Chapter 100

“We’ve got no plans for today, so you’re free to do as you please.” That was what my dear brother told us over breakfast, the day after we visited the guild. After sitting in on such an intense negotiation, it was nice to get a little time to ourselves. Living in a fantasy world was no cure for red tape; the guild had asked us to wait up to two whole weeks before any final decisions regarding Kaito’s appeal were made. Kaito said it was unlikely to take that long in practice, but that it would be at least a few days before we heard anything back. He also said that things were only going to get more dangerous from here on out, so we should get all the rest we needed to be prepared to face the challenges when they came. “I think I’ll take a look around the bookstores,” said Yuuto. “I’ve been meaning to keep an eye out for monster manuals and the like… Oh, and any fairy tales unique to this world would be interesting, too. I’ve got money burning a hole in my pocket, after all.” I heard him scraping his coins together. Fairy tales… Come to think of it, his girlfriend was interested in those, wasn’t she? At that moment, I caught a whiff of something like weeping on the wind. It was an acrid smell, like burning asphalt mixed with a nighttime forest breeze. One of the powers I obtained by traveling to this world was the ability to sniff out emotions on the wind. “Sure thing,” said Kaito. “Oh, and make sure you look over any books closely before you buy. They’re sometimes infested with insects. If you’re not careful, you’ll buy one only to find the most important page has a hole in it. Good luck getting to sleep after that.” “Ha-ha-ha, that does sound like a pain…” Yuuto cleared away his breakfast and headed out into the streets. “Well then, dear brother,” I said. “I assume you haven’t made plans?” It was my first day off since coming to this world. Now that I thought about it, I had been through some trying times. They had been necessary to survive here, of course, but all the same, I deserved a little reward to make up for it, didn’t I? “Hmm? Nah, not really. Probably going to spend the day dozing around. All that time in the dungeon has worn me out.” My dear brother gave a big yawn and put his bowl down on the table. The new, violent side of Kaito took some getting used to. I didn’t hate it, but I much preferred seeing the old, sloppy side of him, like this. “Think I’m going to head back and catch a nap,” he said. “Take care, Mai.” “Of course, dear brother.” I watched as he staggered, still half-asleep, back to our shared room. After that, I stayed put for a while, silently sipping some tea. I had to pick the right moment to act, or I would lose it all. That said, I can’t let this chance slip away, now that we’re alone at last. After precisely twenty minutes had passed, I headed to our room. This was when Kaito was at his doziest, and most prone to errors in judgment. I stepped into the room and undid my top button. “Mmph…” With his memories returned, Kaito was a lot more aware than I was used to. He could even tell that I had entered the room while he was sleeping. However, he quickly realized it was only me, and his breathing returned to normal. “I hope you don’t mind sharing, Kaito.” With that, I slipped into his bed, so that I was the big spoon. “Hmm? Mai.” “Yawn. Nighty-night, dear brother.” I ignored his weak protests and pretended to fall asleep. I made sure to wrap my arms around him first, of course. Kaito would never kick me out of bed. He simply muttered, “Ugh, fine,” and went back to sleep. Just as planned. Exactly as planned. I’d been worried the new Kaito might be more forceful than I was used to, and I’d prepared to turn on the waterworks, if necessary. However, it seemed my fears were unfounded. He was still the same old Kaito I knew and loved. That’s right, Kaito, you’re my dear big brother. Mine. He was all mine. No matter what. He was mine, and he would always be mine, today and forever after. No longer would the thought of him leaving me haunt my dreams. Kaito… Kaito… Kaito… Kaito… I would never leave him, and he would never leave me. Never ever… “We’ll always be together, Kaito…” I took in his scent, never loosening my arms as I drifted off to sleep. “…Huh, so there are different kinds of vampires in this world.” I finished examining the old tome, flipping through rough, heavy sheets of parchment. The book was called “The Monsters Farthest from Death.” My newfound ability, Monstrous Metamorphosis, allowed me to absorb the powers of monsters, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn a little bit more about them. The title seemed promising, too, so I picked it up, and my instincts proved to be correct. It was strange being able to read a language I had no knowledge of, but the ability was undeniably useful. If this worked back on Earth, too… “No, on second thought, I don’t need it to.” Shiori had always liked collecting fairy tales, and it got to the point where she was importing foreign books just to have more to read. The two of us had read books in English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. I still remembered how daunting it was, faced with pages upon pages of letters from alphabets I’d never even seen before. To think that one little skill could make up for weeks, months, even years of study. But when I thought about it like that, something occurred to me. I didn’t need a magic ability to translate all those languages for me, because the days we’d spent muddling our way through those books with only a dictionary in hand were happiness enough. “…” I cast my gaze around the room. I could almost hear Shiori’s voice. “Wow, look at all these books, Yuuto! They’re all from another world, how exciting is that?” I could practically see her dancing between the shelves. But she wasn’t here. I would never see her smile again. Why? Why me? Why her? Why had this happened? Just why, why, why, why?! “…Snork… Whuh? Whoa, that was close! If Gram-Gram catches me snoozin’ again, she’ll tear a hole in her slipper!” At that moment, the voice of a mouse-faced beastfolk brought me to my senses. He had been sleeping at the front desk ever since I entered. It was hard to estimate his age, given his beastly features, but he didn’t seem young by any means. He rubbed his eyes a few times and sniffed. “Hmm, wossat?” he said, noticing me. “A customer? Don’t just stand around readin’ if you’re not gonna buy somethin’!” “R-right, sorry,” I replied, flashing an awkward smile. “I’ll take this one, and these two, please.” “Oh? Yer payin’? Well, that’s okay, then…” As soon as I showed him the cash, the mouse man turned friendly. “This should be enough, right?” “Yes, that’s exactly…whoa!” I dropped the coins into the shopkeeper’s palm, and he immediately spilled them all over the floor. “Right, I’ll be off, then,” I said, leaning over the counter as he scrambled to pick them up. “Uh, yeah, thank you, come again.” I stepped out into the burning sun. The hot, desert air felt like rough sand against my skin. “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Really?” “You there, lady! How about Garasha Frog meat for supper tonight? Real cheap, and your husband’s sure to love it!” “Did you hear about the kingdom’s hero? I heard he fought off a whole army of demons by himself!” “Barkeep! Let’s get some beers over here!” The voices, like those of monsters, rang in my ears. I felt like if I stopped walking for a second, the world would swallow me up. “This place…” This place took Shiori from me. It could burn, for all I cared. “I don’t get it, Kaito. Why don’t you just kill them all?” The people around me looked like dark shadows, laughing and smiling, while my loved ones suffered at their hands. “Why should these scumbags get to live when their world is the one that killed her?” Unable to bear being in their presence a moment longer, I hurried down the street to get away from them. I preferred fighting in the dungeon, away from them all. At least then I didn’t have to contend with the curses spilling unbidden from my lips. I think that was the point at which my life forked. “Oops.” “Whoopsie-daisy.” As I rounded the corner, I bumped into someone. Or rather, bounced off them. “Sorry about that,” I said, looking up at the figure. He was a pale man in a gray robe. An elf, I thought, noticing his imposing height and pointed ears. I haven’t seen one before. His eyes were strangely colored. I couldn’t tell if they were gold, or gray, or white, but they unnerved me. “Hmm? Well, now, this is a coincidence,” he said. “The Goddess truly smiles on me today.” His voice was uncannily young, and for some reason I couldn’t quite grasp, it sounded sinister. The word “fishy” was made for men like him. “My friend, would you mind if we had a little chat?” he asked. “…Sorry, I’m busy,” I replied. “If you’re not hurt, then I’ll be on my way.” I tried to walk past him, but he reached out and grabbed hold of me. “Don’t be like that,” he said. “Let’s talk.” Grr! The moment he touched me, a shiver coursed down my spine. It felt like the bony hand of the reaper himself. Alarm bells started ringing in my head. “Let go of me!!” I yelled. “Listen, my friend. Isn’t there someone you’d like to bring back?” “Rgh!!” When he said those words, I froze. Every part of my body screamed at me to run away, to not listen to another word… …but it was almost as if he heard those voices, too. “Oh, very good. You are a good listener, aren’t you?” “So what if there’s someone I want back…?” I asked. “What if I told you I’m just the man who could get it done?” He smiled, like a demon prince unveiling his latest dark contract.