Episode 41
The meal was over.
Roki wiped his mouth with a napkin, while Sallet, beside him, had her head buried against the table and wasn't moving.
Alex, who was clearing the dishes, smiled at the two of them.
"Was the taste not to your liking?"
"…I'm just quite a picky eater."
He couldn't bring himself to say it tasted bad.
Yet if he had said it was delicious, he felt something even more terrible would happen at tomorrow's meal.
When Roki gave a vague answer to that extent, Alex smiled gently.
"What about the young lady?"
"…No."
Alex looked at Sallet.
Sallet, still slumped over the table, only turned her face to look at Alex and muttered quietly.
"I'm not his wife."
"Is she your younger sister?"
"Not that either."
At her voice, spat out as though she was in a foul mood, Alex looked at Roki in puzzlement.
Roki pondered for a moment.
If he said she was a slave, it might cause a misunderstanding, and yet, if he tried to make excuses, nothing appropriate came to mind.
"She's merely a traveling companion I met. I felt uneasy about leaving her by the roadside."
"A refugee? Hah! I see. Wars have been so frequent these days… But you are kind. In times like these, most people turn a blind eye to things too difficult to take responsibility for."
"She is only a temporary traveling companion."
At Roki's words, Sallet furrowed her brows but said nothing.
Alex brought a lantern.
When night fell and three moons rose, the interior was so engulfed in darkness that it was difficult to see ahead unless one was by the window.
"I shall prepare rooms. How would you like them? Shall I prepare one room? Or separate ones?"
Alex had said this out of consideration for Sallet. Sallet looked at him, nodded, and said,
"Separate."
"Understood."
The room was shabby, containing only one large bed, a small shelf, a mirror, and a potted plant.
Roki looked around, discovered a study, and smiled with interest.
"You have books."
"Yes, I'm quite fond of books."
"What kind are they?"
"They are a bit old, but most are theological texts, materials regarding medicinal herbs, or treatises on diseases historically recorded on the continent."
"May I read them?"
"Of course. Please feel free to read them."
It was Alex, smiling and readily giving permission.
***
On the continent where magic had developed, there existed artifacts imbued with Light magic to illuminate the night. However, such things were used only in places like noble estates, royal palaces, or grand cathedrals.
In a remote monastery like this, even lanterns containing candles or oil had to be used sparingly, and with Alex having taken even that away, the room was as dark as could be.
Sallet removed the hood she had pulled all the way down over her head.
Unless submerged in complete darkness, it was characteristic of Dark Elves to see things as brightly as early dawn.
The room was clearly visible, but she involuntarily shrank back at the eerie atmosphere.
The room was quite spacious, with about eight beds placed in it.
Dolls were scattered across the dresser, and boxes containing children's toys were neatly organized in every corner of the room.
Moonlight shining through the window illuminated the dolls. The dolls with their mouths ripped open from ear to ear in grins evoked terror rather than cuteness.
'…I-it's nothing. I-it's just… too big to sleep in alone.'
Just then, a black shadow swayed behind Sallet.
When a tapping sound—knock, knock—was heard, she got goosebumps.
"……?!"
She quickly turned around, but it was merely tree leaves swaying against the window frame.
"Wh-what. I thought…"
Without realizing it, she took a step back.
At that moment, something bumped against her back. Sallet froze and turned around.
A large black shadow was looking down at her with its head bowed.
"……!"
Sallet's ears perked up straight, and her body trembled.
She remained frozen like that for three seconds without being able to react. Then, suddenly realizing that what she was staring at was a robe hanging on a coat rack, she forced a snort, pretending to be calm.
"H-hmph! It's nothing! Of course! As if there could be a ghost…?"
—…What are you doing?
"……?!"
Ifrit, who had been summoned at some point, sat on the bed with its arms crossed and asked, but Sallet had crouched down and was trembling, clasping her head.
Sallet glared at Ifrit with tears welling in her eyes.
"Wh-what! Why do you appear like that?!"
—…Don't I always appear this way?
Ifrit tilted its head, unable to understand Sallet's reaction.
With one person terrified and the other completely at ease, Sallet couldn't help but feel her pride wounded.
She sprang up and glared at Ifrit.
"What is it?"
—I came because I was bored.
"Bored? Is it okay for a spirit to come and go from the Middle Realm as you please?"
At Sallet's disgruntled reaction, Ifrit shrugged its shoulders.
—What do you take me for? I'm on a different level from other lower-class spirits. To me, the Middle Realm is merely a playground.
Sallet looked at Ifrit and crossed her arms.
In a way, she might have been imitating Ifrit without even realizing it.
"So… did His Highness the mighty spirit come here on purpose to scare me?"
—I had no such intention, but… it's amusing, so I'd be happy to do it again and again.
"……."
She wanted to scream 'Please don't!' but held herself back with effort.
Ifrit looked around and glanced at Sallet.
—…It seems that man isn't threatening you in particular. That old human doesn't seem likely to pose a threat either… Well, judging by his reaction, he seems interested in you, so if you keep traveling together, he might protect you.
"……."
—But don't get too close. The greater such a being is, the more fickle he is. You never know when he might abandon you.
"…I'm only with him for a short while."
—Yes, if you're with him, mere humans shouldn't be a threat.
"Humans were never a threat to me in the first place."
—Hah, and yet weren't you terrified of that old man, despite saying that?
"……."
It was referring to when Sallet first met Alex.
Sallet clamped her mouth shut.
Indeed, she had been frightened upon seeing Alex. Up until now, she had never been close to humans, and even when she had been, she had dealt with them mostly using the divine ability [Allure].
But in front of Alex, for some reason, her spirit had withered and she had spoken distractedly.
Recalling that moment, Sallet realized what a pathetic sight she must have been.
'This is why, what…'
—So, what, you think you can take revenge?
"……."
Seeing Ifrit speak as though it had read her thoughts exactly, Sallet was at a loss for words.
She wanted to refute it but couldn't open her mouth.
Ifrit jumped down from the bed.
Perhaps because it was only the size of a palm, it didn't feel the slightest bit dignified. Nevertheless, Ifrit pointed a finger at Sallet, who was much larger than itself, as though delivering a sermon.
—Listen well. You don't have the strength to take revenge. Hatred? Grudges? Just bury them. Forget them. Don't be consumed by the past! Your thirst for revenge will only lead you to ruin.
"Don't make me laugh. I'll continue."
—You're the one who's laughable. Honestly, if that man hadn't saved you, you would have become food for the wights by now. No, even if you had escaped them, the ending would have been more miserable. Your plan was to seduce humans and make them yours, wasn't it? Do you think that would succeed? Humans aren't weak. They are ruthless and cunning. They would stop at nothing to capture you and make you their plaything.
"……."
—You don't even have a chance for revenge. Remember that.
Warning her, Ifrit disappeared.
Sallet bit her lower lip. Her clenched hands drove her nails into her skin. Feeling a stinging pain, she shed tears in vexation.
'…I know that.'
Honestly, she knew it was impossible. Even so, she couldn't stop.
'If I don't… what's the point of me living?'
She still couldn't forget.
That day filled with screams and despair.
The one and only reason she now lived so desperately was 'revenge.'
***
Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!
Sallet, exhausted from crying, opened her eyes.
She rubbed her swollen eyes with the back of her hand and raised her upper body to look out the window.
There was no light.
Even the moonlight that had illuminated the night was obscured by the falling rain.
Having lost even the faintest light, it was difficult to distinguish what lay ahead even with Dark Elf vision.
Tang-!
"……?"
When she tilted her head, silver hair flowed down.
Tang-!
A clear bell sound rang from outside.
Then, thunder rumbled as well.
As light flashed with the majestic sound, Sallet flinched in surprise and pulled the blanket over her head. Though she was terrified out of her wits, she continued to focus her ears on the ringing bell.
'What is that sound?'
Curiosity outweighed fear for her.
Sallet carefully opened the door with a tense face.
The long hallway of the monastery stretched out before her.
The end of the brick-laid hallway was consumed by darkness and invisible.
Trees entangled by the wind struck the window glass, and the sound seemed like knocking, creating a sinister atmosphere.
Tang-!
The sound rang from the end of the hallway. And a red, sunset-like glow gradually began to appear from the end of the hallway.
Having confirmed the identity of the bell sound, Sallet froze in place.
There was a figure wearing a long robe.
Wearing a large bird-beak mask, holding a lantern in one hand and a bell in the other, it walked along, the hem of its long robe sweeping the floor.
Tang-!
With each step the sound rang, and Sallet was startled stiff.
The bird-beak mask turned its head toward Sallet.
Hoo-uk! Hoo-uk!
Eyes within the glass lenses covering the mask's eye holes were staring at Sallet, and rough breaths heaved in and out.
At that horrifying sight… Sallet couldn't even think to scream and dashed into where Roki was.
"……?"
The priest wearing the bird-beak mask, Alex, merely tilted his head in puzzlement.
***
Even under Roki's gaze, which seemed to ask '…What are you doing?', Sallet had the blanket draped over her head and pointed outside the door with her other hand.
"Gh-ghost…."
"…A ghost?"
At those words, Roki felt interested.
On this continent, there existed not only magic but also undead derived from that magic.
In the case of Roki's undead legion, their very existence was composed of mana and possessed egos, making them akin to a single 'living being,' so it was difficult to view them as conventional undead.
Therefore, Roki was curious about what other undead were like in this place.
'Come to think of it, the only undead I've seen are wights.'
The first beings Roki encountered upon arriving on the continent were wights—monsters akin to zombies yet more powerful, with contagiousness and a high fatality rate.
However, wights had many strangely odd points.
'Rather than dead creatures, they seemed like living things moving about.'
It felt like dead bodies were being forcibly moved.
'No, now isn't the time to think about that. Didn't she just say ghost?'
"Where is that ghost?"
"In, in the hallway…!"
Roki closed the herbal compendium he was reading and opened the door to look outside.
At the end of the hallway stood a figure wearing a bird-beak mask.
Upon discovering Roki, the figure scratched its head as though troubled, then bowed its head in greeting.
At this behavior, Roki tilted his head.
'Isn't that the priest? Then the ghost is…?'
He looked around, but there was nothing.
Roki closed the door and looked at Sallet.
"…Did you have a nightmare?"
"N-no… I mean, th-there definitely… was one…."
Without realizing it, Sallet's face crumpled as though she were about to cry.
Conversely, Roki's behavior, acting as though he had seen nothing, only strengthened her certainty.
'There definitely was one!'
She didn't realize that what she had seen was the priest, Alex.
Roki nodded his head.
"Understood. Then…."
"……?"
"Sleep here tonight."
"……!"
Sallet's eyes widened at Roki's offhand remark.