?
“Sorry, Mr. Renji, did you have to wait long?”
Just after practicing with her mother and being exhausted, Nova, upon hearing her mother actually call out Renji’s name, sprang up from the ground with a jolt.
Then, the little girl, as if fully revived, immediately set her sparkling eyes straight on Renji, and then, like the girl next door, cheerfully sprinted over.
“Brother Renji! Ugh, practicing is so tiring. Nova doesn’t want to learn from mom anymore, she’s too strict. Brother Renji, can you teach me instead pretty please~?”
Despite Renji’s role in the story being defeated by Noya, he was still a runner-up and among the very few young and powerful in the gladiators. Plus, with his outstanding appearance, he was indeed very attractive to a little girl of Nova’s age.
Looking at the lively and adorable Nova, Renji rubbed the dragon girl’s head—no, now a dragon lady’s, and then said, “I can’t teach you. It has to be Mrs. Noya herself; your mom is much more stronger than me.”
“Hmph, Brother Renji, you’re just making excuses! If you don’t want to teach me, then just say so, hmph!”
“Alright Nova, you’re about to become an adult. Stop clinging to your Mr. Renji like a child. You still have a hundred more slashes to go out of a thousand today. Rest up and then get back to practice, no slacking off! Mr. Renji and I still have some things to discuss.”
“Hmph, just a child, just a child, that is all what you say!” Nova pouted. Though she was dissatisfied with her mother’s urging, she obediently left to continue practicing her sword swings.
Then, Noya showed a remorseful expression to Renji before invited him into the house, and it turned out that Noya wanted Renji’s help to review the new arena rules that were about to be announced, to see if there were any aspects that needed improvement.
Even though Renji knew this was all a fantasy, he still discussed it seriously with Noya. After talking for almost half an hour, they finally concluded. Under the lamplight, Noya, looking at the young face opposite her, couldn’t help but sigh:
“Having Mr. Renji’s help is really great. Ah, if my daughter could be half as good as you, I would be relieved.”
“Also, Mr. Renji, you don’t need to keep addressing me as Mrs. I’m not some big shot. You’re too polite.”
To this, Renji shook his head for the first time, denying Noya, after all, Noya is Nova’s mother, and even if it was just an illusion, Renji felt that the respect due to her should still be given.
Moreover, even without this identity, just looking at what Noya was doing, Renji felt that he should likewise respect this dragonkin woman.
“Mr. Renji, actually, I can feel that you’re not one of us, or rather, you seem out of place in this world of miasma, like an observer. So, I really want to hear, do you think what I’m doing is right? If you were the one who won that day, what would you do?” 𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ
“I probably wouldn’t have your courage and determination, I would just settle for the status quo, trying my best to use the effects of the championship to seek a stable life for myself in the second half of my life?”
After thinking for a while, Renji honestly replied. Then, Noya on the opposite side didn’t mind but understood and nodded. looking up at the blood-red night sky shrouded by the miasma and the bloody moon, she sighed deeply.
“Mr. Renji, did you know, if, during the apocalypse that year, my tribe could have had even five more Eclipse warriors, perhaps we could have been saved. But unfortunately, we didn’t have them. At that moment, I deeply felt the power of the miasma and our weakness.”
“However, when I came to the human cities, to Gulase, and to the arena, I realized that we are not weak. Inside the arena, there are many Eclipse warriors, many of whom are very strong, excellent fighters. This power is enough to destroy many leaders of the Miasma Masters, freeing those contaminated areas.”
“But as you have seen, we did not choose to do so. Not only did we not gather these forces to fight against Miasma and natural disasters, to save the world, but we also settled for the status quo, even killing each other, letting the Eclipse warriors die by our own hands, constantly depleting our strength for mere amusement.”
“I understand, settling for the status quo is our commonality, when we have already accepted that this world is beyond saving, what everyone seeks is just to enjoy the moment, to ensure their own safety.”
“But if, if there comes a day when we can unite, when someone believes that this world can still be saved, and passes this belief on, getting more people involved, we no longer fight amongst ourselves, we no longer kill each other, but instead integrate all forces to help those suffering from Tainted Miasma, to unite all beings on this land.”
“Are Tainted Miasma and natural disasters really invincible?”
At this point, Noya clenched her fists, her pale purple dragon eyes showing sorrow. If there really was such a day, perhaps her tribe would not have perished, could have been saved by a coalition, but unfortunately, reality proves that selfless saviors only exist in fairy tales.
In reality, whether it’s gathering places or bases, they are selfish and ruthless. They build high walls not only to resist the miasma monsters but also to hide, to escape, satisfied with the world within the walls, indifferent to the world outside.
“I don’t have much ability, I can’t change the world, what I can do starts with the arena. I want to awaken the gladiators here, I refuse to settle, and I don’t want to see us killing each other, wasting our strength on our own people.”
“Mr. Renji, I hope to transform the arena into a training camp, where we can make and train excellent warriors and eventually become a force to save the world. I know this sounds naive, absurd, but I want to take this step. No, someone in this world has to take this step, we can’t stay inside the walls forever…”
“I’m afraid I won’t see that day, but I believe, perhaps Nova can. I can feel that she is very talented, far surpassing my own. If she were a bit smarter, more sensible, perhaps I could still dream of her becoming a savior, but now.”
Noya shook her head at Renji.
“She is still too weak, I don’t know how much longer I can protect Nova. Mr. Renji, sorry for talking so much, actually, I have a huge favor to ask, after all, you are the only person Nova likes here, so, can I ask you for something?”
“I’m really worried about Nova, this silly child. She’s too easy to be taken advantage of, it’s also my fault, I’ve protected her too well, letting her focus solely on how to fight”
“I wonder, if one day I’m not with her anymore, what will happen to Nova, thinking it over and over, in the end, I could only think of you, Mr. Renji.”
At the end, on this middle-aged dragonkin demi-human, one could see a mother’s helplessness and trust. Noya looked at Renji, with a very serious tone, and said word by word said:
“If I’m really not here anymore, can I ask you to take care of her?”