5
“Ngh!”
Subaru gasped in surprise, seeing the black blood pouring out of the snake’s mouth.
But his shock had nothing to do with the big snake or the blood covering his body.
“Why did the hunter…?!”
The attack had saved Subaru and Louis, who were about to be swallowed whole by the snake.
The snake’s torso, which looked like it was big enough to hold three Subarus, had been skewered by an arrow shot by the hunter who had caused him so much trouble until just moments ago.
“They saved me…?!”
He didn’t understand, but that was the only answer he could come up with.
He didn’t think this could be neatly explained by something like the typical manga plot device, where the hunter would suddenly declare, “I’ll be the one who kills you.” But regardless of the reason, Subaru had been saved. And this did not end with just stopping the fangs that had been about reach him in that moment.
“ !!!”
The snake let out an earsplitting shriek. Instead of chasing after Subaru, it slithered in the direction from where the arrow had come, furiously turning on the archer who had taken aim at it.
The thirty-foot-long snake slithered across the ground, bearing down on its new prey.
It did not seem so slow-witted as its massive body would have suggested. When it slithered across the ground, it was almost like the ground itself was moving.
As the snake approached, the hunter prepared another arrow but missed.
“ !!!”
The snake bared its fangs and attacked.
The hunter leaped back, evading the monster while loosing another arrow at close range to finish off the demon beast.
A gruesome struggle to the death was unfolding among the trees. The sounds of a furious struggle rang out as Subaru raced back to the hole where Rem was waiting, with Louis in his arms. And…
“Rem, give me a hand! We need to run now!”
“—! Is the child safe?”
“Yeah, she’s annoyingly fast asleep! C’mon, let’s go!”
Subaru reached out to Rem, who was still leaning against the back of the hole. But she looked at his hand, then shook her head, putting her hand on the edge of the hole.
She was stubbornly intent on not taking his hand. In which case, Subaru withdrew his outstretched hand, then took out his whip and tied Louis to his back.
If he tossed her aside, it would surely lead to another standoff with Rem, and he wanted to avoid that.
“Also…!”
“Wai—!”
After making sure Louis was tied tight and wouldn’t fall, he reached down and lifted Rem into his arms. Her expression immediately grew tense, but…
“Your only choices are me, the hunter, or the snake!”
“…The snake, if it can be talked to.”
“It can’t, so just put up with me as second-best! Let’s go!”
While Rem couldn’t hide her conflicted feelings about what seemed to him to be an obvious decision, Subaru quickly turned and ran from where the hunter and snake were having a fierce battle.
Whichever one won, they would most likely come after Subaru. He did not know how long it would take for the two to settle things, but he wanted to get as far away from them as possible.
“Hah, hah…”
And as he ran while holding Rem, he couldn’t help being struck by a nostalgic feeling. He had run around a forest being chased by demon beasts like this once before.
But he had been carrying Ram in his arms that time, not Rem.
“Big Sis doesn’t remember that, either…hah… I’m the only one who still remembers that one…”
“You are breathing heavily. We’ll be caught at this rate.”
“I know! Both of you sisters…hah…no mercy at all…!”
Even though he was carrying a different person, the commentary was just as scathing.
Subaru pushed himself even as he grew breathless, running through the forest desperately while leaving Rem to watch their back.
I’ve been running all over today.
His body and mind were battered and worn out. He would have loved to just throw everything aside and take a nap if he could.
If we shake off our pursuer, I definitely will. Eight straight hours, even.
“I just gotta hold out until then…!”
“…Ah, wait!”
“Ow, ow, ow, ow?! What?!”
As he shouted encouragement to himself, Rem pulled his ear roughly. Grimacing in pain, Subaru saw Rem point in another direction.
“I hear the sound of flowing water…a river? That would cover our tracks, no?”
“That would definitely help! If we can cross the river, it would make it harder to follow us…!”
Unfortunately, between his hoarse breathing and the pulse hammering in his chest, Subaru couldn’t hear the sound of water, but he had no reason to doubt Rem’s hearing.
“That way,” Rem said, pointing.
Following her guidance, Subaru changed direction and rushed forward in search of a river. And as he broke through a cluster of trees and out into a clearing…
“It is a river! But…”
As they made it out of the trees and the clearing spread out before him, Subaru could finally hear the tremendous crash of water, too—because it was a massive, rumbling river. Flowing about ten yards below them, over the side of a cliff.
As if making a mockery of their idea to cover their tracks by crossing it.
“This is too much…”
Rem gulped, seeing the big river below them.
Considering the raging torrent of water and how high up they were, her reaction was natural. And she seemed to be blaming herself for having led them here.
But there was no time for regret, or blame, or apologies.
“Damn it—did they finish fighting?!”
An awesome roar thundered deep in the jungle behind them.
It sounded like the snake’s cry was filled with some sort of emotion. Whether it had experienced victory or defeat, the survivor of that battle was probably coming for them now.
“Before that, we need to—”
“—Leave me here.”
Subaru was about to say it was time for them to hightail it out of there when Rem interrupted him.
Subaru gasped at the tension in her voice.
“What?”
“Please leave me here. It is my fault that we took an unnecessary diversion. There is no time to delay. I will stop the enemy somehow, so—”
“D-don’t be stupid! I’m not leaving yo—”
“Then what will you do?! Continue carrying two girls who can’t move on their own when you are already out of breath and your knees are quivering? What more can you do?!”
Rem went red in the face as she argued with him. He didn’t let her intensity overwhelm him, but he didn’t have an immediate answer to what she’d said, either.
Subaru was not smart enough to instantly think of a backup plan on the spot. But at the same time, he quickly came to a decision that didn’t require any intelligence.
“No. I’m not going to leave you.”
“Ngh! You stubborn—”
“Who’s the one being stubborn here?! I know you feel responsible! But that has nothing to do with this! You think I could ever leave you behind?!”
“Wha—?”
“There’s no point if you’re gone! If you’re going to die, it would be better for me to die instead. What do I have to do to get you to understand that?!”
Subaru tried to get her to take back her suggestion with his complete and honest feelings.
He meant every word of what he’d said. Of course he didn’t want to die. Even if Return by Death gave him more opportunities, he didn’t want to die. It was simply a matter of picking the least bad option.
But even so…
“I’ll choose a way where neither of us has to die.”
“…What about the girl on your back?”
“If I could use her as bait, I’d do it, but it would be a problem if you complained about it. So for now, I’ll bring her with us, too.”
It was aggravating how Louis was constantly getting mixed up with their other problems, but if he tossed Louis aside now, it would be impossible to patch up his relations with Rem. That was not an option, so as much as he hated Louis, he wouldn’t abandon her here.
“ ”
Rem’s eyes widened, and she fell silent.
He could almost see her confusion as she tried to decide what to do about the person shrouded in a repulsive odor. As he kept an eye on her, Subaru looked around them, searching for a way out.
Sadly, there wasn’t a path to survival conveniently lying there, waiting to be found. The situation was dire enough that Rem had suggested using herself as a decoy.
In which case…
“Guess we have to jump.”
“Wha…? W-wait a moment! That is beyond reckless! In this situation?!”
“You can’t move your legs, and I’ve got a millstone tied to my back, and three broken fingers, and an iffy rib or two…”
“Your fingers are… No, look! It’s absurd! From this height… If we jump, we’ll just pass out and drown!”
As she pointed down at the river, Rem listed very practical objections.
It was a thirty-foot drop, and they had two girls who couldn’t move as well as an injured guy who somehow had to keep track of them. Any attempt to reach the other side by going through those rapids was essentially a death wish.
“It isn’t suicidal. And worst-case scenario, at least we’ll die together.”
Subaru flashed a toothy smile, only for Rem to slap him.
“Absolutely not!”
“Argh!”
His neck twisted from the impact, and he groaned in pain as his cheek turned red.
“Fine, I get it. Then I’ll make sure we won’t die.”
“ ”
“I’ll make your wish come true. Because I’m your hero.”
Her eyes opened wide.
Not because these words had brought back a memory, but because she was surprised to hear him still repeating that same suspicious line he’d said right after she’d woken up.
But that was fine.
He was not saying it for Rem’s sake right now. He was casting a magic spell on the pathetic boy reflected in her blue eyes.
Sensing danger approaching, Subaru exhaled.
“Hold on tight.”
Rem was still trying to resist, but Subaru stepped toward the edge before she could say anything else to try to stop him. Anticipating their fall, Rem clutched tightly on to his clothes, and—
“I won’t forgive you if we die!”
Well, I suppose I can’t die, then.
Subaru smiled to himself and kicked off the edge of the cliff.
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