Home/I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family/ch111

Chapter 111

"What I couldn't do—this one surely could have..."

Holding the cooling white rabbit tightly, Einja began to cry.

Was she thinking of Kaien, who had died shielding her? Or was she mourning the rabbits she had failed to save?

After building a grave for the dead rabbits in the palace garden, Einja and Adrian held a funeral for Kaien.

The vision ended with Adrian embracing Einja as she wept silently before Kaien's grave.

---

Once again, before Ber lay the white space and the girl watching her.

"...I see. In the original, both the Arctic hares and Kaien died."

The original was the same.

Among the Arctic hares the Chancellor had gathered through the White Wolves, Eostre's incarnation had been present.

All the dead hares had brown-gray fur.

Arctic hares shed their fur in summer to camouflage themselves against predators with earthy colors.

Having been brought from the cold Arctic to the central palace, the temperature change must have triggered their molt.

Ber, however, had never molted—her fur remained white all year round.

If that was due to spring's power...

"Yes, that's right. Because you were Eostre's incarnation. The spring's power swirling inside you prevented you from living as an ordinary beast-person. The white rabbit you saw was the same."

The rabbit that had gasped its last breath and died in Einja's arms.

"Did that rabbit also fail to humanize, like me? Was it trapped in the palace dungeon in rabbit form?"

At Ber's question, the girl shook her head with sad eyes.

"No—her case was different. That rabbit had no soul. It was an ordinary animal."

An ordinary animal without a soul.

That meant—

"It could never wield the incarnation's power—without a soul."

"......"

"The rabbit's death was inevitable. Trapped in the dungeon, it was destined to suffer under the immense power surging within and perish."

Gazing into Ber's trembling black eyes, the girl said:

"It was a fate predetermined—like Kaien Noirel's."

Ber bit her lip.

So after all, Kaien...

She suddenly recalled Kaien lying in a pool of blood—his blood-soaked hair, his pale face.

She was sure she'd checked his breathing before falling asleep—was he really all right?

"Don't worry. You definitely saved Kaien."

The girl smiled, but she seemed pained.

"What I showed you was the original world's ending. Both the rabbit and Kaien died. I found that ending sorrowful."

"...You wanted to change it, didn't you—Goddess."

Goddess.

At Ber's address, the girl nodded quietly.

"Yes. I'm a god bound within the story's framework. Or rather—a device in the name of a god. I'm merely a component to keep this world's narrative moving."

A device. A component.

At her words, Ber reflected on her memories.

Was it because she had become Eostre's incarnation that Adrian showed little interest in Einja, unlike the original?

By meeting Einja—someone who didn't exist in the original—she learned that Einja wasn't Eostre's incarnation, but a mage with the power to move time.

The "Eostre's incarnation" setting was a device to connect Einja and Adrian, and a component for the final twist.

"But Ber, don't forget—I am still a god. A god who can perform miracles beyond human understanding."

"I see."

No matter how much she was a device, she was still the goddess Eostre.

"So it was your power that brought my soul into this world."

Ber looked at the girl and grinned.

At that bright smile, the girl averted her gaze.

"...I brought you here. Out of selfishness—to save the rabbit and Kaien."

"Thank you."

Ber stepped forward, cutting her off, and clasped the girl's hands.

"Whatever the reason, you gave me a second life. You are my savior!"

"...That's my line, Ber."

The girl smiled brightly, squeezing Ber's hands back.

"It's time. I'm sorry—I can no longer stay by your side."

Their hands parted, and the girl stepped back.

Ber felt tears coming but held them back—she didn't want to send her off with a sad face.

Stepping back, the girl paused.

"One last thing."

"...?"

"After you—Yoon Na-bom—died, your family grieved for years."

Ber's eyes widened.

"Especially your mother—she seemed to have lost her soul. For a while, she couldn't even function. I worried she might die herself."

At her words, Ber recalled her final memory.

The weary sigh her mother had let out, looking at her lifeless body.

Perhaps that sigh had been one of grief and loss.

"Now...! Now are they doing well?"

At the urgent question, the girl nodded with a smile.

"Yes. They have three family members. They're leaning on each other, overcoming their loss. So don't worry."

"...Thank you, Goddess. May I ask one last thing?"

Even as she slowly faded, the girl nodded.

"Why did you bring my soul here?"

At Ber's question, the girl smiled brightly.

"I wanted to give you spring. To you, who bear the name of spring."

Raising one hand and waving slowly, the goddess Eostre vanished.

"Goodbye, my dear rabbit."

Her soft voice touched Ber's ear—and the white space dissolved into particles of light.

Ber quietly closed her eyes.

Feeling the warmth of the goddess who had always been by her side—and the fading of Eostre's power.

---

"......"

Ber slowly opened her eyes.

Above her stretched a canopy of fine velvet—an unfamiliar ceiling.

Is this the palace?

Gazing at the ivory walls adorned with gold leaf, she tried to sit up.

But she couldn't—pain wracked her entire body, grounding her in reality.

What happened, again?

She had used spring's power to stop the Chancellor... the Count had sent him flying out of the palace... and then...

"Please, please open your eyes! Kaien... Kaien Noirel!"

The moment she recalled her desperate plea—

"Verdiana?"

Before her, the face of the person she'd been thinking of appeared.

"Are you all right? Are you conscious? Is anything hurt—"

Gray eyes filled with concern. Neatly brushed black hair. Healthy skin. Moving lips.

Ber sat up—feeling no pain—and threw herself into Kaien's arms.

"I'm—I'm so glad... you woke up... truly..."

Burying her face in Kaien's chest, Ber sobbed. Kaien smiled faintly, stroking her back.

"Yes. I'm glad you're safe too, Verdiana."

The warmth she felt through his skin reassured her—and she burrowed deeper into his arms.

"Verdiana. Um..."

Then, Kaien's troubled voice made her look up.

The first thing she saw was his bare skin.

More precisely, his upper body wrapped in bandages.

"......!"

Ber quickly pulled away.

Hiding her burning face in her hands, she bowed her head.

Not long after they parted, a knock came.

"Kaien... huh?! Ber, you're awake?"

At Louis's familiar voice, Ber looked up.

"Hey, both of you are red-faced—you must have a fever! I'll go get a doctor!"

And the welcome face was gone again.

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