Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

Snow the Oblivious

THE GIRL’S HAIR was a fiery shade of red. As time passed, her gruesome wounds healed on their own, almost as if she had the Health Regen skill. I remembered that when we fought, Identify had shown me her stats but not her skills, but maybe things were different when she was in human form. It was worth a shot, so I used the skill.

“Hah…”

“What’s the sigh for?” asked Greed.

“It’s the same as Myne. The Identify skill doesn’t work at all.”

This wasn’t like the trick Aaron had taught me to interrupt Identify, which involved releasing a magical flare to shock the person trying to use it. With Myne, and now with Snow, the skill simply showed me nothing. I knew she didn’t have Conceal either, because that skill only hid stats, and as far as I knew, you couldn’t use it while you were unconscious.

“This is hopeless…”

“Some creatures just defy the Identify skill, you know?”

“Don’t call her a creature! How would you feel if I called you an inorganic object?”

Greed laughed. “It’s not often you take the time to be so considerate of little old Greed! But let me tell you something. We call Snow and her like the holy beastfolk. They and the bearers of Skills of Mortal Sin have a past that goes way back. To the holy beastfolk, we were little more than livestock. But when that livestock fought back, it had them shaking in their boots.”

“So, the one who bore Gluttony before me fought them too?”

“That he did. He was the one who started it all.”

There was a certain joy to Greed’s tone, as if he were recalling a very old but pleasing memory. 

Up in the sky, at a point somewhere east of the moon, a particular star caught my eye. It was the star called Laplace. It seemed to be glowing brighter lately. I’d first noticed it when Greed and I journeyed toward the great canyon of Galia. I remembered the sudden rumblings of my Gluttony as I watched it, and even now, I felt the skill squirming within me. It seemed the star had some kind of influence on my power.

I returned my attention to Greed and his tale of battle with the holy beastfolk. “So what happened? What was the war with the holy beasts like?”

Whenever I looked at the star Laplace, I wondered if perhaps I could better understand how the world had ended up this way. But I also just wanted to know what had happened.

“It was just like this,” he said.

“What? What does that mean?” I knew he was talking about Snow, but that wasn’t enough of a clue for me.

“Oh, dear, not this again,” the black sword groused.

“Stop being so damn patronizing.”

“Oh? I don’t suppose you’re still hung up on the way your dad talked to you?”

“Not in the slightest!”

“For what it’s worth, the angrier you get, the more you prove my point.”

I glowered. What the hell?! I was trying to ask a serious question about the past, and this is what I get?!

“Come on, Fate, no need to pout. The war ended in a draw. There were losses on both sides. But that war was the foundation for the stability of our present day.”

“So why did you say it was just like our fight with Snow?”

“After that fight, the holy beastfolk splintered into factions. There was vicious infighting. You see, we weren’t the ones who killed Snow originally. Nonetheless, she came back because of the power of the Door to Distant Lands. That seems likely, given how your battle went.”

How did he expect me to grasp all of that from a simple “Just like this”?!

In any case, if bearers of Skills of Mortal Sin had been like livestock for the holy beastfolk, then it sounded like they’d fought to free themselves from oppression. But it also seemed like a battle that had never really ended.

That only added to the enigma of Snow. She had, for some reason, broken away from her own people. How had that happened? I hoped she didn’t harbor any ill will for those like me. I didn’t want to have to fight when she finally woke up. All the same, I kept Greed tightly in hand, ready to meet violence at a moment’s notice.

Is she friend? Or foe?

Snow slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the night sky as she lay on her back. When she finally opened her mouth to speak, she said, “Where…am I?”

I didn’t sense any aggression from her. Her eyes looked glassy and unfocused, like she was still dreaming. Nevertheless, I knew her question was directed at me.

“You’re on the outskirts of the estate currently governed by the holy knight LeChoix,” I said. “Presently, we’re in the Desert of Extinction.”

“The Desert of Extinction… And you?”

“I’m Fate Barbatos. Your name is Snow, isn’t it?”

“Snow?” The girl blinked uncomprehendingly at the sound of her name.

Huh?! What’s going on?! I thought. 

She looked perplexed. “I’m Snow? Hmmm…”

“You… You don’t know your own name?”

“No. I-I can’t remember anything.”

“And you don’t remember anything else? Nothing at all?”

“Nope! I don’t remember a thing!” The bright, innocent smile on her face made for a perfect contrast to my confusion.

All right, so what now?

I decided to try my Telepathy skill first. Snow had no idea what I was trying to do, so she didn’t resist. As expected, it was the same as the Identify skill; it just didn’t work. I decided to consult with Greed.

“Well, what do you think?” I asked.

“From what I can tell, she’s not lying to you. But just to be sure, ask her some questions while she’s touching me. I’ll be able to tell from her heartbeat whether she’s lying or not.”

“Okay.”

Snow was completely obedient. She put a hand on Greed just like I asked and answered all my questions. When I conferred with Greed afterward, he confirmed that she wasn’t lying.

“Her heart didn’t skip a beat.”

“If she’s not lying, then…she’s got amnesia?”

“Seems like it. That would also explain why she was so erratic and violent earlier.”

It reminded me of what my father had said about an imperfect resurrection. It was possible that the memory loss had left her unable to control her own powers, sending her into a frenzy. But amnesia? Now there was really no way to judge if she was an ally, an enemy, trustworthy, or dangerous.

“What do you want to do? You going to leave her?” asked Greed.

“I can’t. I’ll take her back with us. We need to make sure she doesn’t lose it again.”

“I knew you’d say that. Then let’s head back! My blade requires cleaning and oiling!”

“You are way more fussy about cleanliness than I ever would have expected.”

“The finest of blades require the finest of service!”

It was funny to think that when I’d found the black sword, he had been literally caked in dirt and grime. 

I took Snow in my arms, and she didn’t resist. She was covered in blood and sand from battle, and I figured it would be wise to ask LeChoix to prepare a bath for her when we got back to the manor. 

We walked the quiet sands of the desert back to the old Lanchester estate. Snow didn’t speak a word and merely stared out at the sand blowing on the wind. Though her wounds had healed, it appeared she still didn’t have the energy to move much. After all, she’d been on the receiving end of the battering my father and I gave her while she was the Zodiac Scorpion. Even considering what she’d done in the first place, I felt a touch guilty now.

Finally, the town came into view, and someone was waiting at the gates. It was Roxy.

“I’m so glad to see the two of you safe,” she said. “You’ve talked to her?”

“A bit, yeah.”

Roxy looked at Snow and gave her a big smile. Then she turned to me with a slightly awkward expression. “To be honest, I was waiting here in case another battle broke out.”

“I’m sorry I had to put you through that. But as you can see, she’s not dangerous. At least, not yet.”

“Not yet?”

I told Roxy about Snow’s amnesia. “I’m still thinking about how to handle the situation, but for the time being we should keep her with us.” 

“Well, I trust you and Greed,” said Roxy. “But would you mind introducing us properly?”

“Oh, sure. Snow, this is my friend. Her name’s Roxy.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” said Roxy. “I know it must be hard for you to not have your memories, but if you need anything, just say the word, okay?”

This was the Roxy I knew. She loved kids. Whether they liked her back was another thing entirely, but all the same, when she saw a kid in trouble, she felt inspired to act. In the past, we’d found a young child lost in Seifort’s streets, and Roxy had taken the plight of the boy so seriously that her grim, determined face had brought the poor child to tears.

Actually… she was wearing that same expression as she looked at Snow. I had a pretty good idea of how Snow was going to react.

“Fate, help me! She’s scary!”

Just as I expected. And now that she’d done that, I knew exactly how Roxy would respond too.

“What?! Me? Scary?” Her astonishment gave way to disappointment. I understood how she felt. She survived an exhausting battle, and this was the thanks she got. “Why? Why are kids scared of me?” Roxy bemoaned.

“Don’t ask me.”

“That’s not fair, Fate. Kids love you. You make friends with them straight away. Not fair at all.”

Her eyes bored into me with dissatisfaction. Did she really not know that the look on her face right now only made her scarier? In any case, if we were going to be traveling together, Roxy and Snow would need to learn to be around each other.

“Snow, I need you to listen to me now,” I said.

“What is it?”

“Roxy isn’t scary. She might seem scary, but she’s super kind. I promise.”

“You promise?” Snow clung to me, still furtive, but at least she seemed to listen. She timidly looked over at Roxy. “No, she’s too scary!” Snow cried.

“Fate…” Roxy sighed.

“What?! What did I do?!”

It was the second time I’d tried to fix things and the second time I failed. Ouch. I knew it wasn’t good to raise somebody’s hopes only to dash them. It made a heavy heart even heavier. On top of that, Snow clung to me even tighter, like she was trying to hide from Roxy. It looked like it was going to be a long road before they became friends.

I felt Roxy’s silent chagrin haunting me as we walked. This whole thing had put me in an awkward position. I didn’t even want to think about what it would be like to introduce Snow to Memil. Or Eris, for that matter.

I suddenly felt incredibly anxious.