Chapter 42

Chapter 42. "What the Dead Feel Toward the Dying." 2

Exel turned his head toward Rene and me as he spoke, and Rene walked over to Narsh and placed a hand against her forehead before saying,

"She does not have a fever."

"Ah, um...."

"So it is not a cold?"

"I do not think so."

"Ah, um...."

"Then what is it?"

"Who knows."

While we were talking like this, Luna suddenly grabbed Narsh by the shoulders, lifted a hand to point at Exel, who was standing there blankly and looking down at her, and said,

"Surely you did not fall for that pervert at first sight? Maybe you do not know this yet, but that pretty face is not his real one. He used Polymorph. Polymorph. He is a wolf that turned into a human. That wolf you saw earlier and fainted at is that very guy."

At Luna's quiet words, Narsh's face reddened a little, and she widened her eyes as she looked up at Exel. Then, after a moment of silence, she slowly asked,

"Um... is that really true?"

"Yes. It is true. You fainted when you saw my original form, so I changed into a human shape."

Exel answered casually, slipping his hands into his pockets, and Narsh kept gazing up at him before smiling brightly and saying,

"Then what should I do now?"

Was that supposed to mean, Take responsibility? That was exactly how it sounded to my ears, but perhaps Exel did not hear it that way.

Maybe he chose to interpret her words literally, as a question about what she should do next, because he kindly proceeded to explain what she ought to say now.

"You only need to accept my apology and promise that you will not be startled when you turn around and see me again."

After hearing him out, Narsh nodded with a bright smile, looked up at his face once more, and said,

"Then apologize. I will accept it. But I have one condition."

"What is it?"

Exel's face remained expressionless, but inwardly he was probably thinking that he had gotten himself into quite a mess. What kind of condition was this going to be? Judging by Narsh's personality and the mood around her, there was no way it was a joke.

At that moment, the hearts of Rene, Luna, and me became one, and we all listened intently, waiting for her demand.

The answer that finally came from her mouth was a masterpiece.

"Would you be my lover for just one day?"

We forgot how to speak.

What had she just said?

I turned my head to look at Rene, but Rene was only blinking as she stared at Narsh, while beside her Luna started imitating the gesture Exel had made earlier, pressing a hand to her forehead as if to say he had truly stepped in it now.

As for the man in question, Exel, he stood there looking down at Narsh with his usual mixture of expressionlessness and cold reserve, then tilted his head and said,

"I am a werewolf. I am not human. I cannot grant a request like that. My apologies."

At once, Narsh's face fell, and she lowered her head and spoke in a small voice.

"I... see."

What in the world was this?

Miss Narsh? Even if you do not have a single boyfriend, this is not how you go hunting for one. Did you not say you were the eldest daughter of a distinguished family?

Should you not preserve at least a little of your pride? While I kept my mouth shut and muttered all this inwardly, Luna was the first to recover.

She seized Narsh by both shoulders, thrust her face close to hers so that their eyes met, and spoke in that peculiar flat tone of hers, with a trace of excitement mixed into it.

"Narsh, I do not care who you end up with. But not this pervert. I cannot allow it. You are human. Keep your dignity as a human. A human wants to end up with a werewolf who is not even an elf? As long as I still have eyes open, I will never allow myself to witness that."

"Ah, um... I was not asking him to marry me."

"It is the same thing!"

Luna narrowed her eyes sharply and turned her head to glare at Exel, who was standing behind them and looking up at the ceiling. Exel lowered his gaze to meet hers, made a bitter face, and shrugged.

"If there is something else you want, then ask for that instead. I will grant it."

At that, Narsh rose from her seat with a dejected face.

"No. It is all right. I will go back upstairs now."

She slowly turned, intending to climb the stairs, but Rene's hand guided her right back down into her seat.

Narsh looked up at Rene blankly, and Rene looked back at her with a faintly sad smile. Then she closed one eye in a wink and turned her head.

"Exel? Shall we have a little talk?"

"Hm?"

Exel followed Rene with a rather foolish look on his face, and though they seemed to exchange some words in the kitchen, a little while later Exel came back out wearing an expression that looked exactly like Narsh's face right now copied onto his own.

Standing before Narsh with his arms folded, he looked down at her, closed his eyes, and said,

"I will devote my time today to you. So go change your clothes and come back down."

Narsh stared at Rene in astonishment after hearing that, and Rene stood pressed right up against my side, smiling brightly and holding up two fingers in a V-sign.

What on earth had they talked about to make Exel change his mind like this? In any case, Narsh beamed and hurried up to the second floor with quick little steps.

Luna and I demanded an explanation from Rene, who stood beside us, but she kept her lips sealed and said nothing.

Consumed with curiosity, we could only stand a little way off and stare at Exel as he neatly folded the trousers and shirt he had been wearing, as though folding up a tent. Yet he only pointed at Rene with his chin and gave no answer beyond that. In the end, Luna and I were reduced to putting our heads together and trying to deduce what Rene had said to him.

"Did she threaten him?"

"Rene? No way. And Exel is not someone who would listen to threats anyway."

"Is that so? Then how did she do it? How did she make that pervert agree to Narsh's request? I really want to know."

"You want to use it yourself too, do you?"

"What a foolish question."

We came up with all sorts of theories, but none of them felt particularly convincing.

Then Narsh came down from the second floor wearing leather trousers, a blouse, and a leather jacket, and Exel lowered his head and said,

"Follow me."

Despite his stiff tone, Narsh looked like a little child going on her first outing. She bowed lightly to Rene.

"I am going out for a while."

"Yes. Take care."

"Wait a moment."

Narsh turned her head to look at me, and Luna, who had been standing beside me, rummaged in her pocket, walked over to Narsh, and produced a knife so large that I had to wonder how such a thing had fit inside that pocket in the first place. Fastening it to Narsh's belt, she said,

"There. Using a knife is simple. Hold the hilt gently, but when you stab or slash, twist your grip tight. And if it feels like he is taking you somewhere secluded, stab him in the stomach and both thighs immediately with this. Then shout for help. I will come get you. Understood?"

"...Yes."

Narsh nodded with an uneasy face at Luna's words, then walked with her over to Exel, who was waiting by the door. Folding her arms and lifting her chin, Luna said,

"I will not say I am coming along, since Narsh wants this. But I will give you one warning. If you try anything funny, I will not let it slide, even if you are a benefactor."

Standing beside her, Narsh gave a bitter smile, and after glancing between Narsh and Luna, Exel scratched his head a little and said,

"I have never seen a bird pair with a weasel. And I am a werewolf. I know what pride and dignity are. I have no interest in human women, so stop it already, you little runt."

Luna bared her teeth and started growling, about to snap something back at him, but I hurried over and stopped her. Then, standing in front of her with my arms crossed while she struggled in my grip, I spoke to Exel, who was leisurely looking down at Luna.

"I do not know what any of this is, but be careful."

"Yes, yes. I will be back before sunset. And keep those clothes for me, would you? I will take them when I return."

I nodded to him, and Exel glanced at Narsh, who was standing dumbly by the door and looking at all of us. Then he smiled faintly and, changing his tone a little, said,

"Let us go. Today I shall teach you that the Forsaken Forest is not so dangerous."

"Ah, yes."

Narsh smiled brightly and followed him, and before long the two of them had disappeared into the forest.

At the same time, Luna and I both turned our heads toward Rene, who was sitting in the hall eating cookies and waiting for our question.

"Explain."

"Explain it."

Rene smiled sweetly at us. She said nothing, merely looking at us, so Luna and I slowly walked over to her and quietly sat down on either side of her.

"There. Your polite audience is ready. Now it seems the speaker with the beautiful voice ought to begin."

At my words, Rene smiled faintly, then slowly raised a hand and pointed at her eyes as she began.

"You know Eyes that See the Truth, do you not? She seemed to like Exel. Hm, is it what you call love at first sight? Yes. That was what it meant. So I asked Exel a favor. I asked him to spend just one day with her."

"And merely for that you let her go after Exel? I cannot understand it."

At Luna's drained remark, Rene answered with the same smile still on her face.

"It was the final wish of her life."

Luna turned her head and stared at Rene again.

"What did you say?"

"Unless it is another elf, with only a little concentration, Eyes that See the Truth can even tell what someone is thinking. I saw her thoughts."

Then she looked at me and, with a bitter smile, said,

"I did not do that to you. Believe me."

I nodded with a faint smile.

The vows of an elf were different from those of humans, and it was rare for such convictions to crumble once they had been made. And if I could not trust her, then there was no one left for me to trust.

And as far as I knew, that Eyes that See the Truth was a kind of Scanning spell (mind-reading spell), something elves had created so they would not be deceived by the lies of others, especially humans.

But because it was only a very basic level of the art, Rene had told me that it could only read something if the other person kept that thought firmly in mind.

The reason Irisa had instantly seen through Exel's true identity before was because she had read his thoughts. But what was this about the final wish of her life?

While I was caught in that same question, Luna, who seemed to be wondering exactly the same thing, voiced it aloud. Her brows rose sharply.

"No, no, that is not what I am asking. What was that you said earlier? What about the final wish of her life?"

I too looked at Rene with the same question written across my face. Seated between the two of us, both of us yearning for the truth, Rene made a faintly bitter expression and finally began to answer.