In the end, Ais made her choice.
Although she had hesitated, she knew the drawbacks of remaining undecided. Thus, as befitted a natural airhead, she followed the instinct that arose in her heart at that moment.
Her slender body leaped high into the air. At the fork between the two paths, she twisted in midair and landed silently like a falling leaf.
Her choice was—Miyazono Kaori.
That ordinary girl.
Quite a few adventurers were shocked, because in the eyes of most of them, the second choice was the obvious one.
Only Bell's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
The longing he had suppressed all this time seemed impossible to hold back at that moment.
"Why?" Bert voiced the question in the hearts of many adventurers.
"It just felt right." Ais held her sword in one hand and calmly looked at the Stone Monster before her. "King Vermillion chose his own death, after all."
That was Ais's choice in that instant.
King Vermillion was powerful and possessed the bearing of a king. Perhaps the value of his life did indeed seem far greater than Miyazono Kaori's.
However, a question arose in Ais's mind.
Did King Vermillion truly need her rescue?
Did he really need her to change his fate?
As a king, it was impossible for him not to know the responsibilities he might bear on his shoulders. It was impossible for him not to know what kind of grief his death would bring to the subordinates he cared about.
And even danger.
Yet he had still chosen to do this. Could that mean he had already known everything that might happen after his death?
Someone would inherit his dying wish and his power. His companions would eventually emerge from their grief. His death had fulfilled him, and it had likewise been