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chapter 1
“Hey, Savior.”
That night, the stars were unusually bright.
“What would you do… if the world didn’t end?”
Lirian, lying on the grass, tilted her head and asked.
Each time a wind tinged with the acrid smell of smoke blew by, small lights flickered at the base of the hill—like stars.
But both of them knew what those really were: holy-powered defensive bombs buried underground.
And that there weren’t many left.
And that those bombs were humanity’s final line of defense.
Eight years—long if long, short if short.
In that time, the world had been thoroughly ruined by war with the monsters known as the “Abyss.”
To the point that there were no longer any priests left who could purify them.
“Hmm?”
“Stop saying weird things and just look at the stars. You said you wanted to.”
“Tch, it’s our last night—can’t I ask something like that?”
“There’s no such thing as ‘what if.’ It’s all just make-believe by dreamers.”
They’d know the outcome by tomorrow anyway.
When Illei spoke in a dry voice, Lirian pouted.
“You’re so cold, Savior!”
Despite carrying the heavy burden of having to protect a dying world in humanity’s final holy war, this woman was always cheerful.
Her black hair was tousled, and her violet eyes looking up at the starry sky were as pure as a child’s.
She was the Sword Ghost.
Though, honestly, she doesn’t seem that sharp.
And in truth, she really wasn’t.
Now she was called a once-in-a-generation sword genius, humanity’s last hope, a hero—but once, she had acted so immaturely for her age that people had nicknamed her the “Airhead Princess.”
There seemed to be a reason behind it, though he never learned what it was.
Still, she’s gotten a lot better.
When they first met, Lirian was suffering from mutism.
But after he spoke to her consistently and introduced her to the world again, she began to talk. Still, her childlike personality remained.
He had tried many times to uncover the root of it, but in a ruined world, there was only so much he could do.
“If something like that really happened…”
“What if it did?”
“I’d sleep… from sunrise to sunset.”
“That sounds nice.”
Lirian nodded solemnly.
Illei Serevia Leonhardt. He was born into the noblest and most glorious bloodline.
The last surviving royal, leader of the Dawnstar Order, and Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.
A small, humble wish for a man of such stature—but she never mocked his dream.
“Then… can I sleep next to you?”
Illei inwardly clicked his tongue at the woman who casually said something that could cause a scandal if anyone heard.
“Ow!”
“Stop saying weird things and get up. It’s almost morning.”
He flicked Lirian lightly on the forehead and rose to his feet.
Far in the distance, an overwhelming darkness was approaching.
The Abyss Dragon.
A being that had appeared to bring about the end of the world.
Rain poured down in an instant, drenching everything around them.
And the moment the light of the final bomb went out, that black and overwhelming creature opened its mouth.
The battlefield, once filled with explosions and screams, was now silent, enveloped only by the sound of falling rain.
As Illei lowered his head, his loose eyepatch slipped off and fell into the puddle below.
“Why…”
His left eye, already blind, could see nothing.
But in his blurry right eye, he saw her—covered in blood.
Illei desperately pulled Lirian into his arms.
“Why… Why!”
He screamed.
The woman died saving the man.
That was all.
Savior… hey. If the world hadn’t ended, do you want to know what I really wanted to do?
Soaked in rain, her body cold, she seemed to speak, as though comforting him in his despair.
I wanted to build the biggest cabin in the world.
In the final moment of her life, she smiled more brightly than the stars that filled the sky.
And then, I wanted to live there with all the people I love.
She spoke her unfulfilled wish and closed her eyes.
Illei clenched his teeth so hard he tasted blood.
Nothing in my life ever went right.
A hopeless case—or a piece of trash.
Born as the legitimate child of the Emperor and Empress in the Holy Empire, blessed by divine power—he should have led a glorious life.
But his life had been filled with disgrace.
Despite his immense holy power, he was unable to control it.
Even so, he struggled and managed to survive—only for the Abyss, the sign of the world’s end, to erupt.
And now, you’re taking her too?
The only reason he hadn’t lost his mind all this time was because of this woman.
Her childlike innocence had made him forget, at times, that they were on a battlefield.
At the very least, he had been able to keep from running away from this bleak reality.
He closed his eyes tightly. Rain—or was it blood?—ran down his cheeks.
God was truly cruel.
Not that he ever believed in God anyway. If there was one, would the world have turned out like this?
CRACK!
Lightning struck. A blinding light erased everything in front of him, and he opened his eyes.
The Abyss Dragon was opening its mouth again.
With a pure-white spark, a force beyond resistance gathered in its maw.
Since being forcefully erased from the imperial registry, Illei had not prayed to God—not even once.
Not once.
“…You damn god…”
Leaving behind the sight now dyed completely white, Illei held Lirian close in his arms.
“If you really exist…”
He looked down at her, motionless in his embrace, as the world around them was erased by blinding light.
Without realizing it, he let a faint smile rise to his lips as he whispered:
“Please grant this woman’s wish.”
I hope that in your next life… you’ll be just a little happier.
