Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: #7 Memories (3)
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It was that kind of day.
The day when, as soon as they stepped out of the tent, the servants' voices rang out busily from the bridge as they searched for them.
And the day they slipped away with Elric and headed to the back mountain to avoid it all.
“Today we're hunting magic beasts! Any knight worth his salt should catch one in the blink of an eye!”
“L-Leader... But Mom said magic beasts are dangerous....”
“Idiot, knights live in danger!”
“But still....”
Bart hemmed and hawed, but Elric wouldn't budge.
The mood was on his side, too.
“As expected of the leader! He's on a whole different level from us!”
“So cool! I look up to you!”
“Wooooaaah!!!”
If she could go back to that day, Tiria would have desperately tried to stop them from going to the back mountain and sent Elric home.
Of course she would have. After all, they actually encountered a magic beast that day, and Elric ended up with a scar that would never fade.
But eight-year-old Tiria had no idea.
The Weibin family's education never mentioned the dangers of magic beasts.
They naturally didn't teach her not to go to the back mountain, nor how to deal with encountering one.
It wasn't necessary for noble etiquette.
How often does a noble have to face a magic beast head-on in their life?
So on that day, Tiria was simply thrilled at the pure joy of being with Elric.
“When are we going?”
Anxiety fluttered in her chest, too.
If they didn't hurry to the back mountain, the family servants would come looking.
They had to get there first.
It was what they called a lovers' elopement.
It didn't matter that Elric had said he wouldn't marry her. To Tiria, that was irrelevant.
What mattered was what she wanted.
As her parents would say, 'A noble has everything they desire at their feet.' So Tiria never even considered Elric's feelings on the matter.
That's why her hand clutched tightly at the collar of Elric's clothes.
Elric didn't make a fuss about the morning's events, either.
“Ugly duckling, you're excited too, aren't you?”
Elric grinned.
Tiria beamed back, even at being called ugly.
“Alright! Then let's head out!”
Elric raised his wooden sword above his head, and the children cheered, “Woooaaah!”
And so Tiria climbed the back mountain.
*
“Here we scatter! If you find a magic beast, yell!”
At Elric's command, the children dispersed from the mountain's entrance.
Tiria stayed with Elric.
“Alright, let's go.”
“Okay.”
The back mountain they climbed wasn't exactly gentle terrain.
Hardly anyone but herbalists ever came here, so there were no maintained paths, and rocks and tree roots constantly obstructed their way.
Tiria struggled with the hike.
Her calves were still swollen from the switchings, making it tough to navigate the rough slopes.
Of course, she didn't complain.
She feared if she hindered the magic beast hunt, Elric might leave her behind.
But,
“Ouch...!”
Her body was more honest than her mind, and a whimper escaped.
“What's wrong, ugly duckling?”
Tiria shook her head vigorously at Elric's prickly question.
But Elric was sharper than she thought.
The moment he sensed something off, he closed the distance, lifted her skirt up to her ankle, and checked her calf.
When the bruised, purple flesh came into view, sharp words burst from him.
“...What the hell is this? You're hurt?”
Tiria felt her heart drop.
What if hot-tempered Elric blew up and told her to go home? Worry flooded her.
“No....”
“Don't lie to me!”
Tiria flinched, her body trembling.
That was the moment.
“If it hurts, you tell me, you total moron! Come here! I'll treat your ugly face too!”
Elric scooped her up and hoisted her onto his back.
Tiria jumped in shock, her eyes wide like a rabbit's.
It was the exact opposite of what she'd imagined, and her mind couldn't process it.
Without thinking, she asked,
“Y-You're not leaving me...?”
“Why would I leave you? Knights don't abandon their comrades.”
“Am I a comrade?”
“Who else would you be, my enemy? I told you. You're our medic.”
A wounded one right now, he muttered to himself.
Elric huffed and climbed the mountain with Tiria on his back.
Crunch, crunch went the snow underfoot.
Elric grumbled, and the wind was cold.
Yet Tiria felt a strange warmth spreading through her body, hotter than ever.
So she grinned foolishly again.
“Hehe....”
No matter how she thought about it,
“I like you.”
“I don't like you.”
“I'm gonna marry you.”
“I said no.”
Tiria wrapped her arms tightly around Elric's neck.
Elric grumbled but didn't shake her off.
Her calves ached, her face stung, but she was so happy she swung her legs.
Elric said, “Hold still!” and when she didn't stop, he sighed deeply.
“If you wanna marry me, you gotta get pretty first.”
“Okay.”
“You gotta get smart too. And have lots of kids.”
“Huh?”
“I'm gonna start the Elric Knights. Gotta have at least ten, so you need to be sturdy. Aldio says sturdy women have lots of kids.”
Elric added colors to the picture Tiria had imagined.
A sunlit house like something from a painting, a grown-up Elric and herself, and little children gathered around them.
It sounded perfect.
Tiria felt her chest swell with a dreamlike future.
“I won't hit the kids.”
“Isn't that obvious?”
“I'll hug them every day.”
“Dummy, that'd be exhausting.”
“I'll hug them anyway. And I won't nag if they don't eat right.”
“That sounds good.”
Mid-conversation, Elric stopped.
They'd reached a spot covered in palm-sized herbs.
“Sit here.”
He set Tiria on a rock and began carefully plucking and gathering the leaves.
“What are you doing?”
“These are all herbs. Good for wounds.”
Elric replied curtly, crushed them against a stone, and smeared the paste on her calf.
“Ouch....”
“Hold still, dummy.”
It stung too much to bear.
But Tiria endured.
It was Elric doing it himself, so it could only be good.
Then he slathered on enough leaves to turn her calf green and tore a strip from his own sleeve to bandage it.
“Done!”
Tiria, amazed by his proud face, asked,
“How do you know all this?”
“I studied. You're supposed to be the medic—don't you know this stuff?”
“Nope.”
“Then study!”
Elric beamed.
“If you wanna marry me, you gotta grow your own herbs!”
Tiria grinned back.
“Okay.”
“Then let's go. Sheesh, what a hassle of an ugly duckling.”
Elric hoisted her onto his back again.
The climb continued.
He had no idea.
That this conversation sparked her studies in plants.
That those studies eventually became a hobby in gardening.
Something Tiria still thought about to this day.
“KyaAAAAH!!!”
If she hadn't followed him to the back mountain that day,
“Grrrrr....”
Your earlobe might not bear that scar.
*
She couldn't recall exactly when it happened.
What Tiria remembered was chattering dreamily on Elric's back—and then the air around them suddenly turning eerie.
The moment the birdsong vanished and silence swept the space, it appeared.
“Grrrrr....”
Its pitch-black body was the size of a house.
Its bright yellow eyes triggered primal fear, and its gaping maw drooling saliva was lined with needle-like fangs.
It reeked of decay—unpleasant, revolting, ominous.
“Grulk...!”
The instant they encountered the magic beast, Tiria screamed.
“KYAAAAH!!!”
In blind panic, she flailed and tumbled off Elric's back.
Thud! Her tailbone throbbed as the beast's forepaw twitched slightly.
Splurt—!
It was an unbelievable sight.
Lifting her head with effort, Tiria saw blood spurting from Elric's nape.
Crimson liquid pattering onto the white snowscape was surreal.
The contrast of colors was stark, the metallic tang invading her lungs.
“Uh....”
Tiria’s mind went blank.
That was the moment.
“...Run.”
Elric said.
His creakingly turned head was full of urgency.
“You run first!”
He raised his wooden sword.
One hand pressed firmly against his nape.
Run? Where? From who? What about you?
Questions raced through her mind as Elric shouted again.
“Hurry!!!”
Her legs shook.
Tiria couldn’t stand.
Tears welled up, her teeth chattered.
Elric bit his lip.
“Ugh...!”
Taking stance, Elric faced the magic beast head-on.
Its growling eyes widened.
Only then did Tiria see it.
Elric’s legs were trembling too.
He was just as scared as she was.
Yet he didn’t run.
‘Because of me....’
Her insides burned.
“Get lost!!!”
Elric charged at the magic beast.
That moment—red smoke bursting from him—was the last thing Tiria remembered clearly.
Crack—!
The beast’s swipe sent Elric flying into her.
Their bodies tumbled down the slope.
Even then, Tiria clung tightly to Elric.
The magic beast followed leisurely.
Finally, thud—they slammed into a tree trunk, pain crushing her entire body.
She realized Elric had passed out right after.
The beast’s shadow engulfed her simultaneously.
And just a beat too late.
“Found you.”
With a low voice,
Riiip—!
The magic beast split vertically.
As consciousness faded, Tiria dimly saw an adult in crudely stitched animal-hide clothes slinging the unconscious Elric over his shoulder and walking away.
Crunch, crunch—
The sound of snow faded, and Tiria blacked out.