healingbonds | Flowers for You, Magic for the Sky

Chapter 16 << | index | >> Chapter 18

Owen: << Cure Memimi >>

(Roar)

Scarlet: ............!! << Volo Habere >>

Cain: << Gladius Procella >>!
............ ! I’m getting the hang of it.....!

Owen: Hmph. Good for you.

Cain: Yeah! It’s all thanks to your advice!

Owen: Haha...... Idiot. I didn’t give any advice.

Cain: Even so, I’m grateful to you. If I keep this up, I can break through!

Owen: Do as you please.

Cain: Wait for me, Akira, Arthur!

Scarlet: ...... I won’t let you advance further!

Owen: I’m your opponent.
<< Cuare Morito >>

Scarlet: << Volo Habe.... >>

(Roar)

Scarlet: ......Aaahhh......!

Owen: What should I do with you? I’m not as kind as Sir Knight is.
Shall I cut you into three and feed each piece to one of Cerberus’ heads?

Scarlet: Well, if you’re going to eat me anyway, you wouldn’t mind letting me into your stomach, right?
<< Volo Habere >>!

Owen: ............
Tsk......! You pesky bastard! You almost blasted a hole through my stomach.
You only scratched me, but...... These are rose briars......
......Briars...... .............. A thorny, dark place......
............

Scarlet: Ohoho! I’ll turn you into a skewer this time!
<< Volo Habere >> !

Owen: ............

Cain: Owen, watch out......!

(Footsteps) (Clash)

Owen: ............

Cain: ......Are you okay, Owen!? What’s wrong with you, spacing out like that!

Owen: ......Ah......

Cain: Owen!? Did you get hit!? Pull yourself together!

Owen: ......Sir Knight......

Cain: ......That expression......
Don’t tell me you’re...... The injured Owen......!?

Owen: Sir Knight...... Where are we? I’m scared......

Cain: ......No way...... Not now......
Owen...... Owen! Can you come back? Please, Owen......

Owen: Come back? From where...... ?

Cain: I guess not, huh...... Um......

Scarlet: Ohoho! What a beautiful friendship you have, looking out for each other......!

Owen: ............! A scary person.......!

Scarlet: Huh? You’re plenty scary yourself!

Owen: ......She yelled at me...... Sir Knight......

Cain: Hang on a moment. Um...... Let’s try to sort this out.

Owen: Let’s sort it out......

Cain: Owen, you can’t use magic, right?

Owen: Right......

Scarlet: Huh? What an outrageous falsehood! You just set those vicious howling dogs on me!

Cain: Stop, wait a second! It’s complicated.

Scarlet: Well, if you say so...... I suppose I could take a break to enjoy some tea.
Staying up late is terrible for my complexion, so I’ll have some rosehip tea; it’s wonderful for the skin.
I wonder if I can find a tea set? Let me look around the castle........ My, what delightful tableware!

Cain: Owen. Listen closely. It’s dangerous here.

Owen: It’s dangerous......?

Cain: Yeah, you can tell by looking around, right? The castle is covered in briars, and the vines are wriggling around.

Owen: Wriggling around......

Cain: It’s really painful when the briars hit you, and the thorns even make you bleed.

Owen: That’s scary......

Cain: That’s right, it’s really scary. That’s why you need to watch out for the briars, and find a place to wait for me over there.

Owen: ......No......!

Cain: I’ll come back for you, believe me. I’ll beat up the enemy, and then......

Owen: Don’t leave me behind...... Don’t leave me alone!

Cain: It’ll be more dangerous if I take you with me.

Owen: No, I’m scared...... The briars are scary....... Sir Knight, don’t go......

Cain: ......I have to go.

Owen: Why do you have to go? Why won’t you stay with me?

Cain: There are people precious to me trapped in that castle.

Owen: ............

Cain: They’re probably in trouble; they can’t leave because they’re trapped by the magical briars. ......I want to save them no matter what.
I don’t need glory or medals. There are people waiting for me inside the castle — people who fill my heart with pride and light.

Owen: .....Do you want to save them?

Cain: That’s right. You understand, don’t you?
Don’t you feel bad for them, trapped inside that dark castle?

Owen: ............
......But......
You don’t feel bad for me?

Cain: ............
......Owen?

Owen: I’m still trapped.
Left behind, all alone.
You’re going to save them.......
Even though you wouldn’t save me?

Cain: ............? What are you talking about, Owen......

Owen: ............

(Growling)

Cain: ............!? Cerberus, where did y—......

(Sickening crunch and spurt of blood)

Cain:......Guh......!
......Ah.......Argh..........It’s tearing me apart........Aaahhh...........!

Owen: ............

Cain: ......O......wen...........Please stop him! O—........ Ah........Ugh.......

Owen: ............

Cain: << Gladius — >> .........Aah...........

Owen: I was a good boy. I waited obediently for so long. But you never came to save me.

Cain: ............O—............

Owen: Just die.

✦✧☾✧✦

Scarlet: Fufu....... I had such a lovely teatime. ......Oh my.
.....Dear me, did you have a disagreement? The white-haired man’s three-headed dog is devouring the red-haired man.
I guess the two of you didn’t really get along. Even though your eyes are the same color.

✦✧☾✧✦

Chloe: .....The vines are all over the place here too..... Ouch.... The thorns caught me again.

Rustica: Are you all right?

Chloe: Yeah. This is just a scratch, but.... There’s no opening for us to get into the castle.

Rustica: You’re right. The sky is covered in vines, too; I don’t see any way out by flying.

Chloe: It was such a pretty castle, but now it’s like a ghost......
....We were supposed to have a special ceremony, too.... I wonder if they’re going to blame us again?
Is everyone going to say this was all the wizards’ fault.....

Rustica: I’m not too sure about that. The people in the castle have all fallen asleep.

Chloe: ....It makes me sad..... I guess there really is no such thing as an outcast who becomes the hero of a story; that’s just wishful thinking.
No one ever loves an outcast; it doesn’t matter if he does good things or bad things. He’s still an outcast.
Even if we do our best to save people tonight, tomorrow, the people we saved....
Might sigh, and say, this is why we can’t trust wizards. ....What do you think, Rustica?
Do you ever feel like that....? Am I thinking this way because I have an awful personality....?

Rustica: You’re a kind, good boy.

Chloe: ....I don’t know about that. Whenever these sorts of thoughts cross my mind, I can’t bring myself to say, "Thank you."

Rustica: You don’t have to.

Chloe: .....Yeah.....

Rustica: ....Oh my, the rain..... ........!
<< Amorest Viesse >>

Chloe: Woah....! You surprised me, tugging me close out of nowhere!

Rustica: Because the rain falling from the sky isn’t any old rain. Look.

Chloe: Ah! You’re right.... The bricks and briars are melting away.

Rustica: But this might be a blessed rainfall that gets us through this conundrum.

Chloe: Huh....?

Rustica: Shall we practice magic?

Chloe: H-huh? Right now? I have such a laid-back master.....

Rustica: Right now is the time to practice. Look up to the sky, Chloe. What do you see?

Chloe: .....Um.... Dark clouds, and the heavy shadows of the briars.....

Rustica: The moon isn't very bright tonight, after all. But look closely.

Chloe: ....If only the < Great Catastrophe > shone a little brighter......

Rustica: That’s right. It’s what we all pray for on the darkest nights: "Let there be light."
But Chloe, I know you can find the answer, even amidst the dim gloom.
Even on nights where you can’t say "thank you"; nights where you feel like a lost, unrewarded specter; nights where you might become a terrifying monster.
For you are a wizard, after all.

Chloe: ............

Rustica: Listen to the wind and touch the shadows of the invisible — find the long-lost words of the past.....
We are wizards. We dance and sing under the very light of the moon that humans fear, frolicking alongside everything in this world.

Chloe: ............

Rustica: Now open your eyes wide.
Look into the dark night to find the wonderful things that make your heart dance — the things that give you courage.

Chloe: ........
—Ah!
Murr! Shylock!
Nero and Bradley are there too! Thank goodness! Everyone’s all right....!
They’re zipping through the sky fighting a giant bird! Amazing....!
Rustica, look! Our friends are fighting!

Rustica: That’s right, Chloe.

Chloe: .....We need to do our best too! I feel like we can do this! Because.....
We’re wizards, after all! We can turn the worst into the best, and pull miracles out of the air!

Rustica: Of course.

Chloe: Ah....! When the briars over there melt, we can enter the castle from that window!

Rustica: Excellent! Once we manage to open up an entrance, let’s get Cain and Owen.

Chloe: Yeah!
Wait for us, Sir Sage! We’ll save you!

Chapter 16 << | index | >> Chapter 18

Flowers for You, Magic for the Sky | Chapter 17