Ch.443The Targeted NPC. (7)

If someone were watching the current situation from the side, I’m certain I’d be making the front page of the 9 o’clock news tonight.

-CRACK…!! THUD!!

“…That really hurts, stop it.”

“Bullshit.”

-SMACK!!!

“Kuhk…!!”

This isn’t a situation where my attacks, which hadn’t worked until now, are suddenly effective against him. From the beginning, I was at least trying to restrain my fists that were about to lash out from irritation and some inexplicable anger that had escaped my rational control. Moreover, considering that my opponent appeared to be a child around Ira’s age, I hadn’t put any real killing intent into my strikes. At least not until he mentioned targeting our group.

I lift his chin with an uppercut, then deliver a straight punch to the face of the kid who’s now floating at just the right height in front of me. Before he can fly away, I grab his hair with that same fist, drive my knee into his stomach, then slam my elbow down on the crown of his head as his waist buckles, smashing his face into the ground. I spin in place and plant my heel into the back of his head.

The attack lands precisely and mercilessly—enough to guarantee critical damage even against a boss-level opponent. However.

“…Has this satisfied your anger?”

“How could it, you little shit.”

He still shows no intention of hostility toward me. No, far from being hostile, he maintains the same eyes-closed state as when we first met. With his face planted on the ground, he turns only his head to look at me, then sighs deeply as if he were an adult indulging a child’s tantrum. I stomp on his face with enough force to crush it.

“Stop it. Twisted as you may be, you’re still human. It’s impossible for you to kill me with your body.”

“Are you kidding me? What, are you trying to say you’re immortal?”

“If my head were severed or my heart ripped out, I too would die. However, this level of attack is insufficient. No, no matter how strong you become, it would be impossible for you specifically to kill me.”

“Wow, this is insane. There’s a limit to how much you can look down on someone. You think I can’t find a way to kill a bastard who threatens to kill my companions?”

“It’s different. For others, perhaps, but for you specifically, it’s impossible.”

“What?”

As he says this, he grabs my shin that’s stomping on his face and lightly pushes it away. But that strength is no joke. The momentum nearly makes me stumble—I would have been sent flying into the wall if I hadn’t responded seriously. As I stagger, he dusts off his dirt-covered clothes, sits down, and begins to rub his brow as if contemplating how to make me understand.

“This is difficult. I didn’t expect you to go this wild without even listening.”

“Are you crazy? Who would stay calm when someone threatens to kill their family?”

“Family… family, is it…”

This is driving me crazy. I want to kill him and somehow get back to the others, but I can’t picture him actually dying. Lately, I keep running into these bastards who are immune to my fists. Is this normal? It’s seriously frustrating.

Watching him seemingly lost in thought after hearing my words, I clench my fist again and tense my legs. Actually, my ankle where he grabbed me was hurting a bit, but after waiting a moment, it’s just a dull throb. Anyway, I don’t have time, so I need to beat this bastard ag—

-Tap.

“Huh?!”

“I understand now. I know why you keep reaching for me despite knowing you can’t win, and how to calm you down. You said you don’t have time, so I’ll stop talking. Instead, ‘see for yourself.'”

He kicked off the ground. The moment I registered this, his fingers blocked my vision, and beyond them, I thought I saw reptilian golden eyes flashing as they met mine.

“What are you doing? Why are you sleeping here? Did you finish the chores the mister asked you to do?”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me! How can you be lying around here without doing what the mister asked?! Get up quickly! The sun’s going to set at this rate!!”

“What, um…?”

A sharp voice, hair red as the sun, purple eyes sparkling like the Milky Way. And a smaller frame than the one I know. No, it’s her appearance from ‘when she was younger.’

I was completely speechless at the scene unfolding before me, but she grabbed my arm firmly and pulled me up…? Wait, my arm?

“Ah! Get up quickly!! You’re heavy!!”

“I-Ira? Why is my body so small? Where is this… and who’s ‘mister’? No, more importantly, since when did you start speaking informally to your big bro—”

“…Sigh. Are you sleep-talking? And who’s your ‘big bro’? Jack doesn’t even know his own age!”

“Uh, huh? Oh.”

Right, I don’t know my age. Of course, because ‘I was abandoned on a mountain by my parents.’ Questioning the strange words that just came out of my mouth, I slowly got up. Yes, feeling the warmth of Ira’s hand—’the girl who was abandoned just like me and then taken in.’

“Are you awake now? We need to go collect firewood quickly. The mister was worried because you were taking so long, so he sent me to find you.”

“Ah, yes. Sorry, I was sleepy after lunch and just meant to close my eyes for a moment, but I dozed off.”

“Geez, let’s hurry!”

And so, I headed toward the foothills of Mount Poria—the mountain where I’ve lived with the mister who picked me up and with her.

*

“…So, I had this strange dream that Ira was my little sister.”

“Hmm. I see. Well, I’m glad nothing happened.”

“It’s not fine! Because Jack was being lazy, we couldn’t do any of today’s laundry!”

Returning to the cabin only as the sun was setting, I told the mountain keeper who had taken us in and raised us, Mister Setan, the exact truth during dinner.

I was prepared to be scolded, but he smiled kindly, saying it was fortunate that I had returned safely. He gently patted Ira’s head, who was slightly smaller than me, and consoled her by saying we could do the laundry together tomorrow. I promised to do so, which helped calm her down.

“Well, dinner’s over, so wash up and go to bed. I’ll go patrol the mountain.”

“Yes~”

As usual, after seeing off the mister heading into the pitch-black mountain after sunset, we cleaned up the dishes and went to our room together. There was one small wooden bed where Ira and I slept together. Since this small cabin had only two rooms, we always fell asleep together in that bed.

“Jack, did you want me to be your little sister?”

“Huh? No, I’ve never thought about that.”

“Pfft! Then why did you have such a dream?”

“…I don’t know. It just happened while I was napping.”

With her shoulder pressed against mine as if sharing warmth on the small bed, Ira’s purple eyes sparkled like the Milky Way in the night sky. Hearing my answer, she smiled broadly enough to show her dimples and spoke.

“Hehe. So Jack wanted us to be real family~?”

“Huh? We are family.”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant you wished we were real family, connected by blood.”

“What does that have to do with my dream?”

“…Sigh, really. Jack, you’re strong and healthy, but your brain just doesn’t work. If we were really family, I’d be the big sister and you’d be the little brother.”

“What? No, I’m much bigger than Ira, so I should be the big bro—”

“Silly, boys naturally grow bigger than girls. And it’s not about size. It’s about thinking.”

“…I guess so. Well, Ira is smarter than me.”

“That’s right.”

Saying that, Ira patted my head, continued talking a bit more, then blinked sleepily. Soon, she gently rested her head on my shoulder, closed her eyes, and began to breathe softly.

Am I Ira’s little brother…?

“…No, Ira is too cute, so she still seems more like a little sister than a big sister.”

The muttered words I thought she wouldn’t hear faded into the deepening darkness of the mountain.

*

“…What is this?”

“This is the reason why I intend to kill your companions.”

The moment I felt that the small body I was inhabiting was thinking and talking on its own, “I” floated up like a ghost and found myself staring blankly at the scene. Beside me, the reptile with golden eyes—the dragon in the form of a boy who had made eye contact with me earlier—sat in midair and answered nonchalantly, which irritated me again. This wasn’t about pressure or species or whatever; I just found his words infuriating.

“Getting angry is pointless. This is within your soul’s memory. Even if you attack and erase me here, the me outside won’t feel any impact.”

“Goddammit. You say it’s my memory, but you can read my thoughts too?”

“It’s a draconic power I can use. When I draw out someone’s memories and we view their origin together, I become attuned to their thoughts and can read them.”

“That’s insane. You expect me to believe that?”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. I already know you think the situation unfolding before your eyes is an illusion I created. But after seeing what’s about to unfold, even you won’t be able to deny it.”

Looking at the sleeping me and Ira—no, kids who resemble us—his behavior of ignoring my reactions is incredibly annoying, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do here right now. I let him approach me too easily and fell victim to his strange technique. In this space he controls, I don’t think I can win.

Just as I was worrying about Salt Lawn outside while watching the sleeping children, the mountain dragon spoke.

“I’d like to show you everything as time passes, but that would defeat the purpose of using this ability. I’ll show you only the times strongly imprinted on your soul.”

“Sure, whatever you say.”

After I said this sarcastically, he ignored my mocking response and waved his arm. The time of young me, Ira, and father living together began to pass in an instant. And then.

“Exactly three years from before. This is the first moment strongly imprinted in your soul.”

The time he stopped at was when father was dying of illness.