An Adventure Against the Current (1)
Pirel’s finger trembled violently as it pointed at my face. I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say.
“What do you mean, Pirel?”
“Kaira, Kaira…… your t-tongue……”
Tongue…?
I slipped my tongue out just a little. That was all it took for me to understand exactly what she meant.
“Hik……”
A dark tentacle, black as a shadow on a starless night, writhed across my tongue as though it had fused with the flesh itself. From its surface, tiny protrusions like smaller tentacles bloomed and squirmed.
Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
How…? Was some of the demonic energy still inside me? Or did it happen because of what those men did last night?
I quickly turned over the back of my hand. The skin was its normal delicate apricot color. There were no blackened veins pulsing with corruption, no patches of skin drained of all color. The demonic energy wasn’t circulating through my body.
Those men had clearly been startled by my power—by something that defied the very laws of this world. They hadn’t shown any signs of being cultists.
Was it the alcohol, then? But there was no way an ordinary inn would serve something as suspicious as liquor blessed by the gods beyond the veil.
I had definitely rewound time. My ability could restore wounds, fix what was broken, erase stains, even bring back things that had been swallowed by time and erased. So how…?
The power that twists the very logic of the world itself—the power ruled by our gods.
That was what the heretical priest had said right before he died.
Had the time-rewinding power, which he had identified as belonging to the “same category,” resonated with the blessings of the evil gods? Could corruption of the same type not be erased even if time itself was turned back?
Or perhaps…
Leaving the memory of corruption intact allowed the corruption to resurrect itself. When I had rewound time for Pirel, I had preserved her memories as well.
Either possibility was disastrous.
The Demon King’s demonic energy had been overwhelming, but he had only forced it into me to turn me into a puppet. That might have been why I was able to escape by rewinding time.
The priests’ so-called “ritual” had been different. Their demonic energy was far weaker than the Demon King’s, but what they wanted was to shake my will while leaving my ego intact—to make me willingly throw myself into the abyss.
If that shaken will had remained inside my memories, allowing the corruption to revive at any moment, then I had become nothing more than a walking time bomb.
Yet erasing the memories entirely was impossible, because everything I had just considered was still only a hypothesis.
What a headache…
I stared at Pirel. My eyes moved slowly across her mouth, her ears, her chest… and then down to her lower body. There was no sign of shadowy tentacles sprouting from my precious mother’s flesh.
Whew. It should be fine. I wasn’t dominated or possessed. It simply felt… a little better than when I normally embraced a man. It’s an unpleasant phenomenon, but at least I’ll have the chance to study it bit by bit.
“I’m sorry for frightening you, Pirel. As you can see, I’m still in my right mind… I’ll rewind it right now……”
I could hear it myself. Though my words were calm, my voice trembled with confusion, fear, and tension.
In front of Pirel’s worried gaze, I recorded the memory and rewound time.
After eating a hearty breakfast on the first floor, packing our things, leaving the inn, and mounting our horses, Pirel was still afraid of me. Her small back, holding the reins, shivered faintly.
It was only natural. The memory of being clawed apart by corruption, of having pieces of her ego torn away, would be the greatest nightmare of her life—far worse than suddenly losing her hometown and being sold to a brothel, worse even than being driven out of that brothel and becoming a beggar on the streets.
I watched her with concern as well. Whether the memory of corruption itself acted as a pathway connecting us to the gods beyond, or whether my time-rewinding power resonated with the evil gods, Pirel could hardly be safe from those black tentacles.
For now, the only hypothesis I could form was that the corruption would manifest if we drank alcohol or lost ourselves in pleasure and let our self-control slip.
Which means I’ll have to be extremely careful with alcohol from now on…
I tried to mend the painfully awkward mother-daughter relationship by riding up behind her as she headed silently toward the docks and offering a light comment.
“Pirel, the breakfast at that expensive inn was pretty good, wasn’t it? Fresh trout steak caught from the great river this morning, paired with young shoots grilled from a farm near Drankafen. You couldn’t eat anything like that in the imperial capital no matter how much money you offered.”
“Mmm……”
Her reply was half-hearted.
“Did you used to eat fish often, Pirel?”
“No…… Only dried fish, sometimes……”
That made sense. Though there were small streams near the capital, they couldn’t produce enough fish to feed the entire population. The only fish dishes available in the capital were ones made from fish caught in the Drankiz Great River or the distant inland sea to the southeast, then dried until they were rock-hard.
“And the bread was freshly baked this morning, so it was still soft. Just like Father’s bread.”
“……”
Maybe I shouldn’t have brought up Father.
Having failed to break the awkward atmosphere, I found myself reaching out almost unconsciously to gently stroke the hair of Pirel, who was riding ahead of me.
“Hik…!!”
The moment my hand touched her, Pirel flinched violently. She turned to look at me with a face full of terror. Even the gray headwind seemed to notice how badly she was shaking and recoiled for a moment.
I clutched my chest.
To be treated like a monster by my own mother… This hurts more than I expected…
As if in answer, a slightly resentful voice echoed inside my head.
Now do you understand? Do you finally see how deep the wound was that I received the day I was born, when Mother rejected me?
Ah, Rin… You were awake.
The familiar voice of my “daughter,” who had been silent for so long, felt strangely welcome. I could no longer deny it. I had long since come to think of Rin as my real child. …Even if that “long time” was still less than a month.
Ever since Iskil died, I had kept Rin inside my mind at all times. We had essentially become symbiotic.
I just woke up. Ugh… My head still feels like it’s going to split open. Please avoid alcohol from now on…
You don’t even have a head.
That’s not the point!
After that sharp reply, Rin fell quiet again for a long while. She seemed to be reading the memories that had formed while she was unconscious yesterday and calculating my current worries.
Only the relaxed sound of hooves, the noisy clamor of the port streets, and the scent of water carried on the river wind stimulated my senses.
“Pirel. We’ve reached the docks. Let’s dismount here.”
“Okay……”
We slid down from the horses.
According to what we had learned from the inn staff, there were passenger ships that traveled up and down the great river carrying both people and horses, though they were rare. The concept was similar to a car ferry.
Most of them, however, were merchant vessels that simply took on a few passengers for extra coin. Finding a ship that could also accommodate horses would not be easy.
So look for a cargo ship that transports large livestock like pigs. You should find one without too much trouble. A merchant vessel that trades in horses or a military ship carrying cavalry would be even better, but those are rare.
That was what they had told us. And indeed, finding such a ship wasn’t difficult.
Extra income was still income. As we led our horses along the docks, touts from the merchant ships, smelling money, began calling out to us.
“Misses, looking for a ship?”
“How far are you going? We can take you all the way to the open sea!”
They shouted various offers.
Transporting horses would cost quite a bit, and passengers who brought horses were good sources of revenue. Besides, if they encountered water bandits, an extra pair of fighting hands would be welcome.
Pirel shrank back, intimidated by the large, sun-browned men. She didn’t seem able to ask me for help, either. Her mother was still afraid of me, after all.
I moved Pirel behind me and asked the touts several questions, focusing especially on the parts that might let me negotiate the fare down.
“By any chance, do any of the sailors or officers include a mage?”
Thanks to that, after speaking with seven or eight different touts, I was able to secure a ship right away.
Even ordinary sailors were hard to come by on short notice, let alone mages. It was rare to find even a mage who was merely a passenger rather than officially employed by the ship.
I introduced myself to the captain I was led to, using the same fake name I had used at the brothel.
“Hello. I’m the mage Karin. This is my younger sister, Pirel. Is it possible to bring our horses aboard as well?”
The captain was delighted. He joked that having a mage on board in case of trouble would be incredibly reassuring and that he was lucky to have found such passengers.
After learning that the ship had a simple stable for livestock, space for the horses, and extra fodder, we decided to board that vessel.
It was only that evening that I realized choosing to travel by ship had been a mistake.
Because we ultimately had to share a single cabin, Pirel’s wariness toward me gradually began to ease.
While we were unpacking our luggage in the windowless cabin, feeling the sway of the waves, and resting briefly on the bed, Pirel hesitantly spoke up.
“…Kaira.”
“Yes, Pirel.”
“I’m sorry.”
I smiled gently and nodded.
“It’s only natural to be scared after seeing something like that. I’m fine, Pirel.”
“…Yeah. The moment I saw you like that, I felt scared and disgusted by you…… I’m sorry, I’m really sorry……”
I sat up and pulled my small mother into a tight embrace. The front of her dress grew damp with moisture. They must be Pirel’s tears. I said nothing more, simply stroking the hair of the girl in my arms with gentle fingers.
“Uuuu…… Hic, hic…… Actually…… what scared me more than you becoming like that…… was the thought that I…… might……”
I understood. The fact that I had become like that meant Pirel could become the same at any moment. If I was by her side, I could rewind it for her, but……
“I know. I understand, so don’t worry……”
Our conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Yes, come in.”
A sturdy-looking sailor opened the door wide.
“Dinner is ready. We don’t have a separate dining area for passengers, so we’ll just be eating together with the crew. If that’s all right with you, please join us.”
“Understood. Thank you for your consideration. We’ll be right out.”
I was a little curious what Pirel had been about to say, but we couldn’t ignore the captain’s kindness, so the two of us—actually three, counting Rin—headed up to the deck.
The open view, the slanted sunlight, and the cool river breeze tickled my skin. Only then did I sense Rin’s presence again and quietly asked her.
Rin, you didn’t turn the split entities into a swarm of rats and sneak them aboard, did you?
I’m not an idiot. Rats are the sailors’ enemies. I turned them into water birds instead. All those ones perched on the mast are me.
I see. No wonder there were so many ducks and seagulls around.
The sailors’ meal was crude. That was to be expected. They couldn’t spend much money feeding so many people, and they also had to consider shelf life.
What appeared to be their dinner were rock-hard baked wheat loaves that smelled faintly of bread and smoked, dried fish so stiff they might as well have been wooden sticks.
After receiving a stone-like lump and a bucket half-filled with water, I asked a passing sailor.
“…How exactly are we supposed to eat this……?”
“You smash it with a hammer and chew the pieces until your saliva softens them,” he answered indifferently.
I tried biting into the bread lump without a hammer first. The texture was like chewing on a metal plate. Another sailor who saw this burst out laughing.
“Since you’re passengers, let’s give them a bit more water. It’d be too cruel to make two young ladies eat that with nothing but their own saliva.”
“Sure, why not. Take some more.”
The sailor went to the water rationing area and this time filled a waterskin to the brim for us.
Even so, they clearly had no intention of boiling or frying anything extra. Using fire freely on a ship would have been difficult anyway.
It would have been nice if I could set up a stove with firewood and a pot and use Perius’s igniter.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. We hadn’t brought any extra food supplies.
So we sat blankly on the deck, gnawing and struggling to chew the water-soaked bread pieces until the sun sank behind the distant mountain range that peeked over the plains.
Um, Mom…?
When I had managed to swallow about half a piece, Rin spoke up. Come to think of it, maybe I should have asked her to secrete digestive fluids. I’d have to try that later.
Yes? What is it, Rin?
This water…… Maybe because it’s the water they drink on the ship……
Rin’s voice sounded strangely slurred.
I’m getting sleepy……
With those last words, Rin fell silent.
Only then did I realize what might be mixed into the drinking water carried aboard the ship. If it was something that could be added to keep the water from spoiling, then……
I quickly turned to look at Pirel.
She was slumped over as if exhausted. If I sent her back to the cabin, she would probably collapse and fall asleep immediately. That was understandable. Her body was even smaller than mine, and she had drunk an entire bucketful of water while trying to soften the biscuits and dried fish.
I……
Gulp.
I swallowed hard as I gazed at the gleaming muscles of the sturdy sailors preparing for night sailing.
……
Those men……
I wish they would messily, brutally ravage me……
Hehehet……