episode_0122

Fosao brought a stew filled with pork.

It was a terrible dish. It smelled gamey without spices, and white grease chunks floated on top. It was raw, as if only pork had been boiled in water.

Tia, taking the stew bowl, looked down.

Her expressionless face was reflected on the oil droplets.

“……Mister.”

“Hmm?”

Her hollow voice echoed.

“What should I have done?”

“……”

“What should I have done… so everyone… could come back?”

It was a vague question.

Who could answer that?

If Tia hadn’t taken me into the deep forest, would it not have come to this? If I hadn’t gone with the tribute party, I wouldn’t have met Fosao. I could have avoided the bandits’ ambush…

Would the outcome have been different?

I don’t know.

I swear, no one would know.

Perhaps if there were gods watching us, they might have answered like this: ‘Tia should have done better.’

They might have said something close to the right answer: not to cause trouble with useless adventurous spirit, to constantly suspect Fosao, to dedicate all devotion to me, and to listen to Ruyef and drive Fosao away…

Even I, knowing the truth, would have answered that way.

Tia. That you were wrong.

As long as you didn’t realize who the culprit was, nothing mattered.

But….

Fosao’s answer was different.

“Ti-Tia! I… I think Tia did her b-best!”

He stammered his reply.

“I-I saw it! Tia truly… did her best. Re-really.”

“……”

“So Ti-Tia, it’s not… your fault.”

To Tia, who raised her hollow eyes, Fosao said, sweating profusely.

“Rina… she t-told me before she died. To live… live a long time. After hearing Rina’s last words… I-I decided to live a long, long time. So… Tia too! I hope you gather your strength and live a long, long time.”

“……”

Her red eyes wavered.

The girl bowed her head deeply.

“…It’s the same.”

“W-What?”

“Us. We’re in the same… situation, aren’t we? Abandoned by the world.”

“No, no!”

Fosao excitedly waved his hand.

“A-Abandoned! Maybe me, but not Ti-Tia!”

Thump.

His thick fist confidently struck his chest.

“Because I didn’t abandon Tia! Ti-Tia isn’t abandoned!”

“……”

He didn’t abandon her.

At those words, her ruby-red eyes gradually began to blur.

Her eyes became moist, as if she would cry soon, but for some reason, a faint smile hung on her lips.

I could understand what that expression meant.

Because when she was extremely happy… so happy she couldn’t express it in words, she showed such sad eyes and a smile.

Tia wiped her eyes.

“…You’re like a fool.”

“Ugh-. S-sorry…. I got c-carried away without realizing it…”

“No, it’s fine.”

I see.

Anyone could say, ‘It’s your fault.’

Tia struggled desperately to somehow escape the heavy guilt.

But Tia, now exhausted in both body and mind… needed someone to stop her.

She didn’t want to hear accusations listing her sins one by one.

What she wanted was… ‘You did your best, so let’s stop now.’

She simply wanted to hear that one word of comfort.

Tia was, after all, just an innocent girl from a mountain village.

No matter how intelligent and strong-willed she might be. She wasn’t a hero who could lead ‘everyone to a happy ending’ with superhuman intelligence and power.

In front of a lazy, fat, stammering man, who was almost like a father figure.

She was merely a powerless girl, tearing up as she heard the words she had so desperately wanted to hear.

Clink.

Trembling fingers picked up the spoon.

She put the stew, with oil floating on top, into her mouth and swallowed.

Gulp.

Since Tia was picky about food, I thought she would spit out such a tasteless stew.

But.

Clink clink.

Her tongue, having been hungry for a long time, seemed in no position to be picky about taste.

She frantically scooped up spoonfuls, devouring the chunks of meat. She buried her face in the bowl and emptied it at a rapid pace.

Tia had refused to eat because she felt so guilty. Because she hated herself so much.

However, as if to prove that people must eat to live…

Tia replenished her withering life and spirit.

Thud.

She set down the empty bowl.

Tia wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Her face was much more vibrant than before.

“…Mister.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to walk a little.”

Supported by Fosao, Tia got down from the bed.

Her emaciated legs seemed unable to take even a single step.

She tried walking slowly.

Leaning on Fosao’s heavy, massive body, she took small steps, and somehow managed to move forward.

Finally, the two reached the stairs.

Fosao extended his hand.

“D-Do you want to take it…? You might… fall.”

It felt familiar somehow.

I wondered why that was, but soon it came to mind.

It was like the sloping path when the storm raged in the Tsarlak Mountains.

Back then, Fosao had also extended his hand to Tia, asking the same thing.

Her answer at the time was, of course, ‘No.’

But.

…A long time had passed, and her answer now was different.

“Yes.”

Tap.

She took Fosao’s hand.

Holding on firmly and tightly, lest she fall, she moved her feet down the stairs one step at a time.

Just as she was carefully descending, her legs gave out.

“Ah!”

“-Whoops!”

Fosao immediately pulled Tia’s arm, supporting her backside.

“A-Are you okay?”

“…Yes. Thanks to you.”

“Le-Let’s try again.”

Tia, rising awkwardly, descended the stairs almost as if she were being carried.

When her slender, pretty toes reached the first floor.

Tia gave a bright smile.

“…We came down.”

“Hehe! G-Good job, Tia.”

Fosao said, stroking the girl’s fair hand held in his.

“It-It reminds me of the old days. You were learning noble etiquette… and Tia, you t-taught me how to walk.”

“…That’s right.”

“But n-now, it’s the o-opposite, isn’t it? Hee-hee.”

Her ears turned red.

Tia nodded shyly.

“It seems so…”

“Sh-Shall we go a little further?”

“Yes.”

The two began to walk together again, strolling around the general store.

That walk continued for a long time.

* * *

“Brr, it’s cold!”

It was around the time they were falling asleep.

Fosao, who was on the first floor, shivered as he opened the door to the second floor.

Tia, who had been quietly lying down, got up.

“…Mister?”

“The, the snow from before must have fallen too much…”

Fosao stammered an explanation of the situation.

He said that the chimney of the first-floor fireplace was completely blocked by the enormous snowfall from the day before yesterday.

Normally, the hot smoke would melt the snow as it rose, but because Tia had been making herbal medicines, the soot had become sticky, causing the smoke to flow backward, making it impossible to light a fire.

To clean the chimney, they would have to call a technician from the village below, but it was late at night, so they couldn’t go down.

“I’ll j-just warm myself up for a moment and then go down. Sorry…”

“No, it’s fine.”

Tia pointed to the spot beside her.

“You’ll catch a cold like that. Mister, you sleep by the fireplace too.”

“Ugh-uh? R-Really? Is that okay?”

“It’s partly my fault. And this was originally your room, Mister…”

“Hee-hee! Th-Then…”

And so, it was decided that they would sleep together on the second floor.

Fosao came up, having taken a sleeping bag from the storage room.

He spread it out next to the bed and lay down with a thud.

“Hee-hee. This… reminds me of the old days again. How about you, Tia?”

Tia said with her eyes closed.

“You and I always slept like this, Mister.”

“R-Right?”

“So I don’t think much of it…. Rather, I didn’t understand why you insisted on sleeping on the first floor, Mister.”

Fosao’s eyes widened.

“Does that mean… I-I could have slept next to Tia from the very beginning?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh-uh! B-But… Tia always seemed uncomfortable. You said my… my snoring was loud…”

“I got used to it a long time ago.”

Tia sighed and said softly.

“If I still couldn’t sleep because of your snoring, Mister, I would have died from insomnia by now.”

“Ugh-uh!”

“My ears for sleep have dulled lately.”

Tia’s pale cheeks were faintly illuminated by the crackling fireplace.

“Before, I was so sensitive that I would wake up at the smallest sound of a rabbit stepping on a fallen leaf. Now, I can’t hear anything.”

“B-Because of me?”

“Should I say ‘because of’… I think of it as ‘thanks to’.”

“Thanks to?”

“Yes. I can sleep soundly without any worries now.”

Tia stared blankly at the window and said.

“…And now, no one will come looking for me in the middle of the night.”

“……”

“Instead, the night might become a bit dangerous. Because I won’t hear animals approaching.”

“Th-That, you don’t have to worry about.”

Fosao said in a serious voice.

“My… my snoring sounds l-like a bear. No animals have ever c-come here.”

“Ah…. That’s certainly true.”

“Hee-hee!”

“Then it’s fine now, but… what about when I’m alone?”

“You j-just won’t be alone!”

“Huh?”

“I can just k-keep staying with you!”

In the darkness, Tia’s eyes blinked.

“…Mister. Do you know you’re saying something foolish again?”

“F-Foolish? I’m… serious!”

“What if I go far away?”

“I’ll follow you!”

“Even if it’s really far?”

“Yes! I-I’ll follow you!”

“Even very far… even to the Land of Flowers, will you come?”

“L-Land of Flowers? I don’t know where that is, but… anyway, I’ll g-go!”

“Ahahaha!”

Tia giggled from under the blanket.

After laughing for a while, she poked her head out and said.

“I was just saying it. Anyway… there’s nowhere for me to go now.”

“Mmm…”

“Saying you’ll stay with me forever. It’s a truly foolish thing to say… but still… it’s not bad…”

The conversation ended there.

Because Tia, who had been fading, had somehow fallen into a deep sleep.

Softly breathing.

Was she having a good dream after a long time?

She was smiling.