episode_0153

“Gasp!”

My mind snapped awake.

Was I hit on the back of the head with a club? My skull felt numb and painful, as if it would shatter.

“…Ugh!”

What followed was a dizzying vision, so much so that I couldn’t steady myself.

My head and stomach were in disarray, and I couldn’t think straight. It was hard to understand what I had been doing just now.

All I could see was the ‘ruby necklace’ clutched in my hand.

And beyond it, the swaying, falling background.

Thud!

My head felt so heavy, yet absurdly, my body fell as lightly as a feather.

Only after my temple hit the cold ground did my mind return with a buzzing sound, like a bell ringing from a bell tower.

Soon after, a sharp sound rang piercingly in my ears.

“Ritsu Oppa!”

“…!”

It was Marie’s voice.

Right.

This is my home. And I… had come to look for food, hadn’t I?

And I had found Tia’s illusion and followed it, eventually discovering this ruby necklace.

Thanks to Marie’s shout, my sense of reality was quickly returning.

“Are you really okay?”

“Haa- haa-.”

I exhaled deeply, panting, and wiped my face.

My entire body was drenched in sweat. It felt like I had stood in a torrential downpour, accepting it like a waterfall.

It wasn’t because of the heat.

This was a ‘reaction’ of sorts, created by all the emotions I had felt while seeing those memories.

A metallic nausea rising from deep inside. An unpleasant feeling born from endless despair.

And a sense of dread, praying that my thoughts were wrong.

“…No.”

The last memory.

At the very end, Tia apologized to me and then set the ruby necklace down.

What could that have meant?

The ruby necklace.

The proof of love I had given.

The symbol of the promise we had made.

Tia, who had never taken it off her body for a single moment since I personally placed it around her neck…

Why did she personally set the ruby necklace down on the ground?

And why… did she leave my house, weeping as if she were saying goodbye forever?

“It can’t be.”

It has to be ‘not’.

Please.

As soon as my thoughts reached that point, my hands clenched tightly.

With a dry crunch!

Had I ever exerted this much force since waking up again?

Veins bulged tautly on the fingers pressing against the ground. Using these swollen, emaciated, truly wretched hands, I pushed my body up.

My legs trembled so much that I had to lean against the wall and rest for a moment.

“Tell me if you’re hurting…!”

Marie cried out, blocking my path.

For her, it might have been the best way to stop me. But, I’m sorry, I could easily push her away with a single wave of my arm.

“Ritsu Oppa!”

Marie, who had been pushed aside, grabbed my arm again. As I walked on, ignoring her, the girl was dragged along, still holding on.

If she wanted to stop me, she could have pulled my scarf. But the kind-hearted child couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Thump!

Eventually, as her strength gave out, something light that had been tightly clutching my arm fell away.

Marie slumped to the ground and began to weep loudly.

“…”

However, her crying soon faded from earshot.

The moment I stepped out of the house and into the yard.

Suddenly, the desolate, charred village sprang to life, and familiar faces began to appear.

Elders gathered closely, chatting. Grandmother Madrina walked by, her back bent. A boy resembling Uncle Marvin ran energetically, followed by two girls who looked like my aunt.

I didn’t know when this was. Seeing even elders I didn’t remember, it felt like a distant past.

So I had clearly arrived in ‘Breezedon’ of the past.

It was the past, yet the warm and familiar atmosphere I remembered was still there.

What was happening in the village? Everyone looked happy.

The children giggled and ran as if a grand feast were being held, and even the slow-footed elders walked slowly, chuckling heartily.

I followed them.

As expected, a big feast was being held in the center of the village.

A large bonfire was lit, a big pig roasted over it, and everyone was chatting excitedly.

Perhaps there were many people in those days, as the kitchen was bustling with women, and the gathered people chattered so enthusiastically that I was struck by how ‘noisy’ it was.

Pushing my way through them, I heard voices brimming with anticipation.

“So, what do you think the baby will be like?”

“I’ll bet on a chili pepper! [a playful Korean idiom for betting on a boy]”

“Haha! It’d be quite a sight if that tomboy Rina had a son!”

“The Village Elder-nim would try to eat him too.”

“Puhahaha!”

I eavesdropped on their conversation, but I couldn’t figure out why such a grand feast was being held.

It simply seemed like a happy, long-awaited event had finally come to pass.

This boisterous atmosphere was somewhat similar to… the celebratory mood when the Marvin couple had just had their baby.

And before long, I learned the reason.

Because a group of people were coming up from the bottom of the village hill, cheering loudly.

“It’s here—!”

At that sound, the people sitting around the bonfire sprang to their feet.

“What! So, is it a boy? [literally, a chili pepper]”

“It’s a girl!”

“Whoa—!”

Even though they lost their bets, the elders smiled brightly without any sign of disappointment.

To that extent, a new life being born in this village was an enormous blessing.

“Let’s go see!”

People rushed down the hill, one after another.

The place they headed for was the ‘Big House’.

…It was the Anshier couple’s house.

It was the first time I had seen that house in its complete form.

As befits a newly built house, its roof and pillars were so stiff and sturdy they appeared pristine white. The fence was set with loose gaps, just enough to mark the boundary, allowing a clear view of the garden and the interior.

In its center stood a wooden door, not a shabby one like now, but a beautiful and mystical-looking door of pristine white.

The Anshier couple’s house, open to everyone, looked truly beautiful.

Even more so than what Tia and Ruyef had restored.

No. It was so beautiful and perfect that it was as if their restoration hadn’t even come close to mimicking it.

Only then did I understand why this house was called the ‘Big House’ and why the elders looked at it with wistful eyes.

Because they had such a magnificent house in their memories.

People gathered in front of the Big House, urging the women.

“Let’s see her quickly. We have to see how pretty she is!”

“Rina’s daughter, you say. Haha! She must be a real beauty, just like her mother!”

“Oh, come on, all newborns look the same. Why are you saying such things already?”

As the women bustled about, a man emerged from the house.

Then the older men chuckled and shouted.

“Albert! You’re a father now!”

“Haha. That’s right.”

Albert.

He was a man with the exact same crimson hair color as Tia’s.

He felt out of place.

He possessed such a dignified yet elegant gaze that the word ‘handsome’ felt inadequate.

At a glance, he didn’t seem like someone from a mountain village… there was an undeniable air of noble status about him.

Yet, his rugged and strong jawline and body, imbued with the spirit of an adventurer and a captain… showed what kind of life he had lived until now.

Is that Tia’s father?

Although his appearance was different, Albert was already a person of Breezedon.

He received the elders’ congratulations and shared a commemorative drink for becoming a father.

“Alright, alright, everything’s ready.”

At that bustling moment, a woman emerged from inside the house.

I recognized her immediately.

It was Aunt Sherry when she was young.

“Look at our cute baby, born to Rina!”

“Ooh—!”

Aunt Sherry showed the small baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth to everyone.

Though mostly covered and barely visible, the newborn baby, peeking its face out from between the folds of the cloth, was…

“My goodness.”

It was enough to elicit such an astonished exclamation.

I had always thought newborns were wrinkled, plump-cheeked, and unattractive.

But I realized they could also look this beautiful.

As if crafted from the moon, its skin was fair, soft, and round.

“Truly beautiful, just like Rina.”

“My wife put in effort, but I also put in some effort. Is there no mention of me?”

“Ah, and she has beautiful hair, just like you, Albert!”

“Hahahaha!”

It was then.

The laughter suddenly cut off, and people hurriedly moved aside.

Turning to look, an old man stood alone.

A long-haired man leaning on a staff and draped in a black robe.

My heart pounded.

It was the Village Elder-nim… almost exactly as I remembered him.

The Village Elder-nim slowly approached Aunt Sherry and asked.

“…What is this child’s name?”

“Ah. Rina said…”

Auntie smiled and replied.

“She said they’ll call her ‘Tia’.”

“Tia.”

The Village Elder-nim opened his dark eyes and quietly looked down at the child.

“…It’s a good name.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Is that your opinion, Albert?”

Suddenly, the Village Elder-nim’s question was directed at Tia’s father.

As if he were suddenly being interrogated, Albert put on a playful expression.

“No, Village Elder-nim. Rina had this name in mind since she was pregnant.”

“…”

“Haha. Why the long face? I do have some naming skills, you know…”

“It’s too grand a name for a child of this village.”

“…Pardon?”

As the joyful atmosphere froze solid with just one question from the Village Elder-nim, Aunt Sherry quickly let out a light laugh and said.

“Oh dear, Village Elder-nim. You shouldn’t be so hard on Albert. If you keep doing that, Rina might secretly break another chair leg of yours!”

“By the way, Village Elder-nim, aren’t you a ‘father’ now too? Haha! I’ll have many questions for you.”

“Oh! You were hiding here!”

Aunt Sherry looked down in surprise beneath the Village Elder-nim’s long robe.

There, a baby who had just started walking was tightly clutching the hem of the robe with innocent eyes.

Suddenly becoming the center of attention, it shrank back and whimpered, trying to hide behind the Village Elder-nim’s leg.

But Aunt Sherry didn’t miss a beat and gently knelt before the Village Elder-nim. Then she showed him the baby she was holding.

“Ritsu. Look here. This is your sibling.”

Peeking his head out from above the robe, he stared intently at Tia.

The newborn, still unable to open its eyes, merely wiggled.

Auntie said.

“She’s going to be your best friend. You two should be close from now on.”

“Ahaha! Come to think of it, is ‘best friend’ what they call it here?”

Albert also grinned and crouched down in front of me, roughly stroking my still-short hair.

“Ritsu. Grow up strong and protect our Tia well. Understand?”

“…”

Whether understanding the meaning of those words or not. The ‘me’ who had been staring intently, nodded.

“Yes!”

“Hahahaha!”

The people laughed loudly.

Even my father, who had never once shown a smiling face… offered a gentle, faint smile.

Whoosh—.

The incomparably happy past faintly fades away.

Tia, as a newborn, and I, as a two-year-old, also gradually scatter.

The distance from when my younger self, holding onto the hem of my father’s robe, first saw Tia wrapped in her swaddling cloth.

Right there.

Tia was standing with her back to me, her body concealed within a thick coat.

That girl I failed to protect…

She slowly ascended the stairs toward the Big House.

And from that house, which had been so beautiful and elegant, not the handsome Albert…

But a pig-like man, completely out of place, burst out.

“Ti, Tia…!”