Chapter 339 - Snowball (3)

My mind goes blank.

My vision crumples like a crushed can, and Amelia's words from moments ago circle endlessly through my head.

["The royal family publicly declared you an evil spirit."]

The shock feels like dozens of grown men surrounding me and hammering my skull.

If not for her, I would have stayed like this for quite a while.

"Jandel."

"Ah..."

"... Are you all right?"

When I come to my senses, Amelia's face is close to mine. Her right hand, which looks so very small to me, rests against my chest as she looks up at me with worried eyes.

"Y-yeah..."

"I understand how you feel, but now isn't the time."

"Ah, sorry..."

Amelia tugs sharply on my wrist and moves forward. I follow in a daze.

Even I can see that she's right.

["Though I doubt she still has any intention of doing so..."]

Erwin knows I'm an evil spirit, too. In other words, I can hardly expect her to still consider me a comrade.

And... the same probably goes for the others.

'Right...'

My jaw clenches without my realizing it.

'So this day finally came.'

But even as I readily accept that, another thought occurs to me.

Who knows?

Isn't Erwin pursuing Amelia because she mistakenly believes Amelia killed me? Maybe she'll treat me the same as before, evil spirit or not.

Yes, that possibility definitely exists.

But...

"You don't have to hold on to me anymore."

I pull Amelia's hand away and start running under my own power.

Amelia is right.

Erwin can't protect me as I am now. Even if she wants to, she's a member of the fairy race.

Trying to help me would harm her people, and she's more likely to make her decision for their sake than for her personal feelings.

'... But that's just an excuse.'

I give a bitter smile as I run.

No matter how calculating or cowardly I am, I can't fool myself.

I don't want to see Erwin yet.

More precisely, I'm afraid.

Because I don't know what she'll say when we meet.

["That's right! The chieftain said so, too! Evil spirits must be killed on sight!"]

Those words Aynar once said.

["Yeah... I didn't understand before, but after what happened today, I know for sure, nyah. Why people said never to trust evil spirits..."]

Misha's words.

["It's wise to kill one when you have the chance. The outcome for those who trusted an evil spirit is right there before us."]

Mister Bear's words.

They become daggers, piercing deep into my heart.

If just thinking about it feels like this, what would it be like to experience it?

If I saw them question my sincerity, saw them vent their anger at being deceived with my own eyes...

What expression would I have on my face then?

"..."

If I can just get out of this situation, perhaps I can sort things out so that day never comes.

So I run after Amelia.

"Jandel, this way!"

We leave the deserted plaza, passing through the streets of the dark underground city toward the lord's castle at its center.

Besides the cemetery, there's a secret passage in the lord's castle, too.

Our first priority is to use it to reach the surface—

CREEEAK!

It happens just as we reach the lord's castle and I force the closed doors open.

"Jandel, get out of the way."

"Huh?"

Amelia shoves me from behind, sending me tumbling through the gap between the doors. In that very instant...

THUNK.

An arrow flies in without even a whistle and sinks deep into her back.

"...!"

Her mouth opens from the impact, her body tipping over.

She collapses on top of me, then strokes my cheek.

"Thank... goodness..."

"... Thank goodness? What the hell—!"

"Her ex... pression... I don't think she'll... hurt you..."

I can't make any sense of what she's saying.

But there's no time to ask.

I hurriedly gather Amelia into my arms and stand.

"The... vault..."

Even then, Amelia is trying to tell me something, but she never finishes.

CRUNCH!

Amelia explodes.

Right in my arms.

* * *

「Erwin Fornacci de Tersia has cast [Rupture].」

* * *

PATTER-PATTER.

Dozens of pieces fall to the floor.

The sight is utterly unreal.

"A... mel... ia...?"

The weight disappears from the arms that were holding her.

But I can't even think to move them, though they no longer serve any purpose.

All I can do is think.

Amelia is dead?

Just like this...?

And... Erwin killed her...?

After a moment of standing frozen like a statue, I notice something strange.

"Blood."

There's no blood.

An explosion powerful enough to tear someone to pieces should have sent blood flying everywhere.

Yet there's not a single drop on me.

And no sooner do I realize this than...

WHOOOOSH!

Amelia, now hundreds of pieces of flesh, turns into motes of light and disappears.

Just like a monster upon death.

「Amelia Reinweils's clone has sustained damage beyond its capacity.」

「The summon is dismissed.」

Right. It was a clone she made with [Autoreproduction].

Whew, that scared me...

I thought she'd really died.

'If you were a clone from the moment we met, you could have told me.'

Having been so badly frightened, I feel the urge to complain to Amelia, but quickly put that aside.

Now isn't the time.

'Think while running.'

I push off the ground and resume my escape.

I memorized the entire route when I followed Amelia into Noark, so I know where the secret passage is.

The question is whether I can reach it safely...

TAP-TAP.

No arrows have come flying at me yet.

But there's no telling how long that will last.

So...

'Could I... win if I fought her?'

I consider the worst-case scenario.

The possibility that Erwin will turn against me and try to kill me.

As I imagine that, the image of Amelia's body bursting apart naturally flashes through my mind.

'That effect...'

It was nothing like an ordinary explosion.

There were no flames, and the fragments didn't fly out like shrapnel from a grenade.

She simply collapsed into hundreds of pieces, like Jenga.

'It really looked like [Rupture]...'

For reference, [Rupture]'s effect is simple.

Whether it's an arrow, sword, or axe, as long as the blade pierces flesh and deals a certain amount of damage, it inflicts true damage proportional to the caster's main stat.

In other words, it ignores Physical Resistance, mana resistance, and all elemental properties.

Just like Aura, which is exclusive to humans.

'And she supposedly obtained Pureblood and contracted a Spirit King, too...'

Whether or not that was [Rupture], I don't think my chances in a one-on-one fight are good.

After all, with capabilities like that, wouldn't she have equipment to match?

'How am I supposed to beat her without weapons or gear?'

As I continue sprinting at full speed with that thought in mind...

WHOOOM.

The Light Gem illuminating the dark underground city loses its light.

This isn't natural.

I've used Light Gems a few times myself.

When this magic tool runs out of mana, its light gradually dims until it goes out.

It doesn't lose its light instantly like this.

'... A darkness spirit?'

I never imagined she'd learned to control that element, too.

I stop running.

TAP.

I'm confident in my ability to remember a route after taking it once.

If I walk while concentrating on my stride length, I should be able to find my destination somehow, even in the dark.

Provided there isn't someone pursuing me.

'Escape has failed.'

The moment I reach that conclusion, I close my eyes.

I decide it's best to abandon my now-useless sight and concentrate on my other senses.

Soon, my hearing, working overtime, picks up a footstep.

TAP.

That's a little unexpected.

I assumed the first thing I'd hear would be an arrow flying toward me.

'Well, even if she thinks I'm an evil spirit, she'd probably want to talk first.'

I tense the balls of my feet so I can move swiftly at any moment, while recalling Amelia's final words.

["Her ex... pression... I don't think she'll... hurt you..."]

She probably did see her expression.

Her visible range is several times greater than mine. She might have met Erwin's eyes as she fired from beyond the darkness.

But...

'How can you be sure just from an expression?'

No one can know what Erwin is thinking as she walks toward me in the dark.

So...

"Is that you, Erwin?"

I call out to her.

There's no reply.

The footsteps stop, too.

THUMP!

In the silence, only my heartbeat echoes like thunder.

"Mister."

At that form of address I haven't heard in so very long, the Light Gem starts working again.

WHOOOOSH.

Light spreads in every direction, illuminating our surroundings.

And thanks to it, I understand.

"Is it really..."

Why Amelia said thank goodness.

Why she was certain Erwin wouldn't hurt me.

"...you, Mister...?"

Her expression alone is enough to tell me.

Well, at least it is in that moment.

* * *

"Yes."

The moment I answer, Erwin's amber eyes tremble violently, spilling fragments of countless emotions.

Joy, delight, anticipation, anxiety, fear.

And...

"H-how..."

Disbelief.

"Th-they said you were dead..."

"Ah, things worked out this way."

"Th-things worked out this way?! You can't explain this away with that...!"

Erwin raises her voice in a sudden surge of emotion, then abruptly clamps her mouth shut.

"... Could this be that woman's trick?"

She murmurs as though she's realized something.

At the same time, her gaze turns sharp.

"Who are you?"

Uh, I wasn't expecting mood swings this severe...

Now I'm starting to worry whether she really won't hurt me, but I do my best to hide it as I answer.

"Who else? It's me, Bjorn Jandel."

"Liar."

"What, will you believe me if I use [Gigantification]?"

"Yeah. Do it."

Her curt speech feels strangely unfamiliar, but I cast [Gigantification] without another word.

"Wh-what... Is it really you, Mister?!"

Erwin's speech returns to normal.

Though only very briefly.

"That's what I've been—"

"No, this alone isn't enough to believe you."

"... Huh?"

"Use something else."

One moment she's rejoicing with tears brimming in her eyes, and the next she's switched back to ice-cold mode. I hurriedly use [Leap].

And...

"I-it really is you, Mister...!"

"Yes. I'm glad you finally believe—"

"... Did you think I'd say that? This isn't enough."

The same thing repeats several times.

Apparently she won't be satisfied until she's checked all my Essences, because her demands just keep coming.

When she tells me to use [Flesh Explosion], my stomach drops.

"... So you were a fake after all?"

Her eyes swirl with madness and murderous intent, enough to make my knees weak.

But I explain that I had the Essence removed, and we agree that I'll prove my identity with things only the two of us know instead.

"What you gave me when we first met."

"Lycho leaves."

"The name of the inn where we spent our first night together."

"..."

"You... can't answer...?"

"G-Garlic and Salt. That was the inn's name."

"Too slow."

"No, you caught me off guard by calling it our first night together. We only went there to look at an Essence..."

"Hmm."

How long do we spend talking about the past like that?

As stories known only to the two of us flow freely, her mood swings gradually subside, until she finally lets go of her doubts completely.

Though there's no telling when something might set her off again and have her aiming her bow between my eyes.

For now, at least, her doubts are gone.

"M-Mister...!"

"It's been a while. I hear it's already been two years and six months?"

A greeting that took a very long time to get out.

Erwin puts away her bow as though none of that happened, then clenches her fists resentfully.

"Why... are you only showing up now?! You were alive...! Why didn't you come find me?!"

Ah, I suppose it could look that way from her perspective.

It's not as though I stayed away because I wanted to...

"There were circumstances."

I answer quickly, afraid she might flip out again at any moment. Erwin asks cautiously,

"By circumstances... do you mean being publicly declared an evil spirit?"

In a sense, this may be the most important question of our conversation.

It's a hurdle I'd have to clear sooner or later.

But as I'm considering how to approach the issue...

"Idiot."

Erwin murmurs quietly.

"As if I'd care about something like that..."

"... You mean you don't believe the royal family's declaration?"

Guilt and relief coexist within me as I ask.

She must have concluded that she doesn't believe it. The fact that she's talking to me so normally is proof—

"No? I meant that whether the declaration is true or not has nothing to do with me."

"Huh?"

She asks as though it's the most obvious thing in the world, and I can only tilt my head.

Perhaps she decides I need an explanation.

Erwin begins spelling it out point by point, as though teaching me.

"Mister, we met after we became adults, right?"

"Uh, right?"

"And evil spirits only appear on the day someone comes of age."

"... And?"

"Then why does it matter whether you're an evil spirit?"

"... I-is that so?"

I can't hide my unease as I ask. Before I know it, Erwin has stepped closer and taken my hand tightly in hers.

"You were the one who risked your life to protect me in the cave, who taught me what I didn't know, who helped me get back on my feet... after my sister died. All of it was you, Mister."

The warmth passing through her hand feels especially comforting.

"No matter what anyone says, you're Bjorn Jandel to me."

Right. There can be people who see it this way, too.

"..."

Thank you, and so many other words come to mind, but I can't say anything. I keep my mouth tightly shut.

Erwin probably has no idea.

Just how much comfort that one brief sentence has given me...

"But..."

Then Erwin lets go of my hand.

Her eyes and voice seem to have returned to square one as she says,

"Are you really Mister?"

I think I'm going to lose my mind.