Chapter 29 – Wolf Time (5)
I’ve never had a quiet morning since these days. After the world has reached this point, such a concept itself is no different from an illusion. Every time I open my eyes in the unpleasant darkness, all sorts of noises tear my ears.
In this case, it was a self-uttered groan. Just waking up made the injured muscles scream.
“Ugh…”
Amidst the overwhelming pain, I helplessly gnashed my teeth. The scars I hadn’t noticed last night were now clamoring to see me. I almost lost my mind and collapsed again.
It was fortunate that there was no fever. In this situation, there would be no way to deal with infection even if it was infected. I stood up grateful for my small fortune.
Suddenly, something entangled in the palm of my hand. When I turned my head, I saw bright yellow blonde hair shattered on the futon. Saya was still holding my hand.
“…”
Come to think of it, this is the first time I woke up before Saya. It felt a little strange to see her sleeping soundly with her eyes closed. There was very little dew on his eyebrows, which twitched little by little, as if he was having a nightmare.
I carefully got out of bed so as not to wake Saya. The midday sun was shining through the window. Looking at myself in the frosted window, I saw a messy shirt and messy hair.
I need to wash it off, but I’m not motivated. It’s unclear if there will even be water left in the bathroom of this house. I haven’t even figured out what the bathroom is like yet.
And above all, there were issues to be dealt with outside the door. Seeing that Haru wasn’t here, it seemed that he was still standing guard outside.
I should go out at once I fastened the buttons with weak hands and prepared to leave. Meanwhile, the torn glove caught my eye once more. Above it, the elven pattern was still clearly shining.
After thinking about it for a while, I tore off the white curtain and wrapped it around my hand like a bandage. It may be futile now, but I still wanted to leave room for a word. After covering the back of his hand like that, he picked up the sword leaning against the wall and immediately pushed open the closed door.
Soon, the cold wind characteristic of late autumn began to blow. In the open field of view, overgrown grasses swayed serenely and danced. The only spectator of the bizarre performance was a blind girl straddling a chair.
But she didn’t seem to want to see them perform. The burns and scars wrapped like an eyepatch and holding the sword tightly with both hands seemed stubborn. I quietly went behind him and opened my mouth.
“Day.”
“…”
“A day. Sleep?”
“…No. Not yet.”
Haru’s voice was clear even though he would have been there for at least ten hours. Apparently, this time I was really awake all night.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Not at all. It might be hard to move for a while.”
“That’s a big deal. What about Saya?”
“I’m still sleeping.”
“Then it’s just the two of us awake.”
Saying that, Haru slightly turned her head. In the place where her ears, not her eyes, were directed, there was a large tree and Mr. Rebecca sitting at the base of it.
She didn’t look too different from yesterday. Even in the midst of the cold wind blowing, she seemed to have been through the night like a day, seeing as she sat there motionless. I couldn’t imagine how long the two had been facing each other during that long night.
There is only one difference between the two. It was clear that she had her eyes open. His gaze, as if wandering over the distant horizon, was pointed precisely this way.
“I haven’t made any noise all night. Are you sleeping?”
“No. My eyes are clearly open.”
“So you’re saying you stayed up all night in that position. Is that a human?”
“It’s the same for you.”
“Ahh. I could even close my eyes. If you think so, there’s a possibility that I slept with my eyes open… Oh damn.”
As soon as the words of her day had run out, with the sound of her metal clattering, she began to approach. The sight of her approaching unwaveringly, tearing down tall bushes one by one, felt a bit daunting. Then Haru drew her sword without hesitation.
“Haru. Calm down.”
“Senior, you should live your whole life in the time of dogs and wolves. Whether it is a dog or a wolf that approaches through the twilight. In a situation where you can’t even see your eyes, you can’t help but conclude that it is a wolf. .”
“I’ll talk.”
I struggled to calm down for the day and walked forward. However, before he even opened his mouth, Haru sent a sharp warning.
“Stop there, you. You haven’t slept the whole day, so you’re really sensitive.”
“It’s the same on this side. But I thought it would ease my guard a little since we sat and slept on the same ground for one night.”
“We call a woman who is embraced by her partner the day after meeting her a whore. But I’m not a prostitute, I’m just an innocent and cute girl. I don’t know about you.”
“Why did all the students talk so harshly? I feel a sense of responsibility as an adult.”
There was a hint of sincerity in her sigh. However, Haru raised his sword mercilessly.
“Put down all the weapons you’re holding. Everything you hide under your clothes.”
“Looks like a first grader, but he’s too sensitive for a student.”
“You’re so irresponsible for an adult. You’re trying to approach a student with a weapon.”
“No weapons. Lope can see.”
Rebecca looked at me and raised her hands. She must have put all of her crossbows under the tree yesterday. But she couldn’t satisfy the day with that alone.
“It looks like it, but there’s a weapon hidden inside. Don’t try to fake it. It smells really bad of iron.”
“…Is it?”
“Looks like she’s stuffed up her nose. Seeing as she can’t smell this nasty smell.”
“Day.”
Upon hearing Haru’s words, Rebecca’s expression hardened slightly. She belatedly intervened because she didn’t want to look good if she continued like this.
“Anyway, he’s someone who has no intention of fighting right now. There’s nothing good about you provoking him like that.”
“It smells like it. I think I’m going crazy.”
“It’s a little shocking. It smells. I’ve never thought of it that way myself. If it’s that uncomfortable, why don’t you go inside. I’m here to talk to Lope.”
“No, Rebecca. I’m sorry, but I have a question for you first.”
“…”
She shut her mouth at my words. There was a hint of dismay in her slightly frowning expression.
“You don’t believe me either.”
“It’s hard to trust someone in a situation like this. Especially when someone suddenly shows up to help after months of being missing.”
“That sounds suspicious to me.”
“And above all, the guards left the island with the faculty. I saw it with my own eyes that day. But why is Rebecca still here?”
“That’s right. Yes. It’s suspicious.”
Suddenly, she raised her head and looked up at the sky. It was like looking at the trends of dragons that hadn’t come yet. After counting the other side of destruction for a long time, she opened her mouth bitterly.
“It may be hard to believe, but they didn’t want to go with me. They didn’t tell me the escape plan in the first place, and even after finding out later, they never put me on board. Some even chanted magic at me.”
“Why is that? Rebecca would have been the most reliable person in this situation.”
“Well. There are many reasons, but to pick one…”
Rebecca lifted her arm abruptly. She then slowly removed her gloves from her hands, she said.
“Perhaps she didn’t even think of the same human being.”
“What is that…”
“Ugh…!”
At that moment, Haru held her nose. And I, too, frowned and shut my mouth. Only then did I know the identity of the smell Haru had been talking about. It was the distinctly fishy smell of iron.
The reason was simple. Rebecca’s hands were made of cold metal, not human flesh.
“Prosthetic arm…?”
“…”
It was only then that I realized the reason why I heard a clanking metal sound whenever Rebecca moved. Without a piece of her apricot-colored skin, her bare, gray fingers were clearly not human. Every time she moved her finger, the sound of the screw twisting inside was distinctly audible.
It looked like a corpse with all the bones exposed, and even nausea came up. However, Rebecca looked at her hands with an expressionless expression.
“It’s a poor thing. The magic engineers made a fuss about it as a masterpiece, but it continues to suck out the user’s mana and delicate movements are impossible. That’s why he carried a crossbow instead of a bow, and couldn’t even use simple magic on the battlefield. There was.”
“Still, a prosthetic hand that moves this far…It’s the first time I’ve seen it.”
“Because science always develops first on the battlefield. And above all, I was the only one who survived wearing this item. Thanks to that, I was happily used by magicians.”
“Couldn’t it be that the hand is not the end?”
“Shall I show it to you? The students I met for the first time said they wanted to do it with me even after seeing this. I ran away after showing them the inside.”
“…”
I couldn’t help but keep my mouth shut at that nonchalant yet peaceful attitude. One day, in the middle of it, he kept covering his nose. He must have really hated the smell of metal on his prosthetic arm.
“It’s a prosthetic arm. You must be oiling it often. Seeing how bad the smell is.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that before. I think I finally know why her husband left her with her child. Is it that bad?”
“I have a very sensitive sense of smell. It’s kind of disgusting.”
“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’m unarmed. Now you can trust me.”
“Well…”
A slightly hesitant voice came out. I haven’t formed a belief yet, but it seems that I have room to worry about it. I alluded to that day.
“Haru. Go wake Saya.”
“In the meantime, what are you doing with this woman alone?”
“As Rebecca said earlier, the two of us have something to talk about.”
“However…”
“I also have a sword. I’m said to be injured, but I won’t be unilaterally attacked by an opponent without a weapon.”
“…I know.”
In the end, Haru reluctantly nodded. And then, by anyone’s eyes, he disappeared toward the inside with weary steps. As the door closed, Rebecca slowly opened her mouth.
“He’s a very wary child. He seems to have a deep story.”
“In a world like this, everyone has a story. Rebecca will too.”
“And so will you.”
We shut up at the same time. A cold wind was still blowing from the other side. The wounds he had suffered yesterday dug into his inner flesh, crying out in pain.
“Thank you for helping me yesterday.”
“I didn’t do anything in particular. I just cleaned up a few crazy people.”
“But in the end, you saved me.”
“It didn’t save you. It just prevented the elf from experiencing murder.”
Her words were bone-chilling. I couldn’t quite understand what it meant, but it was something I couldn’t just ignore. I said, bringing my hand to the hilt of her sword.
“Let’s get down to business. Rebecca. Why did you help me yesterday?”
“Because he’s the only student I’ve been fond of. I guess I couldn’t understand that.”
“If that’s the case, why did you just die the night you first came to my dorm? It wasn’t until a long time later that you came to help me.”
“Because that night. I noticed that there was someone other than you in your dorm.”
Ms. Rebecca paused her words for a moment before she looked at the closed door and opened her mouth again.
“And the fact that it’s an elf.”
Her gaze moved this time to the back of her bandaged hand. Involuntarily, her shoulders and arms twitched and trembled. I even heard the illusion that the pattern on the back of my hand was burning hot.
“…At first, I genuinely wanted to help. After being abandoned on an island and finding out there was no way to escape, I thought it was my last duty to help a student I knew. That night. Things changed a bit.”
“Is it because of Saya?”
“No matter how much you hold your breath, even the unique scent of elves couldn’t be hidden. At first, I thought it was an illusion. I’ve only seen an elf in person once in my life. I’m finally convinced. There’s no creature other than an elf that would make such a move.”
“…”
“And I also saw the tattoo on the back of your hand. As far as I know, you’re not the type to get tattoos.”
“That…”
“The elves fled the dragons and went to their own land. But such elves are now on this island. And you got that tattoo after coming into contact with the elves, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Then there is only one conclusion that can be drawn.”
Rebecca’s reasoning worked quickly and accurately. Therefore, the conclusion could not be wrong. She brooded over her own thoughts and then turned her head to look directly at me.
Her scarred face showed the ups and downs of her life. Rebecca hesitated for an uncharacteristically long time before she finally opened her mouth.
“Rope.”
“Yes.”
“Have you come up with a way to escape to the land of the elves?”
“I’m…”
This time it was my turn to hesitate. Tens of thousands of thoughts raced through my head, and tension ran through my shoulders and arms.
“Is that your purpose?”
“…”
“Did you approach me for that purpose?”
“No… I can’t.”
In the end, what came out of her mouth was a bitter affirmation. But it wasn’t going to be that simple.
“But not for me. I have no intention of living long anyway, and there is no way to do that. If God has prepared our destruction, the first to go to the guillotine will be a murderer like me.”
“If it’s not for Rebecca. What the hell are you doing?”
“That…”
The next words didn’t come easily. But I could guess to some extent. If a person wants someone else’s survival, not his own survival, the target must be clear.
Because not everyone in the world lives as a loner like me.
…
Fall. Land of the elves. And the three patterns left to me.
It was time to bring up the concerns that had been put off.
“I see what you mean.”
I calmly opened my mouth. Then he looked straight at Rebecca and said.
“We’ll continue the rest of the story when Saya and Haru come.”
“Sorry Rogeria. I’ll definitely be back.”
A heat like a burn passed through the lips that touched each other for the first time. I opened my mouth blankly and called his name.
“Lope…?”
“These bitches…”
Then Duke approached, spitting out swear words. But Lope ran to the other side before he could even run out of his horse. Then, with all his might, he threw himself against his window.
All the plans I had made were shattered, and a sharp rupture tore my ears. I cried out his name again, even though I said it was no use.
“Lope!!!”
“You Lope!!!”
But it was already too late. Lope’s body had already disappeared through the window. I could only stand there and stare blankly behind him.
…
For a moment there was silence in the room. But it didn’t last very long.
“Get that bastard.”
“Yes…?”
“What are you doing? Can’t you hear me telling you to catch me?”
“However…”
“Move now! I’ll give you anything if you catch that bastard! Move quickly!”
“Ah…I see! What are you doing! Wake up everyone down there!”
The crowd dispersed in an instant as Duke shouted. As the last footsteps left the stairs, the only ones left in the student council room were me and Duke. There were only two.
“…”
“Duke…”
Like a thief begging for help, I opened my mouth first. But my whole body was shaking and I couldn’t speak. Duke looked at me like that and then slowly opened his mouth.
“I think we have something to talk about.”
I couldn’t bear to answer. Then Duke asked again in a cool voice, with obvious cynicism and anger.
“Isn’t it, Rogeria?”
