Ep.2 - Two Women (1)
Ep.2 - Two Women (1)
***
Once again, the carriage headed toward the kingdom.
This time, it went straight for the royal palace.
Not much had changed from before, except that a generous pile of gold bars sat before my eyes, and my swollen ankle was wrapped in bandages.
The bandages Neva had wrapped were enchanted with a cold magic she had drawn upon, and they cooled my puffy, swollen ankle wonderfully.
The searing pain faded under that gentle chill.
She was probably a good person, I thought.
...Time passed, and night fell.
Even after night came, the knights kept walking without pause.
And so the carriage I was riding in kept rocking without pause as well.
At this rate, you would think they'd stop for at least a day to make camp, but the women pressed on without rest.
Even so, they showed not a single sign of fatigue. It was truly admirable.
The knights followed behind me.
Watching their flickering torches gradually loosened the tension in my body.
The swaying carriage interior transformed into a cozy space.
My exhausted body and mind melted into that coziness.
I grew drowsy.
And then,
I fell asleep.
Dreams.
Sleep trails dreams in its wake.
I think I dreamed.
No, actually, people dream every single day, but they say only a few dreams leave a lasting memory.
Well, I don't know. Anyway, I dreamed.
Like dreams always are,
it went on with mindless images and insane plot developments, flowing together perfectly naturally.
In that sense, it was hardly a special dream. It had no coherence, no real content, and only left behind a strange lingering impression.
But maybe because it was the first dream I'd had in this other world?
Something made me feel I absolutely had to remember it.
It felt like something terrible would happen if I forgot it.
In that dream, I ran mindlessly.
I was sprinting desperately through a place—whether mountain or forest, I couldn't tell—where grass and shrubs surged up madly.
I couldn't tell if something was chasing me or if I was desperately searching for something.
Anyway, I ran endlessly, and at last I reached something and collapsed to my knees.
It didn't feel reverent—I probably just dropped down because I was too exhausted. Anyway, I knelt before something.
[...]
Soon it spoke to me about something.
I don't remember the content clearly, but one thing alone I remember vividly.
After it finished speaking, I shed tears, and it shed tears too.
I remember those tears vividly.
They say the last part of a dream tends to stick in your memory, but for some reason those tears remain unforgettable.
"...Delin-ssi?"
"...Delin-ssi!"
My name in this other world rang out.
"Delin-ssi! You need to wake up now. Delin-ssi!"
"Yes. Alright. I'm up..."
Yeah.
Even after I woke up, I remembered the dream.
The vague scraps that usually vanish right away stayed in my head even after I'd woken.
Why that dream stuck in my memory so stubbornly—my just-woken brain couldn't properly think it through,
but as my mind gradually woke up, I became able to face that dream's intent squarely.
'I have to go to that place.'
The place from the dream.
Going there was the only way to escape this other world—the final objective given to me.
I had to set out and find that place, wherever it was.
"Delin-ssi...?"
The tracks my tears had left stung hotly.
"I'll come out soon. It's fine."
"No. You won't be able to walk properly on that leg, so get on my back."
Neva, who had come to wake me, presented her back to me.
"No. It's really fine. Neva-ssi, you still have to be received by the queen, and you have other duties to attend to, don't you?"
"Huh? I already finished all that and came back."
"What?"
"Ah... I mean, I already took care of everything while you were sleeping, Delin-ssi. You were sleeping for quite a long time, you know. Anyway, get on!"
What the...
So that's how it was...?
Now that she mentioned it, her appearance was completely different from before.
She had stripped off all her armor and was wearing clothes made of a body-hugging, wondrous material, and that back of hers—so sleek and soft-looking, despite her title of Knight Commander—was honestly far too much to be carried on without embarrassment.
Had she not realized that the contours of her upper body were clearly visible?
Her figure gave off a completely different impression from when she'd been in armor.
"I said get on, didn't I? No need to worry about anything. Walking is hard for you, so I'll carry you on my back instead."
"Ah, well... yes. I'm in your care."
I'd kind of wanted to just ask for crutches or something, but I couldn't bluntly refuse Neva when she was offering goodwill, so I carefully climbed onto her back.
"Alright, let's go. You all may return now. Good work."
After lifting me, Neva dismissed the knights around the carriage. They immediately bowed with formal courtesy and departed.
She must have ordered them to guard me. She took an awful lot of care. I was grateful, I suppose.
"You've got a good hold? We're moving."
Her soft body, her beautiful silver hair tied back neatly, the scent of her that gently tickled my nose...
The feel of her hair against my back and her apricot-toned skin right in front of my eyes...
'Wait...!'
A sign was coming.
"Neva-ssi! I'll just not be carried! Hold on!"
Afraid it would bring about a very unwelcome result, I flailed in alarm trying to get down.
The stimulation was too intense now that I was actually on her back...! At this rate...!
"It's fine. Let's go."
But she paid no mind and pushed right ahead!
"J-just a moment! At least give me a crutch or something...!"
"Being carried is way more comfortable than hobbling around with a crutch! Please, just trust me."
No, that's not the problem...!
What if I end up standing at full attention while I'm being carried like this!
"Uh, well, um!"
"It's settled, let's go!"
She gently grasped my thighs and then straightened her body.
Just as the swelling curve of her chest was making me utterly confused about where to put my arms, she started striding forward as if nothing were at all amiss.
"First, let's go to the treatment center. There's a chapel just up ahead—they'll definitely heal you right away."
"Right. I get that, I get that, but...!"
"You don't need to worry. I'll cover the cost. Instead... later, even just a meal..."
That's not what I mean...!
"Forget the meal, it's the lower half...!"
"Huh? Your lower half?"
Ah, fuck...
I'll just endure it.
She's helping me this much, what can I do.
If only I can maintain my composure...!
"Ah...?"
Neva let out a sigh as she walked.
A physiological reaction that simply couldn't be suppressed was pressing firmly against the vicinity of her waist.
The female knight carrying me apparently only just now realized the male biological reaction.
"A-ahem! Hm-hm!"
She immediately pretended nothing was happening and kept walking.
Did she have any idea how much I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole the more she did...?
"Al... almost there. Yes. Yes..."
"Yeah..."
An unbearable, awkward atmosphere flowed between us.
Before I knew it, her face had turned as red as a beet, to the point I half-worried it might burst.
'Fuck...'
Isn't "I feel like killing myself" a phrase meant for times exactly like this?
—————————————————
With our faces still burning, we arrived at the chapel dedicated to God Penola of light and mercy,
and were immediately guided by the sisters to a small bed,
where I received an examination while lying down.
"This is..."
However, the sister who had been examining my leg looked me over with worried eyes,
then started explaining the situation to me and Neva with a darkened expression.
"This cannot be healed with our power. It's not a condition that can be resolved by simple healing prayer."
"What? What do you mean by that?"
Neva sprang up from a small chair in alarm.
I was just as startled as she was, so I immediately asked the sister what she meant.
"Wh- what's the matter? Is it serious?"
"I do not know what wicked person did this to you, but the pain in this ankle is not merely from a broken bone—it is caused by a curse, or a malevolence, a horrific poison, etched into the entire ankle."
"But even so, wouldn't the sisters' holy magic be able to heal it? You are the kingdom's finest sisters...!"
"I am sorry. This is something even we cannot heal... The swelling will soon go down and the bone will mend, but the pain will likely come over you periodically. It will be difficult for you to walk properly. If you put weight on the ankle, the agony accumulates."
What?
I'd have trouble walking properly?
"Wh- what on earth...?"
"First, we will immediately treat the swelling and the bone damage for you. Beyond that..."
"...What needs to be done for Delin-ssi to recover properly?"
"Other than seeking out the one who caused this and resolving it... I'm afraid there isn't any other way."
"..."
Neva's lovely face contorted finely with negative emotions, fury chief among them.
I was grateful she was getting angry on my behalf, but her expression and aura were so murderous that the sister and I ended up watching her warily instead.
"..."
She chewed on her lip so hard it seemed blood was about to seep out of it.
"Yes, Neva-ssi... I'm fine, so please calm down first."
I tried to soothe her with words,
but mere words were far too shabby and feeble to calm the hatred Neva felt toward Philmark.
Neva, during the whole time I received treatment,
did not take her eyes off that swollen ankle for even a single moment,
and finally, once the treatment was finished and my leg looked outwardly normal, she immediately lifted me onto her back again and headed somewhere.
"Neva-ssi! Where are you suddenly going!"
"I am heading to my home."
"What? What do you mean...?"
"The guilt of having failed to properly protect you is enormous, so until Delin-ssi can walk again, I will be housing you in my home."
"Why is any of this Neva-ssi's fault! And why should I stay at your home!"
"..."
She stopped walking.
"Please stay at my home until you are fully healed. If I send Delin-ssi away like this, my knight's pride will hit rock bottom, and what meaning does a sword have if it cannot properly protect even a single innocent person?"
I tried to say something,
"...Neva-ssi. Why..."
but the look on her face over her shoulder held too many emotions,
"..."
so I couldn't manage any other words, and I was simply carried to her home as I was.