Chapter 39
Chapter 39
39
EP13 - Elephant
This is a story about two encounters with Eve.
The night before Professor Dante killed Toxin.
There was the 25th meeting with Eve.
Whether the Ghoul gathering place had changed recently, it disappeared near the [Error Space], making it easier to come and go.
Adele, who knew about the relationship between Dante and Eve, asked.
"How is it going these days? Are you getting closer to the witch?"
"Not really. Not good."
Dante thought. Progress in their relationship had been slow recently.
They meet, greet each other. She likes the bells he gives her. They say goodbye when they part. That was all.
He did receive an apple as a gift, but that was it.
"Can I come with you sometime?"
Then, Adele asked to accompany him. She had become curious after driving him for 10 minutes every day.
"Okay. But you must be careful, as the subject is somewhat wary and aggressive."
"Yes, yes."
And so, Dante took Adele up the mountain.
Adele saw Eve for the first time.
As Dante said, Eve was wary of her as soon as she saw her, but when she stood on the line Dante had set, she slowly let her guard down.
Meanwhile, she allowed Dante to come next to her, which was clearly similar to how wild animals distinguish people.
Adele sat down about 20 meters away and stared blankly. When Eve slightly lifted the burlap hood, a burst of admiration erupted from within.
'Wow... what is that...?'
Inside the trashy burlap, almost at the level of a ghillie suit.
Sky-blue bangs, blue eyes.
An unbelievably beautiful...
In a way, it was a girl who felt like a different species.
It was similar to the feeling Adele had when she first saw a newborn baby born to an acquaintance in the past. Human, yet not human, as if seeing something sublime...
'I think I understand now.'
At the same time, many questions were resolved in Adele's mind.
She felt like she knew why Professor Dante, who was almost like a stone statue in front of the woman, came here. (Because it felt like greeting an incarnate deity, to put it a bit dramatically.)
She also felt like she knew why so many Student victims of Star Gazing Mountain had been produced in the past. Even a brief glimpse was so mysterious, they must have tried to get closer and were smashed.
'…….'
After that, Adele watched Dante and Eve communicate simply.
The communication itself was nothing special. Eve shook a pine cone. Dante gave her a bell. When Dante pointed to the stars in the sky and explained something, Eve tilted her head. That must be what Dante was talking about. The head tilt when communication didn't work.
But to Adele, it seemed that Eve was constantly watching Dante's fingertips and mouth, even as she tilted her head. Her gaze was focused, as if she wanted to know what that gesture meant, with those pretty blue eyes.
So, after a while, she asked.
"Haven't you made quite a bit of progress in your relationship?"
"What?"
"I thought you weren't close yet, so I thought there would be a complete distance. But to me, you seem quite close?"
"...Is that so?"
Adele realized something here, that Dante seemed quite oblivious to human relationships.
That blockhead who only knows assassination.
So, she thought she should teach him a little.
"I think... what was that child's name?"
"Eve."
"Ah, Eve. In my feeling, she seems to be like an elephant?"
"...An elephant?"
Adele gestured to Eve.
"A neutral animal that is huge but cannot communicate at all."
"Why an elephant of all things?"
"Isn't she that alien? I don't know the principles of her behavior at all. You know, just like humans find cats cute, elephants also find humans cute. But since Eve has the initiative in the relationship, she's the elephant."
Then Adele explained the 'elephant-human-cat theory.'
Elephant (Eve) - Dante (Human)
Human (Eve) - Cat (Dante)
When Dante came close, Eve waving her hand was similar to a human stroking a cat when it rubs against them.
When Eve offered a pine cone when she needed Dante's bell, it was similar to offering an arm for a cat to knead.
"……."
Dante's eyes lost focus and he had a blank expression.
Elephant?
"Look at Eve now. She's tilting her head, but she's doing it a little slowly, right? It's like she's saying, 'Why is the cat so far away?'"
"Also, look at that. She's looking at the bell and then at you now. It's like she's saying, 'I brought this, should I give it back...?'"
"And just now, lifting the hood is like putting on glasses to see the cat a little better."
Dante, who was blankly drawing elephants, humans, and cats on the canvas in his head, opened his mouth.
"I've never thought of it that way. But what did you see to come to that interpretation?"
"Intuition? It would be easy to get a feel for it if you just compared it to a stray cat... You're just being oblivious, Professor."
"……."
Anyway, it was time to part ways there that day.
"From what I see, if you want to get closer here, you need to communicate."
"What do you mean by communication?"
"Right now, it's just like Dante-cat meeting a human on the street, right?"
"Does the cat have to choose the human?"
"No? The expression 'choose' is a joke. Actually, the human chooses the cat. So, later on, she'll be handled, get food, and so on. And then Eve might choose you."
He understood roughly.
"……What a bizarre relationship."
Dante went down the mountain, occasionally looking at the elephant.
Eve watched him walk away with her bright blue eyes.
The meeting ended there.
On the way home after parting, Dante blankly muttered the word Adele had said.
"The initiative is on her side, so she's an elephant..."
And Adele's eyes lost focus for a very brief moment.
"...Then, I have no choice but to wait. It's not like I'm cute like a cat, or that I can act cute."
"Pardon?"
"Huh?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The elephant."
"...Elephant? What elephant? And what do you mean by acting cute like a cat...?"
"……."
Dante then realized something.
'So, this is how it is.'
...The 『Curse of Oblivion』.
* * *
After killing Toxin, a few changes occurred in my life.
First. Gray stopped auditing the class.
'She suddenly disappeared. Why?'
She must be fickle.
Good thing. Her existence was a constant tension for me.
Someday I'll have to put a bell on that cat's neck. But there's no reason to do it now.
Second. A sudden reward popped up.
┃ Main Quest [First Achievement]
┃ Reward: Star Fragment × 20
Suddenly, I was given a whopping 10 Star Fragments, and I was dumbfounded.
'What kind of achievement?'
Well, it's good since they're giving it to me.
I didn't understand.
20 Star Fragments is a huge amount.
< Star Fragments Owned: 114.5 >
The achievement must be the achievement of the Students I've guided.
But I haven't specifically guided any Students yet, and there's no one who's grown that much, right?
'……Is it a bug?'
As you can see from the [Error Space] of Star Gazing Mountain, there seem to be quite a few bugs. I decided to think of it as good is good. I hope they don't take it back.
Anyway, it was time to go see Eve again today.
The 27th meeting with Eve.
The season was full autumn. It was a day with a strong cold wind.
Eve's cheeks were slightly red in the chilly weather.
"A few days ago, I sent a letter to your family, the Lemontree baronetcy. And I received a reply this morning."
"……?"
"Would you like to see it?"
I took out the letter and showed it to her, wondering if she knew how to read.
But she didn't seem to know how to read either.
"The content is that they are very wary of me and ask who I am. And that the baronet family has already fallen. They told me to get lost if I wanted money."
"……?"
"I haven't told them about you yet. But I'm thinking of communicating a little more. I hope to find a clue as to who you are and why you're doing this here."
Still just tilting her head.
I gently pinched her cheeks out of frustration.
Her skin stretched out and was cold.
She doesn't avoid it. She just stares at me blankly.
"……And I might not be able to come for a few days soon. A big crisis is coming to this entire academy soon. It probably has nothing to do with you. But I'll be quite busy, and if I'm unlucky, I might get injured and not be able to come for quite a while."
But what was it?
This reaction was a little different.
Eve didn't tilt her head.
But her drooping eyes drooped a little more.
"……."
She didn't understand the words, but she seemed to understand that something was different from the other times. Maybe it's because I spoke longer than usual.
I wanted to convey something to Eve. And Eve noticed it.
"……The moon is bright."
I turned my head to the sky.
Eve also raised her head.
Actually, it's not the moon. It's the largest of the 33 stars called 「Transcendence✯」. It's known as the king of the stars.
In ancient times, they thought it was different from other stars, and that has been passed down as the name 'moon' to this day.
As I was blankly looking at it, a shallow weight settled on my arm.
Surprised by the unfamiliar sensation, I looked down slightly.
And I couldn't help but be a little surprised.
"……."
The day before yesterday, Adele said Eve was like an elephant.
That an elephant meeting a human was similar to Eve meeting me.
It sounded like nonsense, but it kept lingering in my mind.
Eve (Elephant) - Me (Human)
Eve (Human) - Me (Cat)
Indeed, as Adele said, the initiative in our relationship was with Eve. I haven't seen her fight directly yet, but she must be shockingly strong. Her potential of [3.0] guaranteed it.
The moment Eve rejects me here, I won't be able to do anything. That was truly similar to the human-cat, elephant-human relationship.
So, what is Eve thinking now?
What on earth is this elephant thinking?
……Why is she leaning her head on me?
In the silence. I slowly lowered my hand. And then I carefully tried to put my hand on Eve's head above her burlap hood. To adjust the angle so she could lean more comfortably. But something blocked me. It was Eve's hand. I wondered if she still had resistance to my touch. But it wasn't.
Eve took my hand and put it on her cheek. It was a night in early winter. The weather was chilly and Eve's cheeks were cold. Was it because my hand was warm? Eve moved her small lower jaw around, evenly feeling the warmth.
It was unfamiliar. The hardness of the bone that was felt along the jawline. The tip of her nose that brushed against my thumb. The softness that occasionally touched my palm made me wonder if it was her lips, it was very unfamiliar.
At the same time, it was amazing. From the time I only watched from afar. Breaking the Scope, ringing the bell, receiving the apple, learning to wave, sitting in the tomb together and watching the stars. And after 27 meetings.
We've gotten this close now.
* * *
Eve stared blankly at 'Human'.
Until he was so far away that she finally couldn't see him.
"……."
EP13
Elephant
END