"...Uuugh... hic... aaaaaahhhh!!"
The one who had slipped into the rift to save Rikka quietly faded back to where he belonged.
[Order Complete: Human Order Foundation Restored — The Flawless Happy Ending]
"Rikka always was a grumpy sleeper. Come now, time to wake up."
—...
"Everyone is waiting."
—...A voice.
"...pai... ...pai..."
The voice is calling.
"Senpai... Senpai!"
"Wake up, Rikka!"
I know that voice.
"Wake up, Rikka! Do you want me to incinerate you?! Come on, hurry! Get up!"
Rikka's eyes fluttered open. Exhaustion from the final battle weighed heavy on her limbs as she forced herself upright.
"Where... am I...?"
"Finally awake? Hmph. You look refreshed. Now that you've purged all that pent-up gloom, you finally look like a proper young girl again."
The voice, brimming with ego and radiating its usual brilliance, belonged to...
"Gil...!!"
"Hmph. Your battle against the Beast was well fought. This war is a total, flawless victory! But... don't waste all your attention on me. Look to the lesser Heroic Spirits. They're making quite a racket with those teary eyes of theirs."
Gilgamesh began to stride away from the command center.
"Ah, Gil! Wait! Where are you going?!"
"Don't sound so anxious," he replied with a smirk. "I'm going for a stroll."
He waved a hand dismissively as he reached the exit.
"I've been cooped up for half a year. It's only natural to want to look upon the outside world, is it not? Go on—get drunk on the wine of victory for a while. History is no longer a smoldering ruin. Spend your days in peace."
The King of Heroes departed, the white beast Fou perched upon his shoulder.
And then—
—Thank you for your hard work. You all did so very well...
A gentle auditory hallucination echoed in Rikka's ears.
"...!"
"Ahaha, so shy until the very end! Honestly!"
Nearby, one man stood with eyes brimming with tears of joy. This was the moment everyone had prayed for. The future they had dreamed of. The "now" they had all desired.
"Congratulations, Rikka! Mash! With your return, our Grand Order... our journey to restore the Human Order is complete!!"
It was Romani Archaman—the man who had lived a life of "freedom without liberty," fighting to reclaim the world.
"You've worked so hard! I'm... I'm overcome! To think we could reach such a wonderful future!"
He threw his arms around Mash and Rikka, weeping openly.
"Thank you! Thank you for staying alive! I'm the luckiest man in the world to witness this moment!"
On his fingers rested the Ten Rings—nine taken from Goetia, and the final one returned by Olga Marie. He had accepted the gift from the King of Heroes, and now he poured every ounce of his gratitude into his embrace.
"Thank you... truly, thank you! Because of you two, this journey was something beautiful. Really... truly!"
Rikka looked at Olga Marie and Mash. He's the one who had it the hardest, she thought, and yet he's still the kindest, most wonderful person.
They had sprinted through a decade's worth of struggle in the blink of an eye. They had survived a hellish sort of freedom. And at the end of it all, that "coward" had finally reached the future everyone wished for.
"Hellooo? I'm coming i— wait, whaaaaat?! Who are you?! This is an empty room! This is my slacking-off spot! Who gave you permission to be in here?!"
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