“Shall we have a little chat, my dear?”
Sirin opened her eyes and stared straight ahead as she put down her coffee cup.
[…What is it?]
There stood Cartia with a puzzled expression on his face.
“I prepared a space to speak with you. I hope you’ll understand if it’s a bit sudden.”
Sirin, not speaking in her usual light tone, flashed a mysterious smile at Cartia in a deeply serious voice.
[Is Noah okay?]
“Are you worried that Rubia might cause some harm to Noah?”
[No, that’s not it… um, I am worried, but more about that strange dog. He’s obedient but gives me the creeps.]
Cartia sighed softly, fully forming the shape of his body before plopping down onto the sofa.
“The Monster of the End.”
[Yeah, that one. What a damn grand name.]
“The red wolf’s name is Carpen.”
[Don’t know about the red, but I know the name too.]
Seeing Cartia answer so easily, Sirin gazed at his face for a while before tilting her coffee cup.
“Cartia, how much of the memories from the era you lived in remain with you?”
[Everything about the dragon’s neck… I mean, the ones I killed… uh, the ones I subjugated.]
Cartia usually spoke lightly, but recalling that the opponent was a dragon, he chose his words carefully. After all, it must have stung a bit to think of his kind, possibly even family, being mentioned in such a way.
However, Sirin seemed indifferent, nodding along as she spoke.
“Are those memories complete? Everything about leading thousands of troops to cut off the dragon’s neck to achieve victory is perfect? And what about the memories that followed? What happened to the world after the war ended?”
[Well, of course—]
In an instant, Cartia’s face twisted.
[Thousands of troops… dragons, victory… the end of the war.]
He began to reflect on memories he hadn’t touched in a thousand years, echoing Sirin’s words.
[My vision was of victory. On that basis, I slowly paid the price and approached the dragons. When I arrived at the central continent. Humans… a military. Dragons. Unable to touch the sky, what exactly did I do?]
He raised his head and looked at Sirin, who had her eyes closed.
[What do you know, exactly?]
“The price of the victory you offered.”
[…What?]
“The content of the victory you wished for.”
[Hey, wait… how do you know that?]
In that moment.
Boom—!
A tremendous shock shook Sirin’s barrier.
“Tsk, you just can’t leave it alone for a moment, can you? Let’s talk about this later. Well… I hope you don’t think about going into that room. They probably have a lot to discuss as well.”
[Shit… Is that so? Where’s Ser? I want to just watch him make artifacts.]
Crash—!
“He should be in that back room.”
Sirin pointed towards the furthest chamber, then immediately turned her back and headed towards the barrier.
Cartia quietly murmured to himself while sitting on the sofa, lost in thought.
[A pact with the general to bury the dragon.]
[Red hair… wolf ears, a tail… a girl crazy for battles…]
*
Clatter—
As soon as Rubia handcuffed Noah’s wrists, he felt all his strength drain away.
So much so that he almost dropped the Great Sword.
Not to mention… for some reason, Frey, who looked like a bracelet, also slumped away.
Thanks to that, he couldn’t even hear Cartia’s voice…
“Ugh… Rubia, something feels weird…”
“I’m sorry, Noah.”
While he was floundering, Rubia gently caressed his cheek and offered an abrupt apology.
Was she apologizing for what happened between her and Ser last time? Or perhaps for putting handcuffs on my wrists now…?
No, wasn’t it Rubia who was involved with Ser in the first place…? Is there something to apologize for?
It was for healing purposes, after all… I didn’t think of it that much.
Besides, Rubia said she only liked me…
Hmm… then is she apologizing for the handcuffs?
Yeah. That makes sense. These look totally suspicious.
Suddenly feeling drained of energy, my connection to Cartia cut off.
And, what’s more… the handcuffs, despite being handcuffs, felt fluffy and soft… Wow, totally suspicious!
I need to ask her to take them off quickly… I can’t see her face, but I want to see her expression!
“Ah, I get it, so can you please take this off first—”
“I can’t help it.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I don’t want to see Noah get hurt anymore.”
…Huh.
Rubia seems a bit, just a bit more strange now…
“Um, Rubia…?”
“I’m sorry, Noah. I had no idea you were going through such hard times. I didn’t know that… umm… I didn’t know that, while I was inside the warm room…”
Drip— A warm droplet fell onto the handcuffed wrist.
“Uh… Rubia, are you crying?”
“N-no… Hic… Ugh…”
“Um, uh…”
Clatter—
As I tried to wipe away her tears by putting my hand on her face… where are her eyes?
Clatter— Clatter—
The trail of tears from her chin tracked up…
“Here, tap…!”
Gently tapping to wipe away the tears, Rubia suddenly grabbed my hand tight.
“I… saw everything.”
“What did you see…?”
“Hic… I saw how you trained with Sirin.”
Rubia seemed to regain some composure and began to speak clearly.
“I… I saw everything. Everything… including you dying…”
And then she cried again.
“Ugh…? How did you see that?”
Tell me there wasn’t a CCTV around, right?
No… that can’t be the case.
Then how did she know? It’s been over a week since it happened…
“With Sirin… she showed me the memories.”
“Wow… magic can do that too.”
Is it because it’s Sirin?
Or can other wizards do the same…?
Oh wait… if that’s true, doesn’t that mean I could rewatch all the dramas and movies from Earth?
Oh my gosh… I have to ask Sirin about that later.
Or should I not?
Hmm… since Sirin knows I’m not from this world, it should be fine, right?
If it’s possible, what kind of drama should I ask for?
Would Rubia like it if I showed it to her?
If she asks me what that is, what should I say?
No wait.
I’m not visible anyway…
Argh… I got too excited for nothing, realizing the happy imagination was all just a pie in the sky, I let out a small sigh, and Rubia pulled me into a hug.
“You’ve been through a lot… haven’t you?”
“N-no…? I managed fine…”
“Don’t lie… I saw you crying.”
“N-no, I didn’t cry.”
…Actually, I might have a bit.
Cartia kept teasing me about how I just took a piss…
That embarrassment almost squeezed tears out of me, so I let one out.
But I didn’t really pee. It was just drool while I was fighting with my mouth open.
Who would do that at this age? Ugh, it’s just ridiculous.
Next time I see Cartia, I’ll give him a good smack on the head.
By the way…
What does this conversation even have to do with the handcuffs?
How did we end up talking about handcuffs like this…? Hmm.
Since Rubia seems to be calming down, I guess I should speak again.
“Uh… So, Rubia. Can you take off these handcuffs…?”
They feel really weird. My energy is all gone… I can’t even hold my Great Sword…
I wriggled and shook off the Rubia who was hugging me, rattling the handcuffs.
“That’s not possible.”
I heard an incredibly firm response.
“W-Why not?”
“It’s not dangerous. It’s just… I infused a little of my divine power, a bit of your blood, a bit of Sirin’s magical power, a touch of Cartia’s attributes, and a sprinkle of Ser’s spirit magic to make these special handcuffs. There’s only this one, unique to Noah.”
“…What? What did you say?”
“Considering you can’t muster any strength, I’d say it’s definitely effective. They look sturdy too.”
No… no way.
Didn’t you just say you put my blood in these?
And what? It seems everyone’s abilities went in too, right?
“W-Why did you go through all that trouble to make handcuffs…?”
“Because that’s how you stay tied up quietly without using your powers.”
“…Why are you tying me up for…?”
“Because it’s dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“But the fight is already over…?”
I confirmed that the archer was running far away.
And I’ve definitely slain the Great Sword.
Rubia sighed and held my hand tightly.
“Did you sense my divine power in the bodies of the humans you encountered?”
“…How did you know? Did you meet them too?”
“If those kinds of humans appear again, what will you do?”
“I’ll kill them.”
I found myself speaking in a cold voice, without even realizing it.
“What if I tell you not to go?”
“They’re beings that would desecrate Rubia. Your divine power shouldn’t be used for that kind of thing.”
However, in contrast to my cold tone, Rubia spoke in warm tones.
“I thought that would be the case. That’s why I prepared this artifact.”
“What do you mean—”
In that instant.
Boom—!
A thunderous impact resounded, shaking Sirin’s barrier.
“Huh? Rubia… this, this is…”
“I don’t want to be away from Noah anymore. Even if a situation requires us to be apart, I want to know everything—where Noah is, what he’s doing, if he’s hurt, if he’s sleeping well, if he’s eating properly, what he’s thinking… everything, I want to know everything.”
“What? No, this isn’t the time for that… something’s happening outside, isn’t it?”
Clatter—
“So Noah stays here.”
My weakly hanging arm dangled in the air.
“W-wait…”
“I’ll go take care of it.”
“No, Rubia…!”
Clack-clack—
The sounds of footsteps on the wooden floor began to fade away.
No, that’s not good.
Me going out is much…
Do I need to reassure her?
How? What do I do?
Ugh… maybe I should tie her up with the gift I had planned to show her…?
Forget it!
“Rubia!”
Thud—
Whoa, did I just project my voice like that?
No, that’s not the point.
“There’s a way.”
“A way?”
“Uh… a way to know each other’s conditions even from a distance. And… a way to prove our special connection.”
Boom—!
An impact even larger than before rattled the room.
I have no idea how many are outside or what’s happening, but…
With Sirin and Ser around, we should be fine for a moment…
Before Rubia could step further away, I frantically fumbled around on the floor, retrieving the necklace I had asked Ser for.
“Look at this, Rubia.”
“…A necklace?”
“Can you come a bit closer…? You can’t see it from far.”
Thud—
“Ugh… hurry up.”
Clack-clack—
The footsteps came closer and closer.
I put on my biggest grin and held out the necklace to Rubia.
“C-can you see this…?”
“Y-your name is written on it…?”
“That’s right…! This is um… something I give to a beloved family member… a family member from where I used to live…”
“F-family…? But this is a pet—”
“Anyway! I’ll wear it around my neck… and it’ll connect us. W-would you like to try it?”
“F-family… family, precious family…”
“Aye… hurry up…!”
Rubia, momentarily lost in thought, reached for the necklace upon hearing my prompt.
After confirming the warm energy seeped into it.
“Okay… now, can you put it around my neck? It’s tough for me since I can’t see…”
I handed Rubia the necklace and lifted my hair with my unbound hand.
“Hu… heh… okay, okay.”
With a deep breath, Rubia tremblingly clasped the necklace around my neck.
“Okay… now, can you think of me?”
As Rubia swallowed hard—
I felt a warm energy radiating from my neck.
Is it working? It should be, right?
“Ta-da! Hehe… how is it? Do you see any strings… or anything…? If this works, Rubia can see it, and if she follows it, I’ll be there…! And by supplying magical power to the string, it’ll show my location, condition, and even emotions—”
Clatter—
I suddenly felt a ticklish sensation on my butt.
“Uh?!”
In my mouth, Rubia’s tongue aggressively entangled with mine.
“Phew—! Ugh… Rubia!”
With one arm bound and all strength drained, all I could do was accept Rubia’s rough touch, helpless.
