Chapter 64 – The Early Bird (1)
“My lips hurt whenever I wake up these days. Why is that?”
“Stomatitis? It could be because the environment is like this.”
“Isn’t it…Because I’m tired? I’ve been walking a lot lately…”
“Hmm. My lips hurt. That’s very interesting. I don’t know who it is.”
“…”
Different reactions erupted from my words. Common sense for Rebecca, guesswork for Erica. One day, in the midst of pouring out sarcasm, only Saman remained silent. When I looked at her questioningly, she calmly stroked Haru’s hair.
In the meantime, Haru enjoyed the touch and entrusted her body to her arms. Her smirking and shaking her head was terribly ungainly today.
“Is it your hobby to bother people?”
“Me? I’m just asking her sister to fix her hair. A lady has to keep her dignity under these circumstances. And Saya would love to do this too, wouldn’t she?”
“Ah… Yes. That’s right, Lope. I’m doing it because I like it.”
“Look at that. I’m right.”
“What the hell are you…”
I tried to scold him once again, but gave up and kept my mouth shut. Seeing that condescending expression on his face, it seemed that nothing he could say would be of any use. So instead of working on meaningless work, I sighed and stood up.
“Okay, let’s start soon. We’re almost there.”
“I see. How much is left now?”
“To the extent that you can see the city right in front of you.”
With those words, I raised my head. Then, a cross-section of a desolate city covered in rotting metal filled my eyes.
Their footsteps, which lasted for several days, led them to Belentel, a city located south of the capital. The second heart of the empire, once considered the essence of magic engineering and the culmination of modern technology. When talking about relocating the capital, it was always ranked first, and it was the largest metropolis of mankind in name and reality.
However, it seems that such a name value was useless under the dragon’s flame. As the capital, the center of the empire, collapsed, of course, the blood flow leading to Belentel was also cut off, and it collapsed in a terrible state compared to the reputation it had built. I couldn’t figure out the details behind it, but at least it looked no different from any other ghost town for now.
Still, the scale of the past had not collapsed, so traces of people could still be seen here and there in Belentel. Or smoke rising from here and there. Or a swarm of flies on the roadside. And crucially, it was noticeable that dim lights were alive here and there.
Although I was still at the beginning of the city, I had a feeling that I might be facing survivors for the first time.
“I can’t hear anything yet. There must be people there.”
“Maybe we’ll have to go further in. Anyway, the railroad and the military base are on the other side, so we’ll have to go all the way through the city. Stop by the student president’s house.”
“…Thank you, Rebecca.”
“Looking at what they’re talking about, it looks like they’re in pretty good shape here. I can’t hear anything collapsing.”
“It doesn’t smell particularly strange. Maybe it’s because the place wasn’t directly damaged by the dragon. It’s probably because the frightened people evacuated elsewhere, leaving the city empty.”
“Then why don’t we rob a restaurant while we’re on our way? I’m going to die of hunger.”
“Looking at it, most of the stores seem to have been looted. It’s only natural that there’s been such a mess. It’s probably better to find a group of survivors and ask them to share food. So we’re going to the student president’s house.”
“Well, I guess I’d like them to be there.”
Haru ended the story in a very light tone compared to the matter. Although he was somewhat unkind, it was also true that such a cynical attitude was inevitable under these circumstances. Erika seemed to know that too, so she silently lowered her head.
One positive thing though was that the streets were not lined with corpses like in other cities. As it is the largest city in the capital, it seems that security was well maintained until the end. There are also many military facilities, so it must have been difficult for a riot to happen.
Of course, even taking that into account, the streets are far too clean.
“…”
Only then did I feel strange and looked around. For a city approaching destruction, the streets of Belentel were very clean. Not seeing a corpse was definitely a positive thing, but it was a bit strange not to see a corpse of that common stray cat.
Even the shops that were said to have been looted had a stronger impression that they had been emptied rather than forcibly robbed. If it was the influence of the police force, it was normal for at least one patrol to appear. But even that didn’t show any signs of appearing.
In the meantime, lights were going out all over the building. I no longer felt that faint presence welcomed me. I was a little nervous and grabbed the handle of the sword.
“Um… Over there!”
“Erika…!”
But then Erica ran out toward a large mansion. Because she wandered for so long, the steps of the prodigal child toward her house were unstoppable. To that extent, she desperately needed the strange yet warm concept of her, her home.
There was no one here who could not understand that feeling. So instead of stopping her, we were wary of her upcoming threat. Whether she knew it or not, Erica cried out for her family in a high-pitched voice.
“Mom! It’s me, Erica!”
“…”
“I’m here, Dad. Open the door. It’s me. Erica.”
“…”
“You’re there, right? I know you’re there. So…”
“…”
“Then open the door. Please…”
“…”
The pitiful cry gradually turned into an earnest wish. However, no matter how much she knocked on the door, God did not answer her wish. Eventually her hands, before her head, realized the reality and she lost her strength and began to limp.
“Mom…Dad…Please. Are you there? Mom…”
“…”
“Please…Please…I…”
“…”
“…Erika?”
Then, a faint voice came from somewhere. It was the moment when even Erica gave up halfway, so everyone’s eyes turned toward the door in an instant. But still no sound of footsteps could be heard from within.
The sound of footsteps came from behind us.
Of course, Saya was the first to realize that fact. I didn’t follow her gaze until she turned her head, and even Rebecca looked behind her, quite puzzled. Then I saw a middle-aged couple approaching through the buildings.
Seeing them face to face like that brought another shock. I thought it must have been messed up, but the couple’s faces were surprisingly clean. Even the clothes were awkwardly tidy. If he did not know the circumstances, he would have believed that he had been to a social gathering of nobles.
Even so, her mother’s moving expression was genuine. She hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth in a quivering voice to her miraculously resurrected daughter.
“Erika…?”
“Mom!”
And Erica, without hesitation, rushes at her mother, exploding her emotions. Then, in order to be sure of the reality in front of her eyes, he was held firmly in her arms.
“Mom mom…”
“Erika…”
“Mom…”
“…”
Soon, a single tear trickled down his parted lips. Her trembling hands, unable to control her emotions, couldn’t even grasp her daughter’s shoulder when they met again. If she did that, she was afraid that her daughter would disappear like dust before her eyes. So she couldn’t help it, fearing that this would turn out to be her dream.
Instead, she raised her head and made eye contact with us. Buy Miss Rebecca. And the gaze that passed through Haru’s eyepatch in turn turned toward me for the last time. After staring at my face for a long time, she opened her mouth with a barely squeezed voice.
“Let’s go inside, everyone. It’s cold outside.”
Her wife’s wariness was simply broken when Erica explained her story. She thanked us over and over again, shedding her tears for what she had endured. But we couldn’t let go of our guard and just nodded awkwardly.
Anyway, it was nice to meet a friendly survivor, but there were so many questions. Whether it’s the overly clean appearance of a married couple, or the fact that they walk the streets casually. And that there was not a single servant left in this huge mansion.
However, even such doubts had to be hidden in front of a grand dinner given by the couple. The instinct of hunger was too strong to continue to be suspicious and vigilant. In the end, as soon as the couple picked up the food first, we started to indulge in a meal for the first time in a long time.
“Then let me introduce myself formally. My name is Marie Lopez, Erica’s mother. This is my husband, Edmund Lopez.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am. My name is Lope. This is Rebecca, who used to be an academy security guard. The child wearing an eyepatch is Haru. And this is… Saya. Please excuse me for wearing a hoodie because I am sick.
“Yes everyone. It’s so nice to meet you. And thank you again. You brought our Erica here.”
“We were just walking together.”
“Still. For us…It’s nothing short of a miracle. Thank you very much.”
Mrs. Lopez caressed Erica with her tear-stained face. There, her maternal instinct, which could not be prevented even from destruction, was utterly revealed. Erica was leaning against her without touching her rice.
But Mr. Lopez was different. Unlike his wife, he didn’t show any fatherly love, just staring at the plate of food. Come to think of it, he hadn’t said a single word from the time he met Erica until now.
However, it did not mean that he was unable to speak. He roughly emptied the plate in front of him and suddenly cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“Anyway, everyone must be tired. Why don’t you go to your room and rest?”
“Honey. What happened all of a sudden? Everyone is still eating.”
“That’s also true. Then let’s get up, madam. Same goes for you, Erica.”
“Yes? But Dad. That’s…”
“I hope you don’t think it’s rude. It’s just that I have something to share with my family. Please enjoy your meal and use the guest room upstairs. The space is sufficient, so you won’t feel uncomfortable.”
“Dad…”
“What are you doing, Erika? Come on, don’t get up.”
It was an overly cool response for seeing her daughter after a long time. He took her wife’s hand and rose from her seat before Erica could add another word to her. We couldn’t add anything to the really unstoppable look.
But his hands were trembling slightly. In addition, I got the impression that he seemed impatient somewhere by looking at his anxiously wandering eyes. Pretending to be indifferent, I picked up the bread and glanced at him from the side of my eye.
Suddenly, a black line drawn near the back of my hand caught my eye. Just as he was about to examine what it was, he urged Erica to cover it with her sleeve.
“Let’s go. Come on.”
“But…”
“Honey. You wake up quickly too. The guests must have something to share.”
“Then…Yes. I understand. I’m sorry, but we’ll get up first. Enjoy your meal, everyone.”
She bowed her head to us and followed her husband, dragging the hem of her pitch-black skirt. I waited for their backs to disappear before opening my mouth in a low voice.
“It’s at the level of forcing you to openly doubt it.”
“That’s right. But it has nothing to do with us. That’s their business from now on. We’ve brought the student president to your house, so we’ve finished our duty that we don’t have to do. Now we have to go on our way.”
“I can’t deny that either.”
“The purpose of our coming here is to gather equipment and check whether trains are running. Lopez and his wife say they know well about railroad operations, so we’re going to leave after hearing the relevant information.”
“Then I’ll have to think about whether to leave right now or tomorrow morning. But it’s quite late, and it’s easier to get their favor by staying overnight. Of course, there’s a little bit of risk involved.”
“I agree. And there’s probably nothing dangerous. If anything happened, I’d rather it happen to the student president than to us.”
So that, in the end, has nothing to do with us. Rebecca naturally cut Erica out of the concept of us. To her, her Erica was, after all, just another danger.
But Rebecca let out a thin sigh as if she couldn’t be completely cool. She then went on with her words heavily.
“Then, let’s unpack our things in the room and check the surroundings. Anyway, if we see something suspicious, we have to rule it out as soon as possible.”
“I see. Are you okay, Sasaya, Haru?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Wait…Ug…Wait. That’s…!”
In the meantime, she made a clicking noise as she shoved food into her mouth one day. I mercilessly snatched that guy from the back.
“Get up quickly. There’s no time to hesitate.”
“Ugiik… Oh, wait a minute…”
“You’ve had enough. And you’ll have time to eat tomorrow morning too.”
“Eating enough is not enough.
Haru poured out his complaints without even adding honorifics. Even while being dragged along, he struggled without stopping. Then, as if he had an idea, he hurriedly tapped my arm.
“Wait! Wait! Then send me to the bathroom. That won’t be okay.”
“Hold on a little.”
“Is it because you bought it earlier and clung to your sister? It’s petty… Oh, I’m really in a hurry! I’m peeing like this!”
“There will be a bathroom in the room.”
“If it’s not there, I’ll just wrap it up on the bed! Is that okay?”
“Ha…Really. I get it. I get it.”
I finally stopped walking. Then Haru let out the breath he had been holding back and grabbed my wrist.
“Phew. But the last bit of humanity remains. Then let’s go to the bathroom.”
“You want to go with me? I’d rather go with Saya…”
“This happened because of you, but you should take responsibility. Saya-unnie will think that way too, right?”
“…”
At the end of Haru, Saya couldn’t even squeak and only nodded her head. No matter how I thought about it, it seemed that there was something between the two that I didn’t know about.
“Okay. Then let’s find it quickly.”
“Yes. I think… This way. I can already smell it.”
“This way? Rather…”
“That’s right. Hurry up and follow me!”
One day, I was suddenly excited and quickly headed somewhere. I felt like I was being tricked, but I had no choice but to follow because I didn’t know where the bathroom was. In an instant, we were separated from the others and headed deep into the mansion.
The rush of the day, once started, did not know how to stop. He continued to walk with his nose wide open at the subject he couldn’t even see. I glanced around, taking care not to let him hit the wall. I don’t know exactly where this place is, but it seemed clear that it was a very remote place.
In the midst of walking for such a long time, I suddenly started to feel the smell that must have caught Haru’s nose. Only then did I let out a sigh with a laugh. Then, one day, before I could return my steps, I hurriedly ran into the door on the left.
“Here, senior. It’s clear.”
“Yes. I guess.”
I had no choice but to open the door. And, of course, it wasn’t a bathroom.
It was the mansion’s huge food storage.
To match the size of the mansion, the size of the warehouse was enormous. And fortunately for us, it was filled with various foods. Bread. Meat. Vegetable. Even sweet snacks. Haru opened his mouth with a happy voice in the scent of food that filled his lungs.
“Yes. Here’s what I was looking for, senior.”
“I should have expected it. Were you that hungry?”
“You must have felt it on the island. I eat more than I thought. Maybe it’s because I’m growing up.”
“Why did you bring me and not Saya?”
“My sister is short-spoken, so I can’t relate to things like this. And since the bag is also carried by the senior, of course I have to come with the senior.”
“A bag? You can’t…”
“It’s not stealing, it’s getting paid. I brought her daughter-in-law, so I should take care of this much.”
One day, he calmly uttered that one word, and before I could stop, he grabbed the bag I was holding. Then she opened her mouth wide and urged me on.
“Come on, senior. Where is your conscience in this situation?
“There’s really nothing to see, so there’s nothing to hold back.”
“I left all that at the academy. Now, let’s get started.”
I don’t think there was much conscience at the academy, though. However, there was some truth in Haru’s words. Anyway, since I brought Erica, I think I can take care of this much. It was also true that food was needed for the journey.
Eventually I started putting food in the bag. One day, he even hummed her joyfully as if he were shopping for her.
“More and more. Fill it up, senior. There will never be another opportunity like this.”
“Don’t rush. Lower your voice.”
“Huh? This is candy! Isn’t it candy? You have to take this unconditionally.”
“Put that in your pocket.”
“Didn’t senpai like it too? I always carry a piece of candy with me. It smells like meat more than that. It also smells like raw meat.”
“…That’s right. That’s a lot of raw meat.”
At the end of the day, when she raised her head, countless chunks of meat hanging from the ceiling filled her vision. The warehouse here was large, but there were so many that it was difficult to explain with just that. In addition, some were dripping with blood, as if they were freshly butchered.
And around it, of course, there were swarms of flies buzzing around. However, most of the meat was left untreated. It seemed as if it didn’t matter whether the flies stuck or not.
“Raw meat in this situation. Wouldn’t it take longer to dry it?”
“You don’t seem to think so. Even the blood is dripping.”
“Somehow, it smelled really fishy. What could be the reason?”
“Well, I’d like to ask you directly.”
“Are you asking yourself?”
“You were so focused on the food that you couldn’t hear the footsteps of people.”
Apparently, I was the only one who predicted the outcome of this grand theft. I left the bag with Haru, who seemed a little surprised, and slowly turned around.
Then I saw Mr. Lopez already standing at the door of the food warehouse.
He was looking at us with the same sullen look as before. He could have fired at these brazen thieves, who had come in disguised as guests, but he didn’t even show any sign of it. They just watched us pick up the food.
I looked down, wondering if he had brought a weapon, but instead of a knife, he had a large bag in his hand. It was quite large, so it was a travel bag that could easily fit one or two people.
I wondered why the landlord had brought such a thing to his food storage. Still, he had to explain from the point of view of becoming a thief. I cleared my throat as much as I could and then spoke politely.
“Mr. Lopez.”
“…”
He didn’t answer when I called his name. He just put the bag he was carrying on the floor. He hesitated for a long time, then spat out a word.
“Neither do you.”
It was a word with no meaning. Just as he was about to ask what that meant, he raised his hand and pressed it against his tired eyes. Then, the sleeves naturally flowed down, revealing the picture hidden inside.
It was poorly drawn, so it was difficult to identify at once. But coincidentally, I had seen a similar shape a while ago. It was what I saw in the field a few days ago and among the fallen wagons.
…
It was a wing
