TIEH | Chapter 24

“Jayden, don’t you usually not believe in that stuff?”b5323bb9b676fd5b

As Calix said, I e518b95bad was a very realistic 8dfae39470 person, and even in d9e7379176 this world full of 668b9f72cc magic and strange phenomena, 1d07a57077 I only believed what 357b8f8425 I could see with 6f7ec95a64 my own eyes.54fae2cc6f309adb

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“Can I be honest? If you’re going to nag, I won’t say it.”50a7215fe92c2c82

“Just say it.”5575e1dacaa68621

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“Of course, I think it’s a dumb thing to do.”d3ea25568e8e2e50

“…Huh?”f4a716b9c7d7f48b

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Calix might find 50998e9190 it strange that ec5daa88ab I was going efa469ab52 to release a 019de00755 lantern but immediately 43cb3713ee gave a negative ac97d4c8e3 evaluation, but that f63cb1c76a was my honest 0580b0c435 opinion.6679d9833ee11ec7

What meaning is there in writing a wish with all your heart and releasing it, hoping it reaches the gods? A lantern with no special function wouldn’t reach the gods, and even if it did, the gods wouldn’t grant the wish.3140630db662c1c3

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Even the wishes of clerics, who receive divine power through their devout faith, aren’t granted, so if wishes were granted just by releasing a lantern, the sky would already be full of them.c87e7a7f22a45ca6

“Then why go?”aaafaaadaeaa289e

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“Because humans are foolish enough to know it’s dumb but still can’t ignore it.”ab368633a2c46492

I knew well the feeling of wishing for something that wouldn’t come true. Even in my previous life, where the existence of gods was ambiguous, I often made nonsensical prayers to no one in particular. So why not do it here, where gods actually exist?672652ec4f222d8c

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“Think of it like buying a lottery ticket.”b20cc6fbb526059e

“Lottery? What’s that?”46dc369352a49925

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“It’s the epitome of ‘life is a gamble.'”b757fc66116dc0b7

“You’re saying strange things again…. Is it related to money?”95c0db79ba13b692

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“How did you know?”851fab01f85b1310

“It’s always about money.”195cd95da6aca0b2

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Calix, who knew from experience that I was materialistic, just accepted it. Anyway, the important thing now wasn’t what a lottery was.8f003ba5d2da8794

“Think of your wish in advance. Don’t wish for my health.”7aa079729aedaf85

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“Why not?”cf8f11fa077dd67b

“Because I’ll wish for that too, so you wish for your own thing.”bf335aca85bb1e3d

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“…Wasn’t that why we were going?”ec4dea9e3732905a

“Me? Not at all.”80131efdce50dcf1

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Calix widened his eyes 4f6477ce1e and stared at me. He seemed 31d4b087f5 to think f0a07580aa my talk 849ab4986b of wishes 48a741c362 was because 46863f5b59 of my 8c132738e1 mana sclerosis.850b16bd045879bc

“Then what are you wishing for?”a50749da0ba2560d

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“It’s a secret. If you tell someone, it loses its effect.”6ceafcf5db229338

“Ah, I see.”0fa8f68af521d47c

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Of course, it 0a1f8a78b2 was just a 31bba702eb joke, and I 333f572eba planned to tell 15b8c3a511 him later what ebeb99c059 I wished for.b93151b49ea632bb

Soon, we arrived at the festival and headed straight to the nearest shop to buy lanterns. It would be nice to look around more, but as I told Calix, there wasn’t much difference from usual, and releasing the lantern was the priority.932de4fd7a7b3dc0

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Calix, after e82d8f2a0c writing his fe1af99147 wish on 8fce53fcdb the paper, 2b00d5fbe9 looked around 85c05ce357 and asked.25f22bee829e00d9

“Where should we release it?”a549d25dfb428649

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“I have a place in mind.”a4c9e2e0ba586c3b

“Where?”fd7c2360f662bace

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“The mountain where we used to sled with fertilizer bags.”67ec7dae38d2a3b4

As soon as 5f810134d1 I said that, e706d8d16f Calix burst into b3244d276e laughter.c35175af06a6a342

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His curved 2d9af7e60c eyes, the 5779ec19e8 corners of 7581d88a04 his mouth fbde9760f8 curling up, f472522e13 and his 23110c9919 pleasant voice 01845e258a quickly caught ea1dd3ee59 the attention c51782e1ee of passersby.18e9aabb788372a6

The once timid and a5cdd30d15 lovable Calix had evolved bbfd6d2daf into a confident young 6e14c173a7 man, and now he 79442c1aaa was slowly becoming a 340a81fa17 black panther. But to me, he 3dda708603 was still the same ad38aaf256 Calix, and seeing him f72ee72166 like that filled a aa82ae1d01 corner of my heart 93fbff7220 with a strange warmth.7d5efbdfcc0da78e

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It felt bittersweet and tender, but it wasn’t entirely hot or cold, so I didn’t need to know what it was or why. After all, I was just an extra who would soon exit the stage.5aebe9f37ee6fc62

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Should we buy some snacks in case we get hungry?”1c0633a23796b048

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“…Sure.”e1efb7220ab58656

The snacks were 9d39a89a3a just a few aa52d3bbf0 skewers from the 49a7817f03 stalls, but we 0760de8265 bought a variety 2d7c5a3596 and held them 8b81f08159 in our hands 0b88d41477 as we got 2d7aec05f4 back into the 33603ed5e7 carriage.7462abfc3e9ed34d

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Once we were somewhat full, we arrived at our destination, and I climbed the mountain with the help of skewers and potions. It wasn’t steep or high, so even at 12 years old, I could easily climb and sled down with a sack.791233efccb88c3f

Seeing me climb the mountain without much trouble, Calix seemed genuinely happy, even though he knew it didn’t mean I was healthy.94d9af849437ac5d

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Reaching the top, I first took in the view below. It had been five years since I was banned from coming here after that winter when I was 12, but strangely, the scenery hadn’t changed much since that day.3387b65c16dd7283

“…It’s amazing.”2284a0a974713f68

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“What is?”e8583d843e38ce6e

“It’s been five years since we sledded here. But the view looks the same as back then.”796bd9c8f2824ec5

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I thought 091f6bc43d something would b3d0f01fa8 look smaller 7ecc545c34 since I 07111bb412 had grown 7d8af80cf1 taller, but c016215b44 aside from a2dac57d8b the lack b6ad555cac of snow, 9861f10d23 nothing seemed 8f04bb1317 different.a4ecd49751ce852f

Maybe it c87c0b2c80 was because 33d8223013 I had cb3d6cde0b always viewed 1cee7b39d3 the world 8b511ebdd4 from a 4c8b6d5188 distance, like f3b36de047 looking into 1383389c91 a book.fbaa153ce8d15c23

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“I thought it would have changed a lot.”2e89336f12950cd2

“Not just the view from the mountain, but there are things that never change no matter when you look. Like how my memory of you will always be.”c48031a5d59e2798

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“……”ee2624653a277ccf

“No matter how much pain you’re in, even if you act out every day, in my memory, you’ll always be the ‘Jayden’ I love the most.”76f0fa25a3867660

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Even for the kind Calix, saying ‘the friend I love’ might have been too cheesy. I chuckled at the awkward pause, but I couldn’t laugh at what followed.ebf5d737d50833c2

“The Jayden I know told me not to push myself too hard, saying he saw a future where I became a perfect duke. But at the same time, he told me it was okay not to be perfect, and he always had a gift ready for me whenever I returned from the duchy. That’s the ‘Jayden Liddell’ I remember.”d6fa3ac9408e1890

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“……”f24b03c7507e0925

“Oh, and there’s the ‘Jayden Liddell‘ who called me ‘Kkamnyang‘ and couldn’t get enough of how cute I was.”53f4d0eb89b84c40

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“Did I really do that?”d8c3aa1c377b35f9

“Yeah. All I have are good memories like that.”0df17fa1705dd432

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I turned 54bf1dc7d3 to look e29f2aec8a at Calix. The affection in his 9400624a50 gentle face was clear. The lingering attachment I 34aaf55233 had been suppressing seemed 0b3d10ed2a to rise, so I 9b96258546 quickly looked away.500d2323861e12f0

“…That’s just nostalgia.”fb200b1e4e2b6477

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“No, it’s not.”5cd8451617cc1a3c

“Let’s just release the lanterns.”932aa3899a783288

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Calix, perhaps upset that I didn’t acknowledge his feelings, pouted and picked up the lantern. Together, we released it into the sky.a874940e2eb21760

We had bought lanterns with a bit of magic on them, not just simple ones. Though it wasn’t enough to be considered an artifact, they would fly longer and higher than regular lanterns.016e97873212a994

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“Calix, I’ll tell you my wish.”1eca25458128e0eb

“You said it loses its effect if you tell.”43ef15b81b1653d4

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“My wish needs your help more than the gods.”917c97d0d4d90e85

“My help? What is it?”64321bd6a6052283

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Even though I felt a strange fear of looking at Calix’s face, I turned to him again.cbbbf480a58cb09d

“My wish is for you to be happy.”c61b48f569b9d114

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Calix froze, staring at 5742c3c4af me as he waited cd07f68b98 for my answer.a6ea41e679cec6e7

As the lantern rose 6e3e137daa into the air and 0a20eef9f7 the wind brushed past, cd1ab38d33 casting shadows from the d64d166314 clouds above, we said c2b02843f2 nothing. Even in the moment fb449855ae that felt frozen in eaf789f253 time, our gaze remained a422671534 on each other.325e236b54e7ff29

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And it was I 1cc45e22c0 who broke the long 0dd3ac71d7 silence, the one who f8ebbdd9a3 had momentarily trapped time.535ec220635e4b04

“Happiness is the most precious thing you can only have if you strive for it. So don’t forget today. Always remember there’s someone who wishes for your happiness. Got it?”9d947ebdab60c5c2

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Tears filled Calix’s eyes and overflowed, falling to the ground. He seemed unaware he was crying, looking utterly stunned.ddf7c76cb36985dc

“…Can’t you help me?”c712324c09d55615

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“Happiness is something no one can give you.”e4cdf97ac1bc5361

“But it’s your wish.”88977dae4dc63305

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I couldn’t help but let out a silly laugh, knowing it wasn’t the right atmosphere, so I quickly closed my mouth.c38ab747e5c41844

Though happiness couldn’t be given, it could be helped, even if the effect wasn’t guaranteed. But I didn’t have the time for that, and more importantly, this was a wish for Calix after my death.6f2de85f55779388

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With the lantern already a6b4e7e40f released, my goal was c0d5f81bea achieved, so I shifted 1ed701da05 the topic for my 9b8806b9be next purpose.207c0cc9ab3cd155

“And there’s one more thing I need your help with.”f0f5ce7d280565c5

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“…What is it?”37b33a1b3653c23d

His grumpy 17ea9a3948 response almost 589d4af5e9 made me 66159408e9 laugh again, 6025478052 but I 56b3a2c22c held back d10d574d8e with superhuman 07724b736a patience. It was cd097247bc best to 17779e2f0b refrain from b8e7e11fd7 pinching his ded80a342f pouting lips, 08022aa25c as it 5c10ccc4f7 would only d8c6be01e0 make him 535f6d229e sulk more.2fed11abfc476f7a

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“This is a secret I’m only telling you, but I have a habit of putting important things in the drawer next to my bed.”d526a95b321d89fc

Calix tilted his 946596e744 head, his eyes 504f78305c still glistening.dacfb4619c5c5f85

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“If monsters invade the marquisate or the castle collapses, make sure to save that first. Okay?”5fdb31590b4b29fb

“The castle collapsing? That won’t happen.”4ac06d128de6907f

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“But you never know.”ac967e3a2e683bac

For a marquis, it a8b97c01ad was natural for the 08f459899e castle to be fortified f85415d95c with all sorts of af22c23d60 magic, so anyone else e648a9f643 hearing this would have 3462762dbc thought it was insane 037db370d1 and contacted the temple 9de086fe1a immediately.230d398f0c5fe371

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Even if something happened, the fief would be devastated, and the castle would be the last to remain intact. But Calix, used to my nonsense, didn’t question my sanity and asked instead.9bdbca3d52adfc54

“Is it okay for me to see something so important?”14b8f92e4a22e46e

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“That’s why I’m asking you.”12722daef5ba1903

“…Okay.”539d81f55c5db748

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Seeing Calix’s mood lighten a bit, I couldn’t hold back my laughter, but fortunately, Calix smiled back instead of getting angry.fc5c9d45d9acfb90

“Let’s head down.”da5f1481ee1b2586

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“Yeah. Want me to carry you if you’re tired?”fac48d2ae25077ac

“If you carry me and we fall, won’t we both die?”71660cff5481e66c

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“I’m not so weak that I’d fall just from carrying you.”53fb8bc2c8281467

I chuckled, and with the potion’s effect still lingering, I managed to walk down the mountain on my own.3a8d127875bb7cea

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