Chapter 51 - The Eve - 2

In the middle of her meal, Renée sensed Bera approaching from a distance and sat up straight.

"Bera?"

"Yes, it is Bera."

"How was the patrol?"

"There were Noir near the entrance, so I dealt with them before returning."

That was not what she had meant. Her lips kept parting. There was something she wanted to ask, but she could not bring herself to say it.

'Did you two exchange names?'

Wouldn't that question be far too out of the blue right now?

If she asked whether they had grown closer by calling each other by name, whether their feelings had changed as they faced approaching enemies, her words might put the idea into Bera's head and make him try to grow closer to Friede.

That must not happen.

Renée swallowed nervously, then spoke.

"I see. Thank you for your hard work."

"It is my duty. Has everything been all right with you, Saintess?"

"Yes, well, I've just..."

She had treated the elves as usual, then eaten the food Mari made for her.

As Renée's thoughts continued, Friede, who had approached without her noticing, spoke.

"Hm? Were you eating?"

"Oh, yes."

"Oh, Mari, could I trouble you for some as well?"

"Of course."

Renée felt Friede settle beside her, and her tension deepened.

"Ah, escort. Well done today. You were quite impressive."

Renée jolted at Friede's words.

'I-impressive...'

Had something happened between them? Just what hardships and trials had they faced, and what feelings had blossomed amid them, to prompt such a remark?

"Nonsense."

"Haha. You really do seem to be shy. You were so talkative when it was just the two of us."

"Shut—"

At those words, Renée looked ready to cry. Her restless anxiety showed itself in the constant twitching of her fingertips. The conversation going on without her made her feel increasingly uneasy.

She had to put an end to this conversation somehow.

Renée held out her soup to Bera and said,

"Oh! You should eat too, Bera! You must have gone hungry all day!"

"... I am fine."

Renée felt her heart plummet. There had been hesitation in Bera's voice.

'I-I knew it!'

Something had definitely happened.

In truth, Bera refused purely because of the soup's taste. But Renée, unaware of that, concluded that he was so preoccupied with Friede that he did not want the soup she offered.

"All right..."

Dejection joined the tearful look on Renée's face. Bera looked flustered at the sudden darkening of her expression.

Watching the scene while eating soup, Friede gave a little chuckle.

"You two certainly are close."

Renée flinched at Friede's words.

'... Marking territory?'

It was possible. Perhaps the sly Friede, who had designs on Bera, was jealous of her relationship with him.

... Or so Renée thought.

At this rate, she was in danger of creating another mortifying memory. One more little provocation might truly send her careening out of control...

Fortunately, Friede's next words abruptly cooled her overheated mind.

"When I look at you two... I am reminded of a married couple who visited the Great Forest some three hundred years ago, I believe."

... No, they heated it up in a different way.

At the words "married couple," Renée spluttered and stiffened awkwardly. Her face grew so red and hot that one could have grilled meat on it.

"I-i-is that so...!"

"Mm, they were such a devoted couple."

A married couple.

What a sweet ring those words had.

Renée's ever-energetic imagination began painting a meticulous picture on the canvas of her mind from that single phrase.

The setting was Remeo, her hometown. A loving couple lived in a cottage atop a low hill, with one son and one daughter.

As the day drew to a close, she set the food she had lovingly prepared on the table. Bera and the children ate it, smiling happily.

"It's delicious, dear."

The scene brimmed with sweetness. As the corners of Renée's mouth kept creeping upward, Friede continued.

"It was quite awkward. When the time came to leave, the wife proposed to me."

Renée's smile vanished instantly at Friede's words.

"... What?"

"She said she was sick and tired of a man like him, and asked me to spend the rest of her life with her."

Renée's lips parted, but she could find nothing to say. After working her lips for some time in mounting bewilderment, she finally managed a question.

"... So what happened?"

"What else? I agreed. There was no particular reason to refuse, was there? A human lifetime is only a hundred years at most... And she was already getting on in years, so she passed away before even thirty had gone by."

Renée pressed her lips tightly together. She had no idea what one ought to say in a situation like this.

Even so, her body was inching toward Bera. The thought that Friede might seduce him just to pass the time made her all the more tense.

* * *

It had been about three days since Bera began taking a full part in the patrols.

'There are fewer enemies.'

Over those three days, he had noticed the number of Noir invading the Great Forest diminish with each passing day.

His gaze turned to the Noir he had just cut down. They lay crumpled, each missing some part of their body. Bera narrowed his eyes at the sight.

'What are they planning...?'

Unlike when he first fought them, the Noir were no longer charging him aggressively.

... No, even when they charged, there was scarcely any sign that they intended to kill him.

It was as though...

'... They are coming here to die.'

The Noir charged at him as though seeking to kill themselves.

It made no sense at all. Bera stared at the bodies with a stony expression, then turned his gaze toward Friede.

"Hm? What is it?"

Friede met his gaze with the same smile as always.

"There is something suspicious about the way these creatures fight."

"Mm, I have noticed it too. It seems they are preparing something big."

Friede looked beyond the Great Forest. Bera watched Friede staring into the distance, then frowned and sheathed his sword.

"Let's return."

"Mm, very well."

RUSTLE

Fallen leaves crunched underfoot. Bera remained suspicious of Friede's intentions.

* * *

Before a campfire in a dark cave, a figure with long, trailing ash-gray hair stared blankly into the flames.

"Chief."

At the voice, the figure lifted their head slightly, revealing pitch-black eyes between the strands of hair. The one called chief stared vacantly at the speaker, then nodded.

"Yes. The time has come."

The time had come to see the end of a long, long plan.

The chief raised the carving knife in their hand and began drawing it across their chest. For the long-cherished wish that would now be fulfilled, and for the comrades sacrificed along the way, the chief began carving their names into the flesh of their chest, one by one.

CRUNCH

An unpleasant sound escaped as the flesh was mangled.

Stinging pain. Trickling blood.

Smelling the metallic tang, the chief kept moving the knife.

Aria, Menson, Lira, Poro, Hail, Benen, Fresia, Aili...

Line after line was drawn. Names were carved in red upon them.

Grinding their teeth against the pain, the chief inscribed those names all over their body, finally carving their own name at the end.

Gilli.

The name that would achieve the grandest freedom. The name of a liberator that would be recorded forever.

Investing their own name with that weight, Gilli added the final mark and raised their head toward the ceiling.

The briefly exposed ears had been cut away.

* * *

The Noir stopped invading.

For two days now, Bera had scoured every part of the Great Forest's entrance in search of them, but all he found were withered plants and trees.

Returning empty-handed once again, he continued thinking as he walked along a forest path with Renée.

'Suspicious.'

It was blatantly suspicious. Both the Noir's gradually changing behavior since he began patrolling and their reasons for halting the attacks.

He did not know why, but he could clearly see that there was some design behind it.

Bera knew it instinctively.

Danger would strike soon. Staying here any longer meant throwing themselves into danger.

His gaze turned to Renée.

'We must withdraw.'

He had to get her somewhere safe.

There was nothing more they could do here. They could not prevent Aedrin's death, and if the Noir resumed their offensive, their attacks would take a different form than before.

Having reached his conclusion, Bera spoke.

"Saintess."

"Oh, yes?"

"I believe it is about time we withdrew."

Renée stopped abruptly, and Bera stopped with her. She tilted her head at his words, wearing a slightly sheepish smile.

"Oh, have we been walking too long?"

Had she gotten carried away because they finally had some time alone? That thought prompted her question, and Bera offered a fuller explanation.

"I mean withdrawing from the Great Forest. Something is amiss. I suspect something will happen soon, and I believe we should leave now, if only for our safety."

Renée looked bewildered and spoke again.

"But... we still haven't healed Lady Aedrin, have we? And if things get worse, shouldn't we stay and help?"

"There is no prospect of healing Lady Aedrin. Moreover, remaining needlessly to help would only invite danger."

His answer was the same.

Danger. Surely he meant that she would be in danger.

Did he have so little faith in her?

Hurt welled up in Renée. She tightened her grip on his hand, her expression stiffening.

"... If you're saying this because of me, I'll be all right."

Her voice was a little dispirited. There was still work to do. All she had accomplished was treating the wounded. How could it make sense to withdraw now?

At Renée's refusal, Bera bit his lip and continued thinking.

He had to persuade her. With that thought, he decided to disclose the doubts he had been harboring all along.

"Saintess... this is not merely a matter of danger. I have noticed suspicious signs within our own ranks."

"Within our own ranks?"

"Friede. I find him suspicious."

At the sudden mention of Friede, Renée's face twisted into an odd expression.

"What about Friede?"

"There is something I have realized while patrolling with Friede these past few days. Friede does not stop the Noir."

It was the conclusion Bera had reached by piecing together the clues he had gathered.

On the day they first met, Friede had stopped him from searching the Noir corpses and smoothly led him elsewhere. Then there was Friede's oddly indifferent behavior after they entered the Great Forest, and the complete lack of any inclination to advance toward the Noir's base.

Wasn't it suspicious from every angle?

Bera clearly remembered how Friede always looked in a particular direction after he disposed of the Noir.

"Friede certainly knows where the Noir's base is. Yet despite knowing, he takes no action. He may be colluding with them. When the invasion resumes, Friede may join the Noir. If that happens, even I may struggle to protect you, Saintess."

Blinded by his knowledge of the future from his previous life, Bera had been late to realize something.

All he knew was that Friede had been alive. Nothing more.

What if Friede had been colluding with the Noir from the start?

What if Aedrin's essence, not Renée, was the reason he had survived in the previous life?

What if Renée had withdrawn early in that life, without ever managing to heal Aedrin?

Setting aside his memories of his previous life as much as possible and considering only what he could see, those possibilities stood out clearly.

Viewed that way, didn't every part of the sequence fall neatly into place?

Bera waited for Renée's answer, hoping she would understand.

When it finally came, her answer was a question.

"... Is that all?"

"... Pardon?"

"I asked whether those are all your reasons for suspecting him, and for saying we must withdraw immediately."

Bera looked flustered.

"Saintess..."

"Bera."

Her tone was firm, her expression somewhat downcast. What rested on Renée's face was unmistakable sadness.

Bera did not understand. Surely, from a logical standpoint, he was right. Why would Renée not accept it?

Not knowing what to do with the emotions rising within him, he simply lowered his head and answered.

"... Yes."

"I don't think it's right. To judge him that way."

Her answer was a clear rejection.