episode_0017

“… … I’m joking. Of course I want to do that in real life, but for now, it’s like an idiom. It’s not a way of understanding the words literally, but rather a way of expressing the poetic meaning contained in it. That’s how much I was attracted to you, that’s what I’m saying. Ahahaha.”

Algaet, who was smiling cheerfully and hesitatingly explaining to Ray, whose brows were furrowed.

“… Don’t look at me like that. I’m excited. ”

Ray looks at Holt with eyes that urgently ask for help as she licks her lips and trembles at the contemptuous gaze. At that moment, Holt also turns his gaze to Ray.

“Please specify the time and place. Sir Algaet.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? This is a matter of new discovery, inspiration. Have you heard that curiosity is timeless? I mean, look at that! The obvious disgust and hostility reflected in that captivating flame is actually arousing my reproductive instinct. This is an amazing discovery. How is this possible?”

Algaet, who keeps talking nonsense and leans forward to rest her chin on her hand, her eyes shining with perverted excitement and eagerness to learn.

“Eww.”

“Whoa… That’s it, ugh! Ssss… … Ugh… .”

Algaet feels something running down her spine at the sound of Ray’s cowering. She wriggles her legs and hits her knees on the table, groaning in pain. The teacup on the table rattles and shakes, almost overflowing. At a similar timing, Holt and Ray’s eyes meet again.

“Huh… . Let’s say I don’t remember everything. Then do you know what kind of weapon you’re making right now?”

“You must be dazed. … Are you talking about my manners injection machine?”

Algaet asks, wiping away the tears that are slowly coming out with her index finger.

“No matter what you call it, if you’ve ever shot one, you know how vicious it is, right?”

“It’s so loud that your ears ring all day long, it smells terrible, and there’s also dirty smoke.”

She responds while touching her right ear, which still feels slightly numb.

“If this gets out into the world, something terrible will happen. I heard that a few have already been sold.”

Then Algaet nods to Holt, who is standing next to her, and gives him a hint. Holt carefully brings over the ‘etiquette injector’ that was hanging on the wall, wrapped in a handkerchief.

“It’s true that I sold a few of the failed models that didn’t work due to design flaws for the purpose of display to make up for the cost of materials. Well, if everyone were shooting these out loud, it’d be noisy and you wouldn’t be able to sleep. Your clothes would smell… and when you wake up, the smoke would be so thick you might think it’s fog at dawn. But in reality, this alone can’t do anything. Unlike a bow, you can’t shoot just any steel ball. Because… ”

“I know that too. You have to fill it with ignitable powder.”

Algaet fiddled with the ‘etiquette injector’ that the inspiration had given her, then paused at Ray’s answer and looked at him.

“… … .”

“… Don’t look at me like that. I have a lover too. ”

“Hahaha, a male who is aware that he is seducing a female is quite lethal.”

“Ahem, hm. What are you talking about!? … It seems like that ignitable powder is still hard to get?”

An embarrassed Ray tries to change the subject somehow.

“Yes, you’re right. It’s more expensive than gold of the same weight.”

Ray thought that there was probably no terrain in this area suitable for digging a foundation stone. Fortunately, that was fortunate.

“You still haven’t told me what you’re going to use this for… Are you going to shoot it at people?”

“I don’t like such a bloody sight. Look at me. That’s why I’m sitting here now and not on the street of happiness. Enduring is also important.”

Algaet smiled brightly and said meaningful words. Ray emptied his head as much as possible, trying not to interpret their meaning.

“You can carve it out of any random object nearby. The sturdier the better. Even if it’s not a person’s head, wouldn’t you feel something if you saw something that my etiquette injector made a hole in? That’s why it’s called an etiquette injector. Even if you inject etiquette into a head, it’ll just flow out if you make a hole in it. ”

“You made it to threaten people?”

Then Algaet rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s just a process. Of course, we tend to enjoy the process more than the lofty goal of propagating the species. But in this case, it’s not so much a threat as an inevitable step to avoid unpleasant experiences. Those who need manners instilled are usually violent. I don’t know what the causal relationship is. ”

Ray, who keeps slowly pulling the story in that direction like flowing water, is quite annoying.

“… For example, aiming it at the forehead of a guy you like and doing this and that… Is that what it was made for? ”

“Uh-huh-huh-huh, that’s not pretty. Eyes that are filled with fear tend to drive me crazy enough to want to lick them without thinking, but if the reason for the fear is not me but some piece of metal like this, then nothing is as frustrating as that. What I want is that kind of strange fear that’s half-and-half mixed with anticipation.”

The more he listened, the more Ray began to doubt whether the woman in front of him was really in her right mind. When he met Algaet’s eyes, he felt goosebumps thinking that his half-naked self, trembling with fear, was appearing in that crazy mind. Of course, the woman sitting across from him also felt goosebumps, and the reason was not much different from what Ray had guessed.

“Haa, there are bound to be weird people like you in this world. There’s no way there aren’t.”

“If we look at this space where three strange people gathered separately, we can’t say that we are strange. It’s all relative.”

“I don’t think anything strange.”

“Didn’t you say you remember living in a world where lightning lit up the streets and you could eat fresh fruit at any time? When you tell people that story, I don’t think the reaction you’d expect would be much different from when you said you had an inexplicable dream.”

“… .”

“I’m so happy to be facing you right now. I was starting to admit that I’m a delusional psychopath. The weird old man who followed the psychopath? Why don’t you pour me some more tea? And take out my favorite snacks.”

Holt enters the kitchen, brings out a plate of cookies, places them in front of Ray, and pours tea into the half-empty cup. The bright yellow tea, with white steam rising, is quite sweet and has a fragrant floral scent, though he didn’t notice it because of the stench that came out when Algaet opened the door.

An empty mansion, a servant left alone, a life of drinking and pleasure. Ray guesses what her life must have been like, with fragmentary memories of her past life remaining. Ray himself had told his father or the oldest adult in the village about his memories a couple of times after his memories returned, but he knew well how they reacted, so it was no wonder that he felt glad to see her, who had incomplete memories, as if he had met a fellow countryman.

“I saw your name in my hometown long before now. It was written on a tag attached to a glass ball that I thought I would never see again.”

“In the end, I stopped researching it because I couldn’t find a material that could withstand the heat for a long time. In my dreams, it was shining so brightly.”

“… I know the answer, but I don’t know if I’ll find it right away.”

“I don’t think they’ll tell you even if you ask. Do you hate the fact that this place is becoming like the world you used to live in?”

Algaet said so and glanced at the ‘etiquette injector’.

“It’s probably similar. I actually like this place that’s a bit further behind.”

Ray picks up a cookie and puts it in his mouth. It is soft and sweet, with lots of butter and sugar. It tastes like the abundance of the world.

“It seems like they didn’t live that happily.”

“Well? I came here to find you because I missed my old place a little bit.”

“Since you’ve finally been reborn, why don’t you try to live as selfishly as possible and pursue your own happiness?”

Algaet, whose head was spinning after blowing on the tea for a long time to cool it down, finally took a sip and spoke.

“Like you? I don’t want to live a messy life.”

“Ahaha, that’s a shame. You were born with such a beautiful body.”

Ray was madly curious as to whether this person had been a man or a woman in his past life.

“Would you like to come here often? We can talk about our dreams.… I think it wouldn’t be bad to share a blanket and dream together.”

“Okay… … I’ll come over and visit sometimes when I think of it. Even though it’ll be hard to see your face since you’re out.”

“Oh, by the way, before I go back, I’d like to get some of your urine.”

“… … !?”

***

“Heh, heh… . I’m here. … Is everything okay? Phew… .”

Mila opens the door with a loud crash and rushes in, looking back with nervous eyes. Ray, who had noticed Mila’s arrival early on by the rattling sound of the warehouse, lies down on the bed and, instead of greeting her, precariously lowers his pants.

“… … ! Oh, I see, so please upload that!”

Mila, who saw Ray’s lower abdomen, which was still swollen, was startled and closed the door before coming in.

“When he didn’t drink, he was just someone you could have a conversation with. People who do research are usually eccentric. … Why did you come running so quickly?”

“Hoo… . It’s nothing. It won’t fly to me… Maybe. ”

Mila chatters away, pulling her hair up into a bun and wrapping a rag around it to hide the color of her hair.

“I’m starting to get hungry. Milla came home late so I haven’t eaten anything.”

A few cookies and a cup of tea were not enough to replace lunch, so I could hear my stomach growling.

Mila continued to show signs of anxiety until she fell asleep. She even had her meals brought directly to her door by a waiter, and even while sleeping, whenever she heard a noise outside the window, she would jump up and press herself against the wall to look out the window.