Chapter 121 - Dark Clouds (5)

For a moment, I stand rooted to the spot, staring ahead.

I thought Misha would have gone home and the room would be empty, but two people are inside.

Misha and Erwin.

'There's no way they know each other. Did Erwin come looking for me and happen to run into her?'

As soon as I enter the room, I habitually piece together cause and effect from the circumstances before me.

But that's as far as I get.

KRA-KABOOM!

Unlike the damp air outside, where rain is pouring down, the air in my little room feels strangely chilly.

This room is full of mysteries.

'What the hell? Why is she so pissed?'

After spending the past few months practically joined at the hip, I can tell just by looking at her face.

Misha is very, very angry right now.

It doesn't even compare to when she caught me eating all the meat and secretly throwing away the carrots.

Judging by how the fur on her tail has puffed up a little, she seems to be on guard, too...

Erwin is acting strange as well.

'... Is she crying?'

Tears have pooled in her eyes.

She isn't openly sobbing, but how should I put it? She looks like she's struggling to hold it in.

Rather than crying out of sadness, she looks like she's trembling with frustration and desperately enduring it.

'Did they get into a fight?'

Based on the evidence before me, I reach a conclusion.

Erwin and Misha seem to have fought.

As for why, well, I have no idea.

Neither of them struck me as the type to get this emotional with someone they'd only just met.

CLACK.

When I close the door, Misha and Erwin both turn to look at me.

With all the rain and thunder, they apparently only noticed my presence once I shut it...

Misha speaks first.

"Oh, Bjorn, you're back, nyah? You have a visitor, nyah."

Misha greets me with her usual grin.

For some reason, her eyes aren't smiling at all.

And then it happens.

"Waaaaah! Mister...!!"

Erwin lets loose the tears she's been holding back and launches herself at me, even leaping into the air.

I instinctively sidestep her.

Was that not how she imagined this going?

True to her agility build, Erwin regains her balance and lands on her feet, then bites her lip and asks,

"Is it... because of that woman?"

What is she talking about?

She feels very different from the last time I saw her...

Then again, it has been quite a while.

"What do you mean, because of that woman?"

"I-it's nothing!"

Wondering whether they really did have a huge fight, I ask her to explain, but Erwin flinches and shakes her head vigorously.

Then she shoots a wary glance in one direction. Misha stands at the end of it.

"Bjoorn, what took you so long, nyah?"

Meeting her gaze, Misha comes toward me with quick little steps.

"You rushed out earlier. Everything went okaay, nyah?"

I cannot get used to that nasal, cutesy voice.

For some reason, goosebumps break out all over me, but I answer her question for now.

"Nothing serious. Karon was accused of being a plunderer, but I went over and said a few words, and it all worked out."

"Ohh, I see. You did well, nyah."

Misha praises me and gently strokes my chin.

Normally, she would've given me a few pats on the arm or back.

At this point, I have to ask.

"What... has gotten into you?"

"What do you mean, nyah? I'm praising you for doing a good job, nyah. It's not like barbarians are strangers to us, nyah."

I tilt my head without meaning to.

That wasn't even what I was asking...

And her answer itself is full of contradictions.

"What, nyah? Barbarians and therianthropes get along, don't they, nyah?"

... Do they?

Well, I suppose they're on better terms than they are with elves, their sworn enemies.

"Here, a towel, nyah!"

I'm about to say something else when Misha jumps up and drops a towel on my head.

"Dry your hair first, nyah. You'll catch a cold, nyah."

"Oh, uh... all right."

Something feels off, but I rub the water out of my hair and turn to Erwin. She is my guest, after all. I can't just keep ignoring her.

"Erwin, you came to see me first?"

"Huh? Oh, yes..."

When I address her, Erwin hunches her shoulders and avoids my eyes.

And to think she was throwing herself at me a moment ago.

Oh, did dodging her make her feel rejected?

"Anyway, good timing. I was thinking of coming to see you my—"

"What? You were going to look for me?"

"... Yes?"

"Really? I'm so happy. I-I thought you might have forgotten me..."

The mood has changed in just a few exchanges. I chuckle and answer,

"You were my companion on my first Labyrinth expedition. How could I forget?"

"R-right? It couldn't possibly have meant something only to me, could it?"

Huh?

Something feels oddly wrong, but overwhelmed by Erwin's earnest gaze, I nod.

"... I suppose not?"

"Yes! I knew it!"

I don't know what happened, but that one answer makes Erwin's face light up.

That should be enough pleasantries, so I decide to ask what I've been wondering about.

"Anyway, it's been a while. How have you been?"

"Me? You want to know how I've been?"

"Yes...?"

"Then I'll tell you!"

Erwin promptly begins recounting everything that happened while we were apart, chattering nonstop like a bird.

Most of it concerns the Labyrinth.

Climbing the floors with her sister, killing monsters, absorbing new Essences. Oh, and apparently she otherwise stayed holed up in her room, training day and night?

"Look! I can control all four great elementals now! And three of them have already completed Enlightenment!"

"What? Three?"

"Yes! I worked really, really hard!"

Honestly, even I'm a little surprised.

Even with her sister power-leveling her like an alt, it's hard to believe she achieved this much in just a few months.

'Is this what talent looks like?'

Her situation differs from mine in all sorts of ways.

While I grew stronger through high-grade Essences and equipment, she has truly developed her abilities through training.

'An elf archer with Enlightenment in three elements, not even a year into her career...'

That's a rare find, all right.

If she can achieve Enlightenment in all four elements, she'll be able to do "that" in the late game.

'Tsk. If not for her sister, I could've recruited her.'

I feel a pang of regret, as though I've let a talented prospect slip away.

Still, I decide not to say anything unnecessary.

I'm not putting a team together right now anyway, and there's no way she'd leave her family behind to join me.

"Anyway, I'm glad you were just busy training. I thought you hadn't been able to find me because I'd moved. Still, it was time for you to focus on getting stronger rather than on me."

"Oh, that wasn't exactly..."

"That's right. Bjorn's right, nyah. If you haven't even been at this a year, you should be figuring out how to survive first, nyah."

Misha, who has been silently listening, gets up and puts an arm around Erwin's shoulders.

Erwin stiffens with a start, then—

"Yes..."

She nods weakly.

Am I imagining it, or is she watching Misha's reactions?

Suddenly remembering the atmosphere when I first entered the room, I belatedly ask,

"Oh, so what happened between you two while I was out?"

Truthfully, I've been wondering that from the beginning.

But Misha tilts her head innocently at my question.

As though I've asked something strange.

"Hm? Nothing happened, nyah."

"Nothing happened? I thought you two had gotten into a fi—"

"Nyaha! A fight? Of course not, nyah. We've gotten so close, nyah. Haven't we, Erwin, nyah?"

"Yes, Ms. Karlstein..."

"What's this Ms. Karlstein business, nyah? Just call me big sis, nyah."

"Yes, big sis..."

It looks like a delinquent girl leading an innocent schoolgirl into an alley.

Something definitely seems to be going on...

But as long as they keep their mouths shut, prying probably won't get me the answer I want.

'I'll figure out what happened later...'

I walk past them and throw the window wide open.

The dark clouds have already cleared. Sunlight glitters on the wet streets.

And so I send my visitors on their way.

"The rain's stopped, so you two should get going. I need to wash up and get some rest."

For some reason, exhaustion is washing over me.

* * *

After leaving Mister's room, Erwin found herself in an awkward situation.

"Huh? You're going this way too, nyah?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Then go ahead, nyah. I'll leave in a bit, nyah."

She was headed in the same direction as the therianthrope woman.

Well, fortunately, this woman didn't seem to want to walk with her either...

"Then you go first. I'll leave later."

"No, nyah. You go first, nyah."

This was the biggest problem.

She'd leave later?

How could Erwin trust that?

She had a feeling the woman would turn right around and trot back to Mister's room the moment Erwin disappeared. From the look of it, the woman clearly harbored the exact same suspicion.

"Haa..."

Erwin and Misha sighed at the same time.

"Shall we just go together, then?"

"Yes, that would be better, nyah."

An awkward silence filled their walk home.

Neither spoke first. They simply concentrated on walking.

That was only natural.

They had told Mister nothing had happened, but that wasn't actually true.

["Who knows, nyah? Don't you already know what I mean, nyah?"]

When she heard those words, Erwin felt something come unscrewed in her head. Her heart raced madly with anxiety, and she couldn't hold back any longer.

So the words slipped out before she knew it.

["You nasty cat...!"]

The first insult she had ever hurled at another person in her life.

And as if that weren't enough, when she came to her senses, her hand was on the dagger at her waist.

Erwin knew then.

["Is there something wrong with your head, nyah?"]

If not for those words, she would only have come to her senses after swinging her dagger.

The therianthrope woman was strong.

It wasn't just an impression. She really was.

Elves, born with a keen sensitivity to energy, could sense the spiritual power of others.

'Twice mine... No, maybe even three times.'

There was a vast difference in their spiritual power.

It meant she had absorbed more Essences of higher grades. Erwin could feel it from her bearing and the force of her presence, too.

The moment she realized that, dizziness washed over her.

Misha Karlstein.

This woman was an enemy.

But Erwin couldn't beat her in a fight.

Which meant something would be taken from her.

Something precious, just like back then.

Yes, it would be taken.

Emotions disconnected from reason raged through her.

The memory of a certain moment, seared into her brain, paralyzed Erwin's thoughts.

Overwhelmed by emotion, her mouth moved of its own accord.

["Don't take him away... Please..."]

Pathetic begging.

Words she could never have uttered in her right mind.

They poured out one after another.

["What...?"]

Even the therianthrope woman, who had been glaring coldly at her, opened her mouth in disbelief.

In her head, Erwin knew how ugly and bizarre she must look right now.

But...

Part of her thought she could do worse if it meant protecting what she treasured. No, she might really have fallen to her knees and begged, sobbing her eyes out.

CLACK.

If Mister hadn't arrived just then.

["Waaaaah! Mister...!!"]

Erwin shook her head as though to dispel her thoughts.

It was such an embarrassing memory that she didn't even want to think about it.

For some reason, it became difficult to think rationally whenever Mister was involved.

'... She must think I'm some kind of weirdo.'

Her face flushing with a fresh wave of shame, Erwin glanced at Misha.

Misha stood at a fork in the road.

"I'm going that way now. Which way are you headed, nyah?"

"Fortunately... the other way."

"Hmm, I see... nyah."

The time had come to escape the awkward silence, but both remained where they were, looking at each other, unable to take a step.

Misha spoke first.

"Are you... coming again tomorrow, nyah?"

"Yes, I am."

"Haa... How did I even end up in this... nyah."

Misha pressed a hand to her forehead as though she couldn't believe she had found herself in this situation.

It felt just as unreal to Erwin.

When she'd rushed here, all she'd thought about was seeing Mister and laughing happily together.

"Anyway, I'll be going, nyah. You go straight home too. Understood, nyah?"

"Um..."

"Hm, nyah?"

Erwin stopped Misha as she started down the other road.

There was something she had to say.

Though she really didn't want to.

"... Thank you."

"Thank me... nyah?"

"You didn't tell Mister about what happened earlier."

"About you trying to draw your knife and come at me, nyah?"

"Yes..."

Erwin hung her head, and Misha let out a deep sigh.

"Forget it. Let's make one promise, nyah."

"A promise?"

"You're going to come even if I tell you not to, nyah. So let's keep whatever happens between us a secret from Bjorn, nyah. Um... I'm sure you feel the same way, but... y-you don't want to make him worry over something like this either, nyah."

"... All right."

"Then I'll be going, nyah. Make sure you go straight home too, nyah."

"Yes."

Erwin parted ways with Misha and headed back to her lodgings.

It was quite a distance, but perhaps because her mind was so cluttered, it didn't feel long.

When she opened the door and entered, her sister greeted her.

With a somewhat worried expression.

"Erwin."

"Sis..."

Erwin all but collapsed into her sister's arms.

"Did you... go see him?"

"Yeah. He really was alive."

"I-is that so...? That's wonderful."

For a long while, she clung to her sister, seeking comfort in her embrace.

Then she renewed her resolve.

"Sis, I'm going to get stronger."

"Stronger...?"

"Yeah. Is that strange?"

"No, I thought you wouldn't train anymore..."

Erwin tilted her head at her sister's loaded remark.

Why would she stop training?

Well, when she'd first discovered Mister was alive, the time she had spent holed up in her room training had felt meaningless...

"There's someone I absolutely have to beat now."

If anything, Erwin felt a desire burning even more fiercely than before.

"So keep helping me, Sis."

If she didn't want to be the one who had things taken from her,

she simply had to become the one who took.