500 - Guide
Wondering why someone would be in a place like this, I approach the figure. The figure seems to notice my approach, as their hood sways and their shoulders tremble, then they slowly change direction and begin walking toward the exit of the forest, toward the Great Tree.
...Wait? Isn't that Jasper?
I am certain that face is Jasper's, but if it were Jasper, he wouldn't leave just because I was approaching. Thinking something is strange, I chase after Jasper, and it is only when I catch the black hooded cloak that I remember a problem more fundamental than something being strange.
...Wait, didn't Jasper die?
I didn't see that moment, and even if I had, it probably wouldn't have remained in my memory. According to Leonardo, I was apparently present at the place where the body was cremated, but I don't remember that either. Perhaps that is why, even though I was told Jasper died, the feeling of it was faint. Just because the figure looked like Jasper, I chased after them without a second thought.
"Um... who are you?"
I certainly intended to grab Jasper's cloak, but the contents of the hood shrink in height the moment they turn around. They should have had the height of an adult man, but after turning around, their height is lower than my chest. Since they are even smaller than I am, who is already small in build, I think the person in the hood is a child. The moment their height shrinks, the hood slips down, and straight red hair spills out from within.
"Where did Jasper go?"
--Jasper is me.
Blinking her green eyes curiously, the red-haired girl tilts her head. It feels like, perhaps it is just my imagination, but she is a girl I remember seeing somewhere.
"Um... the Jasper I am talking about is the pharmacist of Sedovara Church, with brown hair in braids...?"
I also add that he is an adult man. At the very least, the Jasper I spoke of is not a girl shorter than me.
--I am Jasper. Jasper, with brown hair in braids.
"No, your hair is red, straight, and you are a girl."
--I see. Jasper is me. Hair is red, straight, and a girl.
"Umm...?"
Every time I add information that it is a case of mistaken identity, the red-haired girl accepts it and adds it to her own words. I think she might just be absorbing the words and returning them, but given the girl's unusual state, I start to feel it is not such a simple matter.
...Who was she? I feel like I've met her somewhere?
My circle of acquaintances is small. If I know a girl of this age, she must absolutely be within that small circle. And yet, no matter how much I search my memories, I cannot remember the girl's identity.
"Where did Jasper go?"
While not understanding what is happening, I try to move the conversation forward by addressing the girl. I thought I caught Jasper but it was a girl, and the girl says she is Jasper. It should be fine to ask the girl about Jasper.
--Jasper has no face to show you? She said, and then she hid.
How strange, the girl says, blinking her green eyes slowly. The girl, who speaks in a slightly unique way, has the appearance of a human, but she is likely not human. Since what was Jasper changed into a girl, I should have noticed from the start.
--Jasper is strange. She wanted to meet you, had something to tell you, and went to meet you, but once she found your figure, she ran away.
I wonder what happened, the girl thinks, and as she turns her face forward again, I realize why the girl's face looked familiar. I think this is the first time I have met the girl, but I must have met the girl's parents.
"...Who are you?"
--Who am I? I do not know. However, I was called Almel.
The red-haired girl, who says she was called Almel and was cherished by Jasper, is certainly the person she says she is. Her profile resembles Oban-san, who took care of me in Meiyu Village, a little. Her eyes are exactly like Aunt Ulary's. Since Almel is the child of the Dalmels, it is only natural that she resembles the two of them.
"Are you Almel from Meiyu Village?"
--That is the Almel who died a long time ago.
"The way you put it makes you sound like a different Almel...?"
--Yes, I am Almel. I wonder which one I am?
"Umm...?"
What on earth is the girl saying? My understanding cannot keep up, and my head is full of question marks. However, the girl seemed to understand my confusion, and there were no more incomprehensible phrasings after that.
She says she is Almel, an existence born because Jasper and Camille cherished her. She is Almel, but she is an existence that is not the Almel of Meiyu Village, the girl says, smiling a little lonely.
--The guidance ends here.
"Eh?"
At the word guidance, the questions in my head vanish. Looking around with a clear head, I should have been in the forest, but before I knew it, I was inside a stone building. There is almost nothing in the round, spacious room, and the only thing there is a pearl-colored staircase floating without support. I look up to see what is at the end of the stairs, but the end is shrouded in white light and seems to be invisible from below.
--Actually, Jasper wanted to guide you.
She eventually hid, saying she had no face to show you, the girl with Almel's face says with a laugh. I did not know what kind of relationship this Almel and Jasper had, but considering she also claimed to be Jasper, they might be two people in one.
"...Is Jasper there?"
--Different from the Jasper you know, but Jasper is me. I am here.
If there is something you want to say, you can say it to me, the girl says, narrowing her green eyes. I tell her I will do just that and take a deep breath. Regarding Jasper, I heard everything after it was all over. Because of that, various things remain like lumps in my heart.
"Jasper, you idiot! Traitor! If you wanted me to be able to read Japanese, you could have just said so instead of kidnapping me!"
It is awkward to say it myself, but I was fond of Jasper. If Jasper asked me to read something, I think I read most things. Setting aside whether things were good or bad.
"You made jam for me, we transcribed books together, we made medicine, I was happy and it was fun, but was it all a lie!?"
Was the kindness, the being nice to me, all a lie, I throw the words toward Jasper, who is apparently behind the girl. Why did he betray me, was it a lie from the start, why didn't he tell me anything. As I spit out why he could only choose a dead person (Almel), tears overflowed from the green eyes in front of me. These might have been words that should not have been let the girl, who was born from the affection of Jasper and Camille, hear. If it were just Jasper, it would be one thing, but since she is also cherished by Camille, the girl in front of me is something that dwelt in Almel's corpse. The heart of this girl probably dwelt in Almel's corpse, which was cherished by the two of them.
"Jasper, you idiot! Moron! I can't forgive you, but I can't hate you either!"
I was greatly betrayed by Jasper. Because of that, Kalisa died, Aaron is losing his sight, and the black Shiba still limps sometimes. Despite that, because of the detailed memories, I could not hate Jasper, saying he betrayed me, that he was a bad person from the start.
Unable to forgive, unable to resent, unable to lean toward either, my heart remains floating in mid-air. Because no conclusion comes, it stays in my heart for a long time, and because I hate having my heart occupied, I deliberately try not to think about it. Because of that, I could never digest Jasper, and a lump had formed somewhere in my head.
At the end, I shout "idiot" one more time, and because the back of my nose stings, I look down. Usually, I am surrounded by people taller than me, so by doing this, I can avoid having my crying face seen, but today was different. Since I was with a girl shorter than me, my crying face should be perfectly visible.
...Wait?
The thought that I hate having my crying face seen by others lasts only for a moment. What enters my downward field of vision is not the girl's green eyes, but a man's feet. Seeing feet that by no means belong to a girl, I reflexively try to raise my face, but my head is held down by a large hand.
The feeling that my head was being patted lasted only for a brief moment.
I feel the presence of the large hand withdrawing from above my head, and I hurriedly raise my face. There is no one there, and the girl who called herself Almel has also disappeared.
"Jasper...? Almel?"
Left alone in the wide space, I suddenly feel anxious. Come to think of it, I look around again, and not only is Leonardo gone, but the nursery fairy that should always be sitting on his shoulder and the black Shiba are also gone. Instead, the end of the pearl-colored stairs, which was invisible until a moment ago, is clearly visible as if the fog has cleared.
At the end of the stairs, a mass of crystal very similar to the Spirit's Seat was enshrined.