by Akira Kareno
Phyr groaned.
“It was exactly as Uncle said. Expectations and hope aside, I cannot depend on or trust you.”
“Rgh.”
He faltered. He hated how he had nothing to say back.
“—Now, I feel slightly relieved. I will accept your words of apology. But do not take it the wrong way, since I still loathe you.”
“Yeah. Of course, that’s fine.” Willem nodded and whirled around to face what was behind him. “Okay, guys, it’s almost time to go…back…home…”
His voice grew quieter, and he was almost inaudible by the end.
Frigid stares were pointed mercilessly at Willem.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Chtholly was looking at him with narrowed eyes and a clammy gaze.
“I thought I knew you were this kind of person, Officer, but now I don’t know…”
Ithea still beamed brightly, but her mouth was drawn taut.
“Let’s hurry. They will stop selling airship tickets soon.”
Nephren spoke lightly as usual, but her voice was somehow cold.
“But I wanted to see more!!”
And then there was Tiat, who was upset about something else entirely.
While all four of them were different, there was no mistake that they were all mad about something.
“Why did you choose such a dangerous way to do it?”
The group made their way back to the clinic to pick up their dug weapons.
It was Chtholly who asked that on the way.
“Hmm?”
So she was talking to him. She was probably in a better mood now.
“There were so many other safer options than purposefully luring them into a deserted place, weren’t there? Is it because you wanted to show off or for some other stupid reason like that?”
“Oh, no. I just wasn’t very confident. I was talking like I’d inferred everything then, but all that was assumptions based on experience. I recalled past cases where people acted in a similar pattern to these guys, then thought about what had been going on behind the scenes in those times. Then I just filled in the details as I watched their reactions. That’s why it was ideal to make it a situation where it seemed like we were feeling out each other’s intentions.”
“Based on experience…? What kind of life teaches you how to do that?”
“Well, it was a dangerous time. Working as a Quasi Brave meant I got wrapped up in some sort of power struggle at least once a month. Thanks to that, by the end, I could dodge a knife in my sleep, detect poisoned food on instincts alone. Pros use poison that has no smell or taste, so you can’t rely on your nose or tongue.”
He cackled cheerfully.
“…Is that supposed to be funny?”
“It’s because I’m alive somehow. I wouldn’t be able to laugh if I were dead.”
Chtholly frowned. He’d been somewhat confident with that joke, but it looked like it was a complete misfire.
“All right, I’ll admit it wasn’t a great way to do it. But I figured you’d activate your venenum the moment you noticed something was wrong, and that’s exactly what happened. But you guys just finished a long battle. I shouldn’t have gone along with a plan that made you use your venenum. Tiat and Phyr were with us, too—”
He was cut off before he could continue.
Chtholly stood still.
Willem stopped, too, two paces ahead of her, and turned the upper half of his body back to look at her.
“You know that’s not it.”
Her cool voice criticized him.
“When I said a dangerous way, I wasn’t talking about us. We were in no danger at all. You were ready to fight the second you sat down on the crate.”
Oops.
“No, I wasn’t. I was totally relaxed.”
“Three seconds.”
…
“What was?”
“First you would take down the sheep behind you on the right. After the pebble feint, you would stick the sole of your shoe into his chest, then in the recoil leap, move a half step before the two deer to the right, then lob off their heads to take them out. Those two had knives, so you would pick one up, throw it, and take out two more. That would all be a little less than one second. To render them all powerless like that would be three seconds. Right?”
(Man, I can’t believe this…)
She’d seen through most of it.
She was watching his gaze more carefully than he thought. No doubt she was watching everything, down to the subtlest changes in his posture. It had crossed his mind that she was being oddly quiet, but he couldn’t believe she had been thinking about this.
“You’re overthinking things. There’s no way I could fight so recklessly, taking out five guys in one second or ten guys in three seconds like you.”
“Don’t say you can’t. I’m probably the one person in the world right now who knows best how strong you are. Did you forget already? You’re the one who taught me how I fight now.”
“…Right. You’re way too adept a student. I forgot.”
Though she said taught, it had only been for a few days. And most of that time was spent drilling into her head how to use the Carillon properly. Even the physical techniques were not much more than paired move sets. He showed her all the named special moves themselves but never taught her the actual names.
Would anyone have predicted that her powers of observation would grow so quickly after just that?
“I’m sure the reason you mentioned for luring those guys out was partially true, but I think it was partially a lie. You could have found a safer way to do it. I don’t know why, but—” Her sharp gaze pierced him. “You wanted to fight, didn’t you?”
Ah, yeah. He finally realized that possibility when she mentioned it.
Maybe, unconsciously, he wanted to fight. Maybe he wanted to get violent. Maybe he wanted to take the risk pushing his wounded body.
Maybe he wanted to thrust his feelings of distress from sending the faerie soldiers into battle while he stayed behind in safety onto a place that didn’t matter, onto people who had nothing to do with him.
“I don’t know what you’re up to. But stop. You don’t have to fight anymore. I… We shoulder your battles now.”
“—I have nothing to say to that. You really are watching me closely.”
“Because I’m in love.”
She spoke calmly.
“C’mon, you’re slow!”
Way ahead of them, Tiat waved her hands around angrily. He waved back lightly, and the two picked up the pace.
3. The Road Home, Still So Far Away
“Phew! Finally on our way back!”
As they neared the aire-port, Ithea cried out for joy.
“I’m gonna sleep forever when we get back. I’ll be snoring like a man!”
No one bothered to gently remind her of her gender. They all stood side by side, walking silently.
Even without putting it into words now, they were all tired. It went without saying for Chtholly and the others, who hadn’t had a proper rest after two weeks straight of fighting, but Tiat, too, after leaving the island for the first time and running about—and being adjusted as a soldier—was just as exhausted.
(…I have so much to do when we get back.)
Activating venenum put a strain on the body’s blood flow. Blood circulation could go awry or stagnate after using it to fight a long battle, which could worsen the body’s condition.
Tired muscles would get better after a bit of rest, but venenum poisoning was different. It could get better after a normal daily routine, but conversely, it could also easily become a chronic condition if repeated over and over in a short time period.
(It doesn’t look like it’s clotting enough in weird places to cause fevers, but should I make them take a massage, just in case?)
He looked down at his palm and lightly cracked his fingers. Though he had lost many of the things he held dear in the past, some of the techniques he’d master
ed were, luckily, still useful in this world. Dealing with venenum poisoning was one of them. It was one of his specialties that his former companions (especially the older ones) generally appreciated.
…Well, it wasn’t very popular among the younger girls.
If he said it was related to their life span—or, to put it unpleasantly, “service life as a weapon,” then they probably wouldn’t run away. Probably.
“I wanted to look around a little more…” Tiat glanced back reluctantly.
“You’ll have the chance to visit again soon.”
When he put his hand on her head, she swatted it away. “I told you not to treat me like a child!” As he pulled his hand back with a bitter smile—
“Second Enchantments Officer Willem Kmetsch?”
A voice without a single hint of affability called his name. When he turned around, there stood an unfamiliar man.
His body was thin and wiry. He wore black sunglasses. His facial features were surprisingly like that of an emnetwiht for a semifer, except for his long white hair and his long, thin ears of the same color.
A rabbitfolk. It was a semifer race, but unlike lycanthropes, their numbers were few. Willem knew that they existed, but it was his first time seeing one in real life.
“…Who are you?”
Willem narrowed his eyes, studying the rabbitfolk’s clothes.
He wore a crisp officer’s uniform for the Guard. The badge of rank on his shoulder was that of a first officer. The design of his branch of services emblem that showed where he belonged was a shield and scythe—the military police.
“It is as you can see. I am a first officer with the military police.”
The airship was already beginning preparations to set sail. A crew member made his six hands into a megaphone and shouted in a shrill voice, “Please hurry aboard!” If they didn’t hurry, then they wouldn’t make it in time, and there were no more ships until tomorrow.
“I learned of you through First Armored Forces Officer Limeskin.”
“Okay. I don’t know what he wrote, but I don’t think I’ve done anything to get the military police’s attention.”
At least, nothing that big lizard knows, he added to himself.
“Certainly. The first officer wrote, ‘possibly interested in young girls’ in his report, but that itself does not warrant a reprimand. Personal tastes and interests are not enough to deserve that.”
Okay, next time I see that big lizard, I’ll start off with a Nightingale Sweep and give him a good, swift kick.
“And even if you did have some sort of predilection that involved the items under your management, it is none of our concern as long as it does not cause any malfunction on the battlefield.”
All right, I’m going to pummel this bunny to shut him up right now.
“All lies. It’s exactly because he doesn’t have any of those interests that I have to work so hard.”
Wait, Chtholly, don’t insult me like that out loud! It hurts my feelings.
“Then what do you want? You’ll need to reschedule if this’ll be long, because as you can see, we’re in a hurry.”
“There is someone who needs to meet with you. Come with me.”
“No,” he refused flatly. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m in a hurry. You probably know, since you read the report or whatever, right? I’m their director. Taking these guys back to the barracks…I mean, the warehouse, is one of my duties. I don’t know how important a first officer is, but I’m not gonna let you get in my way with a simple Oh, I see, sir.”
“I cannot have you refuse. I am not here to run useless errands.”
“Okay, looks like we’re parallel lines here. So how about we make like parallel lines and never cross, and part here?”
As he responded lightly, he tried to slip past the officer. Then—
“The Great Sage, Suowong Kandel.”
The man murmured a name.
Willem stopped in place.
“According to the first officer’s report, you can adjust dug weapons. And of all things, you hold the position of second enchantments officer. What has been lost has been brought back. In this world, where we have lost the magnificent earth and all the people cling to small pebbles to survive, what that means is immense. Unbelievably so. That is why we cannot leave you alone. You must borrow the Great Sage’s wisdom regarding yourself and that technology. Should you resist, then I regret that I would have no choice but to mobilize the military police—”
The man waved his hand lightly.
Accompanied by the quiet shuffle of footsteps, a number of guardsmen appeared from the distance. Though their hands were nowhere near the hilts of their swords, it was unlikely that the long, curved blades slung onto their waists were meant for ceremonial purposes.
“Now, this ain’t very diplomatic…”
“Stop, Ithea. Don’t use your magic. This isn’t like the situation from earlier. If you make a fuss here, we’ll be the only ones at a disadvantage. These guys are the type of people who’ve already considered all that.”
“…Understood.” Ithea gave a slight sigh of frustration and calmed her magic. “But then what are we going to do? We won’t be able to get home like this.”
“I know.”
As he answered, a single name ruminated in Willem’s mind.
The Great Sage, Suowong Kandel.
He knew that name.
One name he could never forget.
“I guess I do have to go see him,” he uttered.
“Willem?”
Nephren peered up into his eyes, wondering what was wrong with him. It was unusual for her steel mask to let slip such an easy-to-read expression, but she was just that unsettled.
“First Officer.”
“Yes.”
“If I go with you, then will your guys take these kids back to Island No. 68?”
All the faeries stirred restlessly.
“On my badge, I will accept your request.”
The rabbitfolk nodded.
“Hold on.”
A tug on his sleeve.
“What do you mean, you’ll go with him? When will you be back?”
“Well… About that, I can only really say once business is finished.”
He shrugged. A tinge of anger swirled in Chtholly’s eyes.
“Don’t go.”
“Well, I can’t do that, either.”
“I’ll be mad if you do.”
“That’s pretty selfish.”
“Shut up. You have treated me like a child this entire time, so you should at least humor this much selfishness. Or will you only treat me like an adult when it’s convenient for you?”
She had hit him where it hurt.
He was used to dealing with children, but he’d always had trouble dealing with girls who weren’t children.
He didn’t know what she was thinking.
He didn’t know what he should believe.
He didn’t know what to say to make her happy.
And more importantly—he didn’t know what to do to make her stop crying.
“Don’t cry.”
He reached out with his finger to wipe at her eyes. But his hand was violently smacked away.
“I hate how you’re only nice now, of all times.”
She was right. He thought so, too.
But he didn’t know what else to do.
He was always like this. Especially now. And he would probably always be this way.
“Sorry.”
He spoke selfishly and pulled his arm back.
Chtholly’s fingers let go of Willem’s sleeve, grasped at the air, and with nothing to hold on to, simply balled into a fist.
“…Stupid.”
Chtholly muttered, hugging her hand to her chest.
He couldn’t stay facing this girl alone any more than this. Willem lifted his head.
“It gets cold on the ship at night, so wrap yourselves in a blanket from head to toe and get to sleep early. If you
become cold, then it’ll be harder to smooth out your agitated venenum.”
“Uh…huh, very well,” Ithea responded flatly.
“…” Nephren gave no answer.
“Um, ah, hmm.” Tiat busily looked back and forth between Chtholly and Willem, flustered, and it didn’t seem like she heard him.
“Bye.”
He pushed Chtholly away gently.
He hadn’t been very forceful, but she took several unsteady steps forward. After somehow managing to fix her posture, her shoulders shivered.
“Idiot!”
That was all she said, and then she ran off without looking back.
She practically threw her ticket at the crew member and dashed into the commuter loop airship. The crew member, caught off guard by her force, turned around and shouted a belated warning in her direction. “No running on the ramp, please!”
“I’ve got nothing to say to that…”
Her harsh words seeped into his bones.
“Come on, you guys need to go, too.”
“Well, we’ll go if you say so, Officer.”
As Ithea tilted her head with a dissatisfied look on her face, a cart with sacks piled dangerously high rushed by her. “Whoops! Look out there, little lady,” the driver cautioned, which was a little too after the fact, but this was an aire-port, after all. A place where people and cargo were constantly coming and going, and they couldn’t stay standing and chatting, even if they were at the edge of traffic.
“Are you okay with this?”
—Ah, Nephren. Now it’s your turn.
“Okay with what?”
“You haven’t said what you need to yet. I will be mad, too, if you feign too much ignorance.”
That was new coming from her.
Nephren mad at him? No, he didn’t want that.
There was no weirdness in her voice. It was the same as always, or at worst, smoother than usual. That was why he somehow understood that she was being serious.
“I don’t wanna make promises I can’t keep anymore.”
“You don’t feel like keeping them?”
“I do feel like keeping them. But in this world, there are things I can and can’t do.”
“It was you yourself who made Chtholly give such a promise.”
He had nothing to say to that, either.
You have to come back. That’s what he had said. He forced her to return safely, which would never have been allowed for a disposable warrior, even ignoring her own wishes, for the only unreasonable reason that he just wasn’t convinced.