Chapter 37
Part 2
Until the Rain
Gets Worse
Translator : PolterGlast
"El, Lotus-san,
thank you. I intended to thank you, but you ended up going through something
terrible..."
"That's not true.
We didn't know anything about this country, so you helped us a lot. Thank
you!"
It was a perfect rainy
day for traveling. Lotus-san, whom I had thought had a scary face, didn't seem
that way once I got used to it, and he even smiled a little. But I was
surprised when he ruffled my hair roughly. I wondered if he liked kids more
than I thought. It felt a little embarrassing to think of myself as a kid,
though.
Something changed
after they came. I felt bad that the length wasn't quite right, but I gave
Lotus-san my brother's raincoat. I had never traveled before, but I tried to
help as much as I could. I heard a strange splashing sound at my feet. It was
as if something invisible was bouncing and replying. When I looked at El, she
gave a strange wry smile and her gaze wandered around my feet. I still wondered
if there was something there, but she seemed unwilling to talk about it, so I
didn't ask.
We had already said
our goodbyes inside the house. But as it came down to the final moment, I felt
a strong pull in my heart. Wasn't there something else I should say? Wasn't
there something more I could have done? As I just made a sad face and mumbled,
El looked a little troubled. Then, she looked at Lotus-san. They seemed to
understand something between themselves, which was a little strange. El took my
hand and looked at me intently. "You know, Elma."
"...Eh?"
For just a moment,
just a fleeting moment, the color of El's eyes changed. Her bright blue eyes
turned bright red, a color I had seen once before. "Ufufu," El
giggled. "Did you see something? Maybe it was just your imagination, or
maybe not." Lotus-san didn't say anything. I wondered if he was also, but
I held my tongue.
"Elma, you're
human, but there are probably many people who aren't. I had a lot of fun this
past week. I stayed with Elma not because of your race, but because you're Elma."
The ones here were
just individuals. It didn't matter if El was a demon or I was human. Her cute
little hand, a little cold from the rain but gripping mine tightly, was the
same as humans.
We had already said
our farewells thoroughly. So, there was no need to add any more words. I saw El
off. But no matter what, something caught in my throat, it was painful, and
before I knew it, I had shouted.
"El, you
know!"
The sound of the rain
drowned out my voice. Maybe even El couldn't hear me.
"It's true that
my brother escaped. But it's a lie that everyone thinks I let him go! I'm the
one who really helped my brother escape!"
I knew that my brother
had turned into a demon. But before I knew it, I was desperately stealing the
keys, gripping the bars across the cold prison, and desperately shouting for
him to run. Tears streamed down my face, and I looked pathetic.
After my brother
escaped, the villagers blamed me for letting him go. I lied, saying it wasn't
true. There were people who defended me. But what I had done was real, so I was
scared, terribly scared, and I distanced myself from everyone. As I did, I
drifted further and further away, unable to go back. I carried a heavy burden
that I couldn't put down anywhere, and I trembled alone at night.
But if you ask me if I
regret it, I don't.
Surely, there are all
kinds of demons. There are probably scary demons, so it's no wonder everyone is
afraid. Even I am still scared. But my brother isn't scary. Neither are El and
Lotus-san.
"El, Lotus-san,
see you again! Thank you!!"
The ones here were
individuals with names.
Did they hear me? They
turned around just a little. Then, they waved their hands widely. I waved back.
My body had become completely cold, but I was already used to that. I kept
waving my hand until they were completely out of sight. Forever and ever. To
the small girl with a name so similar to mine.
To the lovely demon
girl.
***
"Well, we were
really taken care of, weren't we?"
Saying that, Ichi and
the others, who had been disappearing for the past few days, were dancing
around my feet. However, perhaps because they instinctively took a liking to
Elma, they were asserting their presence more than usual, which made me a
little flustered. It was probably also because their souls were trembling with
the joy of cleaning a house after a long time. They had probably awakened to
the fun of making Harapeko-tei sparkling clean. I could understand their
feelings.
I walked through the
forest, thinking about Elma. Zaku-zaku, pyoko-pyoko. Byun-byun. The sound of
footsteps was for one person and three others. None for me. And no reply.
"............WHY!!!!" I couldn't help but let out a shout of
exasperation. I was still secured by Lotus, and the forced piggyback mode had
been activated.
No, originally, I
would politely accept his help when we were in a hurry or in trouble, but it
wasn't like that now, and I had grown taller than when I first met him. It was
a little unseemly to be carried on his back so casually.
After parting with
Elma, Lotus carried me without a word, as if it were the most natural thing in
the world, and kept walking steadily. His demeanor seemed to say that this was
the default state, and I kept being swayed back and forth, unable to even
retort, until I finally reached my limit. It was also because he had been more
quiet and harder to talk to than usual. However, I had an idea why.
"Um, well,
uuh."
--Lotus's childhood
friend had turned into a demon when he was young.
He regretted not being
able to do anything back then. Elma's brother had become a demon. And she had
been able to help him escape.
Zaku-zaku, we
continued forward. We had just passed under several large trees. Even in the
heavy rain, the leaves above were large, and there wasn't much mud on the
ground. Looking at the ground, which was now easier to walk on, I tried to find
something to talk about.
"...It would have
been close if it weren't for that arrow."
In reality, it was a
single arrow that came flying from who-knows-where that had finished off the
monster. I had just slowed it down a little and weakened it.
"Phew,"
Lotus exhaled briefly. It was cold, and his breath was a little white.
Yokkoi-se, Lotus lowered me under a tree. He sat down on the gnarled roots and
let out a longer sigh than before. Break time, huh? It is break time, isn't it?
Ichi and the others were already bouncing around the trunk, "Let's
bounce~~~!!" It wasn't really a break.
"The presence is
gone."
"...Were we being
watched after all?"
"Yeah. The whole
time we were there. I don't think there was any malice, though."
Lotus leaned against
the trunk. His already serious face looked even more serious. Even though he
said there was no malice, he had been on guard the whole time we were there. I
felt bad. "The person who shot the arrow, was that...?" Lotus nodded
quietly. The person who had been watching us all along. And the person who had
finished off the monster.
"Elma's older
brother, right?"
"Probably."
At the time of
parting, when I was looking at Elma, I heard the sound of a new skill being
acquired. When I had tried to somehow heal Lotus's injuries, most of the skills
I originally had had disappeared. The Listening skill had been one of them, but
it seemed I had reacquired it. Her voice was normally drowned out by the rain,
but thanks to the skill, I could hear it clearly. That's how I learned about
Elma's situation again.
I thought for a moment
about stopping myself, but I told Lotus about it. Elma had also expressed her
gratitude to Lotus after all.
"...When this
rain stops, the monsters will become active, right? Born in this country, she
should have a better sense of danger than we do, so it's strange that she
didn't try to go back to the village even though the rain was starting to let
up. Maybe she was meeting someone when we encountered her too."
"...Her
brother?"
"Yeah. They're
probably meeting up now and then. When we were repairing the house, there were
some things that Elma couldn't have done alone that had been recently
fixed."
Elma didn't seem to
get along well with the villagers, so it would have been difficult for her to
ask for help from anyone.
Elma, who had helped
her demon brother escape, was probably still meeting him occasionally. She
might have been suffering because she couldn't tell anyone about it. Demons
were evil to humans, after all.
"I wish they
would think of her as a go-between, not a traitor..."
『Demon's Younger Sister. Traitorous Girl : Elma』
That's what was
displayed when I first appraised her.
Lotus and I were
traveling, but it was also a journey to escape. The silver-haired demon who was
trying to advance the story according to the original work, saying he had come
to pick me up. His actions were unpredictable. My knowledge only extended to
the future, so the present, which was the past, was full of holes. That's why,
even if we went to towns, we never stayed anywhere for long. Neither Lotus nor
I wanted anyone else to get involved.
But seeing those words
displayed above Elma's head, I couldn't bring myself to leave her alone. I had
told her that I stayed with her because she was Elma, but that was a lie. She
had no parents, her name was similar to mine, and she was a slightly older girl
who seemed to have her own troubles. I had projected myself onto her, and even
though I was terribly worried, I should have kept my distance to avoid any
trouble.
Because Elma was the
demon's younger sister.
That's why I wanted to
be her friend. I would be as considerate as possible, and I would even lie if
necessary. I wanted to hear her bright voice. In the end, I don't think I was
able to help her in any way, but I wanted to at least hold the hand of that
brave girl who had tried to protect me with her small body.
"I wonder what her
brother is like. I should have asked a little more."
"Who knows."
"I wonder if he's
a normal person. I haven't met many demons other than myself."
"Well, so far,
we've only dealt with seriously messed up demons."
"I want to
believe it varies from person to person. Her brother seemed to have helped her.
Maybe it was for Elma's sake. It's not good to clash with malice. I'm a demon
too... and I'm nothing but all talk, though! I might lash out at people I
dislike!"
At the edge of my
vision, I could see the slimes colliding with each other while shaking
violently, dooon! dooon! buruburuburu! That's not what I meant, and I'd be in
trouble if they multiplied, so please stop.
In the grand finale
route of the game, demons and humans join hands. But the values that people
have cultivated cannot be changed so easily, and there is too deep a divide
between us.
"Well, but! Even
with her brother's help, haven't I gotten quite close to being the Ultimate
Evil Witch!?"
Eldorado in the main
story only used Illusion skills. She was hopeless in terms of ATK and, with her
body-con style, I doubted if she even intended to defend herself. Since she was
intelligence-focused, it would be a great triumph if her weaknesses became her
strengths. While sitting, I tried thrusting my fist out, shushu shushu.
Wonderful. I don't hear any commentary about whether my intelligence is lower
compared to the original.
"Copycat skill is
pretty good! It leveled up to Lv. 2 with that desperate action! Also, I learned
for the first time that shouting the skill name seems to increase its power!...
But shouting things like 'Skill, Fishing!' or 'Skill, Listening!' feels kind of
lame. If possible, I'd rather save shouting for the final resort and usually
just level up the skills... Does Lotus have any skill names?"
"Nope."
To cover up the
somewhat awkward silence, I spoke rapidly, but a shorter reply than I expected
came back. I wilted. But that's strange, I thought I remembered Lotus having
cool skill names in the game screen, and I could select them in battle. Maybe
he just shouted them in his mind.
Above my head, large
leaves rustled as they repelled raindrops. "It'd cold." Splash, a
drop of water hit my cheek.
"...Sorry."
I blinked and looked
up at him, surprised by the muttered word as he leaned against the tree. He had
deep wrinkles between his eyebrows and a troubled look on his face as he
crossed his arms. I had been with Lotus for two years now. Distinguishing
subtle changes in his expression was my forte. But. "...Eh, w-why are you
apologizing?" I was the one who had been selfish this time and stayed with
Elma, and Lotus had just been working hard. I was the one who should be
apologizing. He continued.
"I couldn't go
help right away. Sorry."
"............Eh,
about the monster? No, no, that was my fault, I even thought I'd get scolded!?
And even if I was told it was my fault, it's not like I went to fight it
myself, so I was even wondering what kind of excuse I should make!"
I was a woman who had
been seriously scolded in the past with, "You've got to be kidding
me". Lotus' worries were endless. "Or rather, was that why it was
awkward just now?" I had been carried silently, moved silently, and I had
been holding back my comments the whole time, wondering what was going on. I
just couldn't hold back at the end.
"I-I totally
thought I had triggered Lotus' trauma...!!"
I had been reflecting
on my inconsiderateness and wondering what I should do. Lotus blinked his
blackish-purple eye, the other one bright red, looking puzzled. I had found the
contrast strange at first, but now I thought it was a very beautiful color. But
in public places, I used my illusion skills to disguise them, so I couldn't
help but stare at them for the first part of the week.
"...About Veja?
Yeah, I have nothing but regrets, but that would never turn back time. I do
wish he was still alive."
"Hmm, I just
learned that person's name now... Was I wrong!? So that's how it was!! And I
don't have to worry about that anymore, huh!? I like youuuu!"
After thinking that I
knew everything about Lotus after two years together, this was a little
embarrassing. The ridiculous thought that he had been silently regretting and
Elma being in danger together in front of the monster. Confused, I confessed.
"Lotus, I like you...!" As a final push, I punched the ground and
shouted again. This was a usual occurrence, so he just replied with an
"oh."
"I'll get
stronger! I'll work hard to get so buff that you won't have to worry or feel
uneasy even if you let me roam free!"
"I'll look
forward to it."
"And can I kiss
you!? Isn't it about time we did it at least once!?"
"No way,
idiot."
"How long, how
long do I have to wait? Until I grow taller? It'd make me really happy if you
could just give me a rough estimate!"
"No, how long
is... well..."
When I stood up and
grabbed Lotus' clothes pleadingly, "Hmm?" Lotus furrowed his brow and
thought. Then, he put one hand on my head and tilted his head, raising his palm
little by little, as if to say, "About this much...?" Then, "No,
no, don't try to narrow it down specifically!" I interjected. I thought my
forceful assertion would work, but it didn't. But I liked that he didn't say
no.
"Lotus... I'll
work hard to grow up. But is it really no good, even just once? I'd be able to
work so hard if you did."
"No way. I don't
have a thing for kids."
"B-but I like
you, Lotus...!"
"Yeah, yeah, me
too."
"Then just
once!"
It was my own sense of
morality that prevented me from turning into an adult here. Or rather, since
the result would just be getting grabbed by the scruff of my neck after already
trying, I understood that seduction wouldn't work on Lotus. No, I felt like it
might have worked if he didn't know my real age, but breaking through the wall
of his unexpected common sense was quite difficult. "Please...?" So I
tried to look meek. If pushing doesn't work, try pushing while pulling back a
little. I hated that I was a boar-type who could only push in the end.
Surprisingly, this
seemed to have worked on Lotus. He furrowed his brow deeply and looked
troubled. He closed his eyes. Then he looked around. "Hey, you guys. Ichi.
Nii, San too. Why are you hiding? Were you trying to read the mood? No way. No
way. Eh, not doing it? Don't 'not doing it' me." Lotus was still just
Lotus.
"I see, El, do
your best! I'll be rooting for you!" I was comforted by Ichi and the
others, who spoke in a condescending tone, and then I announced that I would
walk on my own feet. After all, it had been a long time since I had seen rain.
It was the first time for Lotus, though. But since I grew up in a cloudy
country, it was a very refreshing experience.
"Be careful, if
you slip and fall, I might not be able to pull you up gently."
"The fact that
you're assuming I'll need pulling up is something..."
Several days later,
the rain stopped. We had to find a water source before the monsters became
active again. Normally, we wouldn't have time to gasp in surprise, but,
"Wow," I looked up at the sky, and Lotus also gasped softly. A faint
rainbow arched in the distant sky. It was only for a moment, but like a child,
I ran towards the rainbow with Ichi and the others. And before I could fall, I
was pulled back and held by Lotus. Like a sack of rice.
It had only been two
years since I met Lotus. I was ten, and Lotus had just turned twenty. We were
growing up, little by little.
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