Twisted Development (7)
Three days passed.
“Ugh... hot...!!”
Right now, beside me was Varis, dressed in a white t-shirt and overalls, hard at work as a farmer.
“Phew~”
He pulled vegetables from deep in the soil, wiping his forehead with a refreshed expression.
“This is tougher than I thought~”
He wiped the mud from his face with a handkerchief, rubbing his cheek. But traces of the dirt still lingered stubbornly.
“Here, have some water.”
I handed him the waterskin. Unlike me, who was just standing by watching, he was diligently working even in this sweltering heat—he needed hydration. Especially if he was going to fight those ferocious beast monsters later. He had to be in top condition.
“Ah, thanks! I'll drink it right up...!”
Right now, Varis and I were at the Grain family farmland. He was here to work, and I was here to help Varis.
For the record, Eily hadn't come along and was back at Stenman Mansion. Something about having business with my mother?
“Gulp... gulp... gulp.....!”
Anyway, Varis snatched the waterskin from me and chugged it down like a man lost in the desert.
“Pwah~! Whew... you saved my life~”
He wiped the water from his mouth and didn't forget to thank me. With the mood lightened, he dove back into farm work.
“Heave-ho...! By the way, Arnold, what brings you here?”
Suddenly, pure curiosity about my presence crossed his mind.
“Just passing by.”
“Oh, right. You said you knew Elisha from before?”
I couldn't tell him the truth, so I brushed it off vaguely. Varis already knew we were acquaintances, anyway.
“...Yeah.”
But I hadn't mentioned we were fiancés yet. It was a relationship on the verge of breaking off anyway... and we'd been so cold to each other despite the engagement that he probably wouldn't believe it. In the original story, Elisha had freaked out and refused to believe it when she first learned she was Arnold's fiancée.
“Makes sense. You're a hotshot noble, after all. No reason to come out here unless it's to see a friend.”
Anyway, I quietly watched Varis farm like any ordinary guy, waiting for the event to trigger.
.........
“Hm? Varis?”
Time passed a bit, and while Varis was resting, someone called out to him.
“It's Elisha?”
It was none other than Elisha—one of the leads in this event. She widened her eyes in feigned surprise upon spotting Varis.
“Oh... Arnold's here too...?”
Then her eyes met mine, and she went from surprised to visibly flustered.
“Ended up like that somehow.”
“I-Is that so? I had no idea you two would be here... I just came to check on the farmwork, but running into you is a bit unexpected?”
She glanced back and forth between Varis and me. Especially when her gaze landed on me, it trembled noticeably for some reason.
“Ah~ They were looking for farmhands for the day, so I figured why not!”
“True, but seeing you dressed like this is kinda surprising.”
Varis and Elisha exchanged words. Word for word, exactly like in the game.
And right about now, the main event should've kicked off...
“Arnold...”
But instead of the event signal, a line that shouldn't exist rang out—Elisha calling my name.
“You calling me?”
“Yes.”
Her voice was wistful, just like at the ball. So the perception shift really had happened?
“It's just...”
Still, the awkward atmosphere made her hesitate to speak. What on earth did she want to say that had her so unsure?
“Arnold, about me and you...”
Finally, Elisha mustered her courage to say something to me—
“Gaaaaahhh—!”
A human scream echoed from somewhere.
“......!!”
“A-Arnold! Wasn't that a scream?!”
Everyone showed shock at the unforeseen situation.
“H-Help—!”
“Monsters!! It's monsters!!”
It seemed to be coming from the far end of the field.
“........”
Finally, it was here. The monster raid I'd been waiting for had begun.
“Monsters? Suddenly monsters...?!”
“L-Let's go...!”
The two, unaware of the future, hurried off.
“.......”
But I followed calmly behind.
“Ugh! Everyone, be careful!”
“I-It's coming!!”
“Gah...!!”
“It's really a bull monster!”
“Heave... why are these guys suddenly...?”
Upon arriving, guards were already clashing with the monsters. The beasts they struggled against were Taurus—quadrupedal, massive buffalo-like creatures with sturdy, enormous horns that posed a serious threat.
“Don't let the line break!”
“But they're too strong!”
Especially their charges were lethal to ordinary people.
“Looks like we need to help! I'll go!”
Seeing the herd rampage, Varis grabbed a nearby hoe and charged at the monsters.
“Hmph...!”
They were dangerous, but after seeing Varis's skills before, I trusted him. No armor or proper weapon, but that should be enough.
“Groooaaarrr—!!”
But... something felt off.
“....?”
An inexplicable wrongness emanated from the monsters. They felt more feral than in the game, intuitively.
“Take this!!”
Of course, I wanted to chalk it up to imagination at first.
Clang—
“Guh?! So hard... gah—!”
Such hopes shattered miserably.
“Huh?”
For some reason, the Taurus didn't even flinch at Varis's strike, brushing it off like a child's play.
“Grraaah...!!”
Unlike what I'd believed he could handle alone, Varis was sent flying effortlessly by the monster's counter.
“Ow... ouchie... guess a hoe won't cut it...?”
In the original, that attack would've felled one Taurus. Instead, he was brutally repelled.
“What's going on?”
Something was wrong. Suspicion deepened seeing Varis hurt.
“Groooaaarrr...!!”
I examined the monsters again...
“.....!”
I was honestly shocked. The Taurus's aura differed from the original.
“Groooaaarrr—!!”
Not just berserk—they felt artificially enhanced, their menace multiplied.
“R-Run...!”
“Ah... aaaaaah—!”
“Gack! S-Save me...!!”
Proving it, the guards—who should've at least held their own—were collapsing helplessly.
“Groooaaarrrr—!!”
So that was the source of the eerie wrongness? The monsters were stronger than in the original, for some reason.
“Varis!”
What now?
“Ugh... I'm fine...!! You guys run...!”
An unexpected variable. Varis, who should've heroically handled them, was injured and down.
“Groooaaarrrr...!!!”
“Whoa... Elisha, look out!!”
Now I couldn't save Elisha in her moment of crisis?
“Ngh?! D-Don't come!!”
The dangerous situation for Elisha arrived unchanged.
“F-First... run... ah...?! Ugh... I-I twisted my ankle...”
In the original, the protagonist would've swooped in dramatically to repel the charging monster.
“Groooaaarrrr!!”
But with the protagonist down...
No one to save Elisha.
“N-No...! No...!!”
A do-or-die moment.
“Elisha!!”
Varis shouted her name.
“Ugh....!!”
As Elisha squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact with the Taurus—
BOOM—
A colossal clash of forces rocked the farm with a deafening roar.
“Ngh... huh...? A-Arnold...?”
Damn, that hurt like hell.
“Grruh... grrrraaah...!!!”
The blocked Taurus drooled and thrashed in fury.
“Tch, filthy thing.”
My wrist ached a bit, but no real damage.
“G-Grooo...?!”
I gripped its head and—
SLAM...!!
—smashed it into the ground with all my might.
“T-Taurus... in one hit...?”
Its head embedded in the earth, the Taurus went still.
“Good thing I brought this.”
Just in case, I drew my sword and assumed position.
“Groooaaarrrr!!”
One down, but others charged us.
With my weapon out, no chance for reversal.
Crack..! Sizzle...! Slash..! Swoosh!!
“Groooaaah...!”
I cleaved the charging monster vertically. Its horn and face shattered as it fell.
“Grrraaahh—!!!”
Splatter—
Another lunged headfirst. I swung down hard, splitting it cleanly with the ground.
“Arnold....!”
Two down in seconds.
“......”
But picking them off one by one wouldn't end it.
“Target...”
Resolved to finish them at once, I cast a spell. Tracking—not just for finding hidden foes, but targeting multiples.
“......”
Upon activation, every Taurus in sight was marked with a white circle.
“Lightning Bolt—”
Kraaackabooom—
From the clear sky, lightning bolts poured like a storm.
““Groooaaahh— ””
Like a mythic apocalypse, the fierce bolts rent the heavens.
““ Baaaaahh..!! ””
Lightning Bolt struck each monster's head precisely. Screeches filled the air from all sides.
“........”
Moments later, the bolts ceased, and the farm fell silent.
“Incredible....”
Taurus wiped out, not one left. Magic was unbeatable against groups.
“Elisha—”
“Eh...?”
Confirmed all down, I turned. Elisha stared blankly, dazed, her focus snapping back when I called her name.
“You okay?”
I offered my hand—what Varis should've done.
“Y-Yeah... A-Arnold... you saved me again...”
So... it ended up like this?
“H-How do I describe this feeling...?”
The ball event had gone smoothly, but now things were twisted again.
“I'm heading out now.”
After gently urging her up, I quickly slipped away from the farm.
“Wha...?! Wait...!”
Elisha reached out, but...
“Bye.”
I tossed out the word indifferently and bolted.
“No... wait—”
Her desperate voice trailed behind.
But I didn't stop.
“Haa, whatever. Now...”
I didn't know why... Later, I'd guess I just wanted to escape this warped plot in reality, thoughtlessly.
“Arnold~ Why'd you run off like that!!”
The weekend passed, and a new week began. Back at the academy, Varis—of course—immediately brought up the incident.
“We survived anyway! That was close, man? They were seriously strong?!”
Bandages wrapped around his head and arms, Varis grinned broadly and energetically, praising my feats as usual.
“I get it, so drop it... Everyone's listening.”
Great that he was happy, but the stares were getting burdensome.
“Psh, so what if they hear? You did something amazing! Makes me wanna spread the tale far and wide!”
“Don't you dare.”
With my villain image, plenty still feared me. Rumors of me massacring monsters? Just what I needed...
Bang—!
“Hm?”
While humoring Varis's excitement, the classroom door slammed open.
“Elisha? What's up!!”
There stood Elisha. Before class—what was this about?
“..........”
I watched silently as she approached wordlessly.
“Ngh... Arnold..!”
Before me, her cheeks flushed, she hesitated a moment—
“Sorry! For being cold all this time.... If it's okay now, let's get along... as husband and wife, nice and cozy..!”
—then boldly declared it for all to hear.