Chapter 60 – Walking to the End of the World (1)

The cricket, oblivious to the season, chirped noisily. While hiding in the bushes, the sound of playing the sunset light spread like a shadow under my feet. The thought that maybe that might be the last cricket in this world came to mind.

It was a ghost town that did not feel the energy of life that arrived through the sound of bugs. It was once a fairly large city that would have been crowded with people, but it seemed abandoned by people just because it was close to the capital. Of course, there was a possibility that survivors might be hiding in some building in the corner, but at least no one greeted us right now.

“Is there anyone?”

“Well. First of all, I can’t hear their cries. Haru, Saya. Do you agree?”

“I don’t feel anything either.”

“Me too.”

After receiving their consent, Rebecca approached an empty house. She took one look at me and then carefully knocked on the door.

“Excuse me. I’m Rebecca, a former captain in the Capital Corps Army. I need a place to stay with my kids tonight, but is there anyone out there?”

“…”

“Is anyone inside?”

No matter how many times I called, Rebecca took a slight step back. Then she lifted the crossbow she had brought me from the island and then she kicked her door wildly with her foot.

Fortunately, there was no such thing as a mad killer coming out of it. Even so, she lowered the crossbow only after making sure that no one was inside.

“Looks like no one is there.”

“Ha…”

“Whoa…”

When her declaration was heard, she let out a sigh after another. I pulled a chair from the table and sat down on it. A thick cloud of dust rose in front of my eyes.

Saya silently brought a chair next to me, and one day, she waved her hand here and there and sat down on Rebecca’s lap. Naturally, a metal prosthetic arm was placed on top of her head.

“Yes. Nice.”

“A-san, don’t touch her hair. I didn’t want to sit here either. I’m here because I’m worried that I’ll be naive to you if I have to go to a senior and then buy another one.”

“Haru…Simple.”

“…Under.”

Unknowingly, I laughed out loud at the nonsensical joke. In the past, that frivolous tone was annoying, but at this moment, even such a small vitality was desperately needed. I sighed again and stood up from my seat.

“Where’s Lope?”

“To find something to eat. Can you help me?”

“Yea, I got it.”

Saya immediately followed me and started groping into the corner of the cupboard. Of course, the search wasn’t that easy, as there couldn’t be too many of them left in the abandoned house. No matter how deep I reached, all I could get was dust and cobwebs.

Then I started to hear sobs behind me. The owner of that voice was Erika, of course.

“What’s this…”

“…”

“What is this…”

A meaningless monologue floated in the air. Rebecca watched her quietly and calmly opened her mouth.

“Weren’t you prepared when you left the island? Student president.”

“That’s… That’s true…”

“Lopedo. Me too. The head of the Anbert family has told me many times. Life on land must be difficult.”

“I know. But…”

“…”

“I don’t know. It’s just… I miss my mom. Rebecca misses her family too, doesn’t she?”

At her question, Ms. Rebecca shut her mouth for a moment. The answer that came out after such a little hesitation was surprisingly negative.

“I don’t want to see it. Just like my family doesn’t want to see me.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“I’m serious. I…”

“…”

“…Who would want to see a mother like this.”

She glanced down at her own hand. At first glance, it seemed that her body had become a machine for herself, but Rebecca’s gaze was directed to a deeper place. As if emphasizing that the important thing is not the hand, but the past committed with it.

I couldn’t figure out what the heck I was regretting. More precisely, I didn’t need to know.

In the meantime, I pulled out a few items from inside the cupboard. Although it didn’t look very good, at least it didn’t smell weird.

“…Still, there is something.”

“Have you had anything good?”

“No. But I don’t think it’s damaged at all.”

“That’s enough. I’m starving, so just throw me something, senior.”

“Which one is a dead mouse or spoiled milk?”

“If I had to choose between the two, I would choose the former. My dad gave me a lot of snacks in the past.”

In response to something bitter, I dropped the mouse I was holding and threw the hard bread. Among the things I had, I thought it was a good product, but Haru frowned as soon as I received it.

“Can I eat it?”

“If you soak it in water and eat it, it will work somehow. Buy it. Is there anything over there?”

“Huh? Ah…No. I don’t think there’s anything, Lope.”

“Then that bread and this moldy jerky are all.”

I left Saya, who was still on the side of the cupboard, behind and lifted up the whitened beef jerky. Although I couldn’t see it, Haru shook his head as if the musty smell had been transmitted.

“If I had known it would be like this, I would have eaten a lot of soup yesterday.”

“Because no one expected it…Oh shit. I can’t eat this.”

“Could it be that the only food I’m carrying?”

“For now, yes. I don’t know if I go outside and look for more.”

“No. Don’t go out any more today. You never know what might happen.”

Rebecca rejected my offer like a knife. And she had no one to dispute her words. Because now everyone knows what awaits us out there.

It was the very topic everyone wanted to avoid, but I had to bring it up nonetheless.

“How many of them are there?”

“Well. No one will ever know.”

“Are they the eggs laid by the dragon from before?”

“Or maybe the guy who came two weeks ago planted them. There’s no way anyone would know.

“It’s going to be a tough journey.”

“…”

It was a realistic yet bittersweet conclusion. Of course, it was something she was prepared for, so it didn’t hurt her as much as she thought, but she couldn’t bear it as much as Erica and buried her face in her lap. Then he muttered to himself again.

“I want to go home…”

“Erika.”

“I’m sorry. I was meaningless.”

“It’s okay. I looked earlier and there were three rooms, so go in and get some rest. It’s been a tough day.”

“…Yes. I will.”

At my words, she barely nodded her head and staggered toward the room closest to her. Seeing that, Rebecca made a similar proposal to me.

“You go in too, Lope. I’ll look outside.”

“No, you don’t have to…”

“You’d better rest while you can. You won’t even try to rest unless I tell you.”

“Okay. Go in, senior. I’m going to have to chew on this… Damn bread somehow.”

“…Okay. What would you like to do, Sa-ya?”

“Me too…I’ll go in soon. Go in first, Lope.”

Saya shook her head uncharacteristically. It’s strange. As usual, she would have tried to follow straight away. Feeling a little strange, I entered a room in the back of the house.

“Whoa…”

As soon as I closed the door, a long sigh came out. For some reason, an unpleasant feeling that today is going to be a sleepless night passed through my head. I sighed once more and unhooked the sword hanging from my waist with a familiar hand.

Then, for no reason, he stared at the sword that he unleashed.

“…”

As I looked at the scabbard that had been ruined by all sorts of scratches, various thoughts ran through my head. It was once polished to the extent that my face could be seen through it. During my academy days, I polished my hair several times a day and valued it more than my body. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a loner for a long time, but sometimes I feel like this is my only friend.

It seems that I have been relying on this sword for a long time. That’s why it was this sword that I took first on the day that destruction was confirmed. Maybe in the corner of my heart, there was a thought that if I had this, everything would be okay.

But how much can this sword help me in the future?

A lot has changed since I was on the island. Now my opponents are beings beyond common sense. I was prepared to some extent, but after facing the dragon today, a question kept popping up in my head.

As a mere human prosecutor, how many moments will there be left for me to overcome a crisis by force?

…

For a moment, a sense of helplessness tried to spread through my body. But this world wouldn’t allow me to be swept away by such weak feelings. So I shook my head and got up from my seat. Then, slowly, he started undressing.

It was at that moment that Saya entered the room. She saw me taking off her outerwear and winced and lowered her head.

“Lope. Even if I go in… Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay. I was only going to take this off.”

“Then may I come in?”

“It doesn’t matter. But today… No. Come in.”

Did you sleep together today? I tried to ask such a question, but it felt so new that I kept my mouth shut. Instead, he sat down on the ground and leaned his back on the lonely bed.

“It was hard today too. Saya.”

“…I know.”

“Do you want to go to sleep first? I haven’t slept yet. I’m going to sit here for a while.”

“No. I want to stay awake too.”

Saya shook her head and casually came and sat next to me. Then she gently hugged her knees and carefully took off her gas mask.

“Whoa…”

“It was very frustrating. Buy.”

“No. It’s rather comfortable to use it now. The land smells worse than the island.”

“You smell it?”

“Yes. It’s hard to breathe without a gas mask on. Ah, I’m fine now. Is it because you’re by my side?”

After Saya finished her words, she looked at me with a bashful smile. Somehow, I thought she was not like her, so I tilted her head slightly.

“Saya. Are you tired? Then it’s okay to just sleep first.”

“No. Not at all. Really. I guess it’s just because I’ve been thinking a lot.”

“Have you been thinking a lot?”

“Yeah. Today… So many things happened.”

Her blue eyes were lost in memories of her past. I wonder if Saya was too shocked by the first dragon she met. The sight of her fiddling with her collar, like her habit, somehow made me feel lonely.

“Rope.”

Saya, who had been immersed in her thoughts for a long time, suddenly called my name. Then she asked in a slightly trembling voice.

“Are you scared today?”

“What do you mean?”

“Has there ever been a moment when you were scared, even once today? Have you ever felt so afraid that your body shuddered?”

“That…”

I couldn’t answer I couldn’t decide which answer was right. Whether she answered honestly or falsely, she thought that it would have an adverse effect on Saya’s mind.

“Where are you going to buy it?”

“…”

“Are you scared today?”

So I cowardly asked the reverse question. If it was someone else, it was a part where I could have been nervous about answering my own question first. However, Saya smiled forlornly and then poured out her honest feelings.

“Yes. I was scared, Lope.”

“…I see.”

“How can I not be scared. It’s my first time meeting a dragon. My dad used to tell me stories when I was little, but seeing it with my own eyes was different. It was really, really scary, Lope.”

“I understand.”

“But that wasn’t the only thing that scared me.”

Suddenly, Saya’s head landed gently on my shoulder. The loosely strewn hair slipped through my clothes and gently tickled my skin.

“Do you remember when an arrow flew right in front of your eyes? I pretended to be calm on the outside, but in fact I was really nervous and scared. If I had been a little late, you would have really died. You can’t imagine how scared I was at that time.”

“That’s what I was careless about. You don’t have to think about that.”

“I’m not talking about that. I’m just… Surprised that you almost died. I’ve never felt this way on an island. No matter how dangerous the situation there was, at best I was chased by men with clubs. And that wasn’t even a threat to you.”

“There were definitely dangerous moments, though.”

“That’s right. Still, I had faith that if it were you, you would be able to get through somehow. But it’s different now. No matter how much you do, you can’t avoid the flying arrows. No matter how much you… You can’t face a dragon with only one sword.”

“Buy it…”

“Suddenly, I thought, maybe you’re really going to die like this. No one in this world promises you survival. No matter how hard I try, this world… Might take you away from me.”

“Don’t think like that.”

“I know it’s a stupid idea.”

Saya raised her head and looked at me. For some reason, I felt that my cheeks were more red than usual. Not because his face was flushed, but because of something else.

“Yes. You’ll leave me anyway, anyway. Although I’m half-elf, I’ll still live decades longer than you. Even now, thinking about that still hurts my heart. But thinking that you could leave sooner than that. I think I’m really going crazy.”

“That won’t happen.”

“I want to believe that too. I never want to face such a future. But Lope. What if that really happens? In fact, if we don’t have that much time, what should I do?”

“Saya. It’s close…”

“If I say I want to spend more precious time with you before that happens, is that my selfish desire?”

A strange smell wafted from her breath, so close that her noses almost touched. It was a slightly different scent from her usual forget-me-not scent, like a fainting scent. I frowned a little because it was something I remembered having taken it for some time.

“Rope…”

“…”

Suddenly, Saya hiccupped and banged her head on my chest. I could feel the warmth rising through the thin clothes. It was definitely the appearance of some embarrassing adults that I had seen countless times in my life.

Only then did I realize the truth and smile. Earlier, when searching the cupboards, Saya said she hadn’t found anything, but that wasn’t true. I lifted her reddened cheeks and looked at her slightly opened eyes.

“Saya, you can’t…”