Sis, Save Me (2)
Sis, Save Me (2)
The door that had seemed like it would never open swung open with a clunk.
A sliver of light fell into the dark room. Rosemary, who had been resting her chin on her violin, froze in place, her throat tightening as if a wall had sprung up before her.
Two pairs of golden eyes met. Rosemary's expression went blank.
"What are you doing in here?"
If only the person who showed up had been that elf. Then I could've taken it out on her.
"I asked what you're doing in here."
It was the eldest sister.
"Uh, why are you coming out of here, Sis?"
"I'm asking what you're doing here at this hour."
"I—I was taking a walk?"
"If you were taking a walk, why does your voice go up at the end?"
"It can happen."
Rosemary sniffled and tried her best to act casual. Now that the space had opened up, her ragged breathing steadied. The golden hue that excitement had brought back to her eyes began to shimmer blue once more.
"Then why are you holding your staff? You were about to use magic, weren't you."
"Me? No? I just took it out because I wanted to play some music?"
"Do you think this place is a soundproof booth?"
"I thought it might be."
Under Aether's interrogation, Rosemary hastily put her staff away.
"Stop asking only questions and answer mine too. Sis, why did you come here at such a late hour?"
"...I wonder."
At the question, Aether's eyes darted around. There was a hint of fluster in them.
But Rosemary didn't have a shred of leeway left to notice that. The thought that she had nearly been trapped in there forever had thrown her mind into chaos.
In any case, the eldest sister was now an ally, or at least neutral. As long as Rosemary didn't screw up, nothing major would happen.
Rosemary, who had rushed outside, hid behind Aether and asked.
"What is this room, anyway?"
"It's my laboratory."
"A laboratory?"
At the unexpected answer, Rosemary's head tilted to the side.
**
Having run into an unexpected person, I sank into thought for a moment.
After finishing club activities with Rote and Frey, I had hurried back to the Liberal Arts Building to see Vermel. And as soon as I went down to the basement, wasn't there a wailing shriek from beyond the corridor, as if someone was about to be killed?
When I listened carefully, I thought I recognized the voice. Sensing that something was wrong, I ran at full speed.
I quickly opened the door to the hideout and looked around. Some past-expiration-date Blueberry was playing a violin.
A violin? Were my eyes malfunctioning right then?
Questions spun through my head like stars tracing their diurnal circles on the celestial sphere.
First, why was Rosemary here?
I wondered if she'd come to snatch Vermel's head off, so I scanned the room, but there was no trace of Vermel anywhere.
Where the hell had that bastard gone?
No, no. I told myself not to jump to conclusions like that.
Maybe Blueberry being here had tipped him off and he bolted first. Taking that into account, I talked with Rosemary for a moment. Rosemary hurriedly put away her violin and scurried over to hide behind me.
"What is this room, anyway?"
Rosemary looked up at me, blotting her damp eyes with her sleeve.
...Right. This kid had claustrophobia, didn't she.
I hastily fabricated a lie toward Rosemary, who was staring up at me with a sullen expression. This, too, was part of the act.
"This is a room I asked the academy for, where I'm conducting special experiments. But when I checked last time, someone had broken the door. So I set it up so that it automatically closes if someone who doesn't know about it enters—also added some Reinforcement Magic."
"I-is that so...?"
"Yes. I was trying to find out who the culprit was...."
I weighed whether to press her a bit right then.
"Was it you?"
"Me?"
"I can't think of anyone else around here who could break this iron door except you?"
"This is my first time here. Couldn't someone else have broken it without knowing?"
"Really?"
"Really."
"You know I hate lying more than anything."
Blueberry's pupils shook violently.
"I—I did it."
Rosemary shuffled reluctantly and hung her head low.
"...I'm sorry."
"Okay."
I gave Rosemary a slight push to detach her.
"I did wrong! Please spare me!"
"I said okay."
Unexpectedly, she admitted it meekly. A deeply satisfied smile spread across my face as I closed the basement door.
It seemed Vermel had already vanished. I probably wouldn't need to come back here except when talking with the Chairman. With that judgment, I took Rosemary and walked out to the Central Plaza with the fountain.
The fountain water sparkled in the dim moonlight. The weather was fairly cold. The north wind blowing over from the Elankaya Mountains grazed the nape of my neck. At that rate, I might catch a cold.
"...Um, Sis. Aren't you going to ask me why I was there?"
"You must've been up to something. What's it to me."
"Are you forgiving me?"
"You apologized, so I should forgive you."
People, all beings, make mistakes. They might make unintended excuses trying to defend themselves. But if they admit it in time and give a sincere apology, it's right to forgive them.
And getting upset over something like this felt too childish. Threatening to use a nuclear weapon because someone broke a door....
Of course, the fact that she posed a threat to Vermel was a problem. But if I reproached her for that, it might invite suspicion. What I meant was, the best move here was to act completely unruffled, like it was nothing.
Right, now that it had come to this, it was better for me to reverse-mark Rosemary.
This was what you called a paradigm shift. Turning from the one being watched into the one doing the watching. For my sake, and for Vermel's safety.
"Somehow it got to be this late."
"It did. It's gotten very dark."
"If you want, do you want to stay over in the dormitory today?"
"...Pardon?"
As if the proposal was unexpected, Rosemary's eyes went round and she asked back. Her reaction sounded like she was asking why that subject suddenly came up here.
"It's over twenty minutes on foot from here to the imperial palace, you know. You know this already, but imperial security isn't as good as you might think. I just don't want you running into danger on a pointless night walk."
Rosemary scoffed and answered.
"Sis, what would a pervert matter?"
"I'm saying this because I'm worried about the pervert, not you."
"Wow, that's too much."
"If a rumor spreads through the empire that a duke's daughter dissolved someone in nitric acid, who suffers the most damage?"
"Still too much."
Like sworn sisters, indeed. She counterattacked with the same repertoire the moment I teased her.
"Still, I mean it. I know you hate the empire, but you can't just go around killing people. This isn't a battlefield."
"To me, it's the same as a battlefield."
At the thicker voice, I closed my mouth.
Back when Blueberry was human, her country had been destroyed by none other than the empire. At that time, this child narrowly escaped death again and again and went through the process of 'Corruption' that any Gold-Eye Tribe member can experience.
"Sis."
Rosemary placed a fist on my shoulder.
The texture was similar to a human's but subtly different. It was heavy, as if she had put a lump of iron on me instead of flesh.
"If I had lived relatively comfortably, like my kin in the elf country, I wouldn't be doing this crap either."
"......."
"But I, I lost everyone because of these bastards here...."
"I know."
"I don't know about other things, but imperials are absolutely not to be trusted. So, Sis, you shouldn't stay here long. Those friends of yours might betray you someday, too."
At the last words, my eyebrows reflexively twitched.
How ridiculous. Was she trying to pull something to widen the distance between me and my friends?
Or was this part of some plan to bring me to the Demon King's castle without any trouble? Yes, it was probably the latter.
"If the people you trusted here try to pull something weird on you, Sis, what will you do then?"
It was a hard question to answer. Gazing up at the yellow moon, the color of her own eyes, she parted her lips.
"......Then I'd have to kill them all."
I hurriedly raised a hand and covered my mouth. What did I just say?
I had intended to give a different answer. To first clear up the misunderstanding, or to sit down and talk seriously over a drink like last time.
Even if they had to break a promise regardless of their own intentions, like Vermel, I could make allowances for this and that. I placed more weight on process than results. If Rote or Frey ever did something that disappointed me, it wouldn't be deliberate.
But what I just blurted out was a statement that hadn't gone through any of that thought process at all.
"Oh.... Just now, Sis, it felt like you'd gone back to how you used to be."
"No, that was nonsense. Even if something like that happens, I'm not going back to the Demon King's castle if I can help it."
Aether was, to the very end, neutral. She was on neither the humans' side nor the Demon King's side.
Furthermore, I was not on this world's side.
There was no change to the plan I had set before. I would go home. I would crack open a can of beer and write papers. I would call my sister and tell her I was back. I would take some leave and watch all the movies I'd been backlogged on.
Just imagining it made me feel good. Yay.
Rosemary's face became tearful. It was the expression of someone asking why I wouldn't come back.
Well, what could I do? If the Demon King's army got in the way of filling up my Hardcover Book's list, I'd have to bring it down.
I also smiled a bitter smile and asked.
"So, are you coming to the dormitory or not?"