Karambit resisted for a moment, and only after Yori indulgently rubbed her cheek against the dragon’s some more did it finally agree to go. Karambit ran down the hill and flew away.
Haru was bent forward a little, pushing his mask against his face with his left hand.
“That’s Alterna, right?” Yori asked, looking toward the ruins. “Back when Arabakia still had a margrave in Alterna, great-grandma woke up there with her comrades and became a volunteer soldier. She told us all sorts of stories from back then.”
“And from her time on the Red Continent,” Riyo added as she stared up at the Ark. “Up until her tribe and the company they were working with took over the landmass south of the Tenryus and founded a united kingdom. And many more stories from after that too.”
“Riyo. You always derail conversations like this.”
“I’m sorry.”
Riyo hung her head. Her face showed no emotion, and her tone was level, but she might have been feeling depressed.
“Would you mind telling me something?” Haru asked in a groaning tone without taking his hand from his mask. “What was your great-grandmother’s name? I might have known her.”
“Great-grandma was the living dictionary of our tribe,” Yori said, turning back to Haru. “People called her all kinds of things like the great mother, godmom, and so on. But Yori gets to call her great-grandma because Yori bears the blood of the one most precious to her, a great man whom she loved from the bottom of her heart. Whenever children were born into the tribe, great-grandma would name them herself. Those named by great-grandma were special.”
“Yori... That name... I’ve heard it before. I just remembered...” Because Haru’s face was hidden behind a mask, it was impossible to tell where he was looking. But his face was turned downward. He wasn’t looking Yori in the eye. “My comrade...my friend once told me that if her baby was a girl, they were going to name her Yori. But it was a boy.”
“So, about Yori. Yori is the second Yori in our clan. The first Yori was Ruon’s daughter. His first daughter. She passed away at a young age. Then great-grandma gave that name to Yori. The precious name she’d come up with together with our great-grandpa.”
“No way... This can’t be happening... You’re kidding me... No... I don’t think you’re lying... That’s not it, but... It’s already been a century. A hundred years have passed... It’s just not possible. How can I be hearing that name again...? Wait, she named you? You were born in the year 744... So you’re eighteen this year, huh?”
“Great-grandma didn’t know her age. When she woke up in Grimgar, the only thing she knew was her own name. But she lived for a very long time, and was always full of energy. She always used to put Yori on her lap and tell stories. Sometimes Riyo too, because Riyo was still small back then.”
“When? When did...she...?”
“It was about five and a half years ago, maybe?”
“December 24th, 756 A.C.,” Riyo said in a quiet voice, but without hesitation. “That’s the day great-grandma passed. It was a day I’ll always remember.”
“Five years...?” Haru said, right before he dropped to his knees. “Only five and a half years ago...” He hung his head and shook it listlessly. “That’s so recent... She was...alive...not that long ago... And I just...assumed it was impossible... Ohhh... What’ve I been doing...staying here all this time...? Why...?”
Manato walked over and crouched down next to Haru. He wanted to do something for him but didn’t know what. He was pretty sure that smiling wouldn’t help, though. Haru didn’t look like he was in any mood for smiles.
Well, darn. Manato couldn’t smile either.
“Yume...” Haru murmured. His voice sounded warped, like it was being squeezed out of his throat. “Yume...was alive. She lived on for us, protecting her child—Ruon...and escaped from Grimgar. Ohhh... Ruon had children... And his grandkids have come to Grimgar... And I... What was I doing? I should’ve been able to do something... Yeah... I could have. There’s no reason I couldn’t have...”
After hesitating a little, Manato patted Haru on the back. “You okay, Haru?”
“Yeah...” Haru replied, but he didn’t so much as budge. “I’m okay. I can’t say that I’m not.”
“Hey,” Yori said, circling around until she was in front of Haru. She didn’t crouch. She looked down at Haru without lowering herself. “Yori and Riyo introduced ourselves and told you where we came from. Now it’s your turn. Who are you? Your name’s Haru, and there was a Haru-kun in great-grandma’s stories. She said that he was her comrade, her friend, and something like a big brother to her. Great-grandpa was in another class altogether, but she trusted Haru-kun with all her heart. Haru-kun saved her time and again. More often than she could count. But...”
Yori let out a sigh before continuing. “Haru-kun awoke in Grimgar on the same day as great-grandma and was about the same age. He wasn’t an elf or a dwarf. He was human. It’s not nice to say it like this, but there’s no way he’s still alive. Even great-grandma, who wanted to see him up until the day she died, had probably given up hope of that.”
“Haru-kun was what great-grandma called him,” Riyo added dispassionately. “But his real name was Haruhiro.”
“Yeah...” Haru finally raised his head. “I’m that same Haruhiro. And like you said, normally, I ought to have been dead by now. But I failed at dying. You could say I’m living in disgrace.”
“Why do you hide your face?” Yori asked.
“This isn’t just a mask.” Haru put his hand on the edge of the mask that covered his entire face, ears included. “It has other functions.”
“It’s a relic?”
“That’s right.”
“So keeping it on you is convenient? That’s the only reason?”
“My face isn’t worth showing... No, that’s not it. I’ve been alone for decades. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be seen. I just wanted to hide.”
“No matter how wrinkled great-grandma got, she never hid. She was always bolder than anyone.”
“I wish I could’ve met Yume again... It’s possible that I could have. And if it was possible, then I should have... I needed to tell her about what I did, in my own words—”
Haru took his mask off. Or rather, it was more like it came off on its own, and Haru just caught it with his hand. Yori furrowed her brow and clenched her teeth. Riyo was looking at Haru’s unmasked face from some distance away too. Her expression never changed, but she did blink two or three times.