Urusphier (6)
I spent the entire day without moving an inch from the bed.
Except for the times Rubia brought food up from the first-floor restaurant at every meal, I just... kept lying there.
I even held it in when I needed the bathroom.
That agonizing stretch of time dragged on until the scent of Rubia finally faded from the pillow I was clutching so tightly.
"Hah... I'm back..."
Hepais had returned.
"He-Hepais...!"
I bolted upright and turned toward the direction of her voice.
"Ah, Noah Unni."
Her voice sounded utterly exhausted.
She must have worked so hard...
"Did you... eat before coming back?"
"Yeah. I ate. What about you, Unni?"
"I-I... ate too."
Rubia had fed me gently enough, but the atmosphere had been so different from usual that it still sat heavy in my stomach.
Ugh...
Hepais's shuffling footsteps approached.
"Ah, and... I tried to finish it today if I could, but it was impossible after all... I'm not used to the tools since they're not the ones I normally use... and the fragment's just so tough... Sorry, Noah Unni."
"Mm... It can't be helped... You don't need to... apologize."
I hadn't been expecting it.
W-well, maybe just a little.
But of course it hadn't worked out.
"Anyway... Rubia Unni's asleep, huh?"
"Rubia's... sleeping?"
"Yeah. She's slumped over the desk. Should I wake her?"
Didn't she sleep with us last night...?
Maybe she had something on her mind and couldn't rest...?
Don't tell me... b-because I got mad...?
Nah, no way.
Who am I for her to lose sleep over something like that?
"Th-then just let her re—"
Wait.
But... if she sleeps face-down like that, her back's going to hurt when she wakes up.
Hmm... maybe it would be better to wake her and get her into bed...
"No... I think we should wake her. Let's tell her to lie down properly..."
"Yeah, that's probably better, right?"
Hepais's footsteps receded.
She must have been going to wake Rubia.
"Unni, Rubia Unni!"
"Haa... hah... Ah, Hepais, you're back... nngh..."
Rubia's voice, thick with fatigue, drifted over.
I pulled the blanket back over my head and lay down again.
I was still mad at Rubia.
I don't even want to show her my face...
"Haa... I dozed off for a second. Did you finish up okay?"
"Ah, yeah. It should be done by tomorrow, I think. Definitely... it's not some ordinary magic beast fragment—it's Carpeng's Fragment, so it's insanely tough."
"That makes sense. But Noah is... ah."
I heard Rubia staggering toward me.
I hugged the blanket tighter.
"Noah. Are you asleep?"
One side of the bed dipped deeply.
She must have sat on the edge.
"N-no, I'm not..."
I curled up even smaller.
"Will you show me your face?"
"No..."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep..."
"W-well, it couldn't be helped..."
Truthfully.
Rubia didn't need to apologize.
And I didn't need to take it out on her either.
Not being able to see when I didn't have the greatsword... that was purely my own personal problem.
Something Rubia didn't have to worry about at all.
But.
Even so... it still hurt.
She called me her friend.
Her... closest friend, she said.
Last time... she stayed by my side the whole day.
So why today...
If you're going to be like this, you shouldn't have done it in the first place.
Getting my hopes up for nothing...
My nose prickled and my eyes burned again, so I sucked in a sharp breath and held it.
I didn't even want her to hear me cry.
Right beside me came the sound of Rubia's sigh, and a little farther away, Hepais's quiet hum.
Then, a moment later—
"Hey, Unnis, do you guys feel like a late-night snack?"
Hepais's completely random question shattered the silence.
"Late-night snack?"
"Yeah. Rubia Unni didn't eat, right?"
"Me...? I ate—"
"You didn't, did you? There's only one portion left here."
Huh?
Rubia didn't eat?
Earlier she definitely said she was going to...
"Ahem, ahem... What kind of late-night snack were you thinking? Do you have something in mind?"
Rubia's awkward reply floated over.
So she really didn't eat.
"Hehe... I spotted a place on the way back. I'll go grab some real quick, so don't fall asleep—wait for me!"
"Ah... okay. Be careful."
I heard Hepais walking toward the door.
I pushed the blanket down and poked just my head out.
"T-take care."
Then I ducked back under.
"Okay! I'll be right back!"
The door opened and shut.
"Noah. I'm sorry..."
Rubia's hand brushed near my shoulder.
"I-it's fine..."
Another sigh.
But.
I couldn't hold it in any longer.
Hepais was gone now, so...
I flung the blanket off and sat up.
Then I carefully stood, stretched my hands out in front of me, and started walking slowly.
"Noah...?"
I ignored her and kept going.
A little while later—
"Ah... got it."
I found the wall!
Now I just had to follow it...
Ssshk— ssshk—
My palm sliding along the wall made a strangely pleasant sound.
Past the curve like that...
Ah, this is the table.
Ssshk— ssshk—
And then...
"If you need the bathroom, you can just say so..."
The moment my hand touched the doorframe, Rubia's arms wrapped around my waist.
"I-I can go alone... I don't... need Rubia."
I pushed her hands away and turned the knob.
With a creak, the bathroom door opened.
"I'm sorry..."
"You don't have to apologize... Th-this is... my problem."
I stepped inside and shut the door behind me.
From the other side came Rubia's deep, heavy sigh.
"Haa..."
Hearing it made me feel inexplicably gloomy too.
No.
Forget it.
I can do this alone now...
I steeled myself and finally took care of the business I'd been putting off all day.
I feel human again...
I washed my hands and forced my twisted expression back into place.
Then I felt my way along the wall and opened the bathroom door again.
Rubia's uneven breathing was right in front of me.
"No...ah..."
"Be-before Hepais gets back... I'm going to lie down on the bed."
Keeping my face as stiff as possible, I found the wall again and started crawling carefully forward.
I was about halfway there when something hard caught my foot and my body lurched sideways.
"Eek...!"
But... I didn't fall.
"Even if Noah says no, I'm going to help you right now."
Rubia's trembling hands were supporting my waist.
"Ugh..."
"I'll take you there."
She carefully wrapped her arms around me and walked me slowly back to the bed.
"Th-thank... you."
"It's nothing..."
After answering, Rubia stood still for a moment, then carefully sat on the edge of the bed.
Is she looking at me?
Or... somewhere else?
Not being able to see anything is so frustrating, so annoying...
Pulling the blanket over my head again would be too embarrassing now, so I hugged my knees and hung my head low.
A little while later—
"Tada—!"
The door burst open and Hepais came in, panting hard.
I snapped my head up toward the sound of her voice.
"Y-you're back...?"
"Yep!"
"Skewers and... is that alcohol?"
Alcohol?
She bought alcohol...?
"Yep!!"
"Hepais... aren't you underage?"
"Of course I'm not drinking any!"
"No, whether you drink it or not... how did you even buy it?"
"I just said I was running an errand for my mom and they handed it over."
Huh...?
They just give alcohol away that easily?
Well... when I was a kid, if you said you were running an errand for your parents, they'd hand over booze or cigarettes no problem...
"Alright, alright, enough talk. Let's eat already! I'm starving!"
Along with the sound of Hepais walking over came the rustling of a paper bag.
Eating sounded great, but...
If I tried to eat like this... she'd probably notice I couldn't see.
Of course... it wouldn't matter if I just told Hepais that I couldn't see without the greatsword.
But getting caught by accident was one thing—I didn't want to say it out loud myself.
Besides... it was still a secret just between Rubia and me.
If I casually told someone else, Rubia might feel hurt...
I was still mad at her right now, but...
I-I wasn't going to stay mad forever.
Ah, whatever.
If she finds out, she finds out.
I didn't think Hepais would do anything mean about it.
I fidgeted and started to get up when someone's hand gently tapped me.
Then it carefully took my hand and helped me stand.
An incredibly familiar hand.
Rubia's.
"Come on, sit in a circle!"
That hand slowly guided me over beside Hepais.
"Noah, here."
She held a skewer out in front of my hand.
"Th-thank you..."
I carefully took it.
My heart went all soft and warm.
The stiff expression I'd been wearing started to melt into a silly grin.
It's just because the skewer smells good.
Not because Rubia... not because Rubia is taking care of me.
"Thanks for the food, Hepais. But... the vibe feels a little different from when you asked us to take you from Roholan, doesn't it?"
Hmm, now that she mentioned it.
Back then she looked desperate.
Now she seemed more at ease?
"Ah... well... this is kind of embarrassing to say, but..."
I heard Hepais rummaging for something.
"It's because of this..."
Because of what...?
I can't see!!
"...A glowing pebble?"
Nice one, Rubia!
But why a pebble?
"This isn't just any rock... um, Master gave it to me..."
Hepais paused to catch her breath, then continued.
"A long time ago, I almost got badly hurt while running an important errand... After that, Master gave me this stone... Simply put, it glows as long as the other person is alive, and goes dark if they die. So this means... Master is still alive... hehe..."
Ah...
A Bond Stone.
In the game, it was a cash item with the same meaning as a wedding ring—something you gave your partner when you got married...
A stone I'd never received or given to anyone...
A-and honestly.
If you just opened the friends window... you could already see where they were and whether they were alive.
Totally useless!
That's why I never cared about it.
And I still don't need one.
I can't see the light anyway.
Meaningless.
Useless.
I'm not jealous at all.
Really.
"Then why were you so frantic back in Roholan?"
"Well... when I was in Roholan, it was definitely flickering on and off. But the moment we got here, it suddenly... went back to normal."
Flickering?
Does it break sometimes too?
"Well, that's a relief... Still planning to go look for your master?"
"Yeah. I just... feel too uneasy sitting still. Of course I'll finish the equipment repairs perfectly. Times like this, you have to be even more thorough."
Anyway, did the Bond Stone not mean much in this world?
In the game it was basically a marriage proposal.
Well... those things were all made up by the players, so here it probably didn't mean anything special.
Still, it was good that Yuria was okay.
And... with everything getting noisy like this.
My mood lifted a little too.
To hide the corners of my mouth that kept twitching upward, I took a big bite of the skewer.
But.
"Hah, hah... augh... s-spicy!"
It felt like someone had just slapped my tongue as hard as they could.
Too spicy.
Really, way too ridiculously spicy!
"W-wa... Ru-Rubia... Hepais...! Anyone... water, water please... hah, sss— haa... i-it's too spicyyy..."
"Ah, Unni! Here!"
Hepais pressed a cup to my lips.
I grabbed it with both hands and gulped it down—
"Uweeeh... i-it's alcohol...?!"
Bitter!
Bitter and spicy!
Even spicier!!
The carbonation felt like it was shredding my tongue...!!
"Haa, sss— ha, ugh... s-spicy... it hurts... s-save me... sss— ha... sss— ha... spicyyy..."
"Huh? Ah, I mixed it up with the water. Sorry... Unni, this one's real water."
Hepais set a cup down near my hand with a clink.
I fumbled toward the sound, grabbed the water cup, and poured it into my mouth.
"U-ugh... t-tastes bad..."
My tongue was numb...
Still so spicy...
And disgustingly bitter too... ugh...
"Are you okay, Noah? Eat this first."
Rubia held something soft against my lips.
Jelly? Was it jelly?
I opened my mouth and eagerly accepted it.
It was jelly after all!
"Mmm..."
I swallowed the jelly with a gulp, and Rubia immediately held another one to my mouth.
I snapped it up again.
Grape flavor this time.
The jelly was delicious, but...
My stomach was getting hot.
Because of the spice?
Or... because of the alcohol?
It was getting... hotter and hotter...
"Noah...? Don't tell me you're drunk...?"
Ever since coming to this world, no one had ever offered me a drink, so I'd never tried any.
But come on, drunk off one cup?
Even I wasn't that much of a lightweight.
"Uuung...? Do I look drunk? I'm toootally... not drunk at all... hehe..."
See?
I'm fine.
"Hic—"
Hehe...