5
THUD.
The loud sound echoed across the plain, startling a herd of animals in a small thicket of trees. The creatures, which resembled deer with imposing antlers and sleek black fur, were called black deer—large herbivores that grazed on the leaves.
The impact scattered the group, leaving one black deer lying motionless on the ground. A thick arrow protruded from its torso. It had pierced the animal’s heart in a single, precise shot.
“I took down the meat!” Holly exclaimed triumphantly.
“…Meat? At least call it a black deer,” muttered Kuna.
“Huh? Did you just say something? Your voice is so soft, I can’t hear you, Kuna,” Holly said, her tone as cheerful as ever. It was her heavy bow that had brought down the prey.
Kuna pursed her lips and snapped, “Never mind! Drain the blood! Let’s get this over with.”
“Ah, wait for me!” Holly called as Kuna stomped over to the deer. Holly paused mid-step, saying “Whoops,” before turning around.
“We’re going to take a break. Is that all right with you, Subaru?”
“…Y-yeah, no problem. I’m absolutely A-OK, but a break would be fine,” Subaru replied, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
“Great,” Holly said, dashing after Kuna.
Watching them leave, Subaru slowly knelt, his exhaustion plain to see. Behind him, perched in the wooden frame on his back, Rem let out a small sigh.
“…Stubborn…,” she murmured softly, too faintly for Subaru to hear.
“Whew, I seriously underestimated this a bit. If I weren’t the eldest son, I’d probably start complaining already. I can manage because I’m the eldest, but if I was second or even youngest, there’s no way I could take this,” Subaru rambled as he began gathering twigs for a campfire.
“I don’t understand. Does having siblings have anything to do with perseverance?” Rem asked coldly.
Beneath her withering gaze, Subaru let out a groan.
“It’s just a joke, but I do think having siblings changes how much you can persevere. Everyone says parents are stricter with the oldest and spoil the youngest, right?”
“Don’t say ‘right’ as if I know what everyone says. Wouldn’t that not apply to an only child?”
“In that case, you get pampered and raised strictly all at once. As an only child, I’m both the oldest and the youngest,” Subaru quipped.
Considering how close his parents were, it was surprising he didn’t have siblings. They showered their only child with love, and he sometimes wondered how different things might have been if he did have a brother or sister, but it didn’t change reality.
“And there’s no guarantee I haven’t gotten any younger siblings while I’ve been away…,” Subaru muttered, his imagination running wild.
“Aauaa,” Louis cooed, playing on Rem’s lap.
The wooden frame supporting Rem doubled as a seat when Subaru wasn’t carrying it, sparing her the trouble of constantly getting on and off. Despite any embarrassment she might feel about relying on him, she would have to tolerate the arrangement for now.
While playing with Louis, Rem murmured absentmindedly, “Siblings… Did I have any?”
Subaru froze, his breath catching. Her question was unexpected. He looked up to meet Rem’s gaze, her blue eyes tinged with a flicker of emotion she likely didn’t fully understand herself.
“That’s a first—you asking me about your memories,” Subaru said.
“I’ve already asked you plenty of questions. Where is this? Who are you? Who am I? What are you doing? How shameless can you be?” Rem countered.
“I meant other than the negative ones. Also, I don’t think you’ve asked about my shamelessness before just now,” Subaru replied with a wan smile.
Despite her sharp words, her question felt like progress. This was the first time she had asked anything positive, and Subaru took it as a step forward.
Ever since they left the Shudrak village, Subaru had been bracing for a disaster. Rem, who had once been so blunt in her distrust and animosity toward him, was now surprisingly cooperative. It made him uneasy, as if calmness was merely the prelude to a storm.
Yet here she was, behaving herself. She had even scolded Louis when she got restless and got in the way during the day’s travel. They were small gestures, but she was obviously trying to lighten Subaru’s burden.
“…”
“What is it? Does that mean you have no intention of talking?” Rem asked.
“No, no, you’ve got it wrong. It’s just…we’ve been kind of awkward this whole time, haven’t we?”
“We still are. And the correct word is not awkward, but cold,” Rem corrected him.
“I was thinking that coldness might be thawing, just a little!” Subaru replied.
Rem’s disgusted look was another blow to Subaru’s already battered heart, but he found a strange comfort in it—it was, after all, something he had received from her.
“I don’t know everything about you,” Subaru said. “But I do know more than you do at the moment. So if there’s something you want to ask, I’ll answer whatever I can. But…”
“It is up to me how much I believe you…”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Subaru nodded, glancing at her.
Rem combed Louis’s hair with her fingers, her brow furrowed in thought. After a moment of deliberation, she met Subaru’s gaze again.
“I don’t know.”
“Of course not. You can’t remember, after all.”
“Not about me. About you… I cannot comprehend what sort of person you are at all. What I feel and what I see do not match,” Rem said, her lips pursed and her blue eyes serious.
There was no malice in her words. Instead, her gaze was sharp as she tried to unravel the mystery that was Subaru.
At the very least, it was a sign of Rem’s willingness to entertain the possibility of evaluating Subaru’s humanity.
“…Considering you were treating me like the embodiment of all evil without letting me explain, that feels like a pretty big step forward,” Subaru said.
“My doubt has not been cleared up… I simply thought there might be a sliver of leeway to reconsider it,” Rem replied bluntly.
“All right, so with a single sheet of paper added to support the thin ice of our relationship, is there anything you want to ask me?” Subaru offered.
“…Allow me more time to think,” Rem said after a pause.
Subaru, ready for a heart-to-heart, had to accept that Rem was not. She wasn’t ready to trust him yet—not fully, anyway.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impatient, but…
“Got it. Then I’ll wait for you to be ready,” he said.
“Please don’t say that as if it’s not up to you as well. It wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say your daily activities will play a big part,” Rem replied coolly.
“I see… So the faster I rake in trust points and affection levels, the quicker the route opens up, huh?” Subaru nodded, putting his hand on his chin.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I do know it’s something unpleasant.”
Subaru could almost hear her unhappiness gauge ticking up.
As their conversation trailed off, Holly returned, carrying the prepared black deer over her shoulder.
“Sorry for the wait. The black deer came apart nicely!” she said cheerfully, her wide smile beaming.
Behind her, Kuna followed with a tired expression.
“Why’d I have to do all the work…?” she grumbled.
“Because you’re better at it! If the meat we found went to waste, I’d be hungry no matter how much I ate.”
“Why? Keep what you eat in your stomach like a normal person!” Kuna snapped, her irritation evident.
Holly shrugged off the outburst with her usual grin, then noticed Subaru’s bundle of sticks.
“Oh, you gathered some wood. Wow,” she said.
“I can at least handle this much. As for lighting it, may I study your excellent example?” Subaru asked.
“What are you saying?” Holly cocked her head.
“He means he wants to learn,” Kuna clarified, sighing.
“Really?” Holly asked, her smile widening. She pulled a black rock from her bag and struck it against another stone. Sparks flew, catching on the dried twigs, and a small flame took hold.
“Whoa, so cool! You’re, like, an artisan!” Subaru exclaimed, clapping.
“It’s super easy once you know how,” Holly said, clearly pleased. “Now we can cook up the meat quickly.”
As the black deer roasted over the fire, a rich, mouthwatering smell filled the air.
“Still, Holly, that was incredible, how fast you were. The moment you spotted the herd, you moved almost instantly,” Subaru commented.
“It’s because Kuna spotted the herd first. Thanks to her, we can keep having fresh meat.”
“I just found the herd… While they might not be as fast as Holly, every one of the Shudrak can use a bow and arrow,” Kuna said matter-of-factly.
“Except Kuna,” Holly teased.
Kuna groaned, clearly annoyed.
“Really?” Rem asked, her eyes widening. “That’s surprising. Mizelda said you have amazing eyesight…”
“…Even with good eyes, it’s useless if your arms aren’t strong enough,” Kuna muttered, frowning.
“When it comes to bows, Kuna even loses to Utakata. So cute,” Holly added.
“No one asked you!” Kuna snapped, delivering a knife-hand jab to Holly’s stomach. Holly’s plump frame absorbed the blow, and her cheerful demeanor remained unchanged.
Rem watched their exchange with an amused smile. The mention of Utakata’s archery skills, however, made Subaru grimace. After all, he had once been killed by one of her poison arrows.
“Also, when it comes to bows and arrows…,” Subaru murmured, placing a finger to his lips as he thought.
He remembered the hunter who had attacked him and Rem before they were captured by the imperial soldiers. That same hunter had protected them from a demon beast—and had also killed Subaru once.
He still didn’t know who the hunter was.
So when he had seen Holly take down that black deer, Subaru had gone pale. But from what Kuna said about the Shudrak…
“…It could be any of them. Thinking about it more than that is probably pointless,” he muttered to himself.
At the time, Subaru and Rem had been suspicious outsiders, stomping loudly through the jungle. It wasn’t unreasonable for the Shudrak to assume they were enemies. But later, that same hunter had saved him during that encounter with the demon beast.
Not every encounter had been hostile.
“The two of you seem to get along nicely,” Rem said, addressing Holly and Kuna.
Holly grinned, but Kuna stuck out her tongue in distaste.
“Ugh.”
“What’s with that face? It’s not a great look for such a pretty lady,” Holly teased.
“I was just reminded of a certain annoyance I can never seem to escape. I’m always the one doing all the work…,” Kuna complained.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, you’re always such a worrier, Kuna.”
“And whose fault is that?!” Kuna shot back.
Kuna angrily grabbed Holly’s shoulders and shook them with all her might. However, the sheer size difference made it futile. Holly was more than twice Kuna’s size, after all.
“Kuna and I were born on the same day. We’re neighbors, and sort of like sisters.”
“I’m not interested in being like you or being your sister, older or younger…”
“Ah, it’s just about cooked up,” Holly interrupted.
“Listen to me!” Kuna snapped.
Holly, as always, moved at her own pace, and Kuna was constantly being dragged along. Watching their dynamic, Subaru couldn’t help but think of a certain hardworking adviser.
“Kuna’s hair is dyed green, too, so their theme colors even match. That dude’s always making his presence known, even when he’s not around,” Subaru mused.
If the adviser heard that, Subaru imagined the reaction would be a loud, indignant, That is an entirely ungrounded accusation! But since the person in question wasn’t there, Subaru dismissed him as a figment of his imagination.
Meanwhile, Holly and Kuna continued bickering over the readiness of the meat. Watching them, Rem’s eyes softened slightly.
“It must be nice,” she murmured, “having someone you can argue with so frankly…”
Subaru noticed the faint envy in her voice. To Rem, who had lost her memories, everyone around her—Subaru included—must have felt like a stranger, an invader emerging from the darkness. She had no one she could truly relax around, no one she could let her guard down with.
I don’t know if it’ll be a balm for her overworked heart, but…
“…Um, Rem, mind if I say one thing?” Subaru asked gently.
“What is it?”
“I know I said I’d wait until you wanted to ask me questions, but I’m going to let one thing slip out.”
“Eh…”
“You have an older sister. An older twin who loves you from the bottom of her heart. So…no matter where you are, you’re not alone.”
Rem’s blue eyes widened in surprise. Subaru had just gone back on his promise to wait, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. Both he and Rem had their limits.
At the very least, he thought it would be okay to tell her about Ram—her twin sister, who was undoubtedly worrying about her even now, somewhere in Lugunica.
“I don’t know if it’ll work, but if you close your eyes and think about her, maybe you’ll feel her. It’s a shared consciousness you two have as twins.”
“‘Shared consciousness’…,” Rem repeated, her voice uncertain.
After a moment of hesitation, she placed her hand over her chest and closed her eyes. Subaru watched silently as she reached into the darkness of her mind, searching for the other half of her soul—her twin, born on the same day, from the same mother.
However…
“…I…cannot feel anything,” Rem said softly, shaking her head.
“I see…,” Subaru muttered. “…I guess it’s hard without an image in mind.”
For a fleeting moment, worry crept into Subaru’s thoughts. Could something have happened inside Rem that prevented her from connecting with Ram? But he quickly reasoned that the distance—both physical and emotional—was simply too great for now.
If it had worked, it would have solved so many problems. The failure was disappointing, and no one was more disappointed than Rem herself.
“Ah.”
“Uuu?”
Subaru flinched as a soft breath escaped Rem’s lips.
Louis, who had been resting her head on Rem’s lap, had placed her small hand over Rem’s hand on her chest. It was a simple, instinctive gesture, as if Louis was trying to comfort her.
Rem’s lips softened, and she flashed a brave smile. “Thank you. I am all right.”
Her words brought a bright smile to Louis’s face, and the mood between them turned warm and tender.
Subaru, however, gritted his teeth, annoyed at having been beaten to the punch.
“Damn it… You really are my enemy…!” he muttered, glaring at Louis.
Rem, noticing his expression, misunderstood.
“Why would that be? Don’t you think that’s an immature reaction?” she scolded.
Louis, entirely oblivious to Subaru’s frustration, kicked her legs and flailed her arms happily in Rem’s lap.
Meanwhile…
“It’s done!” Holly declared triumphantly.
“It’s still raw!!!” Kuna shouted.
…The only two there who didn’t have a half-baked relationship continued arguing about the meat.
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