232 – Black Pawprints (7)
Trisha looked at my reaction and asked with a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong? Did I say something strange?”
“You’re not just saying that, right?”
“No, I’m serious. I’ve always wanted to be a mom. Ever since I was little!”
Unfortunately, that will be difficult to achieve.
If she had met a loving partner and become a mother early on, she wouldn’t have ended up in Eternia, a prison-like labyrinth, and she wouldn’t have had the terrifying demonic mana that could distort space, nor the heavy label of being the most important existence in Eternia.
Trisha’s future might not have a ‘happily ever after’ ending like the last page of a fairy tale.
Suddenly, a chorus of girls’ voices, as cheerful as chirping birds, could be heard somewhere nearby.
“Oh, it’s cold!”
“Come here! It’s really clear here!”
“Wow!”
They were closer than we thought.
“Hey, Damian, over there!”
Trisha pointed, and there, five girls were splashing and playing in the water, barefoot. They looked so carefree and happy that even I felt my mood lifting.
They were far away, so they looked tiny, about the size of my finger joints, but the problem was that they were playing in a spot where they could see us.
What’s more, some of them had very familiar silhouettes. Hadn’t I seen them before?
Among them was a girl with unforgettable twintails and another with striking light pink hair.
Oh no, they were the girls from the Imperial Academy that I had seen at the art gathering.
My arm hair stood on end when I realized who they were. If we met face to face, it wouldn’t end well.
“Ah.”
“What’s wrong? Do you know them?”
“Yeah. They’re the ones who came to visit from the Imperial Academy. I heard about them.”
“…Really?”
Just when I thought I should put on my mask, Trisha suddenly got up and ran to where she had left her things. Then she grabbed something and put it over my face.
It was my mask.
“No, you should cover your face, not mine.”
“I forgot!”
“What?”
“I think it’s too late! You’ll be a sitting duck, Damian!”
Trisha mumbled incoherently.
And as I had feared, the group from the Imperial Academy spotted us and shouted.
“Hey! You guys!”
Yes, a white-haired girl and a man with scars all over his body would stand out anywhere. This was bad.
They waved their arms above their heads as if to get our attention.
Trisha and I exchanged nervous glances. We were lying on the sandy beach in our underwear. How unsightly. There was nowhere to hide. I listened anxiously, wondering what nasty things they would say.
But to my surprise, something completely different echoed through the air.
“You guys! You’re so young and free!”
Trisha burst out laughing, her tightly wound nerves snapping. Her dimpled smile flashed as she playfully punched me.
“Haha! Hahaha! Hoho…”
“…”
I suddenly remembered splashing in the temple fountain with Lisa when I was a child. The nun who I thought would scold us had said the same thing.
“They seem like good kids!”
Trisha tried to calm me down when she saw my face stiffen.
“Okay, let’s just relax for a bit.”
“Okay!”
I relaxed my body again and basked in the sunlight. They didn’t seem to mind us either and continued to play, shouting among themselves.
Then, once again, a strange sound is heard. Different from just before when it had exuded a bright energy, a scream mixed with worry spreads.
“What do we do!”
Looking closely, I see one of the empire group struggling to stay afloat, having been swept away by the current.
Soon, she begins to slowly drift downstream towards where we are.
“Ack, Demian!”
Trisha must have also sensed the seriousness of the situation because she calls out to me urgently.
“Trisha, don’t go near the water.”
I jump straight into the water. The girl is repeatedly going under and coming back up, thrashing about. Fortunately, it’s easy to pinpoint her location thanks to her bright pink hair, which really stands out here.
There’s only one person with bright pink hair like that here. What was her name again? Right, Misha. It was Misha.
I wait just before the spot where the current gets strong and grab the drifting girl by the neck. She thrashes her arms around like a banshee, saying,
“Sa, save me, cough. Mom…!”
Once we reach land, I grab Misha by the armpits and drag her onto the sand.
She can’t swim and on top of that, she’s wearing a thick robe. No wonder she was helpless against the current. It seems like she may be good at magic, but she’s clueless about everything else.
Misha coughs up some water and then breathes raggedly.
“Ha, ha. How, how did….”
The girl with the twintails and the other girls who were with her come running over, hurriedly calling out her name.
“Misha! Misha!”
Half-soaked, the girls swarm around and check Misha’s condition thoroughly.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Uh, yeah… but I’m so cold….”
After confirming that she has no major injuries and is conscious, they turn to look at me.
They curiously scan my mask and the scars on my body. At some point, Trisha had come to stand right next to me, and she beams proudly.
“Thank you… both of you.”
“We’re just glad. If you hadn’t been here….”
Then, the girl with the twintails gives me a suspicious look.
“Are you, by any chance, a secret escort sent by our father?”
“…?”
“Aha, you are!”
***
Once Misha had completely warmed up, the group of five empire girls prepared to leave.
Whether it was because she was still in shock, Misha didn’t even make eye contact with me, let alone thank me for saving her.
The girl who had introduced herself as Faina approached me and whispered in my ear.
“You see, this is the first time she’s had this much skin-to-skin contact with a naked man. Please understand. She’s just shy. She’ll be very grateful.”
“…”
“And the candy, or was it something else? Something sweet, was it? Sweet. Right.”
“Why?”
“I’m really curious. Those scars. Where did you get them?”
“Where did I get them?”
What is she talking about? These scars aren’t a custom-made dress.
“No, they look so real.”
“Really… are you?”
Payna stammered.
“Wh-what? Is this real?”
Trisha also spoke as if she was curious.
“How on earth did you get the scar?”
“Ah, it’s a real trend among the nobles of the Empire. They say that rugged scars on the body accentuate masculinity. So they forcibly make artificial scars and show them off subtly? And that works on women. Isn’t it funny?”
“…”
“I’m really disgusted by such men in the Empire, but looking at this, I think I understand why they do it. Strangely… um… do you keep looking at it? It’s like that. It goes well with a muscular body. Can I touch it once?”
Then Trisha shouted in her place.
“No, you can’t!”
“Hmm, really?”
Payna responded lightly and called out to her friend behind her out of the blue.
“Hey, Siri! Come here!”
Then, from a few steps back, a woman with long, split hair that was brushing off the sand on her robe ran towards us.
“Why?”
“You know a lot about swords, don’t you? Is this scar real?”
“This?”
“Yeah.”
The woman with long, split hair, who was asked the question, came in front of me without any notice and felt my abdomen. Trisha glared at her with daggers in her eyes.
“How did you make this? The wounds made by the bandits are so clumsy. Should I say that it’s like lines drawn on a pumpkin? Anyway, that’s it. I’ve been cut by a sword and bitten by a demon, so I know.”
The two of them couldn’t take their eyes off my scar. Even Misha, who had been protectively wrapping her robe around herself in the distance, fixed her gaze on me, but when our eyes met, she turned away quickly.
“Oh my, is it real?”
“Yeah. Wow, if this scar was put up for auction, there would be people who would buy it for several houses.”
Payna slapped the woman with long, split hair on the back.
“Gosh, that’s an exaggeration. Several houses? You’d have to have a lot of flesh.”
“No, I’m telling you it’s real.”
The Empire seems to be enjoying an unprecedented era of peace. To me, scars are like records of life and death. Looking at how they’re decorations for show-off in the Empire.
If I just let a few laces loose in the Empire… no, no. What am I thinking?
The woman with long, split hair spoke while looking at us.
“By the way, are you from Eternia?”
Then Trisha said, pointing at me.
“Only her! I’m her childhood friend!”
“…”
The woman with long, split hair whispered quietly to her friend.
“Tooth marks… I see… fighting against a vampire… mumbling.”
When I coughed in vain to get their attention, the two of them looked back at us.
The woman with long, split hair said.
“Ah, we might see the cutie at the tournament. Oh, and will you keep our meeting a secret? It’s not bragging, but you might be surprised if you heard who our family is. We snuck out, dodging all of the surveillance, and it would be troublesome if word of an accident got out, so please bear with us for a little while.”
Trisha laughed out loud and said.
“I bet you’ll be surprised if you found out our identities too?”
“…Really?”
I denied Trisha’s words to remove any seeds of doubt.
“Don’t be fooled by her. She’s just the youngest daughter of a rancher in the Falangkas Mountains.”
“Ugh, I thought so!”
“…”
Trisha looks up at me with a sulky expression.
The girl with two ponytails said,
“But no matter your status, I really like you guys. You’re more open-minded than I thought. I’d like to see you again, whether it’s a trade fair or something else.”
Then the girls who were waiting behind her shouted,
“Syrinx! Payna! We’re going to get in trouble! Hurry up!”
“Oh, we have to go. Bye!”
From noble mtl dot com
Payna left first, and the girl with two ponytails blew us a burdensome kiss and joined her waiting friends.
I sighed and said to Trisha,
“I’ll go get the clothes I left and go up to the carriage. Can you go up first?”
“Okay!”
***
I spread them out on a rock for a long time, but I still packed up the clothes and luggage that were still dripping and walked on the sand.
Trisha is standing in the carriage, her body pressed against it, looking at me. She waves at me as she looks at me.
Another carriage passes quickly behind the standing carriage. I am startled and crouch down and cautiously look around. Then she looks at me again and waves her hand with a big smile.
A silver-haired girl waving at me from afar under the warm sunlight.
The wind carrying the sand blurs my vision. When I look with my dim eyes, it seems like I’m looking at Riza. That’s why I stopped walking.
I’m sorry for Trisha, but whoever said that you can’t see such a beautiful moment that can be called youth as it is. I was rummaging through the trash in my head, looking for traces of Riza.
I looked at Riza’s figure and looked again.
Riza waves at me and disappears again.
Is it the ghost of the past haunting me? Or is it that I can’t let go of the ghost?
My weak heart wants to blame Trisha, who resembles Riza. I feel sorry for myself for being like this.
Like Calliope said, my heart keeps overflowing because things that should have passed by haven’t, whether it rains, snows, or there’s a long drought.
Even as time passed, I was still in the mud.
Trisha, who couldn’t wait any longer, runs towards me like a whirlwind. Then she throws her body and clings to my body with both arms and legs.
“Gotcha!”
“It’s in the carriage. What if someone sees us?”
“I couldn’t help it. But today was really fun. Right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Damian did something nice today, so I’m going to repay him!”
“…What is it?”
“The disaster that Azelis brings!”
Trisha’s mouth is close to the nape of my neck. Yes, I thought for a moment that she would bite me again and leave an indelible mark.
Trisha’s body odor brushes my nose like a spring breeze.
Smooch.
Contrary to my expectations, Trisha’s lips were directed at my cheek.
Unknowingly, I let out a sound.
“Ah…”
After causing such a minor fender bender, I ran away to the carriage as if fleeing.
I turned my back to the carriage seat and laid down, covering my face with my hair out of embarrassment. My skirt wasn’t covering me in the process, so my underwear was completely exposed.
“…Now, I’m going to sleep, so don’t wake me!”
I lowered my head and looked at Trisha’s tracks.
Below my feet, which were muddy because of the dripping water, were the deep footprints of a naive girl.
***
On a hill with a clear view of the riverbank, a masked man spoke.
“Amy, you don’t have to do that.”
The elf-eared woman who had been eyeing the girls from the Empire took off her mask and said,
“Are you sure it’ll be okay? They’re completely exposed and defenseless?”
“It’s much better than suppressing your emotions and having them explode all at once.”
“Even if they do explode, how big of an explosion could it be?”
“It seems you haven’t experienced a disaster yet.”
“…”
“It’s not a bad view either. It reminds me of the old days.”
“Those Empire brats…”
“Leave them alone. Something more threatening than them is that.”
The man pointed to the sky.
White crows filled the sky and were following the carriage leaving the riverbank.
The elf-eared woman seemed to agree with that part and nodded.
***
We stopped by Sylverin’s mansion and stayed for a night. I put Trisha to sleep downstairs first, and I alone wrote a letter to Sylverin by candlelight. With time to spare, I also wrote a separate one to send to the princess and sent two stitches flying out the window.
And I spent some time lost in thought while admiring the night sky. For some reason, Trisha’s bright smile seemed to be lingering in my mind today. I felt regret blossom in my heart for not taking care of her sooner when she was this happy. Did Kalios intend for this? If so, it seemed to have worked.
Then, Lilia knocked on my door.
Knock knock.
“Demian.”
“Come in.”
Lilia entered the room, bowed her head, and said,
“There’s a letter from someone named Misha. I’ll leave it here.”
It must have followed the stitch marker I gave Lilia.
“Thank you.”
“Sleep well, Demian!”
Lilia bowed her head and backed out of my room.
I picked up Misha’s letter. When I saw her at the artists’ gathering, she seemed burdened by me. I didn’t think she’d send a letter this quickly.
It simply contained a request to find someone named Dalmi, nothing else.
Bzzt- Bzzt-
Priscilla, who I had propped up against the desk, flashed a blue light inside its scabbard. It hadn’t reacted at all while I was being tormented by the wooden sword, so why was it suddenly doing this?
I picked up the scabbard and drew Priscilla.
Twang!
Even before I could admire Priscilla’s blue form, I flinched at the strange sensation traveling up my arm.
Rustle-
The frost from the longsword began to spread to my arm.
The chilly wind blew in through the open window, but I didn’t feel cold.
It was a sensation I had never felt before.
Unlike before, when it had been absorbing magic one-sidedly, this time, the absorbed magic seemed to be transforming into something else and being transmitted to me.
Could it be that my efforts had finally borne fruit? Filled with anticipation, I called out her name.
“Pris…cilla?”
I called out her name, but the response I had expected didn’t come.
However, as the magic circulated, Priscilla’s energy was transmitted to me. It was a strange sensation. It was as if the sword had become a part of my body, expanding the senses of my extremities.
I couldn’t communicate, but the emotions of the magic sword flowed faintly.
It was a feeling of joy, a tender emotion like that of an old friend reuniting.
It wasn’t joy directed at me, but rather joy directed at an unknown existence outside.
What was happening?
Knock, knock, knock, knock-
Just then, hurried footsteps approached my room from the hallway.
And then, Lyria knocked and opened the door.
“Damian, this!”
Lyria thrust out her hand, and in it was a black letter. It was a letter from Amarilis.