Dance with the Red Sky (2)
Dance with the Red Sky (2)
#52
The happy memories I'd shared with the girl flowed by like a panorama shown at the end of a life.
"Mr. Do-yun! Over here!!!"
Golden hair swayed at the end of a sunlit corridor.
Clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands, the girl called me over, her eyes sparkling like a child about to share some grand secret.
For some reason, I walked toward her with an irrepressible smile.
There were hardly any matters in the world urgent enough to call out so hastily; Estelle was surely making a fuss over nothing at all.
"What is it?"
"Hehe. Don't be surprised, okay?"
When the girl opened the door, a small, cozy room appeared, as if someone had arbitrarily remodeled an old storage room in the annex.
Perhaps she'd made an effort to fill it with various things — a desk, a sofa, all manner of mismatched furniture packed the room to the brim.
Well, though it was a little cramped, it still felt like a warm room that bore Estelle's touch.
The girl glanced at me sidelong as I looked around the room for a long moment.
"How is it?"
"...It's rather modest for Lady Estelle's taste."
"Because it's a room I'll only use when I'm with you, Mr. Do-yun."
Without thinking, my breath caught.
Estelle nonchalantly walked to the window and drew back the curtains.
Gentle sunlight spilled into the room, and dust motes rose up like powdered stars.
Within that light, the girl turned back and smiled.
"It's stifling being cooped up in the mansion rooms all the time. Sometimes you need a place like this. A secret place no one knows about!! Here, no matter what we do, the people outside won't know. Don't you think so too, Mr. Do-yun?"
For some reason, I knew the seasons of this little storage room.
I knew that on damp, rainy days one had to leave the window open just a crack; that when winter came, a small mana-stone heater would be placed beside that desk; that when Estelle read a book at night and began nodding off — I would draw close, hold her without a word, and lay her down on the bed.
Countless seasons and moments I had never once experienced
were strangely vivid.
The scene changed.
"Mr. Do-yun, your hand."
A small, warm hand was abruptly extended toward me.
Unconsciously, I accepted her hand.
A green garden where sunlight gently settled, dandelions blooming along the walking path, and between them, the image of two people slowly strolling.
Holding my hand tightly, Estelle walked on with an utterly composed face, looking only ahead.
"Why have you suddenly gone silent? It's a little awkward."
"...It's because you're holding my hand as if it's nothing."
"After all this time? What a remarkable man."
"After all this time, you say."
Only then did the girl stop walking and look up at me.
Golden eyes full of a pure child's mischief
and faintly reddened ears — so utterly lovely.
The girl pouted those small lips and grumbled.
"You're really so dense, Mr. Do-yun. How much longer are you going to be like this? Come at me more proactively."
It was familiar.
That expression too—
That tone too—
All the actions that would follow thereafter.
Soon the girl let out a small sigh and squeezed my hand a little tighter.
"Please hold Estelle's hand tightly again."
Without answering, I clasped her hand in return.
A moment that, even without a single word, was radiant enough on its own.
The warmth of those fingertips touching in the sunlight felt so utterly natural — it must have been an afternoon on some ordinary day, back when those commonplace days hadn't yet felt like a miracle granted by God.
The scene changed again.
"Here, eat this!"
Estelle, seated across the dining table, abruptly thrust a plate toward me.
On the plate sat a clumsy strawberry cake that showed traces of her having practiced many times.
Damn. I was grateful she made it, but
why had she stuck the strawberries in upside down as if she were drilling them?
This was sacrilege — was she planning to farm strawberries on top of a cake?
I wanted to say such things, but seeing the girl's expectant gaze, all my complaints vanished from my mouth as if a sweet candy had melted away.
Instead, irrepressible laughter leaked out, and the girl, hearing my laughter, immediately flushed red.
"Why are you laughing?"
"No, it's because you made it well. I laughed out of happiness."
"If you don't want to eat it, fine. Just give it to me."
"No, no, no. I'll eat it right now."
"Then hurry up and eat."
Before she could snatch the plate away, I cut half the cake and stuffed it into my mouth.
Ah — dammit.
So goddamn sweet.
The woman who had poured sugar into this had been greedy enough that my whole mouth was tingling with numbness, but Estelle just watched my expression with a tense little face.
I barely swallowed the cake and opened my mouth.
"Hey, you, come here for a second—"
Aaaaah!!!!
I scooped up the shrieking girl and began meting out thorough chastising love right there on the dining table.
The scene flowed onward again.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
It was night.
Outside the window, rain was falling, and the sound of raindrops tapping against the window frame echoed softly.
I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Estelle had at some point drawn close and was leaning lightly against my shoulder.
Instead of voices, only the sound of rain outside the window faintly diffused through the room.
"Mr. Do-yun."
"Yes."
"Today... I was a little scared. Talking to Mother about us."
It was a voice unlike her.
She who, by day, feigned strength more than anyone else and defied the head of her house — only when night came could she at last reveal this small truth to me.
Without a word, I turned my body toward her.
Then Estelle leaned deeper into me.
The warm heat unique to a woman's body seeped in.
Beyond even the feeling of wanting to protect her,
there was only a tranquility within my heart — as if this moment would naturally go on for a long time.
"Will you always stay by my side?"
I thought the question was a little laughable.
What reason would there be not to?
Tomorrow, the day after, the day after that.
Even until the day I someday left this world.
When it rained, closing the windows for her; when she dozed off reading, holding her and putting her to bed; on her hard days, wordlessly staying by her side.
Such trifling, ordinary things — it felt as if they would continue on and on.
And so I answered in a voice that was perfectly natural.
"I'll always be by your side."
The girl smiled softly.
And the final scene.
An evening terrace beneath a red sunset glow.
Estelle was leaning against the railing, gazing at the sky far away.
Every time the wind blew, her golden hair swayed, and the ends of it sparkled as if holding the sunset within them. No gold in the world, brought from anywhere, could shine more dazzlingly than that color.
I approached from behind her and draped the coat I had been wearing over her shoulders.
"You'll catch a cold. It's getting chilly, let's go inside."
"This much isn't cold at all."
"You've been coughing for a while now."
"......"
Estelle reddened faintly at the ears for a moment, then gave a soft smile.
And then, in a very quiet voice, she answered.
"Mr. Do-yun, sometimes you're too kind — that's the problem."
"..."
"But it's okay."
The sunset light seeped into her eyes.
"Because if all of that kindness is mine, I can be happy. You have to be that way only for me."
With those words, the girl slowly closed her eyes.
As if spellbound, I reached out my hand, meaning to press a kiss to her forehead.
The forehead revealed beyond the golden hair, the soft cheek, the trembling eyelashes, and the faintly quivering breath from very close distance.
Just before my lips touched—
The world-line collapsed.
The happy memories scattered like shattered glass fragments,
days I had never once held in my hands swept away by fierce waves and grew distant.
Futures I would never in the end arrive at,
futures I should have spent together with the girl.
***
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The lifespan offered up as sacrifice for the Unique Magic was exhausted, and the light of life faded away. The body of the man struck by the Hunter's mighty blow was no more than a lump of blood that could no longer be called a human form. But at that moment—
Engraved upon the very source of life,
Elysia Florentia's Unique Magic.
As its master's life hung by a thread, the half-Imprint that Elysia had carved exerted its hidden arrangement.
『Unique Magic — Equivalent Exchange』
『Total Revival — 無餘回生』
It burned away the futures that had not yet come and restored the life of the present.
If what was taken by 『Severance of Bonds — 滅緣』 was all the past ties and memories shared with the girl, then the sacrifice for 『Total Revival — 無餘回生』 was every future across all timelines that would have been shared with her.
The man who had escaped from fate engraved his own destiny upon the Great Book for the very first time.
In no timeline would the man ever be together with the girl. For so it was recorded within the Book of Fate.
The being artificially crafted by the Hunter's hand, one who by nature should have been the sole existence in this world free of all bondage — he had, of his own will, accepted upon himself the inescapable chains of inevitability.
And the power granted in exchange was truly worthy of being called a miracle.
The body, destroyed without a trace, was reconstituted enough to sustain life, and the time of the man, which should have stopped with his natural lifespan exhausted, began to move once more.
The enemy retreated, but his massive frame still stood stubbornly before the girl, guarding her, his body burned black as charcoal.
But he was alive, and that was enough. Even in that state, the man was unmistakably alive.
And so the story would surely continue.
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#53
Behind the colossal body standing with both arms spread wide, the wounded girl lay collapsed, unconscious and limp.
"Valenor, what shall we do with 「that thing」?"
"Wouldn't it be better to send it off without pain? Still, it's alive for now. What do we do?"
"Could that possibly be a mage? I've never seen Unique Magic like that before. It seems to have admirably protected the child behind it against the Blacksmith."
"Still, the child of House Eurasia is unharmed, so that's a great relief. At least we won't have to witness that woman returning and losing her mind."
The six de facto masters of Arcanum.
A full three of them stood upon the ground from which the Hunter had fled.
An overwhelming presence that the mages of the Untitled Mage House could not even approach. All the mages who had hurried here merely waited from afar for their masters' decisions.
Rosenheim of the Verdant Garden.
Valenor of Martial Might.
Etchellan of the Void.
Of the six Countesses, the remaining two would not bother themselves with such trifling matters, and Eurasia of Balance — seeing the child collapsed over there, she must have fallen into some trap in the present world.
By now, there was probably no longer anyone in the present world capable of opposing a Countess. It was only a matter of time before the master of Eurasia returned.
In any case.
There was nothing sweeter than settling matters before the person in question came back.
And so, ultimately, the future course of Arcanum would be decided in swift order by these three gathered here alone.
Etchellan spoke first.
"Rosenheim, let's at least save that child first."
Huff, huff...
The Countess approached the girl who was struggling for breath and extended a hand, exercising magic.
Fwoosha
With the manifestation of green mana, the bleeding from the severed shoulder completely stopped. New flesh gradually sprouted from the pulsating energy of life, and the girl's complexion, which had seemed to reach its limit, began to return to its original state.
In just half a day, the severed arm would be restored to its original form.
Next, it was Valenor's turn.
"So, what are we going to do with that thing? In the end, someone will have to take that thing too and revive it if we want to find a clue to this problem. First, I'd like to at least figure out who it is. Rosenheim, try reviving that one too."
"I don't want to. Can't you tell just by looking at it? That one is better off dead. Even if it's alive right now, with wounds like that, wouldn't it wish to die from the pain once it regains consciousness? Earlier you said to send it off without pain — seems your thinking changed a bit, hm?"
"If you can't do it, just say you can't. They can just endure the pain on their own. Anyway, you're really incompetent too."
"Valenor, you know nothing but brawling. That one's better off left alone, I'm telling you. Could an idiot like you even comprehend such high-dimensional healing magic and ideology? Just give it up."
The moment an uncomfortable tension began to flow between Valenor and Rosenheim, Etchellan once again began to mediate.
"Now, now. Calm down, all of you. In any case, we just need to decide what we're going to do going forward. Let's put our heads together, just among ourselves, and figure out the best way before Eurasia returns."
Swwk—
They each gazed meaningfully into each other's eyes and smiled.
The three seasoned Counts, without a single spoken word, finished coordinating their opinions through glances alone.
One.
For complete healing, Estelle was to be sent to Rosenheim of the Verdant Garden. Not for free, of course. An appropriate price would be exacted from Eurasia in return. The enormous amount of gold coins owned by House Eurasia would be necessary. If the amount of gold coins was insufficient, the child could not be returned.
Two.
The destroyed mansion grounds would be handled by Etchellan of the Void, who was responsible for all design and construction in Arcanum. This too, of course, was not free. The land where the Eurasia mansion had originally stood was one of the premier locations in all of Arcanum, so Etchellan would, under the pretext of reconstruction, seize decision-making authority over the next mansion's structure, orientation, and barrier paths. In any case, if construction began right now, it could be completed in less than half a day using the Countess's Unique Magic — so construction would commence before Eurasia arrived, to leave no room for protest afterward.
Last.
Valenor of Martial Might had no particular thoughts on the matter, truthfully. She was a woman interested only in the advancement of personal martial power above most other affairs. And so, House Valenor demanded a single thing.
Ownership of that something over there which had become a lump of charcoal. What exactly, and who, that mage was — she did not yet know, but the mere fact that it had confronted the Blacksmith — the Steel Hunter was enough to pique Valenor's interest. She would somehow revive it and make practical use of it as a sparring partner or similar tool. Even if it died, dissecting it would surely yield fascinating results.
Of course, the fact that both mother and daughter of House Valenor had coveted the same man — no one in Arcanum would ever know. For the memories of the sole person who knew the truth had all disappeared. And so this fact was surely not such an important matter. Hopefully, it would stay that way.
Now, the course of all matters had been decided.
All that remained was to move into action.
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#54
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Just how many times had this been now?
If you gathered every person in the world and held a contest for staring at unfamiliar ceilings, I could probably claim first place with confidence.
Such a shame there's no contest like that...
But where had I seen this unfamiliar ceiling before? It had to be something I'd experienced not long ago. Ah well, not important. Let's assess the situation first. Every muscle in my body was screaming — I couldn't even move my head a fraction.
***
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But something was strange.
Something felt off.
Below, my lower half was damp. No — was it warm?
Sensation hadn't fully returned to my body, so I couldn't even be sure I was feeling it properly. It was a struggle, but I felt I had to find out what on earth was happening.
—Urgh.
The moment I barely managed to raise my head and look downward, an unbelievable sight met my eyes.
Oh, dear heavens.