192. Pajama Party
192. Pajama Party
Despite my suggestion that we steal it together, Eurasia insisted on going alone and dashed off with a pitter-patter.
After sitting alone for a moment, I heard the familiar tap-tap-tap of footsteps from afar.
"My lady...!"
Eurasia's voice, whispering amid the sounds of insects. It carried the same brightness as always.
"You're back awfully fast."
"Hehe, this is the difference between the Tier 3 Eurasia and the Tier 5 Eurasia, you know?"
Eurasia, who had run hard enough to leave her hair slightly disheveled, was carrying ice cream tubs the size of my head under each arm.
Chocolate flavor, and a rainbow sherbet mixed with various fruits. She had stolen them whole.
I wasn't surprised.
For nearly six years now, Eurasia and I had been stealing whole tubs of ice cream like this.
"Yeah. Good job."
I reached out and smoothed Eurasia's hair.
Eurasia smiled awkwardly and averted her gaze.
"What... don't tell me you didn't bring a spoon?"
"Uh... w-well... I was in such a hurry that I only managed to grab one."
She pulled out a single rice spoon she'd hidden in her pocket.
Of course, I wasn't surprised this time either.
Ice cream stolen whole like this had always been scooped up messily with rice spoons.
"Well, nothing we can do. At least you brought one, so that's lucky. Good job."
"A-are... are you sure it's okay?"
"What wouldn't be okay? Let's eat fast before it melts."
I wedged the chocolate ice cream tub between my legs and opened the lid. Eurasia did the same with the sherbet.
Looking at the smooth, untouched surface of the ice cream, Eurasia and I giggled.
"This brings back memories."
"Right? When was the last time we ate like this?"
"Two years ago. After that, we were too busy preparing for the academy to do this."
"Whoa... it's already been two years since that started?"
"The moment I said let's go to the academy, you threw a crying, screaming fit. That's already been that long."
"...P-please don't bring that up."
Stab! Eurasia, squirming as if embarrassed, plunged her spoon into my ice cream and scooped up a big spoonful.
Seeing that, I promptly opened my mouth, and Eurasia fed me the ice cream without any hesitation.
"Ahh... it's cold..."
Then stab! Eurasia scooped up a spoonful of chocolate for herself and popped it into her own mouth.
"Mmm...!!"
She kicked her legs back and forth and shivered.
"This is a really bad thing to say, but... it really does taste better when we steal it like this."
"That's just how it is. Taking a bite of someone else's food always tastes better than eating your own."
"Is that why you always steal more than half of my ice cream?"
"You haven't done that since the time you tried to force the ice cream out of my mouth. Do you know how shocked I was back then? This is why you need to know how strong you are."
Once, long ago, I had stolen more than half of Eurasia's vanilla ice cream.
And I had opened my mouth wide and teased her about it... when suddenly Eurasia pounced on me and tried to take the ice cream right out of my mouth...
"Th-that was...! You weren't resisting, so... I thought it was okay to eat it..."
"Hey. To get away from you, I'd have to use Mana. What am I supposed to do if someone gets hurt doing that?"
"You hit me just fine when we spar."
"Oh?"
Eurasia, pouting, scooped up a spoonful of sherbet and held it out. I took it with a quick lick and looked at her.
...That line sounded familiar.
Was it just my imagination?
"Anyway... eating like this again brings back old memories. It's nice, right?"
"It's a shame the alcohol's worn off. Yeah, it's not bad."
I closed my eyes gently, swinging my feet back and forth above the ground. Chirp— chirp— the distinctive midsummer insect sounds filled the air.
Maybe because it was night, a fairly cool breeze blew, and the slightly squashed moonlight settled over my eyelids.
Then, tap— a cold spoon touched my lips. I ate it and licked the ice cream from the corner of my mouth.
"My lady."
"Mm?"
"I have something to ask."
I swallowed the cold ice cream and opened my eyes.
Maybe our minds were in sync, because Eurasia, who had closed her eyes just like me, slowly opened hers.
"The Demons... mm... that incident that happened recently. It's about that... can I ask?"
"Yeah."
"Then... back there... while protecting and saving the students, what were you thinking, my lady?"
"All of a sudden?"
"Just... I just suddenly got curious."
"Hm... what was I thinking..."
I chewed and melted the sherbet Eurasia had given me, lost in thought.
When I realized the Apostle of Gluttony had awakened, what had I thought?
I didn't need to think long.
"I'm going to kill that piece of shit no matter what."
"...And then?"
"That's it."
Eurasia blinked.
"...I mean, like, I have to protect the students, or... something, like, complicated thoughts like that... you didn't have any?"
What answer was Eurasia hoping for?
No, what was the intent of the question in the first place?
Was it simply because it was a summer night, and she'd had alcohol, and old memories came back, and she'd genuinely become more sentimental?
I wasn't sure, but... it was Eurasia, after all.
In this era, after Sparkle, Eurasia knew my personality best. So I decided to answer honestly.
"Yeah. If I could protect them, good. If I couldn't, that'd be a shame. That's what I thought."
"...Why?"
At that question, I felt a small question of my own.
Because Eurasia had never questioned my words so persistently before.
Of course, I didn't voice that question.
"I protected everyone I meant to protect."
"People you meant to protect...?"
"Mm..."
Should I be honest about this too?
Just thinking about saying it out loud made my hands and feet curl up. My heart felt unbearably ticklish.
I wanted to brush it off vaguely, but Eurasia's gaze was too intense... so I turned my head forward and avoided her eyes.
The flowers spread out before me—I didn't really want to see them right now. The Red Cherry Palace behind me—I didn't want to see that either.
In the end, I lifted my head and looked at the squashed moon.
"First, well, what is it. Um... everyone I considered... my people, I... protected them all, so I was satisfied with that."
"Your people...?"
"Yeah. Eurasia, Stella, Pina, and... Silina. Even Gailan, who was in our group."
People whose names I remembered.
I had a habit of deliberately not registering the names of people I met in passing. I had forcibly erased all my other habits, but that one I never let go.
And it was a habit I still carried even now, four hundred years later, after reincarnating.
"If you're too greedy, it backfires. If you're too stubborn, you'll break. In everything, think and act within the limits of what you can do, in moderation. It's easier on both the mind and the body."
Otherwise, you fall apart.
Countless heroes were like that. Knights were like that. Even mercenaries were like that.
And in the end, I was like that. My comrades were like that.
But we endured to the very end.
We were in a position where we had to endure somehow, but there was a bigger reason.
"B-but... still, isn't it better to do as much as you possibly can?"
"Alone, there's a limit. So... what is it. You make f-friends, comrades you can trust. Because alone, it's impossible. You gather like-minded idiots, and sometimes you lean on them... sometimes you're the support... the pillar for them. Well, that kind of feeling... so, now... yeah."
Because we became pillars for each other.
Because a bunch of morons gathered together, and that alone was fun and hilarious.
That's how we endured.
I scratched my ticklish chest and opened my mouth.
Before long, a spoonful piled high with sherbet entered my mouth.
Chew chew— I soothed myself with the cool sherbet and looked at Eurasia again.
Her expression was unchanged. It wasn't the face of someone whose worries had been resolved.
-Sometimes, rather than offering a solution, you need to empathize with the other person's feelings.
-But Ronan, you're an idiot lacking that kind of emotion, so that's impossible for you. You even have a mental illness that keeps you from saying warm words.
-So instead of giving half-baked advice, just do what you've always done.
-At least I... have experience of feeling just a tiny, tiny bit better because of your idiotic actions.
Recalling Luna's words, I snorted and carefully wiped the ice cream from the corner of Eurasia's mouth.
"Eurasia."
"...Yes?"
"Don't worry about useless things."
"...W-was it a useless worry?"
"Yeah. It's a completely useless worry that does absolutely nothing to help you live your life."
I snatched the spoon from Eurasia's hand and scooped up a heaping spoonful of chocolate ice cream.
"When those worries come, just look at me. Raise your sword for me alone, swing your sword for me alone, and kill my enemies for me alone."
I slipped the spoon into Eurasia's blankly open mouth.
"Then I'll look at you too. I'll raise my weapon for you... no, my fists. I'll swing them for you, and I'll kill your enemies for you. And then someday, the day will come when you'll laugh and wonder why you ever worried about such things."
Eurasia, chewing and swallowing the ice cream, averted her gaze. Thump— thump— her heels knocked against the railing she was perched on. Chirp— between the crying insect sounds, Eurasia's soft breathing could be heard.
"...What if... my enemy... is a person? Even then, even then... even then, would you... still do that for me?"
"Yeah."
There was no hesitation in my answer.
At that, Eurasia's face turned toward me again.
Her narrowed eyes were red. Even the tip of her nose was flushed, and her lips were crumpled foolishly.
"...Why?"
"Because they're Eurasia's enemy."
"That's... that's... a bad, bad... thing to do. A bad thing you shouldn't do. If you do that, my lady, you'll be in big trouble."
"Have I only done bad things once or twice? Just today, I stole and drank the alcohol Dad cherishes, and right now I'm even stealing ice cream."
"That and this are... completely different."
"Then what about you? If my enemy were human, if countless humans tried to kill me, would you just stand by?"
"I'd cut them down."
"Same for me."
So.
"Don't worry about useless things. No matter what anyone else says, to me, you're just Eurasia."
Eurasia's eyes widened. But only for a moment.
The wind blew. That wind brought a smile to Eurasia's face.
"Heh..."
In the end, the overflowing tears shattered in the moonlight, and the soft laughter that escaped melted into the scent of rosemary and spread gently.
So it was rosemary.
The scent of the perfume Eurasia wore.
I quietly scooped up ice cream and looked away.
"...Thank you."
I didn't bother asking what she was thanking me for. I just hoped my words had reached her properly.
And so, when morning came.
Eurasia packed her things to go to the main house.
We promised to meet in the Holy Kingdom in fifteen days.
I fastened the Eustetia sword at her waist.
I hired a carriage for her and packed some spending money.
I told her, with a smile, to have a safe trip.
Eurasia, carrying the scent of rosemary, left with her usual bright smile.