Name
The clothes Hugo held in his hands were the same kind I'd spotted a few times along the road on the way here.
He must have bought them on the shopkeeper's recommendation.
Fair enough — what I was wearing right now barely counted as clothing. It was little more than a scrap of cloth with holes punched through it.
Hugo held the clothes and shoes out to me.
When I moved to change, he turned his back and did his best to shield me from anyone else's eyes.
I fastened the buttons, then poked him once in the back with a finger to let him know I was done.
Hugo looked at me for a moment, then offered his hand.
Had a little calm finally settled into me?
Things I hadn't noticed when I'd been with Redrago began to register. The lively hum of the city, the noisy bustle of the market, boys and girls laughing as they ran past — all of it spoke of happiness.
It felt like a good place to live.
As we walked, the smell of roasting meat teased at my nose, and before I could stop it my stomach made a sound.
Growl—
Come to think of it, how long had it been since I'd last eaten?
I didn't think I'd eaten even once since becoming this body…
Just then, something caught my eye — meat skewers of some kind, though I couldn't tell what.
I stopped without meaning to.
When I no longer followed and simply stood there, Hugo looked at me strangely, followed my gaze, and headed toward the skewer stall.
I still didn't know what kind of meat it was, but I could swear it was the second-best thing I'd ever tasted.
Just me and the girl, left alone in the rest area.
I'd thought she was cute during the interrogation, but up close she was beyond anything I'd imagined.
Clear white hair, large eyes with black irises, clean pale skin, features as if they'd been carved. She was pretty enough to call a beautiful girl. No — she simply was a beautiful girl.
So why had she been out in a forest like that?
She wasn't a runaway slave, so there was no reason for her to be in those woods…
Not my problem to figure out, though. My job was teaching her to speak — and looking after her.
Except I still didn't even know her name. For starters, I introduced myself.
"Hu… Hugo!"
I'd hoped the girl might offer her own name in return, but all she did was nod.
"Could you tell me your name, maybe?"
Her small mouth stayed shut, firmly closed. For her heart to be locked this tight — had our first meeting gone that badly…?
I wasn't sure what to do first.
I sat on the sofa to think for a moment, and then I kept feeling a gaze on me.
Hm?
The girl beside me had pressed right up close and was staring straight into my face.
Clothes… the clothes were far too…
Startled, I leaned back. Looking at her from a little farther away, I caught sight of her filthy feet.
They were a mess of mud and wounds.
"You've been like this the whole time…?"
My face twisted without my meaning it to. With her feet in that state, she hadn't said a word…
First I'd treat the wounds, then buy shoes and clothes and get her into them.
Teaching her letters could wait until we were home. That wouldn't be too late.
Healing magic would have been ideal, but people who could use magic weren't that common. And buying a healing spell was more than my wallet could manage right now.
I'd settle for first aid, then.
I went and found cloth and disinfectant to tend her wounds.
When I poured the disinfectant, she flinched as if it hurt.
"It's okay. It's okay."
And just as I was wrapping the cloth to finish —
A sound slipped from the girl's mouth.
"Hnn…!"
A voice had come out. That meant there was nothing wrong with the act of speaking itself. She wasn't mute from some illness — she simply wasn't talking. I'd figured that much out.
I hoped she'd open her heart soon…
I stroked her white hair as thanks for enduring the pain so well.
Then I left her for a bit and went to buy clothes and shoes.
When she saw what I'd brought, her face looked a little dazed, but she accepted them and put them on without trouble.
I held out my hand toward the girl, now ready to leave. She hesitated for a moment, then took it and followed along just fine.
I wanted to get home and start teaching her letters right away — but then she stopped.
What was she looking at?
Her eyes were sparkling. There was even drool at the corner of her mouth.
Meat… skewers, was it…
Those were the skewers I really wouldn't recommend…
Giant Frog skewers.
Frog meat on a stick.
Watching the girl eat them with such relish, I thought: how hungry must she have been to enjoy something like that…?
Most people couldn't stomach those skewers. The muddy, fishy smell was far too strong.
We walked a little farther while I watched her finish the skewer, and soon we reached the house.
It was a small place, but more than enough for my little sister and me. With one more person, it would get a bit tight.
Teaching her letters came first, though.
Even if she wouldn't speak, if she could communicate through writing, that would be enough.
Remembering how I'd once taught my sister, I brought out paper and charcoal.
As I taught her, I realized something.
This girl might be a genius.
In less than a single day, she had memorized every letter and every sound that went with it.
Once she learned some words, simple conversation would be possible.
There was one thing I wanted to know first of all.
Her name.
I pointed at myself with a finger and said,
"Hugo."
Then I pointed at her.
He brought me home and then came back with paper and charcoal. What was he planning now?
Was the interrogation still not over…?
He scribbled away on his own, then pointed at letters with his finger as he spoke. He pointed at the next letter and said it with a different sound.
So this letter makes this sound? Was he teaching me language right now?
I hadn't expected an opportunity to learn a language this easily at all.
The pronunciation was quite different, but there were a lot of characters similar to those of my previous world, and the grammar shared enough ground that this world's language turned out easier than I'd thought. I wasn't perfect yet, but I could roughly match letters to sounds.
Hugo must have sensed that I'd picked up a fair amount of the language. He pointed at me with his finger and asked for my name.
Fine. I could at least tell him that much.
I took the charcoal and wrote on the paper.
Ti… a… ble
At last, I knew the girl's name.
A thrill I'd never felt in my life ran through my body.
Finally! I had her name! A name even Lord Redrago hadn't managed to learn!
Tiable.
That was this girl's name.
"Tiable!"
In my joy I shouted it without thinking.
The girl flinched. Was hearing her own name still strange to her?
Just then the door opened and someone came in.
There was only one guest who ever walked into my house uninvited.
My one and only adorable little sister — Hwia.
"I'm home~"
She swept in with the same sky-blue hair as mine fluttering behind her.
"Eh? What? Oppa, a girlfriend…?"
Never expecting anyone else to be in the house, Hwia covered her mouth with her hand.
She stared hard at Tiable sitting in front of me, then made an unreadable face.
She wasn't thinking something weird, right?
My uneasy premonition hit the mark again.
"Oppa, don't tell me you like them that young?"
The first look of pure contempt I'd ever gotten from Hwia.
"Th-that's not it—"
I explained everything to her from the beginning. My first day on duty, the first interrogation, and then… the caretaker assignment.
Once she'd heard it all, Hwia seemed to understand.
"…What~ She's so cute! So we're living together now?"
Hwia was squishing Tiable's cheeks between her fingers.
Tiable… didn't seem to mind.
"But she's all grubby. We should give her a bath."
Now that I looked, the tips of Tiable's white hair had darkened a little, and there was dirt on her arms and legs. Clean was not the word for her condition.
"Then can you wash her for me? It's a little… awkward if I do it…"
"Eh, that's not hard. And there's no way I'm leaving it to you, Oppa."
"Might as well do it right now, then."
Hwia stopped squishing the cheeks, took Tiable by the hand, and went off to wash her.
What? Hugo had a little sister too?
A girl who looked just like him walked into the house. The only real difference seemed to be the length of her hair.
After talking with Hugo, she suddenly came over and started kneading my cheeks.
Well. Being touched by a girl this cute wasn't exactly unpleasant.
Go ahead and touch all you want—
While she squished my cheeks, Hwia looked me over, said something to Hugo, then led me off somewhere, repeating the same words I didn't understand.
It didn't take long to figure out what those words meant.
She was clearly taking me to get washed.
My body had been getting itchy, so I knew a bath was in order — but I could wash myself just fine…
Hwia stripped me with no room to resist, and the next moment I was bare and being scrubbed without a shred of hesitation.
After the thorough washing, I lay staring at the ceiling, feeling the preciousness of a home for the first time in a long while.
I couldn't fight the sleep that rolled over me. I passed out as if I'd simply shut down.
It had been such a… long day…
For a week I stayed at Hugo's house with nothing particular happening, studying, until I could more or less understand the speech of this world.
This place was fairly safe, too. Nothing threatened me, and for gathering information at my own pace, it was as good as it got.
An empty house.
Sunlight so warm it was almost hot poured onto the bed where I lay.
Hot—
I heard the door open, then Hwia's footsteps.
She ran straight over and threw her arms around me.
"Cuteee—"
That was the first phrase I'd memorized. At first, because she said it every time she saw me, I'd thought it was a greeting. It wasn't.
Eating, sleeping, studying at home, living a quiet life — I'd found a fair amount of calm in my heart along the way.
Maybe it was all right now to try speaking a simple word or two?
"Hwi… Hwia."
I lifted my head, looked up at her, and said it.
How long had it been since I'd spoken?
My heart was pounding.