Volume 2 – The World Sneered
Grey clouds thinly covered the skies.
The four walked side by side on a straight road, which was darker than usual.
The royal capital was far away, and they could not see Majoram’s facility now.
There were only mountains ahead of them.
They kept walking on that road.
They had no destination.
But they decided to go somewhere that was unrelated to Majoram for now – that was Cutie’s proposal.
“There’s nothing around here, huh?”
“The road is well-maintained. I doubt it’s meant for traveling by foot.”
The girls spontaneously split into groups of two in the front and back while walking.
Ami and Calaria holding her bag walked in the back.
Cutie and Mary were walking in the front.
They were traveling lighter than when they first went to Majoram’s facility.
Because they threw away their comms devices.
As Noted had also said, it was dubious whether the new manager could be trusted or not.
They had to consider Majoram an enemy as well while they moved, so the possibility of their communications being intercepted was dangerous.
However, while their loads became lighter, their legs felt heavier.
“There are no rivers, and the ground is dry. There’s only weed growing here, so I guess we won’t find any fruits either.”
“You’re from a farmer family, right, Ami? Do you know about agriculture?”
“Hmm, I guess I have experience? Just what I remember from helping father and mother. But, if I study and learn how to read books, I think I’ll be able to make big harvests even in a small field.”
“You’re using some smart words.”
“I learned them from Cutie.”
“You definitely learned ‘study’ from her, yes.”
“Hehehe. Yeah. I feel like I’m getting smarter when I talk with you and the others, Calaria.”
“Don’t use me as a reference too much. I’m not very confident in my studies.”
“Really? But you’re always so calm and smart, you know.”
“I just look smart. And I still need to learn more, and be calmer.”
Ami and Calaria were incessantly chatting, in contrast to the quiet Mary and Cutie.
The silence was painful.
Perhaps they were doing their best to relieve it.
“……Miss. Cutie, should we take a rest now?”
Mary summoned her courage and spoke to Cutie.
She just continued walking ahead with empty eyes.
It was difficult to read her emotions from her face.
She did not seem to recover even a little in the 1 hour that passed since that call.
“No need, don’t worry about me.”
Cutie replied in a quiet voice.
Mary could not say anything more.
She just clung close to Cutie, walking together with her to make sure she was not left alone.
Then, Cutie was the one who spoke up this time.
“I’m realizing something. You’re all so amazing……”
“You mean us?”
“You got over this much pain, and kept fighting…… And you learned even more cruel truths after that too, right? Especially you and Calaria, Mary.”
She was probably talking about the homunculi.
Mary quietly shook her head sideways in reply to Cutie’s words.
“Pain isn’t something you can compare with others.”
“Mhm……”
“Most of all, I’m a morbid person who changed that pain into hatred, so it’s nothing to be praised for. If you want to be sad, you should be. Without forcing yourself to stop, until it’s enough.”
“That sounds so annoying. It’s troublesome for others, isn’t it?”
Mary firmly replied to Cutie, who spoke frailly.
“You shouldn’t think about it like that.”
She could say this definitively.
“The relationship of mutual trust between us isn’t that flimsy. That’s what I think, at least.”
Mary was trying to be considerate to Cutie in her own way.
These frank words resounded in Cutie’s heart more than she expected.
Cutie grimaced a little and averted her eyes.
“……No good.”
“Me?”
“No, me. You and Calaria were always so close since you two met, right? I feel like I kind of understand why now.”
She looked up to the sky and spoke in a weak voice.
“I want to lean on someone when I let my mind wander. I want to replace the things I’ve lost with you. That’s the type of kindness you have, Mary.”
“I’m a spoiled person too, so I also end up doing things like that. Is that wrong?”
Mary spoke frankly again, and a wry smile appeared on Cutie’s face.
“I thought I was a little ready, you know. Maybe you could call it an insurance for my heart. Maybe it’s pessimistic, but I thought that if all the important people in each country were under control, then my father was also…… Hehe, it’s also a type of narcissism, I suppose. I was confident that my father was important enough for
World
to target him.”
“But it’s still painful.”
“Yes, it gave me no peace of mind. Not even a little.”
Tears naturally spilled out of Cutie’s eyes.
It was not on purpose.
It was not because of how much pain she felt either.
However, the tears just came out on their own. The place where Cutie’s emotions came from had sunken so deep that she could no longer recognize sadness as sadness.
“Tears just come out when I stop paying attention. I try to distract myself, but the memories of my father fill up most of my world. I’m so helpless…… Yeah, so helpless……”
She slowly dropped her eyes as her voice trembled.
She gazed at the scenery with her eyes out of focus, and lost the strength to keep walking ahead.
Her body staggered to the sides, and her head swayed in unison.
Cutie was hanging on by a thread now.
And she felt that she could never go back to normal if the thread was cut now.
Mary felt worried and grabbed her hand.
“Stop.”
Cutie rejected her with a quiet, deep voice.
She tried to push Mary away with a little strength, but Mary grabbed her hand tight and did not let go.
“I won’t stop. Besides, holding hands isn’t enough to be considered spoiled.”
Saying that, Mary entwined her fingers.
Cutie stared at her with eyes submerged in grief.
Their eyes met.
Cutie knew Mary was in pain too.
But all Cutie saw in Mary’s eyes were feelings of worry for her.
Ignoring her own feelings.
Self-sacrificing.
Cutie would usually deny this, but compassionate acts like this were very effective at the times when she felt weak.
“Heh…… That’s how you conquer, huh?”
A feeble laugh.
It was thanks to the warmth in the palm of her hand.
Cutie was in no condition to even pretend to laugh until just moments ago.
“No way…… Your warmth is making me feel just a little better, Mary.”
She did not let go of Mary’s hand after saying that.
The two walked this way until they arrived at a certain village.
◇◇◇
Ami discovered a village on the foot of a mountain as they walked along the road.
It was called Mitis, an ordinary rural village.
In terms of scale, it was a little bigger than Lemingen, which was ruined because of the fight with
Chariot
.
They spotted a square with many logs placed inside on the way, so they figured that the village mainly relied on forestry.
Every village would have at least one inn.
Cutie was exhausted psychologically as well.
As early as possible, they wanted to rest in a place unrelated to Pupa or Majoram.
There was a board hung by the village’s entrance, painted in surprisingly gaudy colors.
“Welcome, to the village where a Goddess lived…… what’s that supposed to mean?”
Ami in the front read it out loud, and the others turned to look at it.
Yueri had said that
Death God
’s arcana, Luno Applix, was beautiful enough to be called a Goddess, but there was no way this place could be related.
It was probably just an ordinary village exaggerating the local myths in order to draw in visitors.
“There’s no way we can tell for sure just by this. But if they’re bringing in visitors, that means there’s gotta be suitable lodging here.”
“Oooh, I see. Maybe there’s some good food here!”
Ami was probably trying to act like her usual self in order to soften the mood a little.
Cutie, still seemingly depressed, let Mary’s hand go as she did not want strangers to see them holding hands.
They lined up and stepped into the village.
Then, two young girls suddenly rushed over to them.
They had silver and gold colored short hair.
They seemed to be around Mary’s age.
They girls had the same hairstyle, same height, and same face. They broadly smiled at the group and opened their mouths to speak.
“Welcome to Mitis! We will show you around!”
“Now, come this way, lady!”
The two targeted Mary in particular, and grabbed her arms from both sides to lead her somewhere by force.