Ch.13Roommate (4)

*

One day, two days.

Gradually, counting the days became bothersome.

As I became accustomed to life in this forest, where nothing special happened and I met no one, my sense of time—concepts like appointments and schedules—seemed to dull.

To recall how many days had passed since I entered this forest, I had to briefly count the nights in my head before I could finally answer.

I looked down at my fingers, which I had repeatedly folded and unfolded to count, and let out a sigh-mixed voice.

“Wait… my goodness, it’s already been a month.”

Before I knew it, I was passing my 30th day in this forest.

Of course, I spent the first ten days or so unconscious, but it’s still surprising that the terrible carriage accident happened a whole month ago.

My family, victims of an unjust conspiracy; their deaths, which I could never have prevented with my own strength.

These were horrific events that could have haunted me for a lifetime, yet somehow they felt distant to me now.

Why?

Why was I able to accept the deaths of my parents and Laila so easily?

There might be several reasons, but the main one was probably that the fate that engulfed me afterward was a series of such astonishing events.

First, there was the fact that my own life had been in danger, and then the mysterious woman who saved me from death turned out to be the hero Silvia—a revelation shocking enough to make one faint.

And I shouldn’t forget that I now share the terrible curse she had been bearing.

Before I could grieve the pain of loss, a series of events completely changed my future, leaving me too overwhelmed to cry out in anguish or properly mourn my family.

The only way I could remember them was by diligently tending to Laila’s grave, as I was doing now.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

Silvia approached me as I was planting flowers around the grave.

Her golden hair swayed gently with each step she took.

I smiled brightly at her.

“Ah, Silvia.”

She lifted the fishing net she was holding and said,

The net contained several large, flapping fish.

“I tried fishing today. Is fish okay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I took some boiled potatoes to eat while fishing, but ugh, I just couldn’t swallow them.”

“You were eating them just fine until recently.”

“It’s Ash’s fault for changing my palate… Being able to eat only delicious food is the worst habit to develop when living in such a remote place.”

Despite her words, there was no trace of resentment in her voice or attitude.

After I started cooking for her as a way to repay my life’s benefactor, we developed a division of roles in our cohabitation.

She procures the food, and I cook it.

Silvia never failed at hunting, and the food I prepared never failed to please her palate.

Even in this remote wilderness, people can survive as long as they have something to eat and drink.

“If it’s not food made by Ash, I won’t eat anything else.”

She said this as she helped me up from the dirt-covered ground.

Of course, Silvia doesn’t die of starvation.

She once told me that she had grown tired of eating and waited to starve to death, but the curse kept her alive somehow.

This time, tired of enduring the pain of hunger, she said she would put anything in her mouth and swallow it when she got hungry before I appeared.

Monotonous days where nothing happened. Tomorrows she had to face without being able to die.

She was slowly suffocating in time.

But now her empty days were being filled with time to taste the food I made.

She hunted different animals every day.

Once, she hunted a pack of wolves and even asked what I could make with them.

She had grown accustomed to me and came to rely on me.

I, too, found fulfillment in cleaning her cabin and preparing food that would make her happy.

“Hehe, what would you do without me?”

“Where would you go?”

“…Ah, right.”

Sometimes, intoxicated by this peaceful life, I forgot what my situation was.

That this forest was my home, my prison, and my grave.

“Where would I go anyway?”

“…Hehe,”

But in this home, prison, and grave, she was always there, and would continue to be.

The only two people existing in this small world isolated from the outside.

I was her only housemate.

*

Now that we had established a pattern and routine, the two of us would often share various stories after meals.

Among her stories, I liked her adventures on the way to defeat the Demon Lord the most.

I greatly enjoyed hearing about the various landscapes of the world I had never visited and her thrilling battle experiences, but it was also an opportunity to learn about my sister, who had been her comrade.

After listening to her stories, I decided, after much deliberation, not to reveal to Silvia that I was related to her former companion.

She would enthusiastically describe the arguments she had with her comrades and their impressive achievements with an excited expression, but then suddenly fall silent with a sad face.

The sister I had missed for years was, to her, a comrade she had lived and struggled with during those same years.

A comrade she could trust with her life during the hardship of adventure, but who ultimately did not survive.

Silvia was still deeply tormented by the fact that she alone survived out of what had been a party of eight.

That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to tell Silvia, “I’m that magician’s younger brother, please tell me about my sister’s final moments.”

I feared she would collapse under the weight of guilt if I did.

On the other hand, what she was most curious about from me was how the outside world was faring.

She seemed to hope that the world had become more beautiful since she and her comrades had sacrificed everything to defeat the Demon Lord.

She wanted to hear that their hardships had meaning.

But cruelly, reality was not so kind.

“It’s difficult to say. My family was just a rural upstart nobility, and a mere baron of the lowest rank at that, so I don’t really know much about how the world works…”

“I’m not asking for the current state of complex politics. I just want to know if the outside world has improved since the Demon Lord disappeared.”

“…Well, I don’t really…”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth.

How could I possibly tell her the cruel truth that the world’s chaos had not diminished at all—no, that it had actually become even more chaotic?

The Hero’s Party.

Her journey to defeat the Demon Lord was literally a journey that bore the fate of the entire kingdom.

Eight heroes, including her and my sister, who had shown outstanding achievements in their respective fields.

And following them were over 100 elite soldiers and about 40 adventurers hired at great expense.

With monsters attacking villages almost daily and neighboring countries watching for opportunities to invade during the chaos, assembling such a large expedition was a huge investment and gamble for a kingdom that was already operating on tight resources.

The Demon Lord subjugation, where they bet everything, leaving only minimal operations, minimal national defense, and minimal governance.

The end of that adventure, which had drained countless gold coins earned with the blood and sweat of many nobles, including the Count who had looked after our family, and the royal family, was ultimately a failure.

The death of the entire expedition, including the hero.

And the worst result: the Demon Lord was defeated, but the threat remained.

“…Being from a rural noble family…”

“Ash.”

“…”

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

Her red eyes quietly stared at me in the dark evening cabin, illuminated only by candlelight.

Those ruby-like flickering eyes seemed to have seen through my clumsy acting at a glance.

My red eyes, trying hard to avoid her crimson gaze, were shaking uncontrollably.

She slowly opened her mouth with a short sigh.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“Asking if the world has improved while knowing what happened to your family… I was insensitive.”

“Ah…”

“Even if the Demon Lord is gone, bad people don’t disappear, and even if monster attacks stop, conflicts in the world won’t vanish. Hehe… what was I expecting?”

She gave a bitter smile, saying she was reflecting on her rashness.

Looking at her embarrassed face, I fell into contemplation.

Silvia, truly worthy of being called a hero.

A person who worries whether her words might have made me uncomfortable when I couldn’t give her the answer she wanted.

Should I keep hiding the truth from such a person?

“…Silvia…”

What difference would telling the truth make?

That the world is still a chaotic mess,

That monsters are still cruelly slaughtering countless lives and villages,

That she had failed terribly,

What use would there be in telling this cruel and miserable truth to someone who had lost everything and was withering away in endless pain just to defeat the Demon Lord?

But should she not know?

That the peace she’s trying to protect by killing her desires and freedom never existed in the first place,

That she couldn’t see the results despite paying such a high price,

That the world she wanted to protect is crumbling,

Should I hide this from her?

“…”

“But still, how long has it been since the Demon Lord disappeared, and yet families are fighting each other… People’s greed truly knows no bounds.”

“…What did you say?”

“Whether it’s a fight over interests, or simply coveting the position of family head, the villains who attacked your family…”

“The monsters have not calmed down, Silvia.”

I don’t know.

Damn it.

“…What?”

*

“…Say that again.”

“…Even though the Demon Lord died, the monster attacks haven’t decreased at all.”

“…”

Silvia seemed greatly shocked, her lips tightly sealed and trembling.

Having already heard roughly how I came to this forest, she must have guessed that it was a chaotic time where conspiracies and schemes were still rampant.

But she probably hadn’t imagined that it was all happening amid the chaos caused by monster attacks that hadn’t diminished at all after the Demon Lord’s death.

Mistaking it for a simple power struggle, Silvia’s words finally made me unable to hold back the truth.

I told her the truth, both accusingly and very calmly.

That the monsters’ frenzy had not subsided, and attacks had actually increased.

That the demon race had lost control and was rampaging without reason.

That the kingdom was in chaos, with constant rebellions and plots internally, and invasions from neighboring countries externally.

That the tragedy that befell my family was orchestrated by a nearby duchy trying to take over the entire county that had been looking after us.

And that the employer of those who killed my parents and were chasing after me and my younger sister was none other than my “uncle.”

In fact, I told her everything except my sister’s identity.

“…So… all of that, all those things… all of it…”

“…”

“That hardship, those deaths,”

With each painful word that flowed from her lips, her regret and memories were heavily present.

“My, this cursed fate…”

A chill swept through.

“What was it all for?”

“…Silvia.”

I closed my eyes slowly and said,

“…At least the Demon Lord is dead… so things must have improved somewhat.”

“…Ha, monsters that haven’t calmed down and have lost control”

“Are tearing people apart like mad. Yes, that’s right.”

“…Ah, ugh… ack,”

She groaned, clutching her head like someone experiencing a painful headache.

A chill that felt like it would cut through my skin swept over me for the first time in a while.

But I sat upright, calmly looking at the top of her head and her flowing hair.

Perhaps because my body had improved, or maybe because I had already experienced it several times and grown accustomed to it.

Even this savage fear of death was bearable if I gritted my teeth.

“The Count’s family that looked after our family also suffered greatly because they had invested a lot. As a result, our family suffered too. Perhaps… something might have happened to His Majesty as well. Because the political situation was not normal.”

“…”

I deliberately hid my family name and the Count’s family name as I spoke to her.

Even without revealing my identity, she was already in great shock.

I know what she sacrificed to defeat the Demon Lord.

I know what she lost.

I know all too well what price this unparalleled hero is paying.

I slightly regret having told her even now.

That’s why I couldn’t reveal the truth about myself to her.

But I could no longer hide the state of the outside world.

Perhaps, unconsciously, I still harbored resentment that the expedition’s failure had taken the lives of my sister, parents, and younger sister.

Though I knew it was a harsh story for her, I clearly and emphatically explained that the kingdom was crumbling.

By the time I finished my story, she was sitting with her head down, gripping the fork on the still-uncleared table so tightly that her hand was trembling.

We sat like that in silence for a long time.

Looking at her with her head bowed in silence, I deeply regretted my actions.

This cabin in the forest where no one comes, as if isolated from the world.

I felt anew how great my sadness was, which had been gradually forgotten in these peaceful days.

I hadn’t overcome my grief through the many events.

I had just put a lid on those emotions to survive.

So, had I ungratefully taken out my frustrations on her?

“I’m sorry.”

“…No. Thank you for telling me.”

I fell silent again.

I couldn’t express gratitude, apologize, comfort, or do anything.

She, too, couldn’t say anything more to me.

The two people sitting at this table.

They had a strange commonality.

They were each other’s housemates, sharing the same curse.

And they were both miserable failures who had lost everything without being able to protect what they should have protected.

A little later, she slowly rose from the table and silently returned to her room.

Only after I heard the sound of her closing the door did I slowly clear the table.

“…”

Her fork was completely crumpled, rolled up like a ball.

.