Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 9 - Chapter 8

8. Not Weird

His left foreleg was probably broken, or he had some similar injury. That was why Garo was keeping his left foreleg raised, and was trying to avoid it touching the ground.

Because he was in that state, Garo couldn’t climb slopes, so they could only go along the flat areas. Onsa was using a branch he picked up as a walking stick, too. He seemed to be hurt somewhere.

Yume was the only one who was fine—or at least, that was what she’d have liked to say, but she was pretty tuckered out. It also seemed she’d cut herself on something sharp while sliding, and she had gouges on her right arm, left leg, and left side. However, none of them were that serious. Or so she’d thought, but it looked like they were festering.

She was sure she had a fever.

Yume had decided that if Garo and Onsa tried to rest, she would sit down and catch her breath, too. It wasn’t like they had talked it over and decided to travel together, and they couldn’t understand each other when they talked to begin with. But, as far as Yume was concerned, if they weren’t going to fight, there was no need to split up. It was obvious that two people was better than one, and two people and one wolf was better still.

If Yume took a rest, what would Onsa and Garo do? Would they leave her behind? She didn’t want to be left alone.

It was something she just had a vague sense of, but Yume thought Onsa and Garo felt the same as her. So she might be surprised to find Onsa and Garo would stop for her, too. She couldn’t be sure.

It’s high time for Garon or Onsan to be restin’, too.

If they would, then Yume could take a break without worries.

Where was this place?

It’d been a while since the sun had gone down.

Onsa and Garo’s steps were faltering, but they showed no sign of hesitation. They probably knew the way. It was just that they could only go at a sluggish pace, so it was taking a while to get to their destination.

Where were Onsa and Garo headed? To their comrades’ place?

“...Forgan, was it?” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but she mumbled the words.

Onsa gave a low grunt. Was that a response?

Yume pressed her hands to both cheeks. It’s hard tellin’ if they’re hot or not. It is, but Yume’s feeling real fuzzy and woozy. What’s goin’ on?

“Hurmm...” she murmured.

Forgan, huh.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

What’ll happen if Yume goes to Forgan’s place? Feels like it might be not so good. Will Ranta be there, too?

Stupid Rantaaaa.

But Haru-kun, he...

What’d Haru-kun do to Ranta again?

What was it?

Yume can’t remember so well.

This could be tough... Yume thought, despite not wanting to, and almost stopped.

That was when it happened. Garo, who was up ahead, fell on his side.

“Garo!” Onsa raced over to crouch at the wolf’s side.

Yume forgot all about her fever, and tried to run over to Garo, too.

Did she trip over herself? Or stumble over something else? She tried to recover, but she fell down.

Once she was down, it was hard to even raise her face. Before she knew it, her eyes ended up closed. It was too dark to see much of anything anyway. There was no need to strain herself.

Yume curled up into a ball, like Yume was some sort of larva. Doing this made her feel at ease.

“What’s that supposed to be? Are you trying to get a laugh out of people?” She remembered... someone saying that to her.

“That’s filthy. You’re all covered in mud.”

“Nuh uh. It’s dirt, y’know.”

“Same difference.”

“Is not. They’re as different as water and ice.”

“Water and ice’re the same, y’know.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“Oh, shove off.”

Those people sure like talking, she thought. Even after she’d gone out of her way to go into the bushes in the school yard, and curled up there...

How did they find Yume? Yume didn’t want to be found.

“Hey, you, aren’t you gonna come out?” a girl called.

“You think she’s feelin’ intimidated?” another girl asked.

“Wow, that’s gross. You make it sound like we’ve been bullyin’ her or somethin’.”

“You’re a natural bully, after all, Hii-chan.”

“Hey, Kina, don’t go sayin’ stuff that makes me sound bad. What’re you gonna do if she takes it seriously?”

“But it’s true, y’know.”

“You, too, Rucchin? Don’t jump on her awful bandwagon.”

“You say that, but if someone thinks they’re bein’ bullied, then it’s bullyin’.”

“I told you, I’m not bullyin’ her!”

“You can sound harsh, Hii-chan. The way you speak.”

“Well, sure, Kansai dialect can sound harsh enough on its own, too.”

“Sure, if you’re not a Native Kansaiberian.”

“What’s a Native Kansaiberian supposed to be? It’s too long!”

“Native Kansanberian.”

“You’re not even sayin’ it right! You’re trippin’ over your own tongue!”

Yume tried staying curled up in a ball and ignoring them, but the three tried dragging her out. She flailed about and tried resisting, but it was no use.

“Ooh...” she moaned.

“Don’t you be groanin’ at us. Stayin’ in there all the time ain’t gonna do you no good. It makes no sense.”

“Y’think this girl is a space case?” another girl asked.

“What’s a space case supposed to be?”

“Nah, I dunno.”

“You don’t?!”

“But this girl, she doesn’t talk all that much.”

“What’s her name supposed to be again?”

“XXX?”

“That’s her last name. I meant her first.”

“She said it in her self-introduction, y’know.”

“Yeah, that’s why I was askin’ you. She doesn’t talk herself.”

“Lessee... it was Yume, I think.”

“She really is a space case!”

“How so?!”

“No, I don’t know either.”

“You don’t?!”

“It’s Kina, after all.”

“Hey, Yume?” one girl asked.

“Your name’s Yume, right?” another added.

“...It’s Yume, yes,” Yume said. “Is that a problem?”

She’d responded because they were being so noisy, but they all went “Whoa!” and sounded taken aback.

“She’s totally speakin’ standard dialect!”

“Whaddaya mean ‘standard dialect,’ Kina?”

“They call them Osaka dialect and Kyoto dialect, so why not call theirs a dialect, too?”

“Kina’s got a point.”

“Fine, fine, I’m wrong.”

“You’re the straight man, Hii-chan. You can’t help it.”

“Yep, yep.”

“You make no sense!”

You people make no sense. This was why Yume hadn’t wanted to move here. It was always like this.

She knew there was no helping it. It was because of her parents’ situation. She’d resigned herself to it. It was like this every time.

“Yume’s not a space case,” she said insistently.

“Oh! She spoke again!”

“Well, yeah, she’s human, y’know.”

“Human? C’mon, Hii-chan, that’s a pretty basic thing to be callin’ me out on.”

It was kind of funny, and she mouthed their words back to herself, which only made it funnier, and she giggled. That made the three of them happy.

“What’re y’all so happy about?” Yume asked. She tried imitating the way they spoke around here, but the three of them clutched their sides laughing.

“Y’all, she said!”

“There’s a serious misunderstanding!”

“What a weird girl!”

Yume doesn’t think she’s a weird girl, though. Yume gets called that a lot.

Why?

What for?

Yume’s just acting normal.

And as time passed, she had some hesitation at first, and there were times when she had trouble fitting in, but it wasn’t as if she made no effort at all.

Yume’s not weird, Yume thought. She’s not.

“...Ungh.”

Yume opened her eyes and tried to get up. But her body felt awfully heavy, and she couldn’t lift it up at all.

There was a goblin looking down at her.

“...Onsan,” she whispered. Only an incredibly hoarse voice came out.

Onsa was staring at Yume with his light brown eyes. His goblin face had no real expression on it. What in the world was he thinking? Yume had no idea.

“Where’s Garon?” she asked.

Onsa gestured behind him with his chin. Garo was sitting right behind Onsa. With his left foreleg lifted a little, of course. But he looked to be in pretty good shape, even though she remembered him collapsing.

“Yume’s even more worn out, huh?” Yume pressed the back of her right hand to her forehead. It felt cold. Had her fever gone down?

The sky was just a little bright.

“Did Yume sleep for a while?”

There was no response. Onsa was still scrutinizing Yume.

“You were waitin’ for Yume, yeah?” she asked.

Onsa turned up the corners of his mouth and snorted.

“...Thanks. If you left her here, Yume’d have been perpexed about what to do. Huh...? It’s not perpexed, it’s purpluxed? No? Hm...”

“What a weird girl.”

She had the feeling someone had said that about her. When had that been, and who had said it?

She didn’t know.

She couldn’t recall.

Or was it just a feeling she had?

“Well, sure, but Yume doesn’t think she’s weird,” Yume said.

Onsa shook his head side-to-side lightly, and clicked his tongue. Was he irritated? That didn’t seem to be it.

Onsa raised the palm of his right hand over here, waggling his fingers around. Though this was only Yume’s guess, Onsa had probably clicked his tongue to get her attention, and now he was trying to communicate something with gestures. Like, Get up. Or maybe, Can you get up?

Yume sat up fast. When she tried to stand, she stumbled.

“Eek!”

If Onsa hadn’t reacted and supported her, Yume would probably have fallen over.

“...Ngh. Sorry about that, Onsan.”

“Kuh.” While still holding her up, Onsa turned to look away from Yume.

“But, y’know, Yume, she might be doin’ better than she was before? You two’re lookin’ good, too. Y’think it’s ’cause we got some good rest?”

Onsa didn’t respond, but Garo sneezed.

“Oooh,” said Yume. “Wolves sneeze, too, huh. They would, huh. It’s just sneezin’, huh. They’re animals, too, huh. They’re alive, after all, huh?”

Garo tilted his head to the side, as if he was thinking, What is this human talking about? Maybe he just looked that way, though.

Yume let out a breath, nodded, “Okay!” and patted Onsa on the back. “Yume’s feelin’ great now! Maybe she’s a little woozy, but that’s just a little handycup. Right?”

With a “Shh!” Onsa knocked Yume’s arm away, then started walking away using a branch as a cane. Garo followed Onsa. His steps were tottering because of the wound to his left foreleg, but that actually made it more cute. Yume followed after Garo with a giggle.

The sky was becoming brighter as she watched.

This whole area was densely forested. Because of that, even though there was hardly any fog, visibility was limited.

“Come to think of it, Yume trained in the forest with Master...” she mused.

There were times when she’d thought that they might never make it back to Grimgar. That she’d never see her master again.

“Yume might be able to see him, huh. Now that all this has happened, there’s no tellin’ when that’ll be, though. But, before that, there’s Haru-kun and everyone, y’know? Ahhh...!”

When Yume stopped and shouted, Onsa and Garo stopped, too, and turned back. Onsa’s eyes bugged out with surprise.

“Nwuh?! Onsan, you’re makin’ a real shocked face!” she exclaimed.

“Kuh...”

“Oh, it’s not that Yume’s makin’ fun of you, it’s just—You know, Yume, she doesn’t have any weapons! She does have a spare knife, though. Oh, a throwing knife, too! Maybe this’ll be enough? Hrmm. Yume’s not feelin’ too confident...”

Onsa let out a sigh, then went to turn back forward. As he did, there was a strange sound.

Pigyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The sound was probably coming from above. Yume reflexively looked up to the sky.

“Kih!” Onsa let out a short, powerful shout and waved his arm. Hide, it seemed he wanted to say.

“Well, sure, but where—”

Onsa shouted, “Hah!” and pointed up ahead to the left. That area was dense with trees that had vines and leaves hanging from their thin branches, and it looked like they could hide themselves there. Yume and Onsa positioned themselves to the left and right of Garo and headed into the bushes.

Pigyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The sound echoed through the area again. It was a real unpleasant sound. It disturbed her, and it was definitely coming from above. Did that mean the thing making that noise was up in the sky?

Garo laid down, with Onsa on his right, and Yume on his left. Garo was panting and his back went up and down with each breath. Yume stuck close to Garo’s side, listening closely, and her eyes went as wide as saucers.

Pigyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That voice. This was the third time now. It was like a scream, but it clearly wasn’t human. This was probably the voice of a larger creature.

A voice. Right. This had to be the cry of some creature. If it was coming from the sky, did that make it a bird?

Onsa probably knew what the voice belonged to. It had to be a dangerous creature.

Yume looked up to the sky. The blue sky was peeking through the branches in some places.

Just now, she’d caught a glimpse of a shadow... maybe?

Onsa had his hand on the back of Garo’s neck, not so much patting it as holding him in place.

Pigyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

This time, the cry was really loud.

She could hear other noises, too.

Fwump, fwump, fwump.

It was like the sound made when you swung something large and thin as hard as you could. Wings, huh? Was that the sound of beating wings?

Yume naturally held her breath.

It was coming.

Descending.

Something big.

It was—not close. Probably around the area where Yume and the others had been before. But, still, there was the sense that it was getting closer.

Yume covered her mouth with her hands. Why did she do a thing like that? There was no meaning to it. She just couldn’t help herself.

There was a winged creature coming down, kicking leaves and branches out of its way.

It landed. There was an impact a second time, then a third time.

She could hardly see it. At all. The most she knew was there was something big, and it was over there.

It was probably blue. It seemed to be moving at a relaxed pace. The creature’s body was hitting the trees and branches, making a lot of noise. She could hear what sounded like footsteps, too.

Was it walking?

Somehow, she got the feeling it wasn’t a bird.

Yume wanted to close her eyes. That wouldn’t be good. She was struggling to breathe.

It was because she’d stopped. There was no need to hold her breath the whole time. At least, if she didn’t breathe, she was going to die. She should breathe. She had no choice. Quietly. In and out, as quietly as she could.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Measure the distance using sound and its sense of presence.

Was the winged creature coming closer? Or was it getting farther away?

Unfortunately, it was approaching them. The rustling of leaves and sound of footsteps forced her to come to that conclusion.

Master had told her, Listen, Yume, there are three times I’ve thought I was a goner. One of those times, I got stranded, and was on the verge of death. The other two times, I was up against an incredible foe. One that transcended human wisdom. There are creatures out there that’ll make you realize how tiny you are. It’s best not to encounter them at all, but if you happen to, what do you think you should do?

Don’t focus too much on them, Yume’s master had warned her. Their size and power is overwhelming. If you focus on an opponent like that, you’ll be overcome with awe. You won’t be able to think straight. In the worst case, you may not be able to move. So look at yourself, instead.

Being a hunter is a lifestyle, Master would often say. To live at one with this world. It’s a path to doing that. Those who live with the world will learn that they are only a small part of it. Even the White God Elhit is. Live as part of the world. That’s what a hunter is.

But understand, Master said with a gentle look in his eyes. If you do that, it means being eaten by those who’ll try to eat you. That, too, is a truth. That’s how living beings go through the cycle of life and death, after all. They throw their lives away in front of a being of overwhelming power, and are consumed. They become its flesh and blood. It’s the law of nature.

But if you do that, you’ll die.

When you want to live, when you want to survive no matter what—cut yourself off from the world. Yume, become a single person. Ask yourself: “What do I want to do? What should I do?” If you do that, you’re sure to find an answer. If you can’t find anything, it means you were missing something you needed. There’s nothing you can do then.

But, Yume, this is something I want to say to you, not as a hunter, but as someone who’s lived longer than you have: I believe in you. So believe in yourself, too. When it comes down to it, you’re the only one you can rely on. The person who’s going to be there to help you, and to save those you care about most, is you yourself.

What did Yume herself want to do? And what should she do?

This isn’t scary, she thought.

She didn’t know why; she just thought, There’s nothing to be afraid of. She didn’t have to be scared.

Garo was shaking. His whole body was trembling violently. Onsa was trying to calm Garo, but it didn’t seem to be having any effect. Onsa was looking noticeably tense, too. Maybe Garo was picking up on his uneasiness.

Yume leaned against Garo. Rather than hug him too tight, or try patting him, she figured this would be better. She obviously didn’t use her voice, but she mouthed the words, It’s okay, it’s okay.

Garo’s heart was racing.

It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.

It wasn’t that she was certain of that. But, in the end, the winged creature never came to where Yume, Onsa and Garo were.

That noise...

Was it flapping its wings?

It was taking off.

Yume came close to saying something, but she held it in. Through a gap in the trees, she saw the winged creature ascending.

Was it a bird? No, not quite. It had a snake-like tail. It was blue. Its wings and body were blue, too.

“Wyvern...” whispered Onsa.

Wyvern? she thought.

Was that the creature’s name? A wyvern.

Yume buried her face in Garo’s fur and took a deep breath. “There’re things like that out there, huh. If it finds us, is everyone gonna get eaten?”