“Thanks again, Koh.”
“It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.” That day, I’d woken up early in the morning to accompany Balrog to the valley. From what he’d told me, some of the ores he’d been observing had been exhibiting a particularly unusual reaction recently. He wanted to test if that reaction would continue if he moved them from the mana-rich environment of the valley to somewhere closer to his village. “You’re sure it’s safe?”
“For now, anyway. There aren’t any absolutes in research like this, but think about it—if I made magical tools with these things and they ended up only working in places with dense concentrations of mana in the atmosphere, they’d be totally worthless, right? You can’t make progress without taking a few risks in the process!”
“So, does that mean these ores are sort of like magical batteries?”
“‘Batteries’?” He cocked his head.
“Ah... I mean, like fuel? You know, magical firewood?”
“Oh, okay, then yeah. That’s basically right.”
Knowing about all these things I’ve never actually seen’s a real pain sometimes... I grumbled internally as I piled the research equipment Balrog had left in the valley onto the small, hand-drawn cart we’d brought from the village. Since he claimed the ore wasn’t that dangerous, I put a few chunks of it in as well.
“By the way, Koh—how long’s it gonna be before you start calling me your brother-in-law?”
“My brother-in-what?”
“Isn’t that the direction you and Rei are headed in?”
“The direction we’re...? Oh, this again?” Balrog cracked a grin—he was clearly immensely entertained. News of my exchange with Rei on that day had spread through the village like wildfire. There was absolutely no hope of hiding it. Ever since then, Balrog had used the incident as an excuse to tease me relentlessly. “Like you’re one to talk. What about you and Lyra?”
“Ugh! Finally punching back, huh?!”
“Letting myself get beat up one-sidedly goes against my principles. So, how about it?”
“L-Lyra and I really aren’t like that...”
“Oh? Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I told her you said that?”
“Don’t! She’ll scold me half to death!”
“Meaning you really are ‘like that’ after all.” His reaction was as over-the-top as ever, but watching him fly into a fluster still brought a smile to my lips. Balrog responded with one of his own, albeit a fairly exasperated one.
“Can’t you do something about that smile of yours? You look like you’re plotting a murder.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose. This is just how I am.”
“Not true! You have a totally natural smile when you’re with Rei! Just gimme one of those every once in a while!”
A totally natural smile. Those words made me freeze up for a moment. It was the first time I’d been told anything like that. “All these weird expectations of yours are just making me nervous.”
Did I really smile naturally when I was with her? She’d obviously never been able to see it and point it out herself, but she certainly smiled back at me every once in a while. A tender, affectionate smile...
“Ah! You were just thinking about Rei, weren’t you?”
“What?”
“You were smiling just now! A really good one too! Downright angelic compared to what you give us!”
“You’re reading too much into this.”
“Yeah, sure I am. You don’t have to hide it! Looks like you’ll be calling me your big brother before too long after all! Don’tcha think you’d better start getting used to it before it happens for real?”
“Don’t need it. For one thing, we’re not even close to old enough to think about that stuff.”
“Oooh, so you’ve given it enough thought to consider your age? That’s some real progress, there! It’s fine, though. Haven’t you ever heard of common-law marriage? And hell, I could always clear out of the house, if you want! It’ll be agonizing to leave my beloved little sister behind, but I know she’ll be in good hands with you!”
“You’re impossible.” Balrog was positively frolicking, and I heaved a sigh as I finished loading up the cart and set off. I wouldn’t be able to escape his teasing that easily, of course. The cart wasn’t especially heavy, but a lot of his equipment was delicate, and I had no choice but to move slowly. He, on the other hand, was empty-handed. “Hey, Balrog?”
“What is it? You sound pretty serious.”
I hesitated. “Actually, never mind.”
“C’mon, again? How many times does this make? You’re always right on the verge of telling me something, then you shut up at the last second. Do you have any idea how curious you’re making me?”
“I just get really nervous whenever I try to spit it out.”
“You can get nervous?! But that means—you have feelings, Koh?!”
“...Hey.”
“Kidding, kidding. Trust me, I know that you’re way more sensitive than you look.” The good-natured mockery abruptly vanished from Balrog’s tone as he smiled at me. His smile was incredibly similar to Rei’s, and yet somehow, it didn’t prompt the same emotions I felt towards her. “Just talk to me, okay? I’m probably the easiest person around to talk to about this stuff, right? Times like these are exactly what guy friends are for!”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
“Same goes for brothers who’re close to your age, by the way!”
“Oh, cut it out. To me, Rei is...” I was about to try to explain what she meant to me, but I couldn’t. I didn’t even understand my feelings for her clearly, so I didn’t really have anything to say. “Balrog?”
“Hmm?”
“This village really—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence again, but this time, it wasn’t my fault. I was interrupted by a noise in the distance. An explosion.
“Wha— Balrog!”
“That came from the village!”
Nothing like this had happened here before—the situation was plainly abnormal. We sprinted for town, abandoning the cart without a second thought.
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
“No... This can’t be happening...”
The village was ablaze. Gouts of flame spilled from countless homes, and many of the buildings had already collapsed. Corpses littered the ground, charred beyond all hope of recognition.
“Rei!”
I had a terrible premonition. The flames were working their way outward from the center of the village. What if Rei had been left behind in her house? Rei, who couldn’t see, and couldn’t escape on her own? I sprinted through the town, as if running as fast as I could would shake off the horrifying visions racing through my imagination.
“Ah...”
Rei’s house had not been spared. It was in a fiery blaze of smoke and ash.
“REEEEIIIIIIII!”
I hurled myself into the inferno before I even knew what I was doing. Their entire house and almost everything in it was made of wood—a perfect collection of fuel to stoke the flames. It was only a matter of time before it collapsed, and there was no concrete reason to believe I’d find her inside, but I desperately searched anyway. The rooms that were so familiar to me were now blackened and warped by fire, completely unrecognizable.
“She’s not here...?” I muttered to myself. There was no sign of her within, dead or alive, but I did find a pile of charcoal and ash I could barely identify as the remains of her wheelchair. In other words, if she had escaped from her house, she’d done so on foot.
“Rei... Rei! Can you hear me?! Where are you?!” I dashed out of the house and shouted at the top of my lungs. She couldn’t have possibly gone far, and there was no guarantee she’d be safe if she was still in the village. I had to find her and save her as quickly as possible.
“Do you wanna know?” An odd, discomforting voice rang out. It was quiet, muffled, and strangely rough.
“What?!”
“Here’s a hint—she’s right over that way.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Good question, but are you sure you have time to hear the answer?”
“Shit!” The voice was mocking me, whatever it was, but I couldn’t let my frustration get the better of me. I ran off in the direction it pointed me in. I didn’t have any other hints to guide me, after all.
“Ah... Rei!”
And there she was. She lay on the ground, as-of-yet unscorched.
“Koh...”
“Rei! Are you...okay...?” She hadn’t been burned, but as I knelt beside her, I immediately knew she was far from all right. A chunk of metal was buried in her back. Blood poured from the wound, and what little color and vitality she’d had in her pale skin was draining away before my eyes.
“Koh... I can hear you... Koh...”
“Rei! REI!” I lifted her in my arms and grasped her hand. She gave mine a feeble squeeze in return.