Chapter 31

Could I Snuggle Up to You? -starry night- The regular days were constantly at the point of coming to an end. As these ending days repeated themselves, they created a routine. There were those who joined the routine, as well as those who left it. It would continue on, changing its pace and rhythm little by little, until it was time to truly face the end. The newspaper reported that the Beast attack was the work of the Annihilation Knights. They were a notorious group that often brought violence and destruction to the city anyway, so the people very naturally accepted the information and believed it. No one ever learned what sort of deal took place among Elpis, Collina di Luce, and, by extension, The Winged Guard. One might not be able to emotionally help wanting to spread the truth, but one misstep could cause an entire war. But at the very least, the Elpis Air Defense Force lost a great deal of their standing as a result of the incident. There was also word of appropriate personnel changes in the upper echelons of The Winged Guard, so it was unlikely that anything similar would be happening anytime soon. …There was one more thing: In a small column in the corner of the newspaper, there was a report detailing the discovery of a corpse of an orc who had met a suspicious end. Elq Hrqstn returned home. This event shook the foundation of peaceful Island No. 2, Regule Aire’s most sacred, secluded region—almost literally, in fact. “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH ELLLLLLLLQQQ!” a massive black skull howled. It was the One Who Dozes in Death, the One Who Burns the Flame of Darkness in the Garden of Light—one of the three divine Poteau and holder of plenty pompous nicknames, Ebon Candle. He tossed aside all dignity and nobility and everything else and shouted as loud as he possibly could. A strange light in the depths of his empty eye sockets flickered intensely, and his lipless teeth chattered loudly against each other. “I’m so, so, so happy you’re saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafe!” “Oh, be quiet, you useless lump!” the massive red sky fish sharply scolded. Carmine Lake, another one of the three Poteau, swam in circles in the air, making her anger clear. “What have you even been doing all these five hundred years?! I will say you did a good thing protecting the world with your master’s soul. I mean it. But why haven’t the repairs on our starship made any progress this entire time?!” “Wh-what am I supposed to do?! Look at me—I have barely any power, not even enough to reconstruct my body the way I want!” “Because you’re wasting your time! You ought to just drop this whole floating world thing for good!” “Would if I could, fool!” “Oh, shush, you two!” Elq yelled as she pushed herself between the two deities and squared her shoulders. “But, Elq, if we don’t get him his power back and undo the curse on you soon, you’re going to stay a walking corpse forever, you know. Don’t you want to go back to normal?” “Th-that’s taking an optimistic approach…” “Not really.” “Wha—?” “Hmm?” The two voiced their confusion at the same time. “I’m okay like this.” “Wh-wh-why?!” cried Carmine Lake. “Even if we manage to fix the starship, your body won’t even be able to endure boarding it if we don’t revive you properly! You won’t be able to leave this world!” “I’m not going anywhere. I like this world a lot.” “No, no, wait just a minute! This world is long finished, you know! There’s practically nothing here! We’re in the final countdown before everything completely disappears!” “But there’s still time left.” “Since when are you the type to live for the moment?! Hold on. Hey, Ebon Candle! Say something to her!” “H-hmm?” The skull, now suddenly in charge of the conversation, clicked his teeth in puzzlement. “Did you make a lot of friends living on the islands?” “…Yeah.” “I see, I see. Was there a boy you liked?” “…………No, not really.” “Hello?! What are you even asking her?! And what does that answer mean?!” “He’s not really that cool. Chtholly and Lillia shouldn’t have settled for him.” “I see, I see.” The skull smiled like a cheery old man, nodding several times. The sky fish swam in circles around them, ranting and raving about one thing or another. Nephren idly watched them carry on. Carmine Lake hadn’t gotten her physical body back yet. She was still attached to a part of Nephren’s spirit. But as long as Nephren stayed within the unique barrier that surrounded Island No. 2, the fish could move around within the barrier as she pleased and mingle with whomever she wanted. Apparently, Carmine Lake was “also acting as a specimen archive of the primitive world, so we can mix our physical bodies and spirits to a small degree,” but Nephren didn’t really understand. She didn’t even get a full, detailed explanation. She wanted a manual. “Say, Kaya?” she called to the ailuranthrope girl who served Ebon Candle. “Yes, Lady Nephren?” “What are you making for dinner tonight?” “I have not yet decided. However, the summer garden’s crops are doing quite well, so I plan to make something from the harvest.” “Okay. I’ll help you later,” Nephren replied then turned to leave the room. “Where are you going, Lady Nephren?” “To Willem.” Willem Kmetsch’s body had been taken to Island No. 2 and was at rest deep inside it. Ebon Candle proposed that he be encased in ice again, but Elq and Nephren shot him down. Willem lay deceased on a neatly made bed, like he was just taking a nap. “…Aren’t you…cold?” Nephren touched his hand. It was cold. “Aren’t you…lonely?” She touched his cheek. It was cold, too. She wanted to put a blanket over him. But there was no point in doing that, of course. She even wanted to crawl next to him and doze off, like she had happened to do once before. But there wasn’t even any point in doing that anymore, either. “Ebo said it wouldn’t be hard to bring him back to life.” Elq had appeared at some point in the doorway. “It’s the same as me. If they undo Seniorious’s curse just a teeny bit, then he wouldn’t be a corpse anymore, and he’ll come back to life on his own.” “But as a Beast, right?” “Of course. That wouldn’t be a problem for you, right, Nephren? You’re the same kind of Beast he is.” “No point.” Nephren shook her head. “I wouldn’t be happy hogging a broken Willem all to myself. I…” She thought for a moment. “…I don’t want him to be unhappy.” “Boo. You have bad taste, too,” Elq said with disappointment as she entered the room. And she walked straight over to Willem, plopping down on her side on the bed beside him. “What are you doing?” Nephren asked her. “Taking a nap.” “Why here?” “No real reason, but it keeps me calm… Ow, ow, ow, ow!” Nephren pulled on her ear and dragged her out of the bed. She dragged her all the way out of the room. “No sleeping together.” “Why, why?! It’s totally fine, since we’re both corpses, right?!” “That spot is reserved for me. I won’t give it up, not for a corpse or a god.” “Tyrannyyyyy!” She dragged her far away from him. He was in a dream. He could see the sunset. The sun was partially hidden behind a pitch-black horizon. At his feet was a small platform, paved in gray hexagons. Beyond the platform was an empty black space. The only things here were the vanishing sun and the small remaining bit of platform. There was nothing else. It was an old world—one that was ending, one that was disappearing. A young man stood there. There was nothing for him to do or to think about, so he simply stared out blankly, gazing at the sinking sun. The young man suddenly noticed the presence beside him. He wasn’t sure when it got there, but on the ground was a small chunk of crystal. What is this? He stared at it, and with a loud cracking sound, it fissured, swelled, bent, smoothed, and took a shape similar to that of a person. Oh, I see now. The young man recognized it as the Beast inside him. It was half of who he was as an emnetwiht, awakened after he swallowed the piece of Chanteur. For as long as humanity’s history—whether that was centuries or millennia, he didn’t know—they should have lived together as neighbors. And yet, they barely knew each other. They were barely even aware of each other, knowingly or not. “Hey.” He called to it, but it didn’t move. “Nice to meetcha… No, that’s weird. You’ve been with me this whole time.” No response. The Beast just stood in place, staring at nothing. “Sorry for ignoring you for so long. Even though I’m kind of a victim here, too.” Still no response. Instead— “—Yo.” —he heard a familiar voice and turned around. Illuminated by the vanishing crimson rays, there was the face of a man of an indiscernible age, one that came with so many memories. “Damn teacher.” “Looks like you’ve been through a lot. Any regrets?” “Too many to count.” “Good, I’m glad.” Nils plopped himself down beside Willem and smiled. “It’s proof you lived life to the fullest.” Willem didn’t think it was something to smile about. “I finally understand. They just wanted to go home,” he said, turning his gaze toward the crystal chunk beside him. “Hmm?” “They just wanted to take back the gray sea. “It was the Visitors who took it away. And the reason they did that was because they wanted a home for themselves. And once that homesickness clashed, the surface was razed, and the people who lost their homes were chased off into Regule Aire. “Everyone just wanted to go home. They just wanted to take back what was theirs.” The glimmer of the sunlight made Nils’s shadow flicker. “There doesn’t need to be evil for the world to be destroyed. The beginning just happened to start with a small wish for which no one was to blame. And something like that led straight to the end.” “You’re right. This world’s already finished.” Nils scratched his head. “By the way, I’m gonna have to get goin’ soon. I can only use my powers as a Visitor up to six times in any one world, and I used up my last one sealing you. I needa start traveling again to find the next world.” “…You were a Visitor, huh?” It should’ve been a shocking revelation. But Willem wasn’t particularly surprised. That was either because his heart was so worn down or because he’d long since given up on being surprised about whatever the man happened to really be. “You comin’?” “Huh?” “This world’s in its last days. You’re dead—there’s nothin’ you can do. So would you wanna come with me to a new world? Play our cards right, and you could probably live a bit of an easier life. It’ll be more substantial than staying dead here for all of eternity, at least.” “Huh…” Willem pondered. “You basically want me to be a Visitor?” Nils nodded bitterly. “Sounds fun.” “I think you’d fare well wherever you ended up.” “Probably.” Losing his home had been hard. Painful. But he managed to recover. He found a new place he could call home. The memory and experience of it all were irreplaceable treasures to him. “In the end, I couldn’t do anything for you or for this world. This’s the last thing I can do for you as your damn teacher.” “What’ll happen to this, then?” He indicated the crystal chunk beside him with his gaze. “Right now, you’re both just barely in a separated state. We’d leave the Beast here, and I’d take you alone.” “Ahhh… I get it.” Willem scratched his head. “Sorry, but I can’t leave.” “I see.” Nils nodded. “It’s rough and miserable to lose your home, to not have a place to go home to anymore. But y’know what? You can still find a new place. Anyone can.” All those stalwart people who called Regule Aire home were originally people of the surface. How much blood had they spilled before they accepted their new home? “But it’s not gonna go well if you try and rush it. It takes time. “It takes time to stand up from the pain of loss. It takes time to meet people. It takes time to find peace in a new place. And that’s where everyone failed. That was true for the Visitors and for these Beasts. Everyone got the steps wrong, because they tried to take their homes back in a single stride. “Well, I guess I never really realized it, either. But if you raise your head up and take a good look around, you’ll find people to teach you things right by your side.” Willem closed his eyes. Who were the people who were by his side for him? There was Glick, there was Nygglatho, there was Nephren…there was Chtholly. They had taught him so many things that it was almost a waste. He’d been left out to dry even after his own world had ended, but they saved him. “I want to stay by this thing,” he said. “You wanna chat with it, you mean? You can’t. Its metal makeup and mode of life are too different.” “Yeah, I know. I’m not that idealistic.” He wrapped his arm around the crystal chunk’s shoulder (?) like they were buddies. “These things never saw anything but their home world. They could only ever see visions of things they’d lost. That’s why they never accepted Regule Aire and why they’re trying so hard to put us down. Doesn’t that make you feel terrible? That’s why I wanna do something for it. Past aside, I’ve got this weird thing next to me right now. That’s what I want ’em to think.” “You an idiot?” “I’ve recently started to think I am.” They smiled at each other for one last time. “You sure are a busy guy. You’re extra fussy about a world that’s already done for, even after death.” “I could never become someone. So I guess this is all I can really do, y’know?” “…Mm…” As Nils started to say something, the edges of his profile began to blur. “Why not, then? Sounds like you.” “I recently started to think that, too.” They ran out of words to say. They stood side by side, staring blankly out at the sunset. By the time he noticed and turned to look beside him, Nils was gone. Willem was alone with this crystal chunk—a fragment of a Beast’s obsession in this ending world. “…So anyway, guess we’ll be in this together for a long while yet, huh?” He rolled over onto his back. There was enough space on this platform for him to do that. There was nothing in the sky above him. Not even a single star. “Oh yeah, it’s gonna be hard to talk to you if you don’t have a name. Want me to give you a good one?” he asked lightheartedly and closed his eyes. —A short time passed. “Heeeey! Eudea, waaait!” “Nuh-uh!” Two girls dashed down the hall of a ramshackle shelter. The floor looked like it might give out at any moment, but they were both used to it and deftly dodged all the risky spots as they ran. “I thought I told you tonight’s dinner is to celebrate the big girls coming home, so no snacking!” “But it smells soooo good, doesn’t it?! Almita’s food is so tasty, I bet the big kids’ll be really happy with it. And of course, I’m gonna be really happy with it, too!” “Uggghhh, you’re so annoying! I’m gonna give you a spanking!” “Nooooo!” Their loud steps rattled the house. “You two are so loooud! Pipe dooown!” “Are they at it again?” “Hey, hey, let’s make a bet. Who do you think’s gonna win today?” “Ooh, I’m in. I bet my dessert tonight on Eudea getting away.” “Then, I’ll go for the opposite… You in, Tazeka?” “Huh? Uhhh… Then, I’ll go with Kana. I bet my dessert tonight, too.” “Wait, why? We’re betting to see whether Eudea or Almita’s gonna win, you know.” “Yeah, I think that’s obvious.” The girls peeked out from windows here and there, noisily cheering on the two and their chase scene. “—They sure are lively again today, huh?” The secluded material room. A woman with golden hair sat in a wheelchair, chuckling delightfully. “I don’t want them to run around too much, since they’ll send the dust flying. And I just did a deep cleaning, too. I’ll have to do it all over again.” The woman with hair the color of cherry blossoms flashed a troubled smile as she flipped through a batch of documents. “That’s the fate of a run-down warehouse, I s’pose. I think it’s about time we just have the whole thing rebuilt.” “You may be right.” The pink-haired woman, Nygglatho, touched a finger to her cheek and tilted her head. It was often said that a troll’s true age rarely showed on their skin. Nygglatho was living proof, seeing as how her physical appearance had barely changed since ages ago. “There are memories embedded everywhere. Every time I think about calling in a worker, I hesitate. See, you know the scratches on the wall of the dining hall? That’s from when Nopht and Rhantolk were comparing their heights.” “Yeaaah, they were so close, no one could tell who was taller.” Her eyes narrowed in nostalgia. “Oh yeah, you think those two’re gonna make it back this year?” “Mm. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they will. I hear they’re both working rather far away.” “Awww. I s’pose they gotta do what they gotta do.” A lot of things had happened. For example, part of the rules that limited the freedom of the faeries had been conditionally relaxed. As a result, some of the mature faeries were living outside the warehouse. Though unofficially, Rhantolk had been dispatched to liaise with the Orlandry Merchants Alliance and now single-handedly took care of finances and negotiations related to the faerie warehouse and the dug weapons. And Nopht was something like a part-time soldier for The Winged Guard, acting as a bodyguard for salvagers who went down to the surface. Both of them were now working very hard in places far from Island No. 68. It wouldn’t be that easy to call them back. “…Oh right. Have Collon and the others come back yet?” “Huh? No, not yet. They should be back in the evening.” “Oh. Then, I guess that was something else. I thought I saw an airship that didn’t really look like a civilian one land at the aire-port a little earlier.” “Earlier? That’s odd—I haven’t received any word.” Nygglatho cocked her head, confused. Then there was a shy knock on the door to the material room, and a girl poked her head in. “Excuse me, Miss Nygglatho and Miss Ithea. Have you seen Ryehl?” The two women looked at each other. “I haven’t. Is something the matter?” Nygglatho asked. “I haven’t seen her anywhere,” the girl replied. “I’m just worried ’cause if she went off to play in the forest again, then that’s dangerous.” The faerie warehouse was surrounded by a rather dense forest. Water would sometimes pool in spots that were hard to see. It was quite a hazardous place for children and those who weren’t used to the area. “Oh no! We have to look for her!” Nygglatho cast aside the documents in her hand and stood. “I don’t think we need to worry that much. Aren’tcha being a little overprotective?” “Legal guardians have an exclusive right to be overprotective!” she shouted before sprinting out of the material room. “Um… What should I do?” the girl left behind asked nervously. “I don’t think y’need to worry.” Ithea shrugged. “Kanaaaa! What are you doing?!” “Hee-hee-hee. The fruits of your quarrel have been mighty delicious.” “W-wait a second! Stop there and let me spank you!” “Uhhh… Guess that means Tazeka won our bet.” “Hmm. I still wouldn’t call it a bet exactly, but I’m surprised she actually won.” “Waaaaait!” “…They’re a real peppy bunch all right,” Ithea, now left alone in the material room, murmured to herself, a lonely smile crossing her face. Still in her wheelchair, she placed her hand against the windowpane. A long time ago, the man and the girls once stood on the other side. That young man and those girls had done so much, so dazzingly and brilliantly, all during that brief period at the end. “A lot’s happened, but I’d say we’re doing pretty well here.” They were no longer around. So Ithea faced the somehow blue expanse above and cast her report skyward. “How ’bout you? Where are you now—what’re you doing?” The sky was distant and endless. It swallowed up her words and gave no answer. A girl was falling from the sky. She seemed just under the age of ten. Apparently, she’d lost her footing on a tree branch, and she was now tumbling down headfirst. At the rate she was going, her drop would end with a crash onto the ground, an outcome ill-befitting such a beautiful spring afternoon. “Whoa—” The young man reached out to catch her. But just a moment before he could, he slipped, and he practically sailed through the air before slamming into the ground. As a result— “Gah!!” —he broke her fall and was pinned beneath her, left croaking like a squished frog. “…Owww…” A few seconds later, the girl seemed to finally realize what had happened, and she hurriedly jumped off. “I-I’m sorry!! A-are you hurt?! Are you alive?! Are your insides still intact?!” “Uhhh, I’m fine. I’m a lot sturdier than I look.” He stood, brushing the dirt off his clothes. “But you’re all dirty, aren’t ya? Are you all ri—?” He looked at her. Her hair was a cerulean blue, like the sky on a bright, sunny day. Her eyes were a deep indigo, like looking down onto a calm sea. He felt like he’d seen it all somewhere before. “—Hmm?” Their eyes met, and the two of them froze. “Have we met somewhere before?” “Uh, n-no? I don’t think so… Probably…” The girl tilted her head. “I’ve never left this island. You’re not from around here, are you?” “Uhhh, well, guess it’s been a while.” He gave a vague answer.