episode_0072

Episode.72 Triche (2)

“What are you?”

“Is that all you think about my answer?”

As she looked at me, I saw my reflection and the light of the crackling campfire reflected in her eyes.

“… I’m not a fool… I won’t go out of my way to become your enemy.”

“You’re more cautious than you look.”

Triche had a sneer on her lips.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Hmph… That’s okay, even though I’m like this, I have multiple jobs… Among them, I’ve also been in charge of treating people.”

“Is that a doctor?”

“… In some ways, you can think of him as a doctor.”

Triche paused for a moment.

She thought for a while, looked at the end of the campfire, and then opened her mouth again.

“I want to hear your thoughts.”

“What is it?”

“Treatment… does it have to save a person to be called a complete treatment?”

“… Isn’t it true that treatment is essentially about curing a disease or wound?”

I gave the very ordinary definition of therapy that was in my head.

“… As expected…”

Then, as if it was an expected reaction, Triche muttered to herself in a voice that could not be heard by those around her.

The surroundings were quiet so I could hear it.

“Then what treatment do you think?”

“Treatment is… curing the disease of a sick person and making them comfortable.”

“It’s the same as what I said, right?”

“It’s different. Listen until the end.”

Triche spoke firmly.

“If… it is a situation where a person suffering from any disease cannot be treated, or if it is an incurable disease that cannot be treated even with the best medical techniques currently available. What are you going to do?”

“… If you try everything you can but it doesn’t work…”

“”Even if there is no hope, shouldn’t we keep trying to get better?””

Triche and I said the same thing.

Does Triche have the ability to read my thoughts?

“… How about-”

“How did you do it? It’s simple… I have a habit of observing people, so I knew you would definitely say this. Just like you before… I just stabbed it once. Timid Bok-Ji.”

I’m afraid that if we keep stabbing each other like this, we’ll end up stabbing each other with blades in a different sense.

“… Well, anyway. So, there is no difference at all from my position, right?”

“That’s it until here… The difference between you and me is that you just make the patient better, and I make the patient comfortable and free from the disease.”

Triche crossed her legs.

Then, he rested his chin on his crossed legs.

“My treatment… begins with taking life.”

“Well, is that… like euthanasia?”

“You can say that in the sense that it provides rest…”

“… I’m starting to get a little scared of you. ”

“… Is that so? But if I think about it again, maybe death is the one that provides true cure.”

“What do you want to say?”

As the atmosphere became increasingly strange, I asked her about her purpose.

“I just tried it. As dawn approaches, I become emotional without realizing it.”

At the end of this quiet conversation, there was a pleasant silence.

The harmonious silence of natural and artificial bonfires at dawn.

We can’t keep each other away from the bonfire.

It is still in the chill of sunset, in the time between the sun sets and the sunrise.

We share the same campfire, even its crackling sound, as if in the midst of a sleeping world.

The peace that came from that moment gradually made me forget what I had always heard from Chaewon: that you shouldn’t relax your guard at the gate.

To put it simply, it means that I relaxed.

This pleasant silence calmed my complicated mind.

Perhaps Trice feels the same way.

I never imagined that I could gain energy from staying up all night, which is an act that shortens my lifespan.

The silence that can only be felt in nature flowed through the air.

“… Over there.”

In the midst of that flow, Triche broke my pleasant silence and asked me.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to say, but is it okay if it’s my turn now?”

“It’s your turn?”

“The act of asking questions. Isn’t it now my turn to ask you a question? Don’t you think it’s too unfair if I’m the only one answering the questions?”

“Hwa, definitely… ask me anything, I can answer anything as long as it’s not embarrassing.”

“Really?… Still, whatever you say… It’s better not to do it carelessly.”

“So you said, as long as it doesn’t contain difficult content…”

She clung to me a little longer.

They weren’t completely close, and if they were originally about 50cm apart, they were now about 20cm apart.

Triche’s light purple hair kept stealing my attention.

It’s like something out of a fantastic fantasy.

No, it may actually be a fantasy world inside the gate.

The beauty sparkling with its light purple color reflected the dawn light and gave a dreamlike feeling as if the starlight was dancing.

Even though her skin was only illuminated by the crude light of a bonfire, her skin was clear and transparent, and combined with her unique purple hair, it could be said that she was as pretty as a commercial doll.

With a unique feel and sophisticated hair style, you will surely capture the attention of onlookers if you go to the market during lunch time when it is crowded with people.

A maid uniform that gives a slightly broken feeling.

I could tell that the maid uniform that was tailored to her body fit her well.

Uniforms with decorations such as frills, lace, and ribbons are even more unique due to the purple color.

Is it normal for men in this world to wear butler clothes and women wear maid clothes, or is it just that Violet’s mansion is strange?

I didn’t know about that part yet.

“… When I was first introduced to you by others, you were presented as a stranger coming to the mansion or a guest from outside…”

“Ah… It was definitely Aluns. You said that when you first saw me. Why is that?”

“Humans called strangers, humans but they don’t know the human country ‘Ring Guard’, there are a couple of strange things, their clothes are unusual, their appearance is also suspicious, and finally, a guest from outside.”

Triche lifted her skirt.

For a moment, I almost lost my senses when I saw her bare skin, but I quickly came to my senses.

Because, the two daggers on her garter belt.

No, now one bag.

The other dagger was still on the garter belt, and the other dagger was in Triche’s hand.

The dagger was specialized for stabbing rather than cutting.

Of course, Bella could cut, but it seemed like all the efficiency was focused on stabbing.

Triche was pointing a dagger specialized for stabbing at me.

“… What exactly are you?”

“… You don’t have to answer difficult questions, right?”

Triche heard those words and pushed the blade further towards me.

“Answer.”

“Isn’t the story a little different?”

“Are you sane? Even when such a threat comes, you don’t open your mouth.”

She hesitated for a moment at my strong appearance and retrieved the dagger.

I roll up my skirt and put the dagger back in my garter belt.

“… Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“… I can’t help it. I thought the most unlikely place to hide a weapon was under the skirt…”

Triche tried to avoid my gaze and kept her distance again.

“Actually, it’s not particularly difficult… But before I say anything, I want to hear why you’re curious about this.”

“Do you have to have a reason for what you are curious about? I’m just curious. Just.”

“That’s right, I don’t really have anything to hide… I’m not from this world.”

“… Don’t lie. I know you don’t want to tell the truth, but… it’s better not to say anything. Why do you even want to lie?”

Triche didn’t seem to believe me.

It’s not a lie.

“It’s true, how can I make you believe me?”

“Is there any way for me to believe that you are from another world… something like that? Lying that you’re from another world… It’s a better method than you think, so I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It’s frustrating. Even if I’m not really from here. You said it. Proof that he is a human but doesn’t know the human country or something…etc.”

“That’s…”

“Do you think it’s acting? driving me crazy. You must have noticed that I lack common sense here, right?”

“Oh, maybe that’s just because you’re stupid?”

“I’ll go around.”

I thought hard about finding a way to prove it to Triche.

We thought for a while as we stood watch.

It was obvious that Triche was thinking about the same thing as me.

Am I really from another world?

How to prove that?

**********

The way to prove it is… to show what exists in the world I was in and does not exist in this world.

It took a long time to find this method.

Morning has already arrived.

Maybe it’s because I stayed up all night, but my head doesn’t work as fast.

“What I am wearing-”

“It could be that it was made to be special on purpose, right?”

“There is no way to prove it. I’ll just pretend you lied.”

“Liar.”

The morning sun rose and Ilya came out of the tent made of woven tents, holding a parasol and rubbing her eyes.

“Ugh… Isn’t it too cold to camp at night… How were you guys… Huh?”

The reason why Illya complains of being cold is because Chaewon hugged Illya like a bamboo wife and slept with her.

Before asking such occult questions as to why ghosts sleep or not, Illya’s reaction was a little strange.

“Well, you guys… didn’t you sleep at night? Aren’t the dark circles huge?”

“Uh, I was on watch-”

“What did you do that night without sleeping? Seriously… it’s not like they had sex at all?! You’re going to marry me! It’s the wind! Isn’t the wind a no-no? Making a baby outdoors like this!”

This wolf doesn’t even pretend to listen to me.

Illya woke up in the morning and made a huge misunderstanding.

We resolved this matter and set off on our trip again.