The pirates may have seen it, too, if they looked carefully—the ship, full of islanders, appeared to be astride the back of the Black-Mother, and was about to be flipped over.
“Lord Autumn…That’s too much…”
When Col unwittingly murmured that out loud, Autumn’s back sunk into the water again and the ship was back to normal.
The oars extending from the ship made it look like a comb that was missing teeth, but they began to paddle at the water in a hurry.
Then Autumn must have attacked once more with his giant tail fin, for this time, the ship’s stern rose into the air, pitching forward. Once the ship returned to the water, the stern looked as though it was sinking. Perhaps a hole had opened and it was capsizing.
Everyone on board must have been in pandemonium.
Col was thrilled, especially since he knew what was going on behind the scenes, but then the shaking of the boat suddenly stopped, and it began to move even though the oars were not. The sinking stopped as well.
Someone must have thrown a figure of the Black-Mother into the water.
Anyone would feel the need to pray if that happened to them. There was nothing else they could do after all.
Then, led by a mysterious force, they would be cast ashore on a nearby island. While they were at a loss, the people of the island would at the same time be led by the Holy Mother and come help them. They would ask, Brothers, are you all right?
The archbishop would immediately understand why this happened to them. That was because the ship was full of people sobbing in despair, and what they threw into the sea were figures of the Black-Mother.
Then he would without a doubt understand who caused this miracle, even if he did not want to admit it. There was no doubt he would understand what they had all thrown into the sea.
Even merchants knew of these kinds of stories, and clergymen were even more familiar with them.
Relics.
“Ooh, we’re doing something bad.”
Col turned around when he heard the voice.
“Are you okay to be up and about?”
Blanket wrapped around herself, Myuri’s complexion was still pale. But a bit of color had returned to her cheeks as they were lit by the sun.
“I’ll only be punished if I sleep through such a nice day like this.”
“Why are you always…?”
What worried him was that though her life had been saved by burning the Black-Mother, she then grew feverish and had nightmares in the days that followed. Though her fever had finally broken, it would be a while yet before she was fully recovered.
“And I still have work to do, don’t I? I can’t let myself get rusty.”
Myuri spoke as she gazed far out across the water.
Myuri’s power was necessary in order to complete the plan Col had thought up.
He was just a powerless young man after all.
“Like how Mother dug up water for Father, I’ll be digging up rocks for Brother.”
A wolf’s nose and claws. With those together, she may be able to find new mineral veins on an island that everyone assumed was barren. Jet may appear here once more. And then they would offer a proposal to the archbishop.
These Holy Mother figures were fragments of the Holy Mother’s body, who descended to earth so she could save this island. By keeping a figure close at all times, the faithful could bring blessings and open up possibilities in the future. What’s more, the world was currently wavering in regards to what was righteous faith and what was not. Who would not want to be on the side of righteous faith? Were there not a great many who wished to be in the favor of righteous faith as well? Would not a relic of a true miracle be worth much more than any mountain of gold?
Members of the Ruvik Alliance came and went through the Caeson port daily. Autumn would create figures of the Holy Mother from the mined jet, which would then be sold for a high price as a relic. Reicher could take care of selling negotiations. There were legends of alchemists who could turn lead into gold, but faith could turn coal into gold. Col had strung together such a plan and told Autumn that one blizzard night that it may keep the island going for a little while longer.
Col was much too meager to stand with his faith, and even if he did sacrifice himself, he would not even know where or how to push forward.
But as long as the road he had lived so far still continued into the future, then this could be a place where he could compromise when it came to his place in the world.
It was none other than Autumn who had shown him that by praying earnestly, God would forgive any sins he committed.
He had no choice but to pray more than he ever had before.
Should prayer be able to bring someone salvation, then faith was not something to toss away.
“A whale as big as a mountain…Whatever exaggerated stories I heard in Nyohhira are nothing compared to this.”
Myuri chuckled.
At the end of the day, stories were things that humans came up with, and if God had truly created this world, then it was logical to be more impressed by reality.
“Come now, you should return to the fire soon.”
Though the weather was nice, the air was still cold. Col placed his hand on her shoulder to guide her, and after a moment, Myuri spoke.
“The story about the whale also sounds fake, but I still can’t believe you finally made up your mind, Brother.”
Myuri grinned and slid up beside him.
Col unconsciously pulled back, as though trying to escape, but a towering rock face immediately blocked him off.
“…How many times do I have to tell you? You misunderstand.”
And then, after he spoke, Myuri drew even closer.
“Misunderstand? What do you mean, misunderstand? Even though you were so terrible to me, I didn’t hesitate one bit to jump into the sea after you, turning into a spirit to rush to your side. So tell me, what kind of misunderstanding am I making?”
Every single thing she mentioned was either a debt of gratitude he could never repay or a blunder he could never make up for.
But he had no choice to keep telling her that what she was talking about was, without a doubt, a misunderstanding.
“That’s…That was because I knew that there was no fuel left to keep you warm until the blizzard passed. Were you not taught this in Nyohhira? It is what you are supposed to do when someone has fallen into the river in the winter and there is nothing to use. You could also say that is the wisdom of those who often travel in cold regions. It is normal.”
He persisted in his logic that the problem lay with the methodology. To show that he was not deceiving her at all, he puffed out his chest and stood up straight.
Myuri watched him and tilted her head, staring at him with a suspicious expression.
She would quip at him any moment now.
As he braced himself, her wolf ears and tail suddenly appeared.
“Maybe we should ask other people if they think it’s a misunderstanding?”
She was smiling calmly, as though there was nothing for him to be angry about.
But he had acted with a selfless heart. It had been nothing but goodwill. He was confident about that. Myuri knew that. She knew but disregarded it.
“I remember it reeeaaally well.”
This girl, who was of age, shrugged and placed both hands on her cheeks, embarrassed.
That night, Col had removed his clothes to warm Myuri with his body heat. It was true that even travelers knew that it was the best way to warm up, and there should have been nothing to be ashamed of.
However, Myuri regained consciousness unexpectedly, and when she immediately realized what situation she was in, she said—
“Am I your wife now, Brother?”
There were many reasons why he could not look directly into her sparkling eyes.
“When you write a letter to Father next, be sure to include that, okay? Brother and I were naked under the same bla— Owwwwwww…!”
&nbs
p; She rubbed her head but was still smiling.
“But it’s true that you’ve improved so much that I’d be happy to become your bride.”
The foul look in his eyes he showed Myuri was no act.
“I could not do anything. I have been powerless ever since we came to this land.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I could not protect you, and what I proposed to Autumn was nothing more than child’s play. It is quite possible that it may only work temporarily.”
But Myuri continued to smile.
“That’s true, but at least from what I heard, I think this place might become a little happier. It might not be enough for you, but hmm, how should I say it?”
She closed her eyes, like she was listening to the voice of the wind.
“It’s totally different from what that old beardy guy was doing. You know, it smells a lot like you.”
“…Smells like me?”
“Yeah. It smells like a sheep, one that only sees half of half of the world.”
He thought for a moment she was making fun of him, but when Myuri opened her eyes, she was staring directly at him.
“You weren’t looking for a way to endure hardship but a road that leads people to more happiness. Even if something really small, even if everyone thinks you can’t do it, you still believe in the warm sun and just go for it. There’s like a brightness to that. You have such a stubborn mind-set that trusts the world isn’t some huge barren wasteland, and things will get better if everyone works together. That’s what it smells like.”
She stared at him in fascination with her clear, unclouded eyes. What she had pointed out was the good side of only seeing half of half of the world.
“You actually did fail several times, but you thought of another way in the end, didn’t you? Even I would learn the hard way and run with my tail between my legs if I got all beat up like that. But you even thought of getting the help of lots of other people, not just me.”
Col had truly been on the verge of giving up. He had the choice of swallowing what he had thought of and waiting for Myuri to wake up. But he did not do that. He could not. That could be called faith, but it could also be called clumsiness. He even thought it was a bit stupid.
His voice caught in his throat, but it was not because he could not think of what to say in protest.
Still gazing up at him, Myuri giggled and grasped his hand.
“Brother?”
He did not think she was going to tease him. She spoke softly, and though there was a teasing expression on her face, he could tell she was about to say something important.
Far away, the broken boat was being carried to a nearby island.
Col watched that for a while before surrendering and turning to face Myuri.
“What is it?”
As her wolf ears and tail swayed in the gentle breeze, the same strange mix of ash and flecks of silver as her hair, she spoke.
“Can you take me along on your next journey, too?”
He would never find such a phrase containing as many different interpretations in the scripture.
This was what happened when so many conflicting feelings inside Myuri bubbled up around one another and coursed into her hand as it squeezed his.
There was no method on this earth that could cleanly divide them all.
But to know which piece of bread he had that would make her happy, he only needed to look at his hands.
“As long as you are a good girl.”
Myuri shrugged and narrowed her eyes.
“Fine.”
He caught a glimpse of her pointed canines when she smiled.
She stood close to him, and Col put his arm around her shoulders, then returned to the fire inside the building.
Myuri’s fluffy tail playfully bumped up against his leg.
The sky was blue, and the sea was calm.
While he still did not know if God existed, he knew that the truth was here.
AFTERWORD
Hello again, everyone. This is Isuna Hasekura. This is the second book. Six months have somehow passed. I’m sorry. I think I managed to release a book once every four months right after my debut, but I no longer remember how I managed to do that…which is pretty discouraging, but then I remembered I was also writing a short story collection for Spice and Wolf. Thank you for those who are reading that as well as Wolf and Parchment.
This time, I also aimed to write a book where you can open to any page before you fall asleep to find cute, fuzzy things jumping out at you, but I think the latter half got very serious. It got quite off track from the plot, and since I always feel my way through when I write my novels, I can’t predict it too well. But since the road was quite serious, I rather like the last scene. I would be quite happy if you enjoyed it as well.
I thought I had written enough for the afterword, but I’ve only filled about a third of the space…It’s taken me about an hour to write this far.
I was wondering what I should write about…but now I remember I have had my face stuck in the world of VR for the past year, so I will talk about that. You know VR. It’s that familiar thing with the Sword and the Art from Dengeki Bunko. It’s only our sight that can enter the 2-D world at the moment, but it feels incredibly immersive. So much so that things like horror are much too frightening, and I think some kind of accident (like a heart attack) will bring about regulations before long. You can really appreciate its power when a girl character is right in front of you. You may think I’m lying, but when a character reaches out to touch you on the cheek, it feels warm. I was so deeply moved at first, thinking my delusions had finally reached a new point…but it turns out those sensory illusions have been confirmed academically. I’m a bit disappointed but also relieved.
But it’s still in its infancy, and there is not a lot of content. I was very upset to see there was a special lack of moe, so I planned it myself and made something with the help of many people. I can remember it now, being so busy from summer to winter last year…I think it may be how old I’m getting that I now forget everything when I have a chance to rest. For those interested, please search for Project LUX. We are making a long anime series with VR with the zeal of someone who is very excited to go to the 2-D world. There was much to learn working in unknown territory, so there was also a great sense of adventure in the development itself. I almost want to write a novel about it next time.
The page filled up as I was rambling about all that.
I appreciate all your continued support. Thank you.
Isuna Hasekura
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Wolf & Parchment, Volume 2 Page 24