The progress of their digging was steady, but it was going to take a while to get through.
After warning them not to wander off and to keep a lookout, Seele paid them no more attention, throwing herself into her work.
Finally, it was just Venti and Bronya, with a rare chance to talk about things that weighed on their minds.
“This place…”
Bronya hesitated, unsure of where to start, but Venti could tell what she wanted to say.
Yet, harsh as it sounded, Bronya’s sympathy couldn’t change the fact that this place had been lost to the Rift’s corruption years ago.
Maybe expressing it would make her feel better, but for the families still suffering at the hands of the Rift’s monsters, trapped in a living nightmare, her regret offered little solace.
Realizing her earlier words had been somewhat naive, Bronya chose not to voice her apology, saying instead, “I can see now why you’ve dedicated yourself to all of this.”
“Mm?”
“The people here… they’ve endured hopelessness that the Upper District can’t even imagine. And because of that, they’ve come to long for the beauty spoken of in songs.”
Her eyes lowered, a sorrowful expression crossing her face.
“If they were to lose even that little bit of hope, I think everyone would eventually fall apart.”
“I’m glad to hear you recognize the worth of my poetry, but you know,” Venti replied gently, “the people here aren’t as fragile as you might think.”
The hint of a smile played on his face.
“They’ve already been living like this for over a decade. Sure, a decade might seem like a couple of simple words, but for them, living through ‘one bad day after another’ has been the reality. Down here, resilience isn’t rare; it’s in almost everyone you meet.”
Bronya absorbed his words, a thought lingering in her mind.
“Then… how can I help them?”
She avoided the meaningless promises, focusing instead on what she could actually do.
Venti, ever the wise teacher, responded thoughtfully.
“—Well, that’s a good question. My advice? Make sure you exercise, study, eat well, rest up, and enjoy life. Someday, when you become a great Supreme Guardian, you’ll be in a position to help everyone.”
“That just sounds like looking after myself,” Bronya said, exasperated.
“Venti, I genuinely came to you for advice!”
“No need to rush, my friend. You already have the answers; you’re just too afraid to face them, so you look to me to tell you what’s right. But only by doing what feels right to you can you ever be free from that lingering guilt.”
Venti’s tone softened.
“But tell me—have you thought about what you want to achieve in life?”
“My… goal? As the heir to the Supreme Guardian, I was trained to dedicate my life to Belobog, to lead the people toward happiness.”
“And do you feel that all that training has prepared you to accomplish this?”
“I… I’m not sure. I’ve only seen the light on the surface before, but I never realized how many people live like this, barely surviving, who could have had so much more.”
Bronya’s gaze wandered toward the towering structures at the edge of the town.
There was something familiar about them, yet she couldn’t quite recall ever being there, and the feeling echoed the uncertainty stirring within her.
She murmured softly, almost to herself, “Sometimes, I wonder if Mother’s path might be… wrong.”
“Because the weight of the Supreme Guardian’s expectations has nothing to do with these people’s reality?”
“No… that’s not it. My mother—” Bronya’s face flickered with pain as she spoke of Cocolia, quickly correcting herself. “I mean, the Supreme Guardian, she bears a heavy burden, too. She has to make sacrifices for the greater good.”
“So she’s forced to choose to sacrifice others?”
Bronya felt a painful stab in her heart at Venti’s words.
Defeated, her head bowed, her lips pale and trembling as she struggled to accept the truth.
But Venti, instead of pressing on, let out a quiet sigh, as if disappointed not in her, but in the fate that left her so trapped.
“Bronya, you say you wish to protect everyone, to ensure Belobog survives, to lead its people to happiness—”
His voice was like a distant breeze, gentle yet persistent.
“That dream comes from your education and the fierce desire born from seeing the suffering around you.
“But to me, you’re a child bound by the goals others have set for you.”
“Bound…?”
To the people behind the walls, whose freedom had been stripped away by snow and the Rift’s threat, the loss of freedom had been an enduring reality for centuries.
As both a Silvermane Guard and the heir to the Supreme Guardian, she could never abandon her duties or forget the lives sacrificed to protect Belobog.
It was a privileged responsibility she bore, a duty as part of the upper echelon of society.
So, how could she ever talk of pursuing her own freedom?
Sensing her resistance, Venti gave her a faintly resigned smile.
“Freedom doesn’t mean ignoring responsibilities or running away. That’s far too narrow a view—”
“Then what is freedom?”
“Everyone defines freedom differently; it depends on the context. It often involves fighting against unfair circumstances, which is what I think you’re missing.”
The poet’s words flowed like a melody.
“To bring happiness to others, you first need to understand what happiness and suffering mean. That might sound like a platitude, but happiness varies from person to person—
“Some people find happiness in being with their loved ones.
“Some think it’s having wealth and power beyond measure.
“And others believe their happiness lies in making others happy.”
There was something in Venti’s clear, gentle gaze that Bronya couldn’t quite comprehend.
“So, what do you think the people of Belobog see as their happiness?”
“Their happiness…”
The question, so unrelated to their previous conversation, left Bronya stumped.
Venti, with an easy grin, merely waited, watching her flustered reaction.
Just as Bronya was gathering herself to respond, Seele’s voice cut into her thoughts.
“Hey! I asked you to keep watch, not to sit around chatting! And you’re so absorbed in it too—amateurs.”
She rolled her eyes at the two, handing them each a medical kit with a sigh.
“One for each of you. Here.”
“Thank you,” Venti replied cheerfully, then turned to Bronya, who still looked like she had more to say. With a wink, he said, “Take your time. The answer will come to you. When you know what makes people happy, I think you’ll understand freedom too.”
Reluctantly, Bronya shouldered her medical kit, setting out with the others to head back.
She kept mulling over Venti’s words, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t escape the loop his questions had started in her mind.
The tension grew until a faint, ethereal music box tune drifted through the air, jolting Bronya back to the present, a chill running down her spine.
She had been lost in thought in a place as dangerous as this—a rookie mistake she’d never have made before. Yet somehow, the error left her feeling… something indescribable.
It was an unsettling feeling, but there was no helping it.
She glanced at her two companions, who continued walking ahead, seemingly oblivious to the music box’s tune.
As Bronya dismissed it as some old, discarded relic and prepared to move on—
A frail, childish voice whispered,
“Ah… Sister…”
The word halted her in her tracks, and she turned toward the source.
At the end of her gaze stood a small house, its light warm and lonely.
And then, the voice spoke again, soft and raspy, followed by a faint cough.
“Have you… abandoned me?”
—Could there still be someone alive here?
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