It was almost twilight. The setting sun gradually turned orange, brushing Primp’s cobblestone
It was almost twilight. The setting sun gradually turned orange, brushing Primp’s cobblestone roads faintly with its color. Ally bounced happily along the path. “I feel filled to the brim with love!” she exclaimed. “R-really?” I asked. “Yes! Listening to everyone’s stories of love has filled my heart!” “I see…” It was good Ally felt that way, but… To be honest, each new perspective on love just made me more confused. That conversation we had with Klug, Sig, and Maguro that had made my face go hot for some reason… The kind love Lidelle and the acorn frogs shared… The fierce competition between the onion pixies… And the stuff Ecolo told me when we were alone. When we asked Risukuma, he basically told us that everything was love… Meanwhile, Raffina claimed that she loved herself. And if she says so, that must also be a kind of love. Then there was Rulue’s powerful love for Satan, which totally leapt out to me as “Love” with a capital L! …And even Schezo. Though he denied being in love with Arle, he’s been friends with her for so long. Doesn’t that count as some kind of love too?Hm… So what in the world is love, exactly? Would I ever be able to confidently point to something and declare, “This is the love Ally’s looking for!”…? And would I be able to experience that love with her, in the same way? Actually, come to think of it, we were only asking around about love because we needed a way to set off two chains at the same time to beat Ouroboros. Maybe we should have just dropped the love thing and practiced chaining Puyo instead?I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice that Ally was staring at me very closely. “Great Hero…?” “Eek!” “Is there something amiss?” “Not really… A-and anyway! I told you before, I’m not any Great Hero!”Was the fact that I was having doubts about this whole thing plastered across my face? I got flustered and started waving my hands around. Oh, I’d forgotten all about that until just now, but Ally was still mistaking me for the Great Hero, huh. “Ah!” Ally said, “Please excuse me… I just…” “Huh? Did you suddenly remember something?” “I’ve refrained from addressing you as the Great Hero since you told me not to refer to you in this way, but…” Ally curled her fingers into tight fists. “You have always been the Great Hero in my heart, Amitie!” …What? “…Uh, why? I’m no good at studying like Klug is, and I don’t work as hard as Raffina, and it’s not like I can make big chains like Rulue or Schezo…”Sorry, Ally. I really gave you the wrong idea. But I’m sure that I’m not the one you should be calling the Great Hero. Just when I started to wonder whether I had disappointed her, Ally stared straight into my eyes and spoke in a confident voice. “No, I am sure that you are the Great Hero, Amitie.” I laughed awkwardly and tried to wave away her words. “There you go again. But I’m telling you, you’ve got the wrong person…” “Truthfully speaking, I do not care if it is a misunderstanding on my part.”…Huh. What did that mean? Did she really not care if she was right or wrong about this?As I gawked at her, Ally continued. “Not only did you try to rescue me, you’ve been working tirelessly to help me ever since. Watching you has been inspiring, and that alone makes you my personal Great Hero, Amitie!” “……” “If I may be honest, I was extremely disheartened at first. I had lost my memories in a foreign land, and Ouroboros was tormenting me for some inexplicable reason…” “Y-yeah,” I said, nodding my head up and down. That made sense. While she never once complained, Ally must’ve been hurting deep inside. “However!” she said, “Now I feel simply full of love!” “You sure are amazing to be able to get back on your feet so quick…” I said, impressed. But Ally shook her head. “No, you are the one who is amazing, Amitie! You rescued me and never let me lose heart! And you have so many wonderful friends!” “But I… I didn’t…do any…”Sure, maybe I had a ton of amazing friends, but that wasn’t because I did anything special, right?But while I was thinking that, Ally shook her head again. “Of course you did! These are all miracles you’ve brought about yourself!” “How can you be so sure of that?” “I feel lighter simply by being by your side. If you make people happy just by being around, it is only natural that you would attract many friends!” “Hwuh…”Ally… I. I… What can I even say back to a compliment that makes me as super-happy as this one?!As I kept opening and closing my mouth, unable to get any words out, Ally clenched her hands tightly and leaned forward. “It is a fact! I was on the brink of tears earlier, but your presence reassured me. As long as I am with you, I am certain that there is nothing to fear. So that’s why you, Amitie, are…” “THE GREAT HERO—!!” “Gugugugu-gu—!”…Huuuh?! Behind us, Arle and Ringo had matched their calls to Ally’s. Even Ally was surprised, and she quickly turned around. “Well, you know, we kinda knew what Ally was going to say next,” Arle said. “Heheh! It had the highest probability of occurring!” Ringo added. “Arle… Ringo…” Ally stared at them, lost for words. “It’s funny, we only just met you, and sure, it was a shock when you did show up, but now it already feels like you’re one of our best friends! Kinda, sorta… Hmmm, does that make sense?” Arle wondered out loud. Both her and Carbuncle tilted their heads to the side. “Guguguugu, gugugugu?” Ringo nodded. “Transmission successfully received! Though not much time has elapsed since we met, it almost feels as though we’ve already been friends for ages…” “Yeah, that! That’s exactly what I mean!” Ringo continued, “Evidently, we know each other well enough that Arle and I could predict what you would say next. …Actually, that fact is rather surprising to me, too.”Could we have met Ally before, somehow…? I mean, Ally can play Puyo and even has her own spells. Maybe we Puyo battled each other before…?…Nah, there’s no way! I’d never forget someone like Ally! Her catchphrases and personality pack too much of a punch to ever forget. “Why is it that speaking about this…makes me feel even more love within me?” Ally said in a tender voice, putting a hand over her heart. “I feel at ease when I am with you all, and I am enjoying myself… It makes me wonder if maybe things could just stay as they are right now, forever.” “Huh? Forever?”Ally with us…forever? Why not? That sounds great! Or so I was about to say, when— “But no, this cannot go on. I can hear a voice that has been calling me all this time.” “Huh…?” “A voice calls me from within those gates, even now while we cannot see them. ‘Save us, Great Hero. Hurry…’ it says.” “O-oh, really…”Then I guess we really can’t stay together forever after all. Just as the mood was about to dip a little too much, Ally struck her familiar, energetic pose and spoke in a bright voice. “Therefore! I shall defeat Ouroboros by your side, Amitie!” “Sure, if you think I’m good enough…” I said, “B-but I’m still not a Great Hero or anything!”Arle and Ringo looked at me and grinned. “C’mon, Amitie, why don’t you just be the Great Hero already?” said Arle. “There’s nothing wrong with accepting her conclusion now, is there?” And now Ringo joined in. “Quit making fun of me, guys—!” But right when I said that… “If you’re a hero to Ally, then it’s technically not wrong to call you a hero period, right?” “Besides, Ally already agreed to discontinue the formalities, so the problem is solved, right?”When they said that, they exchanged glances and giggled as if to agree with each other. Arghhh… I keep telling you guys, you’ve got the wrong girl here……Though. Talking about this gave me an idea about who exactly Ally’s “Great Hero” could be. I decided to ask her some questions to see if I was onto something. “So, hey… Ally. Putting me aside, what makes someone a Great Hero?” “A heart overflowing with love, of course!” came her immediate reply. “A heart overflowing with love…?” “They are someone who remains full of love no matter how difficult the situation they face. Someone who seeks out love so persistently, one can say that their heart is brimming with love. That is what it means to be the Great Hero!”…Yep. Ally would probably be bothered if I voiced what I was thinking, so I kept it to myself. But you know, Ally… I know someone who fits what you describe the “Great Hero” like to a tee, and it’s not me…Just as I thought that, the sky went dark. Wait a sec, is it night already?! Hang on, that couldn’t be it. This was something else, something I’d seen before! Arle stopped in her tracks and let out a nervous whisper. “…Looks like they’re here.” “Gugugu…” Ringo had stopped walking as well, and was looking up at the sky. “Urgh, that was fast… We haven’t even primed ourselves for the situation yet, have we?” “…Ah. The time has come…” Ally sounded a bit gloomy.The sky was submerged in darkness. And then, just like before, it appeared, suspended in the sky. The large white gates and the two snakes winding around them like shackles… Ouroboros! -- source link
#puyo puyo#amitie#carbuncle#translations#light novels#tl ingu#ie ingu