In a World Without Life c5

The sky was clear, without a cloud in the sky. The perfect weather for a walk.
Celeilia wore the silver woven hooded coat she always wore, and took in hand what would be a small basket for hiking in my world, as she walked out from the castle gate.

“We’re visiting the Castle Town?”

“Got it. The truth is, I was a little curious myself.”

I’d spent the last few days in lodgings of the imperial court magician brigades, and while it may have been of my own accord, I hadn’t a chance to stop by the castle town. I had only gone through it on the first day.

But bidding farewell to it with such scary sentiment would be sad.

I walked beside her, and looked over the town.

Mine and her footsteps, atop the weed-ridden stone pavement was all that was there to break that silence.

Even from outside, I could see the store’s interior was a bit dusty.
Inside, the stone pots that were used in the castle let me tell it was a food store.

“This is the Lahn shop I frequented. They baked loads of lahn every day.”

The word that even the candy couldn’t translate was likely the name of a food.

“Lahn?”

“Oh, that nan-like bread.”

“Yep. It’s not all too common in my country, but I’ve eaten it before”

It appears the nan-like lahn was a staple in her country.
Grown on rice, I wasn’t all too familiar with it, but it had a pleasant taste that could become a habit.

“It was a shop managed by a guy with quite a scary, rugged face, but the taste was quite nice…”
“I… see.”

Her eyes were looking far away.

I wasn’t able to see the same world. For some reason, that made me sad.

“… Let’s go to the next one.”
“Yeah.”

We walked off with the lahn shop to our back.

The only things for my eyes to follow were Celeilia and her shadow.

This world without another living life was arousing a feeling in my heart I could equate to none other.

Eventually, what came into sight, was a white building.
After years of wear, its stone walls had chipped away here and there.

“This is the Nil Magician’s Association I served from when I was eight, to when I was fifteen.”

“Yes. Was it different from where you came from, Mizuki?”
“Where I was, even part time work was for high school… around sixteen at least.”

Honestly, I couldn’t conceal my surprise.

But from my point of view it was a time too far away… of the distant past, so seeing one who truly experienced it, seeing Celeilia before me was surprising.

I couldn’t imagine that small self of mine working at such an age.

“For them to be able to go on without putting the children to work… Mizuki, your world is a good one.”
“… Right. That’s what I want to think.”

The worse parts of my world came up in my mind. But a large number of good things came up alongside them.
At the very least, in the scope of the world I could see, there were plenty of kind people.

“What sort of place was this?”

“That’s must’ve been a tough life.”
“That isn’t the case.”

I tried imagining it a little.

It was like the tragic backstory of a fairy tale protagonist.

“I was on the luckier side. I mean, I had magic talent from the time I was born, after all.”
“Oh really. Come to think of it, what is the difference between the magicians’ association, and the imperial magic brigades?”

From their names, it may be hierarchical, or perhaps the latter operated on a national level, but it was difficult to think of what job to equate it to in my world, so I tried asking.

“Right. The magicians’ association is practical applications, and the imperial magicians are research, perhaps?”
“I see.”

It was different from what I imagined, but a pharmacist and chemist came to mind.

Both were important jobs, to help the lives of others.
As one was managed by the government, I’m sure it had some harsh prerequisites.

“But there’s something I still wonder, even now.”

“Right. There are various sorts of magic, but this country has a rule of one person only being permitted to one type. Break it, and your license is revoked, and you’re driven out the country.”

“When you want to study multiple magics, you generally have to call over someone from a different faction. There can be months on end of nothing but meetings over it. If one person was simply permitted more than one, I’m sure research would have advanced much further.”

One per person might be similar to a business measure.

Perhaps magic was the same, and so magic was one per person?

Perhaps as she’d said before, she wanted someone to judge her for it.

“So what sort of lifestyle did you live here?”
“We produced intermediary paper. Though compared to what you can find in the castle, it’s much lower grade.”

It looks like there’s a ranking to it.
I don’t know the specifics, but it looks like magic’s got a lot going to it.

“But here, my sister… not that we were related by blood, but anyways, there was a really kind girl living here. If she wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have even thought to become an imperial magician.”

She introduced the absent girl with a happy tone. I’m sure that she was as kind a girl as Celeilia said.

“So you really liked her, Celeilia?”
“Yes, she was really nice to me… I’ll never forget.”

Seeing Celeilia’s expression, the face of the teacher who looked after me in elementary school came up in my mind.

He worried for me when I had lost my parents, and looked after me the next year, and the year after that. From a teacher’s perspective, I must have been a pain, but still he was kind.

He could be scary, but he had me on his mind when he got angry. He must have a kind heart.
And I definitely won’t forget that sentiment.

“I’m sorry, Mizuki. For making it so awkward for a while.”

“… Thank you. Next is…”

And so she and I roamed around the castle town without people.

It was vaster than I could have imagined.

Balls that rolled about unadulterated, tableware left on the table, carts parked right in the middle of the roads, merchandise still laid over the merchants’ cloths.

There wasn’t anyone left to know the reason, but I’m sure they were forcefully erased.

But for what purpose did something like this…

But according to Celeilia, it would be impossible to wipe out all life at once.

Just what fruitless event could have happened…

“Mizuki, you must be tired from all that walking, right? Should we stop for lun… fusa?”
“… It looks like the effect is wearing off. What should we do?”

The effects of the mysterious candy were to last a few hours.
Putting one in my mouth in the morning, and having it last to lunch was a longer time than it had lasted before.

There were two drops left.

Because neither I nor she would be able to communicate our thoughts.

“Mizuki.”

After calling my name, she popped one of the two remaining drops in her mouth.

“Celeilia…?”

For some reason, she closed the candy box.
I was sure they didn’t have any meaning unless two humans ate them at once.

“Celeilia, what are…!?”

The moment I thought I was embraced, I felt the overlap of our lips.
And her extended tongue had the candy balanced atop it…

It’s no good. My head was going white, and I couldn’t form a thought.
My face felt really hot. It was as if the blood of my body was gathering in my head.

“I’m sorry…”

Celeilia pulled her hood over her head, and hid her expression.

Not that I’m one to talk.

“The last one is necessary to return you to your world, Mizuki. So we have to economize them…”

“Yes. It’ll be a little short, but it should be fine for up to where we’re going.”

“…”

Uuh… this is awkward.

When we had talking normally only moments before, the words were getting caught in my throat.

“For now, how about lunch?”
“Y-yeah.”

Celeilia produced some food from her basket.

When I accepted it and took a bite, I found the crisp taste of unfamiliar vegetables and minced meat within.

It was tasty. That’s all the memory that remained.

“Well then, Mizuki. Follow me to the last place.”
“Got it.”

We headed away from the castle town, up a road to the top of a hill.

On a wide tower built of piled stone, a large propeller leisurely turned.

Only one. A single flower petal danced around in the air.

A variety I’d never come across in the wisdom mother and father had hammered into me from my youth.

… Yep, this is quite a comfortable place.

“Hmmm! This is my favorite spot.”

After taking a big stretch, Celeilia informed me.

“It really is quite a nice place.”
“I know, right? Even after I grew up, it’s a place I’d go whenever I found some free time.”

With a darkening expression, she pointed her finger towards the castle town.

The person-less town, yet the town where their breath still remained.

“Mizuki, can I ask for two final wishes?”

“Yes. First, instead of Celeilia, could you call me Sherry?”

That was one in my world as well, a pet name or nickname.
Something used with people more close to one another.

“Sure. I got it, Sh-Sherry.”

“Sorry.”

“Ye~ah, my friends all just called me Mizuki, so I never really thought about it.”

Is that so, she said as she looked off over the town once more.

Putting her hand over her eyes, she looked far off into the distance.
I could see it clearly because of her hair’s lack of definition.

“The other one is…”

“Don’t forget this world. Don’t forget… me.”

She took a deep breath before she said that.

The castle town was scattered with all of Sherry’s memories.

So without feeling forced at all, I could say it clearly.

“Alright.”
“Mizuki, thank you…”

When I nodded and answered, her eyes turned a little teary.

“Hey, Sherry. If you’d like, do you think you could come with me to my world?”

“Then…”
“… But it’s impossible.”

She asserted that quite definitely.
Her expression was… sorrowful, a face of hers I didn’t want to see again.

“All that was written on any of the documents only pertained to summoning.”

“Yes, a system of this world to call forth people from other locations in the same world. Summoning and recalling were made in a pair, so their base premise made it so that you could return those summoned ones to their original locations.”

“But otherworldly summoning operates on a fundamentally different principal. Because you try calling out for something you can’t even know exists, the authors only thought of the summoning part of it. As for recall, all I can do by my abilities is to rely on the memories of the target to influence and aim the spell of the caster.”

I don’t really get it, but I do understand it seems to depend on me.
But then why can’t Sherry come along…

“Mizuki, you can remember your world, can’t you? You can remember your precious ones, can’t you?”

“And I can’t.”
“Ah…”

All that had been completely natural to me was out of the realm of her imagination.

Like that, my world… the scent of the air, the scenery, the people, the flora, fauna… she had no way of knowing any of the slight factors my body had grown accustomed to over the years.
No matter how long I talked on about it, even if she could imagine it, there’s no way it would be the same.

“Hey don’t make that sort of face! I can do fine on my own.”

“You’ve given me hope, Mizuki. If I tried to wish for anything more, I’m sure god would be angry with me.”
“…”

That can’t be.
A god that would get angry at something like that…

“Now let’s return to the room, and return you to your original world.”

When she said that with such strong will, I couldn’t say anything in response.

The road back was silent from beginning to end.

This feeling is… one I haven’t felt since I lost me real mother and father.
Unsure of what it was I was so afraid of, unsure of what it was I should do.

“Mizuki… mahrri…”

Once we had returned to the room, Sherry tried to spin out some words, but the effects of the candy had worn off.

I barely had a chance to say the words I had to get across.

But my body didn’t heat up as it had before.
Instead, something akin to nihility was seizing my heart.

“Mizuki, you treasure your precious things, people, world, don’t you?”
“… Yeah”

That wasn’t what I really wanted to say.

Mother… father… Yuuji…
What were they thinking back then when they saved me… I don’t know.

“Mizuki!”
“Y-yes!?”

She suddenly called out my name in a loud voice, so I responded by reflex.

“Is your sentiment towards all you hold dear really something so small!?”
“Eh…”

That’s wrong.

Everyone was so precious to me, so important and irreplaceable.

“Of course not!”

“How?”

“…”

… Oh, I see.

She saved a powerless me.
She’s one of the people who gave me courage.

“Understood!”

“Yes.”
“You definitely can’t turn back, alright?”

I nodded to her words.

As if being sucked into that room, the empty air blurred out, and a little red, blue, green, yellow, white, black, various colors were melting into the open space.
It was a peculiar spectacle, as if I was watching a scene from a movie.

“Now picture your precious people in your mind, and keep on walking.”

On those words, I walked into the room.

But still I walked.

“Mizuki…”

I didn’t look back.
Because one of my precious people told me not to.

“S…ankh… yew…”
“_______”

It was Japanese.
Even when then candy should have been translating, the pronunciations was off…

『Thank you.』

Those words had come clearly through Sherry’s voice.

To return to where everyone was.

Mother, father, Yuuji.

Believe that doing so would be returning the favor to her.

When I was young, I was helped.
They took my somewhere every week, every day to cheer me up.

When I was young, I was taught.
That flowers were a beautiful thing.

When I was young, I was saved.
I learned I wasn’t alone.

On a rainy day, I had noticed it.
That not everything around me was a bad thing.

I walked.
I kept walking.

No matter how painful it is to be, how bitter, how sad…

That is the place I’m to return to.

Warm colors, the scent of flowers, the saccharine smell of sweets.

Capture everyone’s characteristics, their kind hearts.

I walked.
The light gradually approached.

“Everyone…”

The point of light continued to sway as if it would go out at any moment.

Reach out your hand. Reach out.

You have to reach out.

My hand touched something.

A yellow flower petal.

Geranium… a flower that held the meaning of friendship.
And it had two other meanings.

One was 『Affection』.

The other was…

…『Chance Encounters』.

The language of flowers stuck on to yellow germaniums alone.

“I got it…”

The words I wanted to tell Celeilia were only coming to me now.

The rain was falling, and on that day, I had quite a detestable sentiment.

It wasn’t that I was sad.

That I wasn’t alone… that there were people who could reach out their hands to me.

“I have to turn back…!”

I’ll end up leaving Celeilia alone.
Even when I was the only one who could reach out a hand to her.

“Celeilia…”

Space twisted.

『You definitely can’t turn back.』

That’s surely what she said.

I was unable to comprehend what sort of abnormality would arise in the art of magic.

Even so…

I have to return to Sherry.

She said it, didn’t she?

I dug up all the memories in my head.
Of how I descended the mountain by the river. Of how I followed the river to a ghost town. Of how I met her while wandering lost. Of how we traveled together. Of how I saw magic for the first time. Of how we reached the castle. Of how we first exchanged words in the underground treasury. Of how I spoke of my precious ones. Of how I ate her cooking. Of how she led me around the castle town. Of how she told me to call her Sherry under the wind mill.

And of how Sherry and I… kissed.

Remember.

Of the days I spent there, remember it all.
In the crumbling form of space, a single light began to form.

… And I reached out my hand towards it…

 

Chapter end