✦ ✦ ✦
“I mean, it’s currently about to be destroyed,” Orphen said unenthusiastically before ending the conversation and turning around.
But the lord was already gone.
“Orphen!”
Orphen turned around, hearing his name, and saw a blonde girl standing there with her hands behind her back, looking up at him.
There was a bit too much distance between them for them to talk, so Orphen took half a step toward her and asked, “You need something?”
It was a stupid question. He knew that even before seeing her face. It was likely that she’d called out to him precisely because she did need something, but even if she didn’t, it wasn’t like she couldn’t call out to him anyway.
Still, he was curious as he looked her over. She wasn’t with Leki. He glanced back at the camp where the injured were gathered and found him still sitting there like he had been before. But he didn’t think Claiomh had parted with Leki since they reunited at the lord’s mansion.
She cleared her throat and told him, “I just thought we could talk.”
“Hmm...” Orphen nodded, not seeing any reason to turn her down. Then he remembered what he was currently up to, so he waved an arm and told her, “I’m looking for the lord. Can we walk and talk?”
“Sure.” Claiomh jogged after him.
As they walked side by side, Orphen began, “Is anything different?”
“Huh?” Claiomh gave him a blank look.
“Well, I was just remembering the girl who was a Deep Dragon’s familiar that we met before,” Orphen explained. “Mental dominion like that can affect your personality.”
“Hmm... I can’t really tell, myself. Is there anything weird about me?”
“We can’t tell either. It’s not like you have a mark on you or anything,” Orphen told her, not sure how to proceed.
Claiomh giggled. “I guess you and Majic are a little weird.”
“Well, circumstances being what they are... Come to think of it, I don’t see Majic around.” He glanced about.
The wasteland extended all around them, but it was so vast that there were plenty of protrusions and shadows all around them. It wouldn’t be that strange if he were simply out of sight at the moment.
Claiomh stopped for a moment, her hair blowing in the wind. Orphen almost stopped with her, but at the last moment, he decided to keep walking, figuring she’d catch up to him quickly.
“Maybe I really am weird... I’ve been thinking.”
“Is that a new experience for you?” Orphen responded without really thinking himself.
She jogged a little to catch up to him and then said, “Mm... It kind of is.”
“Yeah? I don’t think that’s really true...”
“Orphen, what are you thinking about right now?”
Orphen sighed. “How to get through that spirit sorcery barrier, I guess...”
“Are you really? Or are you just making sure that you can’t?”
This time, Orphen did stop. Taken by surprise, he looked back at Claiomh, who was also stopped, staring at him like she was waiting for him to respond.
She rubbed her nose with a small smile like she was embarrassed. “Maybe that’s all thinking really is...or at least, that’s what I’ve been thinking lately.”
“I guess so,” Orphen admitted. “Why, do you have some kind of idea?”
“No... I’m sorry. I didn’t actually have anything else to say.” She stepped past him, taking the lead this time. Looking back over her shoulder, she said, “It’s five more days now?”
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hmm? Yeah.” Orphen nodded.
Claiomh held five fingers up and looked down at them—with that empty, emotionless look she sometimes got. “It’s kinda like...how do you even react to that, you know?”
“Yeah.”
“What kinda stuff can you do in five days?”
“Hmm?”
She folded down her fingers in thought. “You know, like... I was thinking, what’s something I want to make sure I do? Is there even anything I can finish in five days? I don’t really think I have anything like that. I wouldn’t be satisfied with just five days. No matter what I did.”
“Claiomh, is something wrong?” Orphen asked, sensing something strange from the things she was saying.
But she just shrugged as if to dodge the question and said, “I mean, you haven’t said anything but ‘yeah’ this whole time either, Orphen.”
“Oh...” Orphen went quiet for a moment before hastily following up with, “No, it’s not like I haven’t been listening to you or anything, really, I just...” He tried to make excuses for himself, but Claiomh held up a hand to stop him.
She smiled and said, “I’m sorry. I know you have a lot of stuff to worry about right now, Orphen. I’ll tell you when things have calmed down a little.”
The girl spun around and left, and as Orphen watched her golden hair sway in the winds of the wasteland, he simply stood without chasing after her. She wasn’t far enough away that he couldn’t still call out to her, but he would have no idea what to say if he did. There was a mysterious unease in his heart, but he knew he didn’t have the guts to figure out what it meant exactly.
Stewing in self-hatred for hurting someone with his ineptitude, he thought to himself, Our limit... Now that I think about it, Claiomh is probably more worn out than anyone else. That could probably be said about himself as well.
Five more days. It was too little time to do anything, averting their doom included.