--Setsuna POV--

“...”

This woman - who had just saved me and offered to help me off the floor - suddenly collapsed and fell on top of me.

“Um. Can someone-”

“Yeah.”

Kino came over to me and lifted the girl off of me, gently laying her down beside me. Shimo's mom was the first to comment.

“This complicates things a little… Here, I'll be back in about an hour or so to inform our driver, we'll put off leaving until the morning.”

Before anyone could object, she slipped out the door, mumbling her Greater Illusion spell. Once she's made up her mind, nobody's ever been able to talk her out of it, so we weren't even going to try anyway.

“Guess we wait.”

Everyone made varying sounds of approval, and I stood up to stretch, seeing Ina and Shimo do the same. I suddenly remembered my failed attempts to use magic throughout the day, so I tried again to make sure it's not a permanent condition. Sure enough, I summoned a small flame to float above my hand. It flickered out of existence, and I came to the conclusion that those bindings must've been able to block the use of magic, which isn't unheard of, but it must've been incredibly expensive. 

I slumped back down against the wall. I might as well take the time to rest, it's been a bit of a stressful day today for me, and the other girls - aside from Kino, who was keeping watch - seemed like they were just as worn out, as they cuddled up in a corner and tried to sleep. I passed out shortly after noticing that. 

I was just about the last one up, only doing so because Ina gently shook me awake.

“We're about to get going, but first…” She gestured towards the human woman with unnaturally colored hair. “She's not waking up. For now, she seems fine, but I'd like to see if you can do anything to help.”

“Kay.”

I stood up and stretched before walking over to the girl in question. Kneeling down, I got to work. My Sacred Fire magic has the ability to act as basic healing magic if I will it to do so, and it even has the perk of being slightly more efficient than the first tier Wind spell. My hands glowed in a pale-green light, and after fading, nothing happened.

“If magic doesn't do anything, she'll probably wake up on her own.”

Kino picked her up to carry her and we walked with one of the village's younger guardsmen - I think his name was Adrian - to the wagon he had parked outside the mansion. Apparently, when that Yoshikari guy was killed the Shadows completely disappeared from the village.

We climbed in and sat down, with the swordswoman at an awkward angle where she was leaning over the back of the wagon. Sure enough, she almost fell out the first time we hit a pothole, so after that panic Kino switched to giving her a much safer lap pillow.

Nobody said much over the next few hours, giving me unwanted yet much-needed time to think. Of course, my thoughts were not happy in the slightest, as I was left pondering everything that's happened to me recently. First, I had tragically lost the love of my life, and I've only barely recovered from that - if pushing away and ignoring those emotions could even count as recovery.

I only managed to ignore the pain in my heart because of the duties I needed to take over as the chief of the Kitsune and one of the most prominent figures in the Beastfolk Territories. Then there's the fact that I was just kidnapped by the brother of the man who killed my lover, though that wasn't really that bad, since his death could somewhat count as having avenged the fallen hero. 

And now, I have to finally face the facts. This whole time I've held on to Ren's sword thinking that maybe one day he can come back and claim it, even though I'm the one who burned his body. Now that somebody else is here and able to wield his sword, I have to come to terms with how that's never going to happen.

I felt like I might've started crying again after holding in the tears for so long now, but the sword at said woman's hip - I learned by this point that her name is Mira - buzzed, which could only mean that it was trying to speak to its user, and that could only be done when the person in question is conscious, or at least close to it. Sure enough, she soon opened her eyes and covered them with a yelp. Her pillow took notice of this - as well as everyone else - and welcomed Mira back to reality.

“Ah, you're awake. You worried us when you suddenly passed out like that…”

“Er… sorry ‘bout that. And are you, um-”

“Giving you a lap pillow? Yes, I am. Least I could do after you saved my sister-in-law like that. Though, I'd appreciate it if you could get up now. My legs are numb, we've been moving since sunrise.”

“Right.”

She sat up and took a moment to get a feel for her surroundings, which really just meant she stared at each of us for a second until the silence was broken by Shimo's mom.

“So, Mira. Your quest is complete now, have you decided on a reward yet?”

“Not yet, no.”

“I see. As long as it's not too outrageous, I'm sure the Council will allow it, so think about it.”

That's right. I never considered that. This woman is an adventurer, so surely she did this for a reward, and not just out of the goodness of her heart. The way she looked like she was lost in thought was a little suspicious though… I hope she doesn't ask for something too outrageous, because I can assume from the previous question that she was offered a choice of whatever she wanted. 

Suddenly the katana buzzed again, and my attention focused on it. Hm… I see what's going on here. It's going to get Mira to take it as a reward, since it'll finally see some action again that way. It kind of upsets me that it'll leave me just like that, after all we've been through… then again, I've never even actually heard it speak other than when Ren was passing a message from it to me.

As much as I'd like to keep the sword, it is incredibly powerful after all, I have no way of using it, so I guess it's not that bad. What Mira finally said when she did speak was much more unexpected, however.

“Actually, I don't think I'll need a reward.” Oh? Maybe the sword managed to talk her out of taking one? “After all, ‘No reward is greater than being here, with you by my side.’”

I- What? Where the hell did she hear- Actually, I know just where she heard that. I'm gonna kill that fucking sword.

“The sword told you to say that, didn't it. I heard it vibrating like it was saying something, so it told you to say that, right?”

“Uh… yeah. It did. Though, I guess I don't really need any sort of reward anyway. Could you tell me what exactly that line meant? I am a little curious why it wanted me to say that.”

Maybe… Maybe there's nothing to worry about. She she doesn't need a reward, so… I guess I can trust her a little bit. She did save me after all. I'm not gonna forgive that sword anytime soon; it probably had its reasons, but I don't care. That was rude.

“Hm… Fine. I'll tell you. That's what Ren - Kino's brother - said when he proposed to me. I don't know what kind of sick joke that sword’s trying to play right now, but I really don't appreciate it.”

“Ah. Sorry about that.”

“Hah… Don't be.” Apologizing for a sword? I guess she really is a kind person after all. That kinda reminds me of Ren - although he put up a front most of the time, he had a kind heart whenever it really mattered. I half started talking to myself, but it was probably loud enough for the others to hear. “This is still so… confusing, though. Why are you so much like him? His sword, his attributes, even a little bit of his personality is showing in you.”

She responded after a second, even though I didn't mean for anyone to really hear that. She had an answer anyway, though as it happened that answer turned my entire world upside-down.“I've got something I need to tell you all. I'm not sure how many of you know about my memories and the fact they they only go back to the start of the twin-sun period, but while I was unconscious, I learned who I was before then. I don't have any of the actual memories back yet, but I met the Goddess, and she was able to fill me in.”

The Goddess? There's no way this woman met the Goddess. She's only ever appeared before a mortal twice. The first was when Arnagir was summoned to this world, and when the Kistune were created to assist him, then the second was after his victory when the very sword at that woman's hip was given to my ancestors. These thoughts didn't linger for long though, as I had other worries.

“That was the same time…”

Her timing was too perfect. Saying she has no memories from before the time Ren was taken from me… it's too accurate to ignore. She can't be implying…

“Yeah. From what she told me, I gathered that I had died, and revived me somehow. The most important thing she told me, though, is my previous name. Kenshi Ryuto.”

I can't believe it… Is this woman really my beloved? I felt the shell I've built around my feelings start to crack as the possibility surfaced. Then the doubt reared its ugly head, and I realized that her word isn't enough to go by. I could hardly form a proper sentence, but I managed in the end.

“I-I-You- No. I need proof.”

Another buzz, and Mira relayed whatever the sword had told her.

“Um, the sword says it should be enough proof, and if it isn't its threatening to tell me what you did to it during-”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

Right. I guess that should be enough proof. A divine blade given to us by the Goddess with a prophecy, one which clearly states that only one person can ever wield it. Besides, I have to give in on this one. I interrupted her before she finished, but I know what that damned sword would tell her if I didn't concede here. 

It finally dawned on me that this woman is my Ren, and the dam broke. In the following flood of emotions, even I didn't know what I was saying, but the last look I had at Mira's face told me she wasn't hurt by whatever I said, and I turned away, hiding the tears that have been bottled up for all this time. 

I let them flow this time, at least until we arrived at the village. I heard Kino ask for something from Mira, but I didn't have the right mind to pay any attention to what it was. 

I'll figure it out eventually if it's important, for now, I focused on stopping my tears - wiping my face clean while expecting a lot more of those the next time I'm alone.