was laughing at the end, right?

　I've told everyone about the whole thing.

"I know it turned out this way... but what Rain did was not in vain. Besides, it's not like he did anything wrong, he did the best he could, and there's no other way....nyah?

　Kanade tilted his head slightly in confusion as he spoke, and said, "Koten.
　Kanade is not very good at this kind of talk.....
　It's kind of funny.

Anyway,

　Tania interrupted from the side.

'Lane has accomplished something that no one else has ever done, that's all.
Tania...
You should be proud. No one else could have done that. Of course, it didn't all work out, but you can't keep regretting it, can you?　Would Iris approve of such a thing?　No, I won't admit it. I'm sure you'll say this.
"You beat me, so you should be more proud of me!
Oh, my line!

　Tania looked like a gauntlet as Luna snatched the line away from her.
　In spite of them, Sora laughs softly at them.

''A gloomy face doesn't suit Rain. I want you to be smiling like you always have been. I'm sure Iris would have preferred that, too.
I think so, too. You've got a nice smile on your face, huh?
Iris will get angry with you if you look so pale. "I don't like that kind of face," she'd say.

　Nina and Tina have joined the conversation as well.

　They're all looking out for me.
　They care about me.
　I'm very happy about that.
　I felt a sense of warmth in my heart.

''Well I guess so.

　How long can you drag it out?

　Regret is not going to go away any time soon.
　I'm not going to forget about Iris anytime soon.

　But I'm still alive.
　Because I'm here with you all.
　I have to look forward and walk away.

"...and...

　I look at Iris' grave one last time.
　And I tell her in my heart.

　I've been through a lot.......but I still can't dislike Iris.
　In fact, I think I might have even preferred him.
　Right now, I want you to take it easy and rest.

　...Goodbye.