Chapter 61: This Is the Most Perfect Ending, Yet Not the One I Desired (Two-in-One)
When Rast opened his eyes again, daylight had already filled the window outside.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes in confusion, and only then did he realize the room’s layout looked very familiar.
It wasn’t the guest room in the mayor’s house… but rather the bedroom he had lived in for countless days and nights.
He tried to move his body but discovered that his legs had somehow lost all sensation.
It was at that moment that Rast noticed a ticklish feeling on his arm, along with faint breathing sounds.
A blonde girl sat on a small stool by the bed, her hands resting on her knees.
Strands of her pale golden hair flowed over the wooden edge of the bed, with a few locks falling near Rast’s hand.
Her fair and delicate face was peaceful and gentle, her beautiful eyes closed as she quietly slept on the stool.
Emis, his childhood friend.
Which meant this wasn’t Freezing Water Town in the Disaster Remnant… but Canaan, the small home that belonged to him and Emis.
Rast shifted his gaze toward the window.
Sure enough, what met his eyes wasn’t the ever-lingering white mist of Freezing Water Town, but a vast blue sky.
Beneath the azure heavens stretched an unbroken chain of mountains, their peaks covered in glistening white snow.
At the base of the mountains, beside a silver-mirrored lake, a massive waterwheel slowly turned, its blades casting large shadows on the lake’s surface.
Such beauty was enough to heal every wound in a traveler’s heart.
Perhaps stirred by the sound of Rast’s movements, Emis’s long lashes fluttered lightly.
In the next moment, she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of stunning sky-blue irises.
Then, the confusion in her gaze transformed into joy.
“Rast, you’re finally awake.”
“Although Miss Shiltina said you weren’t seriously hurt, only mentally traumatized and would need time to sleep and recover… you’ve been unconscious for so long, I couldn’t help but worry.”
The sound of her voice, like silver bells, rang beside Rast’s ears.
He rubbed his throbbing forehead. “Xiao Ai… was I unconscious for a long time?”
“Mm, after Miss Shiltina brought you back to Canaan, you were in a coma for a full nine days.”
“According to Miss Shiltina, she originally wanted to keep you at Starfall University, since that’s where the best medical facilities are.”
Emis tilted her head, a few strands of pale golden hair falling beside Rast’s hand, a thoughtful look in her eyes as she recalled.
“But the university’s physician said that physical injuries could be treated in the Nightworld… but mental trauma is difficult to heal with external forces alone.”
“Only in the most familiar, most relaxing environment for the patient can time slowly soothe the wounds.”
“So she went to great lengths, pulled a lot of strings, and finally found Canaan to send you back here.”
“Miss Shiltina originally wanted to stay in Canaan and wait for you to wake up, but because of her status, she couldn’t remain away from the academy for too long, and had to return a couple of days ago to handle some affairs.”
There was so much information in Emis’s words that Rast couldn’t process it all at once.
He placed a hand on the bed frame, trying to support his body weakened by a long coma, but failed repeatedly.
Seeing Rast struggle, Emis’s delicate face showed a mixture of concern and frustration.
She bit her lip and reached out to stop Rast from forcing himself. “Counting from before, Rast, you’ve been unconscious for over two weeks already.”
“You’re a patient now, through and through. You need to rest quietly—stop mistreating your own body!”
Saying this, Emis hurried out of the room.
Soon, the enticing aroma of food wafted in from outside the door...
When the blonde girl returned pushing a small cart into the room, it was already filled with various dishes.
There was white porridge, as well as stewed vegetables and desserts.
“Your body’s still very weak, so for now you can only eat these.”
“When you’re fully recovered, I’ll cook something special for you and treat you properly.”
“My cooking skills are pretty good, you know—even a noble lady like Shiltina couldn’t stop praising my dishes.”
A proud smile bloomed on Emis’s delicate face.
She pushed the cart beside Rast’s sickbed, picked up a bowl of millet porridge, and scooped a spoonful.
Emis tested the temperature herself before carefully bringing it to Rast’s mouth.
As the warm and sweet porridge melted in his mouth, Rast spoke softly.
“You mean, Shiltina and I made it out of the Disaster Remnant safely, and she found her way to Canaan to bring me back?”
“Mm.”
Emis nodded cheerfully. “Miss Shiltina told me that you two encountered an unprecedentedly powerful enemy in the Disaster Remnant—one that specialized in mental pollution. That’s what wiped out the earlier scout team from Starfall University.”
“You were attacked by that thing, which led to your mental trauma and the loss of those memories…”
“But apparently, it had to spend too much effort dealing with you, and couldn’t divide its focus anymore, which gave Miss Shiltina the chance to strike down the source of the pollution and clear the Disaster Remnant.”
Emis carefully fed Rast the last spoonful of porridge, then finally sighed in relief and continued.
“As for her arriving in Canaan—that happened later.”
“Our Canaan seems to have a hostile relationship with Miss Shiltina’s Granwell Kingdom, so communication between the two is slow.”
“Plus, Canaan is so remote, with little contact with the outside world, that it doesn’t even appear on Granwell’s maps.”
“Miss Shiltina had to go through a lot and use every connection she had before she finally found this place.”
As if to change the mood, Emis clapped her hands gently.
“But no matter what… all those troublesome things are in the past now.”
“Miss Shiltina said she left a message for you on your smart terminal, telling you not to worry about the academy, and just focus on your recovery.”
Hearing this, Rast reached into his pocket and sure enough, found the smart terminal he had been issued.
He unlocked the device with his fingerprint and opened the internal messaging app used by Starfall University.
Sure enough, a red dot was flashing continuously on the app icon.
He opened the chat interface and was immediately bombarded by a flood of unread messages.
The sender’s nickname was “Ranger,” and her profile picture was a silvery-white crystal rapier.
It was Shiltina.
【Rast, I’ve applied for an indefinite leave of absence for you from Starfall University. During this time, you don’t need to worry about anything related to the academy—just focus on recovering in Canaan.】
【You made a monumental contribution this time. If not for you acting as bait and distracting the mastermind of the Disaster Remnant, I would never have had the chance to deal a decisive blow to the source. We might all have been trapped in there forever, and the Disaster Remnant would have eventually turned into a Twilight Calamity in the real world.】
【Thanks to you, I even managed to rescue most of the previous scout team… it was an error with the Starfall Obelisk’s imprint—they weren’t dead, just trapped inside the Disaster Remnant. Once we cleared it, they were released.】
【Assisting in clearing the Disaster Remnant… and rescuing seventeen members of the scout team—this feat is enough to push your Obelisk ranking into the top twenty.】
【Or, if you no longer wish to take risks in the Nightworld and want to stay in Canaan instead, taking a leave of absence is also fine.】
【No matter what, both I and Starfall University will always remember what you’ve done. And even if you drop out, any Nightworld missions you're assigned as a Night Traveler—I’ll find a way to help you complete them.】
Rast’s fingers continued scrolling.
The glowing screen reflected in his eyes like the moonlight mirrored in a deep pool.
After a long while, he turned off the screen and pocketed the smart terminal.
“To think that the seventeen missing scout team members all came back safely—now that’s good news.”
“That’s not the only good news, you know.”
A mischievous smile appeared on Emis’s pretty face.
She tidied up the bowls and utensils Rast had used during his meal.
Then she sat on Rast’s bed, extending her fair and soft hands to massage the muscles of his legs, which had grown stiff and atrophied from lying down too long.
“Rast, do you still remember the Shoreguard Sister who rescued us during the fire in Canaan, and helped us rebuild afterward?”
“Thanks to Miss Shiltina, we’ve now found a lead on her.”
“She’ll be coming to Canaan soon. Didn’t you say you’ve been forgetting a lot lately, and often have strange dreams?”
Emis’s touch was gentle but serious.
Rast felt sensation gradually returning to his numb legs under her massage.
“When the Shoreguard Sister arrives, she can talk to you in person. Maybe then you’ll start to remember a few things.”
There was genuine joy in Emis’s voice, but then her tone subtly shifted.
“But even if Miss Shiltina says you can take a leave of absence…”
Emis suddenly leaned closer to Rast, her sky-blue eyes staring directly into his.
“I know that in the end, you’ll return to Starfall University… and go back to the Nightworld’s conquest, won’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Rast nodded. “Letting Shiltina stay in the dangerous Nightworld while I enjoy a peaceful life in safety… that’s something I could never do.”
“I knew it. You’d definitely make that choice.”
“Because you’ve always been like this, Rast—once you set your mind on something, you never turn back.”
As if she had already predicted Rast’s answer, Emis clapped her hands again.
“In that case, let me join Starfall University too, and become a Night Traveler.”
“If you can’t take care of yourself properly, then I’ll stay by your side at all times, exploring the Nightworld with you.”
“That way, I can also keep an eye on you, help you become less stubborn, and teach you to value yourself more.”
“And also…”
“And also…”
She cleared her throat softly, and her voice suddenly turned hesitant.
“I’ve already met Miss Shiltina… she’s such a cool and beautiful woman.”
“Leaving you alone with her—I really can’t feel at ease about that.”
…
Looking at the girl in front of him, whose delicate, fair face was now tinged with an awkward blush…
Rast reached out and gently stroked her pale golden hair.
Her hair was smooth and silky, carrying a faint sandalwood fragrance—exactly like the scent in his memory.
“This really is a wonderful story.”
“Those seventeen scout team members weren’t dead but rescued. The Disaster Remnant was resolved.”
“‘Canaan’ truly exists in the real world. And Xiao Ai, you’re here too. We can all go to Starfall University together and explore the Nightworld with Shiltina.”
“We can support and rely on each other during the journey, witness countless people and events, build deep friendships and bonds, and see all the rivers and mountains together.”
“Even the Shoreguard from my memories, and the memories I’ve lost—they can all be recovered…”
Emis leaned against Rast, not resisting at all, letting him play with her hair like a cat curled up beside its most trusted companion. “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted, Rast?”
“That’s right. This is the ending I longed for—the most beautiful ending to the story…”
“So beautiful, it makes me reluctant to let go.”
Rast looked at the cleaned-up dishes on the cart.
“Xiao Ai, do you still remember what seasonings you used to make those dishes, or the cooking steps?”
Emis blinked in confusion. “Why are you asking that? I was just so excited to see you awake that I grabbed whatever I could heat up. I don’t really remember.”
“Of course you don’t remember… because I can only cook fried rice. That’s the only recipe and ingredients I ever memorized.”
Rast closed his eyes. “In Deep Blue Port, I learned almost every skill and piece of knowledge a normal person could acquire… that’s why this memory-based world is so vivid and detailed, so real it’s hard to tell the difference—or rather, I don’t want to tell.”
“But the one thing I never learned was cooking… because Xiao Ai loved studying recipes so much. She wanted to surprise me every time I woke up with a new dish that would soothe my self-destructive tendencies and my emptiness.”
“So I never learned any culinary skills in Deep Blue Port. Even if I stumbled across them or tasted fancy food, I’d delete those memories and sensations myself.”
“I wanted every return to Canaan to be filled with surprises from Xiao Ai’s cooking…”
“And more than anything, I wanted to see that sincere, joyful smile she showed when I said her food was delicious.”
In a sudden flash of iron-colored moonlight, a revolver silently appeared in Rast’s right hand.
The pitch-black barrel, which devoured all light, pointed straight at the golden-haired girl in front of him—whose delicate face still held a trace of confusion.
“This truly is the most perfect ending.”
“But… this isn’t the ending I want.”