Chapter 83. Even If It's a Lie, If I'm Happy (2)
Chapter 83. Even If It's a Lie, If I'm Happy (2)
'......I'm sorry.'
When her ears grew muffled and strength drained from her body, Serika's head reflexively began to turn toward the source of the voice that had already returned before she noticed it.
But no. She tried to turn it, yet her head wouldn't move properly. Her vision hadn't been clear even before that.
'I'm sorry. I'm the one who's sorry.......'
Only the sound.
Only a voice she couldn't identify echoed in her ears.
'I should never have met you. No, I should have left without being so greedy. I shouldn't have dragged you into my circumstances....... Now I can't even stop myself anymore.'
She couldn't tell what that apology meant.
She only knew that it was directed at her.
'I'm sorry, I'm the one.... It's all my fault.......'
The sincerity welling up from that voice—she could only feel that it struck far too deeply into her heart.
***
"Serika, Serika!"
"......Nngh!"
How much time had passed?
When her mind cleared and her eyes opened, Serika clutched her throbbing head and looked up at the face gazing down at her.
A face full of concern, illuminated by the bright moonlight.
"...Dave?"
Right. Her lover.
"Ah, thank goodness. You're safe."
The moment she recognized him, Dave threw his arms around her and held her tight.
She stared at him blankly, unable to grasp the situation, until Dave pulled back and immediately began to explain.
"You suddenly collapsed, so I was really worried."
"...I collapsed?"
"Yeah. Your foot caught on a tree root and you hit your forehead hard....... Are you okay?"
He gently lifted her bangs to check her condition.
She could feel a strange throbbing right where his hand touched.
As if someone had given her a solid smack.
'...I collapsed? Me?'
But Serika was more preoccupied with having fallen than with the pain.
Because in the past month, she hadn't once tripped by her own mistake.
Even when she wasn't fighting, she normally caught her balance before her foot could snag. Was it really plausible that, dark as the forest was, she had fallen and hit her head hard enough to lose consciousness?
'Something's strange....... Mm.'
With her chin in her hand, she sank into thought, then subtly flicked her gaze to the side.
The man still watching her cautiously.
His anxious expression must have been concern about whatever was wrong with her.
'...Well, does it matter?'
Yes, that alone was enough to make her doubt disappear.
The moment she faced her lover, Serika felt tranquility settle in her heart, so she cast aside all her petty suspicions and decided to face him.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Not very long. Still, I thought some fresh air would do you good, so I moved us over to the lake for a bit......."
"The lake, you say?"
At that, Serika's gaze left him and began to sweep over their surroundings.
A broad lake shining beneath the clear full moon. Water grasses swayed gently at the surface, making the water tremble and the light ripple.
The sight of starlight reflected on the lake, undulating like waves.
"The view's nice."
Taking it in, Serika brushed back her hair, tousled by the cool breeze, and smiled.
An utterly frank assessment.
"How'd you manage to find such a nice spot?"
She shot a bright smile at her lover, even though she'd just been unconscious.
By then, the fact that she had lost consciousness had fallen to the back of her mind.
Unintentional though it was, they had ended up in a place with a wonderful view, and she didn't want to waste the opportunity.
"Rest here a little longer. I'll finish gathering the firewood and then......."
"Just a little."
Yes. Because she didn't want to waste it.
"Just a little. Can't we stay here a bit before we go?"
She caught hold of her lover's hand as he started to move away, and he began to hesitate in place, as if torn.
"No, it's late already, and Heira must be waiting......."
"You want to get back quickly because you're worried about her?"
"......."
"...You don't need to worry. Ymir is with her."
As a fellow party member, she would certainly be keeping an eye on Heira's condition.
They had come out here for the unavoidable reason of gathering firewood, but she wasn't on this journey alone.
She was here, and Ymir was here.......
Isn't that what comrades do? Cover for each other's absence, trust each other, and rely on one another when it counts?
"Besides, we've barely had any time alone together lately, right?"
Of course, separate from that, as a lover rather than simply a comrade, she had a desire to be close to him.
"Since that girl helps out with chores, I guess Dave ends up looking after her a lot, but still... when we're alone like this, I'd like you to look at me."
Keeping that up every day would be unreasonable given their positions.
But from time to time, when a chance like this came along, it wasn't easy to suppress the wish to spend that time intimately with him.
And she hoped with all her heart that he felt the same way.
"...Alright. Let's spend a little time here and then go."
Dave replied reluctantly, as though indulging her. The moment he agreed, Serika's face lit up with joy and she began to slip off her clothes without a second thought.
"Great, then since we've got a lake, how about a bath?"
"...What?"
"Come to think of it, I don't think we've ever bathed together. I figure it might not be a bad idea to do it now."
"W-wait, Serika. We're outside right now...."
"What does outside matter? It's night, so there's no one to see us."
Even if a Demon Beast showed up, she would just protect him. With that thought, Serika shed her clothes and threw herself into the lake without any inhibition.
A great splash erupted.
Feeling the chill soak deep into her bones, she burst up through the surface with a radiant laugh.
"Ahaha! The water's so chilly~ Dave! Hurry up and get in!"
The moment her completely bare body was vividly illuminated by the moonlight, droplets began to trace the curves and trickle downward one after another.
Unconsciously following those trails with his eyes, Dave belatedly snapped back to his senses and hastily tried to avert his gaze.
As though her current state was awkward to look at.
"No, I....... I'm fine."
Could he possibly be embarrassed?
Even though they'd already seen each other fully naked?
"Just get in already~!"
Finding that cute, she decided to tease him and tugged on his leg. His body lurched forward and he was pulled straight into the lake.
"Whoa—!"
With that single cry, Dave sank straight into the lake.
Realizing a moment too late that she had put in too much strength, Serika called out to him, flustered.
"S-sorry, Dave! I couldn't hold back my strength....... A-are you okay!?"
She stared at the bubbling surface in a panic.
But soon even the bubbles disappeared, and only ripples remained on the water.
"......Dave?"
The moment the anxious thought of "what if" turned her complexion pale—
-Splosh!
The surface split open and a spray of water slapped Serika full in the face.
Unable to react to the sudden ambush, she stood there with a dazed expression as Dave burst through the water, scooped up a handful of water, and glared at Serika.
"Serika, since you started it, I'm allowed to do at least this much, right?"
Dave flashed a deep grin, as if to say this was payback.
Then his hand swung and another spray hit her. That instant, Serika beamed and splashed water right back at Dave.
"You think that's enough!? If you're gonna splash, you've gotta do at least this much!"
"Ah, hey, wait! My clothes are soaked and I can hardly move......!!"
"That's why you should've taken them off when I told you to! Hah, hah!"
Dave laughed brightly as he splashed water at his lover.
Even though it seemed he was being pushed back and losing, a smile as bright as the moon in the sky had settled on his face before long.
As if to show that he, too, was purely enjoying their time together.
***
-Crackle, crackle.
A campfire had been lit with the firewood I'd gathered nearby.
After drying my clothes by the heat rising from it, I got into the lake and spent time with Serika.
Starting with little games like splashing water at each other, and then competitions like holding our breath underwater or racing.......
Obviously, it was impossible for me to beat Serika physically when she was in the middle of a rapid growth spurt as the Hero.
So I'd assumed most of the contests would go her way, but in reality Serika sometimes pretended to be at a disadvantage and even conceded wins to me.
"Ahaha~ Dave is amazing. Maybe it's because you're a man, but I really can't match you in strength."
Even so, rather than cling to winning or losing, Serika showed that she acknowledged my victories.
Right. The important thing to her wasn't victory itself, but the time she spent with me.
Whether we were splashing around together,
or—like now—floating absently in the water and gazing up at the sky.
"Haa~ It's been a long time since I've played around without a single thought in my head~"
Serika let out a carefree sigh as she floated on the surface, as if that alone was enough.
I could empathize with that feeling.
"Right. Whenever we supposedly rested, it usually just meant collapsing somewhere."
"Eat, work, sleep, eat, work, sleep....... I think I understand why adventurers go crazy over booze."
Because it was a schedule you couldn't endure without at least a drink.
Of course, there were plenty of people who worked lazily, but the party she belonged to carried the mission of saving the world.
They had been clearing not just one, but multiple high-level quests every single day.
The luxury of spending time without a single thought like this was bound to hit her even harder.
"...It really has flown by in the blink of an eye. One month."
"Yeah, we've been running around like crazy. Serika especially had it the hardest."
"No, Dave was the busiest. I just have to move my body, but Dave was looking after every single party member, right?"
"Ahaha, the chores are something anyone with a body can do."
"It's easy to misunderstand that, but I've realized that daily living skills require their own kind of technique. Just take Ymir, for example—if you leave her on her own......."
"...Ahaha."
When Ymir came up, I couldn't help but laugh, at a loss for words.
Well, Ymir was a woman who had never properly gotten a single drop of water on her hands.
Her stamina was also extremely lacking, so of course she wouldn't even dream of backbreaking work like being a porter.
Of course, she needed to put her talents to far more meaningful use, so her inability to do chores couldn't be a reason to criticize her.
"Yeah, because Dave is here, everyone can do their best at the work they're suited for."
In fact, she was saying that my presence—allowing those talents to be demonstrated without regret—had become impossible to ignore within the party now.
Having expressed that gratitude, Serika gave me a faint, bitter smile.
"But now that I look back on all the time we've spent so far, I've started thinking this: Dave helped us stay faithful to our duties, but when it comes down to it, I feel like we haven't repaid you at all."
"No, just letting me tag along with the party is plenty to be grateful for."
That wasn't a lie.
On the surface, a lowly porter who can do nothing but chores gets to travel with them.
And in practical terms, because they were helping me carry out my revenge.
"Really?"
Even so, did something still bother her?
Even as I felt satisfaction in watching that undertaking steadily progress, she wouldn't let go of her lingering attachment and kept pressing me.
"What do you mean, 'really'......."
"Even if you pretend otherwise, I can see it all with my own eyes."
A truth I couldn't afford to overlook.
"That you, Dave, are suffering for reasons you can't reveal to us."
She brought it up so utterly casually.