Volume 2 Chapter 6 (2/2)
Erize-san took up her stance and looked at the rabbit with a narrow gaze After that, she let out a single white breath and let the arrow fly
The arro straight into the snow and buried itself inside
”……Did you perhaps think that the rabbit was hibernating underneath the snow?”
After that, we continued our daily schedule of going back and forth between the outside and the restaurant in the country
”—Ah, I ordered too ain today It's my mistake Here, Erize-san, take this as a souvenir and eat it at home”
At the restaurant, I gave Erize-san the leftover food as usual
”Thanks for always doing this, Elaina-san”
Erize-san gavethe parcel with both hands
When I first met her, she always had a depressed expression on her face, but before I realized it, she becaentle expression—or so it looked
Was it justconceited?
Despite ress the story in a good direction, one step at a time
At this rate, I iven to me in my oay
On the afternoon of the day that I thought that, the girldown a rabbit successfully
It had stopped snowing, and it was a bright, sunny day
”Look, Elaina-san! I did it! I actually did it!”
A slittering froht of the sun A red stain spread on the snow as the rabbit's legs convulsed as if trying to escape from the arrow that had pierced its neck
”You finally did it It looks delicious”
I lifted the arroithout waiting for the rabbit's life to cease A li sense of weight
”…By the way, the reward you were talking about, Elaina-san…”
”Yes, ”
”Are you going to cook this?”
”Yes, that's right”
”Do you kno to prepare the meat?”
”Despite how I look, I'ood at it that it makes the rabbits tremble”
”…But rabbits are always tre, aren't they?”
”Also, I have a suggestion, although it's not part of the reward”
”Hmm? What is it?”
I placed the un rabbit on top of some clear snow that was not stained with blood The snow crumbled and made way to accommodate the body of the rabbit
”There was a house you lived in before coain?”
”Go back home? But—”
”You have beco by yourself There is no reason for you to force yourself to live in that country anymore So, what do you say? Would you like to return to the house that you used to live in along with your parents?”
”……”
The girl stayed silent
”Of course, I won't force you to go if you don't want to”
I waited while looking forward to her reply
A silence came upon the forest, and after a little while,
”You're… right Yes I want to go It ht be okay to leave that country now”
I felt relieved after hearing her words
With this, she would finally be safe—or so I convinced myself
○
We returned to the country after draining the blood fro
It was just before noon by the tiot back to the country, and there were a lot of people on the main street Every time we passed by so strange, and every time that happened, Erize-san's head would droop even further
”You don’t need to worry about it anymore”
When I said that and touched her shoulder, she gave me a powerless smile
It appeared that Erize-san was fairly happy about being able to leave this country—and the half-destroyed place that served as her hoe as soon as we reached there
The country iven me the job appeared over there at the same time
”…Elaina-sa?”
He gavea small parcel in his hand
”It's going well I think everything will be settled soon just the way you wanted it”
”…I see That's good”
”You don't look particularly happy after hearing that, though”
”It ht have been anted, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best possible outcome”
”……”
After staying silent for a moment, I said to him,
”I think that I have done irl has already reached a level where you won’t need to leave that parcel for her anymore”
Even froers tighten around the parcel
”…Thank you veryyou involved in our mess”
He bowed very low to me, and then turned his back
”I know this is impertinent, but I have just one other request for you, Elaina-sama”
”Depending on the contents, I may increase my fee amount, is that okay?”
He did not reply to my words
”If there is an opportunity, I would like to convey our true feelings to her someday”
After saying just that, he walked away
I did not reply to his words
That is because I did not know if I would be able to grant his request
”……”
A while after he left, Erize-san cae in both her hands
”Sorry to keep you waiting It took a while to wake my little sister up”
She was carrying her little sister on her back
”I haven't introduced her to you yet, right? Elaina-san, this is my little sister, Millina”
It looked like the tiirl was steadily approaching
It was approaching at a slow pace, but definitely getting closer
○
”I'm home”
After reaching that place and lightly knocking off the snohich was sticking to her shoes outside the door, Erize-san just said those tords She walked into the house while carrying Millina-san
”……”
Following her example, I also knocked the snow off my shoes and went inside There was a set of da room
In front of the kitchen, there was a table with four chairs set on two opposite sides It must have been used by all four members of her family at one point
Only one of those chairs was currently drawn
Her little sister had been made to sit on that chair
”Elaina-san, what are you going tothat rabbit?”
Erize-san was looking at my hands as she spoke
”…How about a cream stew?”
”Yay! That's Millina's favourite!”
Erize-san hugged her sister's shoulders from behind and expressed her joy
There was no reply
”…Yeah! I can't wait!”
She nodded to her little sister with a happy look on her face
”……”
I then said to her,
”I'll make it now, so wait here, Erize-san”
”Yes, I'll be waiting here with my little sister”
Erize-san sat next to her little sister while having a big smile on her face
”…Okay”
My voice echoed fruitlessly
As I was cooking, her cheerful voice reached my ears
”Hey, it's kind of nostalgic, isn’t it?”
”From now on, I'll take care of the work that Dad and Mom used to do Ah, but I have to cook as well, so I'll have more work than they did”
”Yeah, it's fine I'm sure I'll be able to do it well”
It was the same even while ere on the way here It was also terrible to see how Erize-san acted while she was carrying her sister and leaving the country
She had a happy expression on her face while listening to her little sister's voice that I could not hear
”……”
A delicious s
I was finally able to take a deep breath in thea deep breath, I stirred the contents of the pot
The smell of carrots, potatoes, and rabbit meat that were mixed with the white cream wafted out from within
”……”
It looked like all the things I had done after coless
I agreed to the ot her out of that terrible country I ive her back her freedom, and at the same time, I prepared an environment where she could learn to hunt so that she could live by herself I made it so that she would be able to return to this house After doing soher out of the country and away froain her sanity
It was useless, after all
It looks like I was just naively wishi+ng for that to happen
The tragic circuirl could not be erased by so of that level
I turned around fro in the kitchen, and looked at her Erize-san, who had been saze
”Ah, Elaina-san Is it done already?”
”It just needs to simmer for a while”
”Oh, so it'll be done soon!”
”……”
”What's wrong?”
”…No, it's nothing”
”……?”
”Hey, so about you seems weird, Elaina-san You didn’t talkhere, you've barely said a word or two”
”……”
”You haven't said anything to e It feels weird”
”…You think I'e?”
”Yes”
”………”
When I continued to stay silent,
” —You're really being strange”
Erize-san nodded at the voice that I could not hear
After that, she lefthappily with her little sister
”—Maybe she's not feeling well?”
”—Ahaha That's true Maybe she'll feel better after eating the stew”
”—Right? I should cook so next time to thank her”
She kept looking at her little sister, with a happy expression on her face
”……”
It was a scene that I could no longer endure
”…Erize-san”
”Hmm? What is it?”
I winced a little as she ht smile towards me It appears I started to become scared of her smile at some point
I looked away from her, and,
”…Erize-san, please stop doing that”
And then, I said it to her
I just described what I was seeing to her
”Your little sister is dead”
She had been made to sit on one of the four chairs around the table
It was a girl wearing a long coat si, and I was able to catch a gliap in her hood
It was a corpse that was giving off such a bad s
○
”It happened one ether and did so”
”Fumu”
What I had heard while sitting opposite to the ic tale
”There was a faether quite close to our country—and these merchants decided to capture and sell them They said that they did it because they were in desperate need of money
The merchants first tried to capture the parents ere out hunting They approached the pair, lying about being lost, and tried to capture theuard
Of course, the couple did not let theht back strongly even though they had been surrounded by the ht broke out on a , the couple and some of the merchants unfortunately slipped and fell down the mountain
The re merchants climbed down to check on their condition, but all of the, yet they lost their lives here due to the plot of the bad merchants
This is the main cause behind the sorry situation we are currently in
Of the band of ht the corpses back to the country and explained the situation to me
Regrettably, they lied They said that, ”Three merchants and two therianthropes who lived in the vicinity died due to an accident”
I believed their words, and seeing as how the therianthropes were a married couple, I wondered if they had any children Perhaps those children were still waiting for their parents to co that, I took those merchants with , we found their house”
The things he said after that istrate told Erize-san and her sister that their parents had passed away in an accident, and then brought them back to the country
However, there was a definite difference in what I heard froistrate told me from this point onwards
”A few days after the girls started to live in our country, there was an accident”
And so, he told me what had really happened
”The surviving irls this tiht, they snuck into the house where the girls were living, equipped with torches and knives
The three merchants first came across the older sister She—Erize, just like her parents, did not back down even though she was surrounded by the adults She struggled htily
However, she is still only a child The difference in stature and strength was too large She was quickly overwhelmed by the merchants
And so, the e The men dropped their knives and beat her Kicked her Even after she cowered in fear and begged the, they continued to hurt her They probably planned to hurt her at the level where she wouldn't die, and then capture her afterward
It was then that one of the men was stabbed in the back by the knife that he had dropped
Turning around, he saw a girl who looked a little younger than Erize The younger sister, Millina, had tried to save her older sister as being one-sidedly beaten up by the men
Thethe older sister, he hit the younger sister with the torch that he was carrying in his hand After that, he threay the torch and picked up another knife that had fallen on the ground He then advanced upon Millina as holding her face andin pain, and stabbed her over and over until she died
He had gone too far That was the thought that went through the minds of the other two men, and so they tried to stop him However, before they could take action, thethe little sister ceased to move
Picking up the third knife that was lying on the ground, Erize had killed him As Erize continued to stand there in a dazed un to spread and the house was being consuer
The two merchants ere still alive panicked and ran away from there
By the tihboring residents, the fire had already spread to the outside of the house We immediately went to work and put the fire out, but more than half the house had already been destroyed
The cause of the fire was quickly ascertained There were three knives at the scene, the burned corpse of one of theresidents Based on their testimonies, I came to the conclusion that the merchants were behind this, and had the two of them captured
After interrogating the the truth didn’t change the fact that it was too late to do anything about it
Ever since the day the fire broke out, Erize was changed
She refuses to let go of her little sister's corpse In fact, she behaves as if that corpse is still a living person She gives it food, dresses it up, and sleeps while cuddling up to it
Due to the acts of thegirl ended up losing her mind
After the two merchants confessed to their criht and the ruhout the country The people feel sorry for her, but they still began to fear and avoid her
Erize also began to turn a deaf ear to what the people in the country were saying She appeared to be frightened by them, and started to avoid the people as well It has co more for her”
And so, theout the most important detail
”……So, basically”
I responded with a sigh
”You took in a cute little girl, but now you want her to leave because she is causing probleet her to leave because she refuses to listen to what you say You're afraid to get violent with her because you don't knohat she'll do So you want an outsider to deal with the situation Is that right?”
”……”
Seeing how he stayed silent like a coward, I added some more words
”…So you want me to kick her out of the country for a reason like that?”
I went to the half-destroyed house while feeling conflicted about whether I should accept the job or not When I saw you there, Erize-san, I was extremely surprised And so, I decided to take the job That's because I had already met you once before at the baker's shop
The day after I met you at the apple stall, I walked around the country talking to people about the situation Every single one of the to me
”Such a pitiful child”
Even the people I talked to on the street said the sa
”I really feel sorry for her”
”She ended up in such a state because of some bad people… it's really deplorable”
The housewives who live in the houses neighboring the one you lived in were also frowning in displeasure
”She ended up living in a place like that because of what some bad adults did…”
”Yes… it's really quite pitiful She even refuses to eat the food that the s for her”
”Look, over by that wall See where she threay that parcel of food? She always does that Whether it's food or money, she just throws it away”
Even thehis bandaged hand
”She'd apparently been stealing apples from my stall for quite a while Well, I know her circuht she should eat soht of taking her to some restaurant After that, she shouted all kinds of stuff at me… and that's how I ended up in this state”
The man ns the bakery also said this
”Ah, Witch-san You sahat happened as well, right? She always co like that I understand that she's to be pitied… but I run a business as well, so I' with her”
The day I first saw you at the bakery, I saw soe
A little girl wearing a deep hood took a large nue those for bread It was a strange sight
The girl called those dead bugs, ”money”
After talking for a bit with the owner of the shop who had kindly told her with a troubled expression on his face that he couldn't give her bread in exchange for bugs, the girl made a shocked expression and ran out of the store
After seeing that spectacle, I was quite confused
I found out that it was you on the next day
That is why I decided to accept this job, for your sake
○
”You're lying”
Erize-san just said that phrase after I told her everything I had seen and heard She then raised her head while sitting next to Millina-san, and,
”It's a lie—the whole of this is just lies Why? Why are you trying to make me suffer as well, Elaina-san?”
”Did someone order you to say this kind of stuff to ht? The people in that country are all evil”
”The people of that country treated me as a monster They burned down ht here, sitting next to me”
”That's why, it's a lie It's all just nonsense”
Saying that, she shook Millina-san's shoulder The head of the girl who had died a long tie manner
”See? She's still alive My little sister isn’t dead—”
However
As if to contradict and betray her words, the body fell fro shaken violently
With a loud sound, the thing that had once been Millina-san fell to the ground and rolled
”Ah—”
At that
”N-No… My little sister, Millina is alive—-”
She stood up and stretched her hand towards the corpse, but stopped before touching it Only her fingertips were violently tre
Her appearance was incredibly pitiful
”Erize-san”
”No, no, no no…! It can't be, it can't be! Millina is… but she was living together with me all this time! She can't be dead…!”
”……”
”Please come back”
And so, I told her
”Please allow me to save you”
She didn’t reply to my words
The only thing that escaped fro
Her trehtly clutched my robe
No, no, it's a lie, please stop
She just keptthose words incoherently
Eventually, herrose to a shriek, and she started to shed tears while clinging to me
I didn’t let her go until her tears finally stopped
○
”Thank you”
”Ah, Elaina-saain”
”Yes, I've grown to like it—although, this is probably the last tiet to eat it”
”……?”
”Meaning, I've safely co to leave this country by the end of the day, and I don't intend to ever coain”
”…I see”
”As usual, you don't look very happy”
”As I told you earlier, we didn't want to kick that girl out of our country It was just that we had no other choice”
”That doesn't change the fact that you gave up trying at so of which, about my reward”
”……Ah, yes That's right Let's see—”
”You don’t need to pay me Could you deliver it to her house instead?”
”Excuse me?”
”I'ain”
”No, but—”
”In any case, I' to accept it That's all”
”…Elaina-saotten better?”
”Who knows? There's nothing I can tell you”
”I see…”
”Yes Well then, I'll be going now”
”…Please take care”
”Ah, that's right There's soot to tell you”
”What is it?”
”When that girls coain—please don’t make that sort of expression in front of her, okay?”
○
I stayed with her for quite some time
The girl ran through the snowy terrain underneath the bright sun while hunting, and the two of us cooked together We just kept repeating this
I lived pleasantly in the time that flowed in this manner
Once Erize-san beca all by herself, she suddenly opened her mouth one day, and,
”I've come into my o”
She said those words to soraves of her three family members
”In that case, you don't need ht?”
”It's not like I don’t need you… but thanks for everything you've done until now, Elaina-san”
”You don’t need to thank me—I just did whatever I was capable of”
”What are you going to do now?”
”I'll return to my travels”
”…It's going to get lonely”
”…I agree”
”If you feel that way, I don’tyou on your travels”
”Ah, that's a little…”
”You're too damn honest, Elaina-san”
”What do you plan to do from now on, Erize-san?”
After I said that, she re and looked up at the sky Her breath rose up into the air like smoke, and vanished
The sun floating in the sky gave off a faint sense of warh to be dispersed by the cold wind
”I' to return to that country after some time passes”
Erize-san looked at me and said that
”…Even though that place is full of nothing but bad memories?”
”Yes But I feel like I'll be able to o there now”
And then, she said this
”Besides, I did soize”
”……”
”Well, although I've said that, I haven't decided to go there just yet I just felt that it would be nice to do that”
”I see I think that's a good idea”
Saying so, I nodded
”In any case, I'll go there once I've oodbye to everyone here I just want to stay for a little while longer—until the snow melts”
At that ti from the forest behind us
Looking around,that some of the snow that was piled up on a tree's branches had fallen to the ground A hint of green began to reappear in the world that was dyed a pure white color, gently shaking its head
The snoill probably disappear soon, a little bit at a time
However,
”Looks like it'll still take a while”
At ently shook her head and smiled
”It won't be er now”