Chapter 41

Chapter 41. "What the Dead Feel Toward the Dying." 1

Kal and Jeff took the packed lunches Rene handed them and set off back into the forest with the two golems to search for something. (If I had to guess, I would say it was treasure.)

Luna had shut herself up in her room and showed no sign of coming out, and after carefully taking the rose Luna had given him back to his room, Jimant immediately came out again carrying his axe and headed into the forest.

"Where are you going?"

"Things like flowers break easily. And yet she wrapped it in cloth. Foolish girl."

Leaving behind those words, he pushed through the trees and disappeared toward the east, where the sun was rising.

Narsh still had not woken up. Low blood pressure, perhaps? Then she would probably get up sometime in the afternoon.

Come to think of it, someone I knew used to suffer from low blood pressure too. Who was it again? My memory...

I was sitting there with both hands clutching my head, lost in thought, when suddenly a sweet smell tickled my nose.

Cookies?

I turned my head toward the kitchen. Rene had gone in there a little while ago. Was she baking cookies? I rose from my seat and headed for the kitchen.

When I stepped inside, Rene had pulled a chair over in front of the oven and was sitting there staring at it blankly.

The moment I set foot in the kitchen, her ears, though she was sitting with her back turned to me, lifted a little, and her head tilted slightly back as she looked at me.

After staring at me with that vacant expression for a while without saying anything, she turned her head forward again and said,

"Do you know the sorrow of an elf woman married to a human husband?"

"...What?"

"I was talking to myself."

I tilted my head, puzzled. Then I stepped closer and came up behind her. Stretching out my hand, I placed it against Rene's cheek. It was warm. Resting my head on her shoulder, I whispered softly into her long ear.

"Are you angry?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"I just feel a little upset."

"I do not know what I did wrong to you, but I will apologize first. I am sorry. I was wrong. But what exactly did I do wrong? I will fix it next time, so please tell me."

At that, Rene chuckled and shook her head from side to side, and I found it oddly amusing. My hand moved along with the motion of her head.

Rene raised both hands, took hold of mine where it was resting on her cheek, lowered it, and then placed it against her stomach as she said,

"Perhaps I am the problem after all?"

My mind suddenly went completely blank. Seeing Luna talk about her mother earlier must have made Rene think about our own problem.

No child had ever been born between Rene and me.

Why? Well, even after several years had passed since Rene and I first became intimate, nothing had happened for her.

I did not think much of it, but she was different. Rene began digging through every book she owned. And she learned that while it took longer for a human and an elf than it did for humans alone, it was still possible for them to have a child.

However, there were times when no child came, and in those cases, just like with humans, it was because one of the two had a problem.

But Rene refused to believe that. She placed her hopes on the former possibility. So she began trying to seduce me, always saying the same thing.

"I want to have a baby."

"Let us wait. Then one will surely come."

"I have already waited twenty years."

"The longer you wait, the greater the joy when you finally receive it."

After hearing my clumsy attempt at comfort, Rene lowered her head and let out a small laugh. Then, still smiling, she turned her head and said,

"All right. I will wait."

I smiled brightly and wrapped my arms tightly around her from behind. Because that was all I could do right now.

The number of ways I could truly make her happy could be counted on one hand. That was probably why she had said what she did earlier.

Holding my arms where they were wrapped around her neck, Rene lowered her head. Looking at the top of her head, I whispered softly,

"Even if I cannot make you happy, I will at least never make you sad."

The trembling I felt against my chest came from Rene speaking. But instead of the voice I was expecting from her, a sly voice came from somewhere else.

"My, it seems I have interrupted again."

I let go of Rene and straightened up before turning around. There, perched on one of the tables in the hall, was Exel. Just as I was about to throw a word or two at him, Rene squeezed the hand she was still holding and smiled brightly before saying,

"I trust you."

Then she rose from her seat, opened the oven, pulled out the tray inside, and shook off the cookies that had been baked just right.

I watched her for a moment, then smiled faintly and picked up one of the freshly baked cookies from the basket and tossed it into my mouth, only to nearly burn my tongue.

After receiving a small laugh from Rene, I picked up a bottle of wine and a glass from one corner of the kitchen and went out into the hall.

"Gweat timing...."

"...Forget it. You burned your tongue so badly you can barely talk."

I looked up at his face for a moment, then simply shut my mouth. After that, I held out the glass in my hand to him. It looked pitifully small compared to his large hand, but neither he nor I cared much about that.

I pulled the cork free with a finger and filled the glass he was holding to the brim with red wine. Normally I would only pour it halfway, but that was for humans, and he was a werewolf. Exel tossed the wine I poured him straight into his mouth, swished it around a few times, then swallowed it. Then he bared his teeth and said,

"It is good."

I lifted the wine bottle in my hand, pointed out the label to him with my finger, then set it on the table he was sitting on. Enduring the stinging pain in my tongue, I said,

"Welcome. You came earlier than usual."

At my words, Exel gave a small laugh.

"A morning walk is good for the body."

I smiled and looked up at him. Then I pulled out a chair and sat down, and Exel swept his gaze around the room once before suddenly pricking up his ears and fixing his head toward the second-floor stairs. Watching his chest swell greatly and then sink again, I asked,

"What is it?"

At my question, Exel raised his head and said,

"I smell humans. Two men, one woman. And... hm? This smells like a dwarf too."

"What an incredible sense of smell."

Rene said that as she came out of the kitchen carrying a large basket of cookies. Exel smiled faintly and said,

"It seems business is doing well."

"Yes. This is the first time since opening the inn five years ago that we have had this many guests."

Rene said it with a small laugh, and Exel nodded.

"I have seen some fellows prowling around this area now and then. A young man, a middle-aged man, and two Iron Golems, correct?"

"Yes. It seems like they came looking for something. Do you know anything about it?"

"Hard to say. There is not much like hidden treasure around here. Humans outside think there ought to be plenty of treasure hidden here by bandits or fugitives, but that is just a rumor. If those people were in their right minds, why would they hide treasure in a place like this, where it would be hard to conceal and just as hard to retrieve?"

"Then what did they come looking for?"

As we said that, we turned to look at Rene. Feeling both our gazes on her, she smiled sweetly and said,

"I do not know either."

Exel shrugged.

"If Miss Tarsis does not know, then no one does. We have no choice but to ask them ourselves. But they have not caused any trouble, and I do not much care to concern myself with them."

As he said that, Exel picked up the bottle of wine on the table, carefully poured the glass he was holding full again, then knocked it back into his mouth. After swishing it around briefly once more, he swallowed and made a dissatisfied face.

"This is too unsatisfying."

With that, he tipped the bottle itself back, and watching him, Rene gave a wry smile as she walked toward the kitchen.

"I will bring beer."

"Ah, thank you, Miss Tarsis. That aside, Reed?"

"Why?"

"Yesterday, you followed Irisa and that little white-haired elf fellow. What was that about?"

Smiling faintly, I told him the story of Rens coming to see Irisa, and after hearing me out, he made a meaningful expression and said,

"So that was it. I had already guessed as much when I saw Irisa smiling and talking with that white-haired one. That aside."

He glanced toward the kitchen, then turned his head back toward me.

"If you are not careful, you will get beaten too."

I shook my head at his words. If I were the one to make her sad?

"You are wrong. If the same thing that happened to Rens were to happen to me, I might die."

At my words, Exel gave a short laugh.

"Surely she would not actually kill you."

"It is true. I heard it from her own mouth."

"Miss Tarsis said that?"

"Yes."

I nodded as I answered, and Exel made an amusing face, squeezing one eye shut while opening the other wide, then placed a hand on my shoulder and said,

"...Stay strong. If you die, I will at least close your coffin lid for you."

"All right, all right. Let us stop talking about that."

At my words, Exel bared his teeth and took his hand from my shoulder. At that exact moment, a small scream came from the second-floor stairs, and both Exel and I turned our heads that way.

There stood Narsh in a soft, fluttering nightgown, looking down at the hall, or more precisely, at us, with startled eyes.

Her face turned pale, and she began trembling all over. Then she raised a finger as slender as Rene's and pointed at Exel, who was perched on the table where I sat, and stammered out,

"A w-werewolf?! Mr. Han? Mr. Han? Is... is he a g-guest?"

Exel stared blankly at Narsh as she spoke with her shoulders shaking, then suddenly grinned.

He placed both hands on my shoulders, opened his mouth wide, and pretended he was about to bite my whole head off.

At the sight, Narsh's face went deathly pale. She covered her mouth with one hand, mumbled something, and collapsed on the spot.

Huh...?

Beside me, Exel stared at the place where she had been standing with a surprised expression.

"Hm? I was only joking a little."

"That is what happens when you do something like that to someone who already looks frail. Of course she would be terrified."

It was a quiet scolding from Rene, who had been coming out of the kitchen, only to spot Narsh fainting and hurry upstairs.

Exel made an awkward face, got to his feet, and bounded up the stairs in great strides. I rose from my seat as well and followed the two of them up. Exel, who had gone up first, was standing there looking down at Narsh's face while Rene tried to steady her. He raised a hand as if to wake her, then hesitated. Touching his own hand and face a little, he shrugged and said to Rene, who was helping me lift Narsh up,

"Miss Tarsis? I am sorry, but could I borrow some clothes? I would rather not repeat the same thing twice."

"All right."

Rene said that and walked off toward the room. I carried Narsh down into the hall and seated her in a chair, then turned my eyes toward the ball of light shining brightly in one corner of the room.

That sphere of light gradually shrank before vanishing entirely, and in its place appeared Exel in human form, now wearing the large leather trousers and shirt that his wolf form had been dressed in.

He raised a hand and clenched and unclenched his fist a few times before speaking in a voice that had grown somewhat thinner than it had been in his wolf form.

"She will not be startled again upon seeing this form, will she?"

"No, I think she will be all right. As long as you are wearing proper clothes. Though Narsh... just as I expected, she really is frail."

At my words, Exel nodded, then lifted a hand and pointed at Narsh, who sat unconscious in the chair with her lips slightly parted.

"That young lady's name is Narsh? Then is she part of the group of humans staying here?"

"Yes."

Hearing my answer, Exel nodded again. Just then, something came racing down from the second floor into the hall, and before I could even turn my head, it sprang up beside me and said while staring at Narsh in her chair,

"Well now, the pervert has finally done it."

At last it came fully into view. It was Luna, huffing indignantly. She looked down at Narsh sitting peacefully in the chair for a moment, then whipped her head around and stared at Exel, who was looking blankly back at her.

"Why are your clothes like that?"

"Are they strange?"

"You look like a little boy wearing clothes bigger than himself."

"Do I?"

At her words, Exel lifted his arms a little. Then he lowered his head and looked down at himself, and I watched him for a moment before turning to Luna.

"Did you not see Rene? She went to get clothes."

"There she is."

Luna pointed with her chin toward Rene coming down the second-floor stairs, and I walked over to her and took the clothes she held out.

After handing them to me, Rene went over to the unconscious Narsh with the shawl she had brought along and wrapped it around her.

I looked at Narsh with the shawl around her neck for a moment before turning away and walking over to Exel to hand him the trousers and shirt.

Accepting them, Exel said,

"Hm, this makes me feel bad for nothing. It was my fault that the young lady fainted in the first place."

After hearing that, I smiled brightly and said,

"It is fine, so hurry and put them on. Luna is getting embarrassed."

"Who is?!"

That was Luna's angry voice, and Exel smiled faintly before beginning to dress. The trousers were an ordinary pair of black pants with belts attached here and there, the sort made more for style than anything else, which was why I rarely wore them.

They had too many useless belts hanging off them and made moving around inconvenient. The shirt was simply a plain white one.

It looked a little thin for the cold of winter, but Exel would not care about something like that.

Once Exel finished dressing more or less, he looked reasonably presentable. As he fastened the buttons on the shirt, he said,

"Are these your clothes?"

At his question, Rene, who had been looking at Narsh, answered,

"Yes. They suit you well. They are clothes Han used to wear. If you do not mind, I will give them to you as a gift."

"Oh? Is that really all right? This all happened because of me, after all."

At his words, Rene only smiled softly, and Exel looked at her for a moment before bowing his head slightly with a faint bitter smile. Once he had changed completely, Luna turned around, folded her arms, looked him up and down once, and remarked,

"You look like a pervert."

"...I do feel sorry for what happened to that young lady, and I will apologize when she wakes, so give it a rest already, you brat."

Luna said nothing to Exel's words. She simply turned her back and walked over to Narsh, while Exel made a face as if he had truly gotten himself into trouble and pressed a hand to his forehead. Rene and I smiled at the sight of the two of them.

A little later, Narsh was awakened by Luna. She looked around blankly, then noticed me, Rene, Exel, and Luna standing before her and smiled brightly before bowing her head.

"Hello. Good morning. But why is everyone in my room?"

"This is the hall. You came outside, saw that pervert there, and fainted."

At Luna's words, Narsh looked around a little, then said with a sheepish smile,

"So it was not a dream."

Exel and I gave bitter smiles at that. Then Luna glanced at Exel, and he, as though understanding at once, raised a hand and stepped forward a little, looking down at her.

"I am sorry. Please allow me to apologize. Forgive my rudeness from earlier."

"...Ah, who are you?"

Exel bowed his head slightly as he spoke, and Narsh looked up at him with a blank face as she asked that in return.

And I had thought Narsh's face was growing a little red as she said it, but hearing Exel speak now, it seemed that what I had seen was not my imagination after all.

"Reed? I think this young lady has caught a cold. Her face is red."