Ame no Hi no Iris

We stayed silent for a long time.

Though I couldn't help in any way, I still tried to contribute— I changed the lights in my visual settings to a torch, illuminating the road before us.

I kept pondering about Volkov on Lilith's back. What happened to him after that? Did he battle the military? The self-destruction setting— was it engaged?

Lilith did not speak. She must be thinking of the same thing.

After about ten minutes.

Lilith suddenly spoke: "That guy, is really slow. His sight wasn't good, and his hearing wasn't good either. He even stutters when he speaks."

"Mnn……"

What is Lilith trying to say?

"One of the reasons is that it's a problem from the days when he was in the army, but that wasn't the only thing."

After saying that, she lowered her voice.

"It's my fault."

"…… How?"

"It decreased a lot recently, but there were a lot of bombs at the construction sites at the start. The most common situation was about three robots would get bombed every day. …… Seeing that situation, wouldn't most people refrain from carrying waste materials that looks like bombs?"

She adjusted her posture, pushing me upwards. I hugged her again.

Lilith's voice started to tremble. "But that guy didn't do that. He just looks for materials that look like bombs to carry."

"Why? Isn't that suicidal?"

"Yep, it's suicidal. No matter how tough Volkov is, he would still turn into scrap metal after being bombed again and again. Even so, that guy still carried the bombs. Why do you think he did that?"

I did not speak. LIlith continued in a trembling voice.

"It was for me."

She said helplessly, her words were much quicker than usual when she spoke in the trembling voice.

"He's such an idiot. Saying something like 'I won't break down even if the bombs exploded', then he carried even my portion. But he broke down bit by bit. Can't see well, can't hear well, and even his way of talking became strange. Even so, that guy still carried the bombs. After I told him to stop, what do you think he said?"

Lilith picked up her pace, as though she wanted to get something off our track. 𝐟re𝐞w𝐞𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝚎𝒍.c૦𝚖

"Volkov- carry- bomb."

She mimicked Volkov's way of speaking.

"Lilith- safe."

Her voice stopped in misery.

"Volkov- happy……"

At that moment, she suddenly stopped.

"Really…… such an…… idiot……"

Liquid dripped onto my arm that was around her shoulders. The droplets of water flowed past my arm to the ground.

—Volkov- knows- how- to- kill.

Volkov's words resounded in my mind.

—But- don't- know- how- to live.

He said that he didn't know how to live at that time. He said that with a sorrowful expression.

But the truth isn't so. He found it.

Meeting Lilith, carrying bombs for Lilith, battling the police and even the military just for Lilith.

—It's so great to have met you.

He said that when we parted ways. I thoroughly understood that now.

He lived for Lilith. That was the second life of Volkov Galosh after he lost his battlefields.

Lilith was still crying silently.

I stayed silent, it's just that some force gathered in my arms.

Like what Professor used to do, I hugged her gently from the back.

That was some time after a deafening explosion rang from above.

It's probably the sound of our friend being blown to pieces.𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝘸𝗲𝚋𝓃𝚘v𝘦𝘭.𝑐𝒐m