Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 9 - Chapter 5

5. A Condition for You

Had the rain let up a bit, maybe?

Haruhiro was posed with both hands on his right knee, with his left knee raised, looking out from inside the cave. He was barely moving at all, aside from adjusting the direction of his face. His concentration was incredible.

Merry, who was beside him looking at the outside, too, had nowhere near Haruhiro’s level of concentration. More than that, it would have been more accurate to say that she was so distracted that there was no comparison between them.

They were right next to the cave entrance. Close enough that the rain from outside could reach them. Getting wet bothered them, and it felt cold on their skin, too. But, besides that—honestly, the lack of anything changing was tough.

The scenery around them, locked in rain and fog, was like a painting. While looking outside and listening to the sound of the rain, it made one wonder if there was any meaning in what they were doing. Well, of course there was. They were going to meet up with their comrades here. Merry and Haruhiro were waiting for their comrades. It was possible that the enemy might come instead. That was why they were watching. Of course there was meaning in it. Obviously.

Despite that, Merry found herself glancing at Haruhiro.

Maybe I should say something, she kept thinking.

There was no need to stay completely silent. Talking in whispers would be fine. What should she talk about? She didn’t really know, but she felt like there were things they could discuss. There had to be any number of them.

It had been a while since they’d gone on watch here.

Just now, her eyes met with Haruhiro’s for the first time.

“...Ah.” Haruhiro immediately turned to look forward. “S-Sorry.”

“Huh?” Merry started to hang her head—

No, now’s not the time. She thought better of it, and looked outside.

“Wh-Why are you apologizing?”

“Uh... Just because?” he said.

“...I see.”

“No one’s coming... huh.”

“Yeah... You’re right.”

“You’re not cold, are you?” Haruhiro asked.

“Not that cold.”

“You mean you’re a little cold, then? Yeah, that figures.”

“It’s only a little. I’m fine.”

“I don’t want you to push yourself to hard...”

“I’m a priest.” Merry touched her lips. “That has nothing to do with it, does it?”

“Maybe not.” Haruhiro laughed just a little. “You can’t cure colds, can you?”

“I’m surprisingly unhelpful.”

“Now that’s not true. You’re—priests are like a lifeline. For me... For us. Basically, for the whole party.”

“That’s what I want to be,” Merry said.

“I think of you that way. No, not just me—everyone does.”

“I’m doing my best... not to grow weak.”

“Oh, yeah?” Haruhiro asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’s fine, though.”

“What is?”

“If you feel weak. We all have times like that. I can... I dunno? Uh, I can support you. Yeah. Like... That’s what teamwork’s for?”

“You already—” Merry took a deep breath. “You’re already doing so much to support me.”

Haruhiro raised his chin. He let out an “...Ah.” The whole time, he kept looking outside.

He’s...

When she felt something welling up inside her, Merry was flustered.

Her first impression when she’d met him, for better or for worse, was that he was a boy, not a man. Even if he was just getting his start, he’d been too childish to be a volunteer soldier. He’d had sleepy eyes, dragged his feet, he’d been unreliable, and he hadn’t seemed to have any vision for the future. In a way, that might have been appropriate for his age. He’d been a normal boy—but in no way equipped to live in this place.

Back then, Merry had been a hired healer, not refusing any group that invited her. She felt that sort of work suited her best.

But maybe I should stop doing this, she remembered thinking back then. That was why she’d taken their offer.

Looking back, at that time, Merry’d had two conflicting feelings inside her.

The first was that if someone didn’t help these kids, they were going to end up dead. Now that she had been asked to take the job, she’d have trouble sleeping at night if she abandoned them. It’d been a feeling similar to pity.

Not genuine pity, though. For instance, if a dying mother entrusted her baby to them, few people would be able to throw it away. Even if it was a nuisance, they’d protect it for the time being. If it ended up being too much trouble, and they had no idea what to do, they would try to get someone else to take the burden. By leaving it in front of the Temple of Lumiaris, or something like that. That had to be better than it dying, at least.

That was the sort of irresponsible pity she’d felt.

The other feeling was wanting to board that sinking ship. That was the sort of self-destructive desire she’d had back then.

Even once she had joined the party, she hadn’t imagined those kids having any sort of future. “Everyone was like that as a beginner,” she’d consoled them, which wasn’t true. If anyone was going to console those kids like that, there absolutely had to be some sort of malice behind it. To be frank, there probably weren’t many volunteer soldier trainees that were as bad as they’d been. They’d done nothing but make their priest feel uneasy. They’d been a frighteningly underdeveloped party.

She never would have imagined they’d be together this long.

She never would have imagined a day would come when she’d be relying on the boy she’d met back then.

Haruhiro had grown. As a thief, and as a leader. She didn’t think that was because he had any sort of aptitude for it, either.

Haruhiro had experienced so many things that it couldn’t be written off with that easy explanation. More than that, it wasn’t like Haruhiro had sought them out for himself. He’d probably been reluctant. He’d been forced into the position, and had no choice but to accept. The situation had left him no place to run.

He had been forced to walk a tightrope, and when he thought he’d finally gotten to the other side, he’d found himself forced to walk along a cliff’s edge. The winds had been strong, and it’d been all he could do just to cling to the ground, but he’d had to move forward. If Haruhiro, who was leading the way, didn’t move forward, no one else could move, so he’d had no choice but to.

He’d been through that again and again.

Merry hadn’t grown half—no, maybe not even a third as much as Haruhiro.

Back then, Merry had been walking far ahead of the rest of them on the path of the volunteer soldier. At some point they’d passed her, and now she was chasing after them.

She wanted to be stronger.

She hated chasing after them.

She wanted to walk alongside them, at least.

She wanted to walk beside him. To be able to puff her chest out, and walk proud.

It might be because she’d been doing nothing but looking down for so long that she’d forgotten how to do that. Out of fear. Fear that she might lose sight of the path she’d found at last.

Never knowing when the ground might crumble beneath her.

In her own way, she’d been desperate. Afraid at all times.

I have to change myself, she thought, determined. I want to change.

The way things are going, I’m going to regret it. I have enough regrets already.

“Haru,” she said slowly.

“...Huh?” Haruhiro looked at Merry for just a moment. “Uh, right. What is it?”

“Do you want to move a bit further inside? We need to avoid letting ourselves get too cold.”

“Oh, that’s right... But still...”

“Move back to where the rain won’t touch us.”

“...Okay.”

“I may have said that too firmly,” she added. “I’m not mad, okay? This is how I am. How I am now... and probably the real me.”

“Yeah.” Haruhiro smiled, and he pulled back about thirty centimeters. “I don’t know how to say this, but if you’re able to feel that way, Merry... No, how do I say this? If this is a place where you can be you, I’m glad.”

Merry moved back just as much as Haruhiro had. “The party, you mean?”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe it’s because we were in Darunggar for so long, but we’re kind of like a family.”

“Ohh... Yeah. You’re right. A family... huh.”

“Are you the father, Haru?” Merry asked.

“Me? No way. That’s not it. Hmm, well, I am the leader, so... I’m the eldest brother, maybe? At best... As for the mother, I wonder who that would be. If I had to choose... Shihoru, maybe?”

“She’s got it together, so maybe she does fit the role.”

“But having a mother with no father...” Haruhiro added.

“Maybe there are no parents? In that case, you’re the eldest brother, and Shihoru is the eldest sister?”

“Three sisters, Shihoru, Merry, and Yume, huh.”

“For the brothers, it’d be you, Kuzaku, and... I’m sorry.”

“Well, you know Ranta.” Haruhiro’s voice was strangely dry. “He’s not one to be anyone’s little brother.”

“...True.”

“I can say it now, but we were equals. He and I. I think he probably wanted to be my equal, too. We never held back with one another. I don’t like the guy, but he was always honest and forthcoming. ‘I hate this,’ ‘That pisses me off,’ ‘You’re wrong’... he’d come right out and argue with me over those things, whether it was serious or just stupid. We didn’t lie to one another. There was no need... I feel like, probably, it’s hard to find people you can be like that with.”

“You were... friends?” Merry asked.

“No.” Haruhiro grimaced just a little. “That’s not it. Definitely not. Not a chance. He’s not my friend... though we might have become something else, if we’d had more time together. I dunno. He could never be my friend, but maybe that was actually for the best. It meant we didn’t hold back with each other. —Strangely, part of me still trusts him. Yeah... I probably believed in him.”

“In what way?”

“I thought we’d always be the same way, not getting closer, or drifting apart. For me... My comrades, I love all of you, and you’re important to me. I can’t help but go easy on you. There’s that aspect to our relationship. But I didn’t have that with him. That balanced things out, you could say.”

“He was special to you.”

“Not exactly in a good way, though.”

“No one can take his place.”

“He’s not the only one that goes for,” said Haruhiro. “It’s true of all of us.”

“Haru...”

“Yeah?”

“Do you really think he betrayed us?”

“I don’t.”

Merry almost couldn’t help herself from smiling. Haru had replied instantly. He’d denied it without a moment’s hesitation.

He believed in him. That was how much he trusted Ranta. Merry didn’t find it any mystery why he would.

In fact, she found it hard to believe Ranta had honestly betrayed them. Whatever might happen, Ranta wouldn’t betray his comrades. She’d have long since given up on Ranta if she hadn’t believed that.

“Merry, there’s one thing I wanted to ask,” said Haruhiro.

“Okay. What?”

“Have you seen Zodiac-kun since Ranta ended up doing what he did?”

“...No.” Merry shook her head, then thought back. She couldn’t say it with absolute certainty, but she hadn’t seen the demon. That was the feeling she had. “I don’t think I have. Though that’s limited to what I, personally, witnessed.”

“I figured.” Haruhiro looked around as he nodded. “It’s weird. Even though he’s a dread knight. Despite all his complaining, he really does love Zodiac-kun. He uses that demon as his emotional support. I’m pretty sure that’s part of it.”

“True. No matter how much abuse he takes from Zodiac-kun, he summons that demon every chance he gets.”

“That’s exactly the reason why it stuck out to me,” said Haru. “He must have something he’s hiding. Not from us, but from the guys in Forgan. His not calling Zodiac-kun is emblematic of that. He might be thinking of it as a trump card of sorts. Stupid as that is, it’s the kind of thing he’d think of.”

“It really is...”

“He never harmed you directly,” Haruhiro added. “If anything, I think he was trying to protect you, in his own way. At the very least, it’s not impossible to think of it that way.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“When he fought me, he was probably serious. It’s just, that’s because it was me he was facing, you know.”

“...The person he wants to be equal to.”

“Well, if you say it like that, it’s letting him look too cool,” Haru said. “If he’d taken a swing at Yume, and she’d gotten hurt, it’d be a different matter, you know? But it was me. This is a bit extreme, but even if he’d killed me... Well, even he might have felt just a little twinge of guilt. He’d have been like, Don’t blame me, Haruhiro, I had no choice, or something like that, with a forced smirk, don’t you think?”

“...He’d do it. He totally would. I can imagine the look on his face...”

“I know, right?” Haruhiro said with a chuckle.

The rain had let up a fair amount, to the point that it was indistinguishable from the fog. Wasn’t the sun going down? It didn’t feel like it had gotten darker.

It felt like she’d been here with Haruhiro, waiting for their comrades to return, for an awfully long time now. But maybe it hadn’t actually been that long.

Off in the distance, something moved. Was it just the fog thinning out?

No, that wasn’t it.

“Merry,” Haruhiro called out to her in a quiet voice.

She glanced over, and Haruhiro was pointing out in front of them with the index finger of his left hand. That sign meant, Something’s over there.

Merry held her breath and squinted.

It was small. And it probably wasn’t alone. Which meant it wasn’t their comrades.

It was hard to eliminate the feeling of disappointment, but she didn’t have time to let it get her down. It was coming straight at the cave.

Even before she saw the creature, she had a sense of what it might be. She was right.

“That’s...” Haruhiro said.

“You know it...?”

“Yeah, I know it. Or I’ve seen it before, I guess.”

The creature resembled a cat. However, its head was large relative to its body. Thanks to that, even though its body was the same size as, or slightly larger than, a cat’s, it looked a little like a kitten.

Nyaas were four-legged beasts, but they could walk on two legs, too.

That gray nyaa was tottering along on its hind legs. One major difference between their legs and cats’ legs was that they had long fingers, and were nimble enough to grasp objects firmly. They looked just like a cat’s paws at first glance, though, and when walking on its hind legs, the nyaa crossed its arm-like legs and craned its head to the side. How cat-like.

It’s so cute... Merry caught herself as she was about to break into a smile, pulled her lips taut, and made a small cough.

“...It’s not one of Forgan’s nyaas, then?”

“Probably not,” said Haruhiro. “There’s this person called Shuro Setora-san who lives in the village. The House of Shuro is apparently a family of necromancers, but Shuro Setora-san is a nyaa lover and started to raise them. If I recall, though, the village’s nyaas are normally raised by... the House of Katsurai, was it? They’re the village’s onmitsu spies.”

“...Hmm.”

Nyaa.

This creature was just so captivating for some reason. While Merry was held captive by Forgan, seeing the nyaas had been her only respite.

“Onmitsu...” she murmured thoughtfully.

“Yeah. So, in order to suppress Forgan’s nyaas, we got the village’s nyaa lover to cooperate with us. If I’m not misremembering... that’s probably one of Shuro Stora-san’s nyaas.”

Most of what Haruhiro said went in one ear and out the other.

It’s a nyaa.

The nyaa that was soaked in the rain was coming closer...

Merry almost said, Come here, despite herself. She wanted to click her tongue and wave it over. No, she couldn’t.

Can’t... I? If it’s not an enemy, it should be fine, shouldn’t it? Or not a problem, at least.

In the end, she restrained herself.

Soon after entering the cave, the nyaa shook itself, splashing water everywhere. Then, tilting its head slightly, it let out a “Nyaa.”

“It’s cu—” Merry clasped her mouth shut at the last moment, and swallowed her words.

“Cu?” Haruhiro asked.

“...I-It’s nothing.”

“Hmm...?” Haruhiro blinked, then put his hand on the nyaa’s head. “Hey, nyaa. Where’s your master at?”

Was that okay?! Was it a touchable nyaa, maybe?

“In that case...” Merry clenched her hand into a fist.

He’d touched it. She wanted to touch it herself.

Maybe it’s still not too late?

Was this a situation where it was okay to touch it? Maybe she’d be allowed to pat its head? Was this her chance to pet it?

But, at the moment, Haruhiro’s hand was resting on the nyaa’s head. For Merry to be able to pet that nyaa’s head, she’d need to get Haruhiro to move his hand.

She’d get him to move it. How? What was she going to do? Did she have to ask? How? Maybe...

Haru, let me try petting it, too.

This was... too direct, no matter how she thought about it. Couldn’t she find a more indirect way to say it?

Haru, let me try petting it, too?

Rising intonation on the last word. How was that? It felt a bit softer... maybe. Though she had the feeling it didn’t change it that much. Well, how was this, then?

I’d like to try petting the nyaa, too, you know?

Indirect. That “You know?” at the end was so roundabout. It felt irritating. If someone asked Merry for something that way, she might respond, “And?” Haruhiro might think, So what? What’s the problem? What do you want to do? Come out and say it already.

That was right.

If she wanted something, she should tell him, not try to avoid saying it. In that case, this was what she’d say:

Haru, I want to pet the nyaa. Let me pet it.

That.

That was it.

Say it. Say it!

She could predict Haruhiro’s response. “...Oh. I see. Sure. Go ahead.” That was about it.

He wouldn’t think, Don’t say weird things, or anything like that. Haruhiro wasn’t that kind of person. He didn’t go around mocking other people.

So say it.

She should just say it. What was there to be embarrassed about?

Embarrassed. Yes. It was embarrassing. She was intensely embarrassed.

It was a mystery even to her why she felt so embarrassed over this, but she couldn’t help herself.

Why? Is it pride? What kind of pride? Am I trying to act cool? I’m not cool at all, so what good is that going to do me? What’s the point? Didn’t I want to change? In that case, what am I going to do if I can’t even manage this? I want to pet the nyaa. I want to pet it so badly, so I will. It’s a really small step. I need to take it. If I can’t manage this much, I’ll never be able to change.

Say it on the count of one, two. No, one, two, is too short. Let’s make it one, two, three. ...I’ll count to five. If I do that, I’m sure I can do it.

“Merry?” Haruhiro asked.

“Oh! Huh...?”

“Is something up?”

“N-N-Nothing’s up.”

“You sure?” Haruhiro look out beyond the fog. “Ah...”

Again. There was something else approaching.

This time, it probably wasn’t a nyaa. It was much too big for that.

Was it human?

Mixed in with the sound of rain, she could hear footsteps. It was apparently two people.

A group of two.

Even if they were big, that only meant they weren’t as small as a nyaa, and not that they were especially tall for a human. One of them, at least, wasn’t any larger than Merry. The other seemed to be larger than Merry... no, larger than Haruhiro.

It would have been fair to call them bizarre in appearance. They were each wrapped in various colors of cloth that covered their whole bodies, and even their faces.

Haruhiro looked a little hesitant about what to do, then sighed. “...Urgh. I’d forgotten about that. Well, not actually... That’s right.”

“Forgotten? What?”

Haruhiro just said, “Yeah...” and gave a vague nod, then picked up the gray nyaa.

He picked it up? Merry thought in shock. No way. That’s absurd. Tell me it’s a lie. No way. You can pick it up, too? Hold on, Haru. What are you picking up that nyaa so easily for...?

“Setora-san.” Haruhiro gave a slight bow. Holding the nyaa as he did, of course. “Is that what I should be calling you? Or... do you prefer Shuro-san?”

“Setora is fine,” the smaller of the two said curtly, without stopping.

It was a woman’s voice.

Shuro Setora. The keeper of the nyaas. She was a woman?

Setora dragged the big person into the cave with her.

Merry took a long time to realize it, but she now saw that Setora’s companion probably wasn’t human. The companion looked human at first glance, but those armored arms were too long. The hands were big, too. Haruhiro had mentioned Setora had been born into a house of necromancers. Did that mean her companion was a golem?

“It seems they’ve scattered,” Setora said, then removed the cloth covering her face, as it seemed to be getting in her way. “What do you people plan to do?”

Haruhiro gulped and his eyes went wide. Merry was a little surprised, too. It would have been hard to imagine this face from her voice and appearance.

She was a girl, not a woman. Her black hair was in a bob cut, her eyes were so large they seemed like they might fall out, and yet she was still a girl who leaned more towards cute than beautiful.

“...What?” Setora glared at Haruhiro and Merry in turn. From the way she looked at them, she was offended. But because her face was so adorable, she wasn’t intimidating. “You people are not of the village, so it’s not like you find it odd that my hair is short, is it?”

“Oh, no...” Haruhiro rubbed the gray nyaa’s belly. “Haha...” He let out an awkward laugh. “Not particularly. Oh, right. The women in the village grow their hair out. You were saying something about that before, now that you mention it.”

“That’s an awfully familiar tone you’re taking with me,” Setora said coldly.

“Urkh. S-Sorry... I apologize. I dunno, when I saw your face, it felt familiar. Familiar? No, that’s not quite it....”

“It’s in my blood, you see. The members of the House of Shuro have had childlike faces for generations. That is also part of why I do not like to reveal my face.”

“I don’t think it’s anything to hide,” Haruhiro said. “Well, that’s just what I think.”

“Don’t act like you would know, outsider.” Setora seized the gray nyaa from Haruhiro’s arms, and let it loose. “Well, it seems I will be leaving the village, too.”

The gray nyaa sat at the mouth of the cave and began grooming its fur. It was licking itself. Diligently licking its body all over with that little pink tongue.

So cute.

Merry still wanted to hug it. But if she interrupted it while it was grooming, it wouldn’t like her.

Merry tore her eyes away from the gray nyaa, then looked back and forth from Haruhiro to Setora. What was going on here? Haruhiro was acting a little strange. He seemed intimidated.

Well, when meeting with people he didn’t know that well, Haruhiro tended to be that way. He wasn’t the type who always looked people in the eye when he talked. Even so, the way he hung his head, looking at Setora with upturned eyes and trying to gauge her mood, was a little strange.

“You’re leaving the village, huh...” Haruhiro said.

“Well, yes. I’ve no lingering attachment to the village. Our paths were due to part ways eventually. That just happened to be now.”

“...Um, what about Arara-san?”

“Did I not tell you? They’ve all scattered. I have my nyaas keeping watch, but even I can’t keep track of where everyone is on a moment-to-moment basis. There are those the nyaas have lost track of, too, I’m sure. It’s cruel to expect so much of the nyaas.”

“Yeah, I suppose...”

“It seems that you are fine.” Setora gave a sideways glance to Merry. “This is the woman you went to such trouble to save? Did they not use her to relieve themselves?”

“That...” Merry hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond. “...didn’t happen.”

“You were fortunate, then.”

“Yeah. You may be right.”

“Uh, hey.” For some reason, Haruhiro hastily pointed Setora and the gray nyaa with gestures and a glance. “The truth is, that nyaa showed me the way to where you were. If not for that nyaa... in other words, if not for Setora-san’s help, I don’t know if I could have made it to you by myself.”

“Oh... So that was it.” Merry turned back to Setora, bending at the hip and giving her a deep, polite bow. “Thank you... very much.”

“No need for thanks. I’ll be receiving my compensation, after all.”

“Of course you will...” Haruhiro closed only his left eye, and repeatedly rubbed his eyelid with his hand. Was it itchy?

Setora narrowed her eyes as she looked at Haruhiro, her lips forming a slight smile. It was kind of creepy. Or rather...

She reminds me of someone...? Merry thought, puzzled.

It might have been a miracle that it occurred to her so quickly. After all, she’d probably never even talked to her. It wasn’t like she remembered her face clearly. Her hair style, her big eyes, and how simple and quiet she was. That was about all that came to mind.

This girl gave off the same impression as that girl who had been in Kuzaku’s former party. If Merry recalled, she’d been a thief, like Haruhiro. Her name had been...

Choco.

Yes. Choco.

When she’d fallen at Deadhead Watching Keep, Haruhiro had cried out. Merry had thought, Did he know her?

He had known her. No doubt about it. He’d known her name, after all. Besides, there had been something clearly strange about Haruhiro that time. Merry didn’t remember the exact details, but he’d been just acting weird. Maybe that Choco girl had been more than just an acquaintance to Haruhiro.

And so what if she was?

Setora resembled Choco, who had died right before his eyes. Was that why Haruhiro seemed so shaken?

“Now, then.” Setora crossed her arms.

Haruhiro sat down where he was, for some reason. “...Yeah. I know.”

Merry tilted her head to the side. “Huh? What do you know?”

“My compensation.” Setora gave a low snort. “I’ve held up my end of the bargain. Now, I’ll have what is rightfully mine.”

“Oh, but...” Haruhiro looked up to Merry, a pained smile on his face. “Actually, maybe it’s a good thing Merry is here. She can... treat me, right afterwards.”

“Treat you? For what?” Merry asked.

“It was decided that I’d provide... material.”

“Huh? Provide material? For what?”

“Erm... For a flesh golem.”

“Flesh—”

“I will be taking his eye.” Setora approached Haruhiro and crouched down. “You wanted me to spare your dominant eye, so it’s the left I’ll be taking, yes?”

“His left eye?!”

“...Uh, yeah.” Haruhiro looked down and scratched his head. “Sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for, Haru?!”

“Nah, I just sort of felt I should...”

“You’re providing your eye?! Like, taking it out, and giving it to her?!”

“I don’t know so much about how that’s gonna work, but... I guess?”

“If you do that, I can’t heal it, even with Sacrament! You understand that, right?!”

“...Well, more or less.”

“What do you mean, more or—”

“You, woman.” Setora glared at Merry. “What are you so angry about? This man made the deal with me because he needed my nyaas in order to rescue you.”

“I-I’m not angry...” Merry stammered.

“Then silence yourself.”

“There’s no way I could keep quiet! It’s because of me that—” Merry covered her mouth.

That was right.

He did it for me.

Because of me, Haruhiro’s being forced to give up his eye to this woman.

“...Sorry.” Haruhiro rubbed the back of his head and neck. “I kind of didn’t want it to go this way. The timing, I mean. Doing it in front of you, it’s just... I doubt you want to see it, and honestly, I don’t want to let you. So, sorry, could you... leave us? Oh, but I’ll need you to heal me with magic when it’s over, so maybe it’s all the same in the end...”

“Enough of that. Raise your face and let me get a good look.” Setora grabbed Haruhiro’s chin between the index finger and thumb of her right hand, and pulled it up. “Hmph. A fresh looking eyeball, indeed.”

“Well, yeah, I’m not a corpse. I’m alive...”

“I suppose you are.” Setora brushed back Haruhiro’s hair with her left hand, and brought her face close to his. Was there any need to get so close? Well, Setora was planning to take Haruhiro’s left eye, so maybe there was. It was hard to say. Whatever the case, Haruhiro was docile, like he had accepted that he was obligated to allow this.

Neither Haruhiro nor Setora could possibly be serious about this, though. That was what Merry wanted to think. But, whatever Setora was thinking, that wasn’t true of Haruhiro. Haruhiro was dead serious.

It was hard to call him resolute, but Haruhiro could be strangely committed. Like how he would never abandon a comrade. Haruhiro was always sacrificing himself.

It wasn’t that Merry didn’t understand that. It was better to get hurt than to see her comrades hurt. Between losing a comrade, and dying themselves, if they were forced into a situation where they had to choose one or the other, Haruhiro would surely choose the later, and so would Merry.

That said, there was no way she could accept this.

“I’ll do it!” Merry interposed herself between Haruhiro and Setora.

When she did, Setora immediately, and bluntly, stopped her with a cold stare. “That will not do.”

“...Wh-Why not?!”

“You are not the one I made a deal with. It was this man, and him alone. And my condition was that I would receive this man’s left eye. It is no place of yours to demand I change the terms.”

“Okay... Maybe you’re right, but...”

“Moreover, I’ve no interest in your eyes.”

“...You’re saying you are interested in Haru’s, then?”

“Did it not sound that way?” asked Setora.

“I-I’ve got good vision, and mine aren’t sleepy-looking like Haru’s...”

“Merry... That’s got nothing to do with my eyeballs, I’m pretty sure it’s the shape of my eyelids...”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that...”

Setora let out an exasperated sigh. “Your blathering will do you no good, woman.”

“W-Woman?!”

You’re a woman, too. Merry almost said it, but she kept her mouth closed. This is no good. My emotions are running too high. Calm down. I should calm down first. Think it over with a clear head.

“Then I’ll provide you something more valuable than Haruhiro’s left eye!” she blurted out.

“No.”

“Even if it’s an arm or a leg, I won’t mind!”

“I’ve no need of those.”

“Well, what do you want, then?!”

Haruhiro opened his mouth to try and say something. But Setora suddenly grasped Haruhiro’s head and jaw with both hands and pulled him towards her.

Wait. What are you doing? Merry thought frantically. Treating Haru like an object.

“Wai...!” she cried.

“I’ve taken an interest in this man,” said Setora.

“Huh?”

“Rather than the eye of a woman I care nothing for, it should be obvious that the eye of a man who interests me holds far greater value.”

“I don’t understand that reasoning at all!” Merry cried.

“I do not ask you to understand. Incidentally—” Setora began rubbing Haruhiro’s face with both hands. “I do not think there is any need to hurry in collecting his left eye. It doesn’t have to be now. I’ll have his left eye when I want it. Until then—Haruhiro.”

“...Y-Yes?”

“Your left eye is mine, but I leave it in your care.”

“Y-Yay...? That’s... good? Is it okay for me to be happy about that?”

“You’re unlike the men of the village. There’s something fresh about you.”

“...I-Is there?”

“Haru,” Merry said in a sharp tone, then realized she was acting upset. “What are you grinning for?”

“I’m... not grinning, okay?! I mean, this is not time for grinning, right?!”

“Oh, yeah?” Merry looked the other way. “You seemed a little happy, for some reason.”

“I’m not happy at all, though!”

“Incidentally, Haruhiro,” Setora said.

“Yes?! Wh-What...? Um, Setora-san, c-could you let go of me... please?”

“Do you think you are in any position to ask favors of me?” Setora asked coldly.

“I’d say that’s one thing, but this is another.”

“A fair argument.”

“I-I know, right...?”

“Though that does not necessarily mean I will accept it. You may not know this, but I was known for being a difficult person, even back in the village.”

“Oh, I get that! P-Please, let me go!” Haruhiro shook free from Setora’s grasp and stood up. “It was a promise, so I’ll give you my left eye anytime you want it! But I don’t owe you anything else!”

“Oh-ho,” Setora said, opening her eyes wide in an exaggerated fashion. “In other words, you no longer require my assistance? In that case, I will have all my nyaas pull out at once. I’ll have your left eye now, too. If we part here, we may never meet again, after all.”

Haruhiro hung his head. “That would be...”

A problem. Merry didn’t want to admit it, but she had to.

The fact was, Haruhiro and Merry were just waiting here for their comrades to show up. They’d wracked their brains about whether to do this, or whether to try that, but in the end there was nothing else they could do. There were no moves they could make.

“Though I cannot do it immediately...” Setora bent her knees and looked up at Haruhiro’s face from below. “If I were to have my nyaas concentrate on finding your comrades, I am sure they would be able to do it, too. My nyaas know this area even better than I do myself. What of you people? If you’re familiar with the lay of the land, perhaps you don’t need my help? I predict that the tomorrow will be an uncommonly clear day, so visibility will be good. There are other troubles that present themselves on days when the fog is not out in Thousand Valley. What will you do? Search the hardest you can?”

This woman. Shuro Setora.

She seems to like Haruhiro, but despite that, she’s harassing him, making him suffer, and enjoying it. She said she was a difficult person, but it’s more that she’s just nasty.

I shouldn’t be thinking this after she rescued me, and she keeps such cute nyaas, so I don’t want to think badly of her.

Still, I can’t bring myself to like her. I might really hate her.

Even if she did hate Setora, it would be immature to drive her off because of that, and realistically speaking it was a bad idea. A very bad idea. However, was Setora going to help them just because Merry bowed her head to her? Not likely.

Haruhiro. Setora was probably crouching low because she wanted to see Haruhiro ask her for help. Moreover, she wanted to make him submit to her. She wanted to make him obey her, didn’t she? And Haruhiro knew what he ought to do as leader of the party. For Merry—for one of his comrades—he had already offered up his left eye. He might very well throw his life away.

“Setora-san.” Haruhiro bent over to the point his head was almost at knee level. “...Please. Help us find our comrades.”

“Very well.” Setora said haughtily. Then added, so quickly it was hard to react, “But I have a condition.”

I expected as much.

Just what sort of condition would she offer? Merry gritted her teeth. If Setora said anything weird, Merry would want to stop Haruhiro, but she couldn’t. Unless it was something really big—no, even if it was—Haruhiro would probably accept it. Setora had seen through him, so she might say something truly outrageous.

“What is it?” Haruhiro kept his head bowed, looking at Setora with upturned eyes. “The condition.”

“Before that, I have one question.”

“Oh, sure... Go right ahead.”

“Are you and that woman in love?”

“Huh?!” Haruhiro shouted, and Merry said, “What are you—” before going silent, at a loss for words.

“I don’t think the question is anything to act so surprised about,” Setora said, arching her eyebrows offendedly. “You two are comrades, yes? If two people who are together day in and day out happened to develop that sort of relationship, surely that would be nothing unusual. In the village, those from the lower houses generally marry those they are close to and have children with them. Furthermore, Haruhiro, you were prepared to die to rescue that woman. Is it not normal to think you are more than simple comrades?”

“N-No...” Haruhiro turned towards Merry, immediately averted his eyes, and then shook not so much his head as his entire body back and forth. “That’s not it, okay?! We don’t have anything like that, we’re just really good comrades! Comrades, okay?! O-Okay...?! We’re comrades!”

Setora fixed her eyes on Merry for some reason. “Is this true?”

“Of course!” Merry swallowed her breath, and almost ended up coughing. “...Comrades. That’s what Haru and I are. Nothing more, and nothing more.”

“Is there some reason why you said more twice?”

“N-No?! W-We’re nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else! That’s it!”

“I see.” Setora gave two slight nods of her head. “Then there should no problem, Haruhiro.”

“Wh-What... is it?”

“Haru.” When Setora corrected herself, Merry felt a throbbing in her temple, and a slight pain.

What’s with her? She’s acting way too familiar with him.

Then it suddenly hit her. If that was true, then Merry was acting overly familiar with Haruhiro by calling him Haru, too.

Originally, when trying to close the distance between her and her comrades, it had occurred her to change the way she addressed them, as a show of the kind of relationship she aspired to have with them. She’d debated back and forth with herself about what to do. Deciding to start with the leader, the first inoffensive option that came to mind had been adding a -kun to his name. Though it felt easy to get used to, and she liked it, Haruhiro-kun was a little long. If she used Haru-kun, she’d be overlapping with Yume. Besides, while it was cute for a girl like Yume to call him Haru-kun, wouldn’t it be off-putting if Merry did it? Using -san would have been weird, or rather it seemed likely that it would make it feel like she was being overly formal. In that case... how about Harupin? No way, not a chance. It made no sense. Harurin, then? Haruriron? Harumero? Go all out, and call him Haruharu? Haruchin? No, no, that was clearly too much...

After much wavering, she had chosen the short, easy-to-use Haru. She’d settled for something safe. She’d figured that would probably work. However, when it had come time to actually call him that, she’d hesitated.

Let’s not do this, after all. She’d been half way to rethinking her decision, but when she’d gone with the flow and tried addressing him that way once, it had been surprisingly okay. That was how it had felt to Merry, at least, but maybe she’d been acting overly familiar?

But, that aside, why had this woman suddenly started addressing Haruhiro as Haru?

“Haru.” Setora called him that again, then smiled slightly. “Until I grow bored of it, and tell you to do otherwise, you will act as if you’re my lover. That is the condition.”