By the third day, they still hadn't found the ruins.
Eladia carried her little pamphlet, silently reciting the foreign words Kaylar had taught her in her mind. Meanwhile, Kaylar stood on a small earthen mound, rubbing her chin.
Holding a scroll-like object, she compared it to the surrounding woods several times, looking down, then up, and then down again.
“...There should be a charred pine tree here, right?”
“You said the same thing a few days ago,”
Renn said. He was crouching by the stream, unhurriedly sharpening his sword with a whetstone.
“That's different! The one before was an oak! There's a huge difference between an oak and a pine!”
“Mhm.”
“What's with that attitude?!”
Kaylar hopped down from the mound in a huff, her hammer nearly slipping off her back. She hurriedly readjusted it, then plopped herself down on the slope.
“Why on earth would a blacksmith who locked himself in underground ruins until the day he died hide the entrance so deeply? Was he trying to keep out thieves even back then...?”
She buried her face in her hands, her voice muffling behind her fingers toward the end of the sentence.
Esper sat not far away, leaning against a tree trunk. With one eye closed and the other half-open, she stared at the Holy Sword in her hands.
They hadn't run into any real trouble these past few days. Their last serious battle had been back in Hart Town against Zhong.
Since searching northward from there, by the time they reached this grove of low trees, even the ruts of merchant caravans had vanished.
They occasionally spotted a few magical beasts, but none of them actively attacked humans.
As for those that did attack, they simply became extra rations.
Once the beast was skinned and its entrails cleaned, it could be eaten after being roasted over a fire for a bit.
Renn's culinary skills were exceptionally good, and he carried many jars and bottles of seasonings with him.
“Is this also part of your chivalric code?”
“Cooking for oneself is a virtue,” Renn replied.
Spending their days like this was a bit boring, but not bad.
Renn still maintained his daily routine according to the regulations of the Roundtable Knights. He would wake up as soon as the sun rose, then wake everyone else up right on time to dig holes and search for things. His biological clock was as unshakeable as a wound-up clockwork mechanism.
No one had any complaints about this, except for Kaylar.
Esper rested the Holy Sword on her knees and tilted her head to look at Kaylar.
“Hey. Since we can't find it anyway, want to chat?”
“About what?”
“Whatever.”
“Let me think, then.”
Kaylar lifted her face from her hands and glanced at Esper.
“How was your life when you were with the association?”
Kaylar's fingers paused.
She fell silent for a brief moment, turning her face toward the depths of the forest, seemingly recalling something.
“...If I had to say, it was alright. They didn't actually treat me poorly; I never lacked food or drink. The Pope even personally taught me how to read. Just looking at that, it wasn't bad.”
Esper watched Kaylar's profile and noticed that when she mentioned “the Pope,” her expression seemed to pause unnaturally for a brief moment.
“Then why did you run?”
“Because I couldn't get along with them.”
Kaylar picked up a twig from the ground and drew a few randomly overlapping lines in the dirt.
“The association's core philosophy... part of it is acceptable. For example, they say that many Authorities in the world are held by those who don't deserve them. I can understand that. But their subsequent assertions are rather ridiculous.”
“What assertions?”
Kaylar opened her mouth, then closed it. Pursing her lips, she continued to draw lines in the dirt.
“What other assertions could the Abyss Cult have? They believe in the Black Tide.”
Her voice sounded like someone reading a textbook who had accidentally flipped to a page they didn't want to read aloud.
“The Pope said that the Black Tide is the ultimate destination of this world, a 『Divine Calamity』 born from endless civilizations. If the birth of the Black Tide is the final judgment brought about by humanity exiling the gods, then humanity should never resist it under any circumstances. In short, they support the Black Tide destroying the world, after which a new world will be built. That's roughly it.”
After saying this, she tossed the twig aside.
“Basically, they're lunatics. What normal person would believe that? That's why I ran.”
Nearby, Renn stopped sharpening his sword.
Kaylar was lying, but it wasn't entirely a lie.
So Esper didn't expose her.
This usually unreliable girl always carried a warmth in her tone that she wanted to sever herself from, yet couldn't completely cut off.
She didn't agree with their philosophy, but she remembered that person teaching her how to read.
“Then what do you want to do in the future?”
When this question was asked, Kaylar was stunned for a moment. She looked up at Esper and found Esper looking back at her with her brown eyes.
Then, she smiled.
“...Since I've finally made it to another world with great difficulty, I should enjoy it to the fullest, of course.”
“What?”
Now it was Esper's turn to be stunned.
Kaylar seeing her reaction, blinked, then grinned even wider. The hesitant, tongue-tied look she had while drawing circles just now was completely wiped away.
“Yeah. There's no point in hiding it from you anyway. I'm a Transmigrator. Did you figure it out?”
“You're a Transmigrator?”
“Yeah. I was run over and killed by a truck when I was twelve, and when I woke up, I was in this world. What, you don't believe me?”
Kaylar stood up, hands on her hips, striking a very proud pose. Then, probably realizing that this group wouldn't know what a truck was, she waved her hand to indicate that it wasn't the point.
“Let me ask you, have you ever considered that the growth rate of rabbit beastkin is actually different from humans?”
“...What?”
“Mature women. Do you know that rabbit beastkin who are barely six years old already have the bodies of mature women? If I can see one in this lifetime, I'd consider it worth it!”
“I'm not curious.”
“That's fine. Just because you're not curious now doesn't mean you won't be in the future. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it. I definitely have to go see for myself one day.”
Kaylar sat back down and hugged her knees.
“As for work, let me think... If I get the chance in the future, I want to open a blacksmith shop in Avalon.”
She looked up at the canopy overhead. Flecks of dark gold light, about to sink below the horizon, filtered through the gaps in the leaves.
“There's a shop space on the street outside the guild hall that seems to have been empty all this time. I inquired about it once; the monthly rent is about two silver coins. It's not expensive. Plus, it's close to the Adventurer's Guild, so there's a stable customer base.”
“You've thought this through quite thoroughly.”
“This is called having a plan, okay? In our blacksmithing line of work, not having a plan is just asking for death.”
“And then you'll just stay in Avalon like that forever?”
“Yeah. What's wrong with that? Forging iron every day, occasionally taking custom orders from adventurers. The sign will say 'Kaylar's Workshop,' with a red lantern hanging outside, and it'll stay open at night too. Once I make some money, I'll put a few chairs in the backyard so I can sit out there and have a drink when the weather is nice.”
She spoke very seriously, as if she had truly lived through the next dozen years of her life in her mind, skipping the beginning and end.
“Even though it sounds like that 'I'm going back to my hometown to get married after this battle' line, I don't think I'll die that easily.”
She paused again.
“Mm... when that day comes, I'll invite the three of you to my blacksmith shop for a birthday party.”
“...Birthday party?”
When Esper repeated those words, there was a trace of stiffness in her tone.
“Yeah, a birthday party!”
Kaylar's voice suddenly rose an octave.
“My birthday is on October twenty-ninth. I'll be eighteen on that day this year. Anyway, the landlord won't care what I use the shop for, so I'll just hang up a closed sign for the day, lock the front door, set up a table in the backyard, and order the smallest cake from the bakery—”
“Wait, wait, wait. You said you're eighteen?”
“...What about it?”
“...”
Esper swept a critical gaze over her entire body until Kaylar's expression stiffened, then flushed a bright red like molten steel.
“Pfft.”
“She's laughing at me!”
Kaylar turned to look at Renn for help.
Renn was focused on sharpening his sword and didn't speak. He looked as if he hadn't heard a thing, his expression unchanged.
“Renn, you laughed too, didn't you?!”
“No.”
He had heard her.
“You did! You must have laughed in your head!!”
“Mhm.”
“You actually admit it?!”
“Mhm.”
Kaylar choked on her words.
Whatever.
She forced her head back to face Esper, propping her hands on the dirt and leaning forward even further than before.
“Esper, when is your birthday?”
Esper didn't answer immediately.
She looked down at the back of her hand, then at the Holy Sword on her lap, which was glowing with a faint white light.
Such a thing had long been discarded in Abyss City along with her family name.
What had been abandoned wasn't just the past, but everything her sister had once bestowed upon her.
The birthday of Lonia Catori, princess of the Vampire Royal Court, had once existed.
On April first, Eliza would share a cup of her own blood wine with her, and then say with a straight face, “You're the boss today.”
But as for how that day was spent, or what that blood wine tasted like once it entered her mouth...
“...”
She chose not to remember.
She still hadn't forgiven Eliza.
“I don't remember.”
Her tone was very flat.
“Huh? How can you not remember?!”
Kaylar's reaction was even bigger than when she was laughed at earlier. She literally bounced off the ground and grabbed Esper's shoulders, startling her.
“Birthdays are very important! It's a day when other people can feel happy just because you exist!”
Kaylar took a breath after saying this, then lowered her hands and turned her head.
“At least, that's what I think.”
Esper didn't reply.
On a rock not far behind her, Eladia sat hugging her knees, her pale gold eyes, dyed by the holy light, blinking softly.
“...Is it really that important?”
Her voice was very low.
“It is,”
Kaylar said without hesitation.
Eladia didn't say anything more. She simply rested her chin on her knees, her eyes quietly resting on Esper's profile, lost in thought.
“...We'll talk about it later.”
Esper stood up, returned the Holy Sword to her waist, turned, and walked toward the other side of the camp.
“Anyway, since I don't remember what day it is, it doesn't matter what day we celebrate it.”
Then she fell silent.
Taking two steps, her boot snapped a dry twig. She paused, then walked on. Nothing happened.
Renn stood up by the campfire and sheathed his sharpened sword.
“I'll go patrol.”
Leaving behind those words, he turned and walked into the forest.
Kaylar still stood in place, watching the direction he had gone with her chin propped in her hand, her thoughts unknown.
Eladia stood up and followed Renn with quick, small steps.
Feeling footsteps behind him, Renn turned his head.
“Mr. Renn...”
Eladia said softly, clasping her hands to her chest.
“I want to ask you for a favor...”
The two of them chatted for a while out of Esper's earshot. Then she bowed slightly, turned, and trotted off toward the tavern.
Renn followed behind her, saying nothing.
...
By the time Esper noticed Renn was gone, he had already returned.
He nodded to Esper, then cooked a pot of dried meat and bean stew in the forest as a replacement for the tavern's overly unpalatable dinner.
He only used salt for seasoning, but it had plenty of flavor. The beans and meat were cooked perfectly, prompting even Kaylar, who would occasionally complain about Renn being too fierce, to give him a big thumbs-up.
There was an indescribable, charming innocence in the way Eladia ate so seriously, causing Esper to look at her a few more times.
Meanwhile, Kaylar dozed off for a bit after finishing her meal, likely because the daytime search had drained too much of her energy.
After a while, she left the forest first, returned to the tavern room, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Before sleeping, she clutched her hammer across her chest, curled up in a defensive posture, her head tilting left and then right from time to time. Only after a long while did she begin to emit soft snores.
Esper, who returned to the room later, glanced at Kaylar's sleeping posture, her lips twitching slightly, before she sat down in a corner.
The rustle of fabric sounded from the corner of her eye.
“Esper...”
Someone was calling her. The voice was very soft—so soft that if the room hadn't been absolutely quiet, she might have missed it.
Esper tilted her head. Eladia stood at the doorway, and for some reason, she wasn't holding the old pamphlet she had been reading non-stop.
“Come with me for a moment...”
“Where to?”
Eladia didn't answer, only gesturing for her to follow. Then she walked toward a door to the side.
Esper raised an eyebrow, stood up, and followed behind her.
She saw Eladia push open a door. It wasn't Renn's room.
“When did you book another room?”
Eladia still didn't answer, merely walking inside while keeping her eyes on Esper.
Frowning, Esper followed her into the room.
The windows in the room were closed, and the curtains were drawn tightly.
Near the window stood a table, with two chairs facing each other across it.
On the table was a candle. It was the thin, short kind of candle that bakeries put on cakes.
The flame flickered unsteadily, casting a shrinking and expanding halo on the wooden tabletop. It was largely obscured by the holy light radiating from Eladia herself, but it was still visible.
Next to the candle lay a piece of cake.
It was very small, roughly the size of her palm.
The surface was coated with a layer of cream, which wasn't spread very evenly; the cake sponge was visible through the cream in some places.
On top of the cake, a few crooked cream flowers were piped, with a speck of red powder, ground from some unknown ingredient, embedded in the center of each flower.
“Since any day can be Esper's birthday... let's make it today. July eighth.”
Eladia spoke.
Standing by the table, her voice was very soft but extremely solemn, as if she were reading a draft that had been written long ago but never had the chance to be read aloud.
“This way... after today... once another year passes... we can celebrate Esper's birthday again...”
Esper looked down at the steadily burning little candle.
“...There's no need for this, Eladia.”
Eladia took a step forward, standing in front of Esper, and looked up.
Those blue eyes quietly and directly gazed into the eyes of the girl before her.
“Esper... my birthday... is on February fourth...”
“...What?”
“You... will celebrate my birthday... right...?”
Her tone was still very soft. Beneath the trailing end of her words lay something older than fear, and heavier than expectation.
Esper fell silent for a moment.
“...Well, yes, I suppose so.”
Eladia smiled.
It was an incredibly simple expression. Her eyes merely narrowed slightly, and the corners of her mouth curved upward in a natural arc.
Something very thick seemed to flow in her gaze. Esper's first impression was that of an excess of honey, yet it wasn't cloyingly sweet.
Something far heavier than honey—perhaps the expression someone who had nothing would make upon receiving everything.
But regardless, she was indeed smiling.
A smile born of genuine joy.
It didn't have that doll-like emptiness, nor was there any unnaturalness to speak of. Even if it was only an extremely faint smile, it was already a major breakthrough.
Esper even felt a trace of gratification in her heart.
“...Then... there is no need to say anything else...”
She closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting a bit higher.
“Since Esper will celebrate my birthday... then of course I must celebrate Esper's birthday too... right...?”
“Well, actually...”
“Then... please close your eyes... and make a wish...”
Eladia began to gently clap her small hands.
Only when the second clap sounded did Esper realize what she was doing.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”
She probably hadn't sung much before. Not only was she out of tune, but her pitch drifted erratically, sometimes dropping so low that it was nearly drowned out by the sound of her own clapping.
But her pronunciation was very clear, and every word she uttered carried an unprecedented level of sincerity.
“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”
She still dragged out the final notes, but it was no longer the heavy, hesitant trailing of before; rather, it was a lingering tone drawn out to offer blessings to the person in front of her.
Esper closed her eyes.
A wish?
My wish is...
“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”
She continued to sing like this, the song lasting a bit longer than the birthday song Esper remembered.
Perhaps it was because she had never celebrated anyone else's birthday before.
And the reason she stopped singing was that the cheap candle was about to burn out.
As the singing faded, the clapping stopped as well. Eladia returned her hands to her sides, softly letting out a breath she had held for a long time.
“Esper... I didn't sing it wrong just now, did I...?”
Did being out of tune count?
“...You talk too much. Let's eat the cake. Holy Sword. Cut it.”
The Holy Sword, which had consciously dimmed its light since moments ago, suddenly flared with brightness as if startled. It turned its blade toward Esper, seemingly asking: Do you really want me to cut it?
“Yes.”
A few small pearls of light scattered from the Holy Sword's glow, and then it cleanly sliced the cheap cake right down the middle into two portions.
“Esper... what did you wish for...?”
“If I say it out loud, it won't come true. Eat the cake first.”
When Esper picked up her portion, the cream flower on top was already irreversibly collapsing to one side. So she simply leaned down and took a large bite, stuffing the entire cream flower into her mouth.
The cream melted on her tongue, an overly cheap sweetness. Then, the dry, hard cake sponge crumbled between her teeth, turning that sweet flavor into a messy jumble.
“How is it...?”
Eladia looked at her expectantly.
“...Where did you buy this? Wait, where did you get the money to buy a cake?”
“Ah... I bought it from a merchant in town... I borrowed a bit of money from Mr. Renn...”
“...The taste is not bad.”
Esper swallowed the food in her mouth. Then she set her fork on the table and looked at the face opposite her.
“It's just a bit dry, not exceptionally delicious. How much did you pay for it?”
“One silver coin...”
“Pfft!”
Cake crumbs sprayed from her mouth, but they were intercepted by the holy light before they could land on Eladia.
“Esper...?”
Eladia froze in place, looking a bit at a loss.
“Cough, cough! I choked, cough, cough!”
Esper patted her chest hard, using her sleeve to wipe away the cake crumbs.
“...Is it not good...?”
“...”
Eladia lowered her head, scooped a small bite with her spoon, and put it in her mouth. Her cheek puffed slightly. Then she set the spoon down.
“It really is bad...”
“Cough, cough... What do you know? Do people buy cakes just for the taste?”
Esper finally swallowed the crumbs.
She wagged her finger at Eladia, then forced the rest of the cake into her mouth.
The only sound left in the room was Esper chewing.
Gulp.
“Your birthday. February fourth, right?”
Esper spoke, her voice slightly hoarse.
“...Yes.”
“I'll get you one when the time comes. I'll pick the best one in the city for you.”
“You'll remember...?”
Eladia nodded, but immediately followed up with another question.
“Didn't you say whether a cake tastes good or not isn't important...?”
“It's not, but we can still try to aim for something better.”
She blinked, looking at the serious Esper, and gently nodded a second time.
The candle went out. Esper didn't know when it had been extinguished. Perhaps it was the draft from when she stood up, or maybe it had simply finished burning.
“Esper... you sleep on the bed...”
“Ah? Why?”
“Because today is your birthday...”
...
The next day, everyone woke up early.
When Kaylar woke up and didn't see Esper and Eladia, she thought they had abandoned her.
It wasn't until she was sobbing while knocking on Renn's door to seriously discuss what to do next that Esper, rubbing her eyes, walked out of the adjacent room with Eladia.
Kaylar was so angry she ignored Esper for the entire morning.
Lunch that day was still dried meat and bean stew, but Kaylar had thrown a handful of wild herbs into the broth, claiming it would enhance the flavor.
“I tried to advise her,”
Renn said calmly.
Esper took a sip and nearly spat it out.
“...Don't harvest them next time.”
“Hey, do you even know how to drink soup?”
Refusing to believe it, Kaylar drank the rest of the soup all by herself.
She threw up.
“How can it be this awful...”
In the afternoon, Renn discovered a stone slab at the base of a dead old oak tree.
He tapped it three times with his finger. The sound was hollow; it was empty underneath.
Rate on N.U.
