Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051601476634937
Along the highway bathed in moonlight.
Alt and Serena were riding their horses.
“We’re almost there,”
Serena said quietly, holding the Night Moon close to her chest.
“Let’s hurry.”
Alt gripped the reins tightly.
They couldn’t hide the exhaustion on their faces.
Even so.
They couldn’t stop now.
Because that girl is waiting for them.
◇
By the time they returned,
the eastern sky was beginning to grow pale.
“Lady Serena!”
A guard who had been keeping watch ran up to them.
“Welcome back!”
“The Night Moon is…!”
Serena held up the bundle as if it were precious.
“I brought it back.”
With those words alone,
the members’ faces lit up.
“Really?”
“That’s a relief…!”
“What about the girl?”
Alt asked.
“She’s still asleep.”
“But her breathing seems to be getting more labored by the minute.”
“Let’s hurry.”
Serena hurried toward the treatment room.
◇
The treatment room.
The girl lay there, breathing heavily in her sleep.
Her mother, holding her hand, must have stayed by her side all night.
Her eyes were red and swollen.
“Lady Serena…!”
“The Night Moon…?”
“Yes.”
Serena smiled gently.
“We made it in time.”
The mother burst into tears right then and there.
“Thank you so much…!”
“Really…”
Serena quietly shook her head.
“It’s too soon to thank me.”
“First, I’ll prepare the medicine.”
With that,
Serena placed the Night-Walking Moon on the desk.
Carefully, she plucked the petals one by one
and placed them in a mortar.
She added fragrant herbs
and slowly ground them together.
Only the soft sound of the grinding filled the room.
Alt watched silently.
“So that’s how you make it.”
“The Night-Blooming Moon is delicate.”
“If you grind it too hard, the medicinal properties weaken.”
“That’s why it takes time.”
“You have to make it carefully.”
Serena’s hands moved without hesitation.
As if she’d made it hundreds of times before.
Carefully.
And with precision.
Eventually.
A pale blue potion was complete.
“It’s ready.”
Serena let out a small sigh.
“I’ll give it to her.”
The mother slowly sat the girl up.
Serena brought the potion to the girl’s mouth, a little at a time.
Though the girl looked as if she were suffering,
she swallowed it slowly.
The room was deathly quiet.
No one spoke.
Everyone.
was staring at the girl.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Only time flowed quietly by.
“…………”
Her mother clutched her daughter’s hand as if in prayer.
Then.
The girl’s ragged breathing.
began to settle little by little.
“…!”
Alt noticed it too.
Her complexion, too,
was returning to normal—albeit very gradually.
“Her fever…”
One of the team members cried out in surprise.
“It’s going down…!”
Serena placed her hand on the girl’s forehead.
And then,
she smiled with relief.
“She’s going to be all right now.”
A few seconds after those words.
The girl’s eyelids trembled slowly.
“…Mm.”
“Mom…?”
“!”
The mother hugged the girl tightly.
“Thank goodness…!”
“I’m so, so glad…!”
Large tears streamed down her face one after another.
The girl still looked a little sleepy, but
there was no longer any pain in her expression.
“Thank you…”
It was a tiny voice.
Even so,
those single words
resonated deeply in the hearts of everyone in the room.
Serena flashed her usual gentle smile.
“Please rest for a few days.”
“As long as you don’t overexert yourself, you’ll definitely get better.”
“Yes…!”
The mother bowed her head over and over again.
“Thank you so very much!”
In the treatment room—
The tense atmosphere in the treatment room eased all at once.
The girl’s peaceful breathing could be heard.
There was no longer any sign of distress on her face.
“She really… made it, didn’t she?”
One of the team members murmured with relief.
“Yes.”
Serena nodded with a smile.
“There’s no need to worry anymore.”
“If she can rest for a few days, she’ll be back to her old self.”
The mother bowed her head repeatedly.
“Thank you so much!”
“I don’t even know how to thank you…”
“Thank you so much for saving my daughter!”
The mother expressed her gratitude through her tears.
Serena gently shook her head.
“I was just doing my duty.”
“Please take good care of your daughter.”
“Yes…!”
The mother nodded repeatedly as she held the girl’s hand.
Watching that scene,
Alt smiled slightly.
“I’m glad everything turned out well.”
“Yes.”
Serena also smiled, looking relieved.
“I’m truly glad.”
◇
As the mother and daughter left the treatment room,
the guild members gathered around the two of them.
“Alt-san!”
“Lady Serena!”
“Thank you so very much!”
“If it weren’t for the two of you, that child would have…”
“Stop it.”
Alt gave a wry smile.
“She’s safe now, so that’s enough.”
“But!”
One of the troupe members bowed his head.
“You’ve been working nonstop since yesterday!”
“You even made a round trip to Tsukikage Forest…”
“You really worked so hard.”
Alt scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
“It’s no big deal.”
It was at that very moment.
Whoosh.
His vision swayed.
“Alt-san!”
Serena hurriedly reached out to support him.
“Are you okay!?”
“…I just felt a little lightheaded.”
That was Alt’s reply, but—
This time, Serena’s body swayed as well.
“Serena-sama!”
The party members rushed over in a panic.
“It’s no wonder!”
“She hasn’t slept a wink!”
“Lady Serena’s been handling all the treatments and mixing the potions herself…”
One of the guild members scanned the treatment room.
“Ah!”
“There are two empty patient beds!”
“Please rest there today!”
“We’ll take care of the work!”
“But…”
Serena said apologetically.
“No way!”
The party members all shook their heads in unison.
“It’s our turn to help Lady Serena now!”
“Please rest easy!”
Alt couldn’t help but laugh.
“If they’re going to go this far, I guess I have no choice but to rest.”
“…I suppose so.”
Serena gave a small laugh as well.
“Thank you, everyone.”
◇
The treatment room.
Two patient beds lined up side by side.
Alt was so exhausted he almost forgot to take off his shoes.
“I’ve really reached my limit…”
Muttering that, he lay down.
“Good night, Serena.”
“Yes.”
“Good night.”
Alt fell asleep in less than a few seconds.
The sound of his steady breathing began to fill the room.
Serena sat down on the bed next to him.
“…Really.”
“You fall asleep so quickly.”
A smile slipped out before she knew it.
The treatment room was quiet.
The only sound was Alt’s breathing.
Serena tried to lie down.
But.
She couldn’t sleep.
Her gaze naturally drifted toward Alt.
“We were together the whole time today, weren’t we?”
She murmured softly.
The Moonlit Forest.
The Path of Lost Souls.
The Night Moon.
Under the full moon.
[I’m counting on you today.]
[You were just like a goddess.]
Those words echoed over and over in her mind.
Her cheeks grew slightly warm.
“Alt…”
She slowly stands up.
Trying not to make a sound.
She quietly walks over to the side of Alt’s bed.
She looks at his sleeping face.
His sleeping face looked completely at ease.
“…Hehe.”
A smile slips out before she knows it.
She gently smooths his bangs.
“Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Thank you so much for today.”
There’s no reply.
Even so.
Serena smiled gently.
Timidly.
She placed her hand on top of Alt’s.
It was warm.
That warmth…
Filled her heart.
“Today…”
“You trusted only me, didn’t you?”
“You relied only on me.”
She was happy.
Truly.
She was happy.
“…Starting tomorrow,”
“You’ll be going to be with Lilia, won’t you?”
Just for a little while.
Her grip on his hand tightened.
“Just for a little while.”
“Just a very little while.”
“I envy Lilia.”
After uttering those words,
Serena laughed, looking a bit flustered.
“I’m no good,”
“to be thinking things like this.”
Even though I’m a saint.
To harbor such a desire to have him all to myself.
Even so.
I couldn’t let go of his hand.
“But…”
I gazed at Alt’s sleeping face.
“Just like today,”
“I’d be happy if we could go out together again.”
“Look only at me.”
“Rely only on me.”
“If there were… more days like that.”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
“If only…”
“Time would just stop right like this.”
A wish no one could hear.
Eventually.
Serena leaned gently against Alt’s bed.
Still holding his hand.
She closed her eyes, looking at ease.
The soft morning sunlight streaming through the window
quietly illuminated the two of them as they slept.
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