Vol 1 Chapter 20 (1/2)

VOLUME 1-2

Chapter 20

Touya awoke on a stone floor.

His languid sleep was torn away by the cold in the air and the numbness of his limbs.

There was a dusty smell here similar to that of the base camp’s bas.e.m.e.nt. The air also felt damp.

In the dim s.p.a.ce, various survival tools were laid out on the floor in a disorderly fas.h.i.+on.

He could also faintly see the contours of various tool-like objects whose purpose he couldn’t divine—and the fact that he could see them meant that it wasn’t nighttime right now.

—It’s like I’m in the middle of a painful dream.

Those words, said by someone to him before, resurfaced in his mind.

There were dried tear tracks left at the corners of his eyes, and the sensation of having seen a bad dream lurked in the back of his mind.

He strained his ears as he remained in his p.r.o.ne position, and he heard the faint sound of a waterfall.

The out-of-place feeling on his ankles was from shackles placed on them. His hands were also bound by rope, preventing him from moving freely.

“Hey—hey.”

Suddenly, the tip of a bare foot lightly poked his head.

“Ani-san. Oanii-san1. Are you dead?”

At last, his memories started coming back to him, and his consciousness regained focus.

“I’ve brought food. If you’re alive, get up and eat it.”

A burnt bamboo pipe was rolled in front of his eyes.

The still-hot pipe was emitting bubbles of rice paste and giving off steam.

There seemed to be grilled fish cooked with rice inside it, and it gave off such a savory smell that it caused Touya’s forgotten hunger to attack him from the pit of his stomach.

“……Kuh…”

Enduring the pain, Touya lifted the upper half of his body and came face-to-face with a little girl who was crouching and peering at him inquisitively.

She was also chewing on a piece of fruit in her hands.

Touya s.h.i.+fted to sitting cross-legged and properly faced the girl while scratching his head.

“You’re that wolf girl, right? That missing child that Hinooka mentioned.”

“Hah? I’m Suzuran.”

“…I see, Suzuran, huh?”

Hearing her name repeated by him, the girl’s face became slightly red.

It appeared she wasn’t used to having her name said straight to her face like that.

“It’s a secret from Hime2. Hurry up and eat.”

“Didn’t you say that you didn’t care if a thief died?”

The girl lifted her slender chin and snorted defiantly.

“You didn’t kill any of my wolves with your sword.”

“I was just too busy trying to defend myself back then.”

Touya spoke his frank feelings, but the girl continued speaking.

“Sekkachimaru didn’t kill you either. So I’ll help you.”

“By Sekkachimaru, you mean that huge white wolf?”

“Are you going to eat it or not?”

“……”

The girl glared at him.

Unable to win against his hunger, Touya picked up the bamboo pipe.

He had neither chopsticks nor a fork, so he took out a bamboo leaf within the pipe and scooped up the food on top of it while using his bare hands to eat. Having tableware wouldn’t have changed his lack of freedom much, considering his hands were tied together.

However, the taste was different from what Touya expected, making his face reflexively break into a smile.

The girl who had named herself as Suzuran watched him happily as if she were the one eating.

Judging by the brightness in the air, it appeared to be sometime early in the morning right now.

The light that leaked into the room gradually brightened, and Touya managed to figure out that he was in an arch-shaped cave constructed at the base of a castle, most likely a place a stable.

Even as he ate the food, the terrifying memories of yesterday’s events played back through Touya’s mind one after another.

It was the memory of a completely one-sided struggle, with the ferocious white wolf cornering him and easily smas.h.i.+ng the branches he’d used in place of his swords. He was finally hit by its claws and thrown into the rocky area of the river, on the verge of being crushed by its huge body.

He couldn’t believe he was still alive right now.

Right before he had blacked out, he had looked up from the ground and seen the cold eyes of the witch looking down at him.

“…I’ll give this back to you.”

After wiping his fingers on his cuffs, Touya took out a hair ornament from his pocket.

It had been torn off Suzuran’s head from the blow he’d dealt against her during the initial surprise attack a few days ago.

“The hairpin I got from Hime…!”

The girl grabbed the hairpin as if to steal it away from him.

“Tch, so you really are a thief.”

“Haha. I’d intended to bring it back as proof of making first contact, but I’m not in a position to say that anymore.”

“Fausto kontaku?”

As Suzuran arranged the hairpin back in her hair, Touya once again spoke up.

“By Hime, do you mean that scary woman? Is that person the… mistress of this castle?”

“That’s right. Hime is my mistress and my foster parent.”

“Foster parent…? Then what about your real mother, Suzuran?”

“My mom is Sekkachimaru.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t remember it myself, but apparently Sekkachimaru picked me up from within the forest when I was a baby. That’s why Sekkachimaru is my mom.”

“…I see.”

Leaving aside the veracity of her claim, her words seemed to support Homura’s conjecture.

“Is there anyone else here?”

“There’s lots. Kirimaru, Kosuke, Koroku—”

“Aren’t those… the names of wolves? I’m asking if there are any other humans living in this castle.”

“There aren’t any. There’s only ever been me and Hime here.”

“…Just the two of you… huh?”

Touya couldn’t hide his disappointment at hearing that.

And though he really had wanted to ask his next question from the start, he voiced it hesitantly.

“Hey, what happened to my companions?”

“They died.”

“…!”

“That girl who used Mathematica ran way with that Mayo person, before they died together.”

The girl declared it bluntly.

“Mayo… you mean senpai? The person you took away!?”

Touya leaned forward and questioned her accusingly, and Suzuran uncomfortably wrinkled her nose.

“It’s because she went and ran away on her own…”

“Liar! She died!? She really died!?”

“I’m not lying… I watched the whole thing from afar while I hid…”

Suzuran hugged her knees and curled upon herself.

“They jumped into the waterfall basin while being chased by Hime, and then there was a huge flash, and they didn’t resurface afterwards.”

“…A flash…?”

Touya immediately guessed the true meaning of the sight that Suzuran described.

That bright flash was surely the light of an emergency withdrawal.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it was too unnatural for the two of them to just disappear after jumping into the water. This told him that they had managed to escape from the witch in some way.

Touya gradually regained his calm. Even so, he still hadn’t restrained his anger as he continued questioning Suzuran.

“Why did you kidnap senpai?”

“…”

The girl downheartedly dropped her shoulders and refused to meet his gaze, looking just like a reprimanded dog.

If she was self-aware of the fact that what she did was wrong, then there was hope that she could change and rehabilitate.

“Lately, Hime has been acting strange… The wolves don’t listen to what I say either…”

The girl murmured in a disheartened tone, so Touya tried speaking to her seriously.

“Suzuran, I have something important to tell you. Please listen.”

“I have to go now. Hime will wake up soon.”

Suzuran stood up and moved to leave.

“Why are you running away from Hime?”

“She’ll get angry at me.”

“Isn’t she your mistress and the person who raised you?”

“……”

Suzuran’s expression sank as she unconsciously played with her hairpin, and on the arm she lifted up was the bracelet that Homura had talked about.

It consisted of a faded plastic ring bound and reinforced with strings of vines. The jingling part was broken, but it was definitely the remains of what was once a toy rattle.

“—Were you scared, Suzuran? That’s why you kidnapped senpai, Mayo? To get a replacement for Hime. A replacement mother. Yeah, it’s true that senpai and Hime look a bit alike.”

The girl hesitated as she was about to leave and couldn’t shake off Touya’s words.

Enduring his body’s pain, Touya stood up.

“Suzuran. Your mother is neither Sekkachimaru nor Hime. Your real mother is on Earth. Come back to Earth with me.”

“……Earth?”

“Yeah, it’s where you come from.”

“…Kuh… I can’t do that. I can’t leave Hime alone…!”

At that moment, a voice calling her name came from outside, making Suzuran jump.

“—Suzu, is that thee?”

“……!”

The moment she heard that, the girl became frantic and knocked over several tools on the ground as she ran out of the stable.

“Hey, Suzu! Come back here!”

The voice scolded her.

The owner of the voice entered the stable while grumbling.

“Even though ‘tis time for her morning practice… That girl should start acting her age already…”

Touya tensely went on guard.

The person who had entered the dim stable saw Touya standing alongside the wall and suddenly stopped walking.

“Hyah!”

She faltered in shock and pressed her hands against the chest of her kimono, which was wrapped in a sash. However, Touya was the one who was surprised here.

Her appearance was definitely that of the witch who had attacked Touya and Homura yesterday. But the atmosphere she gave off was somehow different now.

“W-What was that for? Don’t surprise me like that.”

While adjusting her breathing and taking some deep breaths, she stared at Touya fixedly.

“Are thee—”

She looked at the cords binding his hands and feet, and then peered closely at Touya’s face.

“—k.u.magorou?”

“…Huh?”

“Then, Hachi perhaps?”

“No.”

She clapped her hands in realization.

“Haha, I got it—thou art the retiree from the tenement house, right?”

“I’m not k.u.magorou, Hachi, or the retiree from the tenement house!”

“…?”

She touched all over Touya’s cheeks with a puzzled expression.

Touya had been prepared to have his life in danger, but he just couldn’t keep up with this.

“My, I bethought thou wast a life-like puppet, but—could thou perchance be a guest from afar?”

“Guest… I guess that’s one way to put it. Anyway, I’m not a puppet, I’m human.”

“If thou are a human, why art thee tied up? Art thy a criminal?”

“……You really don’t remember? You did this. You set that wolf after me.”

“I did?”

She pointed at herself and tilted her head in puzzlement.

“I don’t recall that at all.”

Touya couldn’t help but sigh and feel drained at how much difference there was from her truly fearsome and witch-like manner yesterday.

Suddenly, the iron shackles on his legs unlocked by themselves with a clank.

Rolling up her sleeves, the witch beckoned to him.

“Lift thy arms… Hmm… these wast tightly bound…”

She took out a small knife and cut the rope. Touya had suddenly become free.

As Touya rubbed her swollen arms, the witch gracefully bowed to him.

“I misunderstood it as another one of Suzu’s pranks. Please forgive me.”

“…Based on your behavior, you don’t seem to remember senpai or Homura either.”

“…?”

The witch became puzzled again.

This was a once-in-a-million chance for Touya to escape.

But Touya chose not to do that.

If Homura and senpai had safely completed the emergency withdrawal, they would request help to save him and other investigators would eventually come here. When that time came, they had to avoid it turning into another conflict at any costs. That was Touya’s thinking.

And he was also concerned about Suzuran, who had run away to hide herself.

“I’m Touya Tak.u.mi.”

“Touya—”

The witch nodded as she put her hands back within her sleeves in a calm and easy manner.

“Thou mayest refer to me as Iotsumisumaru no Hime3. I toldeth Suzu to calleth me either Subaru or just Hime, so I doth not mind if thee doth the same.”

“…Then, can I call you Subaru-hime?”

“Thou’ll maketh me blush.”

The witch smiled as she swept her haori4 around her to escape from the cold morning air.

Touya was startled at how her appearance as she let out white breath in the cold air reminded him of senpai once again.

“Shalt we go have breakfast? The sun wilt have already risen if we wait for that truant tomboy.”

When Touya mentioned that Suzuran had just fed him—

“Then I shalt pour some tea. Thou art a rare and precious guest, after all.”

Touya was given a tour inside the castle.

It was an old stone castle that had been kept clean.

The castle’s construction was actually very similar to their base camp. They had both probably been constructed by the same group of craftsman in eras close to each other. However, there were almost no points of commonality between them when it came to interior design. Both the furniture and decorations fit in well with this castle, proof that substantial years of work and training had gone into making the place.

The castle was built on a slope with the mountain at its back, and the stable that Touya had been tied up in was in a semi-bas.e.m.e.nt that reached from the ground floor down to the castle bas.e.m.e.nt.

And now, Touya was looking down at the vista below the castle from a high terrace after having climbed some stairs.

Before him was a small plain located in a mountain valley.

There were orchards and a small cultivated field at one corner of the plain, where many puppets could be seen tilling the soil. Subaru had called them “puppets5”, and the human-like doll that Touya and Homura had encountered in the marshland forest was most likely the same. He felt intrigued by the idea of puppets that moved with magic.

Touya could also see livestock pens near them, and sometimes he could hear the clucking sound of chickens.

Enclosures that looked a lot like j.a.panese tea arbors could be glimpsed amidst the village, and the whole village, which looked so different from the construction and decorative style of this old castle, gave off a strange and mysterious feeling for Touya.

“It’s so peaceful…”

As he quietly felt awed by this sight, Touya was offered to sit at the table on the terrace.

It seemed like a compact and peaceful life, with more than enough for Subaru-hime and Suzuran to live here by themselves as long as the puppet workforce was maintained. Touya didn’t see anything like fences to block outside invaders either.

There was a weaving machine with weaving cloth still inserted in it on the terrace. The cloth had the same kind of strange design pattern as the kimonos that Suzuran and Subaru wore.

After setting tea utensils on the table, the witch sat down facing Touya and gazed at the same vista as him with a teacup in hand.

“Won’t thou consume some pickled radish?”