CHAPTER 5
THE PROOF OF ( )
The water surface rocks. Tiny ripples silently run up the shore before receding, transmitting the intermittent impacts originating from the boat floating in the distance.
Then a spray of water breaks the surface.
“Ghah!”
Sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, I bring my hand onto the shore. My clothes feel as heavy as lead as I drag Syr up with my other arm.
“Gh! Ack!”
“Are you okay?!”
I pat her back as she coughs. We’re clinging to the stone-paved shore with only our upper bodies out of the water.
I pull myself onto land.
I had been shocked, and it had taken a lot of stamina, but I’ve gotten fairly used to things like this while exploring the Dungeon. I just ventured into the Water Capital on my last expedition, even. I’m not sure how to feel about this becoming something I’m familiar with, though.
I grimace at the sensation of being totally waterlogged as I hold out my hand and quickly lift Syr up onto shore as well.
I support her as she slumps down, kneeling on the ground. Looking back, I see Spoon Aqua still floating in the distance. The giant hull illuminated by magic-stone lights is rocking violently, indicating that the fighting isn’t over yet. I can hear what sounds like glass shattering and the pained groans of someone getting blown away.
I’m not sure why they were all there, but I am going to have to apologize to Aiz and Lyu and everyone else afterward.
A mix of gratitude and regret fills my heart as I breathe a sigh of relief that there’s no sign of anyone chasing us yet.
We ended up on the side of the boat opposite the ice bridge Freya Familia made. The city’s western gate is somewhere behind us. The deserted shore is quiet, beyond the revealing reach of the streetlights.
It seems unlikely that anyone has noticed we escaped the ship yet.
And to be honest, I’d say I did pretty well diving off the deck, sinking to the bottom of the waterway, and then swimming all the way here, holding Syr the entire time.
“…, …gh.”
“Syr…?”
I notice Syr is trembling slightly as I hold her against my chest.
Wait, is she crying?
I frantically try to check as she looks down—
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
—when all of a sudden, she bursts out laughing, as if she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Her reaction startles me, but there’s no stopping her fit of laughter. She’s holding one hand to her mouth while pressing the other against her stomach as she lets out a muffled, innocent laughter I’ve never heard coming from her.
“That was a first!”
“Huh?”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever done something like that!”
Raising her head, she examines me from up close, beaming ecstatically. Her cheeks are flushed with excitement, and her eyes are sparkling like stars. My shoulders slump.
Well, yeah…
An ordinary person would never leap off a boat in order to escape people chasing after her. I guess it’s a testament to how much she trusts me, but that was really, really, really reckless.
Hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion, I consider telling her off a bit, but when I see the childlike excitement still visible on her face, I end up just smiling weakly.
“…Can you stand up?”
“Yes!”
I hold my hand out, helping her onto her feet.
My clothes are soaked, and the urge to strip down and wring them out a bit hits hard. I can see puddles forming at our feet.
I shed my jacket in the water. Even for a top-tier adventurer, trying to swim in that while carrying Syr was just too constricting. Oh yeah, I totally forgot the trunk with magic items on the boat. It’d be nice if someone picked that up for me…
My vest clings uncomfortably to my chest as I brush my wet hair out of my eyes,
“—Gh.”
It’s the way Syr looks standing there in front of me. It would have been better if I hadn’t noticed, but I did.
I guess this is what people mean when they say someone’s beauty is palpable.
My eyes dart away quickly, and it seems like she hasn’t noticed my agitation as she touches her hair and breathes a sigh of relief after confirming that she hadn’t lost the souvenir we bought together. She steps out of her waterlogged pumps and hooks her fingers inside them to carry them.
And then—
“Okay, let’s go!”
“Eh?”
“We should get away from here! To someplace no one will find us!” she says, still enjoying her brief taste of freedom. “We managed to escape after all, but at this rate, they’ll catch up again sooner rather than later!”
There are a plenty of things I’d like to say about that, but her basic point is definitely right. Surely not everyone who was following us charged onto the boat. And it feels like the ones on the boat are starting to get alarmed, as if they’ve noticed we aren’t there anymore.
…Aaaargh. At this point there’s no choice but to go!
I arch my back and hop over the sloped embankment to chase after Syr.
We leave the shore behind, slipping into darkness.
The two of us are running along the street.
We’re searching for places where there won’t be anyone else around, with no particular direction in mind. And as we move farther and farther away from the crowds, the streetlights around us naturally start to disappear. Somewhere along the way, the only things left lighting our way are the moon and stars above.
Syr’s footsteps ring out as she runs ahead like a child embarking on a grand adventure.
“You’ll hurt yourself running barefoot!” I shout from behind.
“If that happens, you can just give me a piggyback ride!” she calls back delightedly.
She spreads her arms, spinning around as she runs before looking back at me and breaking into a smile as I chase after her.
She really is doing as she pleases, relishing the excitement of the moment, enjoying even the way her breathing turns ragged.
There is no one to question her. No one to stop her.
And the stars above seem to be blessing her freedom. She looks stunning, playing beneath the moonlight. Almost like a spirit. Or like a sweet, young goddess who has just been born.
I keep running after her, as if I’m being drawn along by her presence.
The two of us dash through a solitary moonlit world together.
And finally…
“This is…”
As if waking from a dream, we stop when we see it.
A giant stone bridge. Over sixty meders long and ten meders wide. The water burbles beneath as it passes through the arches supporting the bridge. Made from countless quarried stones, it looks like any ordinary bridge other than feeling a little bit old—if we ignore the thirty-one statues lining it, that is.
These are all monuments to famous heroes.
“The Bridge of Heroes…”
It’s called that out of respect by both adventurers and the residents of Orario.
The legacy of great people from the ancient times who had continued to fight while risking life and limb in order to seal the Dungeon. The statues lining this bridge were made in the likenesses of the greatest heroes who formed the cornerstones of the surface world’s bulwark. Unlike the jet-black monument in the Adventurers Graveyard, this bridge of statues had been built before the age of deities began. It has been broken and destroyed countless times by monster attacks, natural disasters, and conflicts between people, but at some point, someone would always repair the bridge and restore the statues, preserving the physical link connecting the past to present day. As if to declare for all the world, “We will never lose our pride.”
We press forward, setting foot onto the bridge. There are no streetlamps here, but the faces of the heroes are still clearly visible in the shining moonlight. The statues are placed at uniform intervals along the railing on either side of the bridge. They are the thirty-one heroes who had accomplished the most impressive feats of all the heroes who had fought in Orario.
They are not ordered by year of death or anything recognizable. There are people from different times scattered all around. The knight Hulrand is there. As is Saruon, descendant of the wolfen emperor. And the Amazon empress Ivelda. The undead count Galzanef. Sidhu the supreme. Spirit Dynast Sphia. Even the high elf saint Seldia, a holy woman said to have been untouched by all forms of corruption…
Next to several of the heroes’ statues are the great spirits who are said to have aided them in their accomplishments.
“The Bridge of Heroes…It’s been awhile since I came here. Have you been here before, Bell?”
“Yes, many times…But it was always crowded when I came…”
“Yes. I’ve never seen it so quiet before…”
The bridge is located quite a ways away from the busy shopping district and Trading Post. It’s far removed from the Main Streets and the clamor of the festival as well.
Viewed from the bridge, the sea of lights illuminating the rest of the city feels almost like a world apart.
We are all alone, the world around us silent as we stand amid heroes.
Neither of us speak as we continue forward, staring up at the figures until we reach the center of the bridge.
“…”
Here we stop in front of the hero standing there.
A single longsword. Light armor. A long scarf. There is no spirit by his side.
I look up at the face of the man hailed as the strongest hero in the long history of heroes.
“Albert the Great…”
I stare at the features of the hero who I had started researching six days ago, looking for some connection with Aiz.
Albert the Great’s feat was synonymous with the end of the ancient era. His death marked the beginning of the age of deities. His legend is indestructible, spoken of in the final chapter of the Dungeon Oratoria.
His achievement was driving back the Black Dragon.
The pitch-black calamity birthed from the great pit had seemed intent on destroying every person—every last thing in the land. And, fighting alone, Albert drove it away—at the cost of his life. After he stole an eye from the King of Dragons with his sword, the now one-eyed dragon gave a piercing screech that rocked the world as it flew off to the lands far to the north. Whether in honor of what he had accomplished, or perhaps sensing danger to itself—though the true reason hardly matters now—the embodiment of destruction had left Orario behind.
And shortly after the Black Dragon was gone, the first of the deities descended to the mortal realm, raising the curtain on the age of the deities that was still ongoing.
In other words, Albert had brought the ancient era to an end, advancing the fate of the mortal realm to a new stage. And because of that, he’s recognized by everyone as the strongest hero. And yet…
…It isn’t here, either…
On the pedestal with Albert’s name, there is no trace of his other name—of the name Valdstejn.
Who were you? What connection do you have to Aiz?
The statue has no answer for me.
“Interested in the great hero?” Syr asks.
“Hmm? Ah, yes…there was something I had been trying to look up about him…” I can’t really explain it well when asked like that all of a sudden.
She studies me closely.
“Do you know why there isn’t a statue across from Albert on the Bridge of Heroes?”
“Eh?”
When I follow her gaze, I suddenly realize she’s right. There is a gap in the uniform spacing on the right side of the bridge. At the center, across from Albert’s statue, is nothing besides empty space.
As if there isn’t yet anyone worthy of facing him.
And just when I had that thought…
“The world wants a hero.”
It almost sounds like someone else’s voice.
“They wait for the final hero, the one who will finally save the Orario that Albert protected and this entire mortal realm along with it.”
“The final…hero…?”
“When the final hero who defeats the ancient dragon takes their place in that empty space…only then will the Bridge of Heroes finally be complete.”
Now I understand the meaning of the gap in front of the great hero. The counterpart to the hero who ended the ancient era and set the stage for the age of deities. The one qualified to stand before the greatest hero who protected the world can be none other than the one who fulfills his final wish—the final hero who saves the world.
That is surely the aspiration and greatest wish of everyone in the line of heroes stretching back to the very first: true peace. Overcoming the embodiment of destruction and thrusting the world into a brilliant future.
“The land of beginnings where the heroes fell…and the promised land where heroes are born.”
My murmur fades into the breeze.
I ponder those words, the thoughts I had during Elegia.
After I stare at the statue for a while…
“Bell, do you think there are really heroes?”
Syr’s question catches me off guard, and I turn to face her.
“Whenever I come here, I’m always filled with this mysterious feeling.”
“…?”
“I always wonder if a hero truly exists. One who would help me no matter what and save me from everything…A hero who could grant me my wish…”
Walking barefoot, she cuts into my field of view and turns to face me.
“I want to meet Odr. An irreplaceable hero all my own.”
“Odr…?”
Syr smiles as I murmur a word I hadn’t ever heard before.
“Yes…An Odr all my own.”
And even though it couldn’t be, I can almost feel the loneliness hidden behind her smile.
“I always think how nice it would be if I could ever find him…”
Our gazes meet. Her blue-gray eyes are peering into mine. I suddenly find it hard to breathe. It’s her eyes. They’re practically pleading with me for something. I don’t want to know what that something is. I desperately try to feign ignorance as my heart cries out.
I can’t move my legs. I can’t move forward or backward. Time stops for just the two of us.
I starts to move my lips, trying to force something out.
The wind blows, and then a cute sneeze echoes.
“A…are you okay?!”
“Yes…I’ve just gotten a little cold, I guess.”
“Of course you’re cold, you’re drenched!”
I dash over to her.
I’m drenched, too, so I don’t have any clothes to lend her. She’s rubbing her arms, so I’m about to suggest we find a place to get changed when Syr notices something.
“Bell…hasn’t it gotten noisy over there?”
“Eh?”
Looking where she is pointing and listening closely with my enhanced ears, I can definitely hear it.
—Find Lady Syr!
They can’t have gone far!
That has to be the voices of our pursuers!
“Agh…! L-let’s get out of here!”
“Okay!”
We stayed too long on the Bridge of Heroes. At this rate, we’ll be discovered. We can’t afford to take it easy here any longer.
Taking Syr’s hand, I start running across to the other side of the bridge.
“But where do we go…?”
Is there anywhere we could change out of our wet clothes and hide away from Freya Familia? Is there really a place like that nearby?
“Leave it to me!”
It’s almost like she can read my troubled thoughts. Turning around, I see Syr’s reliable smile.
“I have an idea!”
“Really?!”
“Yes!”
I put my faith in her and ask her to lead the way.
Thinking back on it later, I realize her smile was unmistakably an impish grin.
Heading down the back alleys, Syr guides me to an inn.
“Huh?”
And then she asks for a single room.
“Wha…?”
And in that room, there is just the one bed.
“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-whaaaaa—?!”
She holds her finger to her lips and shushes me as I start to shout.
No, this is not the time for shushing!
Did I miss it because I was focusing too much on our pursuers? Or should I just curse my indecisiveness for trusting her and not saying anything sooner?
Either way, here we are, all alone together in an inn—
“We don’t have any other choice, right? If we kept running the way we have been, they would have caught us, and we were definitely going to catch a cold no matter what.”
“S-still…!”
“I thought it was a really good idea, myself. I doubt they would think we ducked into an inn, either.”
My eyes are practically bulging out of their sockets as she says it so matter-of-factly.
She led us to a merchant lodge on the periphery of the Trading Post. It normally serves as a place for traveling merchants to stay the night. Thinking about it from a more regular point of view, it definitely isn’t the sort of a place an adventurer or a regular city girl would ever use.
A man and woman drenched to the bone. It’s fairly obvious we’re in a strange predicament, but the dwarf proprietor still lent us the room without any hesitation. According to him, there’d be no end to it if you tried to count the number of people dealing with strange situations in the Labyrinth City.
The room is built from wood. It’s a simple construction, and there isn’t much in the way of furnishings beyond a magic-stone lamp on the lone table, but perhaps because it was intended for merchants, there is a small private shower room. And, of course, the single bed up against the wall.
I can’t contain my agitation at the imposing presence this piece of furniture has. Were there really no other options? I just feel progressively more awkward until I notice Syr pointing out the window.
I can see people from Freya Familia clad in black through the gap in the curtains. They are running past shouting, “Find them!” and “They have to be around here!”
I swallow the cry welling up inside me as I slowly back away from the window.
There’s no choice but to accept the situation. A few more awkward moments pass before Syr speaks up.
“So then, what should we do?”
“What do you mean…?”
She’s standing nearby and looking at me over her shoulder. The bed is right there in front of us. It’s a plain bed. It would be a tight fit for both of us, but definitely not too small to share.
I glance back at her after staring blankly at the bed. Her small, vibrant lips part slightly. For some reason, the way she did that looked almost terrifyingly lascivious, even though that couldn’t possibly have been intentional.
A droplet of water falls from her soaked hair onto her dress. Drawn by that movement, my gaze drifts lower, and I notice that her underwear is clearly visible through her wet dress.
I turn intensely red.
“—P-please take a shower first!”
I turn away without even realizing it as I shout, my agitation clear as day in my voice.
I tried to say “I can wait, so please go ahead and warm yourself up,” but I couldn’t make my mouth obey my brain.
A beat later…
“Very well.”
Her presence moves away. I hear the door to the shower room open and close.
“………”
The tension in my shoulders subsides ever so slightly.
But the audible rustling of clothes—and the sound of the shower coming on soon after—brings all of that tension rushing back. My mind goes completely blank.
“…A change of clothes. I have to get a change of clothes…”
My mind refuses to move beyond that thought.
Of course, I don’t have any spare clothes arranged in advance. Even if Syr warms up in the shower, it’d be pointless without dry clothes to change into. Am I just going to curl up under the covers with her naked as the day we were born?
Casting aside that foolish idea, I frantically run out of the room, not forgetting to lock the door behind me. Fortunately, this is a merchant lodge, so the doors do have locks. The last little fragment of calm remaining in my head breathes a mental sigh of relief at that small mercy. If someone managed to get into the room now, I’d never forgive myself.
I head down to the counter silently. Even as I ring the bell, my focus is entirely on our room. If anyone tries to go near it, I’ve calculated it would be possible to get back within two seconds. I can do at least that much. I could become an animal—a supersonic rabbit.
Finally, I negotiate for some loaner clothes from the proprietor, and when he looks annoyed by the request, I put all the money I have in my pocket down on the counter. The dwarf just takes that and brings out a change of clothes for two people without saying a word.
Accepting the hemp garments, I dash back to the room. I unlock the door and immediately close it again after slipping inside. I can still hear the sound of the shower on the other side of the wall.
“………………”
I set the changes of clothes on the bed and then sit down in the chair even though I’m still wet. It feels like my body has been completely drained of strength. It didn’t even take three minutes, but I feel more tired now than at any other point during the day. I naturally lean forward in the chair, my back to the shower door as I clasp my hands and look at the floor. I can’t do anything but look at the floor.
I am going to have to come to terms with the situation I’m currently in before long.
“Spending the night here…? With Syr…?”
Blood starts rushing to my head all of a sudden.
Is that really necessary? Couldn’t I just wait for her to get out and get changed and then say good-bye before heading out by myself?
I consider that option for a moment, but for some reason I feel certain that if I did that, Master would actually roast me to death. We’re talking about Master, after all.
How long is the Goddess Festival date in effect anyway? Can I really just abandon Syr like that? Can I really disrespect her feelings when she’s shown me a smile she’s never revealed before? And it’s a bit too late to realize this now, but will Hestia Familia and I even have a future anymore after I spirited away someone under Freya Familia’s protection? Is there any point in running anymore?
“I mean, today is the harvest festival, right? Mother Maria said that today is the day of the year when the most couples are blessed with children!”
Fina’s innocent voice suddenly bubbles up in my head.
Stop it. No more weird thoughts. Don’t make me think about it. I don’t need any weird foreshadowing, please…
My mind spins aimlessly, even though this is hardly the time for idle daydreams. I just can’t seem to focus. Utterly confused, I can do nothing more than seek guidance from my elders in life.
What would Master—and Gramps, who raised me—say in this situation?
What should I do?!
“If she brought you to an inn, then simply go with the flow. Or rather, let her have her way with you.”
What was that correction?!
“Bell, my boy, just keep sprinting until you reach the next stage of adulthood! Fan the flames of passion and charge forward!!!”
Dammit, Gramps!
This is useless. There isn’t anything I can rely on. That definitely sounded like something the two of them would say, but I’m still at my wit’s end.
A-anyway! I can’t dwell on it!
Just because I decided I couldn’t afford to be forever dense about things like that after the incident with Haruhime doesn’t mean I should let my imagination run wild now! And besides, there’s no way Syr has any ulterior motives!
In order to come back to my senses, I began to list the names of monsters in the Dungeon.
Goblins, kobolds, jack birds, woe shadows, dungeon lizards, killer ants, needle rabbits, orcs, imps, minotaurs, minotaurs, minotaursminotaursminotaursminotaursminotaursminotaurs!
And then, the shower stops.
“Guh?!”
I twitch, half sitting as I turn around…
Creeeeeak.
The shower door opens ever so slightly.
“Bell…do you have a change of clothes?”
I’m surprised for a moment before bundling up the clothes on the bed and dashing over to put them into the wet hands reaching out from behind the door.
And the moment I give them to her, I see her blue-gray eyes through the gap. And also a glimpse of her collarbone and her smooth, flushed skin. I step back silently and turn away from the door. It should go without saying what color my face is right now.
I can’t bring myself to move, and after a short while, Syr steps out.
“The shower’s free now.”
“…O-okay. Thank you.”
My eyes are glued to the floor. I can’t bring myself to meet her gaze as I move past her and into the shower room. The modest stone flooring has water splashed all around it, and the towel she had just used is neatly folded up. The wet clothes she had taken off are nowhere to be seen.
I lay my soaking clothes on the floor.
A twist of the valve severs the connection to the water heater and then I set the pressure to full blast. The water sprays over my head.
“…It’s not like I’m trying to do anything…”
I murmur, trying to convince myself as the shower rains down on me.
Instead of a hot shower, I let cold water wash over me in an attempt to calm my heart.
I sort of feel like I’ve been set up, and I definitely lost my cool earlier, but I just need to remember this isn’t anything to worry about. It’s nothing more than unavoidable emergency measures. That’s right. I’m going to end up staying out overnight without permission, but I’ll simply have to beg the goddess for forgiveness tomorrow.
I can let Syr take the bed and sleep on the floor. Sleeping on the floor would be practically paradise compared to the thirty-seventh floor of the Dungeon.
That’s what I thought at least.
“…”
After wiping myself down and getting dressed, I open the door.
Syr looks up from her perch on the edge of the bed.
She isn’t wearing anything other than the shirt. Just a single baggy top buttoned up in the front.
Her soft thighs and slender legs are bare beneath the hem.
And I’m sure she isn’t wearing any underwear, either.
I come really close to fainting on the spot.
“…What happened to your clothes?”
“I couldn’t wear the pants. They’re too baggy and keep falling down.”
My first assumption is that she’s lying, but then I notice.
In my flustered rush, I had handed her the larger set of clothes. The outfit I am currently wearing is the women’s-sized set. All I can do is feel bitter about the fact that they fit so well and desperately curse my idiocy for making such a careless mistake.
Syr’s let her hair down. Normally, she wears it up, but with no restraints, it streams freely down her back.
Surprised by how long and alluring it is, my heart starts running wild. She almost looks like a totally different person, or maybe this is Syr’s natural self. I can’t breathe.
“…I’ll sleep on the floor, so you can take the bed…”
“That’s no good. Let’s sleep together?”
“…I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“…Because I can’t do it.”
“No matter what?”
“…My goddess would be mad at me.”
“But I might die from the guilt if I made you sleep on the floor.”
“…Liar…”
Honestly, I can’t even follow the conversation we’re having anymore. I’m standing still while she’s sitting on the bed. There’s only a halfhearted gap between us as I look down and she looks up.
“How about having a seat?”
She asks kindly, worrying after seeing me stand there motionlessly.
I glance over at the chair. Her wet dress is laid out over it to dry. I can’t use that.
Giving in, I sit down next to her. But I leave an unnaturally large space between us.
“You aren’t going to do anything?”
My heart skips a beat.
“…I-I’m not sure what you are talking about…”
I play dumb as my voice trembles.
A new quiet falls over the room.
The festival is still going outside. People laughing, music playing, fireworks going off—all of it can be heard faintly in the background. The celebrations in the distance sound lovely.
At this very moment, though, I am terrified of how conscious I am that Syr is a woman. For some reason, it feels like a part of me might be changed forever. As if I’ll lose the right to have feelings for someone else ever again.
“…Why…?” After managing to get that much out, I hesitate before trying to put it into words again. “…Why did you ask me out on a date?”
I did it. I asked something that I shouldn’t have. Even though there obviously couldn’t be any other reason for a date like this. Out of desperation, I grasp in the dark for some other reason, anything to keep me afloat. But before I have the chance to berate myself for asking something so awful, Syr answers.
“Because I wanted to let you know that I love you.”
“Eh?”
“I wanted to show just how much I love you.”
She shakes her head slightly and then continues softly.
“I wanted to prove it.”
Before I can express my shock, the bed creaks. Looking up in alarm, I find Syr directly in front of my face—right before she pushes me down onto the mattress.
For a second all I can see is the ceiling. The moment I realize what happened, I reflexively try to sit back up, but she has already gently placed her hands on my shoulders, pinning me down. They are even trembling slightly, but right now, her hands feel heavier than anything I have ever known.
I prop myself up slightly on my elbows, eyes wide as the bed creaks again, louder than before. She pulls herself even closer, hovering right over me.
“I wanted…to prove it.”
Her voice is faint, and her eyes quiver as she places a hand on my cheek. Her face is barely a hairbreadth away. I might accidently touch her with the slightest move.
“This isn’t love, i—”
The world falls away as her tiny lips draw close to mine, as if to keep me from finishing. Maybe she herself doesn’t realize what she’s doing.
That moment, a golden light flashes through my mind.
“—No!”
I grasp her by the shoulders, using just my abs to sit up and push her away from me.
I can’t just go with the flow. I can’t let this just happen to me. I can’t give up on my dream.
If I don’t stop this, we’ll both end up suffering. Making that mistake now would surely destroy us both someday. It would end in tears.
I gather my resolve to do what’s needed, even if it means she’ll never forgive me. It doesn’t matter how much I’m hated for it.
My face twists up with the realization that I’m about to hurt her right here and now, but I force myself to stop her.
“…”
Her hair flutters, covering her eyes. She falls back, sitting atop my legs, looking down quietly.
He hair hides her expression. There is a moment of silence that seems to last an eternity.
She lifts her head.
“Don’t refuse me.”
There’s a silver gleam to her blue-gray eyes.
“Accept me.”
The moment I see that glimmer up close, my body convulses like it’s breaking down.
No. My heartbeat is running wild.
My body is trying to surrender to that flash of silver, as if it’s an irresistible force of nature.
I freeze, my breath leaving me as her face approaches mine again. She places both hands on my chest, trying to verify ( ) with her lips. But the hieroglyphs etched into my back start to burn, as if trying to resist.
No matter how much my body longs to submit, that yearning refuses to fade.
My heart aches and my eyes warp as I murmur one word:
“—Syr…”
Pleading with her.
She shudders, like a bolt of lightning just hit her.
It looks like she reacted to that name. Or maybe it’s because she saw her reflection in my eyes.
She suddenly draws back. The silver gleam in her eyes fades and she looks dumbfounded, wrapping her arms around herself as if even she can’t believe what she had just done.
“No, that’s not right…this isn’t like Syr…”
She is murmuring something. And then she moves farther from me and turns away.
“…S…Syr…?”
“Look away.”
“Eh?”
“Please don’t look at me.
“…Please.”
Her voice is barely audible.
I glance at her back for a moment longer before turning away like she asked. I huddle against my knees and curl up on top of the bed. The sounds of the festival are still audible. But now it almost feels like the world outside is laughing at us.
I don’t know how much time passes after that.
“…Bell.” Syr slowly, gently breaks the silence.
“…Yes?”
“I promise I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. So could we please sleep together?”
Turning off the lamp, darkness fills the room.
Flickering light from outside filters in through the window and past the curtains, giving off a soft glow.
The two of us are lying on the small bed with our backs to each other.
I can’t sleep, obviously. Syr is literally right next to me. Her warmth is immediately to my side. I can basically sense her breathing and feel her heartbeat without even trying.
“Bell.”
“…Yes?”
“Do you hate me now?”
“…No. I could never hate you.”
Even though I can’t figure out why, it feels like I’ve just said something incredibly cruel.
“Do you not want to have a lover?”
“Where did that come from?!”
“You know, the children at the orphanage want a mother and father.”
“That doesn’t answer the question!!”
The mood is shattered in an instant.
What was I feeling bad about before?! You haven’t reflected on what you did at all!
As I shout both internally and out loud, I hear her rolling over. And then I feel her arm slip around my body. Syr presses her forehead against my back as I tense up reflexively.
“Don’t look over here yet.”
I had started to turn to face her, but she stops me before I get very far. All I can do is shiver as she wraps her arms around my stomach and presses her body up against mine.
“S-Syr! You said you wouldn’t—”
“But I’m cold.”
Sure enough, the parts of her arms I can feel are definitely cold.
“S-still…!”
Even so, though, I try to break free of the embrace, but I can sense her pouting lips up against my back.
“Even though you held Lyu.”
“Ugh…?!”
The sort of groan every person ever caught doing something utters slips from my lips.
“L-Lyu…told you…?”
“No, no one told me anything. You just did, though. She’s also been behaving oddly ever since returning from the Dungeon.”
A troubled smile crosses my lips. I’m disappointed in myself for taking the bait so easily.
“Even though Lyu is a precious friend of mine…you did something lewd with her.”
“I—I did nothing of the sort! It was maybe b-borderline risqué…! But I didn’t do anything weird!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Then you won’t do anything with me, either?”
“I—I would never!”
“Why not?”
What do you mean why not…?
I’m at a loss for how to respond. After a few moments collecting my thoughts…
“Because you’re…you…I can’t.”
There’s no way that would be an acceptable answer. Syr’s arms squeeze tightly around my body.
“Stupid Bell.”
“Wh-what…?”
“Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
She presses her forehead against my back, shaking her head back and forth as she keeps berating me.
With no idea what I should do to make things better, I just let her keep going. I can’t do anything other than continue to rest my head on my arm and stare at the wall next to the bed.
“Stupid…”
Her voice dies down to a prolonged sigh that seeps into my back. It is almost childlike.
I saw many new sides to Syr today. And learned so many things about her that I had never known before…
My heart has been racing since earlier, and I still can’t get it under control, but while it might be a bit mean, I am absolutely relieved that the mood from before has faded.
I’m glad that we can get through this without something between us changing irrevocably.
And I make no effort to consider just how awful a thought that might have been.
“Syr…Why…why did you…?”
Haltingly, struggling to find the right words, I try to get at the same question as before.
Still pressing her head against my back, she slowly responds.
“Because I thought…if I was the same as the others…if I was the same as Lyu and them…that wouldn’t be enough.”
“The same…? What do you mean?”
“It’s something a child like you would never understand.”
She says it a little forcefully, as if pushing me away. But after a few moments, she murmurs…
“…I don’t even understand it myself…”
“Eh?”
“Why am I so desperate?”
“Desperate…?”
“Yes. Madly hanging on out of fear I’ll let it slip through my fingers…desperately wishing and clawing…”
Soft, fragmented words fill the silence, running into my back. It is almost like a lullaby, one not meant for me, but for Syr herself…
“Ahhh, that’s it.
“That’s why I—”
Her soft whispers fade away at last. I can feel her eyelids closing against my back. It doesn’t sound like she is asleep yet, but I can tell that she wouldn’t be opening her eyes for me again tonight.
Looking down at the slender arms embracing me, feeling her warmth against my back, I slowly close my eyes as well.
I am exhausted. In a certain sense, this day has been more tiring than venturing into the Dungeon.
And so I gradually drift off to sleep in her embrace.
The soft, regular sounds of quiet slumber fill the room
After the hour hand had made two trips around the clock, Syr slowly opened her eyes. She gently untangled her arms, careful not to wake him as she sat up in bed.
He must have been enduring extraordinary fatigue, because he did not notice Syr sitting up at all. Or perhaps it was because he instinctively trusted her, believed in her promise.
His innocent face as he slept there was both lovely and painful to look at, but she could not bring herself to touch either hair or cheek with her outstretched hand.
“…”
Moonlight shone through the window.
The faint glimmer almost seemed like an announcement that midnight had arrived. But there was no carriage to pick her up.
Syr looked down at his face one last time and whispered softly:
“Tomorrow, if we meet again…I’ll…”
Only the light of the moon heard the rest.
She silently left the bed, slipped into her dress that had not finished drying yet, and once she was ready, she left the room.
She did not turn to look back.
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