17. Survival Rule #3: We Are All Friends (3)
17. Survival Rule #3: We Are All Friends (3)
Four days had passed since Reni regained consciousness.
Thanks to Karina's devoted care, Reni had recovered enough to move around and followed her with dogged persistence. The absurd sight of one critically injured patient trying to guard another prompted Karina to scold Reni with rare anger in her voice, but Reni let the words go in one ear and out the other and kept following her.
Was she a stalker or an escort knight?
Karina now looked at Reni with growing exasperation and spoke softly and patiently, but Reni's expression didn't change at all. Karina probably knew gentle words would never get through to her. Finally, she made a declaration in front of me.
"If you keep this up, I won't treat you anymore!"
Only then did Reni stop the R.O.D. routine.
For reference, R.O.D. stood for Regret, Obsession, and Despair.
From a spectator's perspective, it was a fairly entertaining combination. Regret that she could have avoided this if she had found another ship. Obsession that drove her to follow Karina despite her ruined body. Despair when Karina recoiled from watching it.
...All right, I had just tacked on the despair part.
That stalker—no, Escort Knight—was exactly the sort of person who would think this meant she was doing her job well. A little further and she might have followed Karina into the bathroom. Even as a bystander, that idea sent a chill down my spine. Then again, I had heard that women went to the bathroom together... or did they? Where had I heard that?
"Snakes won't show up on the beach, will they?"
As she had for the past few days, Reni made a fuss and asked me. It happened every time Karina put on the shoes I'd made and went out for a walk on the beach alone. The beach in front of the house wasn't far, and I'd removed every hazard, so I'd told her there was nothing to worry about—and still, this commotion. Apparently she was a pain in the ass in reality, just as she had been in the game.
"That's the tenth time. It's safe, so stay put."
Listening to the same fuss while I tanned hides was irritating. Our relationship had begun on hostile terms, but four days of eating and sleeping under one roof had reduced the distance between us. Since I hadn't touched Karina at all, Reni's suspicions had probably eased. In exchange, I was now at the mercy of her constant fussing...
Hearing her worry about Karina once or twice was one thing, but by now I was sick of it. I spread the tanned leather beside me and picked up the softened plant stems I had prepared. I would twist them into bands that secured the sole to the foot.
Though there was one thing to do first.
"Reni."
"...What?"
"Let me see your foot for a moment."
"What?"
I carefully took Reni's nearly healed foot and examined it from several angles. Her bronze-colored toes were dotted with calluses from years of training, and scars from the battlefield marked her skin. People called scars a warrior's medals, but did Reni see them that way? The thought occurred to me as I traced one with a finger.
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
"I'm measuring your foot. Those worn-out combat boots aren't doing their job anymore. You need new shoes."
Reni wiggled her foot as if to tell me to let go, but in her current state—she could barely manage a spoon—her resistance was nothing more than a tickle. If Reni's body had been intact, she'd probably have kicked me across the room by now and sent me crashing through a wall like a gag manga protagonist. As I continued to examine the foot I held, Reni—who'd been trying to pull away—let out a sigh and stopped her squirming.
"I mean, I'm grateful, but... don't just grab my foot out of nowhere. You startled me."
Once Reni finally went still, I handled her foot for a while, estimated its size by hand, and let go. She gave me a complicated look and sharply turned her head away.
Now I could make the shoes in peace.
I picked up the plant stems laid out before me. I'd twist them into a sole, make a leather cushion to absorb impact under the foot, and attach leather-covered bands to complete a sturdy pair of sandals. After that, I planned to choose a suitable bone from those I'd brought and make a usable sword. A swordswoman without a sword was a serious problem.
Couldn't send her out with a broken blade, either. It wasn't something I'd made, so I couldn't Repair it.
Once we escaped the island, maybe I'd learn blacksmithing. I could learn alchemy while I was at it. I'd need some kind of profession to make a living anyway—
"Aren't I counting my chickens before they hatch?"
We didn't even know if escape was possible yet. It'd be better not to think about any of it; no sense getting my hopes up just to be disappointed. But human beings never quite follow their own intentions—
"What was that?"
"...Talking to myself."
"...You talk to yourself a lot."
It was a throwaway remark from Reni. Nothing significant, really, but being called out on it suddenly felt strange. It reminded me all over again how long I'd lived alone on this uninhabited island.
"When you live alone long enough, talking to yourself inevitably becomes a habit."
"Is that so..."
Silence settled between us, born from neither of us finding anything to say. Whenever Karina wasn't around, conversation kept snapping like undercooked noodles.
Neither of us was the talkative type to begin with, and if I wasn't sleeping, I was doing something. Naturally, I got quieter when I focused on a task. Reni probably hesitated to bother me while I was working, too.
We'd long since exhausted the safe topics, and we couldn't exactly broach anything sensitive. All we could do was sit in silence.
"...Say, every single thing here—did you make all of it with your own hands?"
"Yeah."
"That's impressive."
"When you live alone, you have to be self-sufficient in everything. It's not that impressive. Have you ever made anything yourself?"
"No. I was always the one smashing things. Enemies, allies—anything."
For some reason, Reni's voice sounded melancholy.
Was I imagining it, or was it real? I deferred judgment and checked the sole. Any protruding bits could hurt the foot, so this was a crucial step. The person wearing them was tough enough that a little thing like that wouldn't faze her, but on an uninhabited island, even a small scratch could turn lethal, so it paid to be careful.
Of course, with our walking healing machine Karina around, a little scrape wasn't exactly a matter of life and death anymore.
Good. The sole was about right. Now I just had to connect all the parts into proper form, and it'd be finished. It wouldn't take long; once I was done, maybe I'd go check on the snakes' movements. I was making loose plans in my head when—
"...This time almost ended the same way. If it weren't for you, neither Karina nor I would have survived."
"I only did what needed to be done."
After ten years on an uninhabited island, even a serial killer would save someone before anything else. Besides, Karina was practically my benefactor. Thanks to her, I'd finally learned what world I'd transmigrated into after ten years and taken the first step toward escape. I couldn't tell Reni the truth, though...
"This world is piled high with people who won't even do what needs to be done. Why not take some pride in yourself? You're much better than someone like me."
...Someone like her, huh.
"Aren't you a pretty decent person yourself? Devoting yourself to someone else can't be an easy thing."
The ridiculous mutual praise left us both at a loss. We stared at each other, snorted softly, and turned away.
"What are we even doing? It's not like this is a mutual flattery contest."
Exactly. I held out the leather shoe, which now looked sufficiently like one, toward Reni.
"Try this on. Need to see if the size works."
"Sorry, could you put it on for me? My arm strength's still about as flimsy as a kid who's been starving for a week."
Putting the shoe on her was easy enough. I took Reni's foot and slipped it inside. She gave me a strange look, then asked.
"What fur is this? The texture's kind of strange."
"Bear fur."
"Well, never thought I'd live to wear shoes made from bear hide."
"How's the size?"
"Decent. Doesn't feel like it'll cause me much trouble moving around. A little heavy, though..."
Reni seemed fairly pleased with the shoe. I slipped it back off her foot and began the final finishing touches.
I shaped the details and applied a specially formulated treatment to keep the leather from rotting.
With the work done, I set the shoes down at Reni's feet and stood up.
The shoes were finished. Now it was time to make a sword.
I fetched the Alpha Bear's claws—which I'd already sorted—and set them down in front of Reni. She eyed the bones with a puzzled expression and tossed a question my way.
"What's with the bones?"
"I plan to make your sword from these bones. About how many hand spans long was your blade?"
"Hand-spans? Hmm... about three?"
"Three... and the grip?"
"One and a half."
"Craft."
The claws compressed and changed shape until they resembled a sword. It was closer to the style I preferred, but the overall form wasn't very different from Reni's usual sword, so it should be acceptable. When the rough-looking blade was completed in an instant, Reni gave me a doubtful look.
"If you can do that, couldn't you just make the shoes with a Skill too?"
"I can't make everything with my Skill."
Shaping and refining a sword by hand took too long. With no way to know when the snakes might attack, I wasn't trying to make a demonic sword, and I couldn't spend that much time on one weapon. Still, wouldn't this count as a fine blade in its own right?
"Shame I can't swing it around right this second."
Reni wore the expression of a kid who'd just gotten a present, gazing down at the sword. At the sight, I added a few brief words.
"You'll be swinging it plenty soon."
The war with the snakes wasn't far off now.
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"Yohan, have you gotten a bit closer to Reni?"
Karina's playful smile met my eyes.
Had we... gotten closer?
Apparently, we'd gotten somewhat closer than before. Hard to say.
The idea of what it meant to become close to someone was far too difficult for me.
Maybe she'd read something in my expression, because Karina grinned and said,
"The fact that you're thinking about it must mean you've gotten closer than before."
"Probably."
All I could offer in return was an awkward answer.