SETP Vol. 2 Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – ***

When Grerial’s party was still in Rinchelle, a certain person visited Fay’s empty room.

“Still buying flowers? Seriously…”

With a sigh, but also happiness in her tone, the maid looked at the flowers set in a vase.

In recent years, the sight of red spider lilies had become familiar to her.

In the language of flowers, they meant “Looking forward to meeting you again”.

They were graceful flowers, but also so vividly red that they felt ominous sometimes.

The maid — Ratifah, however, found them nostalgic.

“Does he know who actually takes care of them, honestly…”

Ratifah placed the flowers, one by one, in the vase filled with fresh water she brought.

“Always red spider lilies.”

Ratifah placed the seventh and final flower in the vase, then stopped moving.

“And always seven too.”

She took one of the curiously nostalgic red spider lilies in her hands and smiled.

“I’m sure that *everyone else* is laughing too, you know? You haven’t grown at all.”

The maid thought about her master, currently away from the castle.

A lonely boy, with a heart weaker than the average person.

Ratifah was truly fond of him. That was why she kept him at a distance.

If she revealed her past, he would surely start depending on her.

She didn’t hate it. On the contrary, she would have been happy. But it wasn’t what she wanted. Ratifah was not charmed just by his weak side.

He struggled towards one goal, persevering with honesty one step away from foolishness.

He wasn’t even strong, but thought and cared about others so much, became sad for them so much…Ratifah had fallen for that kind side of his.

She wanted to protect him.

A relationship in which they depended on each other was something that Ratifah — as long as she was *Ratifah* — could not accept.

“Have you found it yet?”

A reason to live while laughing like idiots, like a long time ago. A reason to live on.

We can’t go and leave him alone, can we?

Ratifah suddenly recalled the words spoken by the person Fay called his mentor, as vividly as if she could actually hear them. That time, they were still happy.

Even then, however, there was something dangerous about him.

His words and actions had something frail about them. So everyone said the same thing: we can’t leave him on his own.

Looking at him, however, Ratifah realized that he probably survived alone in the end, and looked down in apology.

“No one would have blamed him, and yet…”

It was the opposite; she was sure that most of them would apologize for going first.

She was like that, and the others were too.

Based on Fay’s personality, however…

“But that might have been the reason why he blames himself…”

It was clear that Fay had been blaming, accusing himself all this time.

To survive, to protect, to win against someone, to not lose anything…the man who wielded his sword for these reasons was nowhere to be seen in him.

“Things just don’t work out, do they.”

She continued.

“But you said that you’ll protect me, right ***? So I’m not going to help you.”

They happened to meet again, but Ratifah thought that it wouldn’t happen again. Even if she lent a hand to him, it would be just a temporary measure. It would be a choice that made him suffer more in the end. So she kept her distance.

That was the reason why Ratifah continued to act as a maid.

“You better find your own reason to live soon.”

Because that was the best thing you could do.

“If you do, I bet I’d fall for you again…fall in love. Say that I love you…”

I’d always look at you, striving in that foolhardy way, I’d cherish, admire, love that, I’d never stop looking for you, always talking to you with the biggest smile on my face…

Ratifah thought about the future fondly.

Together with her past memories, her feelings grew fonder and fonder.

“This time, I want to make more memories…and laugh more too…”

So…

“Make me fall for you again. Make me fall in love. Show me how cool you are.”

She exposed her feelings of love. She knew they never stopped.

It happened such a long time ago, it felt like a blur.

The memories of bickering with him resurrected.

The memories of the first encounter between the boy and the girl, when she first talked with ***.

◆◆◆

That day, fire and flames were raining everywhere.

The mock sun rained hellfire on the earth. A black sun ruled over the skies.

All residents were running away, but they were cruelly killed, one by one, by the creator of such a catastrophe.

Again and again.

In that world, it was a painfully normal event.

To kill others just because you wanted to. It happened day after day.

Weakness was a sin. In that world, that was an unshakable law.

She planned to ignore the hellfire and go on. A boy, however, recklessly stopped her.

A scream burned in her ears.

A disgusting smell of burning.

The town crumbling to pieces before her eyes.

The charred remains of what were probably human beings.

A boy was screaming, hugging a woman — his mother.

There she saw several silhouettes walking nonchalantly through the hellfire. The boy saw them as the allies of the creator of this carnage.

So he felt anger, fury, welled inside him, and erupted.

He just wanted to live.

He wasn’t getting in anyone’s way.

And yet, his ordinary lifestyle was destroyed. Everything was taken away from him.

<<Hey hey, is this for real?>>

The voice was half surprised, half annoyed. The boy didn’t care: before he realized, he was screaming and running at them, fists in the air.

The boy and girl thus met for the first time.

The boy was knocked unconscious by the man he tried to punch, the man who would become his mentor. “I’m going to take care of this kid”, he said.

Her companions, her family thus acquired a new member.

An annoying brat who did nothing but whine and cry. Or that’s how Tiara saw him at first.

If she tried talking to him, he would push her away, saying “you can’t understand how it feels!”.

So Tiara hit him, over and over.

She used violence on him, to make him understand.

Tiera let her emotions take over, she screamed at him that in this world without strength you couldn’t protect anything, you couldn’t even survive.

<<…I want to keep living for the sake of the people who let someone like me survive. I don’t want to lose anyone.>>

Days like that followed. Until one day…

With swollen eyes filled with tears, he managed to talk back properly for the first time.

He was still crying, his voice interrupted by sobs, but he finally expressed a desperate plea.

<<I want to be strong>>

From that day onwards, the boy started walking again.

At first, no one would say they were on good terms.

Tiara disliked the boy, after all.

But he trained like mad every day, swung his sword, begged to be taught. Looking at him, her impression changed.

When did the boy start saying that he wanted to be able to protect everyone?

He surely didn’t think well of Tiera, but even so, he said he wanted to protect her too. That she was important. That he didn’t want to lose his family anymore. He said it to her face, so many times.

Before she realized it, the girl’s eyes were always chasing the boy.

◆◆◆

That’s the part of him that won over her.

And so she wasn’t going to openly extend a helping hand.

“To live means to stand on your own two legs.”

If you live on, you can find happiness.

You know it’s true, isn’t it? Ratifah smiled.

“Mentor told you so many times, didn’t he. Don’t you dare say you forgot. Don’t you dare.”

Ratifah provided guidance too when he was lost, just like his mentor did.

She thought about this precious family of hers, as emotions filled her words.

“So I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes…*Shizuki*.”

Ratifah put the last red spider lily in the vase and left the dark, empty room.


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21 Comments
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Deforestation
Deforestation
4 years ago

nope, not unknown.
She’s been around being his attendant since the very first chapter of the series.

ru5ty
ru5ty
4 years ago

well i guess, i forgot about her

Tup
Tup
4 years ago

Not really unknown tho, the maid appeared in the first and few other chapters

Ambasador Anakreonta
Ambasador Anakreonta
4 years ago

This not written by “The Lost” scenario authors.

Surer Man
Surer Man
4 years ago

A Manga titled “deus X Makina”
The story set in steampunk world, where robot exist but not running on electricity or software, but bolts,gears,and spring. The concept is interesting, but the author running out of idea or the reader didn’t appreciate it enough so
It get axed.

Aster Eleftheria
Aster Eleftheria
4 years ago

May I know the title of the series you mentioned at the end please?

Paps
Paps
4 years ago

Well thats quite the big revelation indeed, so one of his family members that he lost in his past life is already close to him, wondering who else is near? I totally though the Elf maid was but I guess I am wrong. Is good to see a glimps of how hellish his former world was. Thanks for the chapter.

ru5ty
ru5ty
4 years ago

thx for the chap
well i thought the princess was someone from his past, never thought about an unknown maid

Cursed_Death
Cursed_Death
4 years ago

Wot? Is he living in some kinda reality simulation?

Awu'ua
Awu'ua
4 years ago

Finally we got protagonist name. I always read censored or F word when his name came up

Surer Man
Surer Man
4 years ago

so…our Trash Prince past name is “Tears”….make sense then….. how he ended up like that.
They say name is a pray, everytimes some one name called, the caller pray for that particular soul.
Shizuki cry for the death of his family members in previous world, he cry for his mentor and companion who leave him alone in the previous world, he cry for the knight die alone protecting wounded comrades. He will probably cry too…when he realize…he’s not the only one reborn to that world.
Stay strong Fay, at least you have better luck than a certain boy who befriend twin killer maid and become goofer for his first flame _ a precosious girl that avenge his family murder.

canaria23
canaria23
3 years ago
Reply to  Surer Man

I searched for Shizuki but there’s no tears on any meaning of the name

Cloier Neirmr
Cloier Neirmr
4 years ago

Why do I see her as a yandere ?

KrebMarkt
KrebMarkt
4 years ago

Poor protagonist.

Going to be plagued by reincarnated ex-girlfriends.

The maid can certainly fight too.

Stay tuned for what her ability is.

Haymelicious
Haymelicious
4 years ago

Yes auh

WHAT THE SHIT WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE HELL.

btw thanks for the hard work ♥️

WELCOME TO HAPPINESS
WELCOME TO HAPPINESS
4 years ago

So it means there is a chance for the MC to meet his former companions.

Imagine if the whole story is mc’s melancholy at the verge of death finally moving on from his regrets.

Nekoyashiki-san
Nekoyashiki-san
4 years ago

Thanks for the chapter! ^^
And here comes the past name with the revelation that he is not alone. 🙂
But she should be carefull, because someone else might snatch him from her if she take it too leisurely. x)
Wonder how she will take it when learning that he has a near death encounter and saved Grerial and co?

FrostKick
FrostKick
4 years ago

But this backstory where she trains him using “violence” and doesn’t like his “weak“ side, but later falls for his “kind” side… Doesn’t this sound like Touka and Kaneki??

Death Lingers
Death Lingers
4 years ago

Guess ill drop not interested in harem trash..since I liked the elf better yet this bitch has an obsession with him and she also happens to be the girl from his past. Pretty sure he didn’t lover her either yet this will be trash since she’ll push him to love her and he’ll accept since hes beta trash

Ikkiz '
Ikkiz '
4 years ago

Mhh so the maid is a former companion, what if Warrick is one aswell ? Or even better, what if he is the mentor ?

Ferofax
Ferofax
3 years ago

Ze plot thickens

Didn’t expect Ratifah to also be a reincarnated…

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