The Extinguished Flame
The extinguished lamp seemed as though it would melt and fade away. Like snowflakes seeping into the ground to escape the blazing sunlight, like a candle slumping pitifully to the floor, unable to withstand the heat pressing down on its head. Apis felt that the brilliant lamp was especially dazzling today—something so fragile, thinner than frost, that she could surely melt it away with a mere wave of her hand. Yes, dazzling enough to make her want to squeeze her eyes shut. Dazzling enough to make her think it would be better to cast her consciousness into the depths of darkness.
"Apis's familiar deciphered this ancient script! It says he found that guy! That's what it means, right? Right?!"
A tiny butterfly, as if folded from leaves. It was the emergency messenger familiar Apis had sent flying toward the Hero, who had been in a deep sleep, right after discovering the priest. Clutching the small leaf in both hands, the Hero bounced in place with innocent delight, as bright as a child welcoming a traveling theater troupe. Apis thought to herself—how long had it been since she had seen her smile so purely? How long. How very long. It was a thought most unbecoming of an elf. At most, a little over a month. For the long-lived elves, whose lifespans differed so greatly from other races, it was a span of time shorter than the blink of an eye. Yet having witnessed firsthand how grueling those mere weeks had been for the Hero as she chased after the vanished priest, Apis now felt that fleeting moment was comparable to an eternity. She never imagined there would come a day when she would regard a time that had not even reached a full year as something vast and distant. The strange words that man had once spoken—that time is relative—now felt as though she could fully understand their meaning. Though recalling his face still filled her with irritation.
"So! Apis! Where is the priest now?! He didn't come with you?! What if—what if he's starving because he's poor?! Has he been injured or fallen ill?!"
"H-Hero! I get it! I get it, so calm down and let go of this first!"
The Hero clung desperately to Apis's shoulders, unleashing a storm of questions. She looked as though she were hanging from a cliff. Though her mouth smiled, her haggard complexion evoked the desperate struggle of a castaway in the middle of a vast desert searching for water. "Hah! I-I'm sorry! Apis! I got carried away again!" "Good grief… What on earth are you wearing…"
The Hero's appearance was rather peculiar. Holding a kitchen knife, wearing an apron, and even plugging her nose—she looked suspicious beyond mere oddity. "I was cooking!" "What?"
Following the Hero's words, Apis's bewildered gaze turned to the living room table behind her. "Good heavens…" Apis was shocked. The lavish feast covering the table was impressive enough to make one worry the legs might break, but that was not what surprised her most. What caught her attention was the type of food. The Hero, whose senses were overly sensitive and who usually recoiled from strong or gamey smells, was surrounded by intensely aromatic dishes without so much as a frown. Especially the mountain of thick grilled meat piled on a central plate and the red drink in an ice bucket filled with premium ice from the Snowcap Mountains—Minotaur flame-grilled meat and Valtin red wine. These were foods the Hero particularly avoided due to their strong scents, and foods the priest especially loved. "…Did you make all this yourself?" "No! I only handled procuring and preparing the ingredients, cooking the dishes, and setting the table! If Victim and Dawna hadn't helped by tasting, I couldn't have prepared a feast of this scale!"
That still means you did it all yourself, Apis thought, the retort rising to her throat. But unable to withstand the sorrow in the Hero's sparkling eyes, she swallowed her words. "Hey, Hero… This…" "Don't worry, Apis! All the ingredients here were purchased with my own personal funds! I didn't touch a single coin from the party treasury!" "No… That's not what I meant…" "Haha! While preparing the ingredients and cooking, I got quite the scolding because of the smell! I'm fine even if monster blood and entrails get all over me, so why do ingredients I don't like feel so unpleasant?! Ah! Of course! This is the mystery of the human body! Truly fascinating!" "Haa… Never mind. More importantly, that's obvious. There's no way a smell you have to endure is the same as one you willingly put in your mouth… Wait. What's that on your hand." "Hah!"
Contrary to her bold tone, the Hero hurriedly hid her hands behind her back. Apis didn't miss the unnatural movement. "I-It's nothing!" "Nothing my foot! Show me your hands! Now!" "L-Look at the sky, Apis! A shooting star just passed!" "We're indoors, you idiot! Enough with the pathetic tricks! Show me your hands! Quickly!" "…Yes."
The Hero hesitantly extended her hands. Seeing her sturdy palms covered in cuts of various sizes and clumsily wrapped bandages, Apis suddenly drew a sharp breath. "You fool…!" "Haha! Every time I put strength into cutting the ingredients, I unconsciously channeled mana into the blade! Habits are truly terrifying! To think that someone bearing the title of Hero can't even slice a piece of meat properly—how shameful!"
The Hero's housekeeping skills were beyond poor—they were disastrous. As if she had been born solely to fight. As if every part of her mind unrelated to combat had been cleared away. She was so hopeless at housework that she would break dishes just by carrying them, to the point that the other party members had to take turns covering her share of chores. Of course, the priest had once tried to force her into special household training, arguing that receiving without giving back was improper even for a Hero, but thanks to the priest's silver tongue sweet-talking the naive Hero, the kitchen disaster had been successfully prevented. At least until now.
"Why didn't anyone stop her before she got to this state?!" At Apis's sharp outburst, the Hero flinched, looking thoroughly scolded. Then, like a child confessing to a parent, she cautiously raised one hand and spoke. "I-I'm sorry, Apis. Actually, Victim and Dawna tried to stop me several times, but, well…" "What!"
Looking thoroughly ashamed, the Hero pointed a trembling finger at the floor. Following her gaze, Apis discovered—"What the—Dawna?! Victim?! What are you two doing on the floor?!" "Ughhh…" "Guhhh…" "I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Apis's clear voice rang out toward Dawna and Victim, who lay sprawled on the floor like corpses with their mouths stuffed full of meat. The Hero, who had been bowing repeatedly beside them in fervent apology, began explaining the situation. "W-Well! It seems some of the meats I offered for tasting were poisonous! When I tried them, they seemed f-fine, so I forgot that I'm immune to all poisons, and so…!" "A-Alright! I get the gist of what happened! Shut your mouth and stop bowing!" "Y-Yes!"
The Hero stood at attention and answered in a firm tone. It was like watching a strict older sister and her troublemaking younger sibling. It was something the priest used to joke about whenever Apis scolded the Hero for her childish behavior. "Haa… You already gave them the antidote, right?" "Yes! Of course! Just in case, I also fed them plenty of nourishing meat, so they'll definitely regain consciousness soon!" "…Good. Well done." "Haha! Thank you!"
After barely rescuing the party members who had been slowly dying from the double ordeal of poison and airway obstruction caused by meat, Apis glanced over the food-laden table and turned her gaze back to the Hero. "So, Apis! When will the priest you found arrive?! Is he coming soon?! Or in an hour? Two hours?! Ah! What if he's planning to come tomorrow or the day after?! That would be terrible! The celebratory feast I prepared might get cold!" "T-That's…"
The Hero, visibly excited, kept pressing Apis like a child awaiting Santa's gifts. But perhaps because that innocent, hope-filled face had been blocked by the veil of a cold smile and indifferent voice—"I never want to see the Hero's face again for the rest of my life." Apis couldn't bring herself to speak the cruel truth. That pathetic excuse, that cowardly choice, ended up extinguishing the light in the Hero's jewel-like eyes. "I-I'm sorry… Hero…" "……" Rustle. The lamp, having burned through its oil, tore through the darkness and scattered it.