My Husband Was the Master of the Magic Tower - Chapter 124

Dante was still smiling mysteriously. When I came to my senses, his black eyes had returned to their original color, then soon the familiar and beautiful purple color came into my eyes.

However, just because the color became a little brighter, the dark atmosphere didn’t change. A layer of false color was removed, yet his insides were still unknown.

“I know you wanted to come back to this dimension.”

The voice that was heard only after a while seemed to come from a very low place.

While focusing only on the fact that the voice sounded unfamiliar, I almost missed the meaning of Dante’s words. I wanted to come back to this dimension, he said?

For a moment, I frowned slightly, wondering if I had heard wrong, but Dante’s refusal to correct his words told me that my ears weren’t at fault. Dante continued speaking slowly as I watched in confusion.

“You’ve hardly ever told me anything about how you’ve been since shifting between dimensions. But you’ve been through a lot, and I know what you were thinking during those times.”

As soon as I heard those words, a part of my head seemed to freeze cold. The thoughts I had back then.

There were times when I wished I could stop living, there were times when I thought everything was boring, and there were times when I hoped that if I continued to live like this, I would become a person who couldn’t think of anything.

And that much… I was waiting for the day to return to my hometown. Back to the time when I took it for granted that life was going by.

I tried hard to forget those days, and in the end, I succeeded more than half of the time. So you’re bringing up those memories now.

Dante smiled slightly at me, who couldn’t bear to answer. It seemed like he decided that his guess was correct after checking my reaction, and it also seemed like he was hurt by that judgment.

Ah, now I get it.

So you naturally think that I want to remain in this dimension.

That’s why he kept wanting to know what I was thinking when I came back here, and guessing what I used to wish for in the past. And the more you do that, the more confident you become in your guess…

“…”

I lowered my head and looked down. Even though a considerable amount of time had passed, the rainwater that had drenched Dante seemed to show no sign of drying up.

Only the speed at which the water droplets fall has decreased, but they still leave a circular trace on the floor. No matter how much time passed, it seemed like the drops of water would continue to fall.

Just like the regrets I had. Even though I let it go, neglected it, and waited for it to disappear, it seemed like it would continue to remain in some corner.

“…So, did you suddenly have that thought? That I’m going to stay here and not go back?”

“It wasn’t a sudden idea.”

I can’t say it was from the beginning, but it wasn’t that sudden either. Dante added so.

Although I wasn’t making eye contact with Dante, I could tell that Dante had corrected my hand by the fact that our hands were still touching. Unlike before, where the back of my hand was facing upward, he held our palms together tightly, as we usually did when walking down the street.

I think we both felt awkward when we first held hands, but now we’ve gotten so used to it that we find ourselves in a comfortable position whenever we hold hands. That was the case with me, and it was the same with Dante.

However, even though we became similar, Dante was always the one to hold hands first.

Although I usually didn’t attach much importance to that fact, since Dante liked holding hands more than I did, I thought it was something that happened naturally. At this moment, looking at Dante, who seemed to assume that the only way for us to be together was to remain here, I thought a little differently.

I wonder if Dante always felt that only he was desperate.

So, rather than persuade me who seemed to want to stay here, I wondered if he had given up on his return as if it were natural.

Actually, there was no need for me to guess on my own. All I have to do is ask the person in front of me.

“Although we have never tried seeing you hurt here, Dante. Perhaps you’re now in the same state as I was in the past. A state in which one neither grows old nor dies.”

“I’ve been like that before.”

“No. It’s different from before.”

I shook my head. There’s no way Dante wouldn’t realize what I noticed, so he’s just deliberately not saying anything right now. In that case, I should have talked about it instead of Dante.

“Back then, you had a way to die, even if it was difficult, but now there is no way. And just like you, who is immortal, I… If I stay here, I will start to grow old.”

“…”

“Then you’ll end up being left alone. Alone, without anyone you know, in a completely unfamiliar dimension.”

You won’t have the complacent feeling that you can just go back after I’m gone, will you. I muttered softly, and Dante held my hand tighter as if thinking about it was terrifying.

“But why are you saying you want to stay here?”

No matter how much I think about it, from Dante’s perspective, it’s a better choice to try to change my mind than to remain here. Yet Dante didn’t do that, and I wanted to know why he didn’t.

When I raised my head and made eye contact, I saw eyes that had begun to contain complex emotions even when I wasn’t looking.

But those feelings disappeared in an instant as Dante lowered his eyes and avoided my gaze.

“…It can’t be helped. “If you want to stay here.”

“…”

“I don’t want to get separated from you like this, so I’d rather…”

Dante smiled lightly. Unlike before, when I couldn’t read anything, now I felt like I could tell what emotions were contained in that smile.

“We should at least be together until the end of your life.”

That was resignation. One day he will lose me, just like he did before, and there’s only one choice he can make.

“Then at least the rest of your life will be completely filled with me. It doesn’t matter if we can do it that way. Whether I end up living in an unfamiliar dimension or not.”

It was a complete resignation to find something to take comfort in in a hopeless situation. Seeing Dante talking as if he had completely made up his mind, I felt a little dizzy.

Just as I was happy to know that Dante wouldn’t die, Dante would have been very happy to know that I wouldn’t die. Nevertheless, the fact that he can say this without any regret or feelings left means that he has been preparing these words for quite some time.

Was this why he stayed outside in the rain for so long? That made him go out, to the extent I was so worried and confused?

By looking at the places I said I missed, did he try to make his own choice stronger?

As I thought about it, I couldn’t ignore the feelings that had begun to well up somewhere in my heart. I reflexively tried to clench my fist, but when I realized that Dante had been holding my hand the whole time, I pulled his arm.

Dante tried not to let go of my hand, but when I even forcibly twisted his wrist, he struggled to relax. Dante’s awkwardly spread fingers seemed to be shaking slightly.

You’re afraid of letting go like this, so is it okay for you to just be with me until the end of my life?

Until Dante brought up this story, I thought I didn’t know my own feelings. I have always been a person who avoids the past and my emotions to the greatest extent possible, and this trait was on full display this time as well.

Perhaps, if Dante hadn’t suddenly gone outside and been caught in the rain, and if I hadn’t heard Dante’s thoughts while interrogating him, I would have tried to think about our future as much as possible later.

Just like I did all those years ago when I didn’t tell Dante that I wouldn’t die.

He must be rationalizing it by saying, “It’s okay, we have plenty of time.” After going through something like that, I promised myself not to ignore important matters as much as possible, yet it seems like old habits don’t go away easily.

“Look at me, Dante.”

I reached out to Dante, who couldn’t hold my hand again, nor could he leave my presence. Dante’s face was quickly captured in both of my hands, and our distance became so close that the tips of our noses were almost touching.

Although Dante seemed surprised by the sudden force pulling him, he obediently lowered his posture as I told him to. Ah, there have been days like this before. A day when I struggled to appease Dante and found the best way to relieve him of his feelings.

You’re no different from back then, except that it’s raining outside and it’s almost midnight. The wide purple eyes and the softening eyes in front of me are still the same.

Looking straight into his eyes, I spoke in a clear voice so Dante could understand at once.

“I won’t remain here.”

And I will cross dimensions again with you.