kscans

Chapter 281 - An Omen, and Those Who Leave the Village

Her chest, pressed against my back, felt thicker than it had back in Richel. It had only been three months, but what a three months it had been. Was Famu going through a growth spurt? I savored the soft sensation as I carried her on my back. I shifted my body to adjust her position, but she showed no signs of waking.

We exited the dungeon and stood before the stone monument. I was struck by how different the scene was from before. The monument was decaying, the characters carved into it so weathered they were illegible. Had it served its purpose? The only thing that hadn't changed was the chrysanthemums blooming around it.

"Ugokaneba yami ni hedatsu ya hana to mizu."

I murmured the words that had been written there, but they vanished into the silence, never reaching the monument. Was Okita Soji, who had been celebrated as a hero of the dog-eared race, content to sleep in this land? Or had he desperately wished to return to his own world? I would never know his thoughts.

The mist had cleared, revealing a vast, clear blue sky. I saw the tent where Mizuki and the others were camped and started walking toward it. Just then, the ground seemed to boil up and ripple like a great wave. A series of violent tremors shook the village. A roaring sound, as if something was rising from deep within the earth, echoed around us. I couldn't stay on my feet and had no choice but to drop to my knees and wait for the shaking to stop.

The ground beneath me seemed to turn black. It rose like a miasma, threatening to cover the world. When I touched that miasma, a chill that felt like my blood had frozen shot through my entire body. The light vanished, and my vision was plunged into darkness.

It felt like the shaking lasted a long time. The rumbling stopped, the chill and the miasma-like substance vanished, and in their place, a cloud of dust filled the air, turning my vision white and cloudy. A dry, moldy smell stung my nose. I slowly stood up, trying to get a sense of my surroundings, when Mizuki and the others came running.

"Mash!"

"Are you all right?" After nodding at my question, her eyes widened as she saw Famu on my back.

"She just passed out from magic depletion. She was injured in a fight with the guardian deity, so I need you to heal her." I looked at Myra and started to lower Famu, but her arms wrapped around my neck, tightening their grip.

"If you're awake, get down."

"No. My head is still spinning..."

"That's a symptom of magic depletion." In my case, it took over half a day to recover, but I wondered if it was different for other people. I tried to shake her off, but she just hugged me tighter in resistance.

"Famu, I can't heal you if you don't get down!"

"Mmph!" She continued to resist fiercely, but Myra and Marmi managed to pry her off my back.

"So, what happened?" Mizuki prompted, and I explained how we had been drawn into the monument and how Famu had fought a one-on-one duel with Okita Soji.

"So you're saying the earthquake just now broke the seal on the God of the End?" Her eyes flickered slightly as she looked around. The dust had settled, but the air was still thick with it.

"What are you looking at? It's right behind you!"

"Eek!" She let out a very un-Mizuki-like shriek and hastily reached for her sword as she spun around. Of course, there was no monster there. She shot me a sharp glare.

"Stop saying such stupid things!" Her cheeks puffed out even more. Nephi watched this with a cool gaze.

"If you're going to leave the party, now's your chance. You can still turn back." Nephi shrugged.

"You're one to talk, Mash. I'm getting tired of this. Unless you tell me to leave, I'm accompanying you to the Demon Kingdom."

"The demons worship the God of the End, don't they? There's going to be a fight." Nephi smiled at my words.

"I believe in a silent god, a god that grants me its blessing. I'm not thinking about saving the world or anything so grand, but if it's going to cause harm, I'll cooperate." I couldn't understand what she was thinking at all. It was true that if she wanted to return to the Demon Kingdom, it was safer to travel with a party than alone. But traveling with us guaranteed danger. It was also different from her stated motive of wanting to join our party for her own safety.

Considering she had left the Messiah and joined our party, his sworn enemies, she had to be an extremely selfish person. In a situation like this, it would make more sense for her to leave Levante.

"Well, I do have some desire to see the God of the End," she added, as if she had read my thoughts.

"You say that, but I don't see a path to victory. There's no need for you to be with us in a situation like this."

"Well, if you're saying it's okay for me to leave the party, I'll take my leave when things get really dangerous. But more importantly, what about the others..." At Nephi's words, Myra, who had been casting healing magic on Famu, looked up.

"I'm with Mash."

"For some reason, we're talking about fighting the God of the End here, but there's no need for that. I don't see why we have to fight. Hasn't our objective of breaking the curse been fulfilled? Why don't we all just run away?" Nephi asked Myra.

"We can't. There are settlements scattered around here," Famu answered her. She stood up on shaky legs. Her wounds were healed, but her magic hadn't recovered. I debated giving her a magic recovery potion, but using one would negate any experience gain.

"The settlement where my older sister lives is nearby. There's something enshrined there, too. Let's go see."

"Hm? Are you talking about me?" Myra asked, pointing to herself with a puzzled look.

"No, apparently there's a beautiful dog-eared girl named Lily who was like a sister to Famu." I answered Myra's question, and she gave me a sharp look.

"Could it be that you just want to meet this woman, Mash...?"

"D-Don't be ridiculous! This was Famu's idea. Besides, she's married, isn't she?" If she was willing to two-time someone, she might be willing to three-time them. I thought I should probably meet her at least once, but I kept my mouth shut.

"We can't be sure of that. You had a relationship with Irisalie, didn't you, Mash?!" Myra shot back, as if she had read my mind.

"Tch, that wasn't my choice. When I woke up, it had already happened!" Well, even if it hadn't, it probably would have ended up that way eventually, but I kept that to myself, too. As I glared at the unusually confrontational, pouty Myra, Marmi stepped between us.

"...If the village we're heading to is one that wasn't attacked by bandits, we should hurry. According to Mash's explanation, the earthquake just now means the God of the End that was sealed in this land has awakened." At Marmi's words, we all held our breath and exchanged glances.

"Let's hurry!"

The path to Lily's village seemed to be in the opposite direction from which we had come. After we had packed up our camp and were about to leave, we came across a place where stones about the size of a human head were arranged at regular intervals. Only in that spot had the weeds been cleared, as if it had been tended to by human hands. Famu stopped there and stared.

"What's wrong, Famu?"

"These are graves... The people from the next settlement probably took care of them. My mother and father are here. Rick and everyone else, too..." She said this, her shoulders slumping as her body trembled.

"Just a little while ago, I decided to become stronger. But I... everyone..." I put my arm around Famu's shoulders. She leaned against me as if to transfer all her weight.

"Famu, your sadness isn't because you're weak. Besides, people don't change that quickly. We go back and forth, over and over again. And with that, we move forward just a little."

"Is it the same for you, Master?"

"No, I'm different. I've thought about changing many times, but I've never made a resolution like you have. So I haven't changed at all. But..." I hesitated, and Famu looked up at me.

"You're different, Famu." I stroked the head of the girl who was clenching her fists. I wanted her to cherish her own thoughts, not my words. Perhaps I was just running away from my own words, from my own responsibility. With that thought, I stroked her head again and again.

"You're... different, Master," Famu said quietly. Just as I was about to ask what she meant, Myra stepped forward.

"We are born of people, and to the earth we shall return. Some may deviate from this principle, but the dead will live on in our hearts." Her words were the same as the ones I had heard when we buried the otherworlder, Emma.

"May the Fifty Gods bless you. Would you allow me to pray?"

"That's right, Myra, you were a priestess who served at the temple, weren't you?"

"Mmph, Mash..." Myra gave me a resentful look, then turned her gaze to Famu. Famu gave a small nod.

"Me too, together." Myra smiled at her words.

Under the clear sky, in the small village made of logs, we were the only ones there. Covered in grass and trees, it was on its way to decay. Would there be a future where Famu and Sameim could bring the villagers back? What were the thoughts of those who slept here as they watched over them?

I had had the chance to retaliate against those who had attacked this village. But I had stopped it. What did those who slept here think of me?

Myra extended her arms and spun like a top. The dead and the living, the lush earth, and the endless blue sky. She took it all into her body, wove it together, and offered it up into the palm of the Fifty Gods. Marmi and Nephi quietly closed their eyes. The elves, with their thousand-year lifespans, and the demons, who worshipped the God of the End, must have different faiths.

Mizuki, who had been clasping her hands beside me, suddenly looked up.

"Myra's dance is connecting things that were scattered apart." Was our prayer reaching Laciel? I looked up at the sky where Myra's fingertips pointed.