"How much must you use others until you are satisfied, you heartless beast…! I was a simple man who wanted nothing more than to simply enjoy his trifling, normal happiness. But you infringed on my rights, your evil calumny stole that away from me. Even if you can only live by trampling other's happiness, you should have some limits…!"
Sensing that there was no development that was going to happen, he removed them from his consciousness.
After trying to do it, surprisingly, it worked perfectly well. It seemed like they were still saying something, but fortunately, he couldn't hear anything. Couldn't feel anything. It was incredibly calming.
And after calming his heart, finally, he was able to genuinely face the place he had come in the realest sense.
" "
In a pitch-dark blackness where it should have been impossible to see anything, the figure clad in even purer black was all the more brilliant.
Two hands with long, slender fingers that at times froze Subaru Natsuki's heart and at times caused him to shudder. Slender limbs that seemed somehow soft and a dress the color of darkness made manifest.
As always, there was a thick fog covering her from the neck up, but Subaru Natsuki's soul understood that there was someone there who's heart bore love for him.
Her figure was clearly more distinct and closer at hand than in any of his previous encounters with her.
Before, he had only been able to see her hands and the rough outline of her body, but now he could see the decorations of her dress and her white shoulders and neck.
The majority of her body had become visible from the shadow. The only part left hidden was her visage shrouded by darkness.
It was frustrating. But he was okay with that for now.
He could feel her presence more intensely, more profoundly than before.
But Subaru Natsuki's preparations to greet her were insufficient.
All he could do was be satisfied at being able to be so close to her presence.
Someday, he would be able to touch those unreliable fingertips, to wrap his hands around her slender waist, and speak his love to her.
"—I love you."
I have to prepare lips to be able to answer those words the next time.
I'll prepare a body that lets us touch each other, feel each other.
With that final thought, Subaru Natsuki's being left the garden of shade—
5
—Subaru's theory was that ease of falling asleep and ease of waking up were inversely related.
To him, waking up felt like being underwater and having his head break through the surface. No one would ever forget to breathe once their head was above water. So waking up was just natural to him and not something that felt difficult to do.
"I'm jealous you can wake up so easily like that. It's always reeeally hard for me," had been Emilia's response when they had talked about it once before. That trouble was deeply ingrained for Emilia, and she had pretty intense bouts of low blood pressure. It sort of fit her character, but it usually took an hour or so to actually get out of bed after waking up. But the ease with which she could fall asleep was like a child, the polar opposite of Subaru.
No matter how hard he tried, when he lay down and closed his eyes, he would end up thinking about things in the dark. A large number of them were various regrets, "If I had only…" and "If it was just…" and the like. The regrets were about things that had happened that day and things in the past. Whatever his mind happened to drift to.
And while he was fighting all those thoughts, Subaru couldn't manage to fall asleep. That was the root of his trouble sleeping.
As more regrets piled up, Subaru Natsuki's sleep became worse and shorter.
—So the events in the sand labyrinth would surely disrupt his sleep in the future.
" "
The moment he woke up, Subaru realized it wasn't just resetting because of a death.
First of all, his surroundings were bright, unlike the darkness at the starting point that had been set in the labyrinth. The settings had changed. The feeling of skin on his body and the chill air were gone, too.
In fact, it was a familiar feeling. The nice firmness and height that he had experienced sleeping in the carriage so many nights on the road already… "—Gh, I'm in the carriage?"
He was sleeping in the carriage that he had been separated from when everything was swallowed up in the rift that had opened up in the sky.
Realizing that, Subaru scrambled to sit up when he felt something holding his right hand. Looking to the side, he stared in wonder.
" "
What greeted him was Emilia sleeping peacefully as she held his hand.
She was kneeling beside the seat he was sleeping in, holding his hand tight.
The warmth of her hand and the faint breathing caused Subaru's shoulders to untense.
"Ah-hah… It's really Emilia…right? Then we…"
He touched Emilia's cheek with his free hand. Her pale, warm cheek was unbelievably smooth and soft. Just touching it made the emotions he felt for her seem like they would explode, and he wouldn't have minded just staying like that forever.
"Yeah, there's no mistaking that's Emilia… So cute. Soft. Warm."
"—You should not play around too much with her. Emilia didn't sleep for two nights; she was up worrying about you."
"Whoa?!"
Subaru was enjoying Emilia's sleeping face when the sudden interjection caused him to twitch. Spinning around, he saw a little girl with an exasperated look on her face standing at the entrance of the carriage.
"Bea—"
"Shhh. Betty doesn't like it when you don't listen."
Subaru was about to shout in joy at reuniting with Beatrice before she stopped him. Quickly closing his mouth, he checked to see if he had woken Emilia up. She just mumbled softly and seemed to smile ever so slightly.
"Phew, that was close. Anyway, c'mere, Beako, let me hug you."
"What nonsense are you…? F-fine, I suppose."
If he couldn't celebrate their reunion out loud, then he could at least do it like that.
Beatrice sighed and feigned disinterest as Subaru pulled her close with his left hand and hugged her tightly.
"Thank goodness…really, thank goodness. I was seriously worried."
"…That's Betty's line. We were terrified when you and the elder sister disappeared… Really…"
Beatrice looked away as she responded, rubbing her forehead against his chest. Stroking her head, the two of them assured themselves that they had safely reunited.
Looking refreshed, Beatrice lifted her head from his chest.
"Anyway, I need to let everyone else know that you are awake now."
"…Right, is everyone safe? The ones who were with me and everyone else, too?"
"You can relax. Everyone has reached this place safe and sound."
"I…see… I see…!"
Subaru's anxiety eased a bit at Beatrice's confirmation. Hearing that everyone was safe was a relief.
But the next moment, he felt a terrible sense of déjà vu and looked up.
"Wait, Beako. I don't want to suffer a premature celebration again. Is everyone really okay?"
"How rude. Do you think Betty would lie about something like that? This isn't a joke."
"I understand the annoyance, but I'm not doubting you. I know you wouldn't lie about that. But we just had this same thing happen in Pristella."
"That is…true."
Realizing why Subaru was on guard, Beatrice's expression hardened as she nodded.
After they had finished the fighting against the Witch Cultists in Pristella, Subaru had gotten the same sort of report that everyone was safe. And as far as everyone else knew, that was true, but—
"Me, Emilia, you. Ram and Rem and Patlash. Anastasia and Meili and Joseph…and Julius. All of them, right?"
"…Then it is fine. There is not anyone that you remember that Betty has forgotten."
"I see… I see… Then we can relax…"
After carefully checking for anything missed, Subaru could finally feel some genuine reassurance. He was just relieved that they had managed to get through it with everyone genuinely safe.
"How grandiose. You are always the one most in danger, so if you are safe, then everyone else will be fine, too."
"That's not what I meant. And you were crying in relief when you found
out I was okay, too, weren't you?"
"Betty wasn't crying. Betty was hiding her face in your chest, so you couldn't have seen anything. You can't prove it."
Beatrice puffed out her chest, pretending to be tough, but she had dug her own grave with what she let slip. On top of that, there was evidence of someone other than him having slept on the other half of his seat.
"Then what are these traces of someone sleeping here with me? Aren't they proof that you were worried about me?"
"Those aren't Betty's! Trying to frame Betty. How rude."
"Who other than you would do something that improper? No need to be shy."
"You've got it wrong! Argh, you're going to wake Emilia up."
Beatrice forcibly changed the topic as it gradually drifted into their usual banter. Smiling at her red face, Subaru let out a long, deep breath and slowly got out of the seat. He gently slipped his hand out of Emilia's so as not to wake her up, carefully laid her on the seat, and put a white blanket over her.
"All right, that should be good… Just to check, where are we, Beako?"
"You should be able to guess yourself. This is—"
Beatrice started to answer, but before she could finish, the situation changed.
" "
In the blink of an eye, there was a mysterious pressure in the air that caused Subaru to break out in goose bumps. His heart quivered.
It was an overwhelming presence that made itself felt from right outside the carriage all of a sudden. The carriage was incredibly sturdy, but that pressure was unaffected by thick armor.
"Tch, Beako! Outside! Let's go!"
"Ah! Wait, Subaru!"
In response to that overwhelming pressure, Subaru chose to bravely challenge it.
It was an extension of his desire not to let Ram or Anastasia get hurt when they were wandering that sand labyrinth. He was spurred on by an even stronger sense of duty when it came to protecting Emilia and Beatrice.
" "
The next instant, when Subaru leaped out of the carriage, he was overwhelmed by the scene that greeted him.
There was a wide-open space of a couple hundred yards on all sides around the carriage. The floor was a single, unbroken stone surface, and the walls at the edge of the space were made of the same stone.
From the shape, he could imagine that they were inside an enormous cylindrical building. And there was only one building that fit that description anywhere remotely close to where they had been.
In other words—
"—We're inside the Pleiades Watchtower."
They had struggled long and hard on their quest to reach this place. Along the way, Subaru had made it through multiple life-or-death decisions, including some where he had chosen incorrectly, broken through all sorts of traps imbued with the Sage's overflowing maliciousness, and finally— "—Subaru."
Beatrice moved next to him, snapping him out of the deep feelings that had overtaken him. She gripped his hand tightly and looked straight ahead.
Following her gaze, Subaru saw the same thing she was looking at. Or rather, he had been looking at it the whole time, since there was no way he could ignore the strange person who gave off such an intense and vivid aura.
"You're…"
" "
—Subaru's hoarse voice was addressed to the tall woman standing there.
Dark-brown, verging on black, hair tied back in a ponytail. Her arms, legs, stomach, and back all boldly uncovered, barely half dressed. She was only wearing clothes that covered her breasts and bottom and a black cloak hanging from her shoulders.
If Subaru had to describe what he was seeing, it would be a creepy woman wearing a cloak, black hotpants, and a bikini top.
She had long, pale arms and legs, and a bountiful bust that moved alluringly. She was about as tall as him, or maybe a little taller, and there was no question she had longer legs than he did.
She had a well-proportioned, beautiful face with languid eyes.
—Her visage suddenly overlapped with the figure Subaru remembered from just before he passed out in the labyrinth.
"…Are you…the Sage?"
The possibility that floated into his mind immediately passed his lips. He immediately regretted running his mouth carelessly. If she really was the person he was imagining, then the white light that had killed the centaur was her power.
In other words, she was also the person who had killed Subaru twice before—
" "
Silently, she slowly walked over to Subaru.
She was someone who could easily turn him to ash. Not knowing what she intended was terrifying. But Subaru held Beatrice close and faced that pressure head-on.
She had tried to kill Subaru out on the dunes only to later save him down in the labyrinth.
Those actions were wholly contradictory, but at the very least, she had brought him alive into the tower.
"From the fact that you didn't kill me then…is it safe to assume you aren't an enemy?"
" "
"Um, it's a bit concerning when you aren't saying anything at all. It would help if you at least said something…"
" "
The hypothetical Sage didn't respond to anything Subaru was saying as she finally came to a stop right in front of him. Her deep-green eyes looked at Subaru, carefully appraising him, looking him up and down.
Subaru worried whether the result of that evaluation would determine his fate, or even the fate of everyone else, when his concerns were suddenly and unexpectedly broken.
"…Three."
"Eh?"
" "
The woman finally said something as she looked at Subaru.
Hearing her voice for the first time, his impression was that it was a little bit hoarse and husky. A mysterious, unreadable woman's voice, but there was also a trace of cuteness in it.
But while Subaru was struck by that out-of-place reflection, she quietly exhaled.
"…I finally found you."
With that, her expression changed.
Her gaze had been serious and almost mechanical as she seemingly tried to see through everything about Subaru, but her eyes slowly widened, and with a little bit of time, her expression changed to something that could be called a smile.
She was looking at Subaru with a broad grin.
"—Master."
"…Huh?"
"Masterrr! Arghhhhhh! I've waited sooo long!"
Subaru didn't have any time to be stunned, though. As his eyes widened, the woman was overcome by emotion, and she leaped at him, tackling him to the floor. Caught up in it, Beatrice groaned indignantly as she was pinned down, too.
But the woman didn't pay that any heed as she clung to Subaru and pushed her head against his chest with all her might.
Her long ponytail shook as she kept calling out to Subaru.
"Master! Master! It's been sooo long! I was sooo lonely! I thought I was just going to spend the rest of my life sniping everyone who approached this place!"
"W-wait! Wait a second! What?! What are you talking about?!"
"What do you mean what am I talking about?! You're sooo mean! You're the one who ordered me to do this, aren't you? You said to get in the way of anyone who tried to get close to the shrine. As for the how, well, that's my take on things."
"Not that part! Who's your master?! What are you talking about?!"
He was getting a very good feel of her soft skin, but he didn't have the time to appreciate it. Subaru desperately wriggled against her powerful grip, trying to escape.
But she seemed to have her own grievances with whoever she thought he was, and she refused to let him go.
As a result, they were locked in a grapple on the ground with Beatrice between them.
"Just let me go! I can't talk like this…!"
"No way! Not a chance! You're definitely just going to disappear as soon as I take my eyes off you again! You haven't changed at all! But that's also what's sooo sweet about you!"
"The hell you say!"
Whatever trauma she had, the woman wasn't going to let him go. Subaru grabbed her head, trying to peel her off him as he shouted.
"Who even are you?! What is going on?!"
"What are you saying?! I'm Shaula! You know, Pleiades Watchtower's star guardian! Master's cute pupil Shaula!"
"Never heard of you!"
She called herself Shaula, but that was supposed to be the name of the Sage who lived in the tower. The wise, all-knowing Sage who was the person they were journeying to see.
There's no way the Sage we were looking for is this crazy lady. I want to register a formal complaint!
And as they both held their ground, refusing to budge—
"—Oh no! When I woke up, Subaru was gone! We have to find—" Emilia burst from the carriage, her hair a big mess from sleeping.
Anxiety filled her expression when she left the carriage only to see the two of them—three technically with Beatrice—but when she saw their wrestling match, her eyes widened.
Subaru reached out a hand to her, looking for some help.
"…Emilia-tan! Thank goodness you woke up! The truth is, she…"
"Ey!"
"Oww! Why did you kick me?!"
"I don't know, but I feel reeeally upset!"
For some reason, Emilia was in a bad mood, so Subaru was stuck dealing with Shaula—
"P-please, just help Betty already… This isn't a joke…!"
Beatrice's voice was weak and hollow as their hard struggle resounded in the tower.
In the end, Subaru's wrestling match with the (supposed) Sage of the Pleiades Watchtower continued until Julius and the others noticed the racket and came down.
With that, the party reached the place that had not been touched for four hundred years.
The question of whether the Sage's wisdom would be able to save the people who were waiting still remained, though, as the story dived into the sea of sand and a soaring stone tower.
—The options unchosen disappeared, and the answers selected remained as the test began.
INTERLUDE
GORGEOUS TIGER RELOADED
1
—I feel like a lot of things have been left hanging.
" "
Gently kicking the floor, his body leaped gracefully out of the collapsed building.
Freed from the cramped space, he took in a deep breath of clean, fresh air. The sky overhead was almost tauntingly clear and blue, heedless of all the chaos down below.
"Oh, he's back, he's back! You're amazing, buddy!"
He landed with a thud on the cracked road, and the people nearby noticed and cheered.
Outside the building, dozens of people were working hard to clear the rubble. They were all sweating, their faces covered in dirt and dust as they went about their tasks.
"How were things inside?"
"Sorry, nothin' to report. At the very least, it looks like nobody got left behind inside, though."
"I see… Then we'll deal with this building later. Thanks. We couldn't get inside to check things out ourselves with the stairway busted up."
The genial-looking man's expression clouded for a brief moment at Garfiel's response. While he could guess the reason why, his tongue found a response other than consolation.
"I couldn't watch you guys doin' somethin' that dangerous. Tyin' a rope around your waist and tryin' to climb the walls is a nice thought, but save it for after you lose a little weight."
"You can say that again! Wah-ha-ha, you definitely saved me there!" The man laughed and patted Garfiel's shoulder. "Thanks, pal."
With that, he and the others started moving to the next building,
"Yo…"
"I said I couldn't watch, didn't I? Lemme help, too."
The man's eyes widened in surprise when he started walking with them, too, but his lips wavered slightly as he broke into a grin.
"Yeah, sure thing, pal. 'Preciate it. What's your name?"
"—Garfiel."
Garfiel tousled his short blond hair as his green eyes narrowed.
He was looking at the cityscape before him, the signs of the massive struggle still visible beneath the annoyingly clear blue skies.
2
It had been five days since the incident in Pristella had been settled.
It was a terrible battle that could arguably be called an all-out assault by the Witch Cult, and it had left terrible scars on the city.
Not just physical damage, but also all the psychological trauma inflicted by the cultists.
At the very least, it wasn't the sort of damage that could be healed in only five days.
Everyone in the city had been hurt in some way, big or small.
And Garfiel, despite not even being a resident of the town, was no exception.
"Boss probably saw right through what I'm thinkin' about."
Two days earlier, Subaru and the rest had set off on their journey to the east in search of a remedy for the scars that had been left on the city.
The legendary Sage, one of the three great heroes, was said to reside in the Pleiades Watchtower in the Auguria Dunes to the east. They were hoping the Sage might know something or have an idea that could help them resolve their deadlocked situation. That was the goal of their journey.
But it was a dangerous road that lay ahead of them. Garfiel should have been accompanying them on it as protection.
But—
"Keep an eye on Otto and make sure he doesn't try anything too rash. Also, there's no guarantee the cultists won't come back to take another
shot. If that happens, we'll be counting on you."
That was the job Subaru gave Garfiel before leaving.
It makes sense. He is the one of us who values himself the least, and we can't let our guard down against the Witch Cult and their cruelty.
Fortunately, the group going with Subaru was in high spirits—Garfiel had to pay respect to Emilia's endurance. For some reason, she was even more motivated than normal despite everything she had gone through. And he couldn't remember that knight Julius, but he was clearly strong, and Anastasia, who was going to be their guide, was a tough lady.
I don't need to worry about them.
Of course, Garfiel also understood that all of that was just him making excuses for himself.
—Subaru was a guy who struggled against fate with every fiber of his being.
If he thought it was necessary, then he would have dragged Garfiel along even if Garfiel was completely busted up still. And if Subaru had said it was necessary, Garfiel would have followed him, even if he was on death's door.
But—
"Just means I'm no use to him right now— There's no foolin' his eyes."
He's a veteran when it comes to reading a person's state of mind, and he could see right through me.
Garfiel could understand how his cheap bravado and the weakness that lay behind it had been compromised. He knew why he had been left behind.
"…But what do I do then? How do I…?"
He could tell that he was stuck treading water. And he even had an idea as to why he couldn't seem to move on. But he didn't know how to move on— or if he even should.
"…The hell's so marvelous about me…?"
There was a deep confusion in his listless murmur, a confusion at the final words that hero had left him.
Garfiel couldn't bear to look at how pathetic he was, so he tried to escape
it by helping out with the restoration efforts around the city. His wounds from the fighting had not fully healed yet, but he had still done more than tenfold the work of a normal person.
Clearing rubble, checking inside buildings that were in danger of collapsing, he had exerted himself helping people and the restoration efforts.
When he was moving his body, when he was working to help someone else, he could forget his worries, even if only momentarily. He could avoid dwelling on the fact that he was just treading water for a little while; he could avoid anyone around him noticing his weakness.
Garfiel knew that sort of avoidance wasn't something to be praised. But there were people saved by it, and the number of people who looked up to him increased, even it was just for how much he was working.
And Garfiel had not noticed it himself—
"Oh, Garf! Super energetic, aren'tcha?! You're always someplace high!"
But if he was not so aloof and wanting to be left alone with his worries, it wasn't as if he was unloved.
3
"Hmmhmmhmmh-hmmm, hmmhmmhmmh-hmmm."
"…You're awful happy."
Garfiel shrugged as Mimi hummed a cheerful tune while walking next to him.
Taking off from the rebuild work, Garfiel was going out with Mimi to eat lunch.
Honestly, he would have rather kept working to keep his worries at bay, but Mimi couldn't be stopped, and she had effectively forced him to join her.
"Yep, real happy! Hetaro and TB kept bothering Mimi to behave. But the captain lost his arm and things are all busy, so Mimi has to keep things together as lieutenant."
"I told ya not to go gettin' so wound up."
Mimi was swinging her arms happily now, but she had been on the verge of death just a few days ago.
"Gah!"
Garfiel grabbed her by the collar, not wanting to deal with her reopening
her wounds yet again.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha!"
But as Garfiel held her light body up in the air, she broke into a grin when her eyes met his. When he saw her carefree face, he couldn't help but feel like all his troubles were pointless.
"Even with everything that happened to you, you don't ever look troubled, do you?"
"Nope! Mimi is a superstrong woman! Did you fall in love with Mimi now? Did ya?"
"Nope."
"Okay."
Mimi didn't show any sign of being disappointed at his answer as she dexterously swung herself around and climbed up onto his shoulder. It was annoying, but if he set her down, she would start overdoing it again, so he decided to just let her have her way.
She was the bane of healers. Even though it was her own body that was at stake, she absolutely refused to rest and recuperate.
"Your brothers must always be worryin' about you."
"Ah, Hetaro and TB? You know, even though Mimi is feeling this good, they still seem a bit rough? No helpin' it, though, since they took a lot of Mimi's wounds."
Mimi was sitting on Garfiel's shoulder as she crossed her arms and nodded intensely to herself.
She was referring to the fact that her younger brothers had borne her wounds for her through their tripartite blessing. They were triplets, and seemingly, they were able to share their wounds and their exhaustion with each other.
Her brothers had shared the wound that had almost killed Mimi with the power of their blessing, and because of that, Hetaro and TB were still not completely healed up.
"Sounds like your brothers aren't gettin' much appreciation. You should be more grateful to them."
"Grateful, huh? Mimi can understand what you want to say! But Mimi is the elder sister! Hetaro and TB need to be properly scolded."
"Huh?"
"Mimi really appreciates the feeling, but if they died after getting caught
up in Mimi's problems, that would be sad! Everyone's life is special! But
their lives are really, really special! So it's not okay, right?"
Garfiel's eyes widened as Mimi leaned over and looked at his face.
He had half expected one of her usual incomprehensible twists of logic.
"That's a surprisingly logical thought for you."
"Of course! Gorgeous Mimi is smart! A prime catch! Did you fall in love with Mimi now? Did ya?"
"Nope."
"Okay. Too bad."
Garfiel responded indifferently again, but Mimi still smiled, utterly undaunted.
Averting his eyes from her unreserved smile, Garfiel sighed.
"But your brothers probably feel the same way."
"Hmm?"
"If their older sister's dying, they're not gonna just not do anything, right?
They'd do whatever it takes."
"Mmmmm."
He could understand Mimi's logic, too, of course. It was nice knowing that people that you cared about were desperate to help. But it was also scary.
Garfiel couldn't ask someone he loved to die with him. It wasn't something he could ever imagine himself being able to say.
What about Ram?
If it was her, I feel like she could accept dying with someone she loved or someone she loved dying with her.
But if that ever happened, there was only one person Ram would be looking at, so it was also a really annoying thing for him to imagine.
"Mmmm! No, it's still not okay! Mimi is still really mad! It's settled!"
While Garfiel was lost in his own thoughts, Mimi finally reached her own answer, hitting her hand forcefully.
"I'll thank them and then wham! They knew what Mimi would say when they did it. So if they did it anyway, then that's just how it is. Mimi is just too beloved!"
" "
"But if they risk dying with me, then that means they want all of us to live, right? Then Mimi will just be the older sister, and Hetaro and TB can just be themselves!"
She really hits on answers like there's nothing at all to worry about.
It might sound shallow to someone hearing her without knowing her relationship, but Garfiel was struck by how it was a manifestation of absolute faith and love.
"Then…why did you protect me?"
Garfiel struggled to get that question out.
His heart had been strung out badly by the fact that she had covered for him and taken such a life-threatening wound for his sake. Why had she done that? What let her do something like that?
Even though she was so upset at her brothers for risking their lives to protect her, why had she risked her life like that for Garfiel, who she had only known for a few days?
Even though he had not thanked her for what she had done or expressed any gratitude for her saving him.
"Because Mimi fell in love with you, so it couldn't be helped. It's embarrassing."
"—Ngh! What are you talkin' 'bout after only a few days?" Garfiel clenched his teeth at Mimi's embarrassing response.
It had just been a few days. It was far too short of a time for feelings like that to develop and become this strong.
It had been almost ten years that his feelings for Ram had grown—an attachment that lasted more than half his life.
He had spent all that time with only that one girl reflecting in his eyes.
And even after all that time, he had never once thought of giving up on her. That was how much he cared about her, doing and saying everything he could for her.
So he couldn't understand how a girl who was loved by her brothers enough that they would risk their lives to protect her could think to use her life for his sake after just a few days.
"A long time ago, Roshi said it! The requirements for a couple!"
"…Wait, wha—?"
It was an unfamiliar word to Garfiel. The next instant, Mimi leaped gracefully down from his shoulder. Turning around right in front of him, she held all her fingers out toward Garfiel.
"A couple are always together, for years, decades, even centuries, right?" "There aren't any that last centuries…"
"If feelings are forever, then a century is nothing! And they're always together, but they still get in arguments, or fight over food, or stuff like that, right?"
" "
"So Roshi said to pick someone you can enjoy all those arguments and fights with. Also, Roshi said you can tell someone who would be a really good partner because there's an electric shock the moment you see them!"
"A shock the moment you see them…"
"When Mimi saw you, she got that feeling and could tell we would be good like that! So a few days or a few hundred years is just a rounding error! Just an advance on what's to come! Like Mimi learned from the lady! The vig's ten percent!"
Mimi puffed out her chest with a smile as Garfiel heaved a sigh.
He was dumbfounded and taken aback. He had no idea what she was talking about. Does she mean an advance on a couple centuries' worth of bond with someone who is going to couple up with you?
"…But if you died, then it doesn't mean anything…"
"Ummm? Is your head okay, Garf?"
Mimi tapped her head as she twisted it in confusion as Garfiel challenged her interpretation.
"If we might die together, then that means we want to live together, right?
And Mimi and Garf are both alive, so why are you going on about that?
Worrying will just make you go bald."
"—Keh."
"Oh? You smiled? Hey, did you smile, Garf?"
Garfiel looked away as Mimi's cute, round eyes peered into his. He touched his mouth, feeling for himself that he had actually cracked a smile.
There was definitely a faint impulse to laugh.
"Mimi gets it. The Lady is always saying she can't help but smile when
Mimi is around. Mimi's a goddess of good fortune!"
Saying that when you clearly don't get it at all—no, she's not the one who doesn't get it, is she? She can't put it into words, but she actually gets the most important thing.
She was clear on something that Garfiel couldn't express in words, on something that he couldn't be satisfied with.
So as much as it pained him, he couldn't help but smile.
"Mm, it's been a while since you smiled, Garf! Did you fall in love with the Mimi who made you smile? Did ya?"
"Nope."
"Okay. But Mimi is in love with you! So don't worry!"
"…Yeah, thanks."
Mimi was standing beside him, seemingly ready to tackle him at any moment. Taking advantage of her perfect positioning, he gently rubbed her head as he looked forward together with her.
What she said wasn't enough to clear up all of the issues bothering Garfiel. There was a chaotic mess still swirling in his heart like always.
He had not come to peace with all of the regrets he had from his time in Pristella.
But it was a light for him. A guide to follow in order to reach the answers he needed to find.
"Ahoy! We've reached food! Garf! Mimi is starving!"
"I told ya before, don't go runnin' around like that! You'll reopen those wounds!"
Garfiel chased after Mimi, ducking under the curtain as she dashed into the restaurant.
They called it a restaurant, but it wasn't running like normal. Pristella didn't have enough people or supplies, so the interim council of ten led by Kiritaka was providing food rations.
The place they had come to was one of the distribution points, and it was filled with people involved with the reconstruction of the city. It was just around lunchtime, and it looked like it would be difficult to find a seat.
But just as they were looking around— "Sir Garfiel, Miss Mimi, if you would like…"
"Oh…"
Someone raised a hand and called out to them from farther inside. Garfiel raised an eyebrow when he saw who it was.
A white-haired, blue-eyed old swordsman was offering to share his fourperson table.
—Wilhelm van Astrea cut an imposing, dignified figure as he sat there.
4
The rations provided were surprisingly generous considering the city's current state.
That went for the food and the clinics, too, but it made Garfiel wonder where the city had the money to spare to cover it all.
"It is not spare capacity; it is surely just carefully choosing where to exert what little they have. If the quality of life drops dramatically, then people's hearts will waver in the face of the monumental task of reconstruction. Sir Kiritaka has thought it through more carefully than I had imagined him capable of."
"That naive guy, huh…?"
Garfiel's fangs flashed at Wilhelm's comment as he started into his food.
Because of the battle with the cultists, Garfiel's opinion of Kiritaka had changed dramatically. He was unmistakably one of the people who had done everything he could to protect the city. He usually looked unreliable, but when push came to shove, he worked twice as hard as anyone. On that point, he had a bit in common with Subaru.
—That thought caused Garfiel's chest to ache a little bit.
"Mmm, delicious, delicious! A tasty meal is bliss! Mimi is moved!"
"Ha-ha, it is wonderful that you are in good spirits. I am sure that is a relief for Sir Garfiel as well."
"Ah, yeah."
Wilhelm's expression softened cheerfully as he watched Mimi's energetic display. Garfiel's green eyes twinkled as he responded to the old swordsman.
The two of them were comrades who had set out to take back Lust's control tower together during the fighting.
On the way there, he had not pried, and they had been split up during the fighting and had not met back up until the battle was over for both of them, but—
"Is there something you wanted to ask me?"
Garfiel was at a loss for words as Wilhelm seemingly read his mind.
Seeing Garfiel's eyes waver, Wilhelm nodded slightly.
"Of course, there are some things I cannot say, but I am in your debt for allowing me to face my wife. If there is something these old bones can answer for you, then I will gladly do so."
"Face my wife." Garfiel had heard him say a similar thing before the battle as well. And if he was still saying that afterward, then that was how it was.
The opponent Wilhelm had fought really was Theresia van Astrea.
In which case, the opponent Garfiel fought really was—
"Was I really fightin' Eight-Arms Kurgan?"
" "
"…I'm aimin' to be the strongest. I need to be the strongest. That's my job. That's my promise with the general. But this ain't it. This ain't the summit I was lookin' for."
Garfiel clenched his fist as Wilhelm's blue eyes narrowed while he listened quietly.
Eight-Arms Kurgan, the war god, the Volakian Empire's strongest warrior. At a dozen points at least during that fight, Garfiel had been prepared to lose, to die. He had thought there was no way he could win.
And yet here he was sitting before Wilhelm. He had won against that war god and survived.
And he was proud of that fact. And the people around him considered it something to be proud of, too.
But that truth and what others thought was something entirely different from what Garfiel could be satisfied with.
"Has winning a hollow victory left an unpleasant aftertaste?" "He was definitely a crazy opponent. But that fight… He was…" Was that legend really someone that Garfiel's hands could reach?
That doubt, that disbelief was stirring in his fists, in his fangs, and in the depths of his heart.
"You are the one who faced him, so what you felt should be the correct answer. However, I can also understand the feeling of dissatisfaction with that answer. So if you do not mind, allow me to express what are merely my own personal thoughts—the two people that we faced both were and were
not the same people they had been before death."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"There is no denying the truth of the matter that their corpses were defiled and turned into puppets by the Witch Cult. But I also believe the words they spoke in their final moments were real."
Hearing that, Kurgan's final message echoed in Garfiel's ears. The war god had left a single word for Garfiel, who had expended every last drop of his energy.
"In his last moment, he did say one word…"
"You should keep that word in your heart— That was the praise that Eight-Arm Kurgan offered up to the warrior who defeated him. It is not for an outsider to hear."
"—Ngh. But are you sure? Was that really him? He was manipulated, and dead to boot, so if…"
Even if that was fake, if everything between them was meaningless, then did that mean that the fight between Garfiel and Kurgan wasn't real, either?
Garfiel's breathing sped up at that unease and fear.
"Garf, don't go there."
"…Ah?"
"The old man looked a little lonely just now. So Mimi thinks that isn't something to push so deep into? Also, your eyes look really bad, too. Leave it alone!"
Mimi started jabbing him in the side. Garfiel furrowed his brow at the feeling of her finger poking him as he finally noticed the expression on Wilhelm's face.
Finally, he realized that he had been unconsciously and rudely prying at Wilhelm's own wound.
"…Sorry, I couldn't see anything goin' on around me."
He apologized. He had been kicking mud all over the sword devil's onenight rendezvous with his wife.
He had been forced to see his dead wife against her will and then ended it with his own sword. And Garfiel had been trampling on their parting words by suggesting it might all be a lie.
I'd have no right to complain if he cut me down right here and now for that.
But Wilhelm just shook his head.
"You needn't trouble yourself. At your age, it is only natural that you would be impatient to find your answer. Indeed, that you could bring yourself to apologize proves you are far more adult than I was at your age."
"…It's hard to believe you were ever like that."
"Not at all. I was a fool. Then…and perhaps even now."
Wilhelm looked down, as if in thought, and Garfiel felt a sting of awkward embarrassment.
Wilhelm was famed as the sword devil and the stories about him were legion, but it was hard to imagine with his genteel manner now. If anything, his words sounded like the merciful consolation of a kindly older man.
I've got a lotta things I've screwed up since coming to Pristella that I needa think about…
But either way—
"Sparing the roundabout phrasing, the two people we fought regained themselves only in the very moment of their death. Before that moment, the skill of her sword was false… Were it not, if I had truly fought my wife in her prime, there would be no way that I at my age would have returned alive.
And I can say the same for Kurgan."
"If we fought them in their prime, we wouldn't have won?"
"Neither you nor I. I would be a corpse, and you would be naught but hunks of flesh scattered about. That is the truth."
"Y-you say that, but I…"
"—Don't get cocky, kid."
—The next instant, there was a massive swell, and Garfiel reflexively leaped backward.
" "
Garfiel had launched himself toward the door and was crouched on all fours breathing wildly. As everyone around them looked stunned at his sudden, strange action, Mimi was calmly still eating, cleaning the fish's meat off the bone.
"Th-that was…"
"You give off the feeling of great potential, Sir Garfiel. But you are as yet untempered, and that talent is still being forged. I am already in the realm of the ancient past, but…I know the real deal. And that just now was but one small fragment of it."
" "
"The summit you are reaching for is not weak enough that you can reach it as you are now."
Saying that, Wilhelm wiped his mouth and stood up, indicating that he had said what needed to be said. In addition, his gaze turned not to Garfiel, but to Mimi.
"Being able to recognize in an instant the lack of malice behind this great an aura. Splendid."
"Mmm? I mean, it's not like you have any reason to do anything bad to us, right?"
"You have quite the discerning eye. With you by his side, there is no need to worry about him taking the wrong path."
Nodding at Mimi's easy answer, Wilhelm turned to the exit. Naturally, he passed by Garfiel at the doorway in doing so. And as he passed:
"It is a good thing to have someone who cares about you. A woman like that will surely be a boon in your life."
"—Ngh! Her?! I already have another woman I'm in love with."
"Be that as it may, do not allow yourself to lose that blessing— May you not end up like a certain withered old devil."
With those last words, Wilhelm walked outside.
Garfiel watched his back silently and then gnashed his teeth in annoyance. Going roughly back to his seat, he quickly scarfed down all the food that was left.
"Ah, that's bad manners, Garf!"
"I don't wanna hear that from the girl who was stealin' from my plate.
Argh, damn it! I'm more pissed now than before I talked to him."
After cleaning up the empty dishes, Garfiel violently ran his hand through his hair.
Instead of his confusion clearing up, it felt like he had a whole new thing to worry about. Mimi and Wilhelm. The two of them had both solved the problem troubling Garfiel before him, and their answers weighed heavily on him.
He was one step away from being able to come to terms with his strength and with what he should be doing, but he couldn't seem to get the last bit of the way there, and it was bothering him.
"All right, let's go, Garf!"
"…You sure are cheerful. So where are we going?"
As they stepped outside, Mimi smiled as she held her hands up to the blue sky. Garfiel lined up beside her, grimacing as she cocked her head.
"Hrmmm, isn't it obvious? To your brother and sister and mom's place!"
Mimi had started walking lightheartedly. He began to follow her, but his legs stopped. His pupils shrank, and he flashed his fangs. Keeping his calm, he turned around.
"What'd you say?"
"We're going to your family's place! That's the most important thing for you right now!"
Mimi puffed out her chest at that entirely unfounded statement, and her tail was standing up straight.
She pointed straight at Garfiel, who was speechless.
"It's best to properly talk with your family! That's what Roshi taught me!"
5
"Ah! Gorgeous Tiger!"
"Whoa…be careful!"
When he saw Garfiel had come to visit, the boy's face lit up and clung happily to Garfiel. Quickly catching him, he breathed a sigh of relief and concern.
"Watch those feet when you run. Don't be the idiot who trips over his feet and hurts himself."
"Oh, does it hurt to fall down? When Mimi was small, she was always splatting on the ground! Whenever it happened, Hetaro would wince. But it didn't hurt Mimi that much. It's a mystery!"
"That ain't a mystery, it's just your brother coddlin' you too much."
And as a result, he had a big sister who still didn't pay enough attention to her footing even after growing up.
But setting aside Mimi's story…
"Have things calmed down a bit here?"
"Mm-hmm. It's okay. Mom and Big Sis are okay, too."
Setting the boy—probably his younger brother—down on the ground, Garfiel looked up at the home in front of him.
Galek Thompson, the boy's father and the head of the Thompson household, had not returned home. It would have been better if it was just that he was so busy with his work that he didn't have time to come home.
But unfortunately, the reality was something else entirely. Galek had been transformed into a black dragon. Garfiel had confirmed that fact himself. Unlike the people who had been transformed into flies, it had been possible to communicate with Galek, so there was no mistaking it.
But Garfiel was reluctant to accept it on face value as something fortunate.
"Hey, Gorgeous Tiger, Dad will come back home, won't he?"
" "
Garfiel couldn't do anything but pat his uneasy brother's head.
He could have tried to comfort him with empty words. But he couldn't bring himself to put any emotion behind something like that. Children were ignorant, not stupid. He would be able to see through Garfiel's clumsy lie soon enough.
So Garfiel didn't want to hurt him, hurt his own younger brother, with false hope.
"Fred? Don't keep guests standing around outside… Ah."
"…Hey…"
As they were talking, a girl poked her head out from inside the house— probably his younger sister.
Seeing Garfiel, her expression brightened, and then it shifted to an awkward, almost embarrassed look. The expressiveness of her face was adorable, but the complicated emotions on her face were painful for Garfiel to see.
"D-did you go out of your way to come here again? You must have a lot of free time on your hands."
"Yeah, I got the urge to see you guys, but if you're not in a visitin' mood, then I can leave… Ow!"
"Garf, look people in the eye when you speak to them!"
Garfiel's lips twisted when Mimi pinched his waist from behind. But he quickly realized what she meant. Because of how pained the girl, his sister, looked.
"Supporting your mom, takin' care of your little brother… It must be rough bein' the big sister."
"—! Y-yes. So, um, if you want, I can talk with you a little bit. Adding one more person won't change much at this point."
"Not one, two."
"Adding two more people won't change much at this point, either!"
The girl's face reddened as she shouted, and Mimi and the little boy's eyes were filled with anticipation as they looked at Garfiel. Garfiel couldn't bring himself to be cold enough to betray that youthful hope.
"Then I guess I'll come in. If it's a trouble for Mom…for your mom, then I'll leave right away."
"That…"
"That would never happen, knowing our mom."
The brother and sister looked at each other and flashed smiles brimming with confidence.
And they were right.
6
"I'm sorry, you came all the way to see us, and I don't even have any
refreshments ready. I'll get some tea going right now."
Saying that, Liara Thompson showed Garfiel and Mimi to a sofa and then started boiling some water and getting cups ready.
Watching her from behind as she made tea, Garfiel scratched his head.
"Ah, sorry for droppin' by unannounced. I don't want to be a bother…"
"It's not a bother at all. You don't need to look so anxious. Even just making time to see us is quite reassuring."
" "
When Liara smiled and continued her preparations, Garfiel was at a loss for words.
She had so easily read the worries he was trying to keep hidden, and he couldn't tell if it was just that he was that easy to read or because of something more special—like a connection between mother and son.
Either way, Mom isn't trying to trick me. She was never that sort of spiteful. And even if she's lost her memories, it doesn't feel like that part has changed at all.
Which is all the more reason why he ended up questioning himself. What did he even come there to do?
"Hmm? Is it a bit more spacious here than before? It's so neatly cleaned up."
While Garfiel was questioning himself, Mimi, who had dragged him out there, was entirely laid-back and at ease. Looking around the interior, Garfiel cocked his head at Mimi's murmur.
"Now that you mention it, it's tidier than b'fore… No, there's less stuff?"
"I'm impressed you noticed. It doesn't even look that different from normal to me…"
Setting the tea in front of Garfiel and Mimi, Liara answered them calmly. But hearing that, the little girl fired back vehemently.
"That's not true at all. It feels really strange to me. You're the weird one,
Mom!"
"You're always saying that, Big Sis."
"What did you say?!"
Hearing her little brother's pointed comment, the older sister started chasing after him in a fury.
Watching the two of them, he pressed Liara about what they were talking about.
"What are those two shrimps talking about?"
"It's nothing too special. It's just that everyone in town needs to support each other… I've just been giving away some things, sharing a bit of what we had stored up, that sort of thing."
"…And because of that, you lost a bunch of different things?"
"There were too many things in here to begin with. I'm a bit of a hoarder by nature, so honestly it has been helpful to clear things out."
Liara stuck out her tongue playfully, but it wasn't actually anything so simple as that.
It was true the city was in a state where everyone needed to help each other. But the Thompson house wasn't exactly in a great place, either, with their main breadwinner missing. If anything, they should have been one of those receiving help.
"It's not like you guys have that much to spare. I mean…"
"My husband…Galek will come back soon. I have faith. You don't need to worry about us like that. We will be okay."
Liara slowly shook her head when Garfiel tried to press her on it.
"I've thought this for a long time. The more I worried, the more happiness slipped through my fingers. Well, I say a long time, but it's only been maybe ten years. I can't remember before that… Ah, sorry, did I surprise you?"
"…I bet that always works, but sorry, I already heard from your husband."
"Ah, is that so? …Mrgh, he would do that."
Liara smiled, just a little bit disappointed.
It was apparently a staple for her to surprise people when she revealed that she had lost her memory, and if he had heard that without knowing already, it would definitely have been a catastrophe for him.
Of course it wasn't that he didn't feel any pain hearing it now. But he could bear it. And also, even though she had lost her memories, he was stunned at how unchanged his mom's thinking was.
—"Things will be better tomorrow" had been the driving force behind almost everything his mom did.
"I was empty and had nothing, but Galek supported me these past ten years. He even gave me a cute little daughter and son… If after all that, I couldn't at least have faith in him, then what would I do?"
" "
"If it didn't bother him, he could have just come home like that."
"No, I think that would be a bit much for everyone else…"
"Really? Honestly, he was pretty handsome like that in his own way if you ask me…"
Even after he was transformed, Liara still fully supported her husband. But the fact that she had accepted him all the same even though he had been changed that much had probably been a saving grace for Galek, who had been on the verge of losing himself.
—Like all the other victims of Lust's terrors, Galek had accepted being frozen by Emilia in a state of suspended animation while waiting for a more permanent solution to come to light.
It was a decision that he had made together with Liara—it wasn't something that others could intrude on.
"…You're strong."
"Yes, of course. I'm a mother of two, after all." Liara puffed out her chest in pride.
Though it's not two, it's four, but yeah, she is strong. Crazy strong. A different sort of strength than what drives a fist. The sort of strength that Subaru and Otto have.
And that was surely a strength that Garfiel couldn't gain through training.
"Right, while I remember, there was actually something I wanted to ask you, Mr. Gorgeous Tiger."
As Garfiel's eyes lost focus, Liara suddenly hit her palm.
Seeing her casual attitude, Garfiel nodded.
"Yeah? Ask whatever you want. Though I doubt I know much to say…"
"No, it's nothing too complicated. It's just about you."
"About me?"
"Yes— Why have you gone so far out of your way to take care of us? I couldn't help but wonder a little bit."
" "
He was rocked by a sudden, unexpected blow just when he had let his guard down.
Liara right in front of him, Mimi beside him, and the siblings a little bit to the side were all waiting for his response. And as they watched him, Garfiel's mind raced.
—Why did I come here?
—Had he wanted to tell Liara about the past she had forgotten?
—Had he wanted to at least tell his two younger siblings that he was their brother?
—Or had he been planning to just leave quietly after sharing his condolences for Galek?
His resolve had been weak to begin with, and even that frayed as Garfiel's fangs trembled weakly.
"I—I just can't look away for some reason…since you're kinda…not all there."
"Well, that is quite harsh. There's some truth to it, though, so I can't really say much."
"Not all there? As in what? Oh, hair? Mimi has that issue a little bit in fire season! But it's fine by ice season! The more you know!"
Liara and Mimi each responded in their own ways to his faltering, clumsy response.
Partway through, a bald-faced sense of relief filled Garfiel's heart. Knowing their two personalities, they wouldn't push any deeper. He could escape the situation.
Right, I need to take more time, more time to think this problem through
—
"—Ah."
"Are you okay, Mr. Gorgeous Tiger?"
To his shock, when he exhaled, Liara had put her hand gently on his head.
Leaning forward, she was caressing his head. Her hand was gentle and kind, filled with parental love, as if he were her beloved child.
Why would she…?
"Why is it? Just now, you looked almost like a child who was about to cry to me."
Answering the question in his eyes, Liara looked almost surprised at her own reaction, but her lips softened as she answered.
The Liara who couldn't possibly remember and the memories that Garfiel had almost forgotten began to fuse together.
Liara's—Lisha Tinzel's—hand had soothed him like that before in the past.
The corporeal memories of that time were constricting Garfiel's heart in the Thompson's living room.
And before he even had the chance to try to resist, his feelings burst out.
"…Mom…"
" "
"Mom…Mom, Mom…!"
As he let her fingers run over his head, he called Liara Mom.
His eyes teared up, his voice trembled, and his small body shrank down farther as he weakly gasped for air.
He couldn't endure every weakness. It was just natural.
No matter how strong someone acted, no matter how much they fought it, when faced with their mother, everyone was still a child.
No matter how tough they tried to act in front of their mom, it wasn't anything more than a child's stubbornness.
"I…I… Mom…"
There were mountains of things he wanted to say. As many things as there were stars in the sky.
The number of feelings that Garfiel had given up on, thinking that he couldn't convey them, were still gleaming radiantly inside him, exploding in rapture at the long-awaited opportunity.
They wanted to be shouted out from within the safety, the comfort of his mother's embrace.
"…Garfiel…"
Garfiel was in tears, averting his eyes, struggling to speak. Beside him, Mimi suddenly said his name. But he didn't know who it was directed at.
But he felt the presence in front of him inhale when Mimi said it, and he felt the fingers touching his head pull back—
"—Garfiel, come here."
Looking up, he saw Liara in front of him, spreading her arms, smiling.
When he saw that, when he heard her say his name, his head stopped. But even though his brain froze, his body, his soul understood what he needed to do.
"M-Mom… Mom…!"
Sobbing like the child he still was, Garfiel leaped into Liara's, into Lisha's arms, burying his head in her chest, clinging to her.
Her gentle, kind hands caressed Garfiel's head as he cried.
"There we go… You're a good boy, Garf. You were always doing your best."
"—Yeah! I always went all out, always did my best! But I made so many mistakes, but—but even then, everyone…!"
They were not complete thoughts. Even as he shared his incoherent story, Garfiel clung to Lisha.
Garfiel's fifteen years poured out of him.
Losing his mother, separated from his sister, his stubborn refusal to lose any more family, the ten years that had been shattered by Subaru and the rest —all the times that Garfiel had broken and grieved.
The love that he had lost, becoming frantic to never lose it again, everything he had trampled underfoot along the way.
And all of that was—
"…M-Mom…"
"It's okay, Garf. Mom is here with you."
Her kind words, her affection, the mother's love that he had never been able to get no matter how much he wanted it, all of it consoled Garfiel.
He knew that he was loved by his family. He knew that his sister and his grandmother loved him. And he knew in a removed sort of way that his mother had loved him. But this was the first time he really experienced a mother's love and the warmth that accompanied it.
He was sobbing. He didn't yet know the name of the emotion that was making him do that.
He didn't yet know the name of the feeling that everyone experienced as a child.
—But this burning-hot feeling is enough of an answer.
7
"Oh, did you stop crying, Garf? Is that enough? Hah, you're a crybaby, aren't you?!"
Garfiel looked embarrassed when Mimi opened the door and came back, pointing at him and grinning.
She was always so blunt and straightforward like that, but she had seemingly taken the two kids outside to leave Garfiel alone with Liara for a while. He couldn't snipe at her after she showed that much consideration for him.
"Are you okay, Gorgeous Tiger?"
"For a boy, you sure were sobbing a lot. I can't believe it. You're as bad as Fred."
The brother and sister who came back with Mimi both had their own ways of showing their concern for Garfiel.
He had been crying loud enough for it to resound around the house. His younger brother was worried about him, and his younger sister was feigning normality for his sake; they were both siblings who were wasted on him.
"…Sorry for makin' you worry."
"Hmm? What for? More importantly, Mimi is curious whether you were really satisfied. Also, a bit curious whether there would be something sweet for a snack!"
"Ah, so that's all. Sheesh."
When she said it like that, looking like she had not been thinking about anything, it made the strength leave Garfiel's shoulders. But he was grateful for her, and he patted her head gently.
"So how was Garf?"
"You should ask him, I think, Ms. Gorgeous Mimi. But he's probably fine now…back to the same Mr. Gorgeous Tiger who you love."
"Well, maybe? Garf gets things done when he needs to, after all."
Garfiel couldn't bear to listen to their sympathetic conversation, so he didn't join in. Instead, he rested his hands on his siblings' heads and put all his spirit into clearing his mind of all distractions.
In doing that, he felt an even deeper love for the two of them, who were so comfortably interacting with him.
Because the part of him that had not come to terms with it, had not felt a real connection, was now subsumed by the reality of it all.
" "
When he realized it, a new worry started to grow.
"Why did you freeze up? I-it's not because of some strange disease or something, is it?"
His siblings looked worried when Garfiel froze as that newfound unease grew explosively into its full form. Even as he heard his sister's question, he was desperately racking his brain.
The cause of it was simple: He didn't know whether the two of them would acknowledge him as an older brother.
He could tell them at any point now. But the possibility of doing that and the actual act of doing it were two entirely different things.
"Are you okay, Garf? Did something happen?"
"I—I'm fine, obviously. Borf."
"That's the first time Mimi's ever heard you bark!"
He couldn't regain the composure to snap back at Mimi when she pointed out his unending worries.
Garfiel's concerns swirled in his head as the people around him worried about him—
"Again? Weren't you going to stop worrying about stuff all by yourself like that, Garfiel?"
"Ah, Mom…"
Looking disapprovingly at Garfiel as his eyes spun, Liara gently chided him. Seeing that, he reflexively called her Mom, and hearing that, his younger siblings looked shocked.
"Eh, why did you call her Mom, Gorgeous Tiger?"
"N-no! She's not your mom, she's our mom…"
"It's okay, you two."
Liara gently hugged both the stunned brother and the sister who snapped at Garfiel.
The two reluctantly fell silent at her soft restraint, and explaining things to them, she looked softly at Garfiel.
"Garfiel has apparently been separated from his mother. And it seems like
I look similar to his mother. He was lonely, and that must be why he was crying."
"—Huh?"
"You look like his mom?"
"Wh-what's with that…? How embarrassing."
Liara's three children all had different reactions to her explanation.
Garfiel was dumbfounded as Liara confidently stated a completely wrong explanation.
In other words—
"It sounds like you didn't say nearly enough, Garf." Bluntly, Mimi was right.
Even though he had been crying that pathetically and that shamefully, Liara had not realized the crux of the situation.
"I guess…that's kind of expected, isn't it…? Gah-ha, what is that?" Suddenly, the strength drained from his fangs and from his body.
Was that feeling relief or disappointment?
—Garfiel realized himself that it was probably about half and half.
8
Feeling a bit of disappointment on multiple levels, and with it debatable whether he had even actually gotten anything done, it was still time to go. Judging that, Garfiel and Mimi left the Thompson house.
"I'm sorry again for not being able to provide anything."
"It's fine! Also, sorry, I guess, for Garf crying like a baby!"
"Who asked you?! Don't go bringin' that back up."
Lifting Mimi by the collar as Liara saw them off, Garfiel sighed and looked at Liara and his two siblings hugging onto her.
"You two don't need to worry so much. I ain't gonna steal your mom away from you."
"I think so, too, but…"
"Hmph! Even if our father isn't here, I won't hand over our easy target of a mother!"
"I can't say I disagree, but…"
Garfiel let out a wry chuckle as the two of them stiffened their guard.
As a result of Liara's weird explanation, the two of them seemingly had misunderstood that he was there to steal away their mom— He had no intention of that, naturally, but them thinking that was a fortunate thing for him.
"So that's how it is, huh… Fine, I get it! The bad guy's leavin' now."
"Come again anytime. I'll lend a shoulder if you ever want to cry again."
"I'll be workin' hard to make sure that doesn't happen again."
Feeling a bit like he had been poked again in a sore spot, he turned his back on them. Still carrying Mimi, he turned his back on the family that he still had not told was his family.
As he started to leave, Liara clapped her hands.
"Come on now, both of you, say a proper good-bye."
"Bye-bye, Gorgeous Tiger. See you next time."
"Mrgh."
His brother obeyed, but his sister pouted and refused.
Liara looked troubled by her adamant refusal.
"You're the older sister, right? Set a good example for your brother. Rafi!
Rafiel!"
" "
Looking irritated, Liara called her by name.
When he heard that name, Garfiel felt like he had been struck by lightning.
"Ra…fiel…?"
"Yes, Rafiel… Oh, did I never introduce them properly? That's her name.
My two children, Rafiel and Fred." Rafiel and Fred.
He had heard the younger brother's name plenty of times already. The reason he had not dwelled on it was probably because he was scared to notice.
Rafiel and Garfiel. Fred and Frederica.
Liara's two children and Lisha's two children. The similarity of their names and the meaning behind it.
"You probably don't think it sounds much like a girl's name, do you? I can tell that much myself."
Coming to the wrong conclusion as to why Garfiel fell silent, his sister's, Rafiel's, cheeks puffed out. Hearing that, he shook his head. "No, I think it's a good name— Really, I do."
"—Ngh."
"Isn't it?!"
Rafiel's cheeks reddened at his heartfelt response as Liara broke into a smile.
"I named both of them. For some reason it just felt like 'this is a good name'…and…"
"You named them?"
"Yes. When I was trying to think of cute names for them, those just naturally came to me."
—There was no greater proof of love.
Even without her memories, without knowing anything from her forgotten life, his mother had not lost her kindness or generosity, and she had provided the love for the children she had forgotten to the new children she brought into this world.
" "
Garfiel had every right to be angry, to be mad. He had the freedom to pick that.
But those feelings were not what he felt in that moment.
His mother's, Lisha Tinzel's, love had been proven.
And the love of his younger brother and sister's mother, Liara Thompson, had also been proven.
—So that was enough. "Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" He broke into a laugh.
The last reservation that had remained in his heart throughout it all finally disappeared.
The feeling of his own helplessness at not being able to say what he should have said, not sharing his connection with them, all of that disappeared.
This is fine for now.
Because that's already proof enough that we are connected.
"See you, Rafiel, Fred. I'll come by again sometime."
"—! Yeah, bye-bye!"
"N-next time, make sure you don't cry!"
Tousling both of their heads roughly, this time there was a proper affection in his palm. And finally, he waved to his mom.
"Thanks, Mom. I'll stop in again."
—He wanted to come again, even after he left Pristella and went back to Roswaal Manor. And when that time came, he would surely bring his older sister and grandmother with him.
So until then, this is fine— Next time would be with a more positive feeling.
Because he would be able to talk about his family with all of his family.
"Until then, take care!"
Garfiel clenched his fist and was able to at least say that much resolutely.
9
"Mom, it's nice Gorgeous Tiger is feeling better."
"Mm-hmm. It's…really nice."
"…Mom, you seem kind of sad? Did you really like him that much?"
"I don't know. I don't think it's because I don't want him to leave… Maybe because it's a little sad watching him leave, but it's also a good thing."
"When will Dad be able to come back?"
"I don't know. But I'm sure he will come back to us."
"…Why are you crying, Mom?"
"—Maybe because I found something I'd lost."
"I'm sorry, but thank you— I love you, Garf."
10
Still carrying Mimi in one hand, he carried her into a room in the clinic.
There were several beds lining the room, and on the one in the back, next to the window, Otto was recovering.
"Hey, bro."
"Oh, Garfiel. Can you spare time from helping around outside?"
Otto was sitting up on the bed, reading a book, when he noticed Garfiel. Garfiel nodded as he looked out the window.
"Yeah, a short break for now. Since there's no telling whether you might pull something reckless while I'm not around."
"I'm not so rash as that… Did something good happen?"
Perhaps sensing some slight difference in Garfiel's expression, Otto probed insightfully.
Garfiel thought for a moment.
"Something good…huh? When you put it like that, I don't really have an easy answer, but…"
"But it was a happy thing, right?"
Still hanging from his hand, Mimi's round eyes looked up at Garfiel as he struggled to put it into words. She broke into a happy smile.
"Your face looks a lot better now! That's proof something happy or something like that happened! That's enough, isn't it? That's what Mimi thought when she tried it! And it worked!"
Easygoing as ever, Mimi grinned happily.
Her loud voice drew the gaze of several people in the room, but no one paid it any mind.
It was just natural. Just having someone there who was smiling so happily, so pleasantly, from the bottom of her heart was enough to save someone.
"Sheesh."
"Oh, you smiled, too. Did you fall in love with Mimi now? Did ya?"
"Nope."
"Aww."
"No…but, you know…"
The same exchange they had had dozens of times already. But Garf added one extra line to the end of it.
Hearing that, Mimi's eyes widened, and Otto watched their adorable exchange in silence.
My mom, my little sister and brother, Subaru, and everyone else who isn't here…
"Thank you."
It feels like I've managed to move on just a little bit.
Garf grinned, flashing his fangs.