"I don't need an apology," She would never scream hysterically. Think's voice was just a little hoarse.
Su'er knew. But what Think truly wanted, he could not give her. Even Think herself knew this, and it was also the reason why she did not choose to take this man away by force.
"...Do you remember?" Like an old man, Su'er just rubbed the back of Think's hand and spoke slowly in her ear. "The last part of our long escape, the days before we reached the ruins. The promise we made."
"...Yeah, I remember," Think said stiffly.
"The Riku I used to know had a heart that he had locked. He faced the outside world with rationality and coldness, and he locked all his softness and fragility in the bottom of his heart, never showing it to anyone," Su'er changed the topic. To Think's confusion, Su'er slowly began to talk about Riku.
"Until he met Schwi," Su'er smiled as he met Think's gaze, who had slightly let go of him. He continued, "When we returned to the settlement and saw that man at that time, I saw vitality in his eyes for the first time... It was the light of hope, the light of wanting to live. It was the most vibrant and lively light."
"He fell in love with that Ex-Machina girl, an Imanity named Schwi. And it was because of Schwi's existence that a stronger him was born from his body—Riku wanted to see Schwi's smile," Su'er said softly. "If he didn't care about the world's fate and ran away, enjoying his short life, then that girl would not show a smile, and the future he promised, that new world, would not happen."
"That silly Ex-Machina girl who had always had 'the heart of Imanity' on her lips even though she had already found it without knowing it."
Muttering like this, Su'er's gaze could no longer leave Think's face. His words continued.
"Then... do you know... for me... what that kind of smile... is?"
A long question without any hesitation. Think seemed to have already learned the answer from the future. Her lips moved, silently forming the words.
"I want to see your smile—Think Nilvalen's smile," Su'er couldn't help but chuckle weakly. He tried to raise his arm, but he still had to be assisted by Think to be able to touch her cheek with his withered hand.
"You won't have to worry about the crisis of survival anymore, and you won't have to worry about waking up one day and even the planet beneath your feet being shattered. I want you to live in such a beautiful world... without worries or troubles."
His eyes seemed to be sparkling. Su'er seemed to have already seen that beautiful world.
"We can walk on the land without a care in the world. The white sunlight will warm everyone's bodies. The golden wheat waves will surge toward us from where they meet the sky with the wind—I want to live with you in a world like that, to watch the sunrise, the sunset, the tide rise, and the clouds surge..."
Transparent tears slowly flowed down her fair face. The Elf's tears were also transparent.
"...We will win... definitely..."
Holding Su'er's hand tightly, the strength even made the man feel a great pain, but he always smiled without a single change.
She cried silently, just like a flame under an ice sea. After a long time, Su'er slowly said the words he had wanted to say for a long time but had only said now, without any warning.
"Let's get married... Think."
He could no longer bear it.
!!!
Her eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe, which made Su'er, who had lost the support of her arm, almost slip from her embrace.
When Think clumsily supported the man again, she saw a face that was smiling as if he had successfully pulled a prank.
"Will you marry me? Otherwise, I'll feel like I've lost too much face when I say it to others~"
In Think's eyes, that smiling face even had a feigned look of distress with a wrinkled brow.
"Heh," She couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. However, this cold laugh was exceptionally warm. Think even chuckled and her body trembled. She didn't need many words. She just gave a short answer.
"Okay~"
Glistening blue flowers bloomed throughout the entire cave, illuminating everything around them.
"Hey!!! Su'er! Why did you suddenly decide to get married at this time!!!"
Looking at the girl who was waving her arms and legs in front of him, the words that should have been a loud shout were compressed into a low roar like a cat purring because of her extreme effort to lower her voice. It looked exceptionally comical, and at least Su'er really wanted to laugh.
"...Just a reminder, Nonna," Su'er said slowly, holding back his laughter. "No matter how much you lower your voice, she can still hear you from this distance."
The once-purple-haired little girl could no longer be described as a girl. Now, more than ten years later, she had become an undeniable existence in the entire large settlement, playing a crucial role.
But in Su'er's eyes, she still hadn't grown up. She still called him by his childhood name.
"Hmm? Do you have an opinion, little Nonna?" It wasn't Su'er who was talking. Think, who was standing far away, had obviously heard Nonna's words. She directly turned around and asked with a smile.
"Yikes! N-no! Sister Think!" Like a startled cat, Nonna's hair seemed to stand up. She hurriedly waved her hands and explained. "I just thought it was too sudden! Why did you suddenly decide to get married at this time?!"
"Is it sudden? It is a bit sudden," Su'er answered his own question and winked at Nonna playfully. He said, "I just don't want to have any regrets."
"Regrets?" The purple-haired girl tilted her head in confusion.
"Yeah... After all, the most difficult time is coming soon," Su'er sighed at length. "Before we step onto the final battlefield, it's better not to have any regrets."
"That way, even if we ultimately fail, at the very last moment of my life, at least I'll still have the most beautiful memories—ouch!"
Su'er's profound words were interrupted by a sharp flick on his forehead.
"On such a beautiful and important day, don't say such disheartening things! Are all men idiots? Riku is like this, and you are like this," Couronne, who had always considered herself his older sister, stood with her hands on her hips and lectured Su'er in a huff. The only person who could do such a thing was naturally Couronne.
"Such an important day in your life, you'd better be happy! Remember to say more nice things!" Couronne warned the ignorant man, threatening him with her fist.