episode_0109

As Ruyef had warned, I didn’t ask anything that day.

Funnily enough, even after sleeping for three months, I was still sleepy. As soon as I lay down, I lost consciousness.

I couldn’t properly remember my dream. However, when I woke up, the nostalgic feeling of having seen Tia remained.

There was no breakfast. As soon as Ruyef woke up, he familiarly prepared to leave, and Marie also put on her hood and draped a cloak over her shoulders.

I also received a set of worn-out clothes. They said it was clothing brought from the lower village in preparation for when I might wake up. I put on the ill-fitting, clumsy clothes and worn-out boots and went outside.

The scenery hadn’t changed much. And all the trees in the forest looked familiar… This truly seemed to be a hidden place in Dragonez.

“Follow me.”

Ruyef led the way, followed by Marie, and finally me. We walked through the pathless forest.

None of us spoke. Thanks to that, I could hear every sound in the forest.

I already knew Ruyef was a man of few words. Marie was quite talkative, but today she walked silently with her head bowed.

“…”

Watching the two blond-haired figures walking ahead, I suddenly realized something. I had never taken a walk with this brother and sister.

Of course, I had never walked side-by-side with Ruyef at such a close distance. Marie was originally so weak that I couldn’t even imagine walking outside the house with her.

However, there were rare occasions, few enough to count on one hand, when the four of us — me, Tia, Ruyef, and Marie — had gone to visit the lower village together. Even then, Ruyef and I didn’t get along well.

Perhaps we instinctively realized from a young age that our personalities made it difficult for us to become close. Marie was also too young then, just babbling.

The one who livened up such an awkward atmosphere was… Tia.

Tia always chattered happily, leading us here and there. She dealt with these quiet and boring boys. And she even carried the whimpering Marie on her back, singing lullabies.

We couldn’t imagine ourselves without Tia. Perhaps we wouldn’t have even spoken properly, and it would have been a miracle if we hadn’t suddenly grabbed each other by the collar and fought. To that extent… Tia was an indispensable presence.

Perhaps that’s why, this very moment, without Tia, felt so empty and awkward. It felt as if she might appear right beside me now, smiling brightly and asking, ‘Shall I tell you an interesting story?’ Then we would have looked at each other, noticed, and then listened, saying, ‘Let’s hear it.’

But all I heard was the sound of stepping on newly grown grass and the chirping of birds. And the innocent cries of insects settled in the dew. The hollow sounds of nature pierced my heart.

“Ruyef.”

Ruyef, who had been walking ahead, looked back. Marie also opened her round eyes and looked at me.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

I didn’t even know why I had suddenly said that. I just felt that if I didn’t say it now, I might never be able to. Because this situation, which had ultimately turned out this way… …I had realized it was all because of me.

That was the best apology I could give Ruyef.

Ruyef, who had been staring at me, turned his head forward again. “…Alright.” Leaving only those words.

We walked on again. As if he had forgiven everything with that recent apology. Or as if he had never expected my apology in the first place. Things just continued on as if nothing had happened.

Increasingly familiar paths appeared. When I lifted my head, I saw a familiar mark. I reached out and traced it. Although quite some time had passed and it had healed, the large sword mark carved into the tree trunk was unmistakably a sign left by Tia.

I looked around. It was the very place where I had ventured deep into the forest with Tia. I saw a rock. I remember. I sat there and asked Tia to manage the apothecary if I became the village chief. And Tia had chuckled, replying that ‘our baby’ would manage the apothecary.

[Hey, what, what, what! What…] [Hehe. Ahahah!]

In fact, I could see it. The illusion of memory shimmered above the rock. There was the illusion of me, flustered, and Tia, holding her stomach and laughing.

“…”

I turned my gaze away. And I passed by that rock where our images overlapped.

Rustle.

Following the path that was now beginning to appear, we went further down. A wide hill opened up clearly below.

I mulled over the name of that village. The place where the wind lingers. Breezedon. My hometown.

Small cabins were sparsely placed on a tranquil hill. Beneath a vividly clear blue sky. A light mist lay over the terraced fields, carved like stairs. A village surrounded by sheer cliffs.

That’s the kind of village I should have seen. But the sight unfolding before me now… was completely different.

“Huh…?”

It was definitely Breezedon. If I retraced my memories, the ridge of the hill and the sharpness of the cliffs perfectly matched. But Aunt Sherry’s house, which had been on the highest point of the hill, was gone. Even the stone walls where I sometimes sat and rested were all crumbled, their forms unrecognizable. What was even more horrific was… the fields, which had turned entirely black.

Unable to even guess what had happened, I could only stare down blankly. …Could I possibly be dreaming?

Even that doubt was shattered by Ruyef’s silent voice. “Let’s go.”

I followed him down. As we drew closer, the terrible devastation became even clearer. In the end, I couldn’t hold back and had to ask Ruyef.

“What on earth happened…?”

“A big fire broke out in the village.”

Houses all charred and collapsed. I don’t know where the fire started, but perhaps the flames rode the wind, as there was nothing left on the upper part of the hill.

“It was a miracle that a blizzard raged through just in time. Otherwise, all of Dragonez would have burned down.”

“…”

In the desolate scene, I realized another fact. There was… no one in the village. As if people had suddenly left, abandoning only the land and houses. The only people standing in Breezedon were Ruyef, myself, and Marie. Just the three of us.

Clatter.

Ruyef walked over the crumbled ash piles. Then he squatted down and picked something out of the debris. He blew on it to brush off the ash, revealing a piece of burned clothing. It was women’s clothing. And there was only one person who wore that characteristic iris color.

Marie asked. “Is that Aunt Olivia’s clothes?”

“Yes.”

Ruyef placed the clothes back on the ash pile.

“…What happened to everyone?”

“Everyone went to different places. I don’t know where they went.”

“They abandoned this place?”

That Breezedon was abandoned. I couldn’t believe it, so I looked around the village again.

…It was a dead village. It was somewhat burned and charred, but still, my hometown hadn’t changed in any other way. With no people in sight, it suddenly felt desolate.

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course. So much has happened during that time.”

Ruyef looked down at the village below with an empty voice. “I don’t know exactly what happened either. I just… heard that the village was out of its mind after you disappeared. Amidst that, a fire broke out for an unknown reason. And then for some other reason, a fight started, and people scattered.”

“That can’t be…”

“It’s all information I’ve heard second-hand, so I don’t know if it’s true. I’m just making assumptions.”

“…”

I’m confused. There was no news more shocking than hearing that my hometown had vanished in an instant. It wasn’t just me. Ruyef and Marie’s faces were also stiff. The two of them must have known for a long time, but conveying such facts to me still didn’t seem easy for them.

The next place we moved to was the storage building. To be precise… it was ‘where the storage building had been’. Ruyef spoke in front of the terrible pile of debris.

“It seems the fire started here.”

“From the storage building?”

“The fire that started here spread to my house, and then to the fields.”

Following his finger, I could see the path. From the fields back up to the hill. Finally, there was Aunt Sherry’s house.

“…”

Managing the storage building was Tia’s role. I don’t know if she continued to manage the storage building after I collapsed. But the fact that the fire started here made me think it might not be unrelated to Tia.

I went into the debris. When I last saw it, many items were neatly organized, but now everything had burned down, and nothing remained.

“Is Tia’s banishment… related to the fire?”

“I don’t know that. Whether it was before or after. I haven’t even been able to pinpoint the date Tia was banished yet.”

He didn’t know much either. Probably because he’d been living hidden in the mountains, only occasionally hearing news.

Ruyef moved to another spot and said. “I’ll go check the lower part. You stay here with Marie.”

I rummaged through the ash pile with my foot. There were no clues.

“…”

I don’t know. I couldn’t understand anything about what had happened while I was gone. What happened to Tia?

I knew through memory-reading that the villagers disliked Tia… But that’s not a reason to be banished, is it?

It was the moment I shifted my foot to leave the storage debris. Thump.

Something snagged on my toe. Looking closely, there was an object unusually shining in the ash pile. …And it was a faded gold color. I quickly bent down and picked it up. It was a gold coin.

As soon as I held it between my fingers and stroked it, I realized. This was… ‘Tia’s gold coin’, which I had cherished so dearly.

Woosh!

“Ugh!” My head aches.

“Ritsu Oppa?”

Marie immediately ran over and grabbed my arm. I can hear it. A sharp voice is heard.

[…No!]

I can see it. Red hair looking up at a massive blaze. Is that… Tia?

“Oppa!”

“Gasp…! Ugh!”

Marie’s cry jolted me awake.

“Are you hurting somewhere?”

“Ah, no. …I think I’m just tired.”

Could what I just saw be an illusion of memory? It seemed so. Because ominous memories were pouring out from the gold coin clutched in my palm. The answer was here. Everything that had happened in Breezedon during that time was contained within it.

If so…

“Marie.”

“Yes?”

“Just a moment… let me rest for a moment.”

With Marie’s faint support, I moved to a secluded spot. Leaning against a fence that hadn’t yet collapsed, I tightly gripped the gold coin. At the same time, memories began to pour out uncontrollably.

***

Woosh!

Days and nights passed dozens of times. I briefly closed my eyes due to dizziness, then opened them to see.

“Oh my god…” “How could this be…”

One evening in Breezedon. Cries of lamentation were heard along with gasps. The villagers were gathered in a circle, looking at something on the ground. I stood up from the fence and approached the spot. Then I squeezed between people’s shoulders and looked down.

“…”

It was… ‘me’, covered in blood.