“In any event, it’s very strange that these cubes have shown up again… The Church recovered every cube Grinzam had taken after his death. Which begs the question: how did the man seeking to kill you obtain these cubes?”
“From what I heard, the cubes were stolen from the Church four years ago. I’m certain Jair must have stolen them. Not only did he have the cubes, but he’s mastered Taming Golems with the cube’s powers.”
“Now that’s odd. Controlling them was supposed to be impossible.”
“But it’s a fact; he’s done it. Jair is far too dangerous…!”
Getz’s brow wrinkled into a deep frown. “Are you going to try to stop him? I wouldn’t if I were you. Leave such matters to the Church.”
“I can’t! I have a very good reason for hunting him down…!”
Getz studied Erie with observant eyes. She held his gaze without averting her eyes. He finally exhaled and abruptly shifted his glance to Heath.
“…On another note, Heath Coleman hasn’t woken up yet—it’s almost as if he’s dead.”
Erie swallowed hard. Did he find out?!
“You can’t turn a living human into a Golem,” Getz continued over her panic. “As such, I assume Heath was murdered by that man, and you are hunting him down for revenge. Am I wrong?”
He saw right through her. Preparing herself for the worst, Erie argued, “Heathy isn’t the only one he murdered! Jair killed the security guard as well…!”
“I agree that we can’t leave such a dangerous person wandering our islands. But you are the one who will suffer the most from using a Fresh Golem to take revenge.”
“Why?!” Erie sprung out of bed. “What do you know, Professor?! I just lost the most important person, the only person who matters, to me!”
“I know all too well. More than anyone you will ever meet. I can understand how you feel… Because I specialize in Fresh Golems.”
Erie snapped back to her senses. She had heard that Getz was such a brilliantly skilled Fresh Golem researcher that he once served as an expert advisor to the Torah Church. But since Golems using human bodies had been banned ten years ago, he’d lost both his field of study and position, ruining his life and career.
“People used to beg me to create Fresh Golems for them,” he stated, a dark bitterness dully glinting in his eyes. “I’m a doctor, so I had abundant opportunity to create them. Many people rejoiced just to see their dead relative or lover move again.”
“Then why did you stop manufacturing Fresh Golems? Because it was banned?”
“No, because I lost my only daughter. I turned my daughter’s corpse into a Golem. That is why.”
Erie’s eyes widened.
“My daughter was born with a nerve dysfunction.” Getz faltered. “She breathed her last, as if she were only sleeping, when she turned sixteen. But she looked so alive to me… That’s when I lost the ability to make sane judgment calls, I’m sure.”
“That’s not true…!” Erie objected. Getz shook his head.
“It wasn’t until I turned someone I loved into a Golem that I understood for the first time that bringing the dead back to life isn’t something within human reach after all. I stopped manufacturing Fresh Golems because I became aware of that truth.”
“But…but Heathy threw away his life to become a Golem and save my life!”
“What?!” It was Getz’s turn to raise his voice in surprise.
Erie painfully remembered the events of that night. The memory of imbuing Heath’s ice-cold body with the Engrave Incantation through her tears haunted her every waking moment. Pushing back the flood of despair, she went on with her explanation in a quivering voice. “Heathy died to protect me from Jair… There’s nothing left for me to do for him aside from this…!”
Getz looked deeply heartbroken by her story. He cast down his eyes and said nothing more.
A long, drawn out silence hung over them. Getz seemed to be brooding over something with intense concentration. At long last, he looked at Erie as though he had finally made up his mind.
“…If you long for revenge, I can’t stop you. But don’t carry the burden alone. This is a problem far too painful to face alone. Is it not?”
“But Heathy was the only person in my life who supported me. Lovel was captured too… I have no one else to rely on…”
“I will become your pillar of support then.” Erie’s eyes went round at his offer. Getz looked straight into her eyes and declared, “I’ll become your ally. I might not be of much help, but I swear you have my support.”
“Professor…?! Why would you…?”
“I wish to stop this Jair as well. Other deaths are inevitable if such a brutal murderer is left loose on this archipelago. If that happens, the bereft will surely make Fresh Golems out of their deceased loved ones. After all, this is an Archipelago of Golem Tamers…”
Getz glanced out the window, where the dreary, desolate landscape of Chest Island’s outskirts stretched beyond the horizon. “But I’m going to put an end to this now. I, more than anyone else, understand the anguish of those who create Fresh Golems. I no longer want to see their pain.” He spoke in a detached tone, like he was giving a lecture. But the story about his daughter lent a kindness to his words.
…Maybe I can try believing in him…
Erie felt the wall of ice coating her heart melt away the moment the thought crossed her mind. Getz offered her a faint smile.
“Let’s not forget that you are originally my student and my patient. I would be a failure of a teacher and a doctor if I were to abandon you.”
“…Professor Getz.” His smile made Erie’s chest feel heavy, and the proper words escaped her. After a moment, she finally managed to reply with just two. “Thank you.”
“Good girl. Why don’t you spend the night? I assume you’ve been sleeping outdoors all this time. Your clothes were very unclean and unhygienic; I can’t bear to overlook it.”
“…Okay.”
“Let’s embalm Heath’s body tomorrow. You can sleep easy tonight in my daughter’s empty room.”
Getz gently laid his hand on Erie’s nodding head. From his hand, she felt the same warmth and tenderness she had from Heath’s, from what seemed like ages ago.