SWNOVELXO Chapter 5 Part 16
The Otherworld Festival ends tomorrow.
And for us, that means tomorrow is the main event—the parade.
I wonder if this is what it feels like to prepare for a school festival.
A mix of excitement and a touch of melancholy, like reality is slowly creeping back in.
That night, as I was practicing magic in the garden after returning home, Sophie appeared.
“You’re quite dedicated,” she remarked.
“Sophie, you’re back?”
“I have no interest in shaking hands for over twenty hours. My fingerprints are gone.”
“Ahaha, that must’ve been rough. Hilarious, though.”
“Zberry, you dared to leave me behind. I will eliminate you.”
“Forgive me! Please, have mercy!”
We exchanged meaningless banter, but Sophie didn’t seem genuinely angry.
She quietly sat on a nearby tree stump.
“What are you doing?”
“Practicing a simplified version of drawing magic circles with my fingertips. I feel like I’m close to getting the hang of it. But I’m still not confident enough to use it in the parade.”
“If it comes down to it, I’ll cover for you.”
“I know. But I still want to be able to do it myself.”
The night was calm, the air crisp and clear.
The day had been warm, so tomorrow would surely be sunny.
“Zberry, I want to ask you something.”
Sophie suddenly spoke.
“Why are you trying so hard?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You’re always busy with other people’s problems.”
“Am I?”
“Modern people don’t meddle that much. You’re abnormal. Insane.”
“Unprovoked slander.”
“Are you doing it because of the happy tears?”
“…Huh?”
She caught me off guard, and I stiffened.
Sophie was sharp—she must have figured it out.
She studied me for a moment and then nodded.
“Just as I thought.”
“Why do you seek happy tears? I’ve been wondering for a while.”
“Ah, haha… uh, well… Can I tell you tomorrow instead?”
“No. I need to know now. If I don’t, I won’t be able to sleep, the parade will be a disaster, my reputation will be ruined, I’ll be stripped of my title as a Sage… You’ll have to take responsibility.”
“…Do you have the mental fortitude of tofu?”
She was being dramatic. But she was serious. I couldn’t dodge this.
I had always planned to tell her one day.
I had never intended to keep it a secret.
But I had thought it should be after everything was over—after tomorrow’s parade.
Yet, looking at her now, with her serious gaze fixed on me…
I knew.
Now was the time.
“…I have one year left to live.”
As soon as I said it, Sophie’s eyes widened, and she fell silent.
Her expression, usually so composed, was now more expressive than ever before.
“I’ve been cursed. I was told I only have a year left.
The only way to survive is to collect happy tears.”
“You’re using the Seed of Life to extend your time…?”
“As expected of a Great Sage.”
Even when I praised her, Sophie didn’t react.
Her gaze held a complex mixture of emotions—pity, sadness… something more.
“You once said you loved magic,” Sophie murmured.
“I did.”
“I can’t forgive magic. It took so much from me.
And it took from you too.
If magic didn’t exist, you wouldn’t have been cursed.”
“That’s true.”
“And yet, you still love magic?”
“Yeah. I do. I’m grateful for it.”
“Grateful?”
I smiled and nodded.
“Because of magic, I’ve met so many wonderful people.
I’ve been able to save people.
Sure, collecting happy tears was my original goal, but that’s not all.
I love being able to help others through magic.”
“If I erased magic, you might not have to die.
Even so, you don’t want me to erase it?”
“Nope. I mean, I don’t want to die, but…
A world without magic would be so boring.
You feel the same way, don’t you?
We’ve both devoted almost our entire lives to magic.
I don’t want to lose that, and I don’t want you to lose it either.”
“Zberry…”
“I try so hard for the people I love.
And magic is the ally that helps me do that.”
“No…!”
Like a child throwing a tantrum, Sophie shook her head over and over.
Her face contorted, twisting into an expression I had never seen before.
It was as if all the emotions she had bottled up inside were finally spilling over.
Maybe, in this moment, she was remembering all the things she had lost.
“Magic isn’t an ally.
It keeps taking things from me.
First my family, then my home… and now, it’s trying to take my friend…”
She wavered, as if her strength had left her, and I quickly caught her.
Her frame was so small, so delicate.
Holding her like this, I realized just how much she had endured.
“…You called me your friend.”
“Friend, subordinate, servant—whatever. Just… don’t disappear, Zberry.”
“Did my rank just go down?”
Even in sadness, she had no mercy.
And yet, for some reason, I found that endearing.
I gently ran my hand over her head and whispered, over and over—
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“I don’t want you to die,” she murmured.
“I want to go to next year’s Otherworld Festival with you again.”
“I see. So you do have free time.”
“That’s what you’re focusing on?”
Ridiculous.
Utterly ridiculous.
But… I didn’t hate it.
“I promise. I’ll survive, no matter what.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I told you before, right?
My goal is simple—just to keep living.”
“I forgot.”
“Could you maybe try paying more attention to me?”
Even as she grieved, she kept making snarky remarks.
At this moment, she didn’t seem like a world-famous figure at all—just an ordinary girl.
Everyone carries their own pain.
Even Sophie.
“I won’t let you go through that kind of loss again,” I told her.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
There was no way I could afford to die now.
I had one more reason to live—
A promise to a dear friend.
Above us, the night sky shimmered, countless stars shining brightly.