MISS 20

“Long ago… a very long time ago, I once rode a horse with someone precious to me as we traveled a long distance together.”

The sudden beginning of the story felt strangely delicate.

“At that time, that person was holding my waist with strong arms.”

Azel wasn’t curious about Elpis’s story.

No—he didn’t want to hear it.

It was almost like an instinct.

But as if mocking the way he stood there frozen like a fool, Elpis continued.

“He was a taciturn person, so he never said it out loud. But I already knew. He was worried that I might fall off the horse.”

Soon, her voice softened as if she were recalling a distant memory.

“It was around sunset back then, so unlike now, the whole world was dyed in shades of orange.”

Despite the faint smile on her lips, the trembling in her breath felt unfamiliar.

“The scenery was so beautiful that I ended up having a rather wicked thought.”

Because of that, without realizing it, Azel found himself listening to her voice.

“…What kind?”

“I thought… I’m glad this person won’t forget.”

“…!”

“…I’m glad that there’s someone who will remember this sky, and the memory of this day, with me forever.”

Every word that came from Elpis’s lips pierced into his chest like a dagger.

“Even though I knew how cruel that would be for him… I still thought that. …It was a truly terrible thought.”

The confession that followed was just as cruel as she said.

Azel had spent his life suffering from a curse that robbed him of forgetfulness.

It was a curse, a punishment, and a deception.

Yet he couldn’t even bring himself to be angry.

“So I guess I was punished.”

“…Ah.”

“So that’s why… you forgot me.”

Just as Azel’s punishment had been the inability to forget,
her punishment had also been forgetting.

Realizing another truth he never wanted to understand, Azel fell silent.

“I must have had such terrible thoughts… so I guess this is my punishment.”

Thud.

With a small weight and a trace of warmth, something leaned against his chest.

The weight of the back resting against him was light, yet it strangely made it hard to breathe.

“Then why… are these arms still so warm?”

“…!”

Fragile fingertips brushed against his arm.

She couldn’t bring herself to grab him.

She couldn’t cling to him and beg.

Nor could she resent him for forgetting her.

“I shouldn’t be greedy. I shouldn’t wish for anything. Yet why are you still… so cruelly kind?”

Every one of those words suffocated Azel.

They made him imagine a day that didn’t exist in his memories—

the day from her story.

‘Was that why…?’

Around that moment, Azel realized something.

Elpis hadn’t staged all of this to make him uneasy.

Quite the opposite.

To make sure his suspicion wouldn’t ruin her plan, she had deliberately shown him a fragment of the truth.

…Even though she knew it would wound him.

“I’ll just pass by your life. I won’t be greedy anymore. I’ll quietly pass by, so please—just like now—don’t ask me anything.”

The story ended with a request.

A desperate plea not to ask anything.

There were countless reasons why he should refuse such a short and arrogant request.

Yet Azel had only one answer.

“…Alright. I promise.”

Even though his chest kept tightening, he couldn’t show it.

‘With what kind of feelings are you staying by my side?’

He had come all the way here because he couldn’t bear the thought that he himself had been merely a lingering attachment for Elpis.

But to someone who claimed she would only pass through his life—

he couldn’t bring himself to ask anything.

*

‘Nailed it.’

Even though Azel’s expression barely changed while listening, it was obvious.

This whole emotional story had worked perfectly.

‘Come on, Azel. I’m being this sincere with you. Just let it slide this once, okay?’

Call it evil if you want.

I’m just fighting just as desperately to survive.

There was a reason I suddenly started telling that story.

‘When you’ve got nothing to say, the best move is to bury it under a dramatic backstory!’

Rather than creating complicated explanations that would require careful consistency, I chose to escape the situation with pure melodrama.

It wasn’t like I was pretending to have some special relationship with Azel for no reason.

My plan was to win his favor through this process.

‘If I want to give him the impression that I’d never betray him, a story like this is the bare minimum.’

After all, strong determination usually needs love—or love mixed with resentment—to support it.

Compared to that, most other kinds of relationships would sound unconvincing.

This was simply the easiest and clearest option.

‘Besides, with Azel’s personality, it’s not like there’ll be any consequences.’

His personality only strengthened my confidence.

No matter how much nonsense I spouted, I’d never manage to crack even a tiny fracture in Azel’s cold heart.

‘Wow… maybe I really am a genius.’

While praising myself endlessly inside, I still kept up the distant, wistful act on the outside.

The acting must have worked well—Azel showed no sign of doubting me.

“Thank you, Azel.”

Because of that, I failed to notice something.

The waves stirring inside those red eyes

were flowing in a direction completely different from what I had expected.

*

“Elpis.”

When the village of Dariya was finally getting closer, Azel suddenly called my name.

Hearing my name from Azel’s lips felt more satisfying than I expected.

‘Not bad.’

Just the change in how he addressed me made it feel like we’d grown a little closer.

I happily answered, filled with that pleasant feeling—

but strangely, there was no response.

“Azel? What’s wrong?”

Only then did I realize that Azel wasn’t looking at me.

‘What?’

I barely had time to feel puzzled.

“Mary?”

Azel wasn’t the only one acting strange.

Mary, who was riding another Aigers, also looked unusually serious.

“Why are you two acting—”

“Shh. Quiet.”

This time she cut me off completely, her face stiff.

That was when I felt a bad premonition.

—Grrrrr!
—Grrrk! Grrrr!

Right then, the Aigers also began growling as if they had sensed something.

The two beasts came to a halt one after the other, and the atmosphere instantly turned heavy.

“W-What’s wrong?”

Dariya asked anxiously, but I had no answer.

I didn’t know why they were acting like this either.

‘Why all of a sudden?’

Then—

Boom!

“Ah—Aah! Aaaaah!”

“Dariya! Mary!”

In the moment we let our guard down, one of the Aigers suddenly dashed forward.

Mary and Dariya were riding it, and Mary—whose shoulder had been injured in the previous fight—couldn’t control the beast.

The situation immediately began racing toward disaster.

“Mary! No!”

Mary lost her balance and nearly slipped off the creature’s back.

“S-Sis!”

“H-Hold on! Dariya, hold tight!”

“Ugh!”

Fortunately, Dariya and the old man managed to grab Mary’s clothes, preventing her from falling.

But now all three of them were barely clinging onto the beast’s back.

“Azel!”

Even then, Azel continued staring at the same place.

‘What on earth is he looking at at a time like this?!’

His gaze was fixed on a dot that was rapidly approaching.

‘Wait… a dot?’

Rumble—

No.

It wasn’t a dot.

What was rushing toward them at incredible speed was a group of people.

‘Don’t tell me…?’

And just as I feared—

Whizz—Thud!

‘Damn it!’

The bad feeling instantly became reality.

An arrow had flown in from somewhere.

They were armed.

“Aaaah!”

“No!”

Soon, hunting arrows sliced through the air and struck the ground.

That was only the beginning.

Whiiish!

Thwack! Thud!

“A-Aaaah!”

A child screamed as arrows whizzed past overhead.

But the rain of arrows didn’t stop.

Meanwhile, the Aigers grew even more agitated under the relentless attacks and began thrashing wildly.

—ROOOOAR!

“Azel!”

Seeing the chaos that could erupt at any moment, I called out to him again.

“Stay here and don’t move.”

Despite his blunt tone—

Azel’s figure vanished instantly.