The Archipelago (6)
My mind locked up entirely at the sight of young Lucy wearing that insufferable grin.
The being I'd expected to find beyond that door was a monster preparing to take my life — not a little kid giggling at me like I was pathetic.
Um. Okay. So... I'm supposed to deal with young Lucy right now? How, exactly? What am I supposed to compete against that little brat with?
It's true I'm merciless to my enemies, but I'm not so vicious that I'd crack open a tiny kid's skull. The Heojeop Chief God wouldn't have left young Lucy here if that were the point, either.
Then what? What am I supposed to do? Two mesugaki have met, so do we settle this with a taunt battle? A contest over who can piss the other off first?
Ha. Idiot, does that even make sense? Sure, the Heojeop Chief God is a certified pervert, but even he wouldn't stir up all this chaos just to watch two mesugaki hurl abuse at each other.
...Right? He's the Chief God. There's no way he's THAT far gone.
Young Lucy just stood there giggling, saying nothing, until I finally threw my hands up and begged for help.
"Grandpa! What am I supposed to do?!"
No answer came.
"Grandpa? Grandpa!"
Only the hollow echo of my own voice rang through my head. Panicking, I sent divinity flowing into my mace — and realized the being dwelling within it had sunk into a deep sleep.
...This has the Heojeop Chief God's fingerprints all over it. He's the one who woke Grandpa in the first place, so putting him back to sleep would be trivial for him. What could be lurking past this door that he'd go to such annoying lengths?
Tap, tap. I'd been staring blankly at my mace when a sound came from up ahead, and I lifted my head. Young Lucy had kicked the ground to snatch my attention.
Meeting my eyes, she said nothing, took a step forward, and then glanced back at me over her shoulder.
She wants me to... follow her? After a moment's hesitation I started walking, and young Lucy gave a little bob of her head and set off through the cave on light, skipping steps.
"Excuse me."
Huh? My voice came out perfectly normal!? Confirming that the Mesugaki skill's forced translation hadn't kicked in, I hurried to young Lucy's side and called out to her.
"Lucy?"
Lucy looked up at me as if to ask why I was calling, but made no sound. Even as a child, I doubt her temperament was ever this docile — maybe she simply couldn't speak yet.
Still, she seemed able to hear me, so maybe I should ask her this and that and watch how she reacted.
"Where are we going right now?"
Hearing my question, she tilted her head, then drew a square in the air with her hand and set a triangle on top of it.
Understanding what she meant wasn't hard. Home. Young Lucy was telling me that the place we were heading was home.
Before long, I saw it for myself. In an instant the barren cave scenery gave way to a sweeping meadow, and the Aln Estate revealed itself before us.
Young Lucy walked into the building without a moment's hesitation, and the moment I followed her inside, the scenery shifted once more.
'Mira. Are you sure it's all right for me to hold her? What if I do something wrong?'
'What exactly do you take a baby for, dear?'
'A handle-with-care item?'
'Hehe. Benedict, this child is yours. She couldn't possibly be as fragile as all that.'
The woman called Mira passed the baby over as if shrugging off a burden, and Benedict, flustered though he clearly was, lifted the child into his arms with the utmost care.
The baby squirmed, seemingly unaccustomed to Benedict's rough hands, then froze solid the moment she came face to face with his fearsome visage.
'Uh. Um. What do I do. I think she's going to cry?'
'What do you do? You soothe her, of course. Give it a try.'
'Aren't you making that sound way too easy?!'
Startled by Benedict's voice, the baby scrunched up her face — and Benedict, utterly at a loss, frantically manufactured a comical expression.
Being the man he was, his face resembled less a clown than a demon clawing its way up from hell, but the baby — apparently a connoisseur of the bizarre — beamed and giggled at it.
'Mira! The baby smiled!'
'You're doing perfectly fine, so why are you spooking yourself like that?'
Leaving behind the two of them and the everyday happiness spilling from their conversation, the scenery changed once more. The baby who couldn't so much as babble moments ago was now toddling about on her own two feet.
By appearance alone she was so adorable that anyone would have wanted to dote on her — but the eyes the servants turned on the child were anything but kind.
'Ugly. Where's Mama.'
The problem was her tone. Her aggressive manner of speech — heaven only knew who she'd picked it up from — made people instinctively harbor hostility toward her. How could a child born beneath two such saintly souls possibly behave this way? everyone muttered, trading jabs one after another. But I was not one of them.
Able to hear the child's heart, I knew she wasn't saying those words out of malice. The cursed blessing that torments me even now had taken root in that little girl as well.
A girl forced, through no intention of her own, to wound everyone around her — her heart was slowly rotting away, festering from the inside out.
Why was I given a curse like this?
Why can't I say a single word the way I want to?
Why can't I say I love you, or thank you, or I'm sorry, the way they're meant to be said?
Why do I alone have to carry this pain?
What did I ever do wrong?
Huh?
Huh?!
Why me, and only me?!
'Lucy.'
The reason a child who looked ready to crumble at any moment could keep standing was that there were people pouring boundless love upon her.
Her father Benedict chuckled that everything out of Lucy's mouth was adorable no matter what she said, and her mother Mira would gather her into a gentle embrace with a soft smile, whatever words left her lips.
Naturally, the girl became someone who couldn't bear to leave her parents' side. The moment she stepped beyond their arms, countless blades of hostility came raining down, and she could never work up the courage to set foot outside.
I don't know how others might see it, but I believe the child felt this was enough. If facing another person could only ever earn her hatred, then she simply wanted to stay inside that estate forever.
Tap, tap.
At the sensation of something poking at my waist, I turned to find Lucy wearing a mischievous grin.
And then the scenery around us collapsed.
"Huaak?!"
Strength draining from my body, I crumpled to the floor and gritted my teeth against the child's memories churning through my head.
The happiness the child had felt. The frustration she had felt. The rage she had felt. The pain born of all those emotions tangled together was fiercer than anything I had ever endured. How much time had passed?
Only after the child's memories had seeped completely into my brain was I finally able to gather my wits.
With trembling hands I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my face, slick with every fluid the body could produce. Had anything ever hurt this much since I'd drunk the elixirs? I'd come close to death a few times, but back then I'd already been half out of my mind.
"Lucy! Have you come back to your senses?!"
"For now, yes."
"Thank the heavens! The moment you opened that door you suddenly began convulsing — do you have any idea how startled I was?!"
At Grandpa's words I lifted my head, and the dungeon's scenery met my eyes. So everything I just witnessed... was all an illusion?
Crawling over to the wall, I leaned against it, replaying what I'd just seen — and let out a hollow laugh.
Right. I did always think the rumors about Lucy were grotesque beyond belief. No matter how thoughtless a brat she was, running around acting as though she were offering up her own neck made no sense.
But if Lucy was a victim of the Mesugaki skill, the story changes. Just as I'm suffering now, she must have suffered too.
No — comparing her suffering to mine would be an insult to Lucy. How could someone already numb to the wounds of the heart possibly be the same as someone who had to endure that agony knowing nothing at all?
Having barely soothed my ragged breathing, I was retracing Lucy's memories and emotions when I suddenly noticed something strange.
What had flowed into my mind was not entirely unfamiliar to me. Was it an illusion born of borrowing Lucy's body?
"What happened in there, Lucy?"
"I saw memories from before."
"Before?"
"Yes. From before."
"...They weren't pleasant memories, I take it."
Grandpa seemed to have sensed something; he closed his mouth without pressing further. In the silence that settled once more, I stared blankly at the dungeon's ceiling, thinking of the girl who had suffered through it all.
The Heojeop Chief God I know is a perverted degenerate with no divine dignity to speak of, but at the very least he's no villain. So why would someone like him place a curse like this on Lucy?
Shaking my head violently to chase away the flood of thoughts, I staggered to my feet.
Whatever the Heojeop Chief God's intentions, some kind of answer should be waiting at the end of the treasure map. I could afford to pass judgment when I got there.
Stepping through the door that led out of the dungeon, I saw the ones who had been waiting for me.
"My lady!"
"Boss, inside there—"
"Something was—"
Letting their words wash past me, I turned to look behind — and the cave that had been perfectly intact mere moments before had vanished without a trace. Had it finished serving its purpose?
"My lady?"
At Carl's worried voice, I let out a snort and spread my arms wide to show I was fine.
"Incompetent Dog. Did spending a little time alone give you separation anxiety?"
Only after the words left my mouth did something feel off, and I replayed the moment in my head. Huh? Huhhh? Something's missing in the middle, isn't it?
When I stopped mid-sentence, unable to explain the indescribable dissonance, the others around me began watching me with anxious eyes.
What... is this? Even with the Mesugaki skill, my expression right now should be proud and defiant, shouldn't it?
"Boss. What on earth happened in there?"
"What happened? There was a lousy dungeon, so I smashed it. That's all."
As I answered Karia's question, I caught sight of my own face reflected in her eyes.
There was none of that characteristic mesugaki swagger in it.
All that gazed back from Karia's eyes was a girl who was simply, utterly confused by the situation she found herself in.