Into the Cosmos (Star Rail SI, Chaos Gacha) (Patreon)

Chapter 36: Farewell to Belobog

The coronation ceremony went splendidly as the people of the Overworld and Underworld came together for the first time in many years.

People who had either lost all hope or who were struggling to hold on to the little that remained inside them had their hope renewed as they watched with their own eyes visible proof of a better future.

The snow that had permanently covered the streets and surroundings of Belobog had melted, and instead of feeling a constant cold even with all the generators around them, they felt warmth for the first time from the sun shining in the sky.

While sitting with March, Dan Heng, Virgo, and Aries—who I had let out earlier—off to the side, I also managed to catch a brief glimpse of Cocolia, even if she was trying to hide her presence with a hood over her head. She was present for her daughter’s coronation. As Bronya’s impassioned speech ended, she quickly disappeared among the crowd, and we didn’t see her again.

When everything eventually settled down, we had a brief meeting with Bronya, with Seele present, as we had received word that we would be leaving the next day. The time had finally come to say our goodbyes.

“You’re already leaving?” Bronya asked with a surprised and saddened tone as she looked at us, her gaze focused on me more than the others.

Seele behind her wasn’t doing any better. She couldn’t quite hide the look of slight anguish and sadness that crossed her face for a moment when the news was revealed before she looked away.

“We are Trailblazers,” Dan Heng answered in a calm tone, bringing the focus to him. “Now that the dangers to Jarilo-VI have passed and the planet is on its way to recovery, it’s time for us to continue our journey.”

“Yeah. Though it saddens me to leave so soon, our journey must continue,” March added with a sympathetic smile.

“I guess as the new Supreme Leader of Belobog, I can’t ask you to stay a bit longer for my own selfish reasons,” Bronya said with a wan smile as she shot me a small, forlorn look.

“I will admit that a big part of me will miss you, though,” she muttered softly, looking directly at me.

Seeing the sad and longing looks she was giving me—along with Seele, of all people—I blinked as I realized something.

‘…Wait. Since I personally saved Bronya, and Seele technically when I saved the world, doesn’t that mean that the In Shining Armor trait would have activated and caused them to develop romantic feelings for me?’ I wondered silently before I got the urge to smack my head.

‘Of course it did. And it probably affected more people than I realize, including Serval, who was with us at the time.’ I silently groaned.

Putting those thoughts aside for now, I let a reassuring and happy smile grow on my lips as I quirked an amused eyebrow at Bronya, causing her to blink.

“Why the sad face? Did you already forget that as Trailblazers, we can always return whenever an opportunity presents itself?” I asked amusingly, smiling wider as realization entered her eyes before a smile slowly lit up her beautiful face.

“Even without that, I still have my unique ability to travel anywhere I want, so the chance of never seeing us again is practically zero,” I assured her with my hands on my hips.

Seele, slightly behind her, also perked up. The sad atmosphere around her disappeared in an instant as her lips slightly curled up into a smile.

“…That’s right. I had almost forgotten,” Bronya said with a relieved tone, her shoulders no longer looking so tense.

“Yeah! Due to everything that happened, I didn’t get to explore as much as I wanted, so I’m definitely visiting as soon as possible,” March added with a chirp in her tone and a smile on her face.

“That’s right,” Dan Heng jumped in too.

“Besides, I still have a promise to fulfill, remember?” I continued, looking at Bronya meaningfully and referring to the small letter she had left for me before our confrontation with Cocolia about going for another walk.

Bronya immediately caught on to what I meant. A small, almost invisible blush grew on her pale cheeks as she smiled softly and nodded. The others looked at us suspiciously for a moment, having no idea what we were talking about, but thankfully didn’t say anything.

“Then I won’t say goodbye, and instead just say… see you later,” Bronya said, now looking much happier than earlier.

“You better believe it~” March grinned and gave her a thumbs up along with a cute wink.

“Hihihi.” Remembering something, I suddenly broke out into an amused laugh while covering my mouth in an exaggerated manner.

“Uh oh, he’s up to something again,” March immediately muttered with a slightly worried look on her face as she took a step away from me. “That’s his ‘I have something either embarrassing or I’m about to prank you’ face.”

“I believe you’re correct,” Dan Heng said quietly as he followed March’s example and also stepped away from me.

The only ones still confused were Bronya and Seele, who were looking at me strangely or in the case of Seele, a bit suspiciously.

“By the way, Bronya…” I started as I felt my grin get bigger behind my hand.

“Yes…?” Bronya said, now looking at me a bit cautiously at the tone of my voice.

“Did you know that you might have a younger twin out there in the wider universe? A very famous one?” I asked teasingly, causing everyone to blink in confusion now.

“W-What!?” Bronya stuttered in confusion before shaking her head. “That’s impossible. I took a look at my birth records, and I was an only child.”

“Oh, don’t believe me, huh? Let me show you some proof then,” I said before pulling out my phone and scrolling through the messages from Firefly, who I had been in constant contact with. I found what I was looking for and opened up a picture of Silver Wolf that my lovely girlfriend had sneakily taken, then showed it to them.

Curiosity overwhelming her, Bronya took my phone as everyone crowded around her and looked over her shoulder.

I stayed back with my hands on my hips and watched the chaos unfold while grinning maniacally as Bronya’s expression went from curious to shocked in the next few seconds.

“W-Wha? H-How is this possible!? She looks exactly like me! D-Do I really have a twin or possibly a younger sister?” Bronya rambled to herself as she looked down at a picture of someone who looked exactly like her, only appearing a few years younger.

“Another Bronya!” Seele said with equal surprise.

March and Dan Heng, on the other hand, had completely different reactions compared to them. Dan Heng blinked in recognition before closing his eyes and staying silent, while March smacked her forehead, startling Bronya and Seele.

“Aargh! How come I didn’t see it before!?” March groaned in frustration as she dragged her hand across her face. “That troublemaker looked exactly like Bronya!”

Looking a little overwhelmed, Bronya turned toward me with a slightly pleading look. “Caelus, could you please explain who this girl is? And is she really…?” She let the question hang, looking a bit lost.

Seeing that I had taken the joke far enough, I smiled reassuringly and patted her head, causing her to blink before blushing cutely.

“Forgive me. That was a joke. The person you are seeing right now is a notorious criminal known throughout the universe as Silver Wolf, from what I know, and I doubt that she has any relation to you, seeing as she was born on a very distant planet,” I said with a small smile before pulling my hand away and scratching my head.

“I just wanted to tease you a bit to lighten up the mood and show you something interesting, since she does look identical to you,” I explained with a silly smile.

Bronya, still blushing, looked at me for a few moments before a pout surprisingly came to her face. She huffed and looked away, and I caught her whispering the word “jerk” under her breath.

Seeing the always serious and stiff Bronya actually pouting, though, was already more than reward enough for my eyes. I smiled wider, which she caught, and she let out another cute huff.

As everything settled and March gave Bronya and Seele a more apt description of who Silver Wolf was, the conversation eventually ended with just a small comment about the universe being bigger than they thought if such coincidences could happen.

The time to really say goodbye finally came, though, and I was taken slightly by surprise when Bronya suddenly pulled me into a hug that I instinctively returned. I wrapped my arms around her, hearing her let out a pleased sigh next to my neck.

“Take care of yourself, Caelus, and please, please look after your health. I will be happily waiting for you to visit so we can have that walk. Be safe, and thank you again… for everything,” Bronya whispered softly into my ear so only I could hear.

I nodded against her hair and tightened the hug for a moment before I pulled away with a smile on my face, seeing the happy yet glassy eyes of the silver-haired girl.

“Be seeing you soon, Bronya,” I muttered softly, getting a small, stiff nod in return before Bronya finally looked away and turned to the others.

Looking at Seele, who had her arms cutely crossed below her chest and was refusing to look at me, I couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face.

Despite my reservations about Seele, at the end of the day I really couldn’t find it in myself to continue with my irrational dislike of her. She had grown on me, even if I didn’t want to admit it.

Stepping toward her, I raised a curious eyebrow as I saw her extend a hand toward me. “You better not keep Bronya and Clara waiting too long,” she muttered a bit, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

Smiling at her slightly shy and tsundere actions, I disregarded her hand and took another step before taking her into my arms as well in a hug, causing her to squeak.

She immediately stiffened in my arms and pressed her hands against my chest as if to push me off, only to freeze and melt into my arms as they fully wrapped around her and my Cuddle Emperor trait did its work.

Holding the hug for a bit, I stepped away and grinned at Seele before holding out my closed fist. “Be seeing you, Seele. Keep an eye on Nat and Clara for me too, will you?”

“H-Hmph! I was already going to do that even without you telling me to,” Seele huffed cutely with a bigger blush on her face, still refusing to look at me though she did bump her fist back against me. “You take care of yourself too.”

“Hihihi, you really are a softy at heart, aren’t you?” I couldn’t help but comment, causing Seele’s face to turn beet red as she turned to me with an embarrassed glare. “Sorry if I didn’t see it before, but it turns out you’re actually really amazing, Seele,” I complimented as I gave her a thumbs up.

“W-Why you! Are you making fun of me!?” Seele demanded with an angry tone, causing me to laugh heartily as I ignored her angry rants, seeing her as an angry cat.

With the atmosphere light, we made our way out, since we still had more people to say goodbye to and March wanted to take as many pictures as possible.

=====

Our next destination led us to Natasha, who was thankfully still hanging out in the Overworld so we didn’t have to make the trip to visit her in her clinic. We found her along with Hook in a small store that sold plants.

Seemingly realizing what we were doing there, Natasha’s expression saddened slightly before it disappeared and was replaced by her usual smile as she greeted us warmly.

“Here to say goodbye, I’m guessing?” Natasha asked softly, causing Hook to widen her eyes in surprise before quickly turning to me with wide, panicked eyes.

“Honorary Member! You’re leaving!?” Hook yelled in surprise before she shook her head back and forth with a frown. “No! As a member of the Moles, even if not a full member yet, you’re not allowed to leave Hook behind!” she exclaimed sternly, though her eyes were already turning glassy and a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Giving Natasha a small smile that she returned, I kneeled down and pulled Hook into a soft hug. She only tried to fight it for a moment before she hugged me back tightly and started quietly crying.

Seeing what was going on, March and Dan Heng moved to the side along with Natasha to give us room as they said their farewells.

“It’s alright, Hook. I’m not going away forever,” I reassured her gently as I patted her head, a little surprised that Hook had taken such a liking to me despite the few interactions we had.

“A member of the Moles is always a member of the Moles, right?” I asked softly as I patted her head.

Sniffing, Hook pulled away a bit and looked at me with teary eyes. “T-That’s right! You’re not allowed to leave the Moles without my permission, so you definitely have to come back,” she declared, getting some of her old fire back before she turned timid again.

“Y-You’re really not going to leave forever, right, Onii-chan?” Hook asked hesitantly.

Smiling wider, I nodded my head. “Of course not. I will return whenever I have the opportunity, with plenty of snacks for you and Clara. Even better, I can take you to where I live sometimes too so you can meet our cute conductor,” I assured her gently.

Taking comfort in my words, Hook nodded once before wiping away her tears and then looking at me sternly. “Okay! That’s a promise, so you better not break it, Honorary Member! And in return you have to give me lots of candy and let me come visit your home!”

“You got it, Boss!” I said with a big grin as I gave her a thumbs up, finally causing a smile to break across her face.

With the situation handled with the gremlin that was Hook, I finally focused my attention on Natasha. Already knowing I would be making frequent visits, she didn’t look as sad at my upcoming departure.

“Don’t forget to visit,” Natasha said softly as she swept a strand of hair away from her face with a soft smile as I stood in front of her. “You have a lot of people who will be looking forward to your visit, including myself.”

Smiling wider, I pulled Natasha into a hug and this time I couldn’t help but lean down slightly and kiss her cheek softly, returning her kiss from earlier. Natasha froze for less than a second before I felt, to my joy, a pair of lips meet my cheek again. We both pulled away with Natasha’s cheeks glowing a soft red and a shy smile on her face.

“As if I would ever miss the opportunity to visit my favorite nurse,” I teased with a happy smile on my face, causing her blush to increase a bit as she looked down and whispered a soft “flatterer” under her breath.

Ending on that happy note, I turned to the others, glad that our small moment had gone unnoticed, as Hook had kept them busy with demands for candy on our next visit.

As we walked away to our last destination, Serval’s workshop, I turned momentarily to Natasha again. Seeing her staring back at me with a slightly worried look, and not wanting that expression on her face, I let a happy grin light up my face before giving her the victory sign.

I mentally patted myself on the back at my success when I saw her hold a hand to her mouth and giggle.

Within moments we made our way inside Serval’s workshop without knocking, causing Serval to slightly reprimand us, only to stop as she realized who it was and smile happily instead.

Standing in front of her was my cute Clara, who had a small bag by her feet and immediately lit up upon seeing us.

“Nice to see that you already packed, Clara,” I said with a smile, referring to the bag at her feet, before turning to Serval. “What about you, Serval? Ready to become a Trailblazer?”

Like she had already told us before, Serval was interested in joining us, and this time, with Jarilo-VI being in a much better state thanks to my efforts, her brother hadn’t been able to dissuade her from coming along.

As for Clara, as if I would be content with just a simple goodbye.

I had asked her to inform Svarog that she would be accompanying us for a few days as I introduced her to everyone back on the Express and gave her a proper tour of the place.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Serval said confidently with an excited smile on her face.

“I’m ready, Onii-chan. Though I’m a bit nervous, if I’m being honest,” Clara confirmed with a shy blush and smile.

Unable to help myself, I took her into my arms and cuddled her as she giggled happily while the others talked amongst themselves.

‘Yep, now this is a goodbye that I can stand behind.’ I thought happily.