Chapter 17
Town’s Name
Translator : PolterGlast
Thump, a stone hit my
head. It was supposed to be a fun annual festival, but I was surprised by the
sudden pain and blurry. I was holding hands with a slightly older childhood
friend, looking around at the stalls gathered in the square. We had just been
eating and laughing, saying how delicious the simple cut oranges from our
village were, just sliced and stuck on toothpicks.
Then I bought a small
necklace. It was made from shiny pebbles found in the forest right near my
village, nothing special really, but it was the same color as the oranges, our
village's specialty, so they were often sold together at the festival.
Everyone knew they
were just stones found around, but to make it a little more fun, people with
nimble fingers would braid strings and wrap the stones. And then they would
line them up in the stalls. Adults would sell them for next to nothing, but for
kids, they were a bit pricey. My childhood friend and I stood side by side,
looking at them, and then we exchanged glances, wondering if we should buy one.
"I'll chip in a bit more," he said. "Because I'm older than
El." His face, which had been laughing just moments before, contorted in
fear in an instant.
My head throbbed. When
I rubbed it, a faint smear of blood stained my fingertips. It was just a little
before I remembered my past life as me. The sudden change in the people made
El's young heart tremble. Along with those fingertips.
It must have been
scary.
I woke up thinking
about it as if it was someone else's problem, bright light and cries of birds
could be heard from the window. Ichi and the others, who had gathered in a
dango-like shape, were mumbling in their sleep. I was slightly taken aback by
their terrible sleeping posture, even while drooling.
I had a bad dream.
I slowly got out of
bed and ran my fingers through my messy hair. Eldorado had been deeply hurt and
resentful of the villagers' change. What would have happened if I hadn't
remembered my past life? No, it was obvious. The birth of a curvy, powerful
witch in a bodycon dress. Terrifying.
The necklace I bought
was still swaying around my neck. It was something I bought with my child's
allowance, so it wouldn't be worth much if I sold it, and it was hard to just
throw away. But why did I have such a dream? At the edge of my mind, the
detection skill was blinking.
"Mnn..."
I popped my head out
the window. Then I saw a familiar head below. He must have noticed me, because
he said, "Yo, El!" "Lotus-san..." He had said he would come
to pick me up, but I had forgotten to ask what time. Not knowing what to do, I
left my detection skill on. The beeping alarm must have given me a nightmare.
It wasn't a very pleasant way to be woken up.
"Um, Lotus-san,
please wait a moment, I'll be right there!!"
"Ah, I came too
early. Don't worry about it!"
Even though he said
that, making someone wait made me restless, and I didn't have much time to get
ready. I quickly changed into the children's clothes I borrowed from Sutra-san
and told Ichi and the others, who were circling around me, "Today is free
time! But don't go outside too much!" If they got too far away from me,
the illusion skill wouldn't work, but I realized that they were actually quite
capable as slimes. They weren't just some weaklings who had made it this far
unscathed.
Seeing the three of
them bouncing up and down as if to say "Okay," I headed towards
Lotus, who was waiting at the entrance. He was wearing different clothes than
usual. Maybe he was off work too. When I jumped out of the door in clothes that
looked like what he was wearing when we first met in the forest, just like a
regular adventurer, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Sorry, good
morning!"
"Nah, no need to
worry."
When I bowed my head,
Lotus also crouched down to my height. Talking was difficult when there was
such a height difference. "Um, so, about today..." I hadn't actually
asked what he wanted to do. It was when I looked up at him timidly. Growl, the
monster lurking in my stomach raged violently. I bit my lip. Lately, I had been
getting delicious meals as part of my work, and as a result of storing it all
in my stomach for growth, it would throw a tantrum if I didn't have breakfast.
Even though Lotus had
a difficult expression, the moment he heard the sound from my stomach, he laughed
with a "Uhaha!" It was just a fleeting expression, but he was still
cute when he laughed.
"Let's get some
food first, I guess. Come on over here."
***
To be honest, I don't
know much about Lotus.
That was because, and
I'm terribly sorry to say this, he wasn't my favorite character. I felt bad
thinking this in front of him, but in the game, Lotus was honestly a bit dark
and too mysterious, and my tastes back then were different.
Of course, there were
many fans who loved that about him, but personally, I preferred someone a
little more energetic... Along with that personal feeling, as usual, I received
the baptism of being beaten to a pulp by Lotus, who had been turned against me
by Eldorado's illusion skill, and although I somehow managed to start over and
defeat Eldorado, the ending I reached with him left me with mixed feelings and
was just a normal ending.
At that time, Lotus
calmly sent Yuko back to her original world. Goodbye.
If it were the setting
of a character I liked, I would remember more details, but I hadn't even
cleared his happy ending. He was just a guy, and I had no idea what he was
thinking, so much so that I was about to forget about the game.
I followed Lotus's
back hesitantly. Even though my heart was pounding with the thought of being
turned over to the church, nothing like that happened, and we walked through
the city smoothly. Well, if that had been his intention, I don't think he would
have taken me to "Harapeko" in the first place, so it was just a
possibility.
We walked through
alleys and cobblestone streets. We passed through arch-like brick buildings,
changing paths several times. Many clothes were hung out to dry in the narrow
alleys, fluttering in the breeze. Because this country had bad weather, people
chose well-ventilated places to dry their laundry as quickly as possible.
Occasionally, I bumped into people and panicked. Brown triangular roofs lined
up as if climbing a hill, making it look like the city continued to the distant
horizon.
"Here."
"Eh, ah."
What was handed to me
was a large piece of meat on a skewer, shaved down to the spot, sandwiched
between soft bread. A little bit of lettuce was sticking out, and as I stood
there in a daze, he waved his hand. I hurriedly took it and put it in my mouth.
Delicious. I was flustered, fidgeting.
"H-how
much?"
"I don't have a
hobby of taking from kids."
Lotus also ate
breakfast with me, standing side by side. The cool morning air brushed against
my cheeks. There was a well right nearby. Townspeople could use it freely, so I
drew some water and drank from the cup Lotus had. It was cold and delicious.
"You don't know
anything about the city, do you?"
Little by little,
people were flooding into the city. For example, on their way to work, or as
traveling merchants, or on their way to go shopping.
"I'm off duty
today. I'll take you anywhere you want to go."
In other words, he was
saying he would show me around the city. I knew it, but the lie I told about
being a child separated from my parents had been exposed a long time ago.
"Eh, ah..." I looked down. And then I laughed, "Haha." But
maybe he believed that I had no parents.
"Look over there.
Well, the sky being gloomy is the usual, though. This is the city of
Volvect."
The sky continued
straight ahead. White clouds stretched endlessly beyond. In the distance, I
could see a very large castle. The wind that blew straight down brushed my
cheeks. It shook my hair greatly for a moment.
――――I didn't even know the
name of the city.
When I realized that,
I was suddenly struck by a strange sense of embarrassment. The bread in my hand
was delicious, and many people were coming and going. Many windows were opening
in time with the sound of the bells. The music I could hear from somewhere was
from the band I had seen before. Before I knew it, the place had become a
"town."
"Um,
well..."
If the person standing
here was just the Eldorado of the past. Someone unrelated to demons, who had
never left her village, just a slightly prettier girl than those around her,
just an ordinary girl, would she have clapped her hands with joy? At least,
this wasn't some game world. I belatedly realized something obvious.
"Lotus-nii-chan!!"
"Uwoah!"
The detection skill,
which I had left on, went pikon!, and Lotus collided with a boy. He was about
the same size as me. He grinned, showing his dirty cheeks, and said, "Wow,
you're so full of openings. Can you even survive in the knighthood like
that?" "None of your business!" As soon as one child came, a
bunch of kids swarmed around Lotus. And when he gave a sharp shout, they
scattered and disappeared.
They were all children
whose clothes couldn't be called clean by any stretch, but they seemed very
attached to Lotus, who at first glance looked scary and not like someone kids
would like.
While sighing at the
boys and girls who had completely disappeared, Lotus glanced at me.
"Anyway, El,
shouldn't you act a little more like a kid?"
Not as much as those
guys, though. He scratched his chin, and I tilted my head. "You're always
so polite. Can't you loosen up a bit?" He looked a bit troubled. Even when
I was Eldorado, I used a different language.
"B-but..."
"Just call me Lotus.
Come on, let's look around at various things. Time is limited, you know. Let's
go."
"E-eh, u-un.
Yeah! Thank you, Lotus!"
"Alright, let's
go!"
His hand held mine in
a casual manner because he thought I was a child. He was spoiling me because he
thought I was a child, a poor child with no parents. In fact, that might be the
case, but various secrets and past feelings mixed together made me feel
something bitter, like I was chewing sand. Yet, holding hands with Lotus and
walking around the town so much was incredibly fun. I laughed a lot. But then I
realized.
This arm was the arm
that would disappear in the future.
The arm that held mine
so tightly would disappear in a future battle. His left eye was the same.
(Somehow, I don't like this.) But even if I thought that, there was nothing I
could do about it. When I thought "I don't like this," I just wanted
to run far away from Lotus. It was a selfish thought, but it was something I
couldn't help, so there was no point in thinking about it.
Even his bright
laughter was something that would disappear. In the game, he spoke much less
than he did now and just resented various things. Even Lotus, who seemed so
alive, was like that. I was a demon, and life was much harder for me than for
humans. That's why I had to gain strength. Strength to survive on my own in the
future.
I was very, very
scared. That's why that day, I unlocked one achievement.
――――I had acquired a new
ability.
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